Ok, this one is a bit of a cheat, but I enjoy the Google dice roller app.

I can be anywhere and have access to all sorts of dice. It is not as nice as real dice and really only pseudorandom, but it works in a pinch.

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

 I think following up on yesterday's post I have to go with HeroForge as a Great Gamer Gadget. 

Even if you never get a mini from them (and you should get at least one, they are great) their mini designer is one of the better Character design tools out there.

Come to think of it. I don't have a mini of Omar yet!

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

 This one is rather easy. I am completely in love with the miniatures from HeroForge.

These all sit on my desk.

I was an early backer, and backed it again for their color print process. Since then I hove picked up quite a few. What can I say, I love them.

Here is my "mini-me" and my alter ego Johan.

I have a few Larinas. A printed one and few I did on our home printer.

Some to commemorate my best Baldur's Gate 3 run, Sinéad, Karlach and Shadowheart.

The mini standees of Duchess & Candella. I wanted to try it out.

And Willow & Tara. Because of course I did.

Not to mention all the screen shots I have used over the years.

Likely not long before I get an itch and want to make another one.

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

 GM's Screens are tools and I usually don't think about them much.  But there is one that stands out. The AD&D Dungeon Master's Screen.

There are couple of good reasons for this.

First the screen was on very heavy cardstock so it was durable and stood well on it's onw. There were some very, very flimsy ones that came out in the 90s and even into the 2000s that really were not very good.

The second was it collected a lot of must have information in one place. AD&D 1st Edition is notoriously bad for how it organizes information. You can see this if you step away from the game for any length of time, but come on, we knew it back then too.  The DM's Screen puts most of the most needed information in one place.

There are also a lot of nostalgia reasons too.

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

Lucy continues in her diary.

25 August.—Another bad night. Mother did not seem to take to my proposal. She seems not too well herself, and doubtless she fears to worry me. I tried to keep awake, and succeeded for a while; but when the clock struck twelve it waked me from a doze, so I must have been falling asleep. There was a sort of scratching or flapping at the window, but I did not mind it, and as I remember no more, I suppose I must then have fallen asleep. More bad dreams. I wish I could remember them. This morning I am horribly weak. My face is ghastly pale, and my throat pains me. It must be something wrong with my lungs, for I don’t seem ever to get air enough. I shall try to cheer up when Arthur comes, or else I know he will be miserable to see me so.

Notes: Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Lucy's mother is not doing well.

The symptoms Lucy is describing here are very accurate for someone with significant blood loss. 

 I have eBay alerts out for various dice sets, but mostly I am looking for original Dragon Dice. You know, like the kind that use to cost about $4 or so at Waldenbooks?

Here is mine, kept in the package. 

The markup on them now is about x100 what they were in the 1980s.

Thankfully I also found some new ones from Threshold Diceworks. They are new, resin cast dice, but they look very much like the old ones for a fraction of the markup.

These retro dice were made by Threshold Diceworks. Which you can find on Facebook and their Etsy store. He was taking pre-orders a while back and mine finally came in yesterday and I am very pleased with them!

They compare very favorably to the sets I had with my Expert set, the Dragon Dice polyhedrals, and the sets that came with the Mentzer Basic boxes.

Yes. Those are my Mentzer dice still in a bag and unopened and unmarked.

Now I just need to score an Orange d8.

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

Mina writes to Lucy to give her an update on Jonathan.

Letter, Mina Harker to Lucy Westenra.

“Buda-Pesth, 24 August.

“My dearest Lucy,—

“I know you will be anxious to hear all that has happened since we parted at the railway station at Whitby. Well, my dear, I got to Hull all right, and caught the boat to Hamburg, and then the train on here. I feel that I can hardly recall anything of the journey, except that I knew I was coming to Jonathan, and, that as I should have to do some nursing, I had better get all the sleep I could.... I found my dear one, oh, so thin and pale and weak-looking. All the resolution has gone out of his dear eyes, and that quiet dignity which I told you was in his face has vanished. He is only a wreck of himself, and he does not remember anything that has happened to him for a long time past. At least, he wants me to believe so, and I shall never ask. He has had some terrible shock, and I fear it might tax his poor brain if he were to try to recall it. Sister Agatha, who is a good creature and a born nurse, tells me that he raved of dreadful things whilst he was off his head. I wanted her to tell me what they were; but she would only cross herself, and say she would never tell; that the ravings of the sick were the secrets of God, and that if a nurse through her vocation should hear them, she should respect her trust. She is a sweet, good soul, and the next day, when she saw I was troubled, she opened up the subject again, and after saying that she could never mention what my poor dear raved about, added: ‘I can tell you this much, my dear: that it was not about anything which he has done wrong himself; and you, as his wife to be, have no cause to be concerned. He has not forgotten you or what he owes to you. His fear was of great and terrible things, which no mortal can treat of.’ I do believe the dear soul thought I might be jealous lest my poor dear should have fallen in love with any other girl. The idea of my being jealous about Jonathan! And yet, my dear, let me whisper, I felt a thrill of joy through me when I knew that no other woman was a cause of trouble. I am now sitting by his bedside, where I can see his face while he sleeps. He is waking!...

“When he woke he asked me for his coat, as he wanted to get something from the pocket; I asked Sister Agatha, and she brought all his things. I saw that amongst them was his note-book, and was going to ask him to let me look at it—for I knew then that I might find some clue to his trouble—but I suppose he must have seen my wish in my eyes, for he sent me over to the window, saying he wanted to be quite alone for a moment. Then he called me back, and when I came he had his hand over the note-book, and he said to me very solemnly:—

“‘Wilhelmina’—I knew then that he was in deadly earnest, for he has never called me by that name since he asked me to marry him—‘you know, dear, my ideas of the trust between husband and wife: there should be no secret, no concealment. I have had a great shock, and when I try to think of what it is I feel my head spin round, and I do not know if it was all real or the dreaming of a madman. You know I have had brain fever, and that is to be mad. The secret is here, and I do not want to know it. I want to take up my life here, with our marriage.’ For, my dear, we had decided to be married as soon as the formalities are complete. ‘Are you willing, Wilhelmina, to share my ignorance? Here is the book. Take it and keep it, read it if you will, but never let me know; unless, indeed, some solemn duty should come upon me to go back to the bitter hours, asleep or awake, sane or mad, recorded here.’ He fell back exhausted, and I put the book under his pillow, and kissed him. I have asked Sister Agatha to beg the Superior to let our wedding be this afternoon, and am waiting her reply....

 

“She has come and told me that the chaplain of the English mission church has been sent for. We are to be married in an hour, or as soon after as Jonathan awakes....

 

“Lucy, the time has come and gone. I feel very solemn, but very, very happy. Jonathan woke a little after the hour, and all was ready, and he sat up in bed, propped up with pillows. He answered his ‘I will’ firmly and strongly. I could hardly speak; my heart was so full that even those words seemed to choke me. The dear sisters were so kind. Please God, I shall never, never forget them, nor the grave and sweet responsibilities I have taken upon me. I must tell you of my wedding present. When the chaplain and the sisters had left me alone with my husband—oh, Lucy, it is the first time I have written the words ‘my husband’—left me alone with my husband, I took the book from under his pillow, and wrapped it up in white paper, and tied it with a little bit of pale blue ribbon which was round my neck, and sealed it over the knot with sealing-wax, and for my seal I used my wedding ring. Then I kissed it and showed it to my husband, and told him that I would keep it so, and then it would be an outward and visible sign for us all our lives that we trusted each other; that I would never open it unless it were for his own dear sake or for the sake of some stern duty. Then he took my hand in his, and oh, Lucy, it was the first time he took his wife’s hand, and said that it was the dearest thing in all the wide world, and that he would go through all the past again to win it, if need be. The poor dear meant to have said a part of the past, but he cannot think of time yet, and I shall not wonder if at first he mixes up not only the month, but the year.

“Well, my dear, what could I say? I could only tell him that I was the happiest woman in all the wide world, and that I had nothing to give him except myself, my life, and my trust, and that with these went my love and duty for all the days of my life. And, my dear, when he kissed me, and drew me to him with his poor weak hands, it was like a very solemn pledge between us....

“Lucy dear, do you know why I tell you all this? It is not only because it is all sweet to me, but because you have been, and are, very dear to me. It was my privilege to be your friend and guide when you came from the schoolroom to prepare for the world of life. I want you to see now, and with the eyes of a very happy wife, whither duty has led me; so that in your own married life you too may be all happy as I am. My dear, please Almighty God, your life may be all it promises: a long day of sunshine, with no harsh wind, no forgetting duty, no distrust. I must not wish you no pain, for that can never be; but I do hope you will be always as happy as I am now. Good-bye, my dear. I shall post this at once, and, perhaps, write you very soon again. I must stop, for Jonathan is waking—I must attend to my husband!

“Your ever-loving
“Mina Harker.”

Letter, Lucy Westenra to Mina Harker.

“Whitby, 30 August.*

“My dearest Mina,—

“Oceans of love and millions of kisses, and may you soon be in your own home with your husband. I wish you could be coming home soon enough to stay with us here. The strong air would soon restore Jonathan; it has quite restored me. I have an appetite like a cormorant, am full of life, and sleep well. You will be glad to know that I have quite given up walking in my sleep. I think I have not stirred out of my bed for a week, that is when I once got into it at night. Arthur says I am getting fat. By the way, I forgot to tell you that Arthur is here. We have such walks and drives, and rides, and rowing, and tennis, and fishing together; and I love him more than ever. He tells me that he loves me more, but I doubt that, for at first he told me that he couldn’t love me more than he did then. But this is nonsense. There he is, calling to me. So no more just at present from your loving

“Lucy.

“P. S.—Mother sends her love. She seems better, poor dear.

“P. P. S.—We are to be married on 28 September.”

Lucy Westenra’s Diary

Hillingham, 24 August.—I must imitate Mina, and keep writing things down. Then we can have long talks when we do meet. I wonder when it will be. I wish she were with me again, for I feel so unhappy. Last night I seemed to be dreaming again just as I was at Whitby. Perhaps it is the change of air, or getting home again. It is all dark and horrid to me, for I can remember nothing; but I am full of vague fear, and I feel so weak and worn out. When Arthur came to lunch he looked quite grieved when he saw me, and I hadn’t the spirit to try to be cheerful. I wonder if I could sleep in mother’s room to-night. I shall make an excuse and try.

Notes: Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Mina is now Mina Harker. She married Jonathan right away in the hospital in Buda-Pesth (Budapest). The wedding was Catholic, though Jonathan and Mina were most likely to have been Anglican. In fact we have seen evidence, especially in the beginning of this tale, that he was not Catholic. 

While we have details about their wedding, the wedding night goes without much of a mention. I can see why people want to paint Mina as the love of Dracula; they certainly have more going on than Mina and Jonathan.

* Lucy's letter to Mina is misdated. We know from future interactions that Lucy will be in very bad shape on August 30. Her return to sleep-walking, like Renfield's strange behavior, is due to Dracula returning from London.

Lucy's diary entry seems to be correct.  Plus it seems obvious that after hearing the good news from her friend Lucy would seek to emulate her more.

Both Lucy and her mother are not doing well. Lucy's mother, also a victim of Dracula I speculate, is doing much worse, but both women are of a fraily constitution.  We will see which one fares for the worse.

Hillingham does not exist on any street map of the time, nor of the present day.

On the tail of Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showcased how another DM and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will be compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry and the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game from Goodman Games.
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 3 is another fine looking issue of the fanzine published by Blind Visionary Publications. As with the previous issues, it continues to provide long-term support rather than immediate support for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. This is not say that none of its content is not of use or even useless, for that is very much not the case, but rather that it requires a bit of effort upon the part of Judge to work it into her campaign. In fact, all of content is detailed, interesting, and worth reading. Published in August, 2021, following a successful Kickstarter campaign, where the previous issue, Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 1 strayed into the territory of the Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic, both Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 2 and Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 3 have stuck to a very similar format and remained in the territory of Dungeon Crawl Classics.
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 3 opens with ‘Dor Nyvs’. This is a new Patron, one that is of the five Archomentals of the plane of earth and as much an individual entity as part of the landscape. It is described as being a surprisingly active patron rather than simply accepting the sacrifices and devotion of its worshippers. Its Invoke Patron spells include effects such as ‘Buoyant Pumice’ which reduces the target’s mass, doubling the encumbrance capacity, and if actually unencumbered, quintupling his jumping distance, ‘Tectonic Folding’, which causes the earth and stone to fold around the targets, inflicting damage and potentially entrapping them, and with ‘Timeless Stone’ turning the target into stone for a number of decades equal to the spellburn spent. Dor Nyvs actually allows its worshippers to choose a lesser effect than the one rolled, whilst its patron taint first pummels the spellcaster and anyone nearby with hot pumice and then subsequently forces the caster to take on aspects of the elemental plane of earth. Its spellburn causes a caster to cough up pebble and silt, weep crystal shards, and so on, whilst its spells consist of Find Familiar, Life and Death of Stone, Summon Minion of Dor Nyvs, and Earth’s Cradle. Of these, Life and Death of Stone enables the caster to feel the pain of stone—living or dead, and even heal it; Summon Minion of Dor Nyvs summons an earth-related minion or two; and Earth’s Cradle enables to sink into the earth, move through it, and listen to his surroundings. Overall, nicely thematic, although the idea of its being an active patron is not explored beyond its mention.
‘Cullpepper’s Herbal’ continues the regular feature begun in Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 1. Here there is a guide to creating concoctions and herbal restoratives, which includes descriptions, flowering times, astrology, shoots, and more. This time the entries are all fungi: Death’s Head Agaric, and Red Agaric, all illustrated and all very nicely detailed. In all cases, the individual parts of the mushroom are broken done and their use explained, such as the cap of the Red Agaric being poisonous unless boiled twice, and then very tasty in a stew, the stalk being useful as a thickener in stew, as a glue, and can be boiled down to make a covering for footwear that is waterproof, and the gills, if dried, work as an emetic, but good for flushing parasites out of the bowels! Not all of this information is necessarily going to be useful, but it great detail for a herbalist Player Character or NPC.
‘Rites & Rituals Part III’ continues the expanded use of magic and rituals in Dungeon Crawl Classics, begun in Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 1. Rituals are more powerful than normal spells, and their inherent power, unlinked to any god or deity, means that anyone can cast them. What this leads to is the creation of standardised rituals to achieve the same objective, but which are different from one cult or organisation to another. ‘Rites & Rituals Part I’ in Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 1 explained how they work, whilst cleric-related rituals were detailed in Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 2. ‘Rites & Rituals Part III’ suggests ways in which they can used to enhance game play and add roleplaying scenes and adds two more sample rituals. These are Homunculi Servant and Sky Citadel, extending the range available.

The monster detailed in Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 3 is the ‘Tentacular’. This is a weird combination of feline and tentacular monstrosity, essentially cat plus the Eye Tyrant of Greyhawk Supplement IV. It has the head and body of a cat, but instead of legs and tails, it has tentacles. It also has a beak through which it draws the souls of its victims and food. An Adult Tentacular has different powers in each of its eyes, such as being able to spot arcane spellcasters with one eye because they radiate a red aura, shoot blasts of corruption, or fires a beam of energy that rends armour in two! The Tentacular preys on wizards in particular, even needing to feed on their souls to undergo the change into a juvenile and into an adult. It is a fanatically, horrifyingly detailed write-up of a weird and wondrous creature, but the lengthy article does not suggest any ideas as to how the creature might be used in a game.
The companion piece to ‘Tentacular’ is ‘Tentacular kin – Fuzzies, Steelies, and Beakies’, inspired by an image which originally appeared in The Dungeoneer, Vol. 1, No. 2., accompanying the article, ‘Fuzzies & Steelies’ by Jennell Jacquays. If the Tentacular is the fanzine’s answer to the Beholder of Dungeons & Dragons fame, then as Fuzzies and Steelies were described as ‘beholderkin’, then it made sense for the Tentacular to have its own. These are the mutated result of a young Tentacular consuming the soul of a corrupted wizard or soul-eater. All three creatures live up to their singular names, the Fuzzie being a ball of stiff fur, the Steelie having a shell of hardened fur, and a Beakie a sharp beak capable of biting through armour and breaking bones! The Fuzzle and Steelie have sting attacks and can wield weapons with their tentacles, whereas the Beakie does not and instead has a sonic attack which can either be sleep-inducing purr or a piercing yowl. These are nice additions, but the article does not develop any of the three creatures beyond this.
In between, ‘You, Too, Can Gongfarm!’ offers a means of an Elf, Dwarf, or Halfling only rolling occupations particular to their races when creating Player Characters for a Character Funnel, the signature game style of Dungeon Crawl Classics in the players roleplay multiple Zero Level characters in the hope that some survive to advance to First Level. It is short and simple. Rounding out the issue is Joel Philips’ ‘Onward Retainer’. This continues the comic strip about the retainer in the fantasy roleplaying games begun in the first issue. It is nicely drawn and is a reasonable enough read, though not as funny as it is trying to be. Lastly, ‘Word Wyrms’ is another two pages of word puzzles. Great if you like word puzzles, otherwise, very much not. Unlike in previous issues, there is no editorial, just a listing of the contents on the back cover.
Physically, Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 3 is well written and the fanzine as a whole, has high production values. The artwork is good throughout, and the front cover again echoes the illustration from the Dungeon Master’s Guide for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition, by Dave Trampier, which is based on the Street of the Knights on the Greek island of Rhodes. This is an illustration that the fanzine will return to again and again for its front covers.
Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 3 picks up where Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 2 left off. It is a very good-looking third issue, but none of the content is immediately useful or applicable to a game and the Judge will need to work it into her campaign. The other issue is the lack of application and the lack of advice on how to use any of the content, all of which would have made the fanzine of more immediate use. Tales from the Smoking Wyrm No. 3 contains good solid material, but it may not make to the table until after the Judge has decide what she wants to do with it.

 Acclaimed Advice. I have had so much over the years it's hard to remember what was advice and what was things I learned on my own.

But I do know one that is pretty recent. Characters should not be perfect from Ginny Di.

She wasn't the first to say it. Not by a long shot. Nor was what she was saying particularly original (which was also her point), but it is solid advice all the same. 

Her advice in a nutshell? Build the character to be fun. For you that might mean optimal builds, or min-maxing. For me it cool magic and a bunch of other things.

Regardless of hearing it in 2024, 2014 or 1984 the advice is still good. 

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

On the tail of Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed another Dungeon Master and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry. Another popular choice of system for fanzines, is Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, such as Crawl! and Crawling Under a Broken Moon. Some of these fanzines provide fantasy support for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, but others explore other genres for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. One such fanzine is Chthonic Crawl.

Chthonic Crawl Issue One: Magic Items is a simple, straightforward affair published by Alignment Unknown Publishing in November, 2022. It clearly and directly presents seventeen magical items for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, and as per the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, these are not dull, run-of-the-mill, magical items, produced en masse as if from some magic item manufactory. These are individual items, intricate, detailed, and more interesting than an ordinary +1 sword or a potion of extra-healing. Which makes them worth questing for and worth discovering, as well as worth the Judge taking the time to equip her NPCs and villains with them. Above all, these magical items are interesting, which is one reason why the play of Dungeon Crawl Classics is different. Lastly, they are all basically compatible with other retroclones, which means that Chthonic Crawl Issue One: Magic Items will be useful for Game Masters running other Dungeons & Dragons-style roleplaying games.

The tone and style is set with the first entry, the Robe of Maggots. This was created by the dread necromancer, Silas Gloom, constructed of thick, writhing maggots to ease the suffering of his wife, who was ill with a wasting disease. It was created to clean her wounds and enhance her healing rate, and as a byproduct enhanced her spellcasting. While worn, the Robe of Maggots grants an Armour Class bonus, prevents infection and increases the healing factor of the wearer, and the maggots and the flesh that they have eaten can be spellburned for a bonus to the wearer’s spellcheck. It is a great opening entry, a magical item that you both want the benefits of wearing or using, but are actually reviled by the item itself. The Judge will definitely want to give this to an NPC or villain because the benefits are good and because it is a really cool-looking, impressive piece of apparel.

The Robe of Maggots is followed by Fenthoril’s Giants Bane, a great club created a giant’s thighbone by an ancient Elven huntress with a hatred of giants, that inflicts both more damage and potentially rotting wounds; The Many-Eyed Shield of El-Rimduand, created by the fiend and failed conqueror, who plucked out his captains’ eyes and bound their spirits into the shield, and when someone rolls a one to hit the wielder, one of the eyes opens and triggers a random effect; and The Lopper, a meat cleaver previously wielded by ‘The Butcher’, which urges any current owner to lope off limbs, either the defender’s if the attacker rolls a twenty or the attacker’s if attacker rolls a critical failure! The seventeen not only includes arms and armour, but also a broach that enhances the wearer’s personality and obsession with value; a Dwarven monocle that helps the wearer determine an object’s value, but with a chance of the object being turned into coal and rendered valueless; and The Crucible, a Halfling’s self-heating, cast-iron skillet that can be used as an improvised weapon, can inflict fire damage, and any food cooked on it is purified of rot or poison, but was simply created to cook food without the need for a fire and thus avoiding the possibility of being noticed by wandering monsters.

All seventeen entries follow the same format. This is a two-page spread with description on the lefthand page that includes its lore, traits, and then a plot hook. The traits list its mechanical game effects. Opposite this, on the righthand page is illustration. This makes for a very clear and easy-to-use organisation. The artwork is excellent, the lore nicely detailed, and the traits clearly written. If there is an issue at all with the Chthonic Crawl Issue One: Magic Items, it is that the plot hooks are underwritten and underwhelming in comparison to the other details for each entry. Otherwise, Chthonic Crawl Issue One: Magic Items is a great looking fanzine. In fact, it looks better than any fanzine deserves to be.

Chthonic Crawl Issue One: Magic Items is an excellent collection of magical items that are worth looking at if you are running Dungeon Crawl Classics, or indeed any fantasy roleplaying game. The entries are inventive and engaging and very nicely presented.

Dr. Seward continues to monitor Renfield.

23 August.—“The unexpected always happens.” How well Disraeli knew life. Our bird when he found the cage open would not fly, so all our subtle arrangements were for nought. At any rate, we have proved one thing; that the spells of quietness last a reasonable time. We shall in future be able to ease his bonds for a few hours each day. I have given orders to the night attendant merely to shut him in the padded room, when once he is quiet, until an hour before sunrise. The poor soul’s body will enjoy the relief even if his mind cannot appreciate it. Hark! The unexpected again! I am called; the patient has once more escaped.

 

Later.—Another night adventure. Renfield artfully waited until the attendant was entering the room to inspect. Then he dashed out past him and flew down the passage. I sent word for the attendants to follow. Again he went into the grounds of the deserted house, and we found him in the same place, pressed against the old chapel door. When he saw me he became furious, and had not the attendants seized him in time, he would have tried to kill me. As we were holding him a strange thing happened. He suddenly redoubled his efforts, and then as suddenly grew calm. I looked round instinctively, but could see nothing. Then I caught the patient’s eye and followed it, but could trace nothing as it looked into the moonlit sky except a big bat, which was flapping its silent and ghostly way to the west. Bats usually wheel and flit about, but this one seemed to go straight on, as if it knew where it was bound for or had some intention of its own. The patient grew calmer every instant, and presently said:—

“You needn’t tie me; I shall go quietly!” Without trouble we came back to the house. I feel there is something ominous in his calm, and shall not forget this night....

Notes: Moon Phase: Waning Crescent

There is no evidence of Benjamin Disraeli (or any other Disraeli) ever saying the quote above. It is an English proverb recorded for the first time in the 19th Century; when Dracula was published and Disraeli was PM.

Renfield is obviously a lot smarter than Seward is giving him credit for.  He is also focused on something that Seward doesn't quiet yet see.

On the tail of Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed another Dungeon Master and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry. Another popular choice of system for fanzines, is Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, such as Crawl! and Crawling Under a Broken Moon. Some of these fanzines provide fantasy support for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, but others explore other genres for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. One such fanzine is Skull & Crossbones Classics.

Skull & Crossbones Classics #1: A ’zine of high sea adventure was published in March 2020, by Sanctum Media when it set sail with a pirate crew for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. It is intended to explore and present the Golden Age of Piracy with a range of new Classes, rules, and other piratically-themed content. In the introduction it sets out aims, gives a nod to its inspirations in the form of other pirate-based roleplaying games and supplements, acknowledges the exaggerated West Country accent that forms the basis of most pirate talk, and suggests ways in which a piratical Dungeon Crawl Classics could be run. This can be as historical game, as per the Golden Age of Piracy; add in elements of the supernatural, including a lot of monsters; or simply as an addition to the Judge’s Dungeon Crawl Classics. These are pointers only, and arguably worthy of article subjects in their own right. What is clear from the editorial is the author is a fan of pirates and that shows throughout the rest of the issue.
It opens with ‘Core Rules – Character Basics’, which addresses the basic elements of Dungeon Crawl Classics and the changes needed to fit a pirate roleplaying game. This include Alignment, Armour Class, Cultural Background, Firearms, Gender, Languages, Sexuality, and Skills. Alignment is shifted to become a pirate’s attitude towards the law and piracy, rather an indication of good versus evil. For Armour Class, unarmoured characters have a bonus equal to a Player Character’s Stamina and Agility bonuses, though any armour worn works as normal. ‘Race as Class’, as found in the Dungeon Crawl Classics roleplaying game, does not appear in Skull & Crossbones Classics, and it is suggested that a player work with the Judge to come up with a period background. Firearms are mentioned, but left for another issue to detail. A range of real-world languages is pointed out as that the fact that different genders and sexualities were accepted aboard some ships. Lastly, it introduces ‘Seamanship’, a new skill that every Player Character has and which covers carpentry, astronomy, navigation, ropework, and more, representing everything that the average pirate would know and do.
In terms of specific rules, ‘Star Signs’ replaces the standard Birth Signs of Dungeon Crawl Classics. It gives these for the Western and Chinese zodiacs as well as the Polynesian zodiac. The latter are simplified to associated spirits for ease of play. All three give two modifiers. ‘Weal’ or a bonus if the Player Character’s Luck is positive, ‘Woe’ if it is negative. For example, the ‘Weal’ for Cancer is a bonus to Reflex Saves, but a penalty to Ranged Damage Rolls if negative. If a Player Character has no Luck modifier, he instead gains both at a one-point modifier! These are all fantastic additions, but whilst the Western and Chinese zodiacs made sense, as both cultures had pirates, it is not made clear whether the Polynesian culture did. This is of course, could be offset by an article about the Polynesian involvement in piracy and some ideas in terms of background and culture as well.
The new Character Class in Skull & Crossbones Classics #1. Inspired by the Biblical character, this is a “Living Bad Luck Charm” who will bring misfortune and woe to himself and any crew he serves with. Alignment determines how the curse befell the Jonah and how he regards it. The Lawful Jonah has committed a transgression, such as killing an albatross or whistly on deck, and knowingly suffers his penance; the Neutral Jonah were cursed through no fault of their own and hopelessly, helplessly bemoan their cruel fate; and the Chaotic Jonah take glee in his misfortune and willingly shares it. The Jonah can replace his Agility or Stamina modifier with his Luck modifier for Armour Class; has worse luck with firearms; with ‘Re-Align the Stars’ can attempt to use another Player Character’s Luck, though if this fails, both the Jonah and the Player Character suffer the consequences; and can spend Luck to reduce the effectiveness of the rolls of others—including negating critical successes and causing ‘natural’ fumbles! Luck spent is recovered daily.
The Jonah is an inventive Class, reworking the Luck mechanics of Dungeon Crawl Classics to primarily target others, both other Player Characters and NPCs. However, it is not an easy Class to play in terms of the setting, since any known Jonah would be thrown off a vessel to avoid both her and her crew from suffering the effects of the Jonah’s bad luck. So, what a player roleplaying a Jonah has to do is roleplay the Class, but keep it hidden what he is, whilst at the same time, the other players have to roleplay not knowing what he is, although mechanically, they are very likely to have a very good idea.
The Luck-theme continues with ‘The Devil’s Own Luck’. This is Luck extra to that which every Player Character has. It is also gained for rolling a fumble or suffering a critical hit in combat, violating the Seven Deadly Sins or the Ten Commandments, succeeding in a reckless action when failure would mean certain death, and so on, but being kind-hearted or pious or entering holy ground for reasons other than pillage, will lose a Player Character his own ‘Devil’s Own Luck’. However, rolling a critical hit will lose everyone their own ‘Devil’s Own Luck’. Whilst a Player Character has ‘The Devil’s Own Luck’, it can be spent as normal Luck, but also on other the Player Characters, and to turn rolls of above twenty into a natural twenty and rolls below one into a natural one. ‘The Devil’s Own Luck’ can also be wagered against a Player Character’s Luck to gain more of the former.
‘Sailing Superstitions’ covers everything from always stepping onto a ship with the right foot rather the left and the weather and whistling, whilst ‘Ill-Fortune’ explores what happens when a Player Character’s Luck runs out, he blasphemes, suffers or causes bad luck, or is cursed. Mechanically, this is to roll on the accompanying table. The results might be as simple as the Player Character dropping whatever is in his hand or the ship’s cook getting angry with him and flinging a cleaver at him, cutting his ear off. Alternatively, the rest of the crew might follow the Player Character into a failed mutiny or the Player Character’s presence attracts man-eating sharks! These require a bit of a set-up and so it is suggested that the exact result not be revealed until the right moment.
In a change from the Luck-theme, ‘Sea Beggar’s Bestiary’ details four aquatic creatures—the Barracuda, the Sea Devil, the Sea Serpent, and the Tiger Shark. These are solid write-ups, the Sea Serpent large to swallow a sailor whole and ram a ship. Rounding out Skull & Crossbones Classics #1 is its own ‘Appendix S’, a solid list of fiction to inspire the potential Judge wanting to run a pirate-themed Dungeon Crawl Classics game.
Physically, Skull & Crossbones Classics #1 is serviceably presented. It is decently written and illustrated with publicly available artwork.
The biggest issue with Skull & Crossbones Classics #1 is that it is the only issue to date and it leaves things such as the promised ‘Maritime Deeds’, ‘Naval Combat’, and ‘Ships, Ships, and More Ships’ articles left for an as yet unpublished issue. These are not the only things left unaddressed by just the one issue, such as how the other Classes work in a ‘Skull & Crossbones Classics’ setting, new magic spells and items, and background information about Chinese and Polynesian pirates only hinted at in the ‘Star Signs’ article. If not Skull & Crossbones Classics #2, then at least a Skull & Crossbones Classics supplement could address those issues—and more. That though, is an ideal outcome, one that might never come to pass. Which would be a pity. In the meantime, Skull & Crossbones Classics #1 is a good start, if very Luck-focused, introducing the possibility of pirates to Dungeon Crawl Classics. Until Skull & Crossbones Classics #2 does appear, there nothing to stop a Judge taking its content and developing it further and adding to it for her own campaign.

There are so many choices again here as well. Hard to narrow it down really.

So I am going to with "Amazing Anecdote" instead.

A couple years back we were all at Gen Con waiting to get into the Dealer room. I had been commenting to my wife and kids that the crowd seemed younger, and far more diverse than in previous years. We also noted more families.

As we were walking by two young women, likely in their late teens or early twenties, were going the other direction. One was telling the other, "I love it here, this is one of the few places I can really feel like I am being myself."

I can completely relate!

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

On the tail of Old School Renaissance has come another movement—the rise of the fanzine. Although the fanzine—a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon, got its start in Science Fiction fandom, in the gaming hobby it first started with Chess and Diplomacy fanzines before finding fertile ground in the roleplaying hobby in the 1970s. Here these amateurish publications allowed the hobby a public space for two things. First, they were somewhere that the hobby could voice opinions and ideas that lay outside those of a game’s publisher. Second, in the Golden Age of roleplaying when the Dungeon Masters were expected to create their own settings and adventures, they also provided a rough and ready source of support for the game of your choice. Many also served as vehicles for the fanzine editor’s house campaign and thus they showed another Dungeon Master and group played said game. This would often change over time if a fanzine accepted submissions. Initially, fanzines were primarily dedicated to the big three RPGs of the 1970s—Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest, and Traveller—but fanzines have appeared dedicated to other RPGs since, some of which helped keep a game popular in the face of no official support.

Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry. Another popular choice of system for fanzines, is Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, such as Crawl! and Crawling Under a Broken Moon. Some of these fanzines provide fantasy support for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, but others explore other genres for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. One such fanzine is the aforementioned Crawling Under A Broken Moon.

Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 6 was published in in December, 2014 by Shield of Faith Studios. It continued the detailing of post-apocalyptic setting of Umerica and Urth which had begun in Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 1, and would be continued in Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 2, which added further Classes, monsters, and weapons, Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 3, which provided the means to create Player Characters and gave them a Character Funnel to play, Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 4, which detailed several Patrons for the setting, and Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 5, which explored one of the inspirations for the setting and fanzine, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. The setting has, of course, gone on to be presented in more detail in The Umerican Survival Guide – Core Setting Guide, now distributed by Goodman Games. The setting itself is a world brought about after a rogue object from deep space passed between the Earth and the Moon and ripped apart time and space, leaving behind a planet which would recover and it inhabitants ruled by savagery, cruel sorcery, and twisted science.

If Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 5 drew heavily from one of the inspirations for the setting and fanzine, then Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 6 draws just as heavily, if not more so, from another. This is the Mad Max series of post-apocalyptic films, which popularised the notions of vehicular combat between radically customised vehicles across the post-apocalyptic landscape. It begins by introducing a new Character Class, ‘The Petrol Head’, a car-crazy scrapper with a supernatural bond with his vehicle. Tending towards the Chaotic Alignment, the Petrol Head has an Ace Die that can be used when rolling for vehicle control or stunt rolls, vehicle appraisals and repairs, and collision damage inflicted on other vehicles. The Class also has a Mojo Die, rolled whenever Luck is expended to determine how many points are available and recovers spent Luck by spending time behind the wheel of his vehicle. The ‘Fuel Hound’ ability means that he can sniff out nearby sources of fuel and he begins play with a buggy or small car, but can of course, steal, salvage, or even build bigger. The Class is simple and easily slots into the rules provided for vehicles and vehicular combat presented in the rest of the issue.
The rest of the rules continue with ‘Mayhem Behind the Wheel’ which details the basic effects of speed. The latter is given a level between one and ten, equating between ten and one-hundred-and-fifty miles an hour, giving each level a Handling Modifier for vehicle control rolls, a Wipeout Die rolled when a vehicle control roll is failed, and a Ram/Collision Damage Bonus, as well as a rough figure for movement, both per hour and Round. A vehicle control roll is made for various actions and manoeuvres, such as making a sharp turn, a bootlegger turn, drifting, avoiding hazards, and jumping gaps of various sizes, which can be modified by driving at night, with flat tires, accelerating too fast, and so on. If the vehicle control roll is failed, a roll has be made on the ‘Wipeout Result’ table. This can result in a skid or spin, minor, full, or multiple rolls, and worse! ‘Vehicular Manslaughter’ presents the rules for vehicle-to-vehicle combat, which are kept relatively abstract to prevent play from bogging down in technical details. Thus, range is kept to three bands—‘Close & Personal’, ‘On your Tail’, and ‘In the Distance’, with the latter equating to a variable number of steps between two vehicles. The lead vehicle sets the basic speed of the chase, and then anyone behind decides their own speed, typically to gain enough steps to get within ‘On Your Tail’ and ‘Close & Personal’ ranges. Vehicles that fall twelve or more steps behind loose the chase, but those with ‘On Your Tail’ and ‘Close & Personal’ ranges can make attacks. Drivers and passengers can make ranged attacks against another vehicle and its driver and passengers. This can be with personal weapons or it can be with flamethrowers, grapples and tow hooks, chemical weapons, flamethrowers, and more. It can also include magic! Plus, of course, one vehicle can ram another.
‘Popping the Hood’ covers what happens when car combat is over and a vehicle has come to a stop, and everyone aboard needs assess the damage and how much work is needed to repair it. This is determined by a rolled on the ‘Wreck Damage’ table with a modifier for the amount of damage suffered. ‘Fuel Consumption’ highlights fuel as an important commodity and a factor that a Petrol head will need to keep track of during play. Every vehicle has a Fuel Tank and a Guzzle rating, the latter a penalty to Fuel Use rolls. A Fuel Use roll is made after each hour or travel and after a battle, with modifiers for speed, time, weight, damage, and more.
‘What’s Under the Hood?’ lists numerous vehicles according to Type, Quality, and Traits. Type includes motorcycles, buggies, cars, vans, pickup trucks, and trucks of all sizes, all with their own stats and Traits. The stats look very similar to that for an NPC or monster, although with additions for Fuel Tank and Guzzle ratings, plus various Traits. For example, a Pickup Truck looks like this:Pickup Truck: Init +1; Atk rundown +5 melee (2d8+Ram); AC 16; HD d12;
Speed Level cruise 3/ max 5; Act 1d20; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will NA; Fuel Tank
1d10; Guzzle 4.
Basic Traits: Extra Cargo ×2, Rugged, HaulerTo the basic stats can be added a Quality Level—‘Beater’, ‘Keeper’, or ‘Custom’—and various Traits. A ‘Beater’ Quality Level vehicle just runs, most of the time, a ‘Keeper’ vehicle is relatively reliable, and a ‘Custom’ vehicle is a prized artefact of a bygone age. Each Quality Level modifies the basic stats for a vehicle, starting with its Hit Dice and Wreck Check, and then more and more as the Quality Level improves. The list of Vehicle Traits is extensive. It includes ‘Armoured’, ‘Dangerous’, ‘Fuel Efficient’, ‘Off Road’, ‘Open’, ‘Weapon Mount’, and a lot more. This being a Dungeon Crawl Classics setting, it even includes the ‘Possessed’ Trait, which means that the vehicle is powered by a trapped elemental or minor demon. This provides extra bonuses, but changes the fuel needed from petrol or alcohol to something like raw meat or sweets!
The issue changes tack slightly with ‘The Random Road Gang Generator’, a guide to creating gang threats and NPCs to be encountered in the wastelands. The options determine the appearance of the gang, the weapons it is armed with, what vehicles it has, and its motives, as what special features it might have. The latter can include anything from trained beasts to combat drugs. The trained beasts range from pterodactyls and giant ant workers to pigtipedes and ape-men. There are numerous options here that the Judge can randomly determine, or simply pick from. Also listed here are the setting’s vehicular weapons, oddly out of place. Otherwise, this a really good set of tables and entries, allowing for a lot of variation and individualisation between one road gang and another.
Penultimately, ‘d100 Stuff Found on Apocalyptic Roadways’ is not just a table of random stuff to find, but also a table of encounters too. It is pleasingly useful. Lastly, the entry for the ‘Twisted Menagerie’ is the ‘Petrol Zombie’. Written by R. Dale Bailey, Jr, this is not a new monster, though it is new to Dungeon Crawl Classics. The Petrol Zombie is a mutated undead which stores petrol in its guts, which can then spew in an attack that can cause Petrol Sickness. This can cause cancerous boils that erupt and turn the defender into another Petrol Zombie, or at the very least, difficulty breathing, confusion, and vision loss! This is a nasty monster, but at least if unpunctured, its stomach can be pumped to collect the petrol.
Physically, Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 6 is serviceably presented. It is a little rough around the edges, as is some of the artwork, but overall, it is another decent affair. Of course, the problem with Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 6 is that much of its contents have been represented to a more professional standard in the pages of The Umerican Survival Guide – Core Setting Guide, so it has been superseded and superseded by a cleaner, slicker presentation of the material.
Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 5 was a good issue, full of lots of tongue in cheek post-apocalypse Swords & Sorcery fun, and whilst it may not be Swords & Sorcery, Crawling Under A Broken Moon Fanzine Issue No. 6 continues that fun. It handily adapts its source material and makes vehicles, vehicular combat, and vehicular mayhem very playable using Dungeon Crawl Classics. The familiarity of the source material also means that this is the most accessible of the issues of the fanzine to date.

 I have a lot of characters. Often times, the difference between a PC and an NPC is only "Am I running this game."

One of my favorite NPCs is my unquestionably evil necromancer / warlock Magnus. 

I have had this guy for a few decades now really. He began as a Death Master from Dragon Magazine #76, expanded on him a bit more when Quagmire came out, and he got a big boost in college when he became my big bad for my "Atlantean" campaign. 

I created my Death Pact Warlock to make sure I could use him in my Basic-era games, too. 

One thing I've never done is play Magnus as a PC. However, I'm now experimenting by using the Dread Lord mod for Warlocks in Baldur's Gate 3. He's currently a 2nd level warlock, but I plan to give him some levels in Wizard (Necromancer). I'm playing him as a 'Dark Urge', which is a change from my usual preference for good characters fighting evil. 

Maybe I'll even hire some NPCs and mod them to be Runu and Urnu. I have a witch mod (naturally) for BG3, so that actually might be fun. I'll have to see if I can manage that.

I'll have to keep you all posted. 

--

I am participating in Dave Chapman's #RPGaDAY2024 for August. 

 Letter detailing the delivery of Dracula's boxes of Earth.

Letter, Messrs. Carter, Paterson & Co., London, to Messrs. Billington & Son, Whitby.

“21 August.

“Dear Sirs,—

“We beg to acknowledge £10 received and to return cheque £1 17s. 9d, amount of overplus, as shown in receipted account herewith. Goods are delivered in exact accordance with instructions, and keys left in parcel in main hall, as directed.

“We are, dear Sirs,
“Yours respectfully.
“Pro Carter, Paterson & Co.”

Notes: Moon Phase: Waning Crescent

The biggest question here is, how do we know about this letter? All correspondences are assumed to have been collected by Mina and organized.  But how did she obtain these letters?

Were they discovered by our hunters when they went and searched for clues? I mean I am sure Holmwood could demand to see them, he was a Lord afterall.

In any case they got them and it helped to track down the boxes.

Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of books for Call of Cthulhu under the Miskatonic University Library Association brand. Whether a sourcebook, scenario, anthology, or campaign, each was a showcase for their authors—amateur rather than professional, but fans of Call of Cthulhu nonetheless—to put forward their ideas and share with others. The programme was notable for having launched the writing careers of several authors, but for every Cthulhu Invictus, The Pastores, Primal State, Ripples from Carcosa, and Halloween Horror, there was Five Go Mad in Egypt, Return of the Ripper, Rise of the Dead, Rise of the Dead II: The Raid, and more...

The Miskatonic University Library Association brand is no more, alas, but what we have in its stead is the Miskatonic Repository, based on the same format as the DM’s Guild for Dungeons & Dragons. It is thus, “...a new way for creators to publish and distribute their own original Call of Cthulhu content including scenarios, settings, spells and more…” To support the endeavours of their creators, Chaosium has provided templates and art packs, both free to use, so that the resulting releases can look and feel as professional as possible. To support the efforts of these contributors, Miskatonic Monday is an occasional series of reviews which will in turn examine an item drawn from the depths of the Miskatonic Repository.

—oOo—
Name: The Missing FossilPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Ashiki

Setting: Uvs Nuur, the Mongolian People’s Republic, 1925Product: Scenario
What You Get: Twenty-four page, 32.05 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: The Mongolia that time forgotPlot Hook: The chance to outdo Roy Chapman Andrews and make the find of the centuryPlot Support: Staging advice, six pre-generated Investigators, two handouts, three maps, and three Mythos monsters.Production Values: Adequate
Pros# Rare scenario translated from the Japanese# Not a hunt for the Mongolian Death Worm# Decent pre-generated Investigators# Eremophobia# Scoleciphobia# Batrachophobia
Cons# Needs a good edit# No investigation, no paleontology # Long, messy set-up time# Panama Canal

Conclusion# Needs a better developed set-up or it should cut to the chase—which is what it becomes# A scenario to do up rather than run from the page# Reviews from R’lyeh Discommends

Now in its seventeenth year, Free RPG Day for 2024 took place on Saturday, June 22nd. As per usual, Free RPG Day consisted of an array of new and interesting little releases, which are traditionally tasters for forthcoming games to be released at GenCon the following August, but others are support for existing RPGs or pieces of gaming ephemera or a quick-start. This included dice, miniatures, vouchers, and more. Thanks to the generosity of Waylands Forge in Birmingham, Reviews from R’lyeh was able to get hold of many of the titles released for Free RPG Day.

—oOo—
The Arzium Quickstart Guide is the introduction to the Arzium Roleplaying Game. It is not, though, an introduction to the World of Arzium. That would be the series of board games designed by Ryan Laudkat and published by Red Raven games, including Above and Below, Near and Far, and others. It presents a fantasy world filled with mysteries, magic, and forgotten technology, above and below ground. The Arzium Quickstart Guide is a slim affair, providing a very basic overview of the setting, an explanation of the mechanics, a short adventure, and four pre-generated Player Characters. Arzium is described as a world of strange mechanics and strange magics, some of it scavenged from fallen civilisations, some of its developed by the newly arisen city-states, industrialised with devices powered by bottled demons and rare crystals. The world is also a diverse one, being home to Humans, Hogfolk, Fishfolk, Lizardfolk, Birdforl, and other species, including Robots! Not every region is a hive of magical and industrial development. Out in the Surstrayne Forest stands the village of Above, and underneath it is the village of Below, established to easily mine and harvest the resources to be found in the nearby surrounding underworld. It is here that, ‘Empty Cave Town’, the adventure in the Arzium Quickstart Guide is set.

Mechanically, the Arzium Quickstart Guide and thus the Arzium Roleplaying Game, is a dice and resource management game. A Player Character has six attributes—Strength, Reflexes, Knowledge, Cunning, Perception, and Craft. Each ranges in value between zero and ten, and presents a pool of points that a player can spend to modify dice rolls. A standard difficulty is seven, whilst a hard one is ten. The maximum that a player can spend on a challenge is five. To have his character undertake an action, a player rolls a ten-sided die and attempts to equal or exceed the difficulty. Results less than the difficulty have a failure forward outcome in that the story continues despite the negative outcome. The latter might be an actual failure, but it can also be that the action succeeds and the Player Character or an item of equipment suffers damage, or even that the whole situation changes. In addition, if a six is rolled on the die, then a complication is automatically added to the situation. Resting for at least half a day will restore a Player Character’s spent attribute points.

In combat, the Player Characters typically act first and then the enemy. When a Player Character acts, he moves first and then takes an action. All attacks succeed in hitting and inflict damage as per the die type for the weapon or type of attack. The damage inflicted can be increased by spending points from the associated attribute. Armour reduces the amount of damage suffered. Attacks, abilities, and spells can also temporarily affect Power, a measure of NPC and monster ability to inflict more damage. Each monster and NPC gains one Power at the start of each turn, but because the Player Characters act first, they directly affect the monster and NPC capacity to inflict more damage. The rules also allow for gambits, inventive actions which can change the environment or affect monsters and NPCs, but without inflicting damage.

Casting spells requires the expenditure of Attribute points, but not a dice roll. However, a dice roll is required to take account of magic being whimsical and occasionally dangerous. When a spell is cast, the Game Master rolls a ten-sided die and if a one or two is rolled, she also rolls on the ‘Whimsical Magic’ table. This might result in the caster smelling like rotting garbage for a day or temporarily grants a nearby object life as it grows limbs and runs around in a chaotic manner.

Other rules for the Arzium Quickstart Guide and the Arzium Roleplaying Game can be found on the character sheet. For example, it uses an inventory system of boxes for gear and offers Memory Knots as a means to maximise a die roll. This requires the player to explain why a particular memory will help his character in the current situation. The Arzium Quickstart Guide includes four pre-generated Player Characters. They include an Ancient Robot Soldier, a Toadfolk Cook with a grasping tongue, a Human Machinist equipped with a firework rocket and a piercing rifle, and a Human Mystic.

The scenario in the Arzium Quickstart Guide is ‘Empty Cave Town’. The citizens of Above have established a second settlement in the underworld called Below next a lake of crystal-eyed fish and emerald waterfalls. Unfortunately, all townsfolk of Below have disappeared and the town is inexplicably empty. A note left by the Mayor of Below points to the nearby Chamber of Screaming Walls. There are a couple of encounters on the way there, but once at the Chamber of Screaming Walls, the Player Characters find the missing townsfolk, held silent. The Player Characters will need to fight their captor to save them.

‘Empty Cave Town’ is short. Playable in an hour—or two at the most. Yet, the whole of the Arzium Quickstart Guide is short. Consequently, it feels underwritten and slightly underexplained, particularly when it comes to NPCs and combat, but the mechanics are simple enough that they can be understood. The scenario though is underwhelming and does not give the players and characters much to do beyond face a series of combat challenges. It would have been nice if the suggested connections between the Player Characters and the town of Below—that one of them wants to be mayor, one of them has bought the town’s tavern and does not want to lose any customers, that one of them is owed money by one of the missing townsfolk, and more, could not have been made more of and written into the scenario instead of leaving the Game Master to do it.

Physically, the Arzium Quickstart Guide is decently put together. The cartography and artwork are good, and it is all clean and tidy. Yet as nice as it looks, the Arzium Quickstart Guide does not successfully bring the world of Arzium to life and make it a setting that you want to visit in play. There is not enough of the setting and the scenario is cursory and short and not enough to really sell the reader on the Arzium Quickstart Guide. At first sight, the Arzium Quickstart Guide appeared to be one of the most interesting things about Free RPG Day. Instead, it is the most disappointing.

It is two centuries since Survival Day, the day that marked the end of the war against the Builder. Many sacrificed themselves to deliver the EMP devices and nuclear bombs that free humanity from the influence of the A.I. and cause its mecha that had so terrorised mankind to fall asleep. The war with the Builder was not the first apocalyptic event that had been faced by mankind on the world of Evera Prime. Centuries before, the Gateway that enabled relatively fast travel between the Earth and Evera Prime, isolating the attractive and highly colonised world from outside contact and forcing its population to adapt and survive on its own. Although it came close to world war, the people of Evera Prime survived and adapted, instituting Project Builder, a programme to develop resource and power control that was so successful that it would usher in a golden age of post-scarcity and rapid scientific advancement. The people of Evera Prime survived and then thrived, hoping one day that a way would be found to make contact with the Earth again. Then the Builder and its connected systems began to glitch. It stopped anticipating the needs of the people of Evera Prime, and worse, when scientist tried to fix the problem, it turned on them, unleashing its Mech servants and its armoury in a conflagration in which cities would be destroyed, the landscape pockmarked with craters, populations atomised, and Una Avenito, the larger of the planet’s two continents, left a wasteland. Most survivors live today on the other continent, Nedresita.
Yet in the two centuries since the Builder War, just as their ancestors did, the survivors also learned to adapt and survive before going on to establish, protect, and develop communities. Many are formed from particular factions, but no faction on Evera Prime stands against another and nor is there division based on faith or other difference. Everans are the most widespread, forming the basis for many communities, whilst Archivists both protect and seek out knowledge of the old world, Spears protect communities and peoples wielding their signature Electrospears each with a lineage inherited from their previous users, Dreamers prefer to avoid the old technology if they can, and Rivers travel up and down the remaining waterways of Evera Prime providing trade and transport. Yet all fear the possibility that the Wakers, the mechs built to serve the Builder that are littering the landscape and have been silent and immobile since the Builder War will awaken to fulfil their last deadly order and the possibility of the Thralls, humans wrapped in loops of wire and marked with ash and paint, boiling up out of the ground to aggressively raid and steal food and technology from the communities. This is the setting for Dreams and Machines, a post-apocalyptic roleplaying game in which the tone is positive and optimistic, emphasising the strength of community and wanting to build a better future.

Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide introduces the setting, it mechanics, and the means of character creation. Further background details, as well as an adventure and advice on running the game are provided in Dreams and Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide. Published by Modiphius Entertainment, it is a 2d20 System roleplaying game which uses a lighter version of the game. Right from the start, this combination of a familiar genre, yet hopeful version of that genre together with light, but engaging mechanics makes for a winning game. The Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide starts with a good overview of the setting, one that does not overwhelm the reader with too much detail, but gives more than enough for a player to make choices about the options he wants to choose when creating a character. It also highlights the differences between the world before the Builder World and after. Then it explains the mechanics.

As with other versions of the 2d20 System, such as Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 or Dune – Adventures in the Imperium, in Dreams And Machines, to have a character undertake an action, a player rolls two twenty-sided dice, aiming to have both roll under the total of an Attribute and a Skill. Each roll under this total counts as a success, an average task requiring two successes, the aim being to generate a number of successes equal to, or greater, than the Difficulty value. Rolls under the value of the Skill also count as two successes. A roll of twenty adds a complication to the situation. Dealing with higher Tech levels increases the Difficulty value and adds Threat. Successes generated beyond the Difficulty value generate Momentum.

Momentum is a shared resource. It can be used to gain a ‘Second Wind’ and increase a Player Character’s Spirit, ‘Create Truth’, ‘Ask a Question’ of the Game Master, increase ‘Damage’ against a target, ‘Reduce Time’ for an action, and gain a second action with ‘Follow-Up’. The players as a group have a maximum Momentum of six. If a Player Character has access to no Momentum, he can instead give the Game Master Threat. In addition to access to Momentum, a Player Character has his own resource to fall back on. This is Spirit, his inner reserves of concentration and stamina. It can be spent to add an extra twenty-sided die to a test or to re-roll one. It can also be spent to avoid an injury. It can be recovered by resting, spending Momentum (as per ‘Second Wind’), gaining an ‘Adrenalin Rush’ in return for increasing the Game Master’s pool of Threat, and through a Player Character’s Bonds. If a Player Character loses all of his Spirit, he becomes exhausted, which means he can be weary, breathless, confused, and so on. This will mean he will automatically fail tests related to the type of exhaustion and suffer a penalty on all others, until he rests.

Whilst the players have access to Momentum, the Game Master has Threat. This is gained from the aforementioned ‘Adrenaline Rush’, from a player rolling Complications on the skill test, and even from ‘Escalation’ triggered by an action or decision taken by a player for his character. (In the case of the latter the Game Master may warn the player of the consequences.) Threat can also be added due to ‘Threatening Circumstances’ and ‘NPC Momentum’, whilst can be spent like Momentum, but for NPCs, as well as to buy off Complications rolled for NPCs, to create negative Truths about a situation or location, to bring in ‘Reinforcements’, and more.

Aspects of the setting in terms of locations and situations, as well as Player Characters and NPCs, can be defined as Truths. These are significant facts about each, often the most obvious. They can be a location Truth, a situation Truth, a personal Truth, or an equipment Truth, and whilst they are descriptive, they also grant permissions. This can be to make an action easier or more difficult, or even actually possible or impossible. Even if a Truth makes an action impossible, this is not set in stone, and the nature of a Truth might change to make the action possible. Truths in play can be handled informally, but the other option is to bring them to the fore and place them in front of the players from one scene to the next. This allows both players and Game Master to understand the key aspects of a scene, allows each to focus on them and bring them into play, and build more of the game’s play around them much like a more narrative storytelling game.

A Player Character in Dreams And Machines is defined by his attributes, skills, Tech Level, Talents, Spirit, Supply Points, and more. The four attributes are Might, Quickness, Insight, and Resolve. They range in value between six and sixteen. The seven skills are Move, Fight, Sneak, Talk, Operate, Study, and Survive. These are all quite broad, and range in value between one and six. A Player Character’s Tech Level is a measure of their familiarity with science and technology, whilst Talents are special abilities and Bonds are a Player Character’s connections to his fellow adventurers. Either through support or rivalries with his Bonds, a Player Character can gain Spirit. Supply Points represent salvage and parts that the Player Character can use to make temporary, but useful items. Lastly, every Player Character has two Truths. To create a character a player selects an Origin, an Archetype, and a Temperament. The Origins consist of Everan, Dreamer, Archivist, River, and Spear; the Archetypes of Fixer, Gatherer, Grabber, Tech, Guardian, Mediator, and Tech; and the Temperaments of Circumspect, Conspicuous, Demonstrative, Stubborn, Manipulative, and Maverick. An Origin provides a Truth, starting Attributes, Skills, and Tech Level, as Spirit, Supply Points, and one or more special abilities. An Archetype gives another Truth, bonuses to Attributes and Skills as well as possibly Tech Level and Spirit, plus another Talent, Goals, and equipment. The Temperament adds further bonuses as well a Drive—a means by which the Player Character can regain Spirit, Exhaustion which potentially triggers Threat for the Game Master, and an Attitude which grants scope for the Player Character’s Growth.

To create a character, a player selects an Origin, Archetype, and Temperament. Each of which has several options to choose from. The process is quite straightforward, although there are some ready combinations which work well together, such as Spear and Guardian, Archivist and Tech, Archivist and Grabber, Dreamer and Gatherer, River and Fixer, and so on. In general, the Everan Origin acts as a catchall, tending to work with most Archetypes.

Name: Dunken Gungnir
Origin: Spear Archetype: Guardian Temperament: Circumspect
Truths: Spear, Guardian
ATTRIBUTES
Might 10 Quickness 8 Insight 6 Resolve 8
SKILLS
Move 2 Fight 4 Sneak 4 Talk 1 Operate 1 Study 1 Survive 1
Tech Level 2
Spirit 6
Supply Points 2
Special Abilities: Hunter-GLIFs, Spear’s Blend, Decisive Strike
Goal: Defeat a notable NPC

Besides discussing Player Character growth, and even retirement and death, the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide lists numerous other talents alongside three Advanced Archetypes. These are the Weaver, the Sentinel, and the Firebrand. These are for play later in a campaign, perhaps after a Player Character death or retirement, and are only available with Game Master permission. The Weaver wears a contact lens or monocle that enables him to interact with augmented reality controls and information of the technology of the past to learn more about and control it. The Sentinel is a wandering warrior who protects communities, uses the best arms and armour, and trains the guardians that normally protect their communities. The Firebrand is a leader who wants to change history. Of these, the Weaver is the most interesting Advanced Archetype because of how it interacts with the advanced technology of the past. Through knowledge and skill of Weaving, the Weaver can activate or deactivate computer systems, lock or unlock closed doors, activate or deactivate specific systems, communicate with AIs, and command Atoma, the automated manufacturing devices. This is done via patterns, a combination of words and gestures. Some Weavers are capable of Nanogram Weaving, not just interacting with computers and devices, but interacting with the environment around them through control of a nanoswarm to create holographic effects and grasp objects. In terms of play, Nanogram Weaving is almost a necessity since it allows a Player Character Weaver to do more than operate Atoma.

The Weaver represents advanced control of the technology found almost everywhere on Evera Prime—outside of Dreamer communities that is. The most common form of technology found is the GLIF, or ‘Graphic Layer Instruction Format’. In the past, GLIFs were everywhere, providing instructions to machines as to where they could go and what they could do, which humans could enter an area, and so on. Technicians also used them as diagnostic tools, whilst most people learned to read them too. In the present, GLIFs abound everywhere. Archivists search for new GLIFs to learn and Spears are covered with tattoos, scars, warpaint, and clothing called Hunter-GLIFs that temporarily conceal them from the optical sensors of hostile machines. GLIF patterns include ‘Discharge’ which forces a machine to discharge its powered tools and weapons, ‘Glitch’ forces a machine to seize up as it is overwhelmed by a burst of junk data and logic errors, and ‘Protect’ forces a machine to priories the safety of a marked object or person. Only a handful of GLIFs are given, and whilst they might be seen as being spell-like, they bring to life the direct interaction of the Player Characters between themselves and the world around them. They also highlight the tension in the setting between fearing the machines and what they can do and the possibilities of what can be learned from them and how they can be harnessed to explore and improve the world.

Besides the GLIFs, the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide includes an extensive list of equipment and discusses the nature of technology on Evera Prime. Technology is found everywhere, some communities even possessing Atoma, automated manufacturing devices that will produce anything from commonplace domestic items to advanced weaponry and armour, depending on the model, of course. The Weaver Advanced Archetype specialises in the control of Atoma, whilst Grabbers are always on the hunt for the working Atoma, new patterns, and the material to supply them. The list of technology in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide covers weapons, armour, general tools and equipment, services, and vehicles. The descriptions of the latter are accompanied by rules for vehicular combat. Technology is rated between one and five, so a spear is Tech Level 1, a sword Tech Level 2, and a thermal staff Tech Level 4. A Player Character is limited by his Tech Level in terms of what advanced devices he can operate, though he can be taught to use a single item of a higher Tech level than he is accustomed to. Many of the devices listed in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide can be found somewhere in the world and if access is gained to the right model of Atoma and the right pattern known, even manufactured.

Rounding out the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide is a piece of colour fiction that presents the world and explores the relationship between humanity and the Wakers though Kari, a young girl who has formed a relationship with a non-aggressive Waker called Abe. As a Waker, Abe is feared, but over the course of the story others begin to trust him too. Again, it highlights the tension in the relationship between men and technology. It does though feel oddly placed at the end of the book, when it is normal to have such colour fiction at the start. However, its placement makes sense given that throughout the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide there are annotations and illustrations made to the text in a child’s hand. These are Kari’s commentary upon the world, one that she is forced to flee into in the colour fiction at the end of the book.

Physically, the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide is very well produced. It is decently written and the artwork is excellent. Much of it depicts the technology, especially the Wakers in action, although the latter are shown as silhouettes, giving them an ominous, scary presence. If there is anything missing from the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide it is perhaps a bibliography, although the most obvious touching point for the roleplaying game is the computer game, Horizon Zero Dawn.

Of course, the details and nature of the Wakers and other technological threats, as well as the secrets of Evera Prime are explored in the Dreams and Machines: Gamemaster’s Guide. What the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide does though is present the world from the point of view of those who both fear and are fascinated by technology and mechs of the past, as well as the means to create characters and roleplay them. The world of Evera Prime is engagingly presented in the Dreams and Machines: Player’s Guide and brought to life through the Player Character options and abilities it provides. Above all its optimistic tone marks it out as being very different to other post-apocalyptic roleplaying game and it will be fascinating to see this hope explored and developed in further releases for Dreams and Machines.

Just in time for the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe is a one-shot adventure for use with the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game. Of course, this is not the first time that Deadpool has made an appearance in roleplaying, but that was only in solo format. First with You Are Deadpool and then You Are (Not) Deadpool. However, this is a proper roleplaying game scenario requiring both a Narrator and up to six players in which the infamous ‘Merc with a Mouth’ puts together a team of minor superheroes—many of whom only dedicated Marvel Universe devotees will have heard of—and sends them off on a mission. These consist of ex-Valkyrie, Annabelle Rigs, the attack macaque Hit-Monkey, the secretive mercenary Paladin, the Inhuman-infused Ren Kimura, the alternative She-Hulk, Lyra, whose strength weakens as she gets angrier and angrier, and the undead Terror, cursed to suffer immortality! Alternatively, stats are included for Deadpool himself, along with Wolverine, so that a smaller group of players could play through Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe.

Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe opens with an eight-page comic strip that introduces each of the Player Character options for the scenario—and not just for the Narrator, but also the players which can read this strip to get an idea of how each of the cast should be played. Then it is into the scenario and explaining what the Narrator requires to run it. This is no more than the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game core rulebook, from which the Narrator will need to draw several NPC villains who will appear in the scenario. The advice for the Narrator is to keep it moving and to keep it light and not too serious. This affects the tone of Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe, but it is more tongue in cheek and slyly snide, rather than in your face and obnoxiously insulting. So, it is not adult in tone and thus is suited for a teenage audience.

The scenario starts with the Player Characters individually hired by Deadpool and asked to meet at a shipyard. This triggers the first action scene in the scenario as the Player Characters have to make a run in between and over the shipping containers, all whilst under attack, before they get to meet up with their employer. At this point, Deadpool explains that he is trying to set up his mercenary agency, but all of a sudden, the pool of soldiers for hire seems to be shrinking and he suspects that something or someone is behind it. Deadpool wants the Player Characters to investigate and if they are successful, he might have more work for them. This assignment will take the Player Characters around the world and back again, starting in New York at the Lower Manhattan Mercenary Job Expo. This is a fun scene in which the Player Characters get to attend a jobs fair where the possible employers are A.I.M., The Hand, Hydra, Latveria, and others, and sell themselves as well as investigate who might be hiring all of the hired guns. The persons or organisations responsible are present, but the other potential employers lend themselves to further missions for the Player Characters to undertake beyond the pages of Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe. Subsequent chapters will see the Player Characters participate in an underground tournament over the skies of Madripoor, before having to fight to save the day, and lastly, confront the scenario’s actual villain in a deathtrap maze!

There are a few notes on continuing the adventure after Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe, but the scenario is rounded out with all of the write-ups for its Player Characters and some of its NPCs. The others appear in the pages of the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game core rulebook. Included here is the new Power, ‘Power Slider’. This specifically for the version of She-Hulk which appears in the scenario as her power wanes when she gets angry. ‘Power Slider’ is for powers that change due to certain circumstances or situations.

Physically, Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe is bright, colourful, and exciting, with lots of Marvel Universe artwork as you expect and want. The writing is decent and if you are not reading the Deadpool dialogues in the style of Ryan Reynolds, then you are not fulfilling that secret contractual obligation you signed when you purchased the book. In which case, Ryan Reynolds’ lawyers will be in contact with you shortly.

Deadpool Role-plays the Marvel Universe is an action-packed, fun scenario for Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game which should take a session or two to play through. Although the players could create their own, it gives a chance for the players to roleplay some lesser-known characters from the Marvel Universe and throw them up against a threat that Deadpool could deal with, but honestly can’t be bothered. Which makes for a good one-shot and the chance for the players to make these lesser lights their own rather than necessarily adhering to their portrayal on the page or on the screen.