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.

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Name: Al-Azif Unearthed: The UnravelingPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: John Crowdis

Setting: Jazz Age Boston
Product: ScenarioWhat You Get: Seventy-eight page, 33.73 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: A merging of Mythos events unleashes hotel hell!Plot Hook: A newspaper classified advert announces the existence of an unknown scroll and an auction.
Plot Support: Staging advice, six pre-generated Investigators, fourteen NPCs, nineteen handouts, one map, one ghost, one Mythos artifact, one Mythos spell, and three Mythos monsters.Production Values: High.
Pros# First part of ‘Al-Azif Unearthed’ campaign exploring origins of the Necronomicon# Classic auction goes wrong Call of Cthulhu scenario# Inspired by Paul Carrick artwork# High production values and solid support for the Keeper# Excellent handouts# Solid investigation and set-up# Makes use of the Chase mechanics# Highly detailed NPCs and interaction# Includes map of Boston (in a Call of Cthulhu scenario!?)# Easy to adapt to other modern time periods and settings# Papyrophobia# Dikophobia
Cons# Needs a slight edit# Another hotel hell scenario (in New England)# Makes use of the Chase mechanics# Classic auction goes wrong Call of Cthulhu scenario# Solid investigation and interaction undone by third act chase
Conclusion# Well presented scenario whose initial emphasis on investigation and interaction is undone in the last act with a big chase scene from an unstoppable monster# Decent introduction to the ‘Al-Azif Unearthed’ campaign that works better as a campaign starter rather than a one-shot

This room has another open portal. Coming through is a sight terrible to behold.

Coming through is a group (6) of Madhatter Goblins. These goblins do not appear to be similar at all to the other goblins encountered so far.

These goblins wear the skulls of their kills on their own heads. The leader is the one with the most heads.

The portal closes when the last goblin comes through. Any character on the other side when it closes is lost forever.

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

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It has been a decade since a party of heroic adventurers ascended into the Drachensgrab Hills in the humanoid-infested Pomarj peninsula and infiltrated the secret Slave Lord city of Suderham, only to be captured and cast into the dungeons below, bereft of any possession, including arms, armour, and all magical items. Undaunted, these heroes managed to escape the dungeons, reclaim their possessions, and confront the Slave Lords even as the volcano above Suderham erupted and the god known as the Earth Dragon took her revenge. Their brave efforts put an end to the scourge of the Slavelords along the Wild Coast, ensuring that no man, woman, or child feared capture and being thrown into life slavery and drudgery that would likely only end with their death. However, it appears that is not to be, for ten years they were last sighted, the yellow sails of the Slavelords have been unfurled again. In the ports along the Wild Coast the yellow sailed ships of the Slave Lords have unloaded their dreadful cargo and on the waters of the Woolly Bay they have struck at ship after ship and raided town after town. Yet, their ambition and reach has grown. They have been seen as far north as the waters of Nyr Dyv, the ‘lake of unknown depths’, most surely having sailed the length of the Solitaries in order to get so far. As the half-orc warlord, Turrosh Mak, has unified the bickering humanoid tribes of the Pomarj into a rapacious nation and conquered over half of the Wild Coast, there is a threat of old which seems to sail before him. The Slavelords of old have returned!
This is the set-up for Slavers, one of the last supplements to be published by Wizards of the Coast for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition and certainly the last campaign to be published for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition. Published in 2000, this is a sequel to classic campaign for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition, which began life as the 1980 Open Tournament run by TSR, Inc. and would be published as the four part ‘Aerie’ or ‘A’ Series—A1: Slavepits of the Undercity, A2: Secret of the Slavers Stockade, A3: Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords, and A4: In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords. This would be collected in 1986 in A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords, before being later reprinted in 2013 as A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords,which included the addition of a prequel module, A0: Danger at Darkshelf Quarry. If A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords and A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords can be considered to be ‘Old School’, Slavers is anything but. The original quartet’s beginning as a tournament series of dungeons mark the ‘A’ Series as being tactical affairs, the activities of the Player Characters focused on taking direct action against the Slavelords, and that is even with the expansion of the original tournament adventures into full modules for sale. Slavers opens up the world and plot of the ‘A’ Series, turning it into an investigative and strategic campaign across central Greyhawk as the Player Characters attempt to find clues to the Slavelord’s activities, allies, bases, and ultimately, their location. Slavers has a plot, but it is not one that the players and their characters will necessarily adhere to as they go about their investigations. The Dungeon Master has the busy task of planting clues, directing the activities of the Slavelords and their allies as they become aware of the Player Characters’ activities, and responding to the players’ actions, for Slavers is a very player driven campaign.
Slavers is designed to be played by a group of five to eight Player Characters of Fourth and Fifth Levels and is set in the World of Greyhawk. It is a standalone campaign, but is likely to involve some sea combat, so a supplement such as Of Ships and the Sea, the ninth and last of the ‘Dungeon Master Guide Rules Supplement’ series will be useful. Similarly, the Tome of Magic will be useful for its spells. In addition, C2 The Ghost Tower of Inverness and The Star Cairns are suggested as useful optional extras since the Player Characters are likely to be travelling nearby. Lastly, ‘See the Pomarj—and Die!’ from Dragon Magazine#167 will provide extra background, but an appendix in the back of Slavers greatly expands upon the region.
Slavers will take the Player Characters from the town foyers out into the waters of the Nyr Dyv and down the length of Selintan River out into Woolly Bay. Having first found hidden base on the shores of the Nyr Dyv, the Player Characters will find more hidden bases and Slavelord waystations along the coast of Woolly Bay, and there find more clues which point to the Slavelord operations as originating to the south. Following the clues will lead them deep into the peninsula of the Pomarj, much like the A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords and A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords, in search of the secret capital of the Slavelords. Once located, the Player Characters can discover and confront the true power behind the Slavelords—the temple of the Earth Dragon. This is given as a ‘Suggested Adventure Outline’ in the opening chapter of Slavers which presents ‘The Dungeon Master’s Notes’. As is clearly stated, “Preparation is required.” since the clues are not pre-written, only the primary locations and NPCs, along with further suggestions and ideas as to what might happen at those locations.
Slavers is divided into four chapters. The first is ‘The Land of Dyvers’, which covers that city and the Nyr Dyv, providing a history of the city and surrounding region, as well as detailed descriptions of both. It is accompanied by a table of random encounters and a breakdown of the slave raids across the area, and who is involved and in charge of them. These are supported by short rules for naval combat if the Dungeon Master does not have access to Of Ships and the Sea. The major Slavelord base, Slavers Cove, is fully written up as a location, as are the nearby Caverns of Blackthorn, home to a hidden lair of various humanoid species. ‘Dyvers Intrigues’ suggests many ways in which the Player Characters can become involved in the activities of the Slavelords. Perhaps investigating an assassination attempt on a priestess leading anti-shipping activity against the slavers, trying to find out why so many of the local Half-Orcs are being offered jobs on the Wild Coast, uncover the true nature of a new religion that has appeared in Dyvers, or simply have them employed as guards on a barge that is attacked by Slavelord ships. The advice here is to tie these plot ideas to local NPCs, whether as potential employers, enemies, or both.
The opening ‘The Land of Dyvers’ chapter sets the format for the other three. ‘North Woolly Bay’ presents the coastal area at the southern end of the Selintan River. In particular, it details the city of Hardby as well as the north end of Woolly Bay and the various locations and regions along its coast. Here the cities and villages not yet conquered by the Half-Orc tyrant, Emperor Turrosh Mak, are at least prepared for war, with anti-piracy activities conducted throughout the region and Greyhawk forces having established Bright Tower Keep, a fortification at the southern mouth of the Selintan River to monitor local shipping. Two slaver bases are detailed here, including the ruined city of Cantona where any operations against it will be hampered by an anti-magic zone! There are also descriptions of how the slaves are transported along the coast, pirate activity in the bay, and as before, various additional adventure ideas for the Dungeon Master to develop.
‘The Orcish Wild Coast’ presents the city of Elredd in some detail as it is a major base of operations for the slavers. Again, its history and current state are described in some detail, a city of mercenaries, pirates, and humanoids, most of them working for Emperor Turrosh Mak and thus the Slavelords. However, there are a few neutral individuals in the city too and just outside it, a party of Good aligned adventurers conducting their own operations against the occupants of the city. The latter are potential allies for the Player Characters as they attempt their own infiltration of the city, whether in secret or in disguise. Discovering quite what is going on in the city and putting an end to it will be challenging any group of Player Characters.
Finally, ‘The Pomarj’ takes the campaign and the Player Characters into the heartland of Emperor Turrosh Mak’s domain. This covers both the rough nature of the local terrain and the many and various humanoid tribes who live there, including Flinds, Gnolls, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Kobolds, and Orcs, as well as various smaller tribes. Two locations are described in detail. One is Highport, the port city where A1: Slavepits of the Undercity is set and begins the A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords campaign and continues the A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords campaign. Highport is really only a staging post for the campaign because the advice in the chapter is really on how the Player Characters might get across the region to Mount Drachenkopf and the town of Kalen Lekos, the heart of Turrosh Mak’s Orcish Empire and the Earth Dragon cult, and thus the Slavelords. Both locations are described in detail again, with the Temple of the Earth Dragon fully written up ready for the rousing climax to the campaign.
Rounding out Slavers is an appendix which provides a brief history of the Pomarj, a description of the Earth Dragon cult, a list of the new magical items in the campaign, and notes on the hero-deities Kelanen, hero-god of swords, sword skills, and balance, and Murlynd, Gnomish hero-god of ‘magical technology’. The latter two entries are more extras than anything directly useful to the campaign, whilst the rest expands and supports the material already given elsewhere in the campaign. The history of the Pomarj describes the rise of the original Slavelords, their fall at the hands of the original heroes, and the rise of the despotic Half-Orc emperor, Turrosh Mak, followed by the return of the Slavelords and the events which trigger the beginning of the campaign itself.
Physically, Slavers is cleanly and tidily presented. The pen and ink artwork is excellent throughout, small pieces which pleasingly illustrate the various NPCs, monsters, and locations of the campaign. There isa nice use of the ‘greyhawk’ as a motif throughout the book, first watchful, then in flight, and lastly striking in the supplement’s closing chapter. The cartography is more serviceable than interesting. If Slavers is a comprehensive overview of the central region of Flanaess and the machinations of the Slavelords, its omissions are in the main, minor. It does lack an index, greatly hampering its utility and requiring greater study upon the part of the Dungeon Master. This is the main issue with the campaign. The others are that it would have been if there had been a map of the whole region given, rather than one of Nyr Dyv and Woolly Bay and one of the Pomarj, and also the lack of rumour tables. Only one location in the campaign has a rumour table!
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By the year 2000, there were few if any avenues for roleplaying game reviews were limited. The only review would appear in Steve Jackson Games’ online e-zine, Pyramid. In the May 12, 2000, issue, the reviewer wrote, “Slavers is fully self-contained; familiarity with the old modules is not necessary to fully enjoy or utilize Slavers. However, the new adventure is full of references to the originals, including locations, events and NPCs, making it a lot more enjoyable for fans of the classic modules.” However, the review also noted that, “Strangely enough, Slavers in not part of TSR's Silver Anniversary Return to . . . line, even though the Slavelords series, originally published in 1980-81, certainly satisfies their criteria of being part of the shared history of many long-time D&D players. It is, however, better than the aforementioned "nostalgia" products that I have seen.”
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As the reviewer in Pyramid pointed out, Slavers was not part of the series of nostalgia releases published by Wizards of the Coast, which had included Return to Keep on the Borderlands and Silver Anniversary Collector's Edition Boxed Set. This does seem strange, since so many of the campaigns and modules, all of them of a similar era and all of them regarded as classics were given the Silver Anniversary treatment. Further, barring A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords, the series has not been revisited in the modern iteration of Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast. That may well be due to its subject matter of slavery as much as the campaign being intrinsically tied to the World of Greyhawk.
Slavers is a tough, challenging campaign for Dungeon Master and player alike. Although there are plenty of opportunities for combat, the campaign will roleplaying and intrigue in equal measure, and both are necessary as a great many of the enemies present in Slavers are a lot tougher than the Player Characters. Slavers mixes the certainty of the evil nature of the Slavelords’ activities with the uncertainty of who the Player Characters can trust and whether they have truly dealt with the true leaders of the organisation. The Slavelords have spies throughout the region taking advantage of local and political resentments and their vile leader, Markessa, has captured a number of fellow Elves and forcibly remade them in her own image. Nor is the campaign necessarily over once the Player Characters have killed the leadership of the Slavelords. Their actions will cause chaos throughout the region and there are likely to be members of the organisation still operating well beyond the decapitation of its leadership. Slavers includes a selection of adventures exploring the ramifications of the Player Characters’ success.
Along the way, there are numerous nods and call-backs in Slavers to A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords, mostly minor, that the players of that previous campaign will enjoy spotting. Although a sequel, it is not necessary to have played through A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords to enjoy Slavers and the many differences between the two in terms of plot and structure might even mean that some players might actually enjoy Slavers! One definite absence is that of a dungeon in the traditional sense, Slavers including adventure locations rather than dungeons. However, Slavers can of course be run by the Dungeon Master as is and as intended by the authors, as a sequel to A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords, set some ten years later in the year CY 591.However, there is some flexibility to the campaign in how it could be used. Although not used in the campaign, the Player Characters could easily revisit the sites—or at least some of them—in A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords to search for possible clues, enabling the Dungeon Master to repopulate them and so use that older content.
One way in which Slavers cannot be used as written is as a direct sequel to A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords is with the same Player Characters. This is primarily due to the difference in Levels, A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords being written for Player Characters of Seventh to Eleventh Levels and Slavers for Fourth and Fifth Levels. One option suggested in Return to Keep on the Borderlands is the Player Characters be the children of those who played the original B2 Keep on the Borderlands. This is not an option for Slavers as written as the time gap between it and A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords is ten years compared to that of twenty between B2 Keep on the Borderlands and Return to Keep on the Borderlands.
Slavers and A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords and A0-A4:Against the Slave Lords are worlds apart. If not in theme and basic plot, then very much in terms of plot design, setting, and Dungeon Master input. Slavers is not pre-plotted, but does suggest an outline, one that the Dungeon Master is free to ignore or use as is her wont. The setting, from Dyvers and Nyr Dyv in the north to Pomarj in the south, is greatly expanded upon, describing numerous towns and locations as well as the Pomarj in no little detail. Where A1-4: Scourge of the Slavelords and A0-A4: Against the Slave Lords called for Dungeon Master input in terms of readying and understanding how each is intended to be played out, Slavers calls for the Dungeon Master to study its content and develop clues, plots, encounters, and more. That more being to comprehend the content enough to react to both the actions and courses of actions decided upon by her players and their characters. In effect, Slavers is not a campaign in the classic sense of being heavily pre-plotted, but far more of an overview. Slavers is a campaign for the experienced Dungeon Master, one willing to put the time and effort in to make it her own, and together with her players, memorable. In contrast to its forebears, Slavers feels surprisingly modern and flexible for a module for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition, but even as that roleplaying game’s last hurrah it showed how far both roleplaying design and the storytelling possibilities of an older system had come.

This room is locked as the others are.

When the door is opened the room empties of its contents.

Inside are three Titanic Centipedes. These creatures are like Giant Centipedes but much larger. They have 2HD each. Their bites cause 1d8 damage and the same poison of their smaller kin. 

Inside their stomachs are a total of 42 gems worth a total of 2,300 GP.

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

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

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What is it?Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart is a quick-start for Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness, the roleplaying game based on N.K. Jemisin’s multiple Hugo Award-winning Broken Earth trilogy, which consists of The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky. It is a post-apocalyptic survival horror roleplaying game with strong themes of co-operation, community, and ecology. The quick-start is designed to be played by six players.
It is a forty-six-page, full colour booklet.
It is published by Green Ronin Publishing.
How long will it take to play?The Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart is playable in between three and five hours, so can be played through in a single session.
Who do you play?
Six Player Characters are included. These consist of a group of friends or colleagues who all live in the Comm or community of Nuveen and have been randomly selected to investigate issues and gather facts for the Headwoman. They include a scientist and inventor, a community organizer, an expert in plants, medicine, and comm sanitation, an expert forager and hunter, a secret Orogene, and a furniture-maker who works at a crèche.
Characters in the setting of the Broken Earth are members of a use-caste, which represents their primary role in a comm. These are Breeder, Innovator, Leadership, Resistant, and Strongback. Together they have one goal. This is to prepare for the next Fifth Season, those cataclysmic events when Father Earth himself rages against humankind.
How is a Player Character defined?A Player Character has Abilities, Focuses, and Talents. There are nine Abilities—Accuracy, Communication, Constitution, Dexterity, Fighting, Intelligence, Perception, Strength, and Willpower. Each attribute is rated between -2 and 4, with 1 being the average, and each can have a Focus, an area of expertise such as Accuracy (Bows), Communication (Leadership), Intelligence (Medicine), or Willpower (self-Discipline). A Focus provides a bonus to associated skill rolls and, in some cases, access to a particular area of knowledge. A Talent represents an area of natural aptitude or special training. For example, Carousing grants the capacity to outlast anyone else when having fun and Orogeny enables a Player Character to ‘sess’ or sense geological activity. A Player Character also has one or more Relationships with other Player Characters or NPCs and Fortune Points to expend on adjusting die rolls. He is further defined by a Drive, Resources and Equipment, Health, Defence, Toughness, and Speed, and Goals, and Ties.
How do the mechanics work?The Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart uses the AGE System or ‘Adventure Game Engine’. If a Player Character wants to undertake an action, his player rolls three six-sided dice and totals the result to beat the difficulty of the test, ranging from eleven or Average to twenty-one or Nigh Impossible. An appropriate Ability and Focus is added to this. If any doubles are rolled on the dice and the action succeeds, the value on the Drama die generates Stunt Points. The player can expend these to gain bonuses, do amazing things, and gain an advantage in a situation. Stunts are divided into Action, Exploration, and Social categories. For example, ‘Lightning Attack’ is an Action Stunt which gives an extra attack, ‘Assist’ is an Exploration Stunt which enables a Player Character to help another with a bonus, and ‘Spot Tell’ is a Social Stunt which gives the Player Character an advantage when an NPC is lying to him.
Fortune Points are spent to modify a single die when undertaking an action. It costs double to modify the result on the Drama Die. However, modifying the other dice means that the Player Character has a greater chance of succeeding and of rolling doubles to generate Stunt Points.
How does combat work?
The rules for combat are given under ‘Action Encounters’ and are kept to just half a page in length. They are short and straightforward. A Game Moderator or player who is familiar with the AGE System or even other roleplaying games will have no problem with this, but anyone coming to the Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart from the novels and new to the concepts of roleplaying, may find the lack of example unhelpful.
However, it is important to note that in Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness and in ‘Stress Fractures’, the scenario in the Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart that neither combat nor violence are the solutions to any one situation. In particular, under ‘DON’T START NO SHIT’, the quick-start stresses that there are deep social consequences if the scenario is resolved in such a manner.
How does Orogeny work?
Orogenes are people who have the ability to sense or ‘sess’, as well as control to extent, heat, cold, and the earth itself. This can give them an advantage when sessing seismic activity and other acts of Father Earth. Unfortunately, Orogenes are widely distrusted. Mechanically, Orogeny is treated as a Talent and has its own Stunts.
What do you play?
The Broken World, the setting for N.K. Jemisin’s trilogy of novels and Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness is one where each comm and society struggles to overcome each season and prepare for the dangers of the coming one. Caches of stored food, medicine, and other supplies are used up and hopefully replenished over the course of a season. In ‘Stress Fractures’, the scenario in the Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart, the Player Characters are asked to investigate a major problem with this activity—someone has been stealing food! However, the situation in the comm makes a turn for the worse when a death occurs in the Comm’s glass smithy. The Player Characters are hurriedly assigned to investigate what develops into a locked room situation with the body and suspects in the glass smithy and an increasingly outraged crowd outside. To restore any sense of order, Player Characters must determine what happened, identify the killer, and placate the crowd. The latter may involve some physical action, but this is primarily a social encounter, though on a larger scale. Overall, the scenario explores the tensions which arise from the setting and the threat of geological, meteorological, and climatic change.
Is there anything missing?
The Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart could have done with a map of the various locations in the scenario. However, they are fairly generic and the Game Moderator should be able to find suitable floorplans or get by without them.
Is it easy to prepare?
The rules are easy to grasp and the various investigative leads and steps of the scenario are easy to follow. The Game Moderator will need to pay particular attention to these as they are the meat of the action.
Is it worth it?
The Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart is a solid introduction to the Broken World and N.K. Jemisin’s trilogy, as well as the roleplaying game itself. ‘Stress Fractures’, the scenario does a good job of presenting and exploring the tensions which arise from the setting and the threat of geological, meteorological, and climatic change, whilst also emphasising social and investigative methods of play over that of violence.
Where can you get it?
The Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart is available here.

Fifth Season: Roleplaying in the Stillness Quickstart is currently being funded via a Backerkit campaign.

The door to this room is also open and there is a commotion coming from inside.

A group of 3 goblins is attacking a single kobold. There are three other kobolds dead on the ground.

The goblins will attack the party when they enter, the kobold will try to find a way to escape. It will attack the party to get out of this room.

Each goblin has a sack of 50+1d10 CP and 2+1d4 SP. They have spears and daggers. The kobolds have 20 CP in total.

We’re getting down to titanium tacks: this weekend is the Texas Triffid Ranch Carnivorous Plant Liquidation Sale and Superb Owl Party, running both Saturday and Sunday, February 11 and 12, from noon until 6:00, pulling out lots and lots of … Continue reading →

Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache is a second St. Valentine’s Day scenario for Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game following on from 2022 Valentine’s Day Module: Love in the Age of Gongfarmers. It is again a short, love and romance-themed adventure designed to be played by between four and six Player Characters, this time of Third Level. So, it could be played as a sequel. Similarly, given the love and romance theme of the scenario, there is the issue of consent with the scenario—though to a far lesser degree. Consequently, although thematically appropriate, it is only a very minor part of the scenario, and the Judge is advised to consider her players’ comfort levels when portraying this in game. Another issue is that scenario has the potential to be bawdy in tone and when combined with the albeit minor issue of consent, Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache is probably best suited for mature players. Another element of the scenario is that it can be played with Player Characters from any background. So that can be the Judge’s own Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign, Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar, and even Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic!
Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache is all about lost love and broken hearts, in the case of the latter, literally. As opposed Valentine’s Day Module: Love in the Age of Gongfarmers, which was all about finding and celebrating love. The set-up to Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache is that Olathvee, Mad Un-God of mortal passion—who is detailed in The Book of Fallen Gods—has had his heart broken. His romantic overtures to a would-be patron god, a sorceress on the path to her own divinity, have been resoundingly rebuffed and he has fallen into despair and despondency. Being a god, these feelings and emotions have had repercussions. His wretchedness and woe has spread throughout the cosmos, from world to world, breaking up one relationship after another, until no partner can stand the sight of the other, and so threatening to end civilisation within a generation because of the birds and the bees.
The scenario begins with the Player Characters being invited to Castle Heartache. There his seneschal, Sanguecaldo, asks them to help restore the Mad Un-God’s broken heart. So almost like ‘The Key to Time’ storyline of Season Sixteen of Doctor Who, the Player Characters must search for its constituent parts and bring them all together and so repair not just Olathvee’s heart, but everyone’s heart across the entire cosmos. Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache takes place inside the lower levels of the castle, the upper levels being accessible, but not of any particular interest or relevance. These lower levels are a demi-plane, a reflection of the Mad Un-God which has been twisted and altered by his current melancholy—as to an extent, will the Player Characters. The resulting dungeon is short, consisting of just thirteen locations, and if not a physical reflection of Olathvee’s heart, then at least a weirdly thematic one. Rooms and locations are themed around tears, memories, misplaced desire, sorrows drowned, and poetry. The locations are each described in some detail, the majority of them involving interaction and roleplaying along with opportunities for combat and puzzle solving. The latter as well as several of the other locations will require some patience upon the part of the players and their characters, and certainly in the case of the puzzle, a knowledge of classic literature.
In addition, Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache includes what are either the worst Valentine’s Day cards or ones that the recipient really needs to have an understanding sense of humour upon being given. There is also an afterword from the author in which he explains how the adventure came about, drawing deeply, if (thankfully) humorously, from his own experiences with love and loneliness. A fair warning though, if the Judge has got that far and it is likely that she has, there is a shocking photograph of the author, one which really only his wife needed to see. Thankfully, he is not clutching a rose in his teeth by the stem. That might have been too much.
Physically, Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache is as decently done as you would expect for a title for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game. It is lightly illustrated in a cheesy style and the map is fine. It needs a slight edit in places, but is otherwise easy to read.
Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache is a mini-dungeon or adventure that can be played in a single session or two. If the players can overcome their cynicism and engage with its themes drowning in the tears of the lovelorn and the lachrymose, Holiday Module #12: Love Mutants of Castle Heartache gives the players and their characters the opportunity to overcome its forlorn fantasy, set things right and return love to the world!

Lots for you this week. All worth your time to look into.

Demonology For Old-School Essentials - Zinequest 5

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamersandgrognards/demonology-for-old-school-essentials-zinequest-5?ref=theotherside

We always need more demons.  While I do have my own I have been using for a while now this will be a welcome addition to my OSE library.

Kibbles' Compendium of Legends and Legacies

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kibblestasty/kibbles-compendium-of-legends-and-legacies?ref=theotherside

I am still supporting third-party 5e folk. I am sure they panicked when the OGL fiasco broke, so I am here to boost their signal.  Still looks like a lot of fun.

After Winter Dark: Aihrde A Fantasy Campaign Setting

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ckg/after-winter-dark-aihrde-a-fantasy-campaign-setting?ref=theotherside

How do I love thee Castles & Crusades? Let me count the ways. Wait, that will take too long. Instead I'll just back this new book!

I mean this just looks so cool, and I have been dying to do something that I have been calling "endless Winter" in my mind.  Maybe this is it? 

Escape from Undergarden - RPG Adventure for 5e D&D

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jvcparry/escape-from-undergarden-rpg-adventure-for-5e?ref=theotherside

Another adventure and it looks like a lot of fun. I will admit a certain level of dissatisfaction with some of the D&D 5 adventures of late. This one looks like it could turn that trend around.  Of course I would run it under Castles & Crusades now.

Feathertail Falls

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/peterelroy/feathertail-falls?ref=theotherside

Ok now this one looks like a lot of fun.  From the creator:

This adventure collection is a mouse-fantasy tabletop role playing game that builds on the free Mausritter rules, a deceptively simple system perfectly suited for mouse-sized expeditions. The collection’s adventurous yet melancholy tone is inspired by Over the Garden Wall, Hilda and Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty, as well as the art of Júlia Sardà.

The adventures take place in Feathertail Forest, a place little mice pups may know from bedtime stories, about mice that dream to fly. When you start to explore it, you will find that the unwelcoming forest has been petrified in time. It is up to you to decide if and how to reawaken it, and how to deal with the consequences as you discover more of the forest's secrets.

This would be great for the right group!

--

So much great stuff and so little time and money.

It seems amazing that Fluxx is over a quarter of a century old. The 1999 Mensa Select Winner is the perfect filler game. It is simple to play, but not easy to win. It is easy to learn and not too difficult to master. The difficulty though comes in the changes that will occur through play, because Fluxx is a card game in which its very nature can change from one player’s turn to the next. The number of cards a player can hold can change. The number of cards a player can play can change. The winning conditions can change. Random things will occur—cards will come back into play, cards will be swapped, and so on. The state of the game is literally in ‘fluxx’ and to win, a player must adapt to the changes and make the best use of the current rules and the cards in his hand on any one turn. Published by Looney Labs, Fluxx has proven to be a perennially popular game as well as one that served as the basis for a large number of differently themed variations. From science editions like Anatomy Fluxx, Astronmy Fluxx, and Chemistry Fluxx to Science Fiction such as Doctor Who Fluxx, Firefly Fluxx, and Star Trek Fluxx. With so many versions of the game available, there should be a version for just about everyone.

The core gameplay is simple. On his turn, a player draws one card and plays one card. His aim is to have two cards called Keepers in play, in front of him, which match the Keepers mentioned on the Goal card currently in play. For example, the ‘Squishy Chocolate’ Goal requires the ‘Sun’ and ‘Chocolate’ Keepers to be in front of a player for him to win, whilst the ‘Brain (No TV)’ Goal needs the player to have the ‘Brain’ Keeper in front of him and nobody to have the ‘TV’ Goal in front of them. Fluxx being as old as it is means that the game has become familiar to many players. An old standby that is easily remembered and brought to play. Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition is designed not to be familiar. Its game play remains the same as the original 1997 version, but the Keepers have been reimagined to provide the players with a whole new set of unfamiliar challenges as well as a whole new rule and set of cards. Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition is designed to be played by two to six players, aged eight and up, with a game lasting between five and thirty minutes. The game consists of one hundred cards, divided into five types. These are New Rule cards, Action cards, Keeper cards, Goal cards, and the new Surprise cards. All five card types are clearly designed, colour-coded by type, and easy to understand in play. Everything on the double-sided rules sheet is boldly presented and includes not just an ‘Exec Summary’ of what the game is, but also examples of a game in play and how the cards interact. Anyone who has played Fluxx before will be able to open up Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition and begin play with very little preparation. Anyone unfamiliar with Fluxx will really only need five minutes to read through and prepare the game for play.

The core card for the game is the ‘Basic Rules’. This tells the players to draw one card and play one card each turn. The yellow New Rule cards either replace a New Rule card in play or add a New Rule card to play. They include ‘Draw 2’, which changes the number of cards each player draws on his turn; ‘Play All’ means that every player has to play all of the cards in his hand on a turn; and ‘Card Transfusion’ enables every player to discard as many cards from his hand as he wants to and draw as many cards as he discarded. The blue coloured Action cards provide single actions a player can play and do on his turn. For example, ‘Draw 3, Play 2 of Them’ means that the player draws three cards, chooses two of them to play, and discards the third; ‘Trade Hands’ allows a player to swap his hand of cards with that of another player; and ‘Taskmaster’, which instructs the player to draw a number of cards equal to the number of player and assign one to each player face down, including himself. The players then reveal and play these cards in turn. The green Keeper cards include Dreams, Love, Peace, Chocolate, Cookies, Music, Moon, and more. The pink Goal cards are the winning conditions for the game. When there is one on the table, all of the players are either working to play Keeper which match the Goal or change the Goal to match the Keepers they have in play in front of them. The Keepers, though, are the biggest change in the new version of Fluxx. They give the players new winning objectives, ones different from the original version of the game, but still using the familiar Keepers. For example, ‘The Wedding’ Goal requires ‘Love’ and ‘The Party’ Keepers to win; ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ Goal requires ‘Music’ and ‘The Moon’ Keepers to win; and ‘All You Need is Love’ Goal requires ‘Love’ and no other Keepers in front of a player to win.

In addition, Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition adds a new card type. This is the Surprise card. Coloured purple, they are perhaps one of the most complex card types introduced to the game. This is because unlike the other four card types in the game, a Surprise card has not one play condition, but three! This is because a Surprise card can be played ‘Out of Turn’, ‘During your Turn’, and ‘At Any Time’. For example, if played ‘Out of Turn’, the ‘Cancelled Plans’ card forces a player to discard the Goal he just played, including if playing the Goal would mean he would win the game. If played ‘During your Turn’, they force the current Goal to be discarded and the other players to discard a Goal or other card in their hand. If played ‘At Any Time’, it cancels the effect of another Surprise as it is played. The ‘At Any Time’ option is common to all four Surprise cards in FFluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition. The Surprise cards increase the interaction between the players in a game already known for its high interaction between the players. Yet the relative complexity of the Surprise cards may mean that they are not suited for play by the younger audience for this game, but this should be adjudicated on a case-by-case basis. That said, if the Surprise cards are removed, Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition still plays as Fluxx.

If there is an issue with Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition, it is that the cards do refer to a card type not actually present in this version—the Creeper. Originally introduced in Zombie Fluxx in 2007, this card type sits in front of a player and prevents him from winning, very likely increasing the length of game play. Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition is a return to the original version of Fluxx, so the Creeper really does not warrant inclusion in its deck of cards. Mention of them here is likely to be confusing. On the other hand, mention of them is a nod to the fact that like many of the Fluxx sets, Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition can be integrated with many of the Fluxx variants.

In play, Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition is random, chaotic, and frustrating, but nevertheless. It is all but impossible to plan from one turn to the next as the state and nature of the rules fluctuate and change. A player can go from almost winning to having to start again, not necessarily on his turn, but on the turns of the other players. Then again, a player can find himself the winner as the rule changes, cards have to be played, forcing the play of a Goal and Keeper in just the right combination. The new Surprise cards add a new element of interaction and complexity, but more of the former than the latter as they add to the chaos of play. Games can be really quick. A winner could be lucky in the very first round, but a typical game will last no more than twenty minutes. (That said, I have played in games that have lasted twice as long!)
Physically, Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition is clearly and tidily presented. The Fluxx format is tried and tested and this variant is no exception. The card stock is not as glossy as in previous variants and it might be an idea to sleeve this one.

The original Fluxx did not have a theme and neither does Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition. Or rather, it does and it is a subtle one. The clue is in the title, Fluxx Remix because its theme is music and all of the goals are song titles. Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition is as familiar and as fun as Fluxx was in 1997, simple to play, but still chaotic and enjoyably frustrating, with the addition of a new if quiet theme and a new card type for more interaction. Fluxx has always been a great filler game,Fluxx Remixx – Extra Chaos Edition is no exception.

Room 10 is in the middle of this long hallway. This door is not only not locked, but the door is also slightly ajar.

There is a golden glow coming from this room.  Inside the room is a shimmering portal. The portal connects this room to another room elsewhere. The elsewhere is much warmer, and the night time sky can be seen outside of large windows. The room seems to be in a palace in a desert somewhere.

Inside this larger-than-expected room (160' x 160' x 20' tall) are 10 large Constrictor Snakes that attack. 

The snakes guard a treasure of 10,000 GP in gems. Rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. There are also three bags of gold worth 150 GP each.  

The room has no other doors. The windows are 15' to 20' up.  If the PCs climb (via any ropes they bring) they can see they are in a tower some 350' up from the desert floor below. 

As the PCs leave the room back through the portal, it closes.

It is no secret. I really love witches and anything and everything to do with them.

It is also no secret that I used to be a pretty solid Potter-verse fan.  I have read all the books, seen all the movies, been to the theme park, and played the mobile game.  It was something fun I could do with my family, and we all enjoyed it. 

And then, J.K. Rowling began to show her ugly side.  I am not going to debate what she said here. Why? She is wrong, plain and simple, but I am not out there burning my Potter books (besides, burning books is a coward's move) I am just not supporting her and trying in my own small way not to popularize her. Trust me, I have no illusions about my effectiveness here.

So the new game coming out was going pass by these pages unremarked.

Then I saw this post on both Facebook and Twitter.

All of the profits that @JonGilmour, @SpenserStarke & I earn on DriveThruRPG this Friday for Kids on Brooms will be donated to charities supporting trans folks.

We want to make our love and support for the trans community clear every day—but especially this Friday.

— Doug Levandowski (@DougLevandowski) February 8, 2023

Doug Levandowski along with Jonathan Gilmour and Spenser Starke are the authors of the wonderful Kids on Brooms (non-affiliate link, but do try and buy it tomorrow if you can).  Their book is extremely popular and hopefully will sell a lot.

And I realized that, yes, there is something I can do.  I have a LOT more books about witches. 

So. In solidarity with Kids on Brooms team and always in solidarity with the LGBTQI, but especially the trans community I will donate ALL profits from ALL my witch books starting at 12:00 am Midnight Friday, Feb 10, 2023 to 11:59 Sunday, Feb 12, 2023 to the Trevor Project.

So every book. Every profit. Even my newest one, Monster Mash.

Yeah, I know some will call this "Virtue Signaling," but I want to clarify where I stand and let others know what their purchases will do this weekend.  Besides, calling out Virtue Signaling is just virtue signaling to other assholes. Don't like what I do here? I don't care. Get your own fucking blog and books and sell them how you like. 

So pick up some books about witches this weekend. Go grab Kids on Brooms tomorrow and some of my stuff later. And avoid the Potter game.

This room is up from Room #8 and is also locked.

Behind this door are three giant rats.

How they got in is anyone's guess, but now they are too large to leave and they are starving. There are the bones of many other smaller rats here, ones they have eaten prior to this.

Due to their hunger they gain +1 on initiatives and attacks. They also suffer a -1 penalty to their AC since they are not taking the time to guard themselves. Their morale is 12 and they will fight to the death.

There is no treasure in this room.

Like my last conversion, this is not going to be a full conversion but rather a character with a high concept. While the OGL kerfuffle has more or less died down into a steady state of noise, the issues brought up then are still good now.  There are more games out there than just D&D5.

Today I am converting a major NPC of my Second Campaign to Castles & Crusades. 

I have often said that Castles & Crusades is the spiritual descendent of AD&D, so let's see how that works out.

So in truth this one is likely to be very easy in terms of game system. The Second Campaign is made up of a lot of AD&D 1st ed and BECMI D&D adventures. Ones I enjoyed but were not part of the Gygaxian-cannon. Other adventures for it to help fill in some gaps are all solid OSR ones.  So converting the actual adventures was something I had to do anyway to make them work for D&D 5e. Now I am converting them to Castles & Crusades and that conversion is so much easier. 

The Second Campaign began, much like the Order of the Platinum Dragon/Come Endless Darkness, as an AD&D 1st Ed/OSRIC game and, for a brief moment, as a BECMI game. Over the years, it morphed into other things until it settled as a 5th Edition game. 

The next adventures for this campaign have been fairly well decided:

The Desert of Desolation series:

• I3 Pharoah (levels 5-7) (maps)
• I4 Oasis of the White Palm (levels 6-8) (maps)
• I5 Lost Tomb of Martek (levels 7-9) (maps)

With the Desert Nomads/Temple of Death series:

• X4 Master of the Desert Nomads (levels 6-9) 
• X5 Temple of Death (levels 6-10)

And then the two stand-alone adventures:

• I9 Day of Al'Akbar (8-10)
• Gary Gygax's Necropolis d20 / Swords & Wizardry / 5e (starting levels 7-9)

My NPC going along with the group then is a traveling scholar. I wanted her to be something of a magical dabbler, an occultist, and lore expert. Given the desert theme here I was thinking of someone like Rachel Weisz's character Evelyn Carnahan from the 1999 movie The Mummy. I

The Character: Celeste Holmes

Celeste is a character concept that has seen a few iterations over the years. This current Celeste is as much Charlie Bradbury from Supernatural as she is Evelyn Carnahan.  There is also a bit of Poppy Kline in her from the Magicians series. Both characters, Charlie and Poppy, were played by Felicia Day, so it makes sense that she looks like her.  Given the Basic-era roots of the character giving her the last name of Holmes seemed to be the right thing to do. Very recently I also remembered that Celeste, as she is presented in D&D 5 for me, is also a nod to "Lady Nyctasia Selesqe Rhaicime brenn Rhostshyl ar'n Edonaris" of the Silverglass series, a witch and noble who pretends to be a student and bard. I always pronounced her "middle" name, Selesqe, as "Celeste."

Also, Celeste is not the firepower of this group. She is the translator and the one who sets up the shield spells and figures out what monsters will attack or talk.  

In D&D 5e Celeste is a Wizard/Bard multiclass. This gave her a lot of skills and some magic, but not as much as her level might suggest. She is not a combat character, so feats largely went to improving how many languages she knew. 

She has 5 levels in Wizard (Order of Scribes from Unearthed Arcana then Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything) and 1 in Bard (College of Lore). Again to get a few more cantrips and 1st level spells, but mostly for the skills. I see her Bardic inspiration as being able to urge the team on with her pep talks. 

What would she be like in Castles & Crusades?

Castles & Crusades has a lot of "multiclass" options, and they would all work for her. But there is one I think is suited to her concept the best.  Celeste is a "Class and a Half."

I mean, it fits her concept well, and it is a uniquely Castles & Crusades option. She is a 5th-level Wizard/1st-level Bard, so in C&C Class-and-a-half, that will make her a 5th-level Wizard, giving her 2nd level in Bard (main class divided by 2 and rounded down).

She would need more experience points than a Wizard alone. So Wizard plus 1/2 of Bard per level.  

She gets all the same powers, spells, and abilities of a Wizard here, plus some bard. The C&C Bard is not a spellcasting one, but they get some powers. The half-class bard does not get the Fascinate or the Exhort Greatness powers.  Exhort Greatness is a 9th-level power, so it would not be an issue until she is 18th level anyway, and by then, I am sure she will have plenty of spells. The Fascinate one is a loss, but one I can deal with, to be honest. I really wanted the Legend Lore, Dechpire Scripts, and Exhalt powers. This also gives her slightly better HD and hp; d10 for the bard and d4 for the wizard gives us a d6 and +2 after "name" level. 

Wizard pretty much stays the same. Spells and some other cool stuff at higher levels.

Honestly, the concept is so much fun I do want to try other class and half combinations. But that is for another time. I have to look for a way for her to be able to speak all the languages I want her to be able to speak. In D&D 5e she can speak Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Infernal, and Primordial, thanks to Linguist Feat.  Her Intelligence is 19 so that is +3 languages in addition to "common." Thankfully the C&C rules are pretty open here. There are options from Amazing Adventures I could borrow from. For example, sacrifice a level for the ability to speak a lot of languages. I am not sure how to do it yet, but I know there is a way. Actually, there are a few ways I can think of. She could be Powered 1 (for the languages) and then the Wizard 5/Bard 2 which would give her the 6 total levels she has in D&D5. Hmm.  I think I will try that combination at a future date. Today I want to concentrate on the Class and a Half today.

Moving over to C&C from D&D5 is simple. So simple I went back to my C&C PHB just to ensure I did it all right. Yup. Everything looked good.

Celeste Holmes
Human Wizard (Bard) 5/2 LG

STR: 12 (+0)
DEX: 13 (+1)
CON: 16 (+2)
INT: 19 (+3) *P (wizard)
WIS: 15 (+1) *P (choice)
CHA: 16 (+2) *P (bard)

AC: 11 (no armor)
HP: 23 (HD d6)
BtH: +1

Weapons: Dagger, Staff

Class Abilities
Wizard (5th): Spells and spellcasting, bonus spells
Bard (2nd): Decipher Script (Int), Exalt (Int), Legend Lore (Cha)

Spells
Cantrips (5): Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Light, Mage Hand, Message
1st level (4+1): Burning Hands, Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Identify, Magic Missile 
2nd level (2+1): Locate Object, Ray of Enfeeblement, Shatter
3rd level (1+1): Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Tongues

Details
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 129 lbs
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Hair: Red
Eyes: Brown

--

Saves are largely the same in D&D5, and C&C. Primes help cover that. The spells are also very much the same drawing from the same sources. Weapons, armor, and the like are all virtually identical. Alignment and classes have the same names and work largely the same.

So yes, I am quite pleased with this build, and I am eager to try other class-and-a-half combinations. With just the Players Handbook alone, I can see about 150 possible combinations. Less when you remove ones that don't actually work out, but still, that is a lot to try.

To extend my Felicia Day/Charlie Bradbury reference a step further, the D&D 5 version of Celeste is Charlie in the "normal" world and the C&C version of her is Charlie from the Apocalypse World. 

Edited to add: I was reminded that there is an official D&D 5 to C&C conversion document.  Get is here for free.

https://trolllord.com/bag-of-holding/

 Moving on from Room 6 down the hallway the characters will come up to Room #8 on the right. Note: All rooms are on the right-hand side of this hall.

Special Note: Dwarf characters will notice a slight downward slope to this hallway as well. It parallels the halls above them.

The lock on this door is very difficult with an extra 5% penalty above and beyond the penalty for other locks here. The zombies attack as soon as someone steps into the room.

Inside this cell are 1d4+1 Zombies in terrible shape. Each only has 2 hp due to how long they have been here but are fast due to all the necromantic energies they have absorbed.  They turn as Ghouls and can attack at any point in the turn per normal initiative. They also have +1 to hit.

Their XP is the same as regular zombies due to their low hp. 

They guard a small chest of 500 sp. Obviously left by other adventurers and not the original prisoners of this cell.

The breakdown of the gallery continues apace, including finding homes for remaining enclosures. (You know that big aquarium in the back gallery full of Brocchinia reducta? It definitely needs a home.) A lot of smaller plants, purchased and potted up … Continue reading →

These are the last of the Russian made figures I was able to buy off of ebay before the war started and all the Russian sellers got kicked off.  A few Russian sellers are back on ebay but they are listed as operating out of Albania.  Imagine that.  

Some of the figures are made to be classic greek style Amazons and others are just female Viking style warriors. 

Publius classic Amazons. 

Viking Women

Scale Shots.

Host and Hostility: Three Regency Scenarios for Call of Cthulhu is an anthology of scenarios for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, and more specifically, Regency Cthulhu: Dark Designs in Jane Austen’s England. Published by Chaosium, Inc., Regency Cthulhu presents a narrow world inspired by the life and times and the novels of Jane Austen, in which men and women of good character go in search of a worthy marital match in a highly conservative and disapproving society. Yet this highly stratified world faces a greater danger than simply the loss of one’s good name and fortune, scandal or sobriety, and the like—the insidiously ill-mannered forces and influences of the Cthulhu Mythos. Seemingly good men and women, indeed their whole families can hide the darkest of secrets, as can places and the very land itself. All of which are a threat to King and country, let alone society! Yet it would be scandalous to be investigating, even prying into such matters, so how can men and women of good name and sensibilities bring themselves to do so without imperilling both, let alone their very reputations? This is the crux of Regency Cthulhu: Dark Designs in Jane Austen’s England and it is again explored in Host and Hostility: Three Regency Scenarios for Call of Cthulhu.

Host and Hostility: Three Regency Scenarios for Call of Cthulhu is published via the Miskatonic Repository, Chaosium, Inc.’s community content programme for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition. Unlike the pair of scenarios in Regency Cthulhu, the trilogy are not designed for group play, but rather one-on-one player, with a single Investigator and the Keeper. They are designed to be run in a single session each, all have a female Investigator as the protagonist, and are in parts heavily influenced by both Austen’s own fiction and the gothic mysteries that were then in vogue. The set-up is simple. Three young ladies, all of marriageable age, have entered into the Season in 1812 in Brighton in order to themselves a good husband. They are Miss. Janitra Chatterjee, Miss. Marina Garrick, and Miss. Georgiana Dillwyn, and each is of different temperament. In turn they are a social meddler and matchmaker, a spirited and frank outdoorswoman, and an intelligent, passionate reader of books, respectively. They are also, in turn, based upon the protagonists of Jane Austen’s Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey. Full Investigator sheets are provided for each and although different, they all designed to be played with the three scenarios in the anthology. A player could simply choose one of the three to play through all three scenarios, play a different one for each scenario, or choose one and keep the other two as eminently marriageable replacements should the first have unfortunate cause to die under mysteries circumstances or be scandalously confined to the nearby infamous Bedlam hospital! Whatever way the trilogy is used, the Investigator is staying in Brighton as the guest of family friends, Mr. and Mrs. Hampton, and as the Season draws to a close, attends a public ball at the Assembly Rooms where she will receive invitations that involve three eligible men. Which invitation she accepts determines which scenario the Keeper runs, for all three men have secrets to hide and plans to enact—and they all involve the Cthulhu Mythos.

Inspired by the real-life medical case of James Tilly Matthews, ‘Loom and Lucidity’ opens with an invitation from a handsome naval captain with an oddly mysterious past. Scandal threatens the Investigator almost from the start when Lord Cosgrove, about to utter some truths about the man, drops dead at her feet! Nothing seems quite right at Captain King’s London soirée as evening turns odder and odder until the attendees are begin acting in a decidedly strange manner. ‘Loom and Lucidity’ is a short affair which in parts echoes the influences of the Yellow King, but instead combines the sciences, technology, and fears of the period to expose—literally—the Investigator to radical thought. The end does feel mechanical in nature and the outcome of the scenario, certainly in regard to what happens to the NPCs afterwards, is not explored as fully as it could be. It does include some interesting NPCs for Keeper to portray, notably the scenario’s villains, who surprisingly, are not insane, but merely radical! This does not stop them from being villains though, but they would be suitable to return appearance in a future scenario if they managed to escape.

Where ‘Loom and Lucidity’ combined Science Fiction horror with period radicalism, ‘Curate and Curability’ combines classic Lovecraftian horror with classic gothic melodrama. In this scenario, the suitor is the Reverend Henry Mortimer, a widower who recently lost his wife, who invites the Investigator to stay with him and his sister. The vicarage though is dusty and uncared for, perhaps a sign of the reverend’s grief, perhaps something more. There are odd signs about the house that something amiss, which perhaps crystalise when the Investigator sees a ghost in the churchyard! Could the house be haunted by the ghost of the reverend’s late wife? This scenario is linear in nature, although there is room for the Investigator to make enquiries and snoop about, and again, mechanical in terms of handling its denouement. This one is much more physical and combative in nature and the Keeper will need to be conversant with the Chase rules for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition. Overall, the scenario has a nice sense of loneliness and another presence in the house, as well as a certain ghoulishness, but again, does not really fully address what happens if the Investigator escapes the Reverend’s clutches and wants to do something about him.

In the third and last of the anthology’s scenarios, ‘Note and Notoriety’, the Investigator is invited a ball hosted by renowned aristocrat Sir Jasper d’Ulfrey. It promises to be a lavish affair, and will end with the performance of a new dance that the baronet has devised! What promises to be an exciting night, culminating fireworks, turns out to be so for all the wrong reasons. Sir Jasper’s demeanour veers between the oddly distracted and the oddly excitable, only coming alive when talking of the new dance which is due to take place in the ballroom under a ceiling newly painted with stars. Meanwhile his aunt looks on with disdain, likely to relate the strange family history as dismiss the Investigator out of hand, and Sir Jasper’s cousin, Harriet’s infatuation may lead her into folly and ruin. Then at heart of the family estate is a maze which has an otherworldly feel to it… There is a certain heady rush to the events of ‘Note and Notoriety’, the plot lightly tripping forward to a momentous event liked to the d’Ulfrey family history. This has the feel of more classic Call of Cthulhu scenario and it does a better job of dealing with its possible aftermath and in giving the Investigator multiple methods of foiling its plot.

One similarity that the three scenario shares is the procedurally mechanical nature of their final scenes. This would be less of an issue if there was more than the single Investigator involved as it would lessen the chance of complete failure upon the player’s, and thus the Investigator’s part. A way around that would be to have a companion accompany the Investigator, perhaps a chaperone and one of the other two pre-generated Investigators given in the anthology, portrayed by another player. However, there is no advice provided to that end in Host and Hostility, and only ‘Note and Notoriety’ has any advice on running it with more the single Investigator. Otherwise, the player had better be prepared to spend some Luck in completing any one of the three scenarios.

Host and Hostility comes with a lengthy set of appendices. In turn, these provide a further glossary to add to that of Regency Cthulhu, a description of Brighton during the period, reprints of the handouts, and an Investigator sheet each for Miss. Janitra Chatterjee, Miss. Marina Garrick, and Miss. Georgiana Dillwyn. However, these are only the fronts of each sheet and the Keeper and her player may want to develop the content on the back. The scenarios are themselves well written, the various NPCs decently presented, including roleplaying notes.

Physically, Host and Hostility: Three Regency Scenarios for Call of Cthulhu is genially and genteelly presented. Period-style artwork is used throughout and both the handouts and the maps have a suitably period feel. Although the anthology occasionally includes the manipulated portrait, one engaging touch is that where the outré does occur it is always depicted in a style akin to that of the cartoon satirist, James Gilray. It appropriately undermines the sobriety of Host and Hostility as much as the Mythos does society. Also enjoyable is the silhouette of bonneted member of the Great Race of Yith!

On one level, the title of Host and Hostility is a delightful play on words, highlighting the difficulty and unnatural natures of each of the places where the Investigator is invited to stay. On another, it is an exercise in misogamy, since any one of the three scenarios is likely to put the Investigator off the idea of marriage—let alone the player! Overall, Host and Hostility: Three Regency Scenarios for Call of Cthulhu is congenial trilogy of one-on-one scenarios for Regency Cthulhu: Dark Designs in Jane Austen’s England, their engaging plots and menaces all superbly supported and presented in period style.

The Fall that brought about the end of humanity was generations ago. Who knows how long? Most were lost in the balls of nuclear fire that blossomed around the world and then by the biological and chemical agents which ravaged the remainder, followed by disease and starvation. The survivors and their children and their children only lived because they were infected by a fungus, one that mutated into different strains until those infected were different from one strain to the next and they were definitely not human. Some were closer to the zombies which arose from the dead, though they retained a spark of intelligence and even what might be called humanity. Others have mastered the powers of the mind. Whilst the Infection, as the fungus which infects everyone and everyone is known, enables the different Strains to survive the new world, it is far from a safe world. Areas are still poisoned by radiation and other agents from the Fall, the Fungus has also mutated animals and plants, the dead can still rise as zombies or zeds, and towns, settlements, and trade caravans can be attacked by raider clans, cannibalistic scavengers who spread the Bad Brain disease, which turns those it infects and kills into yet more raiders of those clans! Yet there is hope. The survivors of Nor’Merica—and particular, the Nor’East—are rebuilding, recovering old technology and inventing new ones. There are ways to generate electricity, but it is always in short supply. Travel is possible via trade caravans which wend their way between the fortified settlements of the Wastes as well as by sea. Yet there is another strangeness to the Infection. The Grave Mind. Death is not the end. When a Survivor does return from the dead, they often come back having had deeply strange personal experiences… And the more often a Survivor is killed and returns from the Grave Mind, the more of his personal connections with the world are lost.

This is the setting for Dystopia Rising: Evolution, the Post Apocalypse roleplaying game from Onyx Path Publishing. Originally published as Dystopia Rising by Eschaton Media in 2011, the new edition was published in 2019 following a successful Kickstarter campaign. It employs the Storypath system, a simpler and streamlined version of the earlier Storyteller system designed for slightly cinematic, effect driven play, each player able to turn his character’s actions into stunts. The core rulebook includes everything necessary to play—rules for character generation, the Storypath system, the dangers of the wastes, factions and secret societies, faith and belief, psionics, descriptions of the Nor’East, an introductory scenario, and advice for the Storyguide as the Game Master is known.

A Player Character in Dystopia Rising: Evolution has nine Attributes—Intellect, Cunning, Resolve, Might, Dexterity, Stamina, Presence, Manipulation, and Composure; several of the roleplaying game’s sixteen skills plus Skill Tricks and Specialities associated with those skills; and Edges, Paths, and Aspirations. Both Attributes and Skills are rated between one and five. A Speciality provides an enhancement when using it, for example, ‘Knifework’ for the Close Combat skill or ‘Wound Treatment’ for the Medicine skill, whilst Skill Tricks can add more dice to a roll, increase scale of what a character can do, change the Target Number for an action, or provide a free Stunt, for example, ‘Born to Ride’ for Pilot skill or ‘Bomb Awareness’ for the Lore skill. Dystopia Rising: Evolution includes examples of three for each skill, but encourages the Storyguide and players to create their own. Either way, it costs of point of Momentum to activate a Skill Trick. Edges are the equivalent of advantages, and for certain characters can be Faith or Psi Edges. A Player Character has three Paths. His Strain Path represents his history and strain of humanity, as well as his Strain Condition; his Role Path is his occupation or what he is good at; and his Society Path represents his connection to a group or society. The Strain Condition represents a situation or response—whether by the Survivor or to the Survivor—which will penalise his actions. In some cases, it is possible to overcome a Strain Condition, at least temporarily, but with others it is impossible. For example, one of the five pre-generated characters has the Strain Path of Vegasian, which means she is flamboyant and an entertainer, and consequently, the Strain Condition of ‘Born Coward’, meaning she is not always trusted and suffers the complication of Shifty; the Role Path of Scoundrel, good at deceiving others and relieving them of their money; and the Society Path of Black Market. In play, Paths are avenues of progress for Survivors, but also storytelling tools that the Storyguide can pull a player and Survivor into the ongoing story of a scenario or campaign. Aspirations are a character’s goals and are either short or long term.

At the heart of a Survivor is a Strain. Dystopia Rising: Evolution presents eight Strains—Devoted, Elitariat, Evolved, Gorgers, Landsmen, Mutants, Nomads, and Townies. These are further divided into three Lineages to provide a total of twenty-four base archetypes upon which to base a character. For example, the Devolved Strain include the unbreakable Irons, the strong Reclaimers, and the Unstable who are capable of controlling psionicists and the undead. Not all of the Strains get on with each other, but what Dystopia Rising: Evolution makes clear is that they are very much not the equivalent of race. Further, it also makes clear that the post apocalypse of the Fall means that the Survivors have transcended the negative attitudes of humanity from before.

To create a Survivor, a player devises a concept and then selects a Strain Path, Role Path, and Society Path. Each Path provides dots or points to assign to associated skills. Plus, the player has another six to freely assign. Depending upon the rating of the skills, a Survivor can also have a Skill Trick and a Speciality. He has three pools of points to assign to his Survivor’s Attributes to the three Arenas they divided into—Mental, Physical, and Social. Lastly, the Survivor receives all of the associated Edges and gear from the Paths.

Name: Mortlake
Strain: Devoted – Unborn (Condition: Not Like the Others)

SKILLS
Academics 0, Athletics 0, Close Combat 1, Culture 0, Empathy 1, Firearms 0, Integrity 1, Leadership 0, Lore 3 (Grave Mind Expert), Medicine 3 (Medical Genius), Persuasion 1, Pilot 0, Science 1, Subterfuge 0, Survival 2, Technology 0

ATTRIBUTES
Force – Intellect 3 Might 1 Prescence 1
Finesse – Cunning 4 Dexterity 3 Manipulation 3
Resilience – Resolve 2 Stamina 1 Composure 3

PATHS
Strain: Devoted – Unborn 1
Role: Sawbones
Society: Psionicists’ Guild

ASPIRATIONS
Short: To rescue his mentor
Short: To find work as a sawbones
Long: To explore the Grave Mind

EDGES
Acute Sense 1
Meditation 1
Mentor 1
Psionicist 3 (Death Shroud, Whispered Insight, Borrowed Memories)
Skilled Healer 2
Unshakable Devotion

GEAR
Bandages, Healing Herbs, Shiv

Mechanically, Dystopia Rising: Evolution employs the Storypath system. The core mechanic uses dice pools of ten-sided dice, typically formed from the combination of a skill and an attribute, for example Pilot and Dexterity to sail a boat, Survival and Stamina to cross a wilderness, and Persuasion and Manipulation to unobtrusively get someone to do what a character wants. These skill and attribute combinations are designed to be flexible, with a character’s preferred method described as a character’s Favoured Approach. So, a character whose Favoured Approach is Force, would use Close Combat and Might in a melee fight; if Finesse, Close Combat and Dexterity; and if Resilience, then Close Combat and Stamina.

The aim when rolling, is to score Successes, a Success being a result of eight or more. Rolls of ten are added to the total and a player can roll them again. A player only needs to roll one Success for a character to complete task, but will want to roll more. Not only because Successes can be used to buy off Complications—ranging between one and five—but also because they can be used to buy Stunts which will impose Complications for others, create an Enhancement for another action, or one that it makes it difficult to act against a character. Some Stunts cost nothing, so ‘Inflict Damage’ costs nothing, though may cost more if the enemy is wearing soft armour, a ‘Critical Hit’ costs four Stunts, and so on. Instead of adding to the number of dice rolled, equipment used adds Enhancements or further Successes for a player to expend, but the player needs to roll at least one Success for equipment to be effective.

Under the Storypath system, and thus in Dystopia Rising: Evolution, failure is never complete. Rather, if a player does not roll any Successes, then he receives a Consolation. This can be a ‘Twist of Fate’, which reveals an alternative approach or new information; a ‘Chance Meeting’ introduces a new helpful NPC; or an ‘Unlooked-for Advantage’, an Enhancement which can be used in a future challenge. Alternatively, a character gains Momentum which can be expended to gain an Enhancement or to activate a Skill Trick or an Edge.

The rules in Dystopia Rising: Evolution cover narrative and dramatic scale, combat—players roll an appropriate Resilience Attribute to generate Successes to be expended on Defensive Stunts, and procedurals such as information gathering, intrigue, influence, and so on. These are all clearly explained and all easy to use in play. In general, the Storypath system is clearly presented and quick to pick up and have a cinematic quality to them, especially with the availability of Stunts and Consolations in the face of failure. The rules specific to Dystopia Rising: Evolution also cover what you would expect in a post-apocalyptic setting—food and water, the dangers of dehydration, weather and radiation, diseases from Bad Brain Disease to Necrosis, scavenging and crafting, and so on.

In addition, neither death nor disability marks the end of a Survivor in Dystopia Rising: Evolution. In the case of the latter, there is discussion of and rules for continuing to play a disabled Survivor, including with the use of assistive devices. Indeed, one of the pre-generated Survivors is depicted as being in an armoured wheelchair and equipped with armoured leg braces. In the case of the former, there is a chance that the Survivor will return anew, the fungus that infects him, breaking down his corpse, and rebuilding it to reappear at a settlement’s Morgue, a site enhanced by psionic crystals, a few days later, memories intact, wounds repaired, but emotional attachments stripped away. If this occurs too often the Survivor may come back as a Zed, a true zombie. It is also possible to actually walk among the Zeds undetected with the Necrokinesis psionic influence, and even reach into the Grave Mind ask questions of it. Other psionic influences are more traditional, for example, Pyrokinetics and Telekinetics.

In terms of setting, Dystopia Rising: Evolution adds factions, a bestiary of strange creatures and things locations, and more across the Nor’East. The factions include genre classics like the bounty hunters of the Lone Star Rangers and the postmen of the Post Walkers of the Postal Service, but also those particular to the setting, such as the Road Crew which scouts out locations for the ‘Guts N Bolts’ racing tournaments, the Psionicists’ Guild—the acceptable face of psionics, and the Priests of the Sound, whose members have the blueprints of radio equipment tattooed on their skin and are zealously dedicated to building radio networks. There are secret societies too, like the Black Market, the Dead Sight Society dedicated to the eradication of psionicists, Murder, Inc, the Servants of the Undying which holds that the Grave Mind is the path to immortality, and more. Add to this a variety of different faith and churches, such as the Church of Darwin and The Nuclear Family, and the Story Guide has a rich source of background and potential NPCs to build upon. The various faiths and their churches are actually more detailed than the other organisations. This is partly because faith can play a key role in the future of Dystopia Rising: Evolution and of the Survivors, especially if a Survivor adheres to a particular creed and backs this up with Faith related Edges. Although Dystopia Rising: Evolution is a not a supernatural roleplaying game and its zombies are not the zombies of classic horror, the use of some Faith Edges push the game in that direction if only slightly.

There is good advice for the Storyguide on running Dystopia Rising: Evolution, from adjusting the tone of the post-apocalypse to bringing the world to life, presenting hard questions and hard choices in play and dealing with difficult players, and more. In some ways it feels familiar, but this does not stop it from good advice. Specific advice is given on how to manage the Grave Mind in play since it is intended to be a traumatic experience for the Survivor. The background hints at the horrifying nature of the Fall, before going on to emphasis the efforts to made to rebuild civilisation, hold off the raider clans, and the wariness of over expanding and exploring too far, the Midwest having become dominated by a spreading mass of trees and foliage that is home to a vast array of mutant animals and creatures. The base setting is that of Philly del Phia, which is described in some details, as are parts of Old York. The rest of the Nor’East is described in broader details and the rest of the world in details broader still. These are areas for the Storyguide to develop. Rounding out Dystopia Rising: Evolution is ‘Let the Dead Lie’, an introductory scenario for the setting which takes place in Philly del Phia. It is a two-session affair which sees the Survivors investigating the death of the brother of an NPC who has suspicions that something is amiss following his own return from the Grave Mind. It should introduce the players to the core aspects of the setting and serve as the starting point for a campaign.

Physically, Dystopia Rising: Evolution is cleanly and tidily presented. It is done in full colour, often with a rust-streaked palette. If there is an issue with Dystopia Rising: Evolution it is that the character generation is not as easy as it could be. Not from a mechanical process, but a conceptual one. Putting together a Survivor means looking at a lot of options and trying to work out what works with what. In preparing a campaign of Dystopia Rising: Evolution, the Storyguide may want to work through some concepts before presenting them to her players.

Dystopia Rising: Evolution is an engaging entry into the post-apocalyptic genre. It shifts the zombie apocalypse in a different direction, dangerous and intriguing, of course making zombies the threat, but also pushing the Player Characters ever closer and right up to that line where they too might be considered zombies themselves. And while the aim of the roleplaying game—like any other—is not necessarily to die, the Grave Mind suggests that there is something more to dying than simple oblivion. As with Onyx Path Publishing roleplaying games, humanity remains at the forefront of the roleplaying game and in Dystopia Rising: Evolution, retaining is about not losing it to the Grave Mind, protecting the community, rebuilding civilisation, and holding off the dangers which threaten from beyond the Wastelands. Dystopia Rising: Evolution is a roleplaying game about still being human even if the body and the mind has evolved, sometimes to the point of near undeath, and it is superbly with an interesting array of character options for the players and a richly detailed background for the players and Storyguide.

Three great islands surround the forbidden Broken Heart Desert—Amberhaven, Alpengreen, and Umberleap. These are the Verdant Isles, formed and protected by The Great Tree that lifted them up from the sea and ultimately perished protecting in the Cataclysm, its remains forming the Broken Heart Desert. The Verdant Isles are a peaceful realm, inhabited by many different peoples who all agree that life is precious, that the best life isa calm and modest, and that both nature and others should be respected. The roots of The Great Tree still run deep and its sap, long crystalised into Amber has magical properties. Ambersmiths refine it using hives of Sprites, like beekeepers, and the resulting Amber used by Kitchen Witches to cast the more powerful Harmony magic. There are five types, known as the Astra—Flame, Flourish, Ripple, Storm, and Twilight. It is not unusual for the peoples, places, flora, and fauna of the Verdant Isles to be aligned with one of the Astra. Other magics are known, including the making of potions and salves, florists grow magical plants from Sprite-grown seeds, and architects design buildings using magical materials. The Verdant Isles are populated by several peoples of different ‘Ancestries’. The original six are the Deerkin, Finfolk, Floradops, Hoptops, Puffwings, and Snootlings. Finfolk are amphibious; Floradops have soft fuzzy skin and large, multi-coloured butterfly wings and fly; Hoptops are frog-like, amphibious, and like to leap; Puffwings are large, birdlike, and also capable of flight; and Snootlings are alligator-like, also capable of swimming.

However, the Verdant Isles are not entirely free of troubles and mysteries. Such as they are, they are not grand troubles and mysteries, but small intrigues and difficulties that upset or unbalance the calm and modesty, and take away the joy of everyday life across the Verdant Isles. It is some of these small troubles and mysteries that the Player Characters will investigate and sooth ruffled feathers—all helped by a nice hot cup of tea and a slice of cake—in Teatime Adventures: A Verdant Isles Roleplaying Game. Published by Snowbright Studios following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Teatime Adventures is an anthropomorphic roleplaying designed to be non-violent, identity and gender friendly, and compatible with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Thus, it does not have rules for combat or physical resolution, only the barest of suggestions—since it is considered incredibly rude, but it does include an extensive magic system, a gazetteer of the Verdant Isles, four adventures, and most importantly cake recipes galore, a suggested tea or each scenario, and a tea steeping guide!
A Player Character in Teatime Adventures: A Verdant Isles Roleplaying Game an Ancestry, six abilities, an Occupation, a Morale die, and an Astra Alignment. The six abilities are Bustle, Fidget, Vigour, Wits, Sensibility, and Personality, and they range in value from three to eighteen. An Occupation grants a Skill Bonus in three skills and a d8 Morale die or a Skill Bonus in one skill and a d10 Morale die. A Player Character’s Morale Points represents his motivation and will to continue. They can be lost through failure, sad situations, and discovering that you left that tray of scones in the oven for too long. They can be healed through magic, time, and roleplaying reflection. The Astra Alignment is really only important if the Player Character wants to use magic. Skills include Borrowing, Event Planning, Minding Details, Not Getting Lost, Random Facts, and Relish.
To create a character, a player selects an Ancestry, assigns an array to the abilities, and chooses an Occupation. However, deciding on an Occupation is slightly problematic since Teatime Adventures does not list any. Although the example Player Characters have Occupations such as Mason, Event Planner, and Mail Carrier, Teatime Adventures suggests that the Game Master and players work together to decide on their characters’ Occupations and suitable skills. It would have been useful if a list of suggested Occupations and their associated skills had been listed.
Otterlie
Ancestry: Hoptop
Occupation: Librarian
Level: 1
Bustle 10 (+0) Fidget 10 (+0) Vigour 12 (+1)
Wits 16 (+3) Sensibility 14 (+2) Personality 12 (+1)
Morale: 8 (d8)
Skills: The Arts +1, Borrowing +0, Charlatanism +1, Cooking +3, Daydreaming +3, Event Planning +1, Fauna Friendship +2, Flora Friendship +3, Focusing +2, Gardening +0, Labour +1, Local Lore +3, Minding Details +4, Not Getting Lost +2, Noticing +3, Random Facts +4, Relish +1, Snooping +2
Mechanically, Teatime Adventures is simple and straightforward. The Game Master sets the difficulty of a task and the appropriate skill, and the player rolls a twenty-sided die aiming to get a result equal to or greater than the difficulty, adding the skill value in the process. And that really is it to the base mechanics of Teatime Adventures and that is something of an issue with the roleplaying game. Just like the lack of suggestions for Occupations, there is no guidance on skill difficulties or what exactly constitutes a Morale loss and how much that loss might be. An experienced Game Master will have no issue with any of these problems, but Teatime Adventures is designed and written to attract an audience that does not want to embrace Dungeons & Dragons’ traditional focus on combat and ‘power fantasy’ and wants a roleplaying game that is LGBTQ+ and disability-friendly. This is undoubtedly a laudable aim and Teatime Adventures achieves this though the range of NPCs it includes who have their pronouns, details about how they identify and other information clearly presented. Yet if that the members of that audience have bounced off Dungeons & Dragons and similar roleplaying games because the aforementioned issues, the problem they will have is the lack of advice on running the Teatime Adventures, which conversely, Dungeons & Dragons, the roleplaying they do not want to play, actually has.
Where Teatime Adventures expands in terms of it mechanics. It has two types of magic—Kitchen Magic and Harmony Magic, but both are divided into five types of magic each aligned to the Astra. Kitchen Magic involves the casting of Innate spells or cantrips. For example, the Flourish Astra is all about growth and potential, and its Innate spells are Duplicate Food and Soil Check, whilst Twilight Astra is all about the edge of everyday life, hopes, and dreams, and its Innate spells are Beguile and Dim. Beyond that, Harmony Magic requires multiple participants to harmonise and cast a spell together. It is entirely in keeping with feel and tone of the setting, but Teatime Adventures completely undermines the concept. How it is works is that once the players have decided to cast a spell, they select harmony components necessary to cast it. For example, Snowfall has the components of Area, Cold, and Weather and the requirements of a cup of water and a smidge of soot. The players then add Harmony tokens to a pool face down on the table, the number based on their ability bonuses and Astra Alignment. Then against the clock, players flip the Harmony tokens and use them to match the Harmony component’s pattern on their mats. If this is done within the time limit, the spell is cast. It is a lovely idea, making spellcasting a weighty decision and part of play, but…
The section on Harmony magic in Teatime Adventures is a single page in length. The section on Harmony magic in Teatime Adventures is the first time anywhere in the roleplaying game that it is mentioned that physical components are required to play an aspect of the game. The section on Harmony magic in Teatime Adventures lacks an example of Harmony magic works. It is deeply frustrating that an intriguing system is so poorly, underwhelmingly treated in this fashion. It leaves the Game Master to try and interpret how it works on her own, and ultimately, the easiest and simplest solution, is to replace it with another magic system, which what the authors suggest as an alternative.
If the mechanics are underwhelming and poorly explained, where Teatime Adventures: A Verdant Isles Roleplaying Game comes into its own is in describing its setting. The world of The Verdant Isles is described in loving detail and flavour, covering their origins, the nature of the Astra, its holidays and festivals enjoyed by all, and its various places and locations in a lengthy gazetteer. The latter drills right down to Oakenbend, which is where the scenarios in Teatime Adventures are set, describing individual buildings and places in and around the village are set. Thirty or so of the villagers in Oakenbend are given full write-ups ready for the Game Master to portray. In addition, there is a full list of the ‘Spells of the Verdant Isles’, maps of the locations, a set of pre-generated Player Characters, and more.
However, the means to explore the Verdant Isles setting of Teatime Adventures are threefold—and each one is a delight. The first and most obvious, is the roleplaying game’s artwork, which is luscious and rich, echoing the style of children’s stories read to us when we were young or those we read to our own children and grandchildren. The second is plethora of recipes for cakes and sundries scattered through the book, clearly intended to be baked and served at every tea-infused sitting (or session) of an adventure. Golden Corn Cake, Oakenbread, Hoptop Harvest Pie, and more, plus each adventure includes the teas which should be served with it. The third is the adventures themselves, all set in and around the village of Oakenbend where the Player Characters are sent as part of the Arts & Culture Society of Amberhaven as part of a cultural exchange to learn about the village and its life. The scenarios involve the Player Characters attending the autumnal Leaping of the Hoptops festival in which all but one of the entries in the Hoptop Pie competition are sabotaged and find one of their number accused of the crime; investigating how and why the village’s crop of Star Light plants have withered to dust; working who or what is causing the villagers to disappear during the winter solstice festival of the Feast of Forge and Flame; and exactly what the strange crystalline plant is that has bloomed everywhere in the village during the Feast of Flourish. These are all lengthy adventures, typically requiring two or three sessions to play, plus there is plenty of scope and room for the Game Master to add her own content and scenarios.
Physically, Teatime Adventures is lovingly presented. Both the artwork and the maps are delightful and the writing is engaging. However, the lack of an index is inexcusable.
Teatime Adventures: A Verdant Isles Roleplaying Game is utterly charming and engaging, its aims highly laudable, but flawed. Its problems all stem from the underwhelming treatment and development of the rules, the lack of presentation and development of the Harmony magic system a thorough disappointment. Yet put those flaws aside, which is entirely possible because the roleplaying game’s mechanics are light enough for the Game Master to substitute a known system which works in the case of magic, and Teatime Adventures lives up to all of its aims. The roleplaying game is all the more relaxing and thoughtful without the threat of physical violence or combat being present, and of course, the combination of play with tea and cake enhances that. Teatime Adventures: A Verdant Isles Roleplaying Game is a lovely roleplaying game, friendly and amiable, which the Game Master will need to develop aspects of the roleplaying game to get it really working as the designers intended.