Ten Favorite RPG Products of All Time

This started over at Dyvers blog and has now spread to others:
http://dyverscampaign.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-ten-favorite-rpg-products-of-all-time.html
http://realmsofchirak.blogspot.com/2014/03/death-bats-top-ten-favorite-rpg-books.html
http://ongoingcampaign.blogspot.com/2014/03/top-10-gaming-products.html

Not sure if this is a thing yet or not.  And many of us have answered these questions in some form or another over the years I am sure.  But it is still fun to read and do.

In no particular order and sometimes the entries are representative of a larger collection.

10. AD&D Monster Manual
The first RPG product I ever held or read.  It grabbed my attention in such a profound way that it is still, 35 years later, to fully quantify.  It fueled a life-time of fun and adventure.
Special Mention: AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide.
Nearly it's equal in effect but a superior book.  It just didn't get to my hands first.
Read more at: 1st Ed, D&D

9. Moldvay D&D Basic Set
A lot of people talk about "the Red Box". My Red Box was magenta and had Erol Otis on the cover.  For me this was the start of what became "my" D&D. Not someone else's game, but my own. I got my first set of dice in the box. I read and reread that book at least hundred times.
Special Mention: Cook/Marsh D&D Expert Set
Again, it might even superior to the Basic box just for everything it added.  But Basic comes first.
Read more at: D&D, Basic

8. Chill
Chill. I have talked about Chill so much and with good reason. This is the mid-west, monster fighting, "bumping back the things that go bump in the night", game where average Joes and Janes can stand against the darkness and walk away at the end.   While I have a special place in my heart for the Mayfair version, it is the 1st edition Pacesetter version that I think back too.
Special Mention: Chill Vampires
If I can only ever have one vampire hunting book then let it be this one.
Read more at: Chill, Vampires

7. Mage the Sorcerer's Crusade
"The Old Ways are Lost".  I love the the Renaissance; the idea of the world waking up out of darkness and ignorance to bring science and learning to all.  Ok. It didn't happen like that, but it can in a game and this if the best of the lot.  Plus it is old school magic versus new world science.  It takes what is great about Mage and makes so much more cooler.
Special Mention: Vampire the Masquerade
You can't have the Sorcerer's Crusade without Mage and you can't have Mage without Vampire the Masquerade.  VtM changed gaming in the 90s and it's effects can still seen today even far beyond gaming.
Read more at:  World of Darkness

6. Ravenloft Boxed Set
I loved the Ravenloft Module I6.  The boxed set Realms of Terror was just the thing I needed for my 2nd Ed games.  I loved horror, vampires, witches and this seemed like the perfect mix for me.  In fact I played so much Ravenloft that it is difficult for me to tease it apart from 2e.  They are the same for me really.
Special Mention:  Ravenloft Masque of the Red Death
What is the only way to improve Ravenloft?  Stick it on 19th century Earth and throw Dracula at the players.  There are many places where this game doesn't work, but I loved it all the same.
Read more at: Ravenloft, Victorian

5. Nightmares of Mine
This handy little guide is everything you need to run every sort of horror game. Straight up horror, survival horror, personal horror, comedy horror. You name it, this book covers it. It is small, but not cheap.
Special Mention: GURPS Horror
I have often complained that GURPS, as a game, has no soul, but the supplements can't be beat.  GURPS Horror is one of my favorites. Like Nightmares of Mine it covers how to play a number of different types of horror games.
Read more at: Horror

4. Call of Cthulhu
THE horror game.  I have always enjoyed the works of Lovecraft and in many ways CoC is not just the first horror game but also the first RPG based on a property.  The system itself, the Basic-Roleplaying System, also gave such fun games as RuneQuest and Elric/Stormbringer.
Special Mention: Cthulhu by Gaslight
As much as I love the cosmic horror of Lovecraft, Gothic horror is one of my first loves.  This is a great mix of both.
Read more at: Call of Cthulhu, BRP, Lovecraft

3. Role-Aids Witches
How could I not put this one up?  I have always rather liked Mayfair and their Role-Aids books.  The quality varies with some being quite bad.  But this one is great.  I had already been working on my own witch for a number of years when this one came out, but seeing it on the shelves made me happy. I knew I was working on something that at least one company liked.  Witches didn't invent the idea of Traditions, but it did help define it a little bit better.  Though I am still not a fan of the Deryni Witch.  Partly because I didn't think their concept worked as a witch and mostly because I had just left an OD&D game where we played Deryni as a race.  But in any case this is still one of my favorite third-part supplements to D&D.
Special Mention: Dragon #114
Most gamers of my generation remember this as the witch issue.  There is a lot to like about it, but what keeps this one around for me is the witch class.
Read more at: Witch

2. Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
I have gone on and on (and on) about my love of this game. To me it really is the pinnacle of what the OSR could do.  Plus it has such a great feel to it and honestly it combines every that has been on this list so far.  D&D, horror soaked lands, monsters and things from beyond. All in a red box!
Special Mention: Basic Fantasy
Basic Fantasy to me represents the best DIY spirit of OSR and the community. It also happens to be a gret set of rules and is almost exactly how we played our Basic/Advanced D&D mashups back in the 80s.
Read more at: AS&SH, OSR, Basic

1.  C.J. Carella's WitchCraft
There has only been one game ever that has come close to displacing D&D in my heart and that is C.J. Carella's WitchCraft.  For me this game has everything I wanted in a modern game with a great back story, fantastic art and a magic system that really is second to none.
Special Mention: Ghosts of Albion
I know. Totally cheesy mentioning your own game, but it is true. Ghosts of Albion is not only my favorite Victorian game, but also my 256 page love letter to WitchCraft. 
Read more at: Witch, Unisystem, Ghosts of Albion

Building a Shared World

There are so many cool projects and products out now that fly under the loose banner of OSR.

It occurs to me that there might be enough to fill an entire campaign world.

For locations there is Dolmvay, Gamington, The Shrine of St. Aleena, Dunsmouth (and more from LotFP), Blackmarsh, Castle of the Mad Archmage, Dyson Delves I and II, The Majestic Wilderlands, Verloren, and  Vornheim,

For monsters (important to give the world a nice unique feel) we have, The Big book of Spiders, The Cartographer's Guide to the Creatures of Eira, Realms of Crawling Chaos, Teratic Tome,

There are even campaign worlds with built in rules (visa-versa) like Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea and Adventurer Conqueror King System.

Plus all the material from James Mishler Games and others.

This is just the stuff I know about.  What else is out there?
Has there been enough published "OSR" material to populate an entire campaign guide ala the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk?

Has anyone tried fitting it all together?

I had wings once...

They were strong


But they were stolen from me.

Yeah I am a geek.  Get off my cloud man.

Fighting Fire the Ernie Gygax Benefit Adventure

Recently Ernie Gygax lost a number of personal items due to a fire in his home.

To make matters worse Ernie was laid up with CHF.

While insurance can replace some items, others were irreplaceable and frankly the shock of loss is a lot.

To help out the gaming community has offered something, this time a system neutral adventure "Fighting Fire".

The idea is simple, a third of the money goes to helping out Ernie.

The adventure itself is 32 pages (minus cover and title pages) with some NPCs.  It is edition agnostic (neutral in their words).  While they could have used something simple like Swords & Wizardry to give it some crunch, there isn't anything here an experienced gamer could run in about hour of prep time.   In fact while typing this I have gone from wanting to run this at as an "Old-school" adventure with something like Basic D&D to maybe running it under 3rd ed. instead.

The adventure is a simple, if tongue in cheek, one.  Defeat the evil fire wizard.

There is a lot of self-referential material here.  So knowing a little bit about the gaming industry and some of the people involved over the years will help you see some of the inside jokes.  But if not the adventure does not suffer for it.

It is described as a fairly simple adventure and it doesn't disappoint on the that regard.  Easily dropped into any game and any campaign.  

A lot of the art and maps come from various sources. I personally think it is kind of cool.  Everyone contributed something to this. 

While I can be accused (and rightly so) of waxing too nostalgic at times, I like the idea of the town of Gamington.  I also like the idea of adding it to my own world as a place where old adventurers go to retire.  They bring their treasure hoards and retire in style.  

In any case, this is a good cause and worth the money spent.

March Madness OSR Challenge! Part 3

I want to thank Tomb of Tedankhamen for hosting this.

Here is part 3 of my list.  Hope you enjoy!

16 Which RPG besides D&D has the best magic system? Give details.
Ghosts of Albion. Which is a total cheat on my part since I wrote it.  But seriously. I love the magic system in it.  I might never top that in my writing but I am sure as heck gonna try.  The system is flexible enough to cover D&D like spells, Mage like powers and even the innate magic of supernatural creatures.
Outside of Ghosts my favorite magic system is the one from Eden's WitchCraft RPG.

17 Which RPG has the best high tech rules? Why?
Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space.  Mostly because it hand waves the tech rules.  Games run the risk of looking very, very dated when it comes to tech.  Look at Traveller, ShadowRun or even Kult.  Doctor Who plays it simple and therefore it works so much better.

18 What is the crunchiest RPG you have played? Was it enjoyable?
Maybe GURPS or even D&D itself.  I like most games to be honest so to me enjoyment is more a factor of the playing rather than the rules.

19 What is the fluffiest RPG you have played? Was it enjoyable?
Monsterhearts. It is quite fun, but not for every audience.  Also Monster of the Week is in there; similar mechanics.

20 Which setting have you enjoyed most? Why?
Anything in the Victorian age. I love the time period and it is great for all sorts of conflict. You can play class vs. class, modern vs. old world or even magic/supernatural vs. science.  The world was new to explore and people had the means to do it. It was an exciting time for nearly anything you would want in an adventure game.

21 What is the narrowest genre RPG you have ever played? How was it?
70s Black exploration.  The games that suited it best were Solid! and Damnation Decade. I played a hippie witch from Berkeley. Interestingly enough this was an extension of my Chill game from the 80s.  I normally am not a fan of the 70s, but these games were great.

22 What is the most gonzo kitchen sink RPG you ever played? How was it?
Back in the early d20 days I was playing with my son.  We used D&D 3.0, Mutants and Masterminds, BESM d20, Star Wars, Silver Age Sentinels and anything that wasn't nailed down. We had a blast.

Friday Video: Satanism Unmasked Dungeons & Dragons

I am obsessed with the 80s Satanic Panic.  Here is another little turd from that time.

Christians talking about how morally deficient and evil D&D is.

)

Why is that these people get their facts so wrong?
Not just the really wrong shit of satanism in a game, but they can't even get the basic facts right.

...Satanism is not part of Witchcraft and visa versa.
...Those are not the words from "Shout at the Devil"
...NecroNOMicon, not Necro"NOME"icon.
...no suicides due to D&D.
...what the hell is a "training 'prim-er'"?
...interviewing prisoners. Always a good source of "credible" information.

I could go on. But what is the point.  Here is a great podcast from "The Thinking Atheist".

)

And this gem, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jrMoVWl5KA

Ok. How about this.

Shield of Faith
(Basic Era/Labyrinth Lord/Basic Fantasy/S&W)
Level: Cleric 1 to 7
Range: 5' in front of the Cleric
Duration: 1 round per level
By means of this spell the cleric focuses their faith into a tangible shield that will protect them from harm from creatures the cleric can consider "Evil".  Typically this is a creature of Chaotic alignment (or Lawful for a Chaotic cleric) and an "outsider" or supernatural creature. This includes (but not limited to) undead, djinn, effrit, demons, devils and any type of spirit. Sometimes even faerie creatures.
The spell reduces the attacks of these creatures at a number of hp per the spell level.  So a 5th level cleric using a 2nd level Shield of Faith would be able reduce 2 points per attack for 5 rounds.
The cleric must present their holy symbol when casting and they cannot attack.
Material Components: The clerics holy symbol.

A to Z Blogging Chat

I am taking part in today's Blogging A to Z chat.

A to Z Chats are going to be scheduled on Thursdays from 1 PM to 2 PM Eastern U.S. Time and from 8 PM to 9 PM Eastern Time U.S.

Yeah, I know some people are tired of blog hops, challenges, circle jerks, whatever.
But that is not why (or who) I do these for.  Last year I had people outside of our own corner of the web post or email me and had no idea that RPGs, let alone D&D was still "a thing".  One woman even ended up with S&S, Basic Fantasy and some other books on my recommendation for her husband who had played in the 80s but no more.

So join me on Twitter, @timsbrannan with hashtag #AZchat.

Today I am contemplating a theme change for the challenge.
Something that I think will work better for everyone here.

White Dwarf Wednesday Index

Here it is. A link index to every White Dwarf Wednesday I have done.

Issues #1-#100
White Dwarf #1
White Dwarf #2
White Dwarf #3
White Dwarf #4
White Dwarf #5
White Dwarf #6
White Dwarf #7
White Dwarf #8
White Dwarf #9
White Dwarf #10

White Dwarf #11
White Dwarf #12
White Dwarf #13
White Dwarf #14
White Dwarf #15
White Dwarf #16
White Dwarf #17
White Dwarf #18
White Dwarf #19
White Dwarf #20
White Dwarf #21

White Dwarf #24
White Dwarf #22
White Dwarf #23
White Dwarf #25
White Dwarf #26
White Dwarf #27
White Dwarf #28
White Dwarf #29
White Dwarf #30
White Dwarf #31
White Dwarf #32

White Dwarf #33
White Dwarf #34
White Dwarf #35
White Dwarf #36
White Dwarf #37
White Dwarf #38
White Dwarf #39
White Dwarf #40
White Dwarf #41
White Dwarf #42
White Dwarf #43

White Dwarf #44
White Dwarf #45
White Dwarf #46
White Dwarf #47
White Dwarf #48
White Dwarf #49
White Dwarf #50
White Dwarf #51
White Dwarf #52
White Dwarf #53
White Dwarf #54

White Dwarf #55
White Dwarf #56
White Dwarf #57
White Dwarf #58
White Dwarf #59
White Dwarf #60
White Dwarf #61
White Dwarf #62
White Dwarf #63
White Dwarf #64
White Dwarf #65

White Dwarf #66
White Dwarf #67
White Dwarf #68
White Dwarf #69
White Dwarf #70
White Dwarf #71
White Dwarf #72
White Dwarf #73
White Dwarf #74
White Dwarf #75
White Dwarf #76

White Dwarf #77
White Dwarf #78
White Dwarf #79
White Dwarf #80
White Dwarf #81
White Dwarf #82
White Dwarf #83
White Dwarf #84
White Dwarf #85
White Dwarf #86
White Dwarf #87

White Dwarf #88
White Dwarf #89
White Dwarf #90
White Dwarf #91
White Dwarf #92
White Dwarf #93
White Dwarf #94
White Dwarf #95
White Dwarf #96
White Dwarf #97
White Dwarf #98
White Dwarf #99
White Dwarf #100

Two years, two months and 100 issues.  Quite a ride!

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Limited Edition Hardcover Edition (PDF)

The PDF version of Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space Limited Edition Hardcover Edition is now up at DriveThruRPG.

If you have either of the 11th or 10th Doctor version of this game then you have most of the rules and text, though some things look like the are a bit clearer (or I am rereading them for 10th time).  This is one full document as opposed to the multiple PDFs of the "boxed sets".  It also updates the text to reflect the last bits of the Matt Smith seasons and the Day of the Doctor 50th Anniversary special.  So stats for the War Doctor and updated Zygons.

It is an extremely attractive book (256 full color pages).  If you are new to this game then this is the place to start. If you are new to Doctor Who, well then I would say grab the Tenth or Eleventh Doctor version of the rules.  All the same rules, but less emphasis on the the show's own history.   Though there are the story/adventure seeds for all 12 doctors and that is very nice.

I plan on picking this one up in hardback as soon as I can to be honest.  That's how much I enjoy this game.

New Maleficent Poster

This was released yesterday.

Yeah.  I am really looking forward to this!

The Light's Winning: True Detective

Wow.

That is really all I have to say about the season finale of HBO's "True Detective".

I am not going to discuss the finale at all here, there are still people that have not seen it here or overseas.  But honestly this is one of the best things I have seen on American TV in a long, long time.

Not only were Matthew McConaughey (Det. Rustin "Rust" Cohle) and Woody Harrelson (Det. Martin "Marty" Hart) fantastic, they were the best I can ever remember seeing them.

The story pulled you in and kept you in till the end.  Honestly I kinda want to rewatch it just to make sure I caught everything.

It is one of the best "Southern Gothic" stories I have seen in a long time, and I will admit to having a soft spot in my heart for this genre. It was not just Noir-ish cop drama, although it works as that too, there is an undercurrent of pure darkness here that should disturb any rational thinking person.

A lot has been made of the "Lovecraftian" (ok really "Chambersian") uses of "Carcosa" and "The King in Yellow".  The fact that it was all steeped in hard reality and not some mythic world made it even more terrifying.  It certainly makes any other use of Carcosa seem pale and immature in comparison.  Seriously.

This would make such a fantastic Call of Cthlhu adventure it staggers my mind to think about how cool it could be. Horror, even 'Lovecraftian' horror, does not have to be about the monsters from beyond.  Especially if the monsters in the bayou or the local church school work well enough.

If you have not had the chance, check out the companion website, http://darknessbecomesyou.com/

If that is not enough then listen to the title song ("theme song" seems wrong). Haunting.


I am very surprised that something unseated American Horror Story as my favorite show of 2014.

Happy Birthday to The Other Side...sorta

March 10 is the unofficial birthday of The Other Side.

I say that because this is the day I set up my first website, also called the Other Side, back in 1996.  I remember working on it at work during the week and and scribbling down some code in class (I was still getting my Ph.D. then).
I finally got it up and live over the weekend.  I suppose I should say it was 11th. That was when I let people know.  But the 10th was when I uploaded my index.html page to make it all work.

It wasn't much to be honest, but it was mine.

So happy birth to my site which died and then returned as this blog.

March Madness OSR Challenge! Part 2

I want to thank Tomb of Tedankhamen for hosting this.

Here is part 2 of my list.  Hope you enjoy!

9 What superhero RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Mutants and Masterminds is one of my favorites. I also enjoyed Villains and Vigilantes and Superbabes.
I just liked the way M&M worked to be honest.
Back in the day we used to take our D&D characters and drop them right into V&V.  It was the 80s things like that were allowed.

10 What science fiction RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space is my current favorite sci-fi game.  I like it's flexibility and it's openness.  Plus being a big fan of Doctor Who doesn't hurt.  But in all seriousness it is just a really fun game and really forces you to think about how to do things other than fighting all the time.

11 What post-apocalyptic RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Gamma World or Armageddon. I am not a huge fan of post-apoc games to be honest, but I have had fun with them in the past.  Gamma World is gonzo fun and Armageddon is a nice addition to the WitchCraft line.

12 What humorous RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
Army of Darkness. I think counts. It has a solid humor element. Same with Ghostbusters. Witch Girls Adventures also has a humor to it that I like.  I like to inject all my games with a bit of humor. Temper the darkness a bit.

13 What horror RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Too many to count really.  Chill, Call of Cthulhu, GURPS, WitchCraft, Buffy, Army of Darkness, Vampire, Mage, Ghosts of Albion, Kult, Monsterhearts, Wraith and lots more. I love horror games. I even run my D&D games as horror games.

14 What historical or cultural RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
Not sure what this one is asking. I like anything Victorian.  But outside of that Mage the Sorcerers' Crusade for playing in the Renaissance. For a purely historical RPG, Victoria is one of my favorites.

15 What pseudo or alternate history RPG have you enjoyed most? Why?
Castle Falkenstein is one of my favorite alt-history games.  Victoriana is another good one. And Space: 1899.  Anything in the Victorian period really.

Zatannurday: Zatanna by Stephanie Buscema

I have really been enjoying the Red Sonja covers by Stephanie Buscema of late.  I am posting some over at Red Sonja She-devil With A Sword and Amazon Princess today.  Here is her Zatanna

Links

• Blog, http://stephaniebuscema.blogspot.com/
• Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop/wreckinbyrd?ref=em
• Homepage, http://www.stephaniebuscema.com/
• Twitter, https://twitter.com/StephBuscema
• Tumblr, http://stephbuscema.tumblr.com/
• Comic Vine, http://www.comicvine.com/stephanie-buscema/4040-47849/
• Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stephanie-Buscema/270727659633788

Dark Dungeons: Reloaded

"Because, as we all know, the path that leads straight to hell is paved with lead miniatures and polyhedral dice!" - Tom Servo

So a number of years ago I made a little thing called "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Dark Dungeons".
An MST3k style send up of the terrible Jack Trick tract "Dark Dungeons".  The original is gone (it was on an older version of the Other Side website) but there are lot of places where you can find it now.

• http://www.rpglibrary.org/inspiration/darkdungeons/intro.html
• http://www.humpin.org/mst3kdd/
• http://www.fecundity.com/darkdung/
• Original, https://web.archive.org/web/20010619152118/http://www.planetadnd.com/humor/DD-MST3K/index.php

Most gamers know about it by now I think.

I love seeing send-ups of this piece of crap.
Here is one from the Escapist that is funny, http://www.theescapist.com/darkdungeons.htm

But this it one that has me laughing the most today.
From Hugo and Jake of "The Bible Reloaded".



There are more I know.  But this one is funny.

"I don't know about you, but Jack Chick taught me that witches rock! They get to fight zombies, wear cool clothes, hang out with Ms. Frost, and engage in mind bondage." - Crow T. Robot.

Don't forget we have a Dark Dungeons movie coming out too.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130778-Jack-Chick-Dark-Dungeons-Movie-On-Course-For-Gen-Con

Dark Dungeons the RPG (RC retro-clone) can also be found here: http://www.gratisgames.webspace.virginmedia.com/

What Will $50 get You?

So I am slow at this. Sorry, been sick.

The price point for the first releases of the next edition of Dungeons & Dragons has been leaked by Barnes & Noble.

The Player's Handbook has a MSRP of $49.99. (link now dead)
The "Starter Set" has a MSRP of $19.99. (link also dead)
(the Escapist has commentary and screenshots)

And queue the rounds of people saying it's too expensive.

Let's look at the Player's Handbooks over the years. I have included the price, the number of pages, and the retail price. I am also including the adjusted price for inflation based on the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

AD&D 1st Ed. (1978) 128 pages, $19.95  ($71.68)
AD&D 2nd Ed. (1989) 246 pages, $20.00 ($37.73)
D&D 3.0 (2000) 302 pages, $19.95*  (special intro price, increased to $29.95)  ($27.10, $40.68)
D&D 3.5 (2003) 302 pages, $29.95 ($38.07)
D&D 4th (2008) 320 pages, $34.95 ($37.97)
D&D 5th Ed. (2014) xxx pages, $50.00 ($50.00)

Maybe $40.00 is the sweet spot on this, but $50.00 does not seem too far out to me.
Compare this to a new video game, $60.00.  Ah, but you say, you can't play D&D with just the player's book, you need at least another 100 bucks for the DMG and MM.  Well. You can't play a video game by itself either you need a system (anywhere from $300 to $400).

So really. This is not a huge expense in today's market.  It is also likely to be 300+ pages, full color with, what I have seen so far, great art.

I am planning on buying these at my Favorite Local Game Store.  I believe in keeping game stores in business and supporting my local economy. So yeah, that means I am in for at least $120.00.  I will get the starter set too.

But you know what? I am an adult. I make good money. I can drop that much on my favorite hobby, on my favorite game.

Currently the modules for D&D 5 run from $5.00 (Vault of the Dracolich) to $18.00 (Dreams of the Red Wizards: Scourge of the Sword Coast) to $30 ($18 on sale) (Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle).
I like the art and expect that the rule books will be about the same.

So honestly, this sounds fine to me.

White Dwarf Wednesday #100

Here we are. At the end.  I started this a little more than two years ago but I finally made it to my stated goal of issue 100 of White Dwarf. But before I go all reflective, let's tackle the issue at hand, White Dwarf 100 for April 1988.

The cover of this issue includes photos of miniatures, which I guess is appropriate.  Compare to the cover of Dragon 100 it really isn't a stretch; both did something different.  But with a history of great covers I expected more.  This is a common theme throughout this issue in fact.
Unlike issue #90 (ten years) which featured a look back, this issue is nearly indistinguishable from the last save that there is no other game content except for Games Workshop games. Now I don't want it to sound like I think this is a bad thing. It's not. TSR/WotC did it, most magazines did it and still do it. It's good economic sense.  I like generalist magazines myself and once upon time White Dwarf was the best of the lot.

Sean Masterson makes it clear that issue 100 is not about looking behind, but ahead. Ok. I was hoping for some retrospective, but I am not going to fault them.  This is the blueprint of next 25 years of White Dwarf.
It wouldn't bug except for the teaser of "Special Anniversary Issue" on the cover.

Marginalia discusses The Power Behind the Throne for Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play and another expansion to Dungeonquest.  I think I am going to need to pick up both WFRP and Dungeonquest at some future date just to see what they were all about.

Highway Warriors is a sneak peak into GWs next near future game.  At this point it was unnamed, but a little research and I found out it became Dark Future.  I love reading little insights like this to games.  I remember about the same time reading about the upcoming AD&D 2nd Edition.  It was articles like this that got me thinking about what sorts of things went into making a game.

The Floating Gardens of Bahb-Elonn is an adventure for Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play. I can't judge it on it's own merits.  The players are all some sort of native race with some dumb sounding names, but outside of that it looks like an adventure that could be ported over to any system.  I could see it being run with primitive halfings in D&D or MERP.

The rest of the issue is split up between Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Warhammer 40k.  In fact the only clue that there are other games out there is an ad for Dragonlance Tales vol. 1 (of all things).

Here at the end (not to sound too maudlin) I can see how this magazine is changing into something that Warhammer fans will find useful.  Plus it is also a good example how a company can maintain seperate parallel game lines.  But it is a good place for me to bow out.

What Did I Learn From All of This?
That things really have not changed all that much.  Some of the same discussions on the letters pages and int he editorials are the same as some message board and blog posts today.  Each generation of gamers looks at the generation that cam before as old Grgonards and at the generation that comes after as kids with no respect for the way things were done.  Debates will always rage on and maybe it not the goal of the debate but simply the discussions themselves that are important.

I learned that it doesn't matter what I think I know about games, there is always more to learn. A new game, an obscure one, new ways of doing things. This hobby is more diverse than even we give it credit for.

I learned that there was a ton of great stuff being published back then.  I was fortunate to have lived in a area where I still had pretty good access to games. I now live in a place where any game I want is often a mouse click away or if I need it sooner in physical form, an 8-minute drive.

What I most enjoyed though was going through the older magazines, the ones up to issue 30-40; the Golden Age of RPGs or at least of D&D.  Yes I can be accused of being an old nostalgic gamer and that is fine with me to be honest.  I also liked reflecting on what I was doing at those times as well.

That was a lot of fun. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.




Now what should I do??

Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay

Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay.

I have been waiting for this book for a while and I have to say it was worth the wait.
Dolmvay is not only a highly detailed city complete with maps, npcs, new monsters and pretty much everything you need, it is also a shared city.

Let's talk about the product first.  It's Pay What You Want, but it is certainly worth at least $19.95 or more (so pay at least 5 buck or more!).  You get 223 pages worth of material.  There are the maps I mentioned, but there is also a fairly detailed history. You could easily drop this into any game, and let's be honest, any system.   If you are familiar with other products from SNG then takes place in the World of Amherth setting.  But this book (and most of the Amherth books) are easily adapted to any setting.

There is a chapter on adventuring in the city. How the local churches react to magic and what can be expected of travelling adventurers.
Makes it perfect for a way point between adventures, but you would be missing all the fun.
The book also details an number houses, factions and NPCs and their own desires for the city.  If you like games of political intrigue and courtly drama then this is a good place to start.

The bulk of the book details the layout of the city. In this respect it reads like a guide book. NPCs, hooks and other information is given.  There is plenty here for new GM to use it as is and plenty more for an experienced GM to add their own information.
It strikes a nice balance between detail and flexibility.   Among my favorite items are the random rumor table and the common greetings and gestures.   Things like this give a setting life of it's own.

Common businesses are covered as well as a sampling of Taverns and Inns.  City encounters and even some new monsters.
Venture into the sewers or the Island of Heroes.

There is a section on random NPC generation as well.

Dolmvay the concept is the idea that this is a shared City.  If developers want to create their own encounters, adventures or anything else really and set it in Dolmvay then there is an easy to use and free license to do so.
It is such a great idea I am surprised that no one else has done it before.

This book is steal at any price.

I think I will need to come up with some sort of witch coven that is active here.  That would be fun.
It would have to be small and of course persecuted by the local church.

GMs Day Sale at DriveThruRPG

I had forgotten about the GMs day week two week sales at DriveThruRPG.

That is till I went to my wish list and saw a bunch of things I have been wanting get some pretty good discounts.

Pop on over and have a look. Some great deals going on.
At present count it is on over 15,200 items.  Certainly something you will want is on sale.

March Madness OSR Challenge! Part 1

I have bitten off more than I can chew this month.
New month is the big April A to Z blog challenge and this month I need get some more done for work and my witch book.

Plus I am still sick.

So....I am going to have to do this in chunks.
I want to thank Tomb of Tedankhamen for hosting this.

1 What was the first roleplaying game other than D&D you played? Was it before or after you had played D&D?
It was over 30 years ago so it was either Traveller or Chill 1st Ed. This was all after D&D.

2 What was the first character you played in an RPG other than D&D? How was playing it different from playing a D&D character?
I ran Chill. My first character I played in another game was "Zaphod" in Traveller.  The skill system was a new idea for me and I liked it.  Plus the D&D mode of "kill things and take their stuff" doesn't work in most games.

3 Which game had the least or most enjoyable character generation?
In my mind the character creation for Traveller gave me the most trouble.  The easiest is anything for Unisystem. I can pretty much create a character for Unisystem in my sleep.

4 What other roleplaying author besides Gygax impressed you with their writing?
Easy.  C. J. Carella. His WitchCraft game is a work of art. He created the Unisystem game system and the Cinematic Unisystem.  I was fortunate enough to be working on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG when it was in development.

5 What other old school game should have become as big as D&D but didn’t? Why do you think so?
Chill. It lived in the shadow of Call of Cthulhu. Of course Chill is seeing some new light from Goblinoid Games in the guise of Rotworld,  Majus and Cryptworld.

6 What non-D&D monster do you think is as iconic as D&D ones like hook horrors or flumphs, and why do you think so?
I am not sure that flumphs are as iconic as say beholders or mind flayers, but that is a discussion for later. For other games  I always liked shoggoths and gugs from Call of Cthulhu.  The "Mean Old Neighbor Lady" from Chill is also fairly iconic for that game.

7 What fantasy RPG other than D&D have you enjoyed most? Why?
Runequest. I liked it because of it's connection the the Chaosism's BRP system which meant I could add in things from the Elric/Stormbringer/Hawkmoon games and Call of Cthulhu as I liked.

8 What spy RPG have you enjoyed most? Give details.
None. Not my cup of tea really.  I liked how Spycraft was put together, but I never played it.

Sick day

Been down with a bad cold all week and I am not getting much better.

Sorry if posting is slow this next week.

Tempting Fate, Part 2

So I have been looking at Fate a lot recently.
Reading it over. Thinking of different things to try with it.

There are a lot of reasons to do so.  Just have stuck that right chord with me yet.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 28

Day 28: What is the single most important lesson you've learned from playing Dungeons & Dragons?

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”

― G.K. Chesterton

The same thing can be said about D&D.

Mecha vs. Kaiju

Back when True20 was still new there was a "campaign world" created for it; Mecha vs. Kaiju.  It eventually spun off into a full blown product.

I talked about it more recently when Pacific Rim came out.

Well True20 sadly never got the traction it should have, but there is a new system to fill it's niche, Fate, and new Mecha vs. Kaiju for it.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1171175182/mecha-vs-kaiju-a-sci-fi-anime-rpg-for-fate-core

If it is anything like the True20 it will be ridiculously fun.
Though it looks like to me this not a simple conversion, but a complete rewrite to fit the Fate rules.
If that is the case then this stands to be a really, really fun game.

If it does for Fate what it did for True20 in my mind then this is an easy winner.

I have been dying to do something with Fate and this just might be the thing I need.

Mecha vs. Kaiju True20 Version
The game is set up much like other True20 books.  You have your three archetypes/characters (Adept, Expert, Warrior) and a host of new feats and powers to choose from.  Some are campaign-specific but almost all could be used anywhere else.  In fact there is enough here that the main feature of MvK is readily apparent; you don't have to do games about fighting giant monsters all the time.  Now of course the main plot and thrust of this game is fighting giant monsters, but I can easily see some adventures of exploring monster islands, contests between cocky pilots, mad scientists, children with newly awakened psychic powers.

When I first read this game my thoughts went first to Godzilla, but you can do Akira here as well and any number of other "Neo Tokyo" genres.  Plus it is compatible with a host of True20 books I already have, so adding cyberpunk, horror or even comedy is easy.

If you don't like the campaign background you can leave it, but I think you would be missing out on something really fun if you do.

This might in fact be my favorite True20 setting.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 27

Day 27: If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything different when you first started gaming?

I don't know.  I am not one for regrets or second-guessing my choices.
I think I would have liked to have bought more of the classic books when I could and saved more of the things I wrote. Playing some more games when I was younger would have been nice too.

But yeah I mean I had a blast. I am still having a blast. Why would I want to change any of that?

White Dwarf Wednesday #99

March 1988 and White Dwarf #99. This might one of my least favorite covers ever for White Dwarf.  Some weird looking space marine (research tells me it is a Chaos Marine).  In The Eye Of Terror Collective by Creativity Inc is the credit.
Sean Masterson gives us lackluster editorial.

Marginalia gives us two products, Curse of the Mummy's Tomb and Heroes for Dungeonquest.  Curse of the Mummy is a new board game and Heroes another expansion for Dungeonquest.

Lots of stuff for Warhammer 40k.

Letters moves up to the start of the issue.

The Ritual is a Warhammer Fantasy introductory scenario.   It's 10 pages and looks like it could be fun.  It has a serious old school vibe about it (naturally) but it really looks like something that could be published today for the OSR crowd.

For RuneQuest we get a guide on Martial Arts.  Only a page, but some very 80s stuff.

A little bit more on some Warhammer 40k.

Spirit of the Mountain is a Call of Cthulhu adventure.  Taking place anytime between 1830 and 1930 it is a fun little adventure set in Navajo land in Arizona.  I like it. I am sucker for anything Native American in nature.  Growing up in the midwest near old burial mounds will do that.  Plus I was in the area of this adventure this past spring on vacation and I have been dying to try something out.  It looks like something that I could convert easily to Ghosts of Albion.

One of the reasons (I think) for letters getting moved was to make room for a new forum on miniatures. I have been poking my head in on various newer White Dwarf issues to know that anything miniatures was gold for White Dwarf.

End with more Warhammer 40k and various ads.

A lot of what I said about last issue is still valid here.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 26

Day 26: Do you still game with the people who introduced you to the hobby?

I started 35 years ago.  The people I gamed with then have all moved on and now have families of their own.  The ones I still keep somewhat in touch with are still over 200 miles away.

Maybe someday I will game with them again.  My boys are also playing 1st Ed. AD&D now so everything has come full circle for me.

20 Years of Starlog

Back in the 80s there was one magazine that vied for my attention as much as Dragon and White Dwarf.
Starlog.

Now the Internet Archive (one of my favorite websites ever) has 20 years worth of back issues of Starlog, Issue #1 to issue #224 (1976 to 1996).  Pretty much the golden and silver ages of the magazine.

https://archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Astarlogmagazine&sort=-publicdate

No idea how long these will stick around.  People tend to upload this stuff without having the proper permissions.

Oh no. There's goes Tokyo!

Can't wait for this.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 25

Day 25: Longest running campaign/gaming group you've been in.

This one is pretty easy.
I have been able to play in some pretty cool groups, but the one that has lasted the longest and the one I get the most enjoyment out of is Dragonslayers.

The Dragonslayers began as a way of teaching my oldest son how to play.  He was only about 4 years old at the time. I began with some very simple rules, but mostly based around D&D 3rd Ed.

I added in bits of Star Wars d20, BESM d20 and Mutants & Masterminds.  Over the years we also added my youngest son.  I have talked about the group many times here.

Presently the Dragonslayers are all in Epic levels, 24-26.  Yeah I wanted to do somethings with 4e too, so I am using the 3.x Epic Level Handbook and ideas from 4e. I have one more adventure to take them through and then it is off to the Dragon's Isle to fight Tiamat.  It will be epic!

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 24

Day 24: First movie that comes to mind that you associate with D&D. Why?

That's easy.  There really is only one D&D movie.

Star Wars.  Or "A New Hope".

Not only was it out at the same time (more or less) I discovered D&D. It became so much a part of my experiences as a kid that is hard to tease out where one influence begins and the other ends.

This movie has: A boy who would be the hero, a swashbuckling rogue, a princess to rescue, a wise old man/wizard/jedi, an evil warrior, an impenetrable fortress, magic, fights, side-kicks, monsters, sword fights and epic battle.  Everything here IS D&D.  They even meet the rogue in a bar!

Yes this another retelling of the monomyth or The Hero with a 1,000 Faces.  That's why it works so well.

If you have never watched the original trailer, watch it.  It gives you an idea of what Star Wars was in the late 70s, before all the toys and baggage.

This is also one of the reasons I like the d20 Star Wars game over the West End Games d6 one.  To me Star Wars and D&D are the same.

It should also be no surprise that Star Wars movie posters are the only movie posters hanging in my game room/office.

D&D40 Bloghop: Day 23

Day 23: First song that comes to mind that you associate with D&D. Why?

Hmm.

Again, given the age I am I usually associate D&D and AD&D in particular with Led Zeppelin.

I grew up in the mid-west, the middle of Illinois to be exact.  Classic Rock was all that was on the radio.  So songs like "The Battle of Evermore" or "Misty Mountain Hop" invoke that quasi-Tolkien feel that goes hand in hand with D&D.  But I also have to mention "Kashmir" and "The Immigrant Song" as having some lingering associations for me.

I have to admit I once wanted to create a series of adventures all based on the songs from Led Zeppelin 4 (aka "Zoso").  While that is SOOO a typical High School kid in the 80s thing to do with D&D, I still think it might be fun.  I mean look as the adventures I did for The Dragon & The Phoenix, Season of the Witch and The Hex Girls.  Obviously I listened to a lot of music in my formative years.














"Does anybody remember laughter?"