Well. Not Wikipedia, but some of the deletionists.
Now they want to delete the article on Tharizdun, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tharizdun
So. Anyone know of some good 3rd party (not TSR or WotC) references?
I have a stack of magazines to go through, but I am running on fumes now.
Could use some help on Night Hag as well.
Friday, September 6, 2013
30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 6: Favorite Deity
Day 6: Favorite Deity
Tough one really. As a kid I loved Hecate for obvious reasons. Her picture in the Deities & Demigods did nothing to dissuade me from my opinion either.
But it was Dragon #88 and Len Lakofka's Gods of the Suel Empire that introduced me to Wee Jas.
First I love that "Wee Jas" was a play on Ouija. She was like Hecate, only more D&D. I was a then (And still am to some degree) a fan of the Suel. They nuked themselves out of existance, but very soon in our games "Suel" became our Shang-ri-la.
I liked Wee Jas because she was a witch goddess and a goddess of magic. She was also a lawful goddess that hated demons and chaotic undead. Since I also liked to play wizards and Lawful Good clerics and paladins that hated undead and demons, she was the perfect intersection of all my interests.
Typically when I use her now she is a cross between Hecate and a little bit of Cardea.
Tough one really. As a kid I loved Hecate for obvious reasons. Her picture in the Deities & Demigods did nothing to dissuade me from my opinion either.
But it was Dragon #88 and Len Lakofka's Gods of the Suel Empire that introduced me to Wee Jas.
First I love that "Wee Jas" was a play on Ouija. She was like Hecate, only more D&D. I was a then (And still am to some degree) a fan of the Suel. They nuked themselves out of existance, but very soon in our games "Suel" became our Shang-ri-la.
I liked Wee Jas because she was a witch goddess and a goddess of magic. She was also a lawful goddess that hated demons and chaotic undead. Since I also liked to play wizards and Lawful Good clerics and paladins that hated undead and demons, she was the perfect intersection of all my interests.
Typically when I use her now she is a cross between Hecate and a little bit of Cardea.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
And this is happening...
New cover for Eldritch Witchery. Due out next month!
Eldritch Witchery is due out for Spellcraft & Swordplay.
Eldritch Witchery is due out for Spellcraft & Swordplay.
Old School Systems Questions
One of the things the OSR was supposed to do (at least in my mind) was free us from the necessity of rules fundamentalism. Making products for OSRIC for example was allow publishers to make "1st Edition" compatible products without saying "Compatible with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons".
Basic Fantasy seemed close to this as well, but more of a melding of the "Basic" and "Advanced" ideas.
At the end of the day though a product that is compatible for one game should work with another.
In a couple of recent posts from Billy Goes to Mordor (love that blog name) suggests that there is still some form of system adherence in the OSR crowd.
http://billygoes.blogspot.co.il/2013/08/by-numbers-relative-popularity-of-dnd.html
http://billygoes.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-relative-popularity-of-various.html
His numbers, based on his survey came out like this:
He compares this to relative Google+ groups sizes as an index of popularity.
But this brings up the larger question again. Are eliminating the necessity of a certain rules system (D&D Basic, Advanced, 2nd ed) just to exchange it for another (Basic Fantasy, ACKS, DCC)?
So when looking for a OSR supplement, adventure or add-on do the clone rules matter to you?
Back in the day we used pretty much everything with everything else. Still do in fact.
For example I mentioned a while back how you can use ACKS with the B/X Companion or even B/X Companion with Labyrinth Lord or Basic Fantasy. Those are easy though due to their relationship back to Basic D&D.
What are your experiences? Do you ignore S&W's single save when using the Tome of Horrors with Basic Fantasy? Do you convert on the fly?
Basic Fantasy seemed close to this as well, but more of a melding of the "Basic" and "Advanced" ideas.
At the end of the day though a product that is compatible for one game should work with another.
In a couple of recent posts from Billy Goes to Mordor (love that blog name) suggests that there is still some form of system adherence in the OSR crowd.
http://billygoes.blogspot.co.il/2013/08/by-numbers-relative-popularity-of-dnd.html
http://billygoes.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-relative-popularity-of-various.html
His numbers, based on his survey came out like this:
- DCC RPG 32%
- Labyrinth Lord 31%
- Swords and Wizardry 28%
- LotFP 24%
- ACKS 10%
- OSRIC 8%
He compares this to relative Google+ groups sizes as an index of popularity.
- Swords &Wizardry 826
- DCC RPG 776
- Lamentations of the Flame Princess 498
- Basic Fantasy 387
- Labyrinth Lord 382
- Adventurer Conquerer King 347
- Castles & Crusades 303
- OSRIC 110
But this brings up the larger question again. Are eliminating the necessity of a certain rules system (D&D Basic, Advanced, 2nd ed) just to exchange it for another (Basic Fantasy, ACKS, DCC)?
So when looking for a OSR supplement, adventure or add-on do the clone rules matter to you?
Back in the day we used pretty much everything with everything else. Still do in fact.
For example I mentioned a while back how you can use ACKS with the B/X Companion or even B/X Companion with Labyrinth Lord or Basic Fantasy. Those are easy though due to their relationship back to Basic D&D.
What are your experiences? Do you ignore S&W's single save when using the Tome of Horrors with Basic Fantasy? Do you convert on the fly?
30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 5: Favorite Set of dice/individual die
Day 5: Favorite Set of dice/individual die
Unlike many players it seems I am not superstitious about dice. My current favorite is the ones that I have at the table, 'cause anytime I am rolling dice is a good day.
I do have a few that have special meaning to me. I have a blue d20 the my oldest son gave me and a steampunk d6 my youngest gave me. They are favorites cause of who gave them to me.
I also have a clock-face d12 that use for Doctor Who (replacing the 2d6).
My kids' favorite is the d20 of mine that I got mad at and tossed behind our books cases. They laugh cause it always seemed to roll 1s and no one will ever seeing again until those bookcases are torn out.
Unlike many players it seems I am not superstitious about dice. My current favorite is the ones that I have at the table, 'cause anytime I am rolling dice is a good day.
I do have a few that have special meaning to me. I have a blue d20 the my oldest son gave me and a steampunk d6 my youngest gave me. They are favorites cause of who gave them to me.
I also have a clock-face d12 that use for Doctor Who (replacing the 2d6).
My kids' favorite is the d20 of mine that I got mad at and tossed behind our books cases. They laugh cause it always seemed to roll 1s and no one will ever seeing again until those bookcases are torn out.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
White Dwarf Wednesday #78
So let's get into it.
Issue #77 takes White Dwarf to their new address and new team. The cover is different too. Still the same price, but now it reads "GAMES WORKSHOP PRESENTS" instead of "THE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES MONTHLY". Not a subtle reminder.
The editorial/toc page is resigned as well. While Paul Cockburn, late of Imagine is the new editor, it's a familiar name on the editorial, Ian Livingstone. Said editorial is just saying what I have said here.
Open Box gets a facelift and some color. Among other things the */10 rating is now gone.
Covered is B/X1 Night's Dark Terror module for D&D and DL11 Dragons of Glory Play-aid for AD&D. The treat in this batch is a look at Cthulhu by Gaslight by Chaosium for Call of Cthulhu. This book became something of a Holy Grail for me back in the late 80s. I loved Victorian gaming even then so this seemed like the perfect game to me.
Dave Langford takes over a redesigned Critical Mass. Notable is the review for Gygax's own "Artifact of Evil". Noting that it is nothing more than an adventure writeup and commenting on the "brutalities visited on the English language.
Graeme Drysdale looks into coming back from the dead in AD&D.
Wow. a bad review for Gygax and bringing characters back to life? This is not the Grognard's White dwarf anymore.
The Pilocomayo Project is an adventure for Golden Heroes. I can't comment on the adventure but the NPC "Powerchord" a rocker turned super could be fun to use. Mr. Magic is just a poor-mans Zatara.
After that we get an adventure for Judge Dredd, The Sprung Ones.
Fracas is the new rumors or news department.
The rest are mostly ads.
Ok. Not a great issue by any stretch of the imagination.
30 Day D&D Challenge, Day 4: Favorite Game World
Day 4: Favorite Game World
Mine is a tie. My first and nearest to my heart was "The Known World" later called Mystara. But I quickly adopted Greyhawk. So when I ran games it was Mystara, but playing it was Greyhawk. Around 1986 or so my then DM and I decided to merge our worlds. We called "Oerth 3", not very original I know.
Many years later I discovered this map by Chatdemon based on an idea by James Mishler. It was exactly what I was trying to do. Plus this map was so much better than mine.
So my favorite game world of all time is Mystoerth!
Mine is a tie. My first and nearest to my heart was "The Known World" later called Mystara. But I quickly adopted Greyhawk. So when I ran games it was Mystara, but playing it was Greyhawk. Around 1986 or so my then DM and I decided to merge our worlds. We called "Oerth 3", not very original I know.
Many years later I discovered this map by Chatdemon based on an idea by James Mishler. It was exactly what I was trying to do. Plus this map was so much better than mine.
So my favorite game world of all time is Mystoerth!
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