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.

—oOo—
What is it?SINS: Deadly City is a quick-start for SINS, the post-apocalyptic survival horror roleplaying game. Its events take place during the apocalyptic event prior to the post-apocalyptic event so is therefore a prequel which explains the beginning of the setting. It is designed to be played by five players.
It is a thirty-three-page, full colour booklet.
It is published by Nightfall Games. (It was previously published by First Falling Leaf.)
How long will it take to play?
SINS: Deadly City is playable in between three and five hours, so can be played through in a single session.
Who do you play?
Five Player Characters are included. These consist of a group of friends who all live in New York city. The five are a firefighter (oddly listed as an ex-football player), a young bartender with a criminal past, a junior police officer, a graphic designer with a criminal past, and a student at medical school.
How is a Player Character defined?
The Player Character has six attributes. These are Body, Conviction, Cunning, Passion, Reason, and Prowess. Each is rated between one and six. He also has points in sixteen skills divided in three categories—Natural, Learnt, and Combat. Skills are broad in nature, for example, Athletics, Knowledge, Marksmanship, and Melee. These are rated between one and six and no Player Character has a rating higher than three. With a skill rating of one, the Target Number is six, and then five or six for a skill rating of two, four, five, or six for a skill rating of three, and three, four, five, or six for a skill rating of four. A Player Character also has a Fate point, although this is never used in the quick-start, and some Drama Points.
How do the mechanics work?SINS uses the HOPE Engine. This a dice pool system which uses six-sided dice. A dice pool is expressed as X/Y where the ‘X’ is the number of dice in the dice pool and equal to the attribute, plus one, and ‘Y’ is the number of successes the player must roll to succeed. A six can be rerolled to generate Successes. A typical difficulty requires one success, but harder tasks require two or more Successes. Modifiers add or subtract dice from the pool. Extra Successes will increase the amount of damage inflicted in combat or reduce the amount of time a task takes.
Drama Points are used to make an action dramatic. When played, it adds an extra die to the pool and reduces the Target Number needed to generate Successes.
SINS: Deadly City presents a streamlined version of the HOPE Engine. The full rules are detailed in the SINS core rulebook.
How does combat work?
Combat uses the same mechanics as the HOPE Engine. Awareness is used for an initiative roll and when an opponent attacks or acts against another, the defender is tagged and can act. When targeted by either a Close or Ranged attack, the defender can Evade. Any Successes generated will counter those generated by the attacker’s roll. Damage, which is calculated as the base damage of the weapon plus any Success, reduces a Player Character’s Vitality, first Light, then Wounded, and lastly Mauled. When the Player Character’s Vitality is at the Wounded or Mauled level, he suffers a penalty to all dice pools until healed.
How does the enemy work?
Although SINS and SINS: Deadly City both initially look like a ‘zombie apocalypse’ and its aftermath setting, but that is very much not the case and the SINS: Deadly Sins makes this explicitly clear. However, there is nothing to stope the players and their characters from believing this until the scenario reveals otherwise. They are presented with a minimum of details.
What do you play?
SINS: Deadly City is set in New York city. The scenario opens with the Player Characters meeting in a bar following a possible end of the world situation from a shower of meteorites which failed to do the predicted damage as they seemed to melt into a ‘Black Rain’. Suddenly, a car careens through the bar window and strange things start happening… The scenario as a whole is actually presented as a series of Scenarios, which are effectively scenes. These are organised so that they can be slotted into the order that the players will play them in. So, in ‘Scenario A’ the Player Characters begin in the bar, but ‘Scenario B’ presents what will happen if the Player Characters decide to hide out until the whole situation has blown over and ‘Scenario C’ what happens if they go the authorities. Other scenarios explore the possibility of their attempting to escape the city, their encountering the National Guard enforcing quarantine, and so on. Finally, the Player Characters can find some sanctuary, make a final stand, and discover more about what is going on.
Is there anything missing?
SINS: Deadly City could have done with a map of the various locations in the scenario. However, they are fairly generic and the Game Master should be able to find suitable floorplans.
Is it easy to prepare?
The rules are easy to grasp, but the scenario needs careful study. The ‘plug and play’ aspect of the seven scenarios (or scenes) makes the whole scenario easier to organise, but the individual scenes are fairly detailed and require preparation.
Is it worth it?
SINS: Deadly City is a prequel to SINS, which means that it does not present the world described in the SINS core rulebook. Technically, this means that in parts, SINS: Deadly City is not a quick-start for the roleplaying game except in a mechanical sense as it shows off the rules. However, SINS: Deadly City is not a poor prequel, preparing as it does the players and their characters for the Post Apocalyptic world of SINS.
Where can you get it?
The SINS: Deadly City is available here.

We’re in the final stretch now: the gallery will be closing by the end of the month. Due to scheduled appointments this weekend, the gallery will not be open this weekend (but if you have an eye on a particular … Continue reading →

Chimneyhaus is a scenario for Mausritter –Sword-and-Whiskers roleplaying, the rules-light fantasy adventure microclone in which the very big and very dangerous world is explored from a mouse eye’s point of view. This is our world, but one in which the mice are anthropomorphic and can talk, as can other species. Beyond the walls of their home, the world is one of opportunity and adventure, fraught with hazards natural and unnatural, those untouched by mankind and those imposed by mankind. Using the base mechanics from Into the Odd, mice in Mausritter need to be brave, resourceful and clever, as well as lucky if they are to survive. Scenarios for Mausritter tend to be location based. Either the mice having to explore a single location, which could actually be a tree stump, a human-sized suit of armour, a grandfather clock, or an abandoned human-made shack, as in Mausritter: Honey in the Rafters or a sandbox setting containing numerous locations, such as Mausritter: TheEstate Adventure Collection or Mayfield. Chimneyhaus is sandbox setting.
Chimneyhaus is published by Fey Light Studio. It details a single location and the surrounding area. The single location is the McRheetz Farm, a fairly isolated dairy farm which stands in the middle of County Langlade. Here the mice have made their home in a disused chimney stack on the farmhouse and inhabit a series of cliffside-like homes up the inside of the chimney, with a smoker at the top where the mice smoke cheese and a cheese cave and brewery at the bottom. Home to a family of some sixty mice, they have an odd relationship with the farmer and his family. They think the mice are fairies and so leave a pint of milk out daily, lest the ‘fairies’ turn the rest of his milk sour. Of course, the mice turn the milk into cheese! However, Frey, the McRheetz family cat, is always hungry and has both the run of the farm and the trust of the farmer! The farm itself is nicely detailed, and include the Haystack Market where traders met, the Sugar Maple Orchard where the mice regularly tap the trees the syrup for mead, and the Chicken Coop where the chickens are plotting a revolution, but their short-term memory means that they forget and must start again in the morning!
Beyond the boundaries of the farm, Chimneyhaus presents County Langlade, a complete mega-hex full of locations. The McRheetz Farm stands at the centre with strange places like a cave, home to a bear, but which has strange markings on its walls; a lake home to a frog prince; and a cemetery where ghosts wander in search of the living to leech heat from. There is a hamlet nearby too, the site of an abandoned well that was once home to mice and pigeons strut the streets. These are supported by details of the factions, such as a centipede army, the Queen B’s Hive, and Willy the Weasel, plus more detailed adventure sites. These expand upon their descriptions in the County Langlade write-up and come with complete with plot hooks, and encounters and things that the Player Characters might find. There are four of these, plus a short bestiary with new creatures for Mausritter, some new conditions, and a handful of new spells.
Physically, Chimneyhaus is short and succinctly presented. The conciseness of the writing means that not only is everything is easy to grasp, but there is space too for the Game Master to add her own content. The artwork and look of the book does vary in quality though. One illustration is at least too big, whilst the actual chimney where the mince live is charmingly illustrated in rich colours, the map of farm itself is terribly bland and uninviting.
Chimneyhaus is a charmingly rural sandbox for Mausritter which can be run on its own, or combined with other titles for Mausritter. There is certainly space in County Langlade for Mausritter: The Estate Adventure Collection or Mayfield. Equally, the Game Master has plenty of room to add her own content, or even developing something already mentioned in the supplement, such as the abandoned well in the nearby hamlet. In whatever way it is used, Chimneyhaus will be a classic player-driven sandbox which the players can explore at their leisure, their mice discovering in the process a world of magic, mystery, and menace, whether as a campaign on its own or expanded by the Game Master.

Just as with the opening, the closing of an event tends to sneak up on you. One minute, the place is packed to the gills with customers asking questions, relating anecdotes, and asking “So what’s next?”, and the next, everyone … Continue reading →

Judges Guild is rightly renowned for its innovation in the hobby industry. It pioneered the concept of supplementary support for roleplaying games when those in charge at TSR, Inc. believed that there would be no demand for them. The publisher’s Judges Shield would be first Game Master’s screen, City State of the Invincible Overlord would be one of the first great city settings combined with the Wilderlands of High Fantasy setting, Tegel Manor the first haunted house as a dungeon adventure, and Dark Tower, the only scenario published by someone other than TSR to appear in ‘The 30 Greatest D&D Adventures of All Time’ in Dungeon #116 (November, 2004). Unfortunately, Judges Guild’s legacy has been tarnished by the social attitudes and comments of Robert Bledsoe II, son of the late Robert Bledsoe, one of the co-founders of Judges Guild. However, Robert Bledsoe did not start Judges Guild alone and had a partner, Bill Owen, who has a memoir, Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale, which covers the period in which he was involved in the company, and more. Originally published in 2008, it has been updated with addenda, not once, but twice. It would be fair to say Owen’s involvement is little known outside of the devotees of Judges Guild and hobby historians, but Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale is his chance to tell that story.

There is a certain familiarity in how the author began gaming. Later influxes to the hobby would begin with Dungeons & Dragons, a Fighting Fantasy solo adventure book, or even Vampire: The Masquerade, but Owen, like all gamers of his age, began with wargames and in particular, Avalon Hill titles like Africa Korps, before moving onto miniatures wargaming played across the traditional sand tray to simulate terrain. It would remain a hobby for all of his life and heavily influence his career working in the family travel business. As a travel agent, Owen was able to ease some of the logistics that Judges Guild would face in its first few years in terms of travel and printing, but it was his father’s first businesses—a regional chain of toyshops and a mall—that would arguably prepare him for the hobby market that burgeoned in the years following the publication of Dungeons & Dragons. Indeed, the Franklin Mall would be first headquarters for Judges Guild.

Owen’s involvement with Robert Bledsoe and Dungeons & Dragons begin when he ran his first dungeon using the Dungeons & Dragons boxed set that he had acquired at Gen Con in 1974. Bledsoe would borrow Owen’s copy and run his own campaign, heavily drawing from and influenced by Tolkien. Eventually, and now friends, Owen and Bledsoe would go into business as Judges Guild with their first products being play aids for Dungeons & Dragons—the Ready Ref Sheets and the Dungeon Tac Cards—that collated and better presented the charts for the roleplaying game, followed by the map and booklet for City State of the Invincible Overlord. Initially, these and other releases would be distributed via subscriptions. Owen reveals some of the challenges that he and Bledsoe faced in bring Judges Guild titles to print. Not just the fact that they were doing on it a budget, but also the technology involved. The initial difficulties of drawing and printing the map for the City State of the Invincible Overlord in colour that would push Bledsoe to redraw the whole map in black, and the Dungeon Tac Cards being typeset at a printing company between the time that its employees opened up and the office staff arrived! There are endearing tales of the first two times that Judges Guild was at Gen Con in 1976 and 1977. The first visit was done almost guerrilla style, selling subscriptions for future releases and even a few map sets out of the back of the car that Owen and a friend drove to Wisconsin in. The second visit has an even greater unreality to it, being hosted in the Playboy Mansion in Lake Geneva, which turned out to be an eyeopener for all concerned.

Yet Owen’s time with Judges Guild and as partner to Robert Bledsoe quickly comes to an end. By 1978, he had burnt himself out and lost the energy and drive that would keep Bledsoe in the hobby games industry for another five or so years. He sold his share of the business to Bledsoe and returned to the family travel business. Owen has not been involved in the roleplaying industry since, although he has remained a keen wargamer, both in terms of miniatures and wargames. It is at this point that the reader’s interest in Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale is likely to wane…

Updated and expanded in 2014, the third edition of Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale, which includes addenda for both the second and third editions, is some one-hundred-and-forty-eight pages long, but Owen’s direct involvement with Judges Guild ends at page sixty. Much of the longer rest of the book consists of rambling reminiscences and reflections. Most notably these look back upon the combined wargaming and World War II battlefields of Europe tour that Owen arranged, discuss some of the author’s favourite games, and so on, but there are snippets of interest to the Judges Guild and roleplaying fan here too. For example, Owen muses not just whether was paid enough when he sold his half of Judges Guild to Bledsoe, but more interestingly, what if he had remained at the company and sold it to E. Gary Gygax later on when Gygax began to have difficulties at TSR. Inc.? The author does not explore this idea very far, but there is the possibility of an interesting ‘What if?’ scenario there. Elsewhere, Owen provides a close up look at the original map for Tegel Manor; looks at early, pre-print history of City State of the Invincible Overlord when it was ‘No Name City’ located in Middle-earth; and just how the Bledsoe got away with some of the names of the shops and stores in the city, such as ‘Beat-a-Slave’ and ‘Messy Massage’… These are intermittent throughout the book though.

Perhaps one of the pleasures of the book is its many photographs. Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale is profusely illustrated with photographs from the author’s time with Judges Guild, the games he played, and much more. They are not always as clear or as light as the reader might want them to be, but they are included and they are all each clearly described by the author.

Perhaps one reason why a modern gamer might want to read Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale is the fact that it subtitled, ‘A Cautionary Tale’. Owen clearly faced the challenges of any young, fresh start-up business. A combination of long hours, great effort, and having to find its own way in an industry that had no precedent, that enthusiasm will only carry you so far in overcoming. Bill Owen burned out and left the industry after two years, and whilst his story of what happened and the mistakes the company made are now over forty years old, they retain some validity today.

Physically, Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale is presented as series of short essays accompanied by handfuls of photographs. It is an amiable enough read, often slipping into digression, and not always coming to any clear conclusion.

Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale is a rambling affair that is far from being an official history of Judges Guild. Of course, it does not set out to be, but if the author’s reminisces about his time at Judges Guild are the most interesting sections in the book, they are also the shortest. Meaning that for the roleplaying historian and devotee of Judges Guild there is not as much within its pages to really interest them as perhaps there could have been. Ultimately, what comes across from the amiable reminisces in the pages of Judges Guild’s Bob & Bill – A Cautionary Tale, is that Bill Owen does look back upon his time with Judges Guild and the late Robert Bledsoe with great fondness, as well as having greatly enjoyed his gaming.

When starting a venue, there’s all of the work needed to open it to the world, and then the hours and minutes run out and it’s either open the door or stay closed forever. Time’s up, you’re ready, start letting … Continue reading →

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

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

—oOo—
Name: The Shambler Between WorldsPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Jason Shayer

Setting: Jazz Age Arkham
Product: ScenarioWhat You Get: Twenty-five page, 2.78 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: A disappearing inmate from Arkham Assylum? This calls for the Miskatonic Mystery Club!*Plot Hook: A disappearing inmate from Arkham Assylum leads to occult shenanigans.
Plot Support: Staging advice, six pre-generated Investigators, three NPCs, one handout (justabout), five maps, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Plain.
* Miskatonic Mystery Club Mobile not included
Pros# Miskatonic University horror scenario# Miskatonic Mystery Club is a great idea# Straightforward, simple plot# Teraphobia# Multiversophobia
Cons# Needs a slight edit# Underwhelming hook to get the Investigators involved# Is the island ‘unvisited’ or ‘uninhabited’?# Needs more handouts# No information about the emergency book reading# Investigators could kill an important to the plot NPC# Miskatonic Mystery Club only briefly detailed
Conclusion# Straightforward, simple plot needs further development and details fleshing out # Potentially serviceable Miskatonic University/Arkham-set scenario that needs more of the Miskatonic Mystery Club

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

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

—oOo—
Name: Play, Repeat, ReturnPublisher: Chaosium, Inc.
Author: Braydon Fiveash & Stars Are Right

Setting: Modern Day Alaska
Product: ScenarioWhat You Get: Twenty-nine page, 6.58 MB Full Colour PDF
Elevator Pitch: Groundhog Day, but with dinosaurs!Plot Hook: Home just got really strange.
Plot Support: Staging advice, one NPC, three handouts, six maps, table of timelines, two dinosaurs, and one Mythos monster.Production Values: Decent.
Pros# House in a bottle weird mystery# Survival horror begins at home# Easy to prepare# Entertainingly different set-up and mode of play# Mythos twist upon a cliché which makes good use of the environment# Chronophobia# Frigophobia# Ornithoscelidaphobia
Cons# Scenario could last twenty minutes, could last four hours# Not all of the maps in the right places# Cliché is easy to work out
Conclusion# Infuses a cliché with the Mythos for an intriguingly different one-shot  # Short, sharp, easy-to-prepare weird Science Fiction horror one-shot that can be ready to play in minutes

Conan the Mercenary is a supplement for Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of published by Modiphius Entertainment. It is the third in the ‘Conan the…’ series of supplements which focus on and take their inspiration from Conan himself at various stages of his life and what he was doing. Over this series, the supplements will track our titular character’s growth and progress as he gains in skills and abilities and talents. Thus this third supplement, following on from Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Thief, looks at Conan as a young man and his life what he did after he left his homeland and took his next steps on his career which will take him from barbarian to king, essentially the equivalent of a Player Character having taken the first steps in his adventuring career. Yet whilst the stats for Conan himself at this stage of his life do appear in the pages of Conan the Mercenary, and so hint at his step as covered in the next supplement, Conan the Pirate, they are more a side note than a feature, for the supplement continues the path south begun in Conan the Barbarian to examine and explore more of the countries of the centre, where East meets West in the Hyperborean Age—Khoraja, Koth, Ophir, and Shem. Not necessarily the most warlike of countries, but the most likely to hire and in need of mercenaries, or sell-swords, dog soldiers, and sword-sisters. Conan the Mercenary supports the role of the mercenary and warfare in Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of. It includes new archetypes, talents, backgrounds, and equipment to help players create more varied Mercenary characters and Game Masters more varied Mercenary NPCs; a gazetteer and guide to the fractious lands where the rulers have good reason to employ mercenaries of all kinds, whether that is to protect borders, put down insurrection, buy off rampaging mercenaries, and to strike at their rivals—whether internal or external an array of detailed NPCs and monsters, including unique nemeses; and mechanics to help bring mercenary campaigns and other activities and attitudes to your game, including sieges, battles, skirmishes, small operations, and more.

Conan the Mercenary opens by introducing new options for the Mercenary type character, building upon the content in the core rulebook for Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of. This includes the fact that the mercenary can have two Homelands (although only gains the benefits of one) to reflect how well-travelled he is, and has access to two new Mercenary Castes, Born Soldier and Child of Camp Followers—the latter tying to the vivid description of the camp followers later in the supplement, and both complete with stories and associated traits, whilst there is just the single new caste Talent, ‘Scrounger’. Similarly, there are two Mercenary Natures—Professional and Blood-crazed, whilst the Archetypes include ‘Asshuri’, ‘Captain’, ‘Champion’, ‘Messenger’, ‘Unseasoned’, and ‘Veteran’. Mercenary Educations add tables for War Stories, Personal Belongings and Garments, notable Weapon and Provenance, possible Mercenary Names. These add flavour and detail, whilst the Mercenary Talents are primarily built around the ‘Veteran’ Talent tree, only available to those who have served in a mercenary company, whilst the other ten Talents, such as ‘Hostage Taker’ or ‘If it Bleeds…’, are available to all Player Characters. The new ‘Tools of War’ begin with ‘Engines of Destruction’, the siege weapons employed by armies and mercenary companies to break castles, fortresses, and cities, but they get more personal with oddities such as the mancatcher and repeating crossbow. Perhaps more interesting for most players is the examination of high quality Akbitanan steel, whose forging is kept secret by the skilled craftsmen of Shem. The resulting weapons can strike fear into the opponents of anyone wielding them and so they are in great demand.

Supporting these new character options is a gazetteer of the lands in the centre of the West—Khoraja, Koth, Ophir, and Shem. Khoraja is a nation founded by mercenaries. They captured the city of the same name from the kingdom of Koth, taking advantage of the mountains which separates it from the rest of the kingdom. It also controls Shamla Pass, not only an important trade route through the mountains, but also the route that a major invasion force would take going north or south. The kings of Khoraja repudiate their mercenary origins, but that does not stop them from employing them. Koth itself employs mercenaries not only to protect its borders, but to put down insurrections that intermittently arise as one city ruler or noble aspires to the throne. The country’s fractiousness severely hampers the efforts of King Strabonus, its much feared and much derided ruler, to chart its future, not helped by the presence of Tsotha-Lanti, the sorcerer who at best is regarded as an advisor to the king, at worst the power behind the throne. Ophir is the opposite of Koth, a settled, extremely wealthy, and decadent nation, unambitious under the rule of its king, Amalrus, but not his wife, Queen Yrrane, who secretly plans to take the throne from her husband. To that end she has gathered the fealty of many mercenary captains who would command their companies to aid the ambitious spouse. Shem, known for its highly skilled craftsmen, is divided between meadowlands and desert, the latter providing a protective bulwark against invaders from the east. In each case, an overview of each country is provided, along with a look at their major cities, traditions, culture and faiths, ruins, notable features and citizens, and more. In each case, the content of Conan the Mercenary is set before the events of Conan’s stories, enabling the Game Master to run them as adventures for her Player Characters.
If the Gazetteer examines the places where mercenaries are most frequently employed or stationed and particular reasons why, ‘Events’ is more about the general reasons for war in the Hyperborean Age—not just war between kingdoms, internecine warfare, barbaric raids, and religious upheavals, but also natural events such as plague and famine, and unnatural events like the rise of a sorcerer and incursion from the Outer Dark. These are relatively short overviews so feel slightly generic. Fortunately, the supplement shifts away from this when it focuses on the NPCs in the setting in ‘Encounters’. This includes both a look at Conan’s involvement in the politics and events of the nations of Khoraja, Koth, Ophir, and Shem, in particular, his command of mercenary companies in the defeat of the Thugra Khotan and later defeat during Prince Almuric’s uprising against King Strabonus in Koth. These are backed up by a good range of ‘Encounters’ or NPCs. Even the most basic of mercenaries, such as the Asshuri, the Free Company mercenary, or Khrajan Solider are all given good write-ups alongside their stats, those done for the persons of renown, such as Thugra Khotan—self-entombed sorcerer in the city of Kuthchemes in Khoraja, King Strabonus, and Tsotha-Lanti, are excellent, helping to bring their ambitions and resulting plots to live and ready for development by the Game Master. Oddly, although mentioned in the gazetteer, there are no stats or write-up for Queen Yrrane and given its focus later in the supplement, there are no camp followers detailed here. Nevertheless, the ‘Encounters’ section enables the Game Master to have her Player Characters encounter them if running her campaign before the events of Conan’s stories.
As with previous supplements for Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, ‘Hither Came Conan…’ places our titular hero in the context of the supplement and provides a playable version of him early in his long career. This also ties him back into the contents of the previous two chapters and in doing so, outlines one possible plot for the Game Master. ‘The Mercenary Way’ explores mercenary life in the Hyperborean Age. It is the most entertaining chapter in the supplement, starting with a discussion of camp followers and their way of life training behind a mercenary company. Technically called a ‘tross’, it looks at the different roles—blacksmiths, camp boys, cooks, gamblers, healers, priests, prostitutes, and more—all of which lend itself to a scenario or two, if not a mini-campaign around the ‘tross’. Despite their not being involved in the thick of the action, such a setting still lends itself to plenty of conflict, roleplaying, and social dynamics that would lead to good, if likely grubby and sometimes desperate, storytelling. Several mercenary companies, from the good to the bad, from the Nemedian Adventurers which only serves the King of Nemedia to the Free Companions, are described and a Mercenary Code of conduct is given as well as an explanation of how mercenary companies are structured. Tables provide loot to be taken from a battlefield and a city, events whilst ransacking, and events whilst carousing as a mercenary. The latter are always fun, providing a nice selection of random encounters and events that the Game Master can develop. The loot tables though, do feel as if they could be longer.
Supporting the earlier discussion of reasons to go to war in ‘Event’, the section on ‘Mercenary Adventures’ looks at the types of scenarios and campaigns that the Game Master can run with the supplement. These start with scouting and reconnaissance missions, patrols, securing prisoners, and more before slipping into the weird looking how cursed ruins, ancient battlefields, and even demons and gods of the Outer Dark could get involved in a mercenary campaign. These sections are fairly broad in their overview and should be treated as starting points for the Game Master.
Surprisingly, it has taken to almost the end of Conan the Mercenary to include rules for battles and mass combat. Part of that is due to the format of the series, but it does seem like a long wait. In general, the rules for small skirmishes are provided in the core rules for Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, but here they scale up to handle full battles and sieges. These are not wargaming rules, but a means to handle a battle in a more narrative fashion whilst still involving the Player Characters on an individual level. To that end there is advice on ‘Narrating Battles the Howard Way’ and using cut scenes for ‘Heroic Actions’ where a Player Character has an opportunity to influence the battle and be courageous, such as opening a gate to let soldiers through or sabotaging a siege engine. It does add complexity to play and the Game Master should definitely run through a few examples to get the feel for it before running it for her players. There is an example too, which can be studied. Lastly, ‘Heroes of the Age’ adds a pair of potential Player Characters or NPCs developed by backers for the Kickstarter campaign for Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of. Of the two, Freya the Red would make an interesting mercenary commander for any campaign, whether as employer or enemy.
Physically, Conan the Mercenary is a slim hardback, presented in full colour, illustrated with an excellent range of fully painted artwork. It is well written, is accessible, and comes with a reasonable index. The maps of the nations detailed in Gazetteer are a bit bland though.
Conan the Mercenary opens up new campaign and scenario possibilities, whether that is as a special operations squad involved in civil war or a rebellion in Koth or going to war against the forces lead by Thugra Khotan, as Conan did, or surviving in the tross from one campaign to the next. However, it does take a while before it comes together and begins to feel like a supplement for Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, doing so when it begins to draw more directly from the adventures of Conan himself and the characters he involves himself with in Howard’s stories. The book needed more of that and so it comes across as being a rather slight book in places, not helped by it being shorter than other supplements in the series. 
Conan the Mercenary does feel slightly underwhelming in paces, but it shines through where it counts—and that is on the personal level. For the Robert E. Howard’s Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of Game Master who wants to send her Player Characters into the heat, blood, sweat, and hell of battle, to let them sell their martial skills to the highest bidder, and have them influence the fate of kingdoms at the point of a sword, Conan the Mercenary unsheathes its sword and strikes the right blow!

Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Greg Stafford’s mythic universe of Glorantha. It enables creators to sell their own original content for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, 13th Age Glorantha, and HeroQuest Glorantha (Questworlds). This can include original scenarios, background material, cults, mythology, details of NPCs and monsters, and so on, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Glorantha Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Glorantha-set campaigns.

—oOo—
What is it?In Search Of Baroshi is a scenario for use with RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha.

It is a twenty-seven page, full colour, 1.56 MB PDF.

The layout is plain and it does need an edit. There is no artwork, but the scenario makes use of classic Glorantha maps.

Where is it set?
In Search Of Baroshi is set in Sartar, specifically near the Caves of Chaos as detailed in the classic scenario, Snakepipe Hollow. It is a sequel to events which occurred in that scenario.

Who do you play?Any type of Player Character can play In Search Of Baroshi, but worshippers of Babeester Gor, Ernalda, Humakt, and Storm Bull will all be useful.
What do you need?
In Search Of Baroshi requires RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, the Glorantha Bestiary, and The Red Book of Magic. In addition, The Smoking Ruin & Other Stories and the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack will both be useful for details on Clearwine and its notable inhabitants.
What do you get?In Search Of Baroshi is a scenario which takes the Player Characters from the city of Clearwine north to the outskirts of the Caves of Chaos in Snakepipe Hollow, the Chaos-infested valley in the north of Sartar. They are asked by the temple to Ernalda in Clearwine to rescue an ancient godling known as Baroshi who had been freed by a previous expedition which had subsequently worked to establish an Erath temple in his name. The temple was subject to multiple attacks by the forces of Chaos and during a recent attack, the body of Baroshi was destroyed and his spirit seized. The Player Characters are directed to locate the godling, free his spirit, and locate the surviving members of the expedition—if any.

In Search Of Baroshi is divided into three parts. In the first, the Player Characters are briefed and have a chance to gain some information about the region around Snakepipe Hollow, some of the threats they are likely to face, and more. In the second, they make their way from Clearwine to the other side of Snakepipe Hollow, the scenario discussing several routes and what might be encountered along the way. The third part describes the caves where the Chaos cultists have taken Baroshi and are now planning to sacrifice him. A third of the scenario is devoted to the various NPCs that the Player Characters will encounter first in Clearwine and then in the caves where the climax of the scenario takes place. These sets of stats are all decent enough and will present a group of Player Characters with a decent challenge.

In Search Of Baroshi has a solid plot and an interesting set-up, and opportunity to roleplay in the initial section. The last section is a strike and rescue mission. In some ways it is the least interesting aspect of the scenario. In no way unplayable, it nevertheless, does feel undeveloped and in places, bland. The NPC monsters are not particularly engaging and the descriptions of the caves where the action takes place is perfunctory at best. They do not feel lived in or occupied locations and some descriptive text would help the Game Master set the scene whilst descriptions of what might be found in individual caves would have given the Player Characters things to look at and interact with, rather than each location just being the site of another fight. Further, whilst the scenario gives two options as which of the Chaos factions is in charge, the description of what they plan to do is underwritten and consequently made all the more difficult for the Game Master to describe to her players.

In addition, the fate of only one of the original expedition is detailed in the adventure, and she is only rendered as both someone to rescue rather than as an NPC in her own right and a reward condition at the end of the scenario depending upon if the Player Characters save her or not. The other members are ignored all together and it would have least been useful to have been given their names, let alone few items belonging to them that might have wound up in the possession of the Chaos cultists.
Is it worth your time?Yes—In Search Of Baroshi is a straightforward scenario which does need development in terms of flavour and detail to help bring it alive and help the Game Master work it into her campaign. No—In Search Of Baroshi is too location specific being near Snakepipe Hollow and it involves fighting Chaos which may not be an activity that the Player Characters are ready for.Maybe—In Search Of Baroshi needs work in terms of flavour and detail to help bring out the details of its plot, but if the Game Master is willing to make that extra effort, the scenario is serviceable and it could lead into further activity in and around Snakepipe Hollow.

One of the fascinations with Traveller is with its starships. Ranging in size from one hundred tons up to hundreds of thousands of tons, the players are exposed to them in the rules fairly on—during the process of character creation. Careers such as Scouts, Merchants, and Nobles all have the possibility of giving the characters starships of a small, but capable size. Of course, a starship will take the Player Characters from star system to star system, from adventure to adventure, but the starship also becomes a home too. As a home, the players doubtless want to know what their starship looks like and if they have a role aboard her, as no doubt they do, where their normal station is and where their stateroom is. Then of course, starship deck plans are just like maps. They provide locations to visit, to adventure in, to explore, to attack and defend, and so on. Which can of course be for the theatre of the mind or with miniatures. Starships in Traveller are also highly technical, designed to be realistic within their setting of the Third Imperium, with much their displacement and tonnage given over to fuel, power plant, and jump and manoeuvre drives. There are plenty of supplements dedicated to starships in the Third Imperium—official and unofficial, but of these few, barely a handful are dedicated to the really large starships, space stations, and other big installations and locations. This is where Starship Geomorphs comes in handy.
Starship Geomorphs is a vast collection of geomorphs—or map sections—which can be slotted together to form larger locations in a wide variety of layouts. This includes starships, space stations, buildings, and massive structures. They are all designed using the architecture and map iconography of Traveller, so there is a high of familiarity for long-time fans of the venerable roleplaying game. However, none of the geomorphs are official Traveller content despite their compatibility. Further, their use lends itself to form and function rather than technical design, with the geomorphs here being slotted together to create their locations and ships rather than the Game Master designing a ship using the rules for naval architecture and adhere to the rules for realisation as a set of deck plans. Consequently, Starship Geomorphs possesses a greater utility than a set of deck plans for a single starship or location might.
Presented in landscape format, Starship Geomorphs opens with an introduction and an explanation of the geomorphs. These are organised into standard, edge, corner, and end sections. In addition, there are aerofins too, the aim being to reduce the starships being more aerodynamic and less boxy. There are suggestions too to flesh out a ship design, including its overall look, occupants, gear, age, level of wear, sounds heard aboard ship, and more. There are suggestions also, to add flavour and detail, including what might be found in the ship’s locker and down a ship’s corridor. Other uses of the geomorphs suggested include combining them to create space stations, like the small Dyson-Class modular Star port, corporate facilities, and so on. In the case of the sample starship and sample corporate facility, references are provided to the particular pages where the geomorphs can be found that make up the particular object or location.
The bulk of the book is understandably given over to the geomorphs themselves. They begin with a multipurpose geomorph, a research area geomorph, cargo bay—full and empty, engineering/sensor ops, flight hanger/crew area, brig/prison, arboretum—upper and lower, a drop capsule/troop deck, an auditorium, a sports complex, high passage (first class) passenger deck, promenade decks—food/retail and casino, cloning facility (or alternatively low berth facility), bride areas, gunnery and sandcaster decks, and much, much, more. Some are quite mundane, such as the battery deck, office space (or cubicle farm, proving that office design does not get better in the future), waste processing, and so on. Very quickly the Game Master can put together a troop or fighter carrier, an exploratory or laboratory vessel, a passenger liner, an imperial throne ship (yes, there really is a throne room geomorph!), a strike vessel complete with weapon turrets and barbettes, and more. Punctuating these are some delightful cross section three-dimensional illustrations of the various geomorphs, including a ‘Flight Hanger with Launch Tube’, a cargo bay with an armed crewman outside ready to shoot some scuttling creatures inside, a corridor with doors off and a window through which can be seen a poor, glowing man having suffered a strange mishap in the laboratory, a low berth area, a steerage compartment for passengers travelling on the cheap, and lots more. There is a sense of humour to a few of these, but in the main, they help bring their locations to life and add an extra dimension to the deck plans.
This is just the starships possible with Starship Geomorphs. Space stations and star ports are also possible, again using many of the same geomorphs. However, mix up the office space, auditorium, lobby, and so on, and what you have is a corporate building. The arboretum, promenade areas with and without casino, swimming pool, and passenger decks all combine to form a hotel, with the steerage decks becoming the equivalent of a coffin hotel. There are tram and train layouts, interstitial spaces for between floors and decks, connecting bridges between buildings and space station sections, and a lot more.
Starship Geomorphs is cleanly and clearly laid out. The writing is fairly light in tone and there are notes here and there throughout. The geomorphs are all well done and easy to use.
As a book, Starship Geomorphs is a superb catalogue of maps, plans, deck plans, and more. If there is an issue, it is that there is a high number of geomorphs labelled ‘Multipurpose’, in fact too many of them, to the point where their purpose is lost without the Game Master going through them one by one. Another issue is perhaps that whilst the print version is lovely, the PDF is actually of greater use because the user can separate the geomorphs and put them together onscreen. Further, Starship Geomorphs is not just of use for Traveller, but will work with any Science Fiction roleplaying. Thus, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, The Expanse, Star Trek Adventures, Star Frontiers, and Cyberpunk Red—all of these would work with a lot of the geomorphs in Starship Geomorphs. If Starship Geomorphs is missing anything, it is a guide or suggestions to create particular ship’s deck plans or building floor plans, but there is plenty of inspiration to be found in the individual geomorphs. The geomorphs can of course be used to create locations for confrontations between miniatures in skirmish wargames.
Starship Geomorphs is delightfully, usefully utilitarian and inspirational in its design and purpose. This big book of map sections is a terrific addition to the toolkit of any Game Master running just about any Science Fiction roleplaying game or even wargame.

Well, here we go: the absolutely last Triffid Ranch open house starts at noon on Saturday and runs until 6:00. After this, everything comes down for liquidation, so if you haven’t seen the recent gallery renovations, this is your last … Continue reading →

The Angry Sun bleeds on the Broken World. Some days it burns hot and cold. Some days it burns the land. Some days it drains the Wiz of their powers. Others it is cool and sleepy. Sky Wyrms hunt for meat below. Fallen towers radiate magic and hide spells. Ruins hide the secrets and treasures of the past. This is the Broken World. The Broken World is the world of the Gooz now. Warty, hairy, dirty, ugly, flute-eared Gooz. Once they were just vermin, but the Pretty Ones are long dead in the ground. The Gooz explore the world, search the ruins, and climb the towers, sometimes to save the Broken World, but mostly to get rich. They set out from Gooz City ready to face danger such as the Quetzplow, which will slurp out a Gooz’s brains, Assassin Bots, and coin-eating Mooku which can glue a Gooz to the ground with its snot. This is the setting for the Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG, a post-apocalyptic roleplaying game designed and drawn by James V. West. The author and illustrator is best known for the fanzine, Black Pudding, the Old School Renaissance, Swords & Sorcery fanzine, which he also draws and writes—just like the Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG. Black Pudding brought a slightly gonzo sensibility to the Old School Renaissance and every issue left the reader wanting to see a roleplaying based on its content. That roleplaying game is Doomslakers. It not the Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG, which instead is an over-the-top, gonzo, underground comic style post-apocalyptic roleplaying game in which everything is hand drawn and handwritten. Literally nothing in the Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is printed using traditional founts or layout. Coloured in vibrant shades, it is a riotous mass of tables, rules, and illustrations that boggles the mind!

Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is published by Random Order Creations following a successful Kickstarter campaign. It has an Old School Renaissance sensibility, one it shares with microclones such as Into the Odd, Knave, and Cairn, and in comparison with those roleplaying games and other retroclones, it has two primary issues—one obvious, one less so. The former is the presentation. It is bold, it is bright, it is a jumble, and that makes it inaccessible—or at least difficult to access with any ease. Everything jumps off the page, so it takes just that little more effort than another roleplaying game would. The latter is the lack of a ready to play scenario. Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG does include a table of ‘Recent Events of Some Gravity’, an ‘Adventure Machine’ table, and a ‘Towers’ table to help the Gooz Master create adventures from these prompts, but a scenario would have been a useful inclusion.

A Gooz in Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG starts with three attributes or Action Classes as they are called here—Cunning, Magic, and Prowess. Confusingly, they are abbreviated to ‘AC’, which sort of makes sense when the Gooz Master asks a player to roll against an ‘Action Class’. These are initially rated eight, ten, or fourteen, the lower the Action Class the better it is. He also has Hit Points; a Defence value, which reduces damage taken directly; and points of ‘Gooz’ to spend on doing extraordinary things. Creating a Gooz is a fourteen-point step, as a player rolls not just for starting Hit Points and armour, but also starting weapon, money, colour of blood, colour of skin, eyes, and hair, hair style, lucky symbol, talent, background, clothes, name, possessions, and ears. Talents include Alchemy, Psionic, Strong, Eyebeam, and more. Alternatively, many of these a player can simply pick from the table. A Gooz is just a Gooz unless he is a Gooz Wizard and even if not, there is a chance of his knowing a single vulgar spell or possibly more (if he knows more, he might as well be a wizard).

Name: Finus
Cunning: 8
Magic: 10
Prowess: 14

Hit Points 15

Gooz 5

Talent: Extra Arm
Armour: None
Weapons: Falx (2d4), Pistol (2d4 six-shot)
Lucky Symbol: Cat
Money: 3 Tossers
Blood: Orange
Skin: Pink Hair: None Hair Colour: Grey Eyes: Pink Ears: Triangles

Wearing: Crude loincloth
Possessions: Pyramid puzzle, lockpick kit, blanket
Background: Burglar
Need: Set up the best cat sanctuary in all of Gooz City
Deed: Stopped Kern from eating another cat

Mechanically, Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is simple. It is player-facing, so a player rolls the dice both to attack and defend in combat, rather than the Gooz Master rolling for the latter. To have his Gooz undertake an action, a player rolls against the appropriate Action Class, aiming to roll equal to or higher than the value. Thus, lower Action Classes are better than higher ones. A natural twenty is a critical hit and a special effect will always apply, such as a knockdown or a disarm, whereas it may apply if the roll is a ‘Solid Hit’, five or more higher than the value of the Action Class and . A natural roll of one is a fumble, in which case the player describes the unfortunate outcome. However, a roll of just one under the Action Class is called a ‘Graze’ and while counted as a miss or failure, allows for a small benefit. A Gooz can be Lucky or Unlucky, in which case a +2 or -2 is levied on the roll, respectively. It is also possible for a Gooz to be luckier or unluckier than this. One nice touch about the Gooz Sheet for Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is that space is given for both ‘Solid Hit’ and ‘Graze’ values for each Action Class.

Gooz can also be spent for the Gooz to be amazing. A point allows a Gooz to pull off a cool stunt, steal the initiative, succeed at die roll, learn a fact from the Gooz Master, gain an extra action, and even add a fact to current game. Gooz is the equivalent of hero or luck points and refreshes daily.

Combat in Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is similarly simple, but can also be deadly. On a turn, a Gooz can do one thing—take an action or move, plus do something trivial. The Defence value is deducted from any damage rolled, but all damage dice explode, so can inflict a lot of damage and easily kill a Gooz. If an enemy’s Hit Points are reduced to zero, then it is dead, but a Gooz has a choice—death or debasement. The former is the noble choice and the player’s new Gooz gains a small boon. The latter means that the Gooz is knocked down, scarred, and suffers from the permanent effect of the deadly blow. Damage can also be ‘Real’ such as that suffered by a Wizard from his weakness. This ignores Defence. Beyond this, Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG covers rules for fumbles, cover, conditions, morale, poisons, nasty scars, travel, exploration, and more.

Magic in Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is divided between the Vulgar, the Wizardly, and the True. . Vulgar magic includes spells such as Bite It or Sparkler or Hold Breath. Whilst magic requires a roll against a Gooz’s Magic Action Class, a Wizard can undo, counter, and even reverse the effects of Vulgar spells. True magic is not to be trifled with and all Gooz believe that doing so was what killed the Pretty Ones and really, really annoyed the Sun. An actual Wizard must adhere to the three Laws of True Magic—bear a Wizard’s mark, suffer a weakness that is his bane, and be followed by a Watcher who will always be following and judging the Wizard’s exploits. Wizard spells are more powerful than Vulgar spells and include spells such as Blend In, Exploding Doom, Ice Burst, and Liar. All cost Wiz to cast and a Wizard begins play with between two and twelve points of Wiz. Points of Wiz are recovered much like Hit Points, but the Wizard must choose between the two—he cannot recover both at the same time. A Wizard can also have a familiar and know a few tricks. One major difference between ordinary Gooz and Gooz Wizards, at least mechanically, is that ordinary Gooz begin with the equivalent of having gained a Level prior to beginning play. Gooz gain Levels by surviving adventures and with a new Level gain two out of more Hit Points, a spell, increased Wiz, a treasure, or some lucky rolls.

Treasure is where Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG begins show off the weirdness of its setting. Items of power can sacrificed in return for fortune. At worst, this result in scorched earth as the Sun rains down fireballs on the land and everyone knows about it, but at best, not only all the Gooz go up a Level, but the land is healed for a time… Quite what that means is left up to the Gooz Master to decode. There are long tables of treasure, including Frivolous Junk, Strange Items, Odd Armour, and Super Tech. The Gooz Master can even give any treasure secret properties with another table. In terms of setting, Goozer City, the last beacon of civilisation, first bastion of Gooz ascendancy, is detailed in terms of more tables that the Gooz Master can roll on to create streets, buildings, routes, smells, vendors, and more. Beyond the city there is map of the immediate regions with short encounter tables for each, an ‘Adventure Machine’ table and tables to create towers that leak sorcery and secrets, the daily effects of the Sun, and both a table to create monsters and a decent bestiary too.

Physically, Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is cartoonishly presented, in a style that echoes Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards. It is busy, vibrant, and full of little embellishments that seem to sneak into view as you are trying to find something else. It is not so much well written as well hand drawn and written giving it a highly distinctive look. However, it could be better organised as the section on Wizards and magic is the middle of the section that ready should be for the Gooz Master.

There can be no doubt that the Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is as much a piece of art—cartoonish art—but art nonetheless, as it is a roleplaying game. As a work of art it is more accessible than as a roleplaying game, its funky, gonzo fanzine-like style often inhibiting the technical nature of the roleplaying game. Not necessarily to the point where the Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is unplayable, but rather to present the reader with a hurdle that has to be overcome in finding where everything is and thus learning how to play.  The other hurdle is the lack of scenario. Now there are plenty of tables which the Gooz Master can take inspiration from, but given that Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG includes a handful sample Player Characters, it seems odd not to have a starter scenario too.
Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG looks—and is—fun. Weird and wacky, funky and freaky, gonzo and goofy, Gozr – Sci-Fantasy RPG is a joyously higgledy-piggledy toolkit for cartoonishly post-apocalyptic fun.

The Incandescent Grottoes is a scenario published by Necrotic Gnome. It is written for use with Old School Essentials, the Old School Renaissance retroclone based on the version of Basic Dungeons & Dragons designed by Tom Moldvay and published in 1980. It is designed to be played by a party of First and Second Level Player Characters and is a standalone affair, but could be connected to another scenario from the publisher, The Hole in the Oak. Plus there is scope in the adventure to expand if the Referee so desires. Alternatively, it could simply be run on its own as a self-contained dungeon adventure. The scenario is intended to be set underneath a great mythic wood, so is a perfect addition to the publisher’s own Dolmenwood setting, but would be easy to add to the Game Master’s own campaign setting. Further, like so many other scenarios for the Old School Renaissance, The Incandescent Grottoes is incredibly easy to adapt to or run using the retroclone of the Referee’s choice. The tone of the dungeon is weird and earthy, part of the ‘Mythic Underworld’ where strangeness and a degree of inexplicability and otherworldly dream logic is to be expected.
The Incandescent Grottoes is, like the other official scenarios for Old School Essentials very well organised. The map of the whole dungeon is inside the front cover, and after the introduction, the adventure overview provides a history of the dungeon, an explanation of its factions and their relationships, and details—but definitely not any explanations—of its unanswered mysteries. The latter can be left as they are, unexplained, or they can be potentially tied into the rumours which will probably push the Player Characters into exploring its depths. Or of course, they can be tied into the Referee’s greater campaign world and lead to other adventures, or even developed from the players’ own explanations and hypothesises should the Referee be listening carefully. Besides the table of rumours, the adventure includes a listing of the treasure to be found in the dungeon and where, and a table of ‘Random Happenings’ (or encounters). These are not merely random encounters with wandering monsters, but a mix of those along with strange things like a sudden aura of cold that sends a shudder down the backs of the Player Characters or a floating skeletal hand which points to the nearest treasure before crumbling to dust.
In between are the descriptions of the rooms below The Incandescent Grottoes. All fifty-seven of them. These are arranged in order of course, but each is written in a parred down style, almost bullet point fashion, with key words in bold with details in accompanying parenthesis, followed by extra details and monster stats below. For example, the ‘Ritual Robes’ area is described as containing “Dark stone blocks (pockmarked, walls, ceiling 10’). Green tiled floor (zig-zag pattern). Black robes (flank the corridor, hanging from hooks).” It expands up this with “North (from Area 16): Intermittent crackles and blues flashes.” It expands upon this with descriptions of the door to another area and what happens when the Player Characters examine the black robes. There is a fantastic economy of words employed here to incredible effect. The descriptions are kept to a bare minimum, but their simplicity is evocative, easy to read from the page, and prepare. The Incandescent Grottoes is genuinely easy to bring to the table and made all the easier to run from the page because the relevant sections from the map are reproduced on the same page. In addition, the map itself is clear and easy to read, with coloured boxes used to mark locked doors and monster locations as well as the usual room numbers.
In places though, the design and layout does not quite work. This is primarily where single rooms require expanded detail beyond the simple thumbnail description. It adds complexity and these locations are not quite as easy to run straight from the page as other locations are in the dungeon.
The dungeon itself is driven by factions and their associated rumours. The factions include a demonic cult that has all but collapsed, a band of troglodytes riven by factionalism, a Necromancer who is using the caves as a base of operations, an Imperial Illusionist hiding out, and more… All are given quite simple motivations and wants, often clashing with each other, so that when the Player Characters do interreact with them, the dungeon will come to life and be more than a simple series of rooms, traps, and encounters. The Incandescent Grottoes definitely has the feel of a location on the edge of abandonment, one which swings back and forth between the weirdness and whimsy of caves and grottoes run through with strange crystals and mushrooms and the corridors and rooms of worked stone. Notably, the areas previously occupied by the cult are laced with deadly traps and puzzles, only adding to the often highly dangerous nature of the dungeon. Whilst this deadly nature is befitting of the Old School Renaissance, arguably The Incandescent Grottoes verges on being too deadly and dangerous for First and Second Level Player Characters especially if run as a first-time dungeon for players new to the genre. If so, it is perhaps better run as the deadlier half of The Hole in the Oak. Of course, there will be plenty of Game Masters who will see this as a feature rather than a negative aspect of the adventure and so will not have the potential issue. Either way, The Game Master should at least know beforehand and once at the table, it will encourage careful play, just as any classic Old School Renaissance dungeon or scenario should, and the likelihood is that the Player Characters will be making two or three delves down into it before exploring its fullest reaches.
Physically, The Incandescent Grottoes is a handsome little affair. The artwork is excellent, the cartography clear, and the writing to the point.
The Incandescent Grottoes can be used as an introductory dungeon—and it would be perfect for that, but it begs to be worked into a woodland realm of its own, its various details and connected rumours used by the Referee to connect it to the wider world and so develop context. Whichever way it is used, The Incandescent Grottoes is a superbly designed, low level dungeon, full of whimsy and weirdness and fungal flavour and crystalline detail that bring its complex of caves and rooms alive, all presented in a format that makes it incredibly accessible and easy to run.

Back when this little experiment in Dallas art started in its old location in 2015, I told myself and others “If it lasts 18 months, I’ll be thrilled.” The fact that the Triffid Ranch lasted five times that, in an … Continue reading →

And then there was one left. After years and years of wondering “are people not showing up to open houses because they don’t know about the open house or the existence of the gallery?”, I got the answer. Quite a … Continue reading →

This isn't going to be about a full conversion. Mostly because I feel the best conversions are done in situ by the GM. 

Today I want to talk about converting one of my D&D 5e campaigns, "Into the Nentir Vale."

A bit of background.  Into the Nentir Vale began as, obviously enough, a D&D 4e game.  I ran the intro adventures for it with a group, and the reactions were mixed. I tried again with some Pathfinder, a one-shot, but it never quite jelled the way I wanted it to.  Fast forward a few years, and D&D 5 was released. I did a series of posts on sunk cost analysis/bias and conversions leading up to it:

• RPGS and the Sunk Costs
• BECMI/4e Conversion, Ghost Tower of the Witchlight Fens
• Into the Nentir Vale (was BECMI/4e Conversion)
• Into the Nentir Vale, 5e Style

Once these were all done, the adventures went on under 5e.  Well...we know how this will turn out.

Somehow it seems fitting that I am converting it again to Pathfinder, this time 2e.

The adventures themselves are the HPE adventures from D&D 4e. Essentially I am removing about 1/3 of the content to make it play a bit faster.  I am scaling the monsters and encounters to fit a 20th level maximum (vs. a 30th-level one), but in many ways, the conversion between 4e and Pathfinder 2e is easier than converting between D&D 4e and D&D 5e.

The Character: Rowan McGowan

Rowan is my test character here. She is a reoccurring NPC and one I used as my internal tests of various combat situations.

Like the campaign itself, Rowan has seen some history and conversions. She began life as a witch for D&D 3.5. Her concept is a "Witch Knight" or "Witch Guardian."  This is a witch that takes up the sword to protect others, typically of their faith and/or other witches. Rowan is a protector of the "Old Faith." Some of her exploits found a home in my Pagan Witch book, for example. 

In D&D 5, Rowan was a multi-classed Warlock (Hexblade)/Paladin. Her background was an acolyte to cover her growing up in a religious order of witches. She picked up the blade when she saw others of her kind being killed.  Her devotion is like a Paladin, just to a different cause. Multi-classing her was pretty easy to do since Charisma is the prime ability of both Warlocks and Paladins.

When converting her to Pathfinder there were a number of key differences.

First, while warlock was a compromise in D&D 5 (I wanted a core book class) I can do a proper witch in Pathfinder.  But witch's main ability is Intelligence in Pathfinder (though I will argue with some authority that it should be Charisma). Also Pathfinder 2e does multiclassing VERY differently than what D&D 3.x/Pathfinder and D&D 5e do it. Interestingly enough, it is more similar to how D&D 4 did it.

In 5e Rowan's first level was Warlock (Witch) and then she took a level in Paladin. I have been leapfroging the classes. She is level 4 now with 2 levels in both Warlock and Paladin.

In Pathfinder Her class is Witch. I had her take Weapon Proficiency at level 1 so she could use simple weapons.  At level 2 she is still a witch but I had her take the Champion Dedication feat. This "multi-classes" her into Champion, the Pathfinder version of a Paladin. This is similar to the Multi-class feats of 4e.

Here she continues to 4th level.

The progression is more straightforward in Pathfinder with fewer options in the beginning.  The progression in 5e is less straightforward with lots of options. 5e Rowan has more spells for example, but her maximum casting choices will be limited at higher levels. Pathfinder Rowan will have access to much more powerful witch spells, even if she has fewer right now.

Rowan McGowanWitch 4Chaotic GoodMediumHumanVersatile HeritageHumanoid

Perception +7;
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven
Skills Acrobatics +1, Arcana +9, Athletics +4, Diplomacy +10, Intimidation +10, Lore: Scribing +7, Occultism +7, Religion +7, Society +7, Survival +7
Str +4, Dex +1, Con +0, Int +1, Wis +1, Cha +4
Items Half Plate

AC 22; Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +9
HP 32

Speed 20 feet
Melee Greatsword +10 (Versatile P), Damage 1d12+4 S
Devoted Guardian Requirements Your last action was to Raise a Shield. You adopt a wide stance, ready to defend both yourself and your chosen ward. Select one adjacent creature. As long as your shield is raised and the creature remains adjacent to you, the creature gains a +1 circumstance bonus to their AC, or a +2 circumstance bonus if the shield you raised was a tower shield.
Occult Prepared Spells DC 17, attack +7; 2nd ; 1st Command, Mage Armor; Cantrips Chill Touch, Daze, Mage Hand, Read Aura, Protect Companion
Arcane Innate Spells DC 20, attack +10; Cantrips Detect Magic
Arcane Innate Spells DC 20, attack +10; Cantrips Shield
Focus Spells (1 points) Pact Broker Range 30 feet; Targets 1 creature Saving Throw Will; Duration sustained up to 1 minute You offer to broker a pact of peace. If the target accepts and doesn't take hostile actions against you and your allies, you take a –1 status penalty to Deception checks to Lie to them. If they refuse and take a hostile action against you or an ally, they must attempt a Will save. If they accepted the offer and then take a hostile action against you or an ally, they must attempt a Will save and treat the result as one category worse. Regardless of the outcome, the target is then temporarily immune for 1 minute. Success The target is unaffected. Failure The target takes a –1 status penalty to attack and damage rolls against you and your allies. Critical Failure The target takes a –2 status penalty to attack and damage rolls against you and your allies.
Phase Familiar Range 60 feet; Targets your familiar You draw upon your patron's power to momentarily shift your familiar from its solid, physical form into an ephemeral version of itself shaped of mist. Your familiar gains resistance 5 to all damage and is immune to precision damage. These apply only against the triggering damage. Heightened (+1) Increase the resistance by 2.
Additional Feats Arcane Sense, Arcane Tattoos, Champion Dedication, Root Magic, Student of the Canon
Additional Specials Arcane Tattoo (Shield), Champion Archetype Cause (Liberator Cause), Familiar, Hexes, Patron (Pacts), Tenets of Good, Witch Spellcasting

--

Thankfully I still had her PDF from D&D Beyond. 

There are subtle differences to be sure. Pathfinder Rowan has better AC and HP compared to her D&D 5 counterpart on paper. I am not sure if those will make much of a difference though in play. 

I knew 5e (and 3.5s) Rowan had a tattoo on her shoulder blade but I was not certain of what yet. In Pathfinder I figure it is the symbol of her Goddess Desna.

• Rowan McGowan, D&D 5e (PDF)
• Rowan McGowan, Pathfinder 2e (PDF)

While putting these sheets in her folder I noticed I had also started AD&D 2nd Ed, Castles & Crusades, and DragonAGE versions of her started as well!

The conversion was pretty fast, to be honest. These systems still share DNA. In many ways, the Pathfinder version is much closer to my original concept of her so I am pretty happy about that. I will need to see how I can convert the other characters now.

Converting monsters will just be a one-for-one swap out. 

The odor from this room hits the PCs before they even get near the opening.

Free Art Assets - Grey Gnome Games - Jason Glover
Inside this room are 1d6+4 Zombies in this room. They are milling about the room aimlessly, but when the PCs enter, they will attack. Zombies always attack last. All the zombies have swords that look beat up and rusted. One zombie, though, has a sword +1. The only way the PCs can learn if it is magical is because it is not rusted like the others.

There is a fair amount of treasure here. In various bags, there are 100 gp, 35 SP, and 1000 cp. The PCs have no way to discover this, but they were left behind by a group of evil adventurers who killed an adventuring party and left these zombies to guard the loot they could not carry themselves. That evil party went deeper into the dungeons and has not been heard from since.  They even left an extra magical sword to make sure their loot was guarded well. 

The zombies look like they are a couple of weeks old. 

About a week or so ago, I talked about bringing in some "new" games into my life to substitute for D&D. Here is one of them.

Chivalry & Sorcery

When it comes to RPGs emulating an authentic Medieval experience there are generally only two games that people go to; Pendragon and Chivalry & Sorcery.  One could argue how authentic each of these are, but in general, they are far closer than D&D or anything else on the market. 

Chivalry & Sorcery has been around nearly as long as D&D (1977 and 1974 respectively) and like many gamers my age we saw a lot of ads for it in the pages of Dragon Magazine, especially the Fantasy Games Unlimited 2nd Edition.

Currently, it is in its 5th Edition and is published by Brittannia Game Designs.

I am not going to review it today, but this is a gorgeous book. It is also a huge book at 600 pages.

I picked mine up from my FLGS a while back for some ideas on various campaigns, but now I am going to try it out on its own instead. 

Brittannia Game Designs recently released the 5th Edition in a Print on Demand format AND a brand new "Basic Game." 

The Basic Game is just about 80 pages and will cost you a whole $2.00.  So well worth it for any D&D refugee.

I recently got my wife into the Showtime series "The Tudors," so maybe I could use that as an "in" for this game. 

Going back to Room #17 the PCs make a left (where they made the right before) and they turn left into a parallel hall to the one before (#18 to #24).

This room is empty save for some random glowing lights of unknown source or origin. The radiate magic (a wizard or elf can tell) but they don't actually do anything but float around. They are creepy all the same.

If anyone puts a weapon into one of the lights their weapon will glow for the next hour.  There is no magical effects, but it does look cool.