April 2022 A to Z Blogging: The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories

I can't believe that April is nearly here.

For many years now I have participated in the April A to Z blogging challenge.  Blogging every day is not really a challenge for me anymore; 15 years into this and I still have a lot to say.  For me is to find something that I want to talk about for a month straight AND provide you my reader the same sort of content you are used to.  That's the real challenge.

I debated on whether or not to do it this year.  But I came up with an idea and told my wife. She thought my idea was dull (it was) and instead suggested the topic I am going to do now.

So allow me to present to you, 

The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories for NIGHT SHIFT Veterans of the Supernatural Wars.  

The idea here is present to you a conspiracy theory and then how to bring it into your NIGHT SHIFT games.  I have my list ready to go but I do reserve the right to alter it as the discussions here take me. 

A few notes.

1. I, generally speaking, do not believe in ANY of these conspiracy theories.   I have spent the last month reading about them in earnest and while many are fun, some are downright racist and/or dangerous.  

2. I am not supporting any of these conspiracy theories.  Quite the opposite. They a fiction of the same level as my own "Generation HEX" or "Weirdly World News."   So while none of them seem to stand up to real scientific scrutiny, they can be fun for an RPG.

3. YES there have been some conspiracies that have turned out to be true.  The plot to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was one.  But I am not convinced that the people doing that (the Black Hand) had WWI as their goal.  The suppressing of dangerous chemicals in cigarettes and the plot to keep the exploding tanks in Pintos by the Ford Motor Company were others.  JFK was killed by a lone gunman and 9/11 was a plot by Al-Qaeda and not the US government.

For these, I am keeping an eye on the Conspiracy Chart as created by Abbie Richards.

I am going to avoid some topics for various reasons.  My first requirement for anything here is "will it be good in a game?"  So if you are wondering why I pick some topics and not others that is usually the case.   For example right now "P" is a toss-up between "Phoenix Lights" and "Paul is Dead."   Phoenix Lights have more game-related uses, but the "death" of Paul McCartney is an old favorite of mine. 

My goal is to try to include NIGHT SHIFT stats and rules as I can.  I want to get the word out on my favorite RPG.  I will try to situate them in the various Night Worlds when and where I can.  So many of these ideas can be great fodder for Weirdly World News or even my Valhalla, AL setting. 

This could be very fun!

Gary Con 2022

I had a great Gary Con this past weekend.   I spent all my time in the Elf Lair Games / Troll Lords Games booth.  I spent my time selling copies of NIGHT SHIFT and Castles & Crusades.

I also got the chance to run into so many people I only get to chat with online.  I stopped by the Goblinoid Games / James Mishler Games booth to finally say hello.

I picked up some print versions of books I previously only had in PDF.

They were also selling copies of a new RPG, ShadowDark by Kelsey Dionne of the Arcane Library.  It looks rather good.

I also stopped by Bloat Games booth and got the chance to see Eric Bloat and Josh Palmer and grab a copy of their game What Shadows Hide.

Again this looks like a lot of fun.

I am not an autograph hound, but there were some signatures I wanted.  Top of the list was Darlene.

I also got to stop at Jeff Easley's booth and got him to sign his art from the 25th Anniversary Boxed Set.

 

And of course, I HAD to pick up the tribute/homage covers of the new Castles & Crusades covers.

 They do look really nice.

I didn't play any games or run any, but I had a great time.  

Looking forward to next year!

Monstrous Mondays: The AD&D 2nd Ed Monstrous Compendiums, Part 7

The Monstrous Compendiums would eventually move over to an annual format of perfect-bound soft-cover books.  These followed on the footsteps of the combined, hardcover Monstrous Manual, which people liked much better.  The idea was to publish a collection of all the published monsters from other products in a Monstrous Compendium style format.  But the days of perforated and loose-leaf pages was over and the Annuals and the other books that followed were all bound collections.

To my knowledge, there were four of these in total.  I never owned the print copies, at this time I was getting married and moving into a new house, though I have been able to get the PDFs from DriveThruRPG.  Curiously, Annual Vol. 2 has not made it to PDF yet.

Monstrous Compendium Annual - Volume 1

PDF 128 pages, Color cover art, color interior art, $9.99.  129 monsters, Aballin to Xaver.

This first book took on the trade-dress and style of the early AD&D 2nd Ed line and was a companion piece to the hardcover Monstrous Manual. 

There are a lot of monsters here I have seen in later editions of the game and some are completely new to me.  There are a surprising amount of dragons for example. There are few I recognize from 1st Ed that I guess had not made it over to 2nd ed yet (Gibbering Mouther as one example). There are a also a few I recognize from Ravenloft, given a more "generic" or general approach.

It is a good collection of monsters, to be honest.  While the page are formatted to fit a book and not really a Monsterous Compendium (the left or right justification of the text on titles) you can still take this PDF and print your own page to fit into your Monstrous Compendiums.  I am going to do this with the dragons for example.

Monstrous Compendium Annual - Volume III

PDF 130 pages, Color cover art, color interior art, $4.95.  131 monsters, Alaghi to Zhentarim Spirit.

This third annual takes on the trade dress of the later printing AD&D 2nd material when the "2nd Edition" subtitle was removed.  The formatting looks transitional. That is I see here the original Monstrous Compendiums eventually morphed into the style I associate with the last years of 2nd ed (and TSR for that matter).

The volume includes a lot of monsters I had seen in various Ravenloft and Forgotten Realms publications at the time and a few that I assume got their origins in the Dark Sun and Planescape product lines.  There are some that also first appeared in the Creature Catalog from Dragon Magazine (Lillend for example).

There are few more dragons here too and, in a surprise, two demons / Tanar'ri.  So something here for everyone.

This book also includes the Ondonti, the Lawful Good Orcs. So don't try to tell me that "Good" orcs are a new thing.

Monstrous Compendium Annual - Volume 4

PDF 98 pages, Color cover art, color interior art, $4.95.  104 monsters,  Ammonite to Zombie, Mud.

This fourth and last Monstrous Compendium Annual was published in 1998 by Wizards of the Coast, though the TSR brand is still on the books.  Additionally, this book also indicated where each monster came from whether Forgotten Realms or the pages of Dragon Magazine. There are some that I think are original to this volume. There is even a monster from Alternity here, which is a big surprise!

I would also like to point out that this is the first of these Annuals that acknowledges that it is based on the original D&D rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

There are quite a few new-to-me monsters here and few I have seen in other places before.  It is nice to get them all into one place.  

These annuals certainly represent the widest variety in monsters I have sen in any of the other compendiums.  If I were to play AD&D 2nd Ed again, I think I would start with these as my sources for new and different sorts of creatures.  I am sure that people that were still playing at this time (I had gone on an AD&D sabbatical from 1996/7 to 2000) might be more familiar with these books and these monsters, but it is a joy to open a book, even one 20-25 years old, and see something new.

I am now at the point if I print these out I am going to need a third 3-Ring binder.

Gary Con 2022 Bound!

I should be in the car headed to Gary Con as you read this!   

 Not running any games, not playing in any as far as I know.  But I will be at the Elf Lair Games booth next to the Troll Lords.

So if you are there come by and pick up a copy of Night Shift!

Random RPG Thoughts

Have a bunch on my plate at the day job right now and I am headed up the Gary Con tomorrow and the weekend.  The best part of Gary Con?  I can drive in, drive out, and sleep in my own bed every night!

Unnamed Victorian/Rural Gothic Mini-campaign

I want to run an adventure/campaign set in Victorian times and combine "Little House on the Prairie" with "True Detective" Season 1 and Carcosa.  Essentially you are all a bunch of gritty detectives and have chased this dangerous "End times" cult to the US Midwest in the 1880s.

This cult had a member that is a bit clairvoyant and saw World War I and decide that it is better to end the world.  She went mad (naturally) and this is how the PCs discover the cult's activity and connects them to a string of grisly sacrificial murders.

Why Little House?  Well I did enjoy the show growing up and it seems so idyllic, even with their hardships, and some cult trying to draw down some horror beyond the stars is so incongruous to the setting that it makes for its own first level of horror.

Originally this was called "Ghosts of Albion: Carcosa"  but today I could use pretty much any Victorian-era system for it.  I have all of them. 

New Gaming Gear

My youngest is now in college and has built a new computer.  So I just got a "hand-me-down" Alienware.  With this and my other gaming computer, I am thinking about getting some new PC games to play.  All of the old AD&D "Gold Box" games are coming to Steam.  I never had the time to play them when they were new but I am hoping they might scratch that AD&D 2nd Ed itch I have.

ETA: Just found another hard drive to put in it!

Sci-Fi RPGs

I have been in the mood for a sci0fi RPG for some time.  Now my oldest is too.  Though he wants something that is compatible with 5e so he can continue playing in his world and doesn't want to go the Starfinder ("Featfinder") route.  Ultramodern5 has been suggested to me as has Esper Genesis. 

This is only quasi-related to my Star Trek games. Though it will inform my choices when I do Sci-Fi month in May.

Spell Database

Not for publication, just my own use. I am putting together a database of every spell I have written for all my witch books.  While I am not expecting to share this out, you will likely see the products of the labor one day.

Monster Books

With the day job, I have not had much of a chance to really work on any of these.  In fact, my last edit was early February according to the file dates.   Hope to get back on these. 

Review: Tome of the Unclean (Castles & Crusades)

Last week I spent a lot of time with the Castles & Codex series and it was great fun.  But there is another book that also works well with my universe building and it is not about the gods.  Rather quite the opposite.

Tome of the Unclean

Back in October of 2017 Troll Lords launched their Tome of the Unclean Kickstarter. With the idea to bring demons, devils, and other fiends to the Castles & Crusades game.  It would also work with Amazing Adventures (which is what I would end up doing later).  I was immediately hooked and knew I needed this book.

Fast forward to 2019 I got my book in the mail and I had been picking up the PDFs (they released as they were completed starting in Jan 2018) all throughout. 

I have just been really slow at getting my review up.

For this review, I am considering both the hardcover print version from the Kickstarter and the now final PDF from DriveThruRPG.

144 pages. Color covers, black & white interior art.

The book follows a format that is now common to many books about fiends.  A part that deals with Demons and Lords of the Abyss.  Another that covers Devils and the Legions of Hell. And a third, which often differs from book to book, covers other fiends of Gehenna and the Undead.  Adding in the undead is a nice touch in my mind and a value add for the book.

Demons & Devils

This covers the basic differences and how these creatures fit into the World of Aihrde, the game world of Castles & Crusades.  It also covers the basics of the monster stat block.

Lords of the Abyss

This is our section about Demons and the Abyss.  It cleaves pretty close to the AD&D standard with what I often refer to as "the Usual Suspects," so all the "Type" demons and succubi. The new material here includes Abyssal Oases which are areas that are habitable by mortal-kind that seem to come up at random.

Covered here are also traits about the Abyss and powers and traits common to all demons. 

The monsters are all alphabetical, so common demons are not separated from the lords.  There are a few lords present. Demogorgon and Orcus return.  But also Oozemandius (as a Juiblex stand-in) and Buer. Graz'zt is mentioned a few times, but no stats are given.  There are 32 total demons with four as lords.

Legions of Hell

This section follows a pattern similar to the Demons one.  The Hells are described, including the nine layers.  They have some new names and some differences, but if you are wed to the Ed Greenwood Dragon articles about Hell then there is not a lot to convert here.  

There are 53 devils, with 16 of these listed as unique Arch-Devils. There are more new devils here than there are new demons.  

Gehenna

This is our "Neutral Evil" plane in the Great Wheel cosmology of the world of Aihrde, taking the place of Hades or the Grey Wastes from AD&D.  This is home to the daemons.  Like the previous chapters, this covers the features of the land and it's inhabitants.  Reading through it is feels like equal parts of the Greek Hades and the Underworld of Kur in the Babylonian myths where Ereshkigal rules.  

Only four deamons are detailed here, with one, Charon the Boatman, as the only unique member.

Undead

The name of the book is the Tome of the Unclean. While demons and devils take up the vast majority of the book there is still some space for the Undead.

18 undead creatures are detailed here, most of favorites (but creatures Vampires are missing) and some new ones. 

Denizens. Fauna, & Flora

Covers various types of evil, non-fiendish, non-undead, monsters that can also be found.

We end with Aihrde specific information and our OGL page.

Tome of the Damned is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting more information on demons, devils, and their ilk for anyone playing Castles & Crusades.  In fact, if you are playing C&C and want demons then this is a must-have book.

The advantage of Castles & Crusades is that it can be adapted to AD&D or any OSR game easily.  So if you want more than what the Monster Manuals I & II can give you, then this book is also a good choice.   I f you are playing AD&D 2nd ed then this book will fill in many of the gaps left by that game.

Now, I have an entire library of books dedicated to demons, devils, and all sorts of evil monsters.  There were only a few things here actually new to me.  But I still rather enjoyed this book quite a lot.  It is a good addition to my Castles & Crusades library.

Monstrous Mondays: The AD&D 2nd Ed Monstrous Compendiums, Part 6

Back to the business at hand.  Today will cover the "others" in my Monstrous Compendium collections, but not ones I used regularly.  Again the time these came out money was tight for a college kid needing to buy school supplies, food, and pay rent so choices were made.  Ravenloft won, Dark Sun and Spelljammer lost.  

Thankfully these days I can buy PDFs much cheaper and with little to no concern for storage space.  Plus I have recently begun to explore Spelljammer and I have found it to be rather fun.

For these reviews, I am considering the PDFs only.  I have the published ones, but not all of them, and the one I do have (Spelljammer 1) is incomplete.  No idea why.

MC7 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix

PDF 64 pages (70 with dividers and covers), Color cover art, black & white interior art, $4.99.  64 monsters.

There was/is something very cool about the Spelljammer monsters.  First, they were not afraid to try something new here.  Which I like. Secondly, there are also some odd-balls here like the Giant Space Hamster.  Oh well, you have to have some fun.  There are some Star Frontiers aliens analogs here, so that made cross-overs a fun idea, but I have no idea if anyone ever did any.

MC9 Monstrous Compendium Spelljammer Appendix II

PDF 64 pages (70 with dividers and covers), Color cover art, black & white interior art, $4.99.  61 monsters.

Like the first Spelljamer MC this one gives us some fairly unique and interesting monsters.  The one I recall the best is the Scro or the "Space Orcs."  We also get a trio of celestial dragons which is fun. 

There is also a collection of MC-formated monsters in the Spelljammer: Adventures in Space set.

MC12 Monstrous Compendium Dark Sun Appendix: Terrors of the Desert

PDF 96 pages, Color cover art, black & white interior art, $9.99.  92 monsters.

Moreso than any other campaign world, Dark Sun is the most foreign to me.  I *like* the idea of it. I have even since adopted some of the notions of it into my regular game world.  Plus there is a solid message here; exploit the environment and eventually, you will screw it up for everyone.  But many of the monsters are very new. 

This MC does adopt a different accent color for the pages.  A nice touch that again I would have liked to have seen for all the others.  Pretty much all of these creatures are new for me.  I would like to use them in a desert game, but I think a few might be a bit of work to remove them from their background.

Dark Sun Monstrous Compendium Appendix II: Terrors beyond Tyr

PDF 128 pages, Color cover art, color interior art, $9.99.  105 monsters.

This one was published as a softover volume.  It follows closer to the Dark Sun trade dress as opposed to the Monstrous Compendium one.  This does mean that monster pages are full color. 

Interestingly enough for me, this one has monsters I am more familiar with.  Also, given the nature of the campaign world, many of these creatures can be used as player characters. So details are given for that.

The Fall of the Empire of the Petal Throne

The news came out this past week about M.A.R. Barker, the creator of Empire of the Petal Throne and Tékumel. Apparently, there is confirming evidence that Prof. Barker (formerly Philip Barker) wrote the book Serpent's Walk under the pseudonym Randolph Calverhall and published by the same neo-Nazi publisher that published The Turner Diaries.

This is fairly damning, to be honest.  The book is pretty much Nazi "fan fiction" by those familiar with it. While this might not be enough for others there is more.  It does seem that the Tekumel Foundation has known about this, and kept it quiet, for years.  Now you might ask how is a "Nazi fan fiction" any different than say Philip K. Dick's "Man in the High Castle?"  I guess the back cover of the book tells the whole story.  It was written as fulfillment fantasy of a group of S.S. officers' descendants "correcting the the wrongs" of the end of W.W. II.

Ok that is pretty bad.  Then to make matters worse, Prof. Barker sat on the board of editors for anti-Sementic, Holocaust-denial journal, "The Journal of Historical Review," as psuedo-scientific and psuedo-academic journal. It has been described as anti-Sementic by the Southern Poverty Law Center.   

The Journal is much like others of it's ilk; not peer-reviewed, pushing an agenda.  There was some uncertainty online about who this particular "Philip Barker, Ph.D." was, but honestly combined with the publication of the other book I don't feel that he gets any benefit of the doubt. 

What does that mean for me? 

Well.  Everyone has to draw their own lines somewhere. Like Lovecraft, Orson Scott Card, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and J.K. Rolwing, Barker has left a pretty dark mark on his legacy.  

For me, Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism are steps way too far. 

There is no evidence of this, as far as I can tell, within the pages of Tékumel.  But the shine on the books is gone for me. I know he is dead and won't benefit from anything I do or don't do.  I am not looking to boycott or raise a campaign about it, plenty of others will do that.  It is just sad of course that such an obviously brilliant man also has such vile and repugnant beliefs.  

Anyway, here are the relevant links. No I am not linking to the books. You can find them on your own.

• RPGNet Discussion
• Reddit Discussion
• Statement from the Tekumel Foundation
• SPLC on the Institute for Historical Review
• Auschwitz Memorial and Museum's statement on The Institute for Historical Review and the Journal of Historical Review 

Review: Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium

Today I present the last (so far) of the Castles & Crusades mythological Codices.   This one takes away from Europe and back further in time to antiquity.   It was also one I was really, really looking forward to and I am not disappointed.  

Castles & Crusades Codex Egyptium

Nothing gets people excited quite like Egypt.  A kingdom that began at least in 3,100 BC to the time of the Romans, it has missing time where "nothing really happened" (according to one Prof. used to joke) that lasts longer than the entire history of the United States. It is an impressively long amount of time and even one that seems incalculable. There is the old saying. "Man fears time, but Time fears the Pyramids." 

This codex takes on the "newer" Codex format.  This is one makes the new format a little clearer. The "Chapters" covers history and mythology with some game material while the "Appendicies" are game material proper. 

For this review I am considering the PDF from DriveThruRPG and the hardcover edition.  Again our author and designer is Brian Young.  Color covers, and black and white interior art. 

Chapter 1 The Black Land Arose (Geography and Worlds)

This chapter begins with a basic map of the lands around the Nile and even up to the Mediterranean Sea and out East to the Fertile Crescent.  This chapter covers the geography of these lands and a bit on the people. To call it brief is a massive understatement.  We are talking about nearly 3,500 years of history and people and change.  While the Egyptians were notoriously resistant to change and very xenophobic, there is still a glossing over of history here.  Of course, this is again a gamebook and not a history text.  No problem then, there is more to come. 

Chapter 2 From Early Darkness (History and Mythic Background)

This covers the history, real and mythical, of the lands. This covers the stone age (Paleolithic) to all the Dynasties up to the Fall of Rome in terms of real-world history.  The remaining covers the mythical history of Egyptian creation and gods. 

Chapter 3 Presided over by the Divine (Gods, Goddesses and Supernatural Figures)

This chapter opens up with some spiritual concepts like priests, mummification, souls, and the afterlife.  For the Egyptians, the afterlife WAS life. Everything they worked for the afterlife.  The gods and their place in the afterlife is also discussed.

Chapter 4 Rife with Charms and Spells ( Magic in Egypt)

As with many ancient societies, magic was not "Supernatural" but a part of nature and that has never been more true than with Egypt. Various words of power are discussed and listed. Descriptions of the Egyptian "wizards." 

Chapter 5 Neter and Netert - The Divine

Egypt is the land of Gods.  Lots and lots of Gods. Here only some of the Gods are detailed. Since Egyptian history is so long that even the gods changed.  There are 40 pages of gods here.  Some are listed more than once as their roles changed over the centuries. Young has a Sisyphean task here, trying to catalog all the gods that Egpyt has had.  Even if it not complete it is the most complete one I have seen in a game.

Chapter 6 Using Egyptian Mythology In Airhde

For the first time the Codex covers the Troll Lords' homeworld of Aihrde.  Parallels are drawn between the gods of Aihrde and the gods of Egyptian.   The advantage here, beyond the page, gives a nice mixing pot (Aihrde) that all the other Codices can be mixed. 

Appendix A Names This covers names for all sorts of people, PCs, NPCs, Gods and more.

Appendix B Social Classes The various classes in ancient Egypt.  Note that social class was ironclad; you didn't move around between them. 

Appendix C Defended by Fierce Warriors (The Military and Soldiers) Covers the different sort of warriors.  None are different from the Fighter game-wise, but there are a lot roleplaying ideas here.

Appendix D Chariots The high tech of the ancient world. It could not be understated that this was the implementate of war for the time. 

Appendix E The Sphynx A little bit of background on the creature.

Appendix F Where Monsters And Demons Dwell The creatures of ancient Egypt. 25+ creatures here and each one is more interesting than the last to be honest.  I am hesitant to say this is the best chapter, but it is really fun.

At the end is a really nice bonus map.  The map is included with the PDF.

While there is a lot of information in this book, it still makes me want more.  I have a feeling that to do this topic justice we would need a 500+ page book. I can't even begin to imagine what Young had to do to pare it down this much. 

Eygpt is just so damn interesting.  There is so much here to play with that my cup runneth over with ideas. I honestly don't even know where to even start to be honest.

With all of these Codecies, one would be tempted to combine them all.  Build something akin to Lands of Adventure or Man, Myth, & Magic.  While I could see this working somehow in Aihrde or a homebrew campaign, I would avoid it for a purely mythic Earth where I feel this would work best. 

For my money and time, play these various codices in their own times and their own places.  For me, that would be the best way to really get the feel for them. Nicely they are written in such a way to allow pretty much anything. 

I understand that Dr. Young is working more of these.  I am really looking forward to them! 

Review: HR3 Celts Campaign Sourcebook (AD&D 2nd Edition)

Again, today is a good day for this one.  I just finished my review of the Castles & Crusades Codex Celtarum so I wanted to compare and contrast it to the earlier work on a similar topic, the HR3 Celts Campaign Sourcebook for AD&D 2nd Edition.  I reviewed the HR1 Vikings Campaign Sourcebook a while back and always wanted to get back into the series.  

HR3 Celts Campaign Sourcebook (AD&D 2nd Edition)

For this review, I am considering both the PDF and softcover copies.  96 pages with color (well, green) covers and black & white interior art.  There is a color map attached to the original softcover I bought in the early 90s. The PDF has the map appended to the end.  Graeme Davis is the author here. He got his RPG start with Games Workshop.  

Illustrations are by Roger Raup and Cartography by Steve Sullivan.

The publication of this book is contemporaneous with the famous BBC-2 series, The Celts.  The one with all the music from Enya.  They do cover similar ground and if you are interested in using this for any *D&D sort of game I would recommend the series.  Yes, there has been newer scholarship since then. But are you working on a dissertation or a game?  The obvious choice for newer and game-related scholarship is Brian Young's Codex Celtarium for Castles & Crusades from Troll Lord Games. 

Chapter 1: Introduction

This covers the question of "Who Were the Celts?" and what this book is for.  The goal here is an AD&D gamebook, not one on Celtic history.

Chapter 2: A Mini-Course of Celtic History

I discussed updated scholarship above, but for pretty much any game (but especially AD&D) this chapter is a great overview of Celtic real-world history. Covering roughly 1,500 years, 600 BC to 900 AD, and all of Europe a lot does get left out.  But this is enough to get you going to the right place.  Today we have the advantage of the latest scholarship at the click of a mouse, but in 1992 this was what we had. Ok. That is not entirely true. Even in 1992, there was BITNET access for a lot of great articles and Usenet for talking with others.  But that is beyond the scope of this conversation and this book.  For an AD&D game world this will get you going rather nicely.

The timeline graphic is a nice touch.

Chapter 3: Of Characters and Combat

This covers differences from the standard AD&D 2nd Edition character creation.  In particular, you will typically only have humans.  Humans can get a random "gift" and possibly "sidhe" blood, but do not expect to see dwarves, elves, and halflings in great abundance.  

The classes also get a facelift more or less.  Fighters of course are the most important with the druids tied.  Paladins are limited to Christians on the Continent.  Rangers get a bit of an update.  Wizards are to be used sparingly. Clerics are relegated to Christian missionaries (so St. Patrick was a Cleric!).  Bards and Druids get the attention.  A new class under Priests is introduced, the Manteis or Vates is the Celtic Seer.

Names and homelands are discussed along with social class. Various Warrior "feats" are also discussed.  They take proficiency slots but otherwise "feel" like feats in the D&D 3/5 sense.

Chapter 4: Magic

Covers changes to spells and magic items.  Also makes a distinction between "gifted" and "trained" spellcasters.  If this were D&D 3rd Edition then we would call them "Sorcerers" and "Wizards" respectively. 

There are new magic items and magical places characters can find themselves in.  

Chapter 5: Monsters

I do love monsters.  This section covers all sorts.  First, we get a list of monsters that can be used unchanged.  Then a section of "new" monsters, or more to the point Celtic variations on existing monsters from the Monstrous Compendiums. Then we get whole new monsters in Monstrous Compendium formats. Not a lot mind you, but enough to give some flavor.

Chapter 6: Equipment and Treasure

This covers equipment, treasure, gifts, and the barter system used.  Coins are still used (and for ease mentioned in GP amounts). The big issue here is that a lot of older equipment will be Bronze Age and some will be newer Iron Age varieties.  An important notion given that this is not a "Medieval" setting.  

Chapter 7: The Celtic Culture

We get a brief overview of Celtic Culture through the eyes of Conall Mac Eogan.  This 15-year-old is coming of age and we see how the next year of his life touches on aspects of the culture.  Now obviously the events for Conall would be very different if this had been Deirdriu or Eithne we were talking about.  Some discussion is given on the advanced, atypically for the time, role of Celtic women.  

The topics of Fostering and Trade are also mentioned. We also get the wheel of the year (adopted by many modern pagans) and some of the gods with nods to the AD&D 2n Ed Legends & Lore book.

Chapter 8: A Brief Gazetteer

Covers the lands we typically associate with the Celts. Heavy on the British Isles and Ireland. Various "other worlds" like Avalon, Tir Na Og, and Annwvyn are also briefly discussed. 

Appendix 1: Enech

The notion of Celtic honor price is given in AD&D 2nd Edition terms.

Glossary

A brief glossary of terms and names.

The PDF ends with the map and the softcover book has it as a tear-out attachment.

I did not go into this expecting graduate-level work and that is fine.  It is a great source for playing in a Celtic-themed AD&D 2nd Ed game world.  If the goal had been to provide AD&D 2nd Ed rules for a Celtic world then it would have needed to have been larger, but as it is it met the scope of their requirements.

This book is also 30 years old. It holds rather well really, both physically and in terms of what it needs to do, and can still be adapted to any version of D&D you care to think about.   

All in all I am as happy with it now as I was when I got in 92.

Review: Castles & Crusades Codex Celtarum, 2nd Printing

If there was any doubt where Dr. Brian Young's true love lies in this series, the new second printing of the Codex Celtarum should dissolve those.   This new book brings the original Codex in line with the other codies in terms of style and feel.  This new book is also expanded to 256 pages, up from the previous 178 pages.  It is without a doubt also my favorite of the codies. 

Castles & Crusades Codex Celtarum, 2nd Printing

For this review, I am considering both he PDF and hardcover copies.  256 pages with color covers and black & white interior art. 

The Codex Celtarum is written by Brian Young.  He is a gamer and an academic in Celtic history and languages and an all-around nice guy.  Honestly, he is the kind of person I want writing this sort of thing.  You talk to him and get the feeling that he could immediately tell you a story from the Mabinogion and it would roll off his tongue like the bards of old.  This is the guy you want working on your Celtic game.

Introduction

The first thing I noticed in his introduction was his acknowledgement of the differences in legend and in history and where he was putting his cards.  For me, as someone that has had to have the same tug of war, the value of this book went up several degrees.   

Before moving on to the book itself I spent a lot of time with Castles & Crusades again, this time from the point of view of a Celtic-themed game.  Like the others in this series, it could be used with any D&D-like game.  Now at this point it should be noted that the design of this book is to play in a Faery realm, so it is something you can drop into any game world.  There are some game-based assumptions made, but nothing to keep you from making this your own.

This section also talks a bit about the changes from the 1st to 2nd printing.

Chapter 1: In Lands Far Away

This covers the lands of the Celts and how the Castles & Crusades player can drop their game into this world.  The advantage here is this 2nd Edition does talk about how you can use the Codex Germanica along with this.  This covers not just the expected British Isles, but all (mostly all) Celtic Europe. 

Chapter 2: Mythical Locations

This brief chapter discusses mythical locations like Hyberborea and the Hercynian Forest.  These lands were assumed to be real just "over there."

Chapter 3: Once Upon A Time 

This chapter covers the history of the Celtic real-world universe including the various wars that happened at the dawn of time and various involved countries/lands in Europe.  

Chapter 4: Otherworldly History

This is the "myth" part of the mytho-historical background of the Celts.  It overlays the stories of the gods and other powerful beings on top of the history of the Celts.  This chapter is rich in storytelling and follows a tale very familiar to me, but there are always new things to read and learn.

Splitting Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 into two separate and distinct chapters is good since for most books on the topic they are intertwined so much that it is hard to tease out the "myth" and the "history" from the mytho-historic events. Certainly one has had a profound effect on the other and I think Young demonstrates this well.  

Also while I am 100% behind his enthusiasm here (and I share it) we have yet to see anything game-related and we are 75 pages in.

Chapter 5: The Otherworld of Faery

This chapter covers the various "otherworlds" (yes plural) of the lands of Faery. Usually tied to a physical location in the real world.  It reads like an unreal Gazeteer of Europe to be honest, a mist-shrouded tour into a land that is similar but still very different. The faery lands don't have the same rules of nature as the mortal realms. So there are some tables about the odd passage of time or the nature of the land.  

Chapter 6: There Lived a People 

ALmost everything you want to know about the Faery races.  This includes traits faeries can have and their weaknesses.  This also includes a list of the giants of Wales.

Chapter 7: Great of Magic and Power 

This details, what else, magic.  If human wizards study magic and human priests pray for it then the Fae ARE magic. The distinction is not a subtle one.  The magical powers here are listed as spells. So they can be used by the fae as if they were spells, but that robs them of what makes them so interesting. Instead, go with the suggestion in the book that each member of the fae gets a number of special powers based on their intelligence.  And there are plenty of powers here!  If you are anything like me and love magic, spells, or powers for characters then this chapter alone is worth the price of the book.  

It is one of the largest chapters so far and has the most "game" material.

Chapter 8: With Great Gods and Lords 

This covers the gods, demigods, and named faeries of the lands. There are no stats for these gods or heroes.  Why? That is easy. They are not meant to be killed or even interacted with.  They are the legends of this land. If you have any familiarity with the gods of Celtic myth and legend you can find them here. 

Appendix A: The Druidic Order This covers the druid classes for Castles & Crusades within the Celtic world. There is the Druid (Wisdom), the Celtic Bard (Charisma), and the Druidic Seer (Wisdom).

Appendix B: The Secrets of the Druids This appendix covers the Ogham writing and runes.

Appendix C: Druidic Spells What is says, the spells the various druid classes can use. 

At this point, I wonder if all three could not have been combined into one Appendix. 

Appendix D: The Enchanted of Faerie Here we get a nice discussion on Faery Metals and how they can be used.  There is a list of divine items (artifacts in other games) listed by the owner; that's right the Gáe Bulga is not just lying around waiting for you to find it. No this +8 spear (!) is well in the hands of Cú Chulainn.

Appendix E: The Severed Head discusses the importance of taking the head of your enemy.

Appendix F: The Feast Hall details the Celtic hero's feast.

Appendix G: The Celtic Chariot. what it says on the tin.

Appendix H: The Celtic Warrior Society. Gives us a very brief overview of the importance of warriors and how they were organized.  I wish this one had been much longer. 

Appendix I: Accoutrements of War. Deals with the arms and armor of the celtic warrior. 

Appendix J: Strong Feats and Deeds. Covers the tales of the heroes of the Celtic myths and legends. 

Honestly, Appendices E to J should be combined into a chapter on Celtic Warriors. This is what the other Codices have done. 

Appendix K: Holidays & their Customs.

Appendix L Celtic Themed Adventures.

Appendix M: Monsters

Also, this should have been a chapter. There are 30 pages of monsters here. Many are very familiar to me, but again are closer to their "roots."

Ok. So what can say here?

The book is fantastic and I loved every bit of it.  BUT, I find the new organization of the 2nd Printing to be inferior to that of the 1st Printing.  I felt some of the material could have been organized and combined a bit better. I still find it a delight to read, but is that due to this book or the subject matter?

Again, there is no doubt that Brian Young is not only an expert in this field, he also loves it.  That enthusiasm shows and I am sure he could have written a book twice this size.  I do love the expanded history and the raised importance of the continental Celts over the typically well-trodden lands of the Irish and British Celts.  Looking over my review of the First Printing this is exactly one of the things I thought was missing from that version. Though some of the material from the first edition (some classes) are missing from this edition.  I guess I should keep both on hand.

Still, if you are a fan of Celtic myth, Faery lore, or Castles & Crusades then I highly recommend this book.  Even if you don't play C&C, I would get this book.

Review: Castles & Crusades Codex Slavorum

Coming up on some myths I know the least about and maybe the most excited to read.  There is a lot of great stories I have read and watched over the years.  What I like, so far, is that these are mostly new stories to me.  Well. Not entirely new. I have been using Baba Yaga for years and my first published Ghosts of Albion adventure deals with Chernbog (Czernobog in this book).  

So let's instead say I am less familiar with all of these.

Castles & Crusades Codex Slavorum

For this review, I am considering the PDF and hardcover book.  The book is 94 pages. Color covers, black & white art. Written once again by Brian Young.  He doesn't say it in the books, but it is Brian N. Young, Ph.D.  He worked hard and earned his degree and it should be recognized.  

Chapter 1: In Bygone Years

Like the previous volumes, this chapter covers both the real-world history and the myths of the area.  The area in question surrounds the Black Sea in Eastern Europe.  

We get some pre-history, but the people we call the Slavs will get their start in this volume with Byzantine Empire.  The time period here is parallel to both the Germanica and Nodica books.

The myths of the area are all new to me and while Young (the author) does a good job in his summary, it leaves me wanting to seek out more.  I suppose that is the point right?

Chapter 2: The Whole World & That Which is Beyond

This goes into detail about the lands of the Slavs and these myths.  I have now gone through five of these Codecies and I am thinking that a Castles & Crusades game in Mythic Earth is a great idea.  There is a nice map of the Slavic Kingdoms.  

The second half of this covers the mythic lands of the Slavs; the three worlds.  Like the Norse, these are placed on the World Tree, the Drugi Svet. Young even mentions that combination is possible but does not (correctly) tell you how since it would depend on YOUR world.  The three worlds are Parv (or Iriy or Vyrjy), the realms of light, the lands of summer, and the home of the Gods. Lav (or Yav) is the middle realm of men, and Nav the Underworld.  Here Czernobog becomes the Devil-like figure.  Indeed it might be hard to tease out what is Czernobog and what is "Lucifer" in modern depictions of "the Devil."  Svarog is our creator deity of light. 

In a case of supporting my "One Man's God" series, there is Peklo, the Abyss, which is the home of various demons.  Demons it seems very much in the AD&D mindset.

There are more lands and frankly, the more I read the more I want to use all of this in a game. 

Chapter 3: Did Dwell Many Peoples

Our monster chapter.  Monsters are "false creations" (my words, not so much Young's) of Czernobog.  And there are some GREAT monsters here. Nearly 50 monsters here. Some are familiar to any D&D players, but many are new to *D&D games or at least in this form.  

There are a couple new "races" that characters can be.  The Zmajevit, or the "Dragon born" are humans with dragon blood in them. The Zduhac, or the Elemenatal ones, are elemental influenced humans. 

There is also a new class here, the Vampirdzhija or the Vampire Hunter. This is a Wisdom-based class. Essentially the Vampire Slayer of the Slavic cultures. 

Chapter 4: Filled with Great Magic

Another favorite section this one covers magic and new magic-using classes.   The Kolduny is a new type of wizard that is Wisdom-based.   The Molfar is the Slavic shaman, also Wisdom-based.

There are a few names mentioned for other types of spell casters. These are just names for other types, but do not have their own class per se. 

Chapter 5: Of Mighty Gods and Spirits

This chapter takes the myths and reshapes them into something that can be used with Castles & Crusades but of course any other game.  And there are a lot of gods here! Some are familiar to me, but most are brand new.  

There is some text on the pagan religions of the Slavs and their practices. 

Chapter 6: Battle Strong and Heroic

This is typically the "fighters" chapter. This one covers the weapons used by the Slavs and mentions of the heroes and groups of heroes of their tales. 

Chapter 7: Castle Keeper Info

This is the GM's or Castle Keeper's information on running a game using these rules. Like the others in this series, this includes names and the various laws of the lands. 

More so than the other books this one left me wanting more.  This is a good thing and not a fault of the book. It is due to my own unfamiliarity with these myths and stories.  It would work well with the Germanic and Nordic books for greater world-building.  Now I want books like this for all the big myths of the world. 

Maybe one for Spain and Al-Andalus should be next?  What do you think Dr. Young?

Review: Castles & Crusades Codex Germania

Today I am going further south and a little more back in time.   Related to the Nordic myths and tales are the older Germanic ones.  Given the connections between the two, I am going to have to point out the differences and commonalities. 

Castles & Crusades Codex Germania

For this book, I am reviewing the PDF and hardcover edition of this book.  This book has 110 pages, so slightly smaller than the other codices.  Like a lot of Castles & Crusades books, the art here is from Peter Bradley.  Once again Brian Young is our author and designer.  Young also spends some time comparing the Germanic and Nordic myths and tales.  

These myths come from central Europe and begin as early as the 1st century BCE right on up to the time of the Vikings.  

Chapter 1: In Ancient Tales

Like the previous books, this chapter covers the history of the Germanic peoples as well as a brief bit on their legends and stories.  Like the Nordic (or to the point the Nordic myths are like these) we get an origin story about Giants and three Gods.  Young takes pains to differentiate these myths from the Norse and talks about the shortcomings of the source material.  Here we see the first comparisons between Woden and Odin.

Chapter 2: Of Germania & Beyond

This chapter covers the Germanic lands.  Now to assume there is only one Germany is a huge mistake and one that Young deftly avoids. There are lots of lands here and lots of peoples dating back to the height of the Roman Empire to it's fall.  It is helpful to consult the map or hit up various maps online.  

Chapter 3: Magical Beings & Monsters Dwelled

Once again we have a chapter on monsters and it is a real collection of gems.  Here are 40+ monsters. All are a little bit familiar to any D&D players, but these harken back to their "original" forms so great for players that have "seen everything."  

The monsters are of course enough on their own, but there is a nice section here on the complexities of the Germanic dragons.  Essentially if you ever have read about the dragon Fafnir, then you have an idea of what this is about.   Honestly, this is something that all dragons should have or at least the really interesting ones.  Speaking of the interesting dragons, there are also tables to determine what a unique dragon's name would be.  

Chapter 4: In Wizardry & Enchantments

Here we get some new magic-using classes.  There is the Halirúna, or the Dark Witch (Intelligence-based) which I absolutely love, the Erilaz, or the Rune Master (Wisdom-based) which also has runic magic (like the Nordic book), and the Gudja. or People of the Gods, the clerics for this setting. 

Magic is not a "supernatural" force here, but rather a natural one; THE natural one to be honest.  This chapter uses magic as a means of connecting the people to the gods. Which are coming up next.

Chapter 5: To Serve the Gods

This chapter covers the gods and discusses the overlap between these cultures and the Nordic.  Young points out that due to the Roman Empire the gods and myths of the Germanic pagans are a bit better documented than that of the neighboring Celts. Among these gods it is likely that Woden (Odin) and Þūnor (Thor).  Again there are no stats for gods here (as it should be).  

The chapter also details Germanic pagan beliefs and practices. 

Chapter 6: Skilled in Battlecraft

Warriors are still one of the highest castes in the life of the Germanic peoples.  This chapter gives us information on arms and armor used. How retainers were used and honored, and other topics on warcraft, including special unique weapons. 

The new class, the Drachentöten (lit. "Dragon Killer") is a Dexterity-based class. 

Chapter 7: Castle Keeper Info

Like the other codices, this covers running a Castles & Crusades game with this worldview.   The importance of the king and lawgivers are established and explained. 

The common folk are not forgotten and details like the importance of names (and many tables of names) are detailed. 

Chapter 8: Sample Adventure Module

The sample adventure, "The Monster of the Fens," is given.  It reminds me, naturally enough, of Beowulf.  The adventure takes place in East Anglia so Young states that it can be integrated with the Codex Celtarum.  The adventure is for 2 to 4 characters of 3rd to 4th level. 

It is a fun little adventure and reminds GM/Castle Keepers that even a "simple" monster like a Troll would be a menace to the folks of pagan Germanic lands. Indeed, much like Beowulf shows.

The temptation is great to compare this to the Codex Nordica and also to find it lacking.  This temptation must be avoided!  The Codex Germanica is its own thing. While the myths and stories will feel familiar to the more popular Norse myths, they are their own, situated within their own time and place.   These myths feel older and darker in many respects.  In many ways, I like these myths and tales a little more than those of the Norse. 

Again, this book is light on actual rules details, save for the classes, so it is an excellent resource for any RPG.  Converting it over to AD&D, D&D 5, or your favorite OSR-Clone would be trivial at worst. Of course it is designed for Castles & Crusades which is fantastic in it's own right.

Monstrous Mondays: The AD&D 2nd Ed Monstrous Compendiums, Part 5

Fiends, Fiends, Fiends!

Today I delve into a dark subterranean world filled with long-forgotten creatures that have not seen the light of our sun for ages. Of course, by that, I mean the Usenet, and that age was the early 90s.  

What I think was one of the first big battles of the Edition Wars was the one concerning demons and devils.  Namely, where the hell were they for AD&D 2nd Edition?  They have not appeared in any of the Monstrous Compendiums so far and the official word was they were no longer needed.  Which everyone knew was a smokescreen for TSR caving into concerned, busy-body mothers and the religious right.  The discussions on Usenet had a LOT of opinions on why they were gone and then what to make of them when they finally came back.

Thankfully this did not last and by the start of 1991, we got demons and devils back, albeit in the names Tanar'ri and Baatezu. Ok, the names were changed but they were back.  In truth, I never minded the name change and it opened up the lower planes to have more than one type of demon or fiend. Something we are still benefiting from today.

MC14 Monstrous Compendium Fiend Folio Appendix

PDF 64 pages (70 with dividers and covers), Color cover art, black & white interior art, $4.99. 

While not full of fiend per se, the Fiend Folio has always had a place in the games of many 1st Ed AD&D players.  It was the second "Monster Manual" and it collected a number of creatures from various modules and the White Dwarf Fiend Factor column.  It was also either really loved or really hated, depending on who you asked.  Maybe that is the reason it did not get published until much later (1992) and was the 14th MC to be published.

This MC contains 65 monsters, Aballin to Zygraat, and is a fairly good representation of the monsters listed in the original Fiend Folio.  Some new (the aforementioned Aballin) but a few notable ones had appeared in other volumes already.  Drow appeared in the main Monstrous Compendium. Death Knights were moved to Dragonlance (a loosing their demonic heritage in the process) and Styx Devils had been published in the MC8 (see below).  The "oriental" Dragons are not here, but Gem Dragons are. There is no flumph here though. We don't see those again until Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Two. 

Also there are no explanatory notes here that many of the others also had.  I guess at this point you are expected to know how to read the stat blocks. Not a complaint at all, merely an observation.

It is a mostly generic compilation of monsters and I mean that is a positive way.  These monsters can be used anywhere.  For example, I pulled out the Penanggalan and put it in my Ravenloft collection.

MC8 Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix

PDF 96 pages (102 with dividers and covers), Color cover art, black & white interior art, $4.99.  

This collection has 90+ monsters (Aasimon to Zoveri) from the various outer planes.  There are good and evil ones here so plenty for DMs taking the characters out of the dungeon and into new worlds.  There are a lot of old familiar faces and some new ones.  The "named" Demon Princes or Dukes of Hell are not here. Many, like Orcus, will never even get AD&D 2nd Ed stats. Most of the 1st Ed converts feel buffed up in stats. Even the succubus, a demon with little desire for combat, feels tougher with all her powers defined.

Demons and creatures from the Outer Planes in general really feel like they benefit from these expanded monster entries. While the Planescape Setting is still a bit away, we get tidbits of information about the Blood War and more.  Reminding us that when it comes to settings, 2nd Ed really was quite superior. 

Monstrous Compendium Planescape Appendix III

PDF, 128 pages. Color art. $9.99

This book was one of the bound softcover Monstrous Compendium Appendices and it took on the trad dress and style of the Planescape line rather than the Monstrous Compendium line. The monsters inside conformed to the standard of the Monstrous Compendium stat blocks, but there was no doubt what line this belonged to.

This volume has 128 pages and 71 monsters from Animental to Xill.  Many of these monsters appear on both sides of the page, usually due to the larger art elements, and expanded details including a bit of fluff for each one.  This makes this book actually better for use in the three-ring binders.  Even though this one was never designed to be added!  Again another point for the PDFs.  That is if you don't mind printing out all the full-color pages this one has.

Interestingly enough the Xill appears here and the Fiend Folio MC 14.  In fact, many monsters from the AD&D 1st Fiend Folio also make it here. Cases in point the Quasi-elementals, the khargra (with much improved art), thoqqua, and trilloch.  The Khargra and the Xill appear in all three (1st ed and both 2nd Ed books).

This one does have explanatory notes and it also covers the ecology of the outer planes.  By this time the Planescape setting had been in pretty wide use so the "Planescape" view of the Outer Planes has superseded, for good or ill, the AD&D 1st Edition Manual of the Planes version.

AD&D 2nd Ed may not have started out with fiends (of any sort) but they ended with not just a few, but a whole new outlook on them that changed how D&D would use them for the next 30 years.