This October Horror Movie Challenge, I am going "themeless." Well, not entirely themeless, I am going to hit some movies I have been wanting to see for a while. I am going to hit some movies with a strong occult themes to help with my Occult D&D ideas. And a lot of movies that are random picks. 
So, lets get in a Witchcraft Wednesday special!
Some horror movies become classics because they’re great. Others become classics because they’re terrible. And then there are the ones like Witchcraft (1988)—movies that sit in that odd middle space where you can’t really call them good, but you also can’t quite look away. This was the beginning of what would inexplicably become the longest-running horror franchise of all time, with over a dozen sequels. Yep, this little direct-to-video oddity outlasted Friday the 13th.

Witchcraft has always been out there, taunting me. The later direct-to-video offerings are essentially cheesy, low-grade horror with soft-core porn. There is a time and place for that, but not often in the Horror Movie Challenge. Still, I am not going to rule out more of these for the simple reasons that A.) this one wasn't so bad (ok it is, but) and B.) maybe there is something to extract here.

The setup is Gothic in all the right ways. The film opens with a young woman, Grace Churchill, giving birth to a child in a spooky old mansion, watched over by ominous figures who may or may not be part of a Satanic coven. The baby, William, grows up haunted by strange powers and a dark inheritance. That’s about as coherent as the plot gets. The rest is a mix of supernatural brooding, awkward family drama, softcore sex, and a finale where witchcraft and devil-worship clash in melodramatic fashion.

It’s the kind of movie that promises “occult terror” on the box but delivers more soap opera than sorcery. The budget clearly wasn’t there, and it shows—cheap sets, stilted acting, and special effects that would’ve been laughed off Tales from the Darkside. But there’s something about the sheer earnestness of it that makes it oddly watchable. You get the sense that everyone involved thought they were making something serious, maybe even artistic. Instead, they accidentally launched the trashiest franchise in horror history.

What stands out, though, is the vibe. Witchcraft is soaked in late-80s VHS energy, grainy lighting, synth score, and a sleazy Gothic tone that feels like it belongs in a tattered paperback you’d find in a used bookstore. It’s not scary, not really, but it is atmospheric in that “midnight cable TV/Cinemax” way.

Witchcraft (1988) isn’t good. But it’s important. It’s the seed from which a whole weird forest of bargain-bin horror would grow, a franchise that leaned more and more into sleaze and supernatural soap opera. I can't help but think that this series promises a better movie. 

Maybe I'll watch them all one day. But not this month. 

Occult D&D and NIGHT SHIFT

Yeah, there is a NIGHT SHIFT campaign here, but it is likely a silly one.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2025
Viewed: 1
First Time Views: 0

 It is the start of October and time for another foundational author for D&D from Gary's Appendix N. As always with this feature I am focusing on the witches presented in these tales.

Poul Anderson (1926-2001) is much better known for his Science Fiction tales, but he does have three (well, 2.5) fantasy stories on the Appendix N list, and two of these feature witches rather prominently: "Three Hearts and Three Lions" and "The Broken Sword."

I will take each in turn and also expand a little from "just witches" with these.

Three Hearts and Three Lions (1953)

Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions is already famous in D&D circles for giving us Law vs Chaos, the Swanmay, regenerating trolls, and even the proto-paladin in Holger Carlsen. But nestled amid the elves, trolls, and Moorcock-before-Moorcock cosmology is one of the first proper "witches" of Appendix N.

The unnamed witch of the forest hut is classic fairy-tale witchcraft: ugly, corrupt, but wielding real power. She brews potions, dabbles in deviltry, and represents the Chaos side of Anderson’s moral spectrum. Anderson clearly has one foot in the folkloric hag tradition; this witch could have walked right out of the Brothers Grimm, but her function in the story is thematic as much as narrative. She exists as a living symbol of the Chaos that Holger is pitted against, an incarnation of superstition and malice. While her interactions with Holger are not long, she is his first clue that magic, chaos, and evil are real, tangible things in the world/time.

Then there is Morgan Le Fey. She is Holger's former lover in a past life, and she is the main antagonist. She is a representative of the "Old Ways," the paganism of Europe, dying out in the face of rising Christianity. She is also representative of chaos, evil, and magic. Where the old hag is evil and ugly, Morgan Le Fey is evil and beautiful. Representing that evil does come in many guises and our hero needs to recognize that.

The battle is a parallel of the one Holger left in his time, World War II.

Both witches represent the two types of witches most often seen: the old Satanic Hag and the beautiful Pagan. Both, however, represent evil and mostly Chaos. 

The notion of Paganism/Old Ways versus Christianity is a recurring theme in Anderson's other significant Appendix N book.

The Broken Sword (1954/1971)

The Broken Sword gives us a much darker, more primal vision of witchcraft. 

Here we get another hag-witch who is close enough to the elves and trolls to have dealings with them, but is also very explicitly Satanic. She lives in a run-down cottage/hut, deals with the dark forces of evil, and has a talking rat familiar. Honestly, she could even be the same witch if so many years were not between them.

She also tempts our main antagonist, the Changeling Valgard, by glamouring herself into a beautiful woman. It is her desire for vengeance that sets the plot into motion. 

Like Three Hearts, the Witch, and she never is given a proper name, is a force of evil and chaos. Also like Three Hearts, the story centers around the battle between Pagans and Christianity, which Anderson casts here as Evil/Chaos vs Good/Law, respectively.

The elves and trolls of The Broken Sword are more similar to each other; both are forces of Chaos, for example, and an elf/troll child is a Changeling. Their magic is also described as akin to witchcraft ("witchsight" allows humans to see the world of faerie) and to the witchcraft the old hag employs. Many elves and trolls have "Warlocks" in their ranks.

Here, also, the big Pagans vs. Christians war takes a back seat to two warring factions of Pagans, the Elves/Faerie and the Trolls/Giants. The interaction our protagonist Valgard has with the displaced Faun is very telling. This area of England/British Isles is one of the last holdouts of the Pagan ways. 

The mixing of the various mythologies, Norse, Irish, Welsh, British, and Greek, is very D&D. 

That Last Half

I joked above, 2.5 books in Appendix N. The ".5" is "The High Crusade" which is more appropriately a Science Fiction or Science Fantasy novel. I didn't include it here because, simply, I have not read it. 

A Note About Trolls

Three Hearts and Three Lions is notable for giving us the "D&D Troll," but the ones in The Broken Sword are much more interesting. Yes, they are ugly and brutish, but they are also smarter, and while they have enough similarities to elves to produce offspring (with the help of magic), they are explicitly related to the Jotun of Norse myth. 

Closing Thoughts

Anderson gives us some compelling stories. While not explicitly set in the same world, they are also not not the same world. His epic war of Good vs. Evil, Law vs. Chaos, is something that rings loudly even today in all editions of D&D. His wars of Christians vs. Pagans ring loudly to me.

His witches are less characters and more caricatures at times, but this fits into the world view these books have: the witches are just pawns and tools. Even when they have agency, their fate is already predetermined.

The entire time I was reading The Broken Sword, I could not help but wonder why witches didn't play a more prominent role in the game. Of course, the reason is simple. I was reading this looking for witches and not the larger themes. Gary, I assume, read these and saw the cosmic battle of Law vs. Chaos.  

None of the witches in these two tales would make for good Player Characters. They would, however, make for great NPCs using the Dragon Magazine witch class. 

In the AD&D Player's Handbook, it is mentioned that the Druid class is the same as the pre-Christian (not Gary's words) druid that has survived to Medieval times. If this is the case then certainly other "pagans" have survived. The witches of Poul Anderson certainly could be among those numbers.  

 from the Rockrump Morning Mail of Piefestober 2nd.  an article by Nedulum Nostrail.  

In Oppressorbad street fighting continues in Styrofoamybad between the combative religious extremists commonly called Glummies, and the national forces of Chairman Grimjaw.  Glummies armed with light machineguns and rifles have forced thier way from the outskirts towards the Motherland Steam Rail Station, and the Factories along the Clearmuck Waterfront.  Captain Colonel Grittoplast of the 76th National Legion has erected barricades on the routes leading to the National Plaza, and Chairman Grimjaw himself has been seen assisting the troops moving up field artillery.  On Fryday Evening Grittoplast's men opened fire upon a large body of Glummies, and halted the advance, while bugles near the waterfront indicated that the radical witches had  subverted railway operations, probably to bring artillery of their own up the line.  The civil war between the Oppressorbad National Government and the Guntish old Religionists continues to be cruel and unforgiving.  National forces are reported to have massacred injured fighters, while the Glummies have routinely burned mayors, librarians, doctors and teachers in the towns and villages they have gained control over.  It remains to be seen which faction will come out on top, but undoubtedly the common citizen of Oppressorbad will lose either way.

 It's October-eve, and that means big things here at The Other Side. I'm starting my Horror Movie Marathon here in a bit. And my theme this year is ... no theme at all! That's right, I am just going to watch horror movies as I find them, as they come to me, or however they get here. I plan to watch all the movies in The Conjuring universe and the movies in the Insidious series, too. 

Really looking forward to this month.

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 use with Pendragon, Sixth Edition. This can be 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?An Arthurian Gaggle of NPCs is a supplement for use with Pendragon, Sixth Edition.

It is a full colour, eighteen page, 1.23 MB PDF.

The layout is tidy.
Where is the Quest Set?An Arthurian Gaggle of NPCs is a supplement for Pendragon, Sixth Edition. It is a collection of NPCs complete with between three and six adventure hooks that the Game Master can develop into full blown encounters and longer term content for for her campaign.
Who should go on this Quest?
Any type of Player-knight can go on this quest.
What does the Quest require?
An Arthurian Gaggle of NPCs requires the Pendragon, Sixth Edition Core Rulebook and the Pendragon: Gamemaster’s Handbook.
Where will the Quest take the Knights?
An Arthurian Gaggle of NPCs presents fourteen NPCs for Pendragon, Sixth Edition, each of whom can be used in a variety of ways and developed from a single encounter into a longer storyline. Each is simply presented on a single page with their background, anywhere between three and six story hooks, and a stat block. Some are name, others are presented as generic figures that the Game Master can easily adapt to her campaign. For example, ‘The Vengeful Squire’ is unnamed and can be former or current squire who could be spreading rumours about the Player-knight, accuses him of crimes—whether true or not, sowing discontent amongst his fellow squires, or even attempting to seduce the Player-knight’s spouse! Whereas ‘Sir Malcolm de Deux Visages’ is a knight well known and popular because he supports good causes, the church, and sponsors the knighthood of worthy squires. In private though, he is an entirely different character, cruel, greedy, and ambitious. He might persuade the Player-knights to do his bidding based on his reputation, plot to discredit a Player-knight to take possession of his land, and so on. As the entry notes, Sir Malcom’s reputation makes him a good recurring villain.
Many of the entries are magical in nature. For example, ‘Glutoniére, the Knight Giant’ details a French giant who after facing and defeating so many knights sent to kill him has developed a fascination with chivalry and comes to England to investigate and attempt to become a knight! The hooks suggest that he might develop an ardour for a young lady—much to the family’s dismay, actually ask to serve a Play-knight as his lord or squire, and more. The gender-flexible ‘The Knight of the White Hare’ might taunt and trick the Player-knights and ‘Pegleg, the Wooden Horse’ really is a wooden horse, but one who will serve the worthiest of the Player-knights until he returns to the fairy land of Gwneuthurwr Ceffylau!
Should the Knights ride out on this Quest?An Arthurian Gaggle of NPCs is both a useful and an enjoyable supplement, providing the Game Master with a range of interesting NPCs that will add colour and flavour to her campaign. Many of their accompanying hooks are simple enough that the Game Master can easily prepare a quick encounter, whether to foreshadow later events or simply run something in the here and now when there are fewer players available or between longer scenarios.

 I was looking for an idea to post today and saw that it was Michaelmas. Now I am not Catholic (I am not even a Christian, or a believer) but I thought this was a good excuse to round out my hierarchies of angels both for my Occult D&D project and for my Basic Bestiary.

A Word About My Basic Bestiary

This one is taking a bit. I am climbing the dual mountains of editing close to 400 monsters AND finding good art for them. I am funding the art myself, as I don't want to rely on crowdfunding for this. 

Angels

I have talked about the various angels and related creatures in my games before. 

• Monstrous Mondays: Angels
• Monstrous Mondays: The Agathós (and other Angels)
• Monstrous Mondays: Starchild (Occult D&D)

What I want to do is create groupings of various good-aligned outsiders (Celestials) and assign them hierarchies similar to those found in the lower planes. Angels, then, are the Lawful Good-aligned Celestials. 

The trick has been finding the right way to group them all, figure out the hierarchies as the Medieval scholars would have classified them, AND (and maybe the most important) find something that works well for the games I play.

The Archangels

The generals of Heaven's armies are the seven Archangels. While some scholars equate an archangel to a particular layer of the Seven Heavens, this is not really the case.  Of these seven, St. Michael is considered to be their leader and the most powerful. 

ARCHANGEL MICHAEL
General of the Heavenly Hosts

FREQUENCY: Unique
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: –6
MOVE: 24”/36” (flying)
HIT DICE: 22 (231 hp)
% IN LAIR: Nil
TREASURE TYPE: Special (holy relics only)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 (flaming Holy Avenger sword +6)
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d12 + 12 (STR and magic bonuses) + 1d8 fire per hit +6d6 damage to the "unholy."
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Holy Word at will; spell-like abilities as a 22nd-level cleric; Voice of Authority (as Command on all evil within 60’, no save vs. 6 HD or less); Haste 3/day; may summon 2–20 angels once per day.
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 or better weapon to hit; immune to fire, lightning, charm, petrification, poison, death magic; regenerates 3 hp/round; 90% magic resistance.
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 90%
INTELLIGENCE: Supra-genius (25)
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good
SIZE: Huge (9’–10’ tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 350
— Attack/Defense Modes: All/All

“I have seen demons in their true forms, nightmare creatures born in dreams of madmen, and even sat in the galleries of a diabolic auction to bid back a mortal soul from the clutches of a Duke of Hell. I have faced things that should have unmade me, yet I walked away with laughter still on my lips.

But when Michael appeared, when the sky split as if dawn had come at midnight, my laughter died. I had thought devils horrific, but they are at least comprehensible: greedy, ambitious, vile. The Archangel is none of these things, and that is what made him terrifying. His presence was like a storm that judged the worth of every breath I had ever drawn. His eyes pierced every spell, every secret and lie I had cloaked myself in, and for a moment, I was naked in truth before the heavens. And he saw all. 

I confess, the most dreadful creature I have ever faced was not a demon or a devil or some abomination from beyond the veils of reality, but the Archangel himself. Not because he is cruel, but because he is absolute and just.”

- From the Journal of Larina Nix

Michael is one of the seven archangels and the greatest warrior among them. He appears as a towering, armored figure of radiant fire, bearing a great Holy Avenger that burns with divine light. His voice alone can turn entire legions of fiends.

When encountered, Michael is always on a mission of cosmic import, never idly wandering the planes. He may be summoned only by direct decree of the highest divine power. In battle, Michael is the equal and opposite of the greatest demon princes and arch-devils, such as Demogorgon or Asmodeus.

Michael is the war-leader of Heaven, the one who cast down Lucifer in the First Rebellion, and who wields the flaming sword at the threshold of Paradise. He is invoked in exorcisms, called upon as protector of the dying, and hailed as the angel of judgment. In many myths, Michael weighs the souls of the dead upon golden scales, determining whether they ascend or fall.

Unlike other celestials who guide, heal, or inspire, Michael exists to fight. His presence is a living reminder that the heavens themselves are not pacifistic, but hold a sword against the darkness. He embodies both the mercy of the divine and the implacable wrath of cosmic law.

The sword borne by Michael is no ordinary weapon, but a Holy Avenger of such potency that it channels his immense strength and divine fire together. Each strike inflicts 1d12 damage, to which both his +6 Strength bonus and +6 enchantment bonus are added, followed by an additional 1d8 points of searing flame. Against demons, devils, undead, and those faerie creatures which are inimical to Law and Good, the sword delivers an additional 6d6 points of radiant destruction. Few beings can withstand even a single blow.

Michael’s arsenal of powers extends beyond his martial prowess. He may utter a Holy Word at will, casting down evil beings as if by the decree of heaven itself. His Voice of Authority compels obedience in all creatures of non-good alignment within 60 feet, with no saving throw allowed for those of 6 hit dice or less. In battle, he moves with preternatural swiftness, able to Haste himself and his allies thrice per day, and once per day, he may summon an entire host of angels (2–20, of any order) to his side.

In defense, Michael is nearly unassailable. Only enchanted weapons of +2 or better may harm him. He is wholly immune to fire, lightning, charm, petrification, poison, and all death-dealing magics. His body regenerates 3 hit points per round even if dismembered or disintegrated, so long as a spark of his divine essence remains. In addition, he possesses a 90% magic resistance, rendering most spells against him useless.

To mortals, the sight of Michael is awe beyond bearing. His radiance is said to blind the unworthy, and even those of good heart find their voices stolen in his presence. Against him, demon princes falter, and arch-devils bow in bitter hatred.

Michael as a Patron of Celestial Warlocks

Unlike the dark bargains made with demons and devils, pacts with Archangel Michael are covenants rather than contracts. The warlock does not “steal” or “bind” power from him; instead, Michael bestows divine might upon the worthy as part of their service to the Cause of Law and Good. Such warlocks are sometimes called Knights of the Flame or Champions of the Dawn.

The requirements and duties of the Warlock of St. Michael are so strict that few can adhere to them. 

Requirements

Alignment: Lawful Good. Any deviation severs the pact.

Vows: The warlock must swear oaths of courage, protection of the innocent, and resistance to evil in all its forms. They may never knowingly ally with demons, devils, or the unseelie fae.

Service: At least once per year, the warlock must undertake a holy quest of Michael’s choosing (via vision, angelic messenger, or dream).

Gifts of Michael

Warlocks in covenant with Michael receive invocations suited to battle and the banishment of evil:

(Minimum level in parentheses.)

Radiant Smite (1st): Once per day per level, the warlock’s weapon shines with holy fire, dealing +1d6 radiant damage to undead, demons, devils, or evil faerie creatures.

Shield of the Host (3rd): The warlock may call upon angelic warding, granting them protection from evil 10’ radius for 1 turn once per day.

Voice of Command (5th): Once per day, the warlock may issue a single-word command (as the spell Command), affecting all evil creatures of 6 HD or less within 30’.

Flame of Michael (7th): The warlock may invoke Michael’s light, striking a foe with 3d6 holy fire (save vs. spells for half). Usable once per week.

Summon the Dawn (9th+): Once per month, the warlock may summon a single Agathós (Aurora, Astral, or Lunar) to aid them for 1 turn per caster level.

Drawbacks

Michael is implacable in judgment. Warlocks who deviate from his vows may find their powers withdrawn instantly. Should they betray their covenant or consort with the unholy, Michael himself may appear, not as a teacher, but as an executioner.

Much like the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha and The Companions of Arthur for material set in Greg Stafford’s masterpiece of Arthurian legend and romance, Pendragon, the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition is a curated platform for user-made content. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—
Name: Plus UltraPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Michał Pietrzak

Setting: Hispaniola, 1665Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twelve page, 499.59 KB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Zombies of the CaribbeanPlot Hook: “This town (Town)Is coming like a ghost town”– ‘Ghost Town’, The SpecialsPlot Support: Staging advice, four pre-generated Investigators, five NPCs, and some zombiesProduction Values: Plain
Pros# Unwinnable war against a warlock can turn into a time chase
# Decent pre-generated Investigators# Kinemortophobia# Necrophobia# Chronophobia
Cons# Unwinnable war against a warlock can turn into a time chase

Conclusion# An experience in horror before the Investigators have the chance to put the knife in# Can be the end of the world if the Investigators do not get the hint

Your rival killed your favourite pet when all you wanted was a quiet life. Your daughter—or even the President’s daughter—has been kidnapped. Terrorists have occupied the New York Stock Exchange and are threatening to blow it up when in reality they are raiding the markets. A train has to keep going because if it drops below a certain speed, bombs will detonate the dangerous chemicals it is transporting. A secret cabal plot against you as you try to uncover hidden truths that will reveal the real history of your nation. A team of superspecialists sets out to pull off the heist of a century by stealing from the wealthiest casino in Macau. A madman holds Chicago hostage with a nuclear bomb. A supervillain threatens world domination with an array of space lasers, supposedly put in orbit to protect against asteroids, but now turned inwards. Any of these hooks could be and possibly have been the plot of an action movie, a film that focuses on fast storylines, furious action, astounding stunts, and incredible tension to deliver a great cinematic experience with a tub of popcorn and a bucket of soda thrown in. They could also be the storylines for any scenario for Outgunned, the cinematic action roleplaying game inspired by the classic action films of the past sixty years—Die Hard, John Wick, Goldfinger, Kingsman, Ocean’s Eleven, Hot Fuzz, Lethal Weapon, and John Wick.

Outgunned: Cinematic Action Roleplaying Game continues the wave of Italian roleplaying games reaching the English-speaking market and is now reaching a wider audience thanks to being published by Free League Publishing. Originally published by Two Little Mice following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Outgunned is the roleplaying game of eighties action films which won the Silver Ennie for Best Game and Silver Ennie for Product of the Year in 2024. It is designed to do three things. First, to handle a variety of different action films, from chases and heists to Spy-Fi and hostage situations. Second, to help deliver short action-packed sessions, tending towards one-shots or ‘Shots’, and in keeping with the genre, sequels. Third, to play fast and easy—Outgunned only uses six-sided dice—and to encourage action, so that whilst the Heroes will constantly face terrible odds and be hounded by enemies from start to finish, the game mechanics favour success, with failure only a setback, a chance for the Heroes to take a breath, and come back to put the villain’s chief lieutenant down, the villain himself in handcuffs, and save the day, if not the world.

In keeping with the genre, there is a certain snappiness to Outgunned. It wants to get the players and the Director to the play as quickly as possible, so it quickly defines what its themes are, where and when the roleplaying game is set, and what its core tenets are. The themes are ‘Doing the right thing’, ‘Alone against all’, ‘Spirit of sacrifice’, ‘Revenge and forgiveness’, ‘Friends as your real family’, and ‘The broken system’, and whilst Outgunned takes its inspiration from a wide variety of action films, it is set somewhen between the eighties and the early noughties, in a world that looks exactly like own, but a whole lot cooler and in surround sound. The roleplaying game’s pillars of action are that ‘Action never stops’, ‘Like at the movies’, and ‘You don’t know everything’, whilst as a Real Hero, a Player Character is ‘Someone with a mission’, will ‘Live dangerously’, and is ‘One of the good guys’. If the Director and the players are fans of action films—and obviously, for Outgunned, they should be—most of this will be familiar, but the roleplaying game distils it all down into the core essence of the genre and makes it easy to grasp.

A Player Character or Hero in Outgunned is defined by a Role and a Trope, Attributes, Skills, and Feats. The Role of which there are ten—the Commando, Fighter, Ace, Agent, Face, Nobody, Brain, Sleuth, Criminal, and Spy—defines what the Hero’s job is or was, gives him a choice of Catchphrases (the use of which can earn a Hero points of ‘Spotlight’) and Flaws, set points to assign to Attributes and Skills, and some Feats and Gear to choose from. Every Role is given a two-page spread that includes a list of the films where that Role has appeared. Tropes represent an archetype, such as ‘Bad to the Bone’, ‘Jerk with a Heart of Gold’, or ‘Vigilante’, and provide more points to assign to Attributes and Skills, plus a Feat to choose. The five Attributes are Brawn, Nerves, Smooth, Focus, and Crime and they are rated between one and three as the roleplaying game’s skills. Lastly, Feats typically allow a player to reroll his dice under a certain situation, but can have other effects such as giving a Hero more Cash or having useful Contacts, and some may take effect immediately or require a whole turn of game play. Some also require a player to expend Adrenaline.

To create a Hero, a player simply selects a Role and a Trope. From these, he assigns the points to Attributes and Skills as directed, and chooses Feats, Catchphrases, Gear, and so on. He also receives two extra points to assign to Skills. The process is quick and easy, and adjustments can also be made for age too.

Name: Ottilie Harsholm
Role: The Brain Trope: Neurotic Geek
Age: Adult
Catchphrase: “Have I ever been wrong before?”
Flaw: “Without my glasses, I am nearly blind.”
Brawn 2: Endure 1 Fight 3 Force 1 Stunt 1
Nerves 2: Cool 2 Drive 3 Shoot 1 Survival 1
Smooth 2: Flirt 1 Leadership 2 Speech 3 Style 1
Focus 3: Detect 3 Fix 3 Heal 2 Know 3
Crime 3: Awareness 2 Dexterity 3 Stealth 3 Streetwise 1

Feats: Hacker, Intuition, Outsmart
Gear: Portable Computer, notebook, pencil

Mechanically, Outgunned is player-facing, so the Director never has to roll and uses what it calls the ‘Director’s Cut’. At its core, it plays a little like Yahtzee, but from there it very quickly escalates both the action and the urgency. What a player is trying to roll is matches on a pool of six-sided dice, which can be numbers if standard dice or symbols if using the Outgunned dice. The base number of dice is equal to an Attribute plus a Skill, but can be modified by gear and any Conditions that a Hero might have suffered. Most rolls will be Action Rolls, made when a player wants his Hero to act, whilst Reaction rolls are made to avoid a bad situation. A player is free to choose the Attribute and Skill he wants to combine for an Action roll, but the Director dictates them for a Reaction roll.

The difficulty for any task is the number of matches required. ‘Basic’ difficulty requires two matches, ‘Critical’ difficulty requires three matches, ‘Extreme’ difficulty requires four matches, and ‘Impossible’ difficulty requires five matches. Better results than those required can give better outcomes, primarily in gaining extra actions, but if a player rolls six or more matches, then his Hero has hit the ‘Jackpot!’ and he gets to be the Director and narrate how amazing his Hero is. A player only needs to roll the dice when it matters and, in most situations, the difficulty is ‘Critical’. This is the standard roll, but beyond this, the ‘Director’s Cut’ escalates the difficulty that a player and his Hero has to overcome mechanically to reflect the challenge that the Hero has to overcome in the story. It also escalates the consequences.

In Outgunned there is no failure, only the consequences of a temporary setback. In general, a Hero should fail with style, whether that is to ‘Roll with the Punches’, ‘Pay the Price’, or ‘Take the Hard Road’. In the next step up, the difficulty can be doubled, requiring the player to roll two sets of matches to fully succeed. If he manages to roll only one of the matches, he will be unable to avoid one of the consequences. However, if the situation and the roll is classed as ‘Dangerous’, then the consequences are that the Hero loses points of Grit, the equivalent of Hit Points in Outgunned. The greater the difficulty of the failed roll, the greater the loss of Grit. It is possible to do Damage Control to reduce the loss of Grit, but every Hero has twelve boxes for Grit on his character sheet. When the eighth box—the ‘Bad Box’—is filled in, the Hero gains a Condition and when the ‘Hot Box’, the last box, is filled in, Hero gains two Adrenaline. Losing all of his Grit puts a Hero on the Death Roulette, ‘spinning’ and rolling against it, on a failure causing him to be ‘Left for Dead’ and on a success, getting back up, but loading up the Death Roulette with another lethal round and making it difficult to survive next time. A Hero can come back after being ‘Left for Dead’, but with a scar and a preposterous story of his survival, and then only at the appropriate point in the storyline. Grit is recovered through rest or when the Hero is allowed to ‘Catch a Break’ or ‘After a Shot’.

Beyond Dangerous rolls, when a Hero’s life or the situation is on the line, a roll can be a ‘Gamble’. For each one rolled after the last roll, the Hero loses a point of Grit.

Of course, the audience of an action film really wants to see the Hero succeed and so does Outgunned. If a player rolls at least one Basic match and needs more, he can reroll any dice that did not match. If this fails, one of the previously rolled matches is lost. Many Feats grant a free reroll which does not carry this penalty. Either way, the player is encouraged to reroll because it increases the chances of his Hero succeeding. Lastly, if a player still does not have enough matches or the right sort of matches, he can go ‘All In’ and reroll any other dice not part of a match. However, this carries with it the risk of losing all of the matches rolled if the result does not improve the player’s roll and this is discouraged as an act of desperation.

A Hero also has Adrenalin. For one Adrenalin, a player can add a single die to a roll or activate a particular Feat, and for a total of six Adrenalin, gain the Spotlight. Adrenaline can be regained for essentially good play. A Hero can hold three Spotlights, which can be spent to gain an Extreme Success, to save a friend who is on the Death Roulette, remove a Condition, save a Ride—a vehicle of any kind, about to be destroyed, and so on. A Hero can gain a Spotlight with the appropriate use of his Catchphrase or Flaw, and can keep a spent Spotlight with the flip of a coin.

Combat uses these mechanics, but since the Director never rolls in Outgunned, alternates back and forth between the Heroes’ Action Turn and the Heroes’ Reaction Turn. In an Action Turn, the Hero takes a full Action Roll and a Quick Action, such as reloading, whilst in the Reaction Turn all rolls are ‘Dangerous’ rolls. Extra successes work as a counter and inflict Grit loss on the Enemy. Brawls and gunfights are covered in a surprisingly speedy fashion, as is Gear and Cash which are kept simple, and in the case of Cash, abstract.

Enemies are divided into three types—Goons, Bad Guys, and Bosses, to which a Director can add a Template and Feats. Enemies are simply defined. Goons require a ‘Basic’ success to hit and defend against; Bad Guys require a ‘Critical’ success to hit and defend against; and Bosses require a ‘Critical’ or an ‘Extreme’ success to hit and defend against. All just have Grit and not the Death Roulette that each Hero has. Each Enemy Type is given five Templates to apply, so Template 1 for the Bad Guys might be armed hooligans, two well-trained agents, or a large guard dog, whilst Template 5 is a team of ninja, the perfect shot assassin, or a pair of big bruisers. Goons might have only a single Feat, but Bad Guys and Bosses get a lot more. Feats might be ‘Automatic Weapons’, ‘Mob’, ‘Armoured’, ‘Shotguns’, ‘Flamethrower’, ‘Rage’, and more. In addition, some Enemies can have a Weak Spot, and can also be the environment as much as the actual Enemy. For example, an unsafe structure nearby that a Hero can knock over on an Enemy to inflict damage or the Enemy can be drawn into a trap, enabling all of the Heroes to skip their next Reaction Turn.

Chases use the same alternating Action Turn and Reaction Turn as combat. This plays out over a Need Track, between six and eighteen boxes in length, and represents what the Heroes want to get out of the Chase, whether to flee from an Enemy or to chase after them. The Heroes’ Ride will have a Speed of between zero and three, but it can be increased through the Heroes’ actions and decreased by the Enemies actions. At the end of the Action Turn, the Need Track is filled in with the current Speed, but if it is not yet completely filled in, the Reaction Turn occurs, and so on. As with combat, the ‘Director’s Cut’ includes plenty of ways in which the Director can make a chase more challenging.

For the Director, there is advice on running Outgunned and creating content to run. This focuses on the structure around an ‘Establishing Shot’, a ‘Turning Point’, and a ‘Showdown’, and what aspects of the game are triggered within each. For example, the Villain cannot be defeated until the ‘Showdown’ and prior to that, rolls against the Villain carry a penalty and Spotlight cannot be used to thwart a Villain. There is decent advice on how to define both the villain, including his weak spot, and supporting characters, and there is also a tool given for the Director to track the tension over the course of a mission. This is Heat, which starts at a level equal to the number of Heroes and can rise as high as twelve. It will go up at the ‘Turning Point’ and the ‘Showdown’, when a Hero is ‘Left for Dead’, the Heroes suffer a stinging defeat, and so on. As it rises, it complicates the Heroes’ progress by adding a Lethal Bullet to their Death Roulettes, giving Enemies another Feat, and then adding another Lethal Bullet to their Death Roulettes as well as granting them a point of Adrenalin. The Director can also use the Heat Track to trigger events in her campaign.

It is in the middle of this advice that the players and their Heroes are given another resource beyond Adrenalin and Spotlight—and it is the most powerful. ‘Plan B’ is a group resource and comes in three types. These are ‘Bullet’, ‘Backup’, and ‘Bluff’. Each can only be used once in the whole of a campaign and only one can be used per session. Each is really powerful and gives the Heroes an immediate advantage that will get them out of the dire situation they find themselves in. It seems odd to have this at the back of the book where the players are not going to find it and the Director definitely has to tell them about it. In addition, there is advice on running heists, the Heroes creating a Master Plan that they can attempt to follow, and the Director can react to. This is the most specific advice that Outgunned gives about a type of plot.

However, the advice is broad, and it talks about campaigns rather than individual missions. The advice can be applied to individual missions, but a Director looking for advice on how to create her own missions is going to be disappointed. There is not any real analysis of the genre that she can take and adapt to create her own content, the assumption being that both Director and players will have watched and studied a lot of eighties and nineties action films. Some plot breakdowns and some analysis would really have bolstered the advice the Director and overall, what is given, especially with its focus on campaign, is underwhelming.

As well as a filmography and all of the roleplaying game’s forms, the section for the Director ends with a sample scenario. This is ‘Race Against Time’ is the ‘Introductory Shot’ involving a hunt for a MacGuffin which involves lots of fights, a chase, and an exploding aeroplane! It is an entertaining affair that can be played through in a single session and there is actually some good advice, suggesting manoeuvres that the Heroes might take in the various situations they find themselves in throughout the scenario, given in the margins alongside the main plot. The scenario is intended as a lead into Project Medusa, which is fine, but what is not fine is that the scenario is included in Outgunned – Hero to Zero, which might leave the Director without anything to run from the core book for the roleplaying game if she has run the quick-start.

Physically, Outgunned is a good looking book. The artwork is excellent and the layout clean and tidy, and easy to read.

Outgunned is a book and roleplaying game that makes you want to play or run an action movie by presenting easy to grasp character archetypes and at its core, a very basic dice mechanic that is backed up by ways to avoid having the Heroes fail. In this way, it emulates its genre. However, it complicates things by making rolls more complex as the stakes grow higher—not too more complex, but just that bit more complex—so that it ratchets up the mechanical demands in time with the tension. This too, emulates its genre, but does slow game play down, if only a little, at that time of tension. Where Outgunned truly disappoints is in the lack of analysis of the genre which would have helped inform the Director and the underwhelming advice for the Director which could have been better in helping her create and run Shots rather than focusing on campaigns.

For the Director and her players who know their eighties and nineties action movies, Outgunned: Cinematic Action Roleplaying Game delivers on what it promises—the means to run intense and action-packed stories of cinematic thrills and spills.

The gaming magazine is dead. After all, when was the last time that you were able to purchase a gaming magazine at your nearest newsagent? Games Workshop’s White Dwarf is of course the exception, but it has been over a decade since Dragon appeared in print. However, in more recent times, the hobby has found other means to bring the magazine format to the market. Digitally, of course, but publishers have also created their own in-house titles and sold them direct or through distribution. Another vehicle has been Kickststarter.com, which has allowed amateurs to write, create, fund, and publish titles of their own, much like the fanzines of Kickstarter’s ZineQuest. The resulting titles are not fanzines though, being longer, tackling broader subject matters, and more professional in terms of their layout and design.
—oOo—Autoduel Quarterly was Steve Jackson Games’ quarterly magazine dedicated to Car Wars, the publisher’s game of vehicular combat in a future America. Specifically, fifty years into the future after fossil fuels had been severely depleted forcing a switch to electric engines and a worldwide grain blight triggered a limited nuclear exchange that the world survived, but in the USA forced a partial collapse and fortification of towns and cities due to raiders and bandits. The USA’s armed society went from personal arms to vehicular arms as protection on the road and autoduelling is not only legalised, but organised into a sport of its own. Car Wars was a skirmish wargame in which each player could control one or more cars, pickups, vans, and motorcycles, and battle each other in arenas or on the road. Every vehicle was detailed with a chassis, suspension, wheels, engine, armour, armament, and other devices. Common weapons include machine guns, flamethrowers, and minedroppers. The appeal was not only the fact that every player was effectively driving a car armed with a machine gun, but that they could design the vehicles themselves and test them out as well as use the standard designs in the game. Inspired by Alan Dean Foster’s short story, ‘Why Johnny Can't Speed’, and Harlan Ellison’s short story, ‘Along the Scenic Route’, as well as the films Death Race 2000 and later Mad Max 2, Car Wars proved to be popular and award-winning, receiving the Charles S. Roberts Award (Origins Award) for Best Science Fiction Boardgame of 1981 and being included in the Games Magazine Games 100 list in 1985. Initial support for Car Wars appeared in the pages of The Space Gamer, also published by Steve Jackson Games, adding further vehicle designs, new rules, scenarios, and expanded background.

Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1 was published in March, 1983. The conceit was that it was also ‘The Journal of the American Autoduel Association’ and was actually the Spring, 2033 issue. What this meant was there was a duality to the magazine, one that continued throughout its forty issues, in that the authors were writing about a game being published in the eighties, but writing for a game set in the thirties of the next century. This was particularly obvious in the adverts, most notably for ‘Uncle Albert’s Auto Stop & Gunnery Shop’ which combined advertising pitches for the latest arms, armour, ammunition, and equipment which would sell the product to the reader with Car Wars stats underneath. ‘Uncle Albert’s Auto Stop & Gunnery Shop’ was a regular feature of the magazine and its content would be collected in six ‘Uncle Albert’s Auto Stop & Gunnery Shop’ yearly catalogues. The same was done with new vehicle designs, providing in-game advertising from the manufacturer and then the game stats. For Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1, these vehicles are The Morningstar from Rothschild Auto Works, a luxury automobile with turreted laser and rear minedropper as well as patented Velvet Glove trimmings, and the Conquistador Flamenco, a Mexican compact with a forward-firing machine gun and a rear Artful Dodger flaming oil jet. (Even miniatures manufacturer, Grenadier Models, Incorporated gets in on the act, if just a little, with an advert for its line of licensed Car Wars miniatures as coming from Grenadier Motors.)
The issue opens with an introduction from publisher Steve Jackson, promising that the Autoduel Quarterly would be as much a quarterly supplement for Car Wars as it would be a magazine, but that elements of the latter, such as editorials, (real-world) adverts, columns, and so on, would be kept to minimum versus the actual support for the game. This the issue manages, and it would be something that Autoduel Quarterly continued to manage fairly effectively throughout its run. ‘The Driver’s Seat’, David Ladyman’s editorial has a tentative quality, highlighting some of the content for the issue, but as much looking back to some of the support for Car Wars in the pages of The Space Gamer and forward in a request for submissions and ideas that would develop the setting of Car Wars in the twenty-thirties.
‘Newswatch’ provides a snapshot of some of the history of the future that is Car Wars, in the first issue quite broad, but in later issues it would focus on particular aspects of the setting. ‘50 Years Today’ presented snippets of news stories from 1983 as if they were being viewed from 2033 and include reports from Army magazine that the U.S. Army is purchasing fast attack vehicles from the Emerson Electric Company and a report from the Austin American-Statesman that fights, assaults, and shootings on Houston’s freeways were up 400% in under a year!
‘Excerpts from NORTH AMERICAN ROAD ATLAS AND SURVIVAL GUIDE, 3rd Edition’ describes various locations around the USA in the 2030s, giving their history and current state, describing various facilities, organisations, and hazards. In this first issue, written by Aaron Allston, the location is Midville, Ohio. This small town is the default setting for Car Wars, highlighted in the first expansion for the game, Sunday Drivers, which pitched the pedestrians, law enforcement, and autoduellists of Midville against attacking motorcycle gangs. This neatly summarises the town and the immediate region, giving an area in which to set Car Wars sessions, especially in conjunction with Sunday Drivers, and add background details that can set up storylines and reasons to duel.
The big feature in Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1, taking up almost half of its content at over fifteen pages long, is ‘Convoy’ by Steve Jackson and David Ladyman. This is a scenario, subsequently published on its own as Convoy which sees a team of duellists hired to guard a tanker carrying disease-resistant algae from Lexington, Kentucky to Memphis, Tennessee whose algae farms have been infected by a mutant bacterium, leaving the city on the verge of starvation. ConTexCo is providing the truck and paying well, but the duellists only have thirteen hours to get their charge to Memphis, and they will lose part of their fee if they are late, or the truck is damaged. ConTexCo also want the situation kept secret as it does not want it widely known that Memphis has come this close to starvation. ‘Convoy’ can be played by between one and eight players, plus a Referee, though between three and six players are recommended and each is given a budget in which to buy or build a vehicle. (It could even be played solo without a Referee, an option given in the published book.) In addition to Car Wars, a group will need a copy of Car Wars and ideally, a copy of the then newly published Truck Stop, which added trucks to the game and was only the game’s second supplement. That said, Truck Stop is not required to play and a counter for the ConTexCo truck is given on the back cover of the magazine for the Game Master to copy. However, using Truck Stop adds a lot of detail and mechanical options to the play of the scenario.
‘Convoy’ is a programmed scenario, the players’ duellists driving from Lexington down the Bluegrass Parkway and onto I65 and I40 to get to Memphis. Along the way, they will need to stop at truck stops—points of safety and respite along the way—to recharge their engines, and whilst this happening they have the opportunity to interact with the locals and other travellers and perhaps pick up some rumours about the route ahead. The main play will be with the ten encounters along the route, one after the other, some benign, others aggressive, which the players can get through with a mixture of good roleplaying and combat. In fact, the players are advised that fighting at every turn will slow them down and thus reduce their fee. The encounters do escalate in hostility, including a nasty driving challenge against a clever paint spray trap.
‘Convoy’ is a detailed, but very enjoyable scenario. It challenges the players’ judgement—as is in what is and is not a threat—and skill and luck in combat, but there is potential for roleplaying too. Of course, it also serves as an advert and showcase for Truck Stop, but it is nice touch that the scenario can be run without the supplement.
‘Creating a New Character’, also by David Ladyman and Steve Jackson expands on the roleplaying aspects of Car Wars, which are very light. It looks at the five skills of the game for characters—Driver, Cyclist, Gunner, Trucker, and Mechanic—and explains their levels and what they mean. In particular, it expands on the Mechanic skill can do and the difficulty of repair jobs. Overall, a generally useful article.
Rounding out Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1 are two regular columns. One is ‘ADQ&A’, a questions and answers forum for players to ask and receive rules clarifications, whilst the other is ‘Backfire’, the letters column. The former would have been useful at the time and the latter is interesting enough.
Physically, Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1 is well presented. The artwork is good and the writing clear. The cartography is simple, but the vehicle layouts are slightly rough.
In 1983, Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1 would have provided welcome support for Car Wars, at a time when the game only had two supplements—Sunday Drivers and Truck Stop. The issue really is packed with useful content. The background to Midville, new equipment and vehicles, questions answered, so on. There is no fiction in this first issue, something that Autoduel Quarterly would become known for later (and has been since collected into a single volume, Autoduel Tales: The Fiction of Car Wars), but instead has the terrific scenario, ‘Convoy’. This is certainly a scenario that many, many Car Wars fans will have played over the years, and it appeared here first in the pages of Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1. Were it not for the fact that Convoy is available separately, Autoduel Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 1 would be worth revisiting for that alone, but this is a still good issue with a good mix of content that set a blueprint for the issues to come that it would stick to.

A monster lurks somewhere… Perhaps in the fetid, green mist-enshrouded Miasmarsh or on the stoney shoreline of the Shore of Lost Souls where tormented souls linger. A Hag, who may have captured a friend or whose domain needs to be mapped out for someone else. These might be the only reasons that the unwary, or the foolish, descend into the Domain of the Night Hag, search for her and face her minions before being unlucky enough to confront her or her sisters and face certain death. Perhaps it is better to flee, knowing that you are as wise as you are cowardly, but alive, or attempt to defeat her, foolishly and bravely. This is the story of the protagonist, the would-be hero, who delves deep in desperation into the realm of the Night Hag in Escape the Domain of the Night Hag.

Escape the Domain of the Night Hag is published by Uknite the Realm, best known for Samurai Goths of the Apocalypse. It is a solo roleplaying game, but it can also be played by up to three players without the need of a Game Master. It is a dark, grim roleplaying game of monster hunting and survival horror that uses what it calls the ‘Decksplorer System’ which requires a standard deck of playing cards, a token to represent the location of the characters, two six-sided dice, and as the roleplaying game puts it, “Misplaced hope that your efforts shall not be in vain…” Only the Spades suit and all of the Jacks and Kings from the other three suits are required to play. The numbered cards will represent the regions within the Hag’s Domain, the Ace card the start and exit point for the Player Character, whilst the Court cards will form the Encounter Deck, consisting of the Jacks and Kings, her Basic and Elite Minions respectively, and the Queen of Spades, the Hag herself.
A Player Character in Escape the Domain of the Night Hag is simply defined. He will have some Hit Points, a weapon, and an ability. The Ability can be either Evasion (better at escaping combat), Veteran (better at inflicting damage), and Blessed (better at withstanding damage inflicted by the Hag). He may also be wearing some armour and carrying some equipment. To create a character, a player rolls for all of these, but could also roll on the ‘Quickstart Characters’ table which gives more detailed—but not too detailed options.

Jerome
Hit Points: 6
Weapon: Hand Axe
Ability: Evasion
Armour: Mail (3)
Equipment: Torch

Mechanically, the dice are rolled when a player wants his character to undertake an action and then to generate an Encounter entering a new Region, and to search for Loot. Two six-sided dice are rolled, and each dice is counted. Rolls of three or less are Failures and rolls of four or more are Successes. Rolling two Failures will have bad consequences, which can be taking full damage in fight; failing to flee and taking half damage when fleeing to a neighbouring region; and drawing two Encounter cards when entering a Region. Rolling a Mixed Outcome—one Success and one Failure, would mean suffering and inflicting half damage in a fight; successfully fleeing, but having to roll on the Consequences table; and drawing one Encounter card. Two Successes means dealing full damage; fleeing without taking any damage; and drawing no Encounter cards, but rolling on the Loot table instead.

In addition, in a fight, armour does not protect absolutely. There is a chance that it will stop every point of damage, but there is also a chance that it will not or that it will not, plus the armour is also damaged itself to the point where it is useless. This is rolled for on a point-for-point basis. Typical attacks inflict either one-two, or three points of damage, so the rolling for armour protection is not too cumbersome.

The set-up for the play of Escape the Domain of the Night Hag involves shuffling the Region deck and laying out its cards in any connected fashion that the players want and then the Encounter Deck from which the players will draw the monsters that their characters will face. The players should also decide or roll for an objective. Four such objectives are suggested, meaning that the replay value of this admittedly small roleplaying game is limited.

In play, the Player Character (or Player Characters) starts on the Ace card and moves from one card to the next. The new Region card is turned over and its location noted (though it does not affect game play) and then a check is made to determine how many Domain cards are drawn from the Encounter deck. If the Player Character defeats the minions of the Hag or enters a Region without any of her minions, he can search for Loot. Most of the items found will be useful—weapons, healing elixirs, armour, and a Holy Symbol or a Clock that will grant the Player Character an ability like Blessed or Evasion.
The ultimate aim, of course, is to locate the Hag and defeat her. The effort to do so is gruelling, the mechanics rarely letting up or offering any respite, the player hoping that he is going to get lucky on the dice rolls, whether that is to defeat the minions, have his character’s armour withstand the blows, and perhaps find something useful when looking for loot.

Escape the Domain of the Night Hag is not about entering her domain as such, but about when to decide to run away, whether that is because the Player Character has been successful, or more likely, he is so hurt that he cannot continue. Unfortunately, it is all a bit mechanical and lacking. The nine Regions of the Hag’s Domain are named and described, but never come alive and have no effect on game play, so just remain spaces in which the Hag’s minions lurk, waiting for the arrival of the Player Character. There are no encounters with anything other than Hag or her minions, and so there is no variation in play except what type of minion the Player Character will be fighting. If a player was keeping a journal of his play through of Escape the Domain of the Night Hag, he would likely have to work a little harder to give it that bit more of a story. If played as a group, then the players might want to take it in turns to add some narration to give their play through some substance. That said, Escape the Domain of the Night Hag is not designed for extended play or multiple plays. It can be played through in an hour or so, and thus quickly set up again if the previous attempt failed.

Physically, Escape the Domain of the Night Hag is white and green text on a dark, almost black background in which things lurk and writhe in green. It is concisely written, so the player will need to read through it with a little care.
Escape the Domain of the Night Hag is more serviceable than engaging. Mechanically, it plays well, presenting a daunting challenge, but the world of the Night Hag is underwritten, and a player will need to work hard to bring it to life and imagine a story.

Bobugbubilz was not always Demon Lord of Amphibians. In aeons past, Schaphigroadaz was the Lord of Evil Amphibians, but when his followers, the Salientian Knot, grew fat and complacent on the sacrifices them made to him and the riches they gathered, part of the Croaking Despot’s congregation rebelled and rose up against the Salientian Knot, and even Schaphigroadaz himself. Instead, they worshipped the toadfiend, Bobugbubilz, one of Schaphigroadaz’s own spawn, and in one bloody year, they marched on the Croaking Despot’s temples and drowned anyone who refused to renounce Schaphigroadaz in his Spawning Pools and saturated his altars in their blood. Thus, the Toad War, little known outside of the obscure scrolls held by eccentric scholars and the most ancient of libraries, come to an end. Schaphigroadaz was forgotten and the Salientian Knot no more. Yet there were survivors, and they did go quietly into the swamps and marshes where they could hide their faith from the outside world and bide that time. Now that time has come, the stars are right, and the Salientian Knot is almost ready to strike at the followers of Bobugbubilz and take its revenge. The cultists of the Salientian Knot have immersed themselves in their Spawning Pools to bathe in the waning vestiges of Schaphigroadaz’s divinity and so emerge, transformed and powerful enough to be a threat not only to the worshippers of Bobugbubilz, but the world!

This is the set-up for Dungeon Crawl Classics #77: The Croaking Fane, the tenth scenario to be published by Goodman Games for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. Designed by Michael Curtis, this is designed for a group of six to eight Third Level Player Characters and is a highly thematic scenario. Designed by Michael Curtis, this is designed for a group of six to eight Third Level Player Characters and is a highly thematic scenario. The Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game draws heavily on the fiction listed as inspiration for E. Gary Gygax in the Appendix N of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition, and this is no exception. In its batrachian theming, Dungeon Crawl Classics #77: The Croaking Fane draws on works of cosmic horror by authors such as H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, but it also draws upon Dungeons & Dragons itself. Such inspirations include the original scenario Temple of the Frog by Dave Arneson, but also Dave Cook’s I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City with its Bullywugs and even E. Gary Gygax’s D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Tuo with its fishmen. So, there is plenty of precedence for this scenario, but the author fully embraces it theme as everything seems to ooze, flop, croak, and slime in presenting a temple to a lost, anuran god!

The scenario requires some set-up. The simplest set-up is a trash and grab raid on the fane dedicated to Schaphigroadaz whilst his followers are weakened in their preparations, but there is a strong religious aspect to the scenario that if brought to the fore, casts the Player Characters as a theological strike team! Whatever the set-up, the Player Characters need to become aware of the Salientian Knot and their disappearance and dig around for more details of the obscure Toad War. A more direct way of learning about the situation is from the Player Characters’ Patrons who wish to end the threat of the Salientian Knot and its plans. The scenario suggests that is the case if any Player Character has Bobugbubilz as patron, which is possible since he is detailed in Dungeon Crawl Classics. Bobugbubilz will certainly direct such a Player Character to undertake such a mission for him or otherwise face grave consequences.

The dungeon is split into two levels. The upper level, the main temple, is really one big area, a church or temple area dedicated to Schaphigroadaz, built within a great rock that has been carved like a toad. It is full of so many details and elements that it has been broken down into multiple areas and descriptions. The first transept is dominated by a trickling fountain of scummy water that hides a rippling mass of ravenous flesh-eating tadpoles that will strip the flesh of any hand or limb dipped foolishly dipped into it. There is even a table for when this happens and what effects it will have. Drain the fountain—and this is possible—and the Player Characters might find a magical ring which offers some protection against the toads elsewhere in the temple. Moldering frescos depict the worship and the history of the worship of Schaphigroadaz; winged toad-goyles lurk in the walls, ready to vomit choking swamp water on any intruders; a triptych depicts the three earthly aspects of Schaphigroadaz—the Great Winged Toad, K’Tehe, the Destroyer, and Kroagguah, the Mother of Multitudes; and even a great toad statue with gems in each of its four eyes that echoes the cover of the original Player’s Handbook. There is a lot here for the Player Characters to explore and examine, even in this one giant space.

The lower area, the Undercroft is no less detailed, but it is different in tone and feel. It is split in two, one part the quarters for the priest and his staff, members of the Salientian Knot, who have since thrown themselves into the Spawning Pools of their Croaking Despot master, the other part the toad caverns, the breeding pool, and the spawning pool. If the focus in the Main Temple above is on exploration and examination, the focus in the Undercroft is on exploration and combat, apart that is, from an encounter with a member of the Salientian Knot, the scenario’s only roleplaying scene. He is loathsome and toadyishly unpleasant, wheedling with the Player Characters to follow him to the Spawning Pool where he happily throws himself in even though his fellow cultists considered him underserving of joining them in welcoming waters of Schaphigroadaz. The scenario will come to climax in the Undercroft, first against the mutated cultists, and then in a big fight against one of Schaphigroadaz’s servants who is very, very hungry. If the Player Characters manage to defeat this creature, and it is a tough fight, they will be rewarded with plenty of treasure.

However, the scenario does have a nasty afterbite—or rather three. One is immediate, in that the giant statue in the Main Temple will come to life and attack the Player Characters on their way out, whilst the other two have longer lasting effects. One is a curse, Schaphigroadaz’s Spoilation, which a Player Character might suffer from after touching the wrong thing and in need of a cure, turn to Bobugbubilz for help. This means that the Player Character will owe the Demon Lord of Amphibians a big favour. A version of Schaphigroadaz’s Spoilation is given at the back of the book as the spell, Plague of Toads, for the mutated Salientian Knot high priest to cast. The other is that any remnants of the Salientian Knot are going to be extremely angry with the Player Characters after they have sacked the fane.

Physically, Dungeon Crawl Classics #77: The Croaking Fane is very well presented. The scenario is very nicely written, especially descriptive text intended to be read out to the players, whilst the artwork is good, with several pieces that the Judge can show to her players. There is only one handout, a depiction of the Spawning Pool. The scenario feels, though, as if it should have had more. The cartography is excellent.

If there is anything missing from Dungeon Crawl Classics #77: The Croaking Fane, it is more handouts showing off the great artwork in the scenario and perhaps details of Schaphigroadaz as a patron. The scenario is rife with details and objects which when the Player Characters touch and interact with, a Cleric will probably earn the disapproval of his patron. It would be interesting to explore the possibility of the Cleric falling from the worship of Bobugbubilz and into the alternative batrachian embrace of Schaphigroadaz.

Dungeon Crawl Classics #77: The Croaking Fane is a pulp fantasy adventure with a tinge of horror, one that will reward the players and their characters for careful, thoughtful play. It is not a big adventure, but it makes great use of its theme with its clammy and cloying, mucilaginous and moist atmosphere.

 This year I have been celebrating various Fantasy RPGs and judging them on their ability to replace D&D. For October I am going to focus instead on Urban Fantasy games with Horror elements to them; something I rather love. 

This past week, instead of gaming, my son and I worked on characters. I was working on characters for my Urban Fantasy Fridays and he was doing Call of Cthulhu 7th ed. We got to talking while listening to his "D&D Classic Rock mix" when the subject came around to the Supernatural series. We both commented on how this September was the 20th anniversary of the show's premiere (September 13, 2005). We all agreed we had a lot of fun watching it. It was the last show we all watched together as a family, you know, before the kids got their own lives. Liam lamented that there was no Supernatural RPG. To which I corrected him and pulled it out.  He was pretty excited about it, to be honest. 

So we dropped the games we were working on (him CoC7, me Chill 3rd Edition) to recreate the same characters in Supernatural.

Supernatural RPG

2009. by Jamie Chambers. Published by Margaret Weiss Productions.

Supernatural: The Role Playing Game came out in 2009 from Margaret Weis Productions, back when they were adapting a lot of TV properties into RPG form. Like Smallville and Battlestar Galactica, this one used the Cortex System (the pre-Cortex Plus version). That alone puts it in a particular place in RPG history, when licensed games were less about “crunch” and more about catching the mood of the show.

I am somewhat hesitant to review this one. The big reason is that it is long out of print. You can find it on eBay for some really insane prices. The other reason is it only covers Supernatural up to Season 3; so about 20% of the show. There is a lot in the show that is not covered by these rules. Lastly, and this one is hard, it doesn't really *do* anything that other games can also do. The system itself, Cortex, is like a bastard child of Unisystem and Savage Worlds. 

The book is great looking and there is a lot here in terms of use and layout that will later be seen in the Dresden Files RPG. 

So I am taking this one out of my "Urban Fantasy Fridays" proper, but still giving it its own due by placing it in Supernatural's premiere month. 

As you’d expect, this game built for monster hunting, salt, shotguns, and a healthy dose of bad family drama. The book does a good job of introducing newcomers to the Supernatural world, but if you were watching the show back then, it was a nice way to immerse yourself in that universe at home. Characters are hunters, of course, though not necessarily Sam and Dean. You can make your own, or play with archetypes drawn right from the show. Sam, Dean, John (their dad), and Bobby (their other dad) are the only featured NPCs.

Mechanically, it’s pure Cortex: roll a couple of dice based on your traits and hope for the best, with plot points to keep the action flowing. It’s not a heavy system and fits the episodic structure of Supernatural really well, you can knock out a “case of the week” in a session or two. The downside is that it doesn’t dig too deep into campaign longevity; it’s really tuned for one-shots and short arcs rather than sprawling epics. Which is ironic given the show's eventual 15-year-long life. 

Looking back, the game is a time capsule. The series was still early in its run (season three), so it reflects Supernatural before it got truly cosmic. So no Crowley, no Castiel, and sadly no Rowena. That makes it more urban horror and road-trip mystery than angels, Leviathans, and end-of-the-world plots. In a way, that’s a strength, it captures the weird Americana vibe that made those early seasons fun.

It’s out of print now, and not easy to find at a reasonable price. Still, as a piece of the Cortex lineage and a reflection of Supernatural’s monster-of-the-week roots, it’s worth a look for fans. For me, it sits on the shelf next to Chill, NIGHT SHIFT, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, a reminder of when urban horror TV and RPGs crossed streams in fun and exciting ways.

Expanding the Supernatural RPG Universe

I mentioned above Cortex in this version feels like the bastard child of Unisystem (Buffy, WitchCraft) and Savage Worlds (Rippers, etc.) so expanding the RPG options of Supernatural are fairly easy.

I even have a few posts about it already, back when this game first came out.

• Supernatural RPG
• Cortex and Unisystem
• Magic in Cortex, Savage Worlds and Witch Girls Adventures
• Supernatural & Smallville
• Cortex, Part 1

I have used these ideas at varying degrees to make some new characters, espeically expanding the Supernatural universe to include witches and even succubi. 

• Wayward Sisters for the Supernatural RPG
• Cortex: The Hex Girls
• Willow & Tara: Cortex

Each one uses a slightly different type of witchcraft/magic system, and that works fine with me. None is "perfect" as far as I am concerned, but I am sure I could craft one.

In truth if I was going to play Supernatural these days, I would just use NIGHT SHIFT. 

But, I'll give magic/witchcraft one last try for Supernatural/Cotrtex.

Larina "Nix" Nichols for Supernatural

Would my witch be in the Supernatural universe? I have to say honestly, not likely. Witches are generally evil or at least up to no good in Supernatural. And anything she would do in the game can already be done by the witch and future Queen of Hell, Rowena MacLeod. But hey, this is my universe.

Larina Nichols

Concept: Witch (Seasoned)

Attributes
Agility: d6
Strength: d4
Vitality: d6
Alertness: d12
Intelligence: d12
Willpower: d12+d2

Derived Attributes
Initiative: d6+d12
Endurance: d6+d12+d2
Life Points: 20
Resistance: d6+d6

Weapons
Knife d2
Arcane Blast d8, Range: 40 Ammo 6 (Vitality)

Skills
Animals d6, Artistry d4, Craft d6, Discipline d4 (Concentration d6), Influence d10, Knowledge d8 (Linguistics d10, Occult d10), Lore d6 (Demons d8), Perception d6 (Empathy d8, Intuition d8), Performance d4, Ranged Weapons d4, Science d6 (Social Sciences d8), Unarmed Combat d4

Traits
Allure d6
Witch d8 (Telekinesis, Arcane Blast, ESP)
Obsessed (Magic) -d2
Dark Secret (Witch) -d4

Honestly, I like this build. I need to refine the magic system further, but this will certainly suffice. I don't think she would show up on the main Supernatural series. Witches end up in a bad way when Sam and Dead are around. No, if she is going to be a "guest star," then it has to be on Wayward Sisters. Avoids her and Rowena from sharing the same scenes. The group would seek her out for occult advice, not knowing she is a witch. And in proper Supernatural fashion, she even has her own soundtrack to choose from!

I should post Rowena, but she is basically similar to this, only more powerful (as she should be). 

Doing this does make me nostalgic for the show. 

Flip 7 is a simple, push your luck card game. It is easy to learn and easy to teach and it plays fast. It also suitable for families, and if truth be told, it is really simple. Yet there is a tension to the game play that really can keep the players on the edge of their seat from one turn to the next. Published by The Op Games—responsible for the highly pleasurable Tacta—it is a designed for play by three to seven players, aged eight and up, and a game can be played though in roughly fifteen to twenty-five minutes. The aim of the game is to be the first person to score two hundred points. Points are scored based on the total value of the cards a player has in front of him. Each turn, a player receives a card from the Dealer and turns it over, adding it to the cards he has in front of him. If he receives a card with the same value as a card he already has, he is bust and out of the round, scoring nothing, but if a player receives seven cards that do not match, he scores a ‘Flip 7’, and is awarded bonus points.

Flip 7 comes in a bright and breezy box which contains just ninety-four cards and a rules leaflet. Eighty-one of these cards consist of numbers ranging from zero to twelve. The number of cards with each value is equal to value on the cards. Thus, there are ten cards marked with ten, seven cards marked with seven, three cards marked with three, and so on. The exception to this is, of course, the card marked with zero, of which there is just the one.

The other cards are Action cards and Modifier cards. There are three types of Action card. ‘Flip Three!’ forces a player accept and flip three more cards, whilst ‘Freeze!’ forces a player to end his participation in the round and bank the total score. When he receives a ‘Flip Three!’ or ‘Freeze!’ Action card, a player can play them on himself, but he can also play them on another player. A ‘Second Chance!’ Action card must be kept by the player who receives it and comes into play when he receives a duplicate value card, in which case both the ‘Second Chance!’ card and the duplicate value are discarded. A player can only use one ‘Second Chance!’ per round and if he receives a second, must give it to another player. The Modifier cards range in value from ‘+2’ to ‘+10’ and also include a ‘×2’ card. These do not count to the ‘Flip 7’ bonus, but will alter a player’s score for the round.

Set-up and play are simple. The cards are shuffled, and one person is designated the dealer, who in turn deals out a single card to each player and they place the cards in front of them or resolve any Action card. Each turn a player can decide to ‘Hit’ and receive another card or ‘Stay’ and not receive any further cards, ending his participation in the round. If a player receives a card whose value is equal to a card that he already he has, he is ‘bust’, which ends the round for him with no score. Play continues until all of the players have either gone ‘bust’ or decided to ‘Stay’, which ends the round. A round will end if a player achieves a ‘Flip 7’. The game continues until a player has scored two hundred points.

The risk and the push-your-luck aspect of Flip 7 lies in both the value of the cards and the number of them in the deck. Higher value cards score more points, of course, but there are more of them the higher the value, and thus there is a greater chance of a player receiving a duplicate card and being forced to go ‘bust’. So, a player wants the higher value cards for their scoring value, but is constantly wary of receiving duplicate cards and scoring no points at all. Conversely, the lower value cards will score fewer points, but there are fewer of them and the chance of a duplicate is lower. From the start of a round the player is aware of the number and values of the cards in the deck and as a round progresses, the cards his rival players have in front of them will also indicate how many cards there are left in the deck and what their values are going to be.

The tension between the desire to score points and the increasing possibility of going ‘bust’ and scoring no points is made that much more sharper because everyone can see what cards everyone else has in play. So, they can see how close they are to going ‘bust’ and feel that tension too. Is that player going to go ‘bust’ or is he going to be lucky and receive another card that pushes him one step further closer to a ‘Flip 7’? The luck of the draw can go the other way, of course, and a player might find himself going ‘bust’ after receiving just two or three cards! Further, as the rounds progress and the total scores rise, the tension also goes up as players attempt to catch up with their rivals—and the thing is, with the right cards and perhaps a Modifier card to two, it is entirely possible.

Physically, Flip 7 is nicely put together. The cards are big, bright, and easy to understand, whatever the age of the player. The rules are also clearly written and include scoring examples for the Modifier cards as well.

Flip 7 is really no more complex than Vingt-et-un or Blackjack, though of course, without the gambling aspect. It is a really simple game to play and understand, one that constantly asks a player to push his luck and wonder if another card is worth the risk. Flip 7 is a real filler of a game that just sometimes can be a real thriller of a game.

The Ruins of Myth Drannor is a 1993 boxed set for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition role-playing game, immerses players in the perilous and ancient elven city of the Forgotten Realms. This supplement provides Dungeon Masters with the comprehensive tools needed to run epic adventures within the fabled, and now monster-infested, ruins.

It really isn't the Forgotten Realms' answer to Gondolin, but I am at a loss to come up with a better example.

Back in the early 90s, TSR was hitting its stride with big boxed sets for the Realms. The Ruins of Myth Drannor (1993) is a prime example, a sprawling campaign supplement that promised to take players deep into one of the most iconic fallen cities of D&D lore. Like a lot of the Realms material of this era, it’s packed to the brim, sometimes messy, always ambitious.

MY first encounter with this mythical Elven realm didn't come from this boxed set, but rather the Forgotten Realms novel Spellfire. I have been looking forward to checking it out on its own for some time, but the prices for it on eBay are all over the place. So, I am settling for the PDF and print-on-demand copies. 

The Ruins of Myth Drannor (2e)

1993. By Ed Greenwood. Artists: Erik Olson, Jeff Easley, Arnie Sweikel, and John Sattem

While I will refer to the "boxed set" here, since that is how it was originally published, I am working off of my Print on Demand version from DriveThruRPG.

The box itself comes with three books, a pile of maps, and the Monstrous Compendium monsters. The full “big box” treatment I have come to expect from 1990s Realms.

The Ruins of Myth Drannor Campaign Guide

128 Pages. 

This book details the extensive history of Myth Drannor, from its zenith as the "City of Song" to its tragic downfall. It provides in-depth information on the various factions and creatures that now inhabit the ruins, offering a rich and dangerous environment for exploration. The materials include maps of the city and surrounding areas, new rules for the unique and fluctuating magical environment of Myth Drannor, and detailed descriptions of key locations within the ruins. Adventurers are warned that the city is a treacherous place, filled with deadly dangers and formidable monsters, making it a challenge even for the most experienced players.

Once a beacon of magic and civilization where elves, dwarves, gnomes, and humans coexisted in harmony, Myth Drannor fell to a great evil centuries ago, leaving it a despoiled and haunted place. The elves long guarded the ruins to contain the darkness within, but with their departure, the city's long-lost treasures and powerful magic are now a lure for adventurers from across the lands.

Of particular note here are the return of the Devils, aka Baatezu to the Realms. Myth Drannor is filled with them. But they are almost eclipsed by the Baelnorns and the Phaerimm. 

We also get some NPCs of note and a good collection of magic items. I am not 100% sure, but I think some of these have appeared in the pages of Dragon Magazine. Whether or not they did, it is always good to have them in their proper place here.

Myth Drannor Adventures

32 Pages.

One thing I’ve always appreciated about this set is that it doesn’t shy away from the scale. Myth Drannor isn’t just a dungeon crawl; it’s a blasted, cursed, haunted city where every corner hides a different threat. The designers clearly wanted this to be more than a string of rooms, it’s an entire sandbox of dangerous possibilities. There are magical zones, weird planar overlaps, and plenty of remnants of the elves’ glory days now twisted into something darker.

The adventures lean into that. You don’t just wander into a ruin and fight skeletons; you’re uncovering old elven magic, running into rival adventurers, and dealing with the ongoing fallout of Myth Drannor’s fall. For a 1993 product, it feels ahead of its time in terms of encouraging exploration and faction play.

Map Book

50 pages*

Ok this part of the PoD book likely differs a lot from the Boxed Set. I am assuming that the maps were done much like the maps of other Realms boxed sets with a guide book. Here they are all one big document. While the Realms maps art works of art in their own right, sometimes they work better on the walls than on the game table. These are easier to use at the table, but haver their own issues. I might need to print them all out and tape them all together. Less than ideal, of course, but beggars can't be choosers. 

Monstrous Compendium Monsters

This includes 18 new monsters to add to your Monstrous Compendium binders. That is if you don't mind the chaos the alphabetizing is already descending into. I detail that more below. 

Overall

Of course, it has its quirks. Like many TSR boxes from this era, the material can be overwhelming. There’s so much stuff that it’s easy to lose track, and unless you’re ready to put in the prep time, you’ll drown in details. 

Still, if you’re a Realms fan, The Ruins of Myth Drannor is a classic. It captures that sense of wonder and danger that defines the best Forgotten Realms material. It’s not just about elves and ruins; it’s about the weight of history pressing down on the present, and what happens when your adventurers dig too deep into stories that should have stayed buried.

Looking at it now, this set feels like a bridge between old-school mega-dungeons and the more narrative-driven campaigns that would come later. It’s very much a 2e product, but one that still has plenty of life for DMs willing to do the work. If you want your players to feel like they’re stepping into a legendary, doomed place, Myth Drannor delivers.

The Campaign guide is just fun reading to be honest. While I was looking forward to using this in my Realms game, it was also just a pleasure to read through.

Sinéad, Nida, Arnell, Jaromir, and Rhiannon

That sense of danger and epic quests fits in perfectly with where my own characters are heading. Sinéad, Nida, Arnell, Jaromir, and Rhiannon have been journeying eastward, leaving the safety of Sword Coast and the Dales behind. For them, Myth Drannor is less a tourist stop and more a trial by fire. 

I read the material and thought about what these characters might be thinking as they pass through. While Sinéad is overtly the "star" of my little adventure, it was the other characters that began to shine through. 

Sinéad feels the pull of her people’s legacy in the ruins; Arnell feels the same pull but along with a loss he can't explain; Nida says she is going to treasure but really she worries about what old magic might do to the weave of the world; Jaromir is simply wary of walking into a place where so many great adventurers have already fallen. And Rhiannon, well, she can’t resist the thought of lost lore buried beneath the rubble. Her quest really starts here.

Nida, Arnell, and Rhiannon come out of this most changed. Honestly, Arnell leaves the group, such is the weight of loss he feels for this fallen elven empire. Sinéad's reaction is more tempered by her human side. Nida, who I know I am going to switch over to wizard soon, feels a loss as well, but for the magic.

By the end of this, Nida is an 8th-level Rogue and will Dual-Class into a wizard soon. Sinéad is 7th level in Bard and Wizard Multiclass. 

Looking back on the sheets I have for them (and it is lot surprisingly) I had both Nida and Sinéad be different types of Witches. I am not sure that applies to them anymore. At least not how I have been playing them of late. I think I will keep Nida as witch, using the Witch-kit from The Complete Wizard's Handbook (which was what I had planned for Sinéad) and then use the Rashemaar Witch kit for Rhiannon (planned initially for Nida).  What I wanted was to try out all the witch kits that 2nd ed had to offer. I might still try that in some way.

About the Print on Demand

I have enough Forgotten Realms boxed sets now to know what to expect, and to know what I am not getting here. The maps are part of the book rather than being printed separately, which honestly limits their utility. 

The books are bound together in alphabetical order, which is not a huge help as "Adventures" comes before "Campaign Guide." It is a little odd though. 

The Monstrous Compendium supplement, while perfectly usable here in the book format, also comes as a PDF for my printing pleasure. So much that I accidentally printed two copies. One copy went into my grow Forgotten Realms Monstrous Compendium and the second copy was divided between my Core Compendiums and my Ravenloft one. 

Final Thoughts

What really strikes me, reading this set today, is how much mythic weight and age it gives to the Forgotten Realms. Myth Drannor is not just another dungeon stuffed with monsters and treasure; it’s a reminder that the Realms had centuries of triumph and tragedy before any adventuring party set foot in it. The magic items scattered across Faerûn don’t come from nowhere; they’re the legacy of civilizations like this one, built by the elves and then broken by hubris, war, and time.

I know from reading online Ed had a tight deadline for this, but I wonder how much it he already had planned or even written. The feel is he had Myth Drannor in some form in his head and maybe on paper already. The result only adds to the mythic feel in my mind.

For Sinéad, Nida, Arnell, Jaromir, and Rhiannon, the ruins are a crucible, but they’re also a history lesson. Every shattered tower and cursed bauble is proof that even the mightiest fall. And that’s what makes Myth Drannor so compelling: it’s both a playground for adventurers and a gravestone for a lost golden age.

Running or reading The Ruins of Myth Drannor reminds me why I have come to love the Realms in the first place. It’s a world with scars, where the past is constantly pushing against the present, and where the future is written by those bold (or foolish) enough to venture east into the ruins.

 So, back at the end of October 2024, I celebrated reaching 10 million hits here on the Other Side. 

Not too shabby of a milestone if you ask me. 10 million hits from 2007 to 2024. Pretty good for 17 years (at that point). I said then: "I hope the next 10,000,000 hits are just as good as the first or even better."

Well. They were! And I barely noticed them.

Sometime last week I hit 20 Million!

It took me 17 years to reach my first 10 million, and then about 10-11 months to reach my next 10 million.

The uptick in my hits all began around the time I stated that D&D 2024 needs a new game world. They shot up significantly then and never really came back down. According to my Google Analytics page I have a reasonably consistent reader base that basically grew by about 500% this year.

That's just crazy. I hope I am doing enough here to make your visits and reading time worthwhile. 

What am I going to do for the next 10 million hits? No idea, but hopefully we will all figure it out together.

 I started this post once before, but I am returning to it now. Especially now with so much new Castle Greyhawk material to be had.  I also wanted to do another of my In Search Of... feature.

In Search Of... Castle Greyhawk

Castle Greyhawk has been a quasi-mythical dungeon. It did exist, in one form or another, and was part of Gary Gygax's own D&D campaign. It was rumored to be anywhere between 13 levels, to 70 to 100s of levels. It was merged with Rob Kuntz's "El Raja Key" at some point and made even larger. The full Castle Greyhawk had always been promised to us but only partially delivered. I'll have some links below so you can read more on all of these topics.

The Published Castles Greyhawk

Despite never getting a full and proper publication, many Castles Greyhawk have existed over the years. Some official, others...well, less so, but all fit the spirit of the idea of Castle Greyhawk. I will cover them below with my own experiences.

WG7 Castle Greyhawk

I remember being quite excited about this one. The *real* Castle Greyhawk. Finally! Well...that is not the case, really. I like humor in my games, but this was not a great adventure nor a particularly good "joke" one. There are some good bits here. I loved the idea of multiple levels. I loved the idea of a different author/designer taking on each one. Some of the levels were also fun send-ups of my early D&D tropes like "The Temple of Really Bad Dead Things." Sadly, it all never really worked.

Getting different designers to cover each level was fun in theory. They never connected at all. Some were even so bad that I had my players bypass them altogether. For example, when they got to Level 8, I put a "handwritten" sign (in ketchup, no less) up outside the entryway saying, "Food fight in progress, please proceed to Level 9."  Eventually, the whole thing collapsed under the weight of its own silliness. 

There are some good ideas here. There are some good hooks, and I like the introduction and the first level. Though I do remember some awkwardness in the transitions between levels. One I recall was Level 10, which assumed that you had gone all the way back up to Level 1. Seemed to run counter to the stated reality of the adventure. The maps are good, the art, for the most part, is fun, and again, pulling it all apart to make a bunch of unrelated mini-adventures might be the way to go.

However, I can't help but think that there was a little bit of vindictiveness in having such a high-profile and "bad" adventure carry the name Castle Greyhawk come out in the days after Gary Gygax had been let go.  Given that the previous WG7 was supposed to have been a high-level adventure from Gygax called Shadowlands. There is a lot of evidence against this, but thinking back to 1988 and knowing that Gary had been booted. Plus, at the time, I was connecting with other gamers from all over the state, and we shared our pre-Internet opinions. Well, conclusions, truthful or erroneous, can be drawn, and opinions die hard.

Don't misunderstand me; I know Gary loved a good funhouse dungeon. And really, is this one any more ridiculous than "Tomb of Horrors" or the really awful puns in the graveyard of Castle Ravenloft? This one, however, feels like a bridge too far.  It was too bad, really. I was in the midst of my "Greyhawk renaissance" at the time, and I wanted to consume anything and everything related to Greyhawk, but mostly official Greyhawk material, rather than the pastiche I had built over the years. 

I had a copy, but I lost it many years ago, and I recently reacquired my copy from my old DM's collection. I have the PDF, but I never had a desire to grab a new PoD version. However, I did think about it back in my early days working with Eden Studios, when I read the WitchCraft short story "The House that Dripped Clichés." I wanted to make something good of the Castle Greyhawk adventure. But ultimately, I reasoned I would be better off making my own. Thankfully, I didn't have to.

WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins (2e)

After the misfire of WG7 Castle Greyhawk, TSR had another go at presenting the legendary dungeon in print. This time, in 1990, they gave us WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins, written by Blake Mobley and Timothy Brown, for 2nd Edition AD&D.

On the surface, this one looked like a course correction. Gone was the parody tone, gone were the ketchup-smeared signs, and in their place was a serious attempt to frame Castle Greyhawk as an honest-to-goodness megadungeon. The adventure describes the ruins of the Castle aboveground, and beneath them, three partially intact towers that served as gateways to the deeper dungeon levels.

This felt much closer to what I had always imagined Castle Greyhawk to be. The presentation was straightforward: keyed maps, monsters, treasure, and plenty of challenges. In many ways, it’s a classic meat-and-potatoes dungeon crawl, and for DMs who wanted a usable Greyhawk megadungeon without wading through parody, it delivered.

But there were two problems. First, no published module could ever live up to the myth of Castle Greyhawk by this point. Gamers had been hearing about Gary’s original for over fifteen years, and expectations had grown to impossible heights. Second, the stink of WG7 still lingered. After being burned once, many fans weren’t ready to embrace a new “official” Castle so soon. That left Greyhawk Ruins in a tough spot: serious in tone, expansive in scope, but struggling to shake off its predecessor’s shadow.

I also have to admit, I’ve never been a fan of the cover. It doesn’t capture the sense of awe and menace I wanted from the ruins of the game's greatest dungeon. Inside, though, the content is solid. Twenty-five plus levels of dungeon to explore, each with its own flavor, from ruined laboratories to caverns crawling with monsters. It’s not subtle, but it is dangerous, and it can easily keep a party busy for years of game time.

Looking back, WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins represents the first truly earnest attempt to give us Castle Greyhawk as an actual megadungeon. It wasn’t Gary’s Castle, and it wasn’t Rob’s either, but it was playable, and it kept Greyhawk alive at the table in the early 2e era. For me, it feels like the first step toward reclaiming the myth after WG7, even if it never stood a chance of satisfying everyone’s expectations.

This is another old adventure of mine that was in the collection of my old DM. I think I bought it with the idea that he would run me through it, but it was the 1990s, and I was still finishing up my undergrad studies and likely never got around to it.

Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk

By the time 2007 rolled around, I had already been through the highs and lows of Castle Greyhawk in print. WG7 had left a sour taste, WGR1 had done some course correction, but the mythical real Castle Greyhawk still seemed just out of reach. Then came Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk for D&D 3.5. On paper, this was the one that might finally get it right.

This was a big (224 pages), glossy hardcover and part of Wizards’ “Expedition” series that included Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, Expedition to the Demonweb Pits, and Expedition to Undermountain. These books were meant to be love letters to classic adventures, rebuilt for the then-current edition. And with writers like Jason Bulmahn, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona (names I respected then and now), I had reason to hope.

The book immediately set itself apart from WG7’s funhouse antics. Instead of a parody, it gave us a full-on campaign, a sprawling dungeon crawl combined with political intrigue in the Free City of Greyhawk. Iuz, Zagyg, my ex-girlfriend Iggwilv, and even Zuoken show up, giving the adventure cosmic stakes beyond just “loot the dungeon.” It’s pitched for characters of about 8th–13th level, which honestly felt right. By that point, adventurers are strong enough to tangle with demigods, but not so epic that the whole thing feels like a superhero comic.

The design is ambitious. You don’t just get dungeon rooms mapped and keyed; you get partial maps, encounter tables, and plenty of blank space to make the Castle your own. That’s clever; it echoes the fact that Gary’s original Castle Greyhawk was never static. It was a living, changing environment, tailored to the players at the table. Of course, the downside is obvious: if you're looking for a completely mapped, plug-and-play megadungeon, you won’t find it here. DMs had to be ready to improvise and prep.

I ran pieces of it rather than the whole campaign. Some of the encounters, especially with the new monsters (the aurumvorax got a facelift here, and the cataboligne demon was nasty), were deadly even for 13th-level PCs. My players loved that sense of danger, though — it felt like the dungeon had teeth again.

But did it finally give us the “real” Castle Greyhawk? Well. That depends on what you were hoping for. If you wanted Gary’s original notes, this wasn’t it. If you wanted a megadungeon that was both a campaign centerpiece and a love letter to Greyhawk lore, it largely delivered. It felt like Mona and Jacobs, in particular, were saying, “Yes, Greyhawk matters. Here’s why.”

I remember closing the book after my first read-through and thinking: this is probably as close as we’re ever going to get to a “canon” Castle Greyhawk. Not Gary’s, not Rob’s, but a 3rd Edition interpretation that pulled from the mythos, built a strong framework, and left room for each DM to add their own touch. Say what you like about 3rd Edition, but at the time, respect for Gary was at an all-time high. 

Thankfully, it was not the last word. 

Castle of the Mad Archmage

If Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk was Wizards of the Coast’s official attempt to canonize the Castle for 3rd Edition, then Castle of the Mad Archmage was the fan-driven answer — and in many ways, it feels closer to the dream of a “true” Castle Greyhawk than anything TSR or WotC ever put out.

Joseph Bloch, the “Greyhawk Grognard,” originally released Castle of the Mad Archmage starting in 2009. His idea was simple: if Wizards of the Coast wouldn't and TSR couldn't (because they were gone) give us the real Castle, then he would build one in the old school spirit, level by level, and let people play in it. Later, he expanded and polished the whole into a professional print version through his company, BRW Games. You honestly have to admire that. 

This is a megadungeon in the classic sense, sprawling, multi-layered, with dozens of levels stacked on top of each other. Unlike WGR1 or Expedition, Bloch’s Castle doesn’t pull back. It goes all in. If you want a dungeon that feels like it could go on forever, with weird sub-levels, eccentric monsters, and dangerous tricks, this is it. The DNA is clearly Gygaxian: funhouse elements mixed with deadliness, nods to pulp fantasy, and the sense that anything could be around the next corner.

When I first cracked it open, I remember thinking: “This is what I wanted WG7 to be.” It’s not parody. It’s not restrained to three towers. It’s not half-mapped. It’s a full megadungeon you could run a whole campaign in, or strip for parts if that’s more your style. And it’s very much meant for old-school play, resource management, exploration, and danger at every turn.

Is it Gary’s Castle Greyhawk? No, of course not. But in spirit, it comes closer than most. Bloch captures that sense of scale and unpredictability that the Castle always promised. For me, this book represents what the fan community can do when official channels fall short: keep the torch burning, keep the dungeons sprawling, and keep Greyhawk alive at the table.

Now I am a bigger fan of "Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk" than Joseph is. But I am happy to have both in my collection.

There are several "flavors" to choose from to suit your gaming needs.

• Castle of the Mad Archmage (5E Edition) Digital + Print Bundle
• Castle of the Mad Archmage (Pathfinder Edition) Digital
• MA1 Castle of the Mad Archmage - The Core Levels
• MA2 Castle of the Mad Archmage Level 3 East, The Museum and the Watery Caves
• MA3 Castle of the Mad Archmage Level 4 South, The Gardens
• MA4 Castle of the Mad Archmage Level 9 West, The Brumal Realm

There will likely be more.

Castles & Crusades Castle Zagyg Yggsburgh

When Gary Gygax himself returned to publishing in the early 2000s, hope flared again that we might finally see his Castle Greyhawk the original megadungeon that started it all. Of course, Wizards of the Coast owned the Greyhawk name, so Gary couldn’t publish it directly. Instead, he partnered with Troll Lord Games and released it under the title Castle Zagyg (Zagyg being Gary’s famous mad archmage, his own anagram).

The first product in this line was Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh in 2005. Rather than plunge straight into dungeon levels, this hefty book detailed the city of Yggsburgh, Gary’s version of the Free City of Greyhawk. It was written for Castles & Crusades, Troll Lord’s ruleset that deliberately hewed close to the feel of old-school AD&D, but conversion to earlier editions was painless.

Yggsburgh wasn’t the dungeon itself, but it was meant to set the stage: a living, breathing city that adventurers could use as their home base before venturing into the nearby Castle. The book offered districts, NPCs, and hooks galore. For those of us who had been following the “Castle Greyhawk saga” for decades, it was tantalizing. At last, we had something directly from Gary’s hand.

The plan was to follow this up with the dungeon levels themselves, released as boxed sets under the Castle Zagyg name. A few pieces trickled out, Castle Zagyg: The East Mark Gazetteer and The Upper Works (2008), before Gary’s death in March 2008. After that, the line was discontinued. For various reasons that I don't really need to get into now the line would remain dead for the next 15 years.

In 2023, Troll Lord Games released a 256-page Classic Reprint of Yggsburgh through DriveThruRPG and their own website, making this long out-of-print title available again to fans who missed it the first time. It’s a facsimile edition, preserving the original text and layout; a chance to finally own one of the last projects Gary worked on. Not only that, the maps are by none other than Darlene herself.

So, what we got in Yggsburgh was a glimpse of what could have been: Gary’s vision of the city that would sit at the foot of his legendary Castle. The megadungeon itself never fully saw print. That fact alone makes this one bittersweet. Reading through Yggsburgh now, you can see the connective tissue to Greyhawk, but also Gary striking out on his own terms, freed from TSR and later WotC.

For me, Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh is less about the content (though it’s rich with Gary’s flavor and quirks) and more about the promise it represented. We almost had the real thing. We almost got to walk the halls of the original Castle with Gary as our guide. Instead, we’re left with fragments. 

And the myth grows ever larger.

How to Reconcile All These Castles Greyhawk?

Regardless of what version of Castle Greyhawk you prefer, someone else has a different opinion. How can we have ALL the Castles Greyhawk in a game? 

Well. We borrow from the real world. 

Zagig Yragerne as Ludwig II of Bavaria

Known as "The Mad Archmage," Zagig Yragerne was the builder of Castle Greyhawk. But what if the Mad Archmage had something in common with another famously "Mad" person? In particular King Ludwig II of Bavaria, also known as "The Mad King."  Why was he mad? He built castles. Lavish ones at that.  Neuschwanstein Castle, Linderhof Palace, and Herrenchiemsee. Neuschwanstein is a "fairy tale" castle and is the model for the castles of Disney World and Disneyland. There is even a tenuous connection to Castle Falkenstien here that I might explore later on. 

So what if all the Castle Greyhawks are real? All were built by Zagig Yragerne, and all of them were called at one point or another "Castle Greyhawk?"

Which leads me to my next thought.

Castle Greyhawk as a Pan-Dimensional Altgeld Hall

On five Illinois college campuses, castles were built during the time of Gov. John Altgeld. These buildings are all called Altgeld Hall, and all resemble Gothic Revival Castles. There has been a long-standing rumor that you could take these buildings and put them together to form one massive castle. There is no evidence of this, but it was a powerful idea. Plus, having walked by Altgeld Hall at SIUC for years, it left a powerful image. One too good to ignore. 

What if all of the various Castles Greyhawk are connected somehow? Not like I suggested with the Temple of Elemental Evil (one location that exists simultaneously across multiple realities), but one supermassive structure built in different pieces in different locations. 

What was Zagig trying to accomplish? Was he going to build these different castles and link them? Merge them across time and space? This may explain why WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins and Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk have similar maps in some places but very different ones in others.

Maybe I could tie this into my whole idea of Erde/Oerth/Arth/Urt/Learth/Ærth, where there is a Castle Greyhawk on the various connecting planes, and they are the point of contact. From the Castle's perspective, it is one massive structure; it's just that mortals only see what is on their own plane. Now, are the castles there because the planes are connected? OR are the planes connected because the  Castles are there? 

There is at least some published evidence to this. Erde/Aihrde, the world of Castles & Crusades, has its own Castle Yggsburgh, AND for a time, they were the publisher of Lejendary Adventures. So maybe Erde/Aihrde is what I jokingly refer to as Learth. 

Frank Mentzer gave us Urt, an earlier name for Mystara which is Earth circa 150 MYA. And we know that he was working on the other side of Oerth; Aquaria. It is not a stretch then that there is a Castle Greyhawk on Mystara/Urt too. Those with the knowledge can move from to the next and thus cross realities.  NOTE: I am not going to explain why Empyrea failed here. There are more sites on the net that have gone over that far more in-depth than I will or even want too. 

By this logic, there could be more Castles Greyhawk out there in the D&D multiverse just waiting to be discovered. 

In Search Of the Real Castle Greyhawk

At the end of this long journey through the printed Castles Greyhawk, I keep coming back to the same realization: there was never just one Castle Greyhawk. Every attempt to capture it on paper; from the parody of WG7, to the earnest sprawl of WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins, to the ambitious but incomplete Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk, to Joseph Bloch’s Castle of the Mad Archmage, and finally Gary’s own Castle Zagyg: Yggsburgh; all circle the same mythic source but never quite touch it.

Part of that is simple: Gary’s Castle was never a finished product. It was a living dungeon, reshaped by play, rebuilt after disasters, improvised week after week for the players in his original group. You can’t publish that experience whole cloth. At best, you can give glimpses, fragments, or homages. It will never be the late 1970s in Lake Geneva, WI ever again.

But maybe that’s the true legacy of Castle Greyhawk. Not the maps, or the monsters, or the towers above the Free City, but the idea that the dungeon is never done. It’s always changing, always waiting for the next group of adventurers to descend into its depths. Every version we’ve looked at, official or unofficial, serious or silly, carries a spark of that truth.

Gary himself got closest with Castle Zagyg, and though his death left that project unfinished, what we did get reminds us that the Castle was never about completeness. It was about potential. It was about mystery. It was about a group of players gathered around a table, wondering what lay behind the next door.

So, in a sense, the real Castle Greyhawk has always been with us. It’s in every megadungeon we map, every ruin we stock with monsters, every campaign we launch into the unknown. The Castle is a myth, yes, but it’s a myth that keeps inspiring us to build, to imagine, and to play.

And maybe that’s the best tribute of all.

Links

This is not an exhaustive list, it is the one I used when researching this post. 

• Castle Greyhawk at the Greyhawk Online Wiki
• Castle Greyhawk at Grognardia
• Castle Greyhawk at Swords & Stitchery
• Castle Greyhawk at Zenopus Archives
• Gygax's Yggsburgh (2005) available once again
• Castle Greyhawk at Greyhawk Musings (I especially enjoyed the stuff on the Circle of Eight)
• Castle Greyhawk at Greyhawkery
• Castle Greyhawk Comic
• Greyhawk Grognard, who has forgotten more than I know about Castle Greyhawk
• Posts about Castle Greyhawk
• Posts about the Castle of the Mad Archmage
• Castle of the Mad Archmage 10th Anniversary edition
• Wikipedia
• Castle Greyhawk
• Castle Greyhawk (module)
• El Raja Key
• Gary’s Immersion in Castle El Raja Key: The Four-Way Footsteps, EN World by Rob Kunzt
• Kunzt Bibliography
• El Raja Key Archive
• El Raja Key Archive and the Mapping Styles of Kuntz & Gygax
• Frank Mentzer notes
• Empyrea and  Aquaria, east of Gygax’s World of Greyhawk Setting
• Empyrea at ENWorld
• Empyrea at Dragonsfoot (with the disappointing ending of it all)

 Today is the first day of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Yesterday we all piled into the Honda Odyssey and partook in our family tradition of hitting the apple orchards in the northern part of the state.  We also still have a bunch of tomatoes and hot peppers in the backyard to harvest. It is our modern harvest celebration.  So to celebrate the second of three harvest celebrations, Lughnasadh, Mabon, and Samhain, here is a monster associated with them.

The Ankou

(Spirit of the Harvest Dead, Servant of Death)

Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 1
Move: 12"
Hit Dice: 8+8
% in Lair: 30%
Treasure Type: None
No. of Attacks: 1 (scythe)
Damage/Attack: 2–12 (plus special)
Special Attacks: Wither, death strike, aura of dread
Special Defenses: +1 or better weapon to hit; immune to sleep, charm, and hold spells; turned as spectre
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Average (10)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Size: M (man-sized, gaunt)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Level/XP Value: VIII/2,800 + 12/hp

The Ankou is a dreaded harvest revenant, said to be either the spirit of a cruel farmer cursed to reap souls, or a servant of Death itself. It appears only during the great harvest festivals of Lughnasadh, Mabon, and Samhain. At dusk, it is a fleeting shadow on the fields, but by night, it roams openly: a skeletal figure in ragged peasant garb, a wide-brimmed hat casting a shadow over its skull-like face. Within its eye sockets, cold points of balefire burn.

The Ankou carries a great mowing scythe, which functions as a Sword of Nine Lives Stealing. On a natural roll of 20, the victim must save vs. death magic or perish instantly, their soul cut down like wheat at harvest.

The Ankou fights as a skilled reaper, striking once per round with its enchanted scythe. It can also call upon its powers of decay:

•     Wither Crops & Beasts: Once per night, the Ankou may extend its hand toward a field or herd within 6". Crops blight instantly, and livestock sicken. This ability can affect up to 1 acre per HD of the Ankou. No saving throw is allowed for plants or animals, although magical herds (such as pegasi and unicorns) may save against spells to resist.
  
  
•     Aura of Dread: Any creature within 30' must save vs. spells or suffer a –2 penalty on attack rolls and morale. This is not cumulative with a fear effect but is constant while the Ankou is visible.
  
  
•     Death Strike: On a critical hit (natural 20), see above. The scythe of the Ankou is part of it's existence. If the Ankou is destroyed, the scythe is also destroyed. 

The Ankou may be turned as a spectre, though it will often resist by summoning a cold wind and vanishing into shadow.

The Ankou wanders the fields and barrows of rural lands, sometimes seen by day as a distant silhouette, always acting by night. Peasants leave offerings of bread, cider, or the last sheaf of wheat to appease it. If ignored, it will strike at fields and flocks, leaving ruin in its wake.

Witches sometimes whisper that the Ankou is not a true undead but a manifestation of the dying year itself. Its role is to ensure that the harvest is paid for in blood and that the cycle of death and rebirth continues.

The Ankou cannot be permanently slain by weapons or spells. If destroyed, its form reconstitutes at the next Lughnasadh, unless a Remove Curse or Exorcism is performed at its lair (usually a barrow mound, gallows tree, or abandoned farmhouse).

It is believed there is never more than one Ankou per land, and that each year’s harvest binds a different soul into the role, chosen from the cruel or the damned. Some claim that those who die alone at harvest are most likely to become Ankou. The Ankou disappears after Samhain, not to return till next year.

--

Been wanting to do this guy for years. This came out of a conversation that none of the Halloween scarecrows we saw were scary enough. 

Fungi of the Far Realms is many things. First, it is a systemless sourcebook of mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi, and where they might be found, suitable for use in almost any roleplaying game. Second, it is an in-world guide to mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi, and where they might be found, one that could be in almost any fantasy roleplaying game setting. Third, it is an in-world artefact, a tome of mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi, and where they might be found, one that could be in almost any fantasy roleplaying game setting. Fourth, it is it is a systemless sourcebook of mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi, and where they might be found, that could be used as series of fungal prompts for situations and scenarios, that the Game Master can develop for her campaign in almost any fantasy roleplaying game setting. Sixth, it is guide to the mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi of the Far Realms, wherever that may be found in the Game Master’s campaign in almost any fantasy roleplaying game setting. Seventh, it is a guide to fantasy mushrooms, toadstools, and other fungi rather than those of the real world. Eighth, and last, Fungi of the Far Realms is simply a beautiful book.

Fungi of the Far Realms is published by the Melsonian Arts Council, a publisher best known for Troika!, the Science Fantasy roleplaying game of baroque weirdness that lies beyond eldritch portals that open into non-Euclidean labyrinths which lie on the edge of creation under skies filled with innumerable crystal spheres and the golden-sailed barges that travel between them. Although Fungi of the Far Realms could be used with Troika!, it is not designed to be used with it, or indeed any specific roleplaying game. The mechanics in the supplement are there to determine what fungus the Player Characters might have come across and that is it, although an appendix does include a table of random effects that might best a Player Character should he decide to consume any of the entries in the book. Of course, one of the first things that the author makes clear in Fungi of the Far Realms is that it is not a guide to real world mushrooms—and thankfully not, because some are weird—and should definitely, definitely not be read as such. The other advice is that the contents of Fungi of the Far Realms should be used sparingly, so as to reward the Player Characters for exploring an area.

In game, Fungi of the Far Realms is a volume written by E.Q. Wintergarden. In particular, it is a new facsimile edition of the classic work on mycelium with an introduction by A.R. Clements and a new introduction to the second by S. Zhang. A.R. Clements is the ‘Chair of Mycology at the Imperial College of the Brass Spires’ and S. Zhang is the illustrator of the original edition who actually accompanied E.Q. Wintergarden on his research trips. Yet, one Alex Clements is the author of the Fungi of the Far Realms and Shuyi Zhang is the illustrator. So, there is a sense of world within a world, or rather a book within a book within a world with Fungi of the Far Realms.

Of course, the bulk of Fungi of the Far Realms is devoted to over two hundred entries, each a particular fungus. They run from ‘The Adversary’, ‘Agaric Rex’, and ‘Almost Invisible Trumpet’ to ‘The Wrack’, ‘Yellow-Spotted Creeper’, and ‘Zarafetti’s Eyelash Fungus’. Each entry is accorded a single page which includes a full illustration in water colours, a mini-map of the Far Realms where the fungus can be found, and a description of its habitat, appearance, flavour/mouthfeel, and aroma. So, ‘Flibbertygibbets’ can be found on river sidings and in reed beds, and has the appearance of, “Finger-like protuberance reaching upwards. Intensely pink at the base, colouring to deep royal purple at the tips. Covered in tiny hairs giving it a soft, almost velvet texture. ‘I’d rather suck a flibbertigibbet!’ – common peasant oath.” The flavour/mouthfeel is described as “bitter, unpleasant!” and the aroma as “sour lemon”.

There are no suggestions as to how entries might be used, but some entries are more suggestive. For example, the habitat for the ‘Church Black Bracket’ is the high branches of wild plum and has the appearance of, “Black top crust with a fluffy pore-bearing surfaces that drip an oily excretion. Processed into a paint used by religious artists. Hard to work with but produces a fine, glossy black pigment. The heretic sects in the far west make wonderful use of this paint, but as the bracket doesn’t grow in such hot climates, it has become a valuable trade good (if one can bear to trade with such barbarians).” It has the flavour and mouthfeel of being far too oily and the aroma of rotten cherry. This has much more of an immediate use as the prompts are stronger and suggest questions that the Game Master might want to answer.

Thus, the entries vary in how useful they are in terms of storytelling. Some tend towards being mundane, others are more interesting. It should be noted that many entries are of an adult nature. Not necessarily explicit, but definitely requiring an adult readership.

If Fungi of the Far Realms does not detail the effects or uses of its fungi in the induvial entries, the appendices do. The first appendix suggests various potential symptoms for consuming a fungus, such as ‘Cucco Aminata’ that causes a homunculus to grow and bud from the consumer, or ‘Pixie Yeast’, a puddle of which can produce a small loaf of bread each day or a flagon of beer in two weeks. ‘Pixie Yeast’ can be kept aside over and over, so that it can be grown again and again over time to provide more bread and perhaps, beer. The second examines poisons. This provides an overview of potential poisonous effects rather than specific rules since Fungi of the Far Realms is systemless and every roleplaying game has its own rules for poison. Simply, a poisonous fungus should not simply kill the consumer, but suggest symptoms and give time for a Player Character to react and seek help. There is a table of entries for hallucinogenic effects, plus details of some fungal infections and a quick word about fungiculture that it is hard work and probably done by a mycologist. A view of the Far Realms is included inside the front cover with a grided map inside the back cover to help locate the various entries in the book in the region.

Physically, Fungi of the Far Realms is a beautiful looking book. The artwork is excellent.

Fungi of the Far Realms is an attractive book, but not an immediately useful book and it makes clear that not all of its entries are going to be used and that they should be used sparingly. What this means is that Fungi of the Far Realms is a book that is likely to sit on a Game Master’s shelf far longer than other sourcebooks and only be pulled from said shelf when there is a need a fungus, a toadstool, or the like. The fact that it is systemless is both an advantage and a disadvantage. An advantage because it can be used with any roleplaying game and a disadvantage because the Game Master still needs to develop the entries in the book to give them a role in her campaign setting or world, with some entries more interesting in the prompts they provide. Fungi of the Far Realms is a lovely book to have and pretty to peruse, but of limited use and application.

 This one came about in a weird way. 

So my oldest and I have been playing AD&D 1st ed. Forgotten Realms at night when he gets off work. He is a chef and works till midnight. Recently though, we have also dipped our toes into the Fantasy Flight Games/EDGE Star Wars, which caused me to pull out a bunch of my original Star Wars figures.  These have been sitting on my desk for a while. Much to my wife's chagrin.  Anyway that is the background.

I have all these Star Wars figures on my desk along with some of the ReAction figures, including a Sorceress I repainted to look like Larina (I am dedicated to my obsessions). I also have a collection of various witches and the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon characters decorating my desk. We were talking about how much I still prefer d20 Star Wars because of the D&D connections. Liam dislikes it for that reason. He wanted to know if there was a system out there that could do both. So, I told him about Cartoon Action Hour.

I spent some time with Cartoon Action Hour Season 3 a while back and even detailed Zatanna for Super Friends.

We pulled it out and thought about making a silly game with his Mandalorian Bounty hunter (using my Boba Fett from 1979, sent in my Proofs-of-Purchase!), Larina, and my repainted astromech droid KE11-N3R, or "Kenny". Cause why not, anytime we pull out a new game we try something familiar. And there may have been some beers involved. 

It was fun and silly, and we had a great time, really. 

While I was hungover the next Thursday (and Liam was not) I was thinking that this game might make for a good system for the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Cartoon Action hour specifically calls out D&D as a great example of the Saturday Morning Cartoon they loved. So, I started to think about what would work.

A while back, I had talked about the new D&D cartoon minis and how Shelia was missing from set. I said this at the time:

 I did not watch the D&D cartoon much, but I was aware of it. I can't help but wonder if the red-headed girl with a penchant for wearing purple and hoods in 1983-85 didn't somehow influence my red-headed witch with a penchant for purple dresses and black hoods in 1986?  I honestly can't say.

In fact, I didn't even think about it until I scored this D&D Cartoon "kids" book at my local game auction.  It is called "The Witch's Spell Book."

That is the image above. 

The basic plot of this  Choose Your Own Adventure is that you have the Golden Wood by finding Agnes the Witch's Spell Book. The spell causes Tiamat's heads to argue among themselves. For reasons, only Shelia can read the spell. You would think Presto, but no, it is Shelia. Each of these books featured a different character, and they tend to go for a lot of money now on eBay. See the books for Bobby (written by Margaret Weis!), Shelia, Hank, and Eric. No idea if Presto or Diana got one, but someone was Book 2. Glad I got mine a lot cheaper than that. 

Now, not to go out on a limb too far, but does this make Shelia an initiate witch?  It would in my games. She is 13 in the show, the age witches often "hear the Call of the Goddess" in my game worlds. (BTW this is what makes Larina special, she heard the Call at age 6.) There is a witch in this book, Agnes. So I guess it is possible. 

I am not 100% out in left field here. Sheila is called "La ilusionista" (The Illusionist) in the Latin American dubbing of the cartoon. And in at least one of the Spanish intros Presto and Sheila are called, "Los Magos," or "The Wizards." Same for the German dub. In the German dub, Diana is "The Princess of Acrobats."

Why not try to make an adventure of this book? I speculated that Shelia was not going to be part of my War of the Witch Queens, but maybe this could be a side-quest. Anyway, I worked up some details for Cartoon Action Hour. I mean, a spell to get Tiamat's heads to argue with each other? That is some profound cartoon logic. don't know if I'll run it yet, but I have everything I need, really.

Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon, 1986 Season

The Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon did not make it to 1986, which is too bad, really. While I did not watch it a lot when it was on, I did watch it a ton with my kids.  I can imagine a continuation of the series (many have) where we finally get to see Skylla show up. Also, since it is my 1986, my witch would show up as well. Plus, I already did stats for her.

So here is my premise. Sheila, having realized she has a knack for witchcraft due to the events of The Witch's Spell Book, seeks out some answers. She finds two witches, one good and one evil, in Larina and Skylla, but which is which? Great cartoon logic, and a chance for me to use some of the ideas originally planned for Skylla in the Cartoon. Plus the title "Which Witch" kinda writes itself. In a perfect world, it would have been written by Paul Dini.

Here is our star, Sheila the Thief. I am posting the sheets instead of text because these sheets are just to damn fun NOT to post. I gave her Cloak of Invisibility a score of 6 because it is supposed to be an artifact. 

Skylla belongs here. She is a great evil character and always up to no good. Besides, what are heroes without their villains? 

Here is Larina, for her as a GMC I would tone her down a bit to the same level as Skylla.

I fully expect some of my numbers to be off. Please remember, we were drinking while doing this. Well, I am sure Sheila's stats are good.

I also just noticed that the Dungeons & Dragons Cartoon premiered on Sept. 17, 1983. So 42 years ago!

We will have to come back to this game more often.

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

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

—oOo—
What is it?
Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit is the quick-start for Conspiracy X 2.0, the most recent edition of the roleplaying game of hidden alien invasion, conspiracies, and secrets. Conspiracy X 2.0 is very much a roleplaying game inspired by and published in the wake of The X-Files and in the nineties, was a very contemporary roleplaying game. Originally published by New Millennium Entertainment in 1996, it was published by Eden Studios, Inc. from 1997, receiving a second edition in 2006.

It is a thirty-four page, 15.96 MB full black and white PDF.

How long will it take to play?
Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit is designed to be played through in a single session, two at the very most.
What else do you need to play?
The Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit needs a a four-sided, six sided, eight-sided, and ten-sided per player.

Who do you play?
The Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit includes Aegis Cell of six operatives. They consist of a CDC scientist, the cell leader determined not to lose another agent again; an FBI agent recently recruited to Aegis for asking too many questions and who believes he was abducted as a child; an ICE investigator who really found himself investigating an illegal alien; an MKULRA psychic with limited powers; a US Army technician skilled with computers; and a DEA agent with an empathy for dogs.

The Cell has a base of operations in an abandoned building. It includes barracks, a field hospital, gym, communications suite, and medical, electronics, and computer workstations.
How is a Player Character defined?An Agent in the Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit has six attributes—Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Perception, and Willpower. Life Points are the amount of physical damage a character can suffer; Endurance his fatigue; and Essence Pool, his spiritual energy. He will have a variety of Qualities and Drawbacks—advantages and disadvantages, a Profession that is his day job, and various skills. These typically range in value between one and five, but can go higher, though two and three represents general competence.

How do the mechanics work?
Mechanically, Conspiracy X 2.0 uses a ten-sided die to resolve actions, which can be a Test or a Task. For a Task, the player rolls the die and adds a value each for his agent’s appropriate Attribute and Skill. A result of nine or more (this target number can be higher) is a success and higher results can grant better outcomes. For a Test, where there is no skill that applies, the player only adds the value of the Attribute, doubled for a simple Test, but not for a standard Test. Modifiers can be applied to a Test or a Task, ranging from ‘+5’ for easy to ‘-10’ for Near-Impossible.

If a player rolls a natural ten, a bonus six-sided die is rolled and one deducted, the result added to the ten. The player can keep doing this as long as he keeps rolling a six on the bonus die. Similarly, if a natural one is rolled, six-sided die is rolled and the result subtracted from the roll, and this is also open-ended.
An ‘Outcome Table’ in the Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit gives the possible results of outcomes from nine to twenty-four. There are results given for rolls one and lower.
The rules cover vehicles and chases as both feature very heavily in the included scenario.
How does combat work?
Combat in the Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit is kept simple and starts with initiative being determined by the Chronicler—as the Game Master is known—and then narratively. A Player Character can undertake multiple actions, but the latter comes with penalties. Melee attacks can be parried or dodged, and range for missile or gun attacks modifies both the Task difficulty and the damage multiplier. The rules also allow for lighting, recoil on firing heavy weapons, the use of scopes, and actually being under gunfire. This forces a Willpower Test. If an attack is successful, the result on the ‘Outcome Table’ can add a modifier to increase the damage. Body armour has its own Armour Value, which is rolled for when the wearer is attacked, and the result subtracted from the damage rolled.
A Player Character or NPC reduced to five Life Points or less is badly hurt and suffers penalties to all actions. A Consciousness Test is required if the Life Points are reduced to zero or less, and a Survival Test if they are reduced to minus ten or less.
The rules also cover Endurance loss for exertion and Essence loss for mental stress and exhaustion.
How does ESP work?
All Player Characters in the Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit are capable of five basic ESP abilities—‘Hunch’, ‘Intuition’, ‘Ken’, ‘Read Aura’, and ‘Second Sight’. They require a Difficult Willpower Test and if successful, an individual ability cannot be used for a week.
This differs from the full Conspiracy X 2.0 rules where the players have the option to draw Zener Cards as in a real Rhine Test to test psychic ability.
One of the Player Characters in the Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit has the Clairvoyance Psychic power, and unfortunately, it is not clearly explained how this works in the rules given.
What do you play?
The scenario in the Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit is ‘Convoy’.In the wake of the Roswell Incident of 1947, the secret organisation whose brief during World War 2 has been to monitor Nazi occult activities, split over how it would handle the increasing activities of extraterrestrials on Earth. Both claim to want to protect the USA and the world from both alien and paranormal threats. They just differ in how they wanted to achieve this. Aegis works to monitor alien activities and study their physiology, technology, and psychology, whilst developing the means and methods to combat the aliens as a threat. The National Defence Directorate has made treaties with the aliens that has allowed the abduction of human subjects, genetic experimentation, sabotage, and espionage. In return, the National Defence Directorate has received advanced technology from the aliens. Unfortunately, the rivalry between Aegis and the National Defence Directorate has festered and developed to the point where encounters between the conspiracies are often lethal. ‘Convoy’ is one of these encounters.
In ‘Convoy’, the Player Characters’ Cell is activated to protect and transport a recovered alien spacecraft to the Groom Dry Lake Research Facility. Another Aegis Cell has already recovered the spacecraft from a National Defence Directorate team and the Player Characters are directed to meet the other Aegis Cell survivors. This is a challenging scenario. The National Defence Directorate agent assigned to track them down is ruthless and has access to extensive resources to bring to bear on what quickly turns into a manhunt in which the Player Characters may end being identified as wanted criminals. The scenario can start wherever the players have decided their characters’ Cell is based (or it can start anywhere on the continental USA). Expect state police chases, watchful toll booth operators and seemingly innocuous weighing stations, biker gangs paid to do the dirty, and even abductions by the Greys—depending upon how the players and their characters decide to transport the downed spaceship. The players and their characters have free as how they approach the problem, but they will definitely need guile and some luck as well as brute force to get their truck and its cargo to its destination.
Is there anything missing?
Yes. The Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit has everything the Game Master and her players will need to play, except for the full rules for use of the Clairvoyance by the Psychic Player Character. The Game Master will either need to access the full rules for Conspiracy X 2.0 or make up the rules on the spot.
Is it easy to prepare?
Yes. The Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit is easy to prepare, although an example of combat would have helped, as would clearer explanations of the Player Character Psychic’s ability.
Is it worth it?
Yes. Although there are elements missing from the Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit, this is a simple, but tough, action-packed challenge for any group of players and their characters. The bad guys of the National Defence Directorate are desperate to recover their lost alien spaceship and will go to almost length to get it back. The scenario sharply showcases the rivalry between the two agencies in what could be a desperate fight for survival.
The Conspiracy X 2.0 – Introductory Game Kit is published by Eden Studios, Inc. and is available to download here.