I so look forward to this every year, but this year I think I am going to fall a little short of my goals.
Busy time at work and with projects means less time to enjoy some horror.
So this years theme will be "Attacks of Opportunity". That is, I will watch movies as the come on or as I get access to them. The nice thing is this year I have Netflix in addition to my Amazon Prime. So I do have many more choices. Plus I have a stack of DVDs laying here that need to be watched.
As gamers I think there is a little bit of a collector in us all as well.
After all we all came into this hobby at different points so different things were "rare" or "must have" to us at different times.
Well I finally picked up one of those items I have been searching for for a while.
The AD&D 1st Ed Monster Cards.
I know these have been on eBay many times. BUT these were still in their shrink wrap.
Yes I opened them. I am still much more of a gamer than a collector.
Each one of these is a little work of art, it would be a shame to not enjoy them.
This collection was always one of my "Holy Grail" items. Not because of it's significance to the game or even my own games, but because of the rarity.
I would pass by these little decks in the bookstores back in the 80s and think to myself "oh I'll get those next time." then there wasn't a "next time" (lessoned learned there kiddies).
For the longest time I never could find these. Plus I wanted to get a complete set of all four and I wanted to make sure they were in good shape.
Well these came along and I couldn't say no. Not after all this time.
What is your "must have" item? What have you been searching for to complete your collection?
Not really 100% yet, but I am sitting here at home reading through some witch material for Strange Brew. Which also has me thinking of my War of the Witch Queens adventures.
So I think then is a very good night for one of my favorite groups ever. Queen!
Queen might not be the first band you think of when you think about RPGs, but I played the hell out my Queen tapes back in the day. So lets start with some good game-mood setting songs.
Not a lot of talk tonight. Just music.
Since this is a Queen mix I always begin with "Let Me Entertain You" from Jazz.
Here is "Dragon Attack" from their first 80s album, The Game.
Ok I am pretty sure the song is about heroin and not actual dragons.
"Ogre Battle" was always one of those songs that painted a very cool picture for me. So much so that when it came time to do an epic battle in my game the army was full of ogres. From 1974's Queen II. If you really want some music, listen to the first three Queen albums. Freddie was a lyrical god.
From the same Album is the short, but mystical, "Seven Seas of Rhye". Both songs were later sampled on Queen's own The Works album 10 years later.
Speaking of The Works, one of the best songs on the album is "Hammer to Fall". Played at the first Live Aid nobody had ever heard it before and Freddie got everyone to sing along. That's showmanship.
A Kind of Magic might have been one of their biggest albums. At least in terms of over the top theatrics. "Princes of the Universe" was something a of D&D anthem or least for our characters. Yes, this is the song from Highlander.
"I Want it All" is another anthem from a now dying Freddie. I am not trying to be maudlin here, Freddie's death really shook me. Another "character" anthem it is easy to relate to the "adventure seeker, on an empty street." From The Miracle or as friends of mine working at EMI at the time used to say "it will be a miracle if it sells".
The connection to gaming and this next song is thin at best. But I don't care. The album Innuendo was Freddie's good-bye to us all. Who else gets to write their own Requiem? The title track is epic as anything he ever wrote in the 70s or the 80s. Musically it is the flip side of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and it is as good as a send of as anyone should hope for. Plus a ground breaking video from a bad that HATED doing videos. You can see clips from previous videos in this one as well.
But I was looking over some of my adventures I have laying around and I noticed a theme.
For 1st Ed I have the Bloodstone Wars modules.
For 3rd Ed I have a bunch of stuff from Necromancer Games.
For 4th Ed I have the HPE series of nine modules.
And now for 5th ed I have Into the Abyss.
What do they all have in common?
Looking pretty damn scary in his new 5e form.
Well, in the broadest terms they all deal with destroying the Demon Prince Orcus.
(ok 5e is about all demons)
Or at the very least stopping his machinations.
I mean, I get it. Orcus is the most metal of all the demon lords.
Back in the day we gleefully killed him in H4 Throne of Bloodstone. I was looking forward to doing it again under 4e in E3 Prince of Undeath. So there is an allure.
So how about you all? Did you ever run/play a game where the PCs went after Orcus?
If yes, what adventure did you use?
If no, would it be something you would consider?
Bonus question. Why doesn't Demogorgon get any of this attention?
Spend any time here and you will know I am very fond of music. So it should also come as no shock that one of my favorite classes is the Bard. I loved the old 1st Edition Bard. It's wonky class structure and having to be a fighter then a thief (or was it the other way around). Then finally top it all of with druid magic.
The Bard was the class I was also looking most forward to in 2nd Edition. It also was one of the biggest disappointments of 2nd edition for me. The class seemed to have lost some of it's charm, sure it was still fun to play but not the same. I doubt that I was alone in that feeling, the Bard seems to be the one class that keeps coming up in various OSR games in one form or another.
So many in fact that I am not going to try to tackle them all. But here is a glimpse of what I know has been done. Let's start with +Richard LeBlanc who has had a lot to say on Bards recently.
Richard LeBlanc has given this class a lot of thought and energy. His Version I has more thief skills, his version II has more magic. I think in the end I prefer his version II Bard. I tend to like a magical flair in my Bards.
This bard switches between lead, rhythm and bass guitar.
Adventurer Conqueror King System
A Basic-era sort of Bard. This is a "campaign class" or something beyond the "Basic 4". This particular bard takes advantage of ACKs skill system, but lacks any spell power. It's a good class, but I would see it a more of a wandering Loremaster.
Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
Quick note. I love the spiral bound AS&SH books. Makes it very to have the book open and lay it flat.
The Bard of Hyperborea is a subclass of the Thief and has a number of interesting things going for it. For example like LeBlanc's Version II, it can cast both Druid and Illusionist spells. A really nice touch. It has the countersong of 3.x's Bard. Like most bards it also has a folklore ability. What might be the neatest addition to the bard is it's ability to Mesmerize. So there is you Pied Piper and Erich Zahn right there. The bard of ACKS plays a well crafted lute. The Hyperborean bard plays a flute carved from the legbone of his former master. He didn't kill his master, but he was there when he died.
Barrel Rider Games
James over at BRG has given us a number of Bard-like classes. The Bard - This Bard is a full 20 level class. Like the Bards in other games they have the ability to perform with musical instruments and they have some thief abilities as well. These bards though do not have magical spell abilities. This bard plays acoustic guitar. The War Chanter - What the Bard is to humans and the Greensinger is to Elves the War Chanter is to Dwarves. In addition to being fighters the war chanter also has some powers "Songs" that they can use to aid others. If you are playing a Basic-era game and have more than one player that wants to play a dwarf, have one choose this. It is a pretty interesting class and one that would make good use out a larger group of characters. This one obviously plays the drums. The Greensinger - The Greensinger is something akin to an elvish Bard/Druid. Greensingers get some special abilities and can cast spells like that of a cleric/druid. The idea is a rather cool one and frankly I wanted more. This is the lead singer of the group.
The Complete B/X Adventurer
This Bard is of the "loremaster" type with some magical effects to his music. This bard is interesting since it also allows for the bard to learn more languages as part of his leveling up. I rather like that. This bard plays second hand string instrument that he bought with the first few coppers he ever saved. He can now afford better instruments, but there is too much love in that old one for him to ever let it go.
A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore
Again, this might be the closest we will ever know of an official Gygaxian 2nd Ed Bard. Having reread a lot of material on the Bard from Dragon magazine back issues I am confident that this is very much like what we would have gotten. These bards use their own spell lists and have their skills in addition to Verbal Patter. They also have a Lore ability. So this one covers all the bases pretty well.
This bard plays a complicated 12 string guitar; hard to master but beautiful to listen to.
Fantastic Heroes & Witchery
This is a Loremaster type of bard with plenty of skills and the ability to play a counter song to disrupt magic. With their legend-lore, gather information, persuasion and stealth skills this bard also makes for an excellent spy. This bard can also inspire allie and bolster troops. No spells, but the ability to read scrolls is nice. This bard plays a violin, viola, or a lyre. Actually this bard plays them all.
Spellcraft & Swordplay: Monstrous Mayhem
While for the Spellcraft & Swordplay game this Bard will work with any rules that also has a thief class. The bard is an "elite path" of the thief. Something like a subclass. This bard has singing/performing ability that has some magic associated with it. Thief skills and lore.
This bard plays the bass.
In any case whatever bard you choose for your games they need to be cool. They are the face of the party. The sly silver tongued devil that gets the party the best room in the inn, the best food and finds out where the real adventures are.
Conceivably you could run a party with nothing but bards. Load up on heal potions, some scrolls and send them on their way. Hopefully they don't end up looking like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96A0uyFWQHs
And just because I have a lame excuse to post a Lindsey Stirling video.
