Further Thoughts On 'Strange Trails' Free Download For 'Weird Adventures' By Trey Causey On The Dark Corner Blog

Grab Your Guns, Your Girl, And  Journey Into High Adventure on Strange Trails
Right Over
 HERE! 

The Mega -Dungeons of 'The Floating Hudson Airport' For Your Old School Pulp Games

KELSEY CAMPBELL-DOLLAGHAN writes for the Palefuture blog on Gizmodo and while digging through her articles I came across the the idea for a floating airport on the Hudson River. A 144-block-long floating airport on the edge of the Hudson River, where planes could take off on the long roof and boats could dock at its edges.

The plan was radical, innovative, and totally off the wall. The plan would have been in today's dollars estimated cost: $35 billion

According to the article - "The man who owned the Chrysler Building—William Zeckendorf—was behind this idea to build "Manhattan's Dream Airport."

 The original article is found right over HERE

A Floating Palace On The Hudson of Alternative Earth  

Someplace out in the middle of the multiverse right now this incredible engineering achievement has been made. This is the same style of pulptastic universe where as well as Dusty Ayres, Super Ace of the U.S. Air Defense And 'Doc Savage' whose have saved the world countless times. 

 Here the airplane is king and air travel is as common as driving a car!  Because of the exploits of The Battle Birds. This sort of technology has been pushed through congress and even now New Yorkers are enjoying the benefits of such a vast floating palace. 

 This a world where the innovations of WWII is still going on and the clean up from the Nazi menace is still on going. They're just starting to clean the mess up. Anyone with a wood working and machine shop in their homes can or has built an airplane. The innovations are coming fast and furious. 

The multistory airport on the Hudson boasts every enmity from hotels to full blown dry dock facilities for floating planes and ships. The place is riddled with secret passages and incredible hidden worlds within. Places for control towers to full blown military staging areas. 

 Of course such a floating staging area is the target for a grand amount of targeting by terrorists, Nazi saboteurs, and many others. The amount of cargo that shuttles through the place boggles the mind.
Then there's the incredible developments in technology such as the flying wings, experimental planes, and even  rumors of flying saucers being held there.
Who knows what secrets the many tunnels, drydocks, and secret hangers really hold. Both the United States Airforce, the US Army, and countless mercenary air forces also use the facility. The place is also been the target of air pirates and worse since its completion.
 

The Floating Hudson Air Port has also boasted some of the first jets that have been seen streaking through the sky. Even Air Boy and his battalion of aces has made appearances. Once every year is the "Grand Air Show Of New England" this show boasts some of the most innovative and incredible technology in aviation.
 The location can also make an appearance in any alternative Earth's post apocalyptic New York sky line as a vault of incredible potential and possibly under the control of a tribe of pilots, and or flying mutants with deep ties to the past of aviation. 

This is work of fiction for entertainment purposes only and no attempt is being made to violate the copy right  or trade marks of the writers, artists, or innovators. The work is solely the work of my warped imagination. I hope you enjoyed this entry. 

Review And Commentary On 'A Hand To Play' 2013 Movie Starring Doug Bradley On The Dark Corner Blog

Continuing the theme of gambling we take a look at the tight thriller today 'A Hand To Play'.  A neo noir horror movie that deals from the top of the deck starring Doug Bradley!
You can take a look right over
HERE

1d30 Random Interstellar Gamblers, Tramps, and Thieves For Your Old School Space Opera

1d30 Random Interstellar Gamblers, Tramps, and Thieves Table 

1. A merchant trader captain looking into getting a series of illicit cargoes signed out to another ship. A guild of alien assassins is after him for religious reasons. Can you help him. 
2. A spacer is looking to sell 'Tiberian Dream Drops' for passage to the next star system. He is actually a scout for an advanced alien invasion force. He's armed with a very powerful prototype of energy weapon. He unconsciously shape shifts his right hand errm tendril. 
3. A crew of gamblers is setting up a small stable casino with a floating game of holo hyper real poker. The game will actually put you in the mind of a famous alien gambler. Getting out is your PC's problem. Your body will be sold to organ handlers. 
4. A merchant prince is looking to expand his market by moving several cargoes of near sentient humanoids as slave labor. He's looking for agents for his venture. Actually the near humans are Lovecraftian Outer God worshipers who are expanding their cult and will sacrifice the fool and anyone who is helping him. 
5. A freighter captain is looking for new crew members for a one way venture to another planet of danger and intrigue. Actually the captain is looking to expand his profits by selling the PC's to organ leggers. 
6. A retired spacer looking to sell a map to a Great Old One treasure planet. The map is real but the destination is a death trap waiting to happen. The cult he stole it from has been selling these for centuries as lures onto an alter. 
7. A strange 200 year old alien spacer offers to teach psychic powers from beyond the blackness of mankind. The being is actually the host of a planar demon who is looking for a new host as the old body dies out. He actually knows the location of a famous space wreck with treasure on it. 
8. This holo porn dealer is looking for a bunch of reckless do gooders to transport his wares marked 'medical supplies across an interstellar boarder. He is disguised as a cleric of the Light and will approach the PC's. 
9. This gambler is looking for passage for himself and his family but fast! Like right now as you hear the charge up sound of some blasters! 
10. This down trodden warlord is disguised as a spacer and he knows the location of his empire's treasure planet that he's willing to share for passage. He's a 7th level fighter and will try to gain control of any ship helping him. 
11. A pair of service droids with a ton of war stories. There is a 50% chance of at least two of these stories having adventure and treasure locations in them. 
12. This drunken gambler is betting his life savings against any one he can. Actually he's using his psychic powers to scan the mind of the rubes in order to gain converts for his cult of  Outer God worshipers. The PC's will be followed, mind wiped, and converted after the encounter. 
13. A spacer that is looking for passage. That simple no complications. He will however infer that he is part of some interstellar conspiracy. Simply mental illness. 
14. A lone warrior woman spacer who is looking for adventurers to help free her planet from a group of tyrants and thieves. 
15. A group of spacers looking to encounter a 'good time' and are actually shanghaiing anyone they can get a hold of for their ship of hell. 
16. A spacer who is looking for help to free his mate who has been sold into slavery. 
17. A dealer in weapons who appears as a gambler. He's actually quite good but is looking for clients in small scale interstellar brush fire wars. 
18. A lone thief looking to make a big score so that he can flip it for profit and move on. He appears a humble pilgrim and is actually a 5th level thief. 
19. Another spacer disguised in miner's cloths running from creditors and bankers. He has over three million credits stashed someplace on the station. 
20. A gambler plays with a deck of holo cards and offers to read the future of anyone present. He's actually looking for adventurers to help out with the political situation on his home planet. The cards an alien mind reading device. 
21. A group of rowdy heavy gravity spacers are fighting among themselves. Actually their the front for a group of very nimble thieves that are moving through the crowd very quickly. They will actually pick a fight if things go wrong however. 
22. A simple spacer is looking for employment among the adventurers and is actually a gambler on the run from the interstellar law. He's a shape shifter and will reveal himself if the PC's begin playing cards with him. 
23. A sexy little space changing spacer offers services as ship's counselor to anyone who can pay its passage. Its actually a cagey alien assassin fourth level seeking her target. It moves from station to station leaving a trail of dead bodies. 
24. This tramp is actually an experienced mining boss whose mind has been blasted by an encounter with a Mi Go warrior. Only expensive treatment can restore him. He will give his true nature away if any shiny ores are revealed in his presence. 
25. A group of light gravity spacers is doing zero gee acrobatics to pass the time. They also tell stories of local legends of the area. If you listen there is a 25 % chance of some truth to one of these tall tales. 
26. A miner is moving some ore with an antigravity sled through customs and is looking for a group of adventurers to help stake his claim. The location is actually the nest for a group of very dangerous aliens. He's actually infected with an alien parasite and doesn't know it. There is a rich vein of ore though. 
27. An alien picker and antique dealer has discovered a huge space wreck and needs a group of adventurers to help him out with the find.Are you game for this? 
28. A group of gamblers is looking for marks and betting on a group of mining maps. The winner gets a free map to a 'lucky' strike!  Actually the claims are part of an alien mega dungeon and gamblers don't know this. 
29. A group of tramps is looking for a passage to the next space base. They have a rare gem to barter with. The gem is actually a psychic lens and they are unaware that their powers of  persecution have been enhanced. Without the gem they are stuck. Can you help unravel the mystery? 
30. A lone man travels from space station to space station leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake. What is his story? 
    
    

"Free" Pulptastic PDF 'Heroes From Rura- Tonga' 'PBY SoS' For your Old School Pulp Campaigns

 Heroes of Rura-Tonga PBY SOS is a 'pay what you want'  download from Griffon Games through Drivethrurpg.
You can get it right over
HERE
The description from Drivethrurpg: 

This free adventure outline by Peter Schweighofer introduces readers to the exciting
world of Heroes of Rura-Tonga, a roleplaying game supplement presenting source
material outlining elements for a 1930s pulp campaign in the South Pacific and five,
full-length scenarios. The heroes intercept a radio distress signal from a US Navy PBY
nearby. When they land on an uncharted island to investigate, they stumble upon a
villainous plot to steal secret military technology and sell it to America's enemies.
Check out this free scenario to get a feel for the kinds of adventures you can play in
the Heroes of Rura-Tonga game supplement and adventure collection available from
Griffon Publishing Studio.Gamers can easily adapt this Any-System Key adventure to their favorite roleplaying 
game rules. The Any-System Key describes character skills and task difficulties in 
terms that easily translate into nearly any game system. These terms do not link to any
 one game engine, but serve as general guidelines to give readers an overall sense 
how they fit within their own game's stat and difficulty scale. To use this scenario with
 your favorite role playing game system you'll need the copy of the Any-System
Key included with the free adventure outline file; or you can download it free from 
Griffon Publishing Studio.

Using Heroes From Rura- Tonga 'PBY SoS' 
This is really nice eight page pulptastic adventure that can be used with any old school game system. Its a great little adventure to throw some character together. The adventure is very compact, tight, and well done for a night's set of gaming. 
The plot is perfect for a weird adventure game set during the early days of Weird War Two. "The heroes intercept a radio distress signal from a US Navy PBY nearby. When they land on an uncharted island to investigate, they stumble upon a villainous plot to steal secret military technology and sell it to America's enemies." 

If the plot sounds familiar that's because it reminded me of a very old gem from the 80's. 'Tales of the Gold Monkey' was one of the very best of the early 80's televison shows and this one almost seems like its ripped straight from one of the scripts. That's not a bad thing at all. The adventure can easily adapt to anything from Trey's Weird Adventures to Call of Cthulhu.
This adventure is merely a skeleton with a few bits on the bone. This allows the DM to customize this adventure as they see fit. The whole set up works as an episode of your favorite pulptastic 80's television show.
This adventure has the potential to go very bad for the PC's if they decide to not use their heads. This adventure will place PC's in the middle of WWII wartime adventure. It happens very quickly over the course of eight pages.

 Ten Reasons To Use 'Heroes From Rura- Tonga' 'PBY SoS'

1. 'Tales From the Gold Monkey' isn't all that well known and even among Call of Cthulhu enthusiasts its quickly dismissed. This adventure echoes the sense of fun and puts the 'Heroes' in the middle of some Weird War WWII action. 
2. This is a solid adventure for an evening's play and works very well and very quick in its objectives. 
3.  PC's are going to have to think in this one. While there is the potential for action, the potential for blood shed is just as quick. 
4. There is a bit of wiggle room for inserting in some CoC elements into the mix with this one. 
5. The adventure is tight and easily adaptable into your favorite retroclone for added action. The style is very high on this one. 
6. This is only a one shot but its one with real potential for a opening this into a Pacific Island campaigns. 
7. The author is good at what he does and doesn't add unnecessary wrong turn plot twists to the mix. 
8. With the right add ons this might even be used as a Delta Green of the past adventure. 
9. The weirdness factor is low but can be easily turned up enough to capture some of the weirder aspects of the pulps. 
10. All in all this is a solid adventure done in only eight page and while it is an advertisement for the Heroes of Rura-Tonga game its one that is interesting. There's lots of potential here. This is a download, grab it, and go adventure.
    Three out of five stars for an evening's entertainment! 

The Mega Dungeons of The Lincoln Pyramid For Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaign

   The Assassination of  President Lincoln shocked the country and some of the proposals for monuments were down right bizarre. According to this wonderful article over HERE  at Paleofuture on Gizmodo by KELSEY CAMPBELL-DOLLAGHAN
According to the article: "John Russell Pope is the author of a handful of Washington's most well-known structures, like the National Archives and the Jefferson Memorial. Lesser known? His zany pyramid proposal for the Lincoln Memorial. According to Moeller and NatGeo, the craziness of this scheme is explained by the fact that Pope wanted the powers that be to change the site for the memorial—making this a well-executed architectural ploy." 

Where The Real World Ends The Mega-dungeon Begins

"Now it seems so bizarre. But if you think about it, how much more bizarre is it than using an ancient Egyptian obelisk as a symbol for the nation's first president?"

 

Not as strange as one might think. Could John Russell Pope been a part of the illuminati or some bizarre occult Washington insider architect? 

There are many possibilities for extreme mega-dungeons. Everything from post apocalytic bunkers, occult temples to weird Egyptian gods, to entire underground mutant cities just waiting for your explorers and adventurers. 

 Miles of weird alternative world tunnels that lead from the Lincoln Pyramid complex to say The West Building of the National Gallery of Art. What possiblities could the engineers and construction workers have created in this labyrinth of horror that awaits your players! 

 Could there be weird occult or strange psychic connections between the National Archives, Washington D.C., created by James Earle Fraser, sculptor; opened 1935 and other alternative Earth creations of John Russell Hope? You bet there could be. Are strange weird mutant cults still carrying out forbidden rites to gods who no longer exist or Lovecraftian horrors that do?

 Sure there could be! 

What other possibilities are echoes from this man's past. A strange occult network of leylines that run through the United States Capital that might be part of a network of magic that wizards fight over in the years after the Fall of Man? Could there be a cult of Egyptian god worshiping mutants with Lincoln as some sort of demi god in the center of their pantheon?

Could the pyramid be the headquarters of a group of resistance fighters who even now are at the center of a battle against a powerful force of epic proporations. Could these fighters of the down trodden even now use the relics of a bygone era to rally their forces?
Relics such as these? 

The Memorial Option 

Given that the specter of Lincoln still to this day stretches across history. There is a an option to use the Lincoln Memorial as a part of the greater Pyramid Complex. A temple of incredible importance whose clerical order uses many of Lincoln's famous quotes as scripture. 

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER

There might also be a divine order of paladins whose weapon is an ax and who crusade against the power of the undead. Whose sacred temple is even now lost to them among the ruins of Washiongton DC. The place where even now these brave souls need adventurers and madmen to journey into the heart of those ruins. A place where the mutants roam and zombie politicians still roam the streets looking for any meat that they can get a hold of. 

 But will your band of brave souls brave the ruins of DC and search out the lost Pyramid of Lincoln? Brave the horrors of the Memorial? Who knows what treasures and relics you might find in the underground bunkers of Washington? 

Of course this post is for entertainment purposes only and in no way a reflection upon Paleo-future, Logan's Run, or the images. We are only engaged in idle whimsy and not trying to violate the copyrights or trademarks of anyone we're citing  here. 

Happy Gary Gygax Day!

Today Mr. Gygax would have been seventy five years old. The life of Gary Gygax has impacted millions and millions of people over the years. Its hard to even fathom what my life without his creations would be like; let alone if there would even be role playing games at all.  Not to be maudlin but its another year without him.
However, the best way to mourn is to celebrate the life as they say. So grab some dice, roll up a character, and explore the depths of the mega dungeon of your choice with some friends! 

Here's to you Gary Gygax! Roll a natural twenty!
Happy Gary Gygax Day! 

Free OSR Magazine PDF Download - FootPrints# 19

 Download It Right
HERE
While cruising around I blundered onto the the July issue of Dragon's foot house magazine of Footprints. Issue #19 features some great old school content :
Contents
Field Notes from Davendowns (article)
Kung Fu Monk (class)
Magic Items for Assassins and Other Dirty Fighters (article)
King Rat (monster)
Create Food and Drink (recipes)
Troubadour (class)
Into the Shrieking Hollow (adventure)
Ecology of the Cave Blinder (article)
Thorks (adventure)
On the whole it looks really well done and quite good. I personally liked the Magic Items For Assasssins And Other Dirty Fighters.
For me the Monsters were very useful as well as the classes.
Loved the Ecology of the Cave Blinder!
On the whole I'd say three out of four stars. 

Lich Dungeon Level Two By Frank Mentzer !

Lich Dungeon, a city unto itself.

On Level 2 you'll find apartments & shops, churches & cops, and... well, monsters of course: norks, gunges, geeps, Draugur, plus the usual suspects.

For business & residential opportunities, please see the management (Chagur the Lich). You might even survive.
 Here's the complete description from Drivethrurpg: 

Lich Dungeon, a city unto itself.

Level One was simple, just enough to introduce the place.  This is Level

 Two.  The real challenges start here.

On Level 2 you'll find apartments & shops, churches & cops, and... well, monsters of

 course: norks, gunges, geeps, Draugur, plus the usual suspects.

For business & residential opportunities, please see the management

 (Chagur the Lich). You might even survive.

Prepare to laugh.  Prepare to fight.  Hope to survive.  Have a good game.

A year in the making, this addition to the Lich Dungeon line is packed with

 new monsters, new treasures, and detailed maps of all areas (there's a lot

 of maps).  Designed by best-selling fanstasy author and designer Frank

 Mentzer, this adventure is easily converted to almost any fantasy rpg

 gaming system.  At 134 pages, this is far more than a 'quick trip to the

 dungeon'.

It is designed for exploration by parties of three or more characters of

 moderate levels of experience (and equipment)! 

Out on Drivethrurpg! Right over Here!

I'll be putting up a detailed review very soon!

Splatter Punk 70's & 80's Post Apocalyptic Horror Campaign Sundown Edition Influence - 1d30 Trashtastic Monstrous Servants of The Ancient Gods Random Encounters Table

 Nothing can prepare you for that blood curdling moment when the horror of the Servants of the Ancient Gods reaches your party. Which horror will be released next? Where will the blood splatter and what primal weird thing will come for your party?
Find out right over here kids!
HERE *

* The management is not responsible for loss of life or limb when dealing with these horrors. Remember to always carry a weapon and deal with terms and conditions of your encounter!!

The Ilangortun - The Hitchhikers From Thaall For Your Old School Space Opera

The Ilangortun are a race of cosmically  intelligent flat worms who are part of a hive mind god collective traveling the universes and collecting experiences. These basically powerful godlike macrosites operate within a tri dimensional quad oververse where the partner with a host willing or not.
Besides expanding the consciousness of the host to almost cosmic levels. The creatures occupy more then for dimensional spaces at the same time. There is no privacy between host and macrosite. The monster observes the soul and spirit of host enabling a detailed catalog of even the most intimate changes from within.
The Ilangortun are the ultimate voyeur and a have an almost perverse sexually predatory sense of their hosts. They view them as both experimental subjects and biological toys. Yet there are those who seek them out.
The Ilangortun often are found attached to adventurers. They are sometimes referred to as adreline junkies of the worst stripe putting their cosmic charges into extreme situations of danger, This is often done for the thrill of it.
'The Hitchhikers From Thaall' is a name and reputation that they acquired from the famous case of  the alien adventurer Thrall who spend nearly one hundred years under the yoke of these things. Considered one of the greatest of the so called 'extreme explorers'. Thall discovered and charted more then two hundred worlds in his life time. He often used simple craft with over extended alien FTL designs and was last seen charting the sun rings of Hussr'ra.
Gaming  'The Ilangortun'

The Ilangortun add +2 to the intelligence of any creature that they inhabit. These monsters exist dimensionally  and  are often attached to the souls of their hosts. They can painfully and somewhat dangerously be separated from their hosts by certain expensive and rare clerical rites. These rites will do 1d6 points of damage to the host while expelling the creatures.
 The Ilangortun will add 1d100 years to the life it's host but the monsters are the ultimate in thrill junkies. They will force the host from one adventure to another into another seemly hopeless cause. These macro hive minds care little for their hosts and will survive the death of such. They view this as simply an inconvenience.
 They have been known to attract certain monsters to the host if the 'entertainment' isn't up to their standards. Some alien tribes view these creatures as gods and seek them out as part of their rites of passage. The Ilangortun are a complex god like creature and continue to be found across the planes. Watching and waiting as they test. 

Calothmaroth Station - A Lovecraftian Encounter For Your Old School Space Opera Games

Introduction 
At the edge of known space is a ringed world very similar to Saturn. There is something distinctly odd floating within the rings. A gravity bubble surrounds a small planetoid of ice,snow, and violence.
This small planet half the size of Earth's moon boasts an "E" atmosphere and very unusual ice formations across its surface. The place seems to explode as new ice formations form, live for a twelve hour day and then seemly 'die' within hours. 

Calothmaroth Station

There are twenty two massive two hundred foot tall dull metal megaliths that point straight out of the ice and seem to reach into the sky like the fingers of a drowning man. These structures surround a twelve level structure beneath the ice.
 It has sat there for a million years or more never occupied but its artifacts gleaming like new. The bare black walls of strange metal and brushed structures waiting. Those who venture into its corridors seldom return. For here once trod the 'Great Race Of Yith' who made war with other far fouler things in the darkness of this place. This place is tomb or prison.
Its walls still hold the nanite guards who once patrolled its halls. There in center of the structure is a gravity lens created by the megalith above and held in place by forces beyond the comprehension of man. The lens creating the bubble of gravity around this place. Yet the Earth like conditions are by design as well.
Once per night the prisoners of this foul place can reach into the dreams of those who dwell upon its surface. A night of telepathic horror and madness will wrack the minds of those who sleep and dream here.
Should the machinery of the place be activated 'that which dwells' here will be freed and its horrors will be visited upon the universe.
There are however priceless treasures of the 'Great Race' to be had. 
The Inimaulazgugo
Number Appearing :1d6 

Armor Class 5 

Hit points : 6
Damage 1d4 points of damage per round as the micro blades of these nanite minions slice and dice 

Special: Immune to most mind effecting magic, Regeneration as trolls
 These are the guardians of Calothmaroth Station who patrol its halls and are laced into the surface of the ice planetoid itself.
 They do not activate unless certain conditions are met. The monsters form into strange shadowy humanoids of smoke and shadow.
 They can be disrupted by a combination of  electrical damage and certain forbidden telepathic disciplines. These are known only to certain followers of the "Great Race". The machines will reform after twelve hours of seeming death and resume their duties. They will repair whatever machinery needs to be fixed. They  can weave other biological systems into the systems on a molecular level should the need arise as well. They are simply the ultimate care takers for masters who shall not return.

1d10  Random Treasures of The Calothmaroth Station

1. Chest containing the metal scroll records of 2023 extinct races from across the planes. 
2. Twelve sets of metal scrolls containing thirteen forbidden Yithian secrets that science has yet to use. 
3. 'The Perfect Doll' A four hit point featureless shape shifting doll who seems to be an alien mockery of the humanoid form. It will whisper forbidden secrets, dance, and spin while telepathically drawing its form from the minds of those around it. 
4. A Yithinan musical instrument or is it a weapon? This strange arrangement of pipes, metal, and metallic insanity is capable of sonically driving men mad but it is made for being with claws and facial tendrils 
5. A black box of nano dissemblers capable of doing 1d8 points of damage to anything they get their micro tendrils on. Telepathically controlled and very dangerous. 
6. A Yithian tool of copper wires, a metal six foot staff with a small metallic box on one end. The thing is capable of turning 9 cubic yards of stone to mist and back to stone. 
7. A 40 point specimen force field device - This twelve inch long device is built for a clawed appendage. The force field also freezes time as well. Very difficult to deactivate. 
8. A sphere of proto plasmic antimatter that will follow the PC's around. Capable of doing 1d10 points of damage to any polyp horrors that are found. Reacts to telepathic commands 
9. A heavy lightning gun partially fried and baked. There is fresh slime on the thing though and a bit of steam coming off of parts of the device. Designed for clawed appendages. 
10. Two time cubes containing members of the Great Race. These twenty foot cubes of frozen time will open should certain conditions be met otherwise they are indestructible. The machinery for their operation is within the claws of the Great Race themselves. These cubes are perfectly clear but weird gravity effects happen around them. 

Review and Commentary Of The Free Issue of Brave the Labyrinth - Issue #1 (PDF) From Small Niche Games

I ran across this little  pdf magazine quite by accident and download it. The little book is slick and has some quite useful bits in it.
You can get it Right OVER HERE

Description:

Brave the Labyrinth is a quarterly fanzine published by Small Niche Games for the Labyrinth Lord™ roleplaying game community. It consists of fan-created material designed to cover all types of Labyrinth Lord™ and Advanced Edition Companion™ gaming.

In this Issue you get: 

-Six (6) New Magic Spells

-Three (3) New Monsters

-One (1) Unstocked Dungeon Map

-One (1) NPC Party of Halfling Adventurers

-Five (5) New Magic Items

-One (1) Alternate Character Sheet

-One (1) Adventure (The Screams from Jedder's Hole)

-Articles on using animals as retainers, alternate rations, and a review of the one-page adventure The Burial Mound of Esur the Red

Download Brave the Labyrinth - Issue #1 for FREE!

Uses in A Space Based Game 

The unstocked Dungeon Map came in handy last night for a quick set of alien ruins on an uncharted alien planet.  The spells might be adapted quite easily to an alien wizard and were actually quite useful for the NPC I used.
The five new magic items were nice for some loot for a change of pace and gave the PCs a bit of a dilemma. Should we keep this stuff or pawn it? They didn't get all of them only two but they're not sure quite yet what's good and what's junk.
 The he Screams from Jedder's Hole is a solid S&W adventure but not really useful as a space based adventure. However as a standard OD&D style adventure it has some really solid potential. 

The NPC Party of Halfling Adventurers were recycled into a crew of space based adventurers which really threw the party. They weren't expecting a group of halflings to be a problem set of adventurers.
 The article on animals as retainers got me thinking about alien animals as retainers and NPCs and is pretty interesting.
The best thing about this magazine was the price tag. Free is always good.
Three stars on this little download for usefulness. 

1d20 Random Encounter Table For Scalawags,Scoundrels, And Thieves For Your Old School Horror Game On The Dark Corner Blog!

 There are monsters on the streets of the urban jungle and here are selection of some of the more dangerous ones. A collection of nasties to throw at your party within the Weird heat of the city.
All just waiting for you right here with a pulptastic feel.
HERE

Further Meditations On The 'Free' Download Of Spine Chillers And Silent Killers From Thistle Games For Your Old School Space Operas

I've spent the weekend watching a lot of 70's And 80's Science Fiction and Fantasy movies and television shows . I got the chance to design a failed colony/western style space adventure. I was also able to unleash it on my players. The results were something out of Space 1999 mixed with a Battle Star Galactica vibe. Yet the experience was gritty to say the least.
You can download the book and its massive from  DrivethruRpg right over
HERE
The Desription From DriveThrurpg:

Spinechillers and Silent Killers is a system free add-on for tabletop RPGs. It’s full of 500+ highly configurable traps, spinechillers, omens and other hazards or surprises. The content can be put to a number of uses:

1. Scattering unexpected and unusual events through an adventure or across a campaign.
2. Designing high intensity gameplay using clusters of high impact encounters.
3. Adding layers of mystery, suspense and mayhem to adventures and campaigns.
4. Remixing existing adventures or campaigns by parachuting in hazardous and/ or menacing encounters.
5. Raising the emotional content of the gameplay by reinstating the sense of the unknown and the unexpected so often reported as part of new players’ gameplay.
6. Building gritty and grimy gameplay.

The book actually lives up to its name and like many of the tool kits from yesteryear this book hearkens back to a time when rpg books were meant to allow DM's to create adventures from whole cloth from a few tables. The results were very interesting to say the least. With little time I was able to not only construct a colony world but have a villain with several dark secrets, omens for shadowing things to come straight out some weird Space 1999 episode. But I had the players reaching for their dice quite nervously,
The runaway wagon table started things off with a bang and it was a great game.
 The book is rounded off with some of the following:Spinechillers ~ Traps ~ Omens ~ Dark Secrets ~ Jailbreaks ~ Runaway Wagons ~ Unpleasant Places ~ Local Delicacies ~ Mishaps and Misfortunes ~ Extreme Sports ~ Ridiculous Laws ~ Serious Complications ~ Money Pits ~ Debt Collectors

The spine chillers add a Lovecraftian element to the game that made the players very wary. Several of the traps were good enough to construct a couple of mini encounters around.  They proved to be quite the challenge. 
 The PC's were supposed to collect a few artifacts lost in the sewers of this world by an outlaw and a bounty hunter. The PC's were able to grab a few of their own artifacts and everything seemed to be going well. A handy roll on the Debt collector chart and they were down some credits.  
The local delicacies table gave me the opportunity to inject some local color into the bazaar/market place and Extreme sports gave the PC's a break from the usual 70's 'Rollerball' issue that crops up in science fiction games. 
 Bewared this is a massive book and quite lethal if used as simply a roll on some random tables book. This book is actually a complete tool kit for both fantasy, horror, and science fiction if used correctly. Throw the author some coin because this is a massive book and hearkens back to a time when supplements were more then mere books. They were tool kits that allowed the products of your imagination to have some solid and lethal adventures.
 I almost forgot to mention that this book is generic and can be used with all major retroclones currently on the market. The book can also be used with all of the science fiction and fantasy retro clones as well. It will prove hours and hours of fun.  Needless to say it will also work with all classic incarnations of original Dungeons And Dragons and first edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.
Happy gaming! 

Hartford Black Book Betamax Stars Without Numbers - Musical Influence

Here's a quick selection of tunes from some of my 70's and early 80's science fiction cheesetastic movies!  I hope you enjoy. More gaming goodness coming up tomorrow! 

VHS Rewind Burnt Offerings For Your Old School Horror Campaigns

Need a vacation? A place to take your adventurers back to a real old fashioned vacation destination? Try the horrors of the 1977 film Burnt Offerings. They'll be dying to know its secrets! Right over on the Dark Corners blog!
HERE

The Mega Dungeons of Space 1999 - Another Time, Another Place

"Another Time, Another Place" is the sixth episode of the first series of Space: 1999. The screenplay was written by Johnny Byrne. Its one that I've used for many a post apocalyptic game or for a quick one off that can be transferred into a full campaign at the click of a pen.  

This episode has quite a few things to offer the DM who wants to dig deep into the mythos of Space 1999. The action is subtle the opportunities are harsh. And dying is very easy in this episode if it should be turned into a full campaign set. 

The Plot from Wiki: 

It is a routine 'morning' on Moonbase Alpha. As Regina Kesslann passes through Main Mission on an errand, she pauses in mid-step, sensing something amiss. Soon after, the entire community experiences the same nameless apprehension. The cause is as yet undetected by the instruments: a tremendous, swirling mass of energy looming in the path of the speeding Moon. Once in range, the Moon is jerked forward by the anomaly's intense gravitational force. Everyone is sent reeling as the Moon plunges into the spiralling centre. Velocity readings go off the dial and the overwhelmed sensors short-circuit.

Falling through a vortex of multi-coloured energy, the Moon is buffeted by violent turbulence. Regina tries to run from the room, but all motion ceases as the Moon arrives in the still, timeless centre of the anomaly—and everyone acquires a ghostly facsimile. As a duplicate Moon separates from the original, the doppelgängers peel away one by one, each leaving its original with a twinge of angst. At a window, Helena Russell watches the other Moon speed off into the distance. Finally, everything vanishes in a blaze of white light—

—which fades to find the Moon in normal space and the population of Alpha regaining consciousness. John Koenig organises repair operations and calls a medical team for the still-unconscious Regina. He approaches Victor Bergman for an explanation. The professor is baffled, as they are now in a completely different region of space. The anomaly must have propelled them uncountable billions of miles in a matter of seconds. Koenig joins Helena in the diagnostic unit, where a comatose Regina is not responding to treatment. While everyone else experienced similar symptoms—shock, headaches, double-vision—and recovered, Regina's condition is deteriorating.

As the repairs progress, they discover the Moon is approaching a new solar system. Suddenly, Regina awakens, disoriented and talking nonsense: she was up 'there' again...she saw two Moons...how everyone was 'there', including Alan and the Commander...but itmust have been a dream, because Alan and the Commander are dead...no, they're not dead. Helena ends this schizophrenic exchange by assuring her the two men are not dead. Relieved, Regina gazes up at the ceiling, commenting on how hot the sun is today. The doctor examines the girl's hand and finds it sunburned.

Koenig meets with Helena for an update on Regina's condition. Aside from the inexplicable sunburn, the girl believes she is living on a planet; from her perspective, her present life on Alpha no longer exists. Helena rejects suggestions that this is déjà vu or a classic case of psychological regression. The world of Regina's delusion is hardly ideal—especially as she is mourning the deaths of Koenig andAlan Carter. Since the Moon seems to have travelled faster than the speed of light, Bergman speculates time could be a factor. Regina could be living a past or future life, but feeling it in the present.

With the repairs completed, scans of the solar system reveal nine planets orbiting a yellow star. When long-range scanners are focused on the familiar-appearing third planet, Computer confirms it to be Earth. Furthermore, the Moon is slowing down and on a course to re-enter orbit. In private, a sceptical Koenig says that while he can accept that a chance encounter with a spatial anomaly could have shifted them across space, he cannot conceive it placing the Moon on a trajectory to re-establish its former orbit around Earth. Bergman is philosophic; there must be a fundamental sense of order to the universe that even Man's worst blunders (such as blasting the Moon out of orbit) cannot alter.

Though still living in her fantasy world, Regina is on the mend. Happily painting a picture, she attributes her recovery to the return of her husband, Alan. The sudden realization that he has not yet come to visit upsets her. Helena's excuses only makes matters worse. After a moment's thought, the doctor promises he will come. She summons Carter to the Medical Section, interrupting his meeting with the Commander. The astronaut insists on sending a reconnaissance flight to Earth, but Koenig's decision is final: no one will allowed down to the surface until the Moon is safely in orbit.

Reporting to Medical, Carter is stunned when Regina hurls herself into his arms. One minute she is weeping with pleasure at the sight of him, the next she is hysterically screaming he is dead. Helena is forced to sedate her. The doctor informs a bewildered Carter of her intention: to jolt Regina out of her delusion with the shock of seeing him—her dead husband back from the grave. She shows him the picture Regina has painted of her world: a geodesic house sitting in a field of flowers with a cheerful sun in the sky.

Continuous hails to the World Space Commission—or any Earth station—go unanswered. Koenig makes a base-wide announcement, reporting that Phase One of Operation Exodus (a reconnaissance probe of the surface) will be launched as soon as the Moon has safely settled into Earth orbit. Hearing his words, Regina awakens to a nightmare vision of a black-cloaked figure beckoning to her. She approaches and realizes its face to be her own, older and saddened. After experiencing a sharp spasm of pain, she looks again: the face is now a skull. Terrified, she runs away—to be brought up short by her own reflection in an endless mirror.

Screaming, Regina lashes out and smashes the mirror. Escaping from the care unit, she encounters a patrolling Security guard. In her madness, she clobbers him and takes his weapon. In Main Mission, the joyous announcement of the Moon's re-entry into Earth orbit is interrupted by Regina, wielding a stun-gun in one hand and holding her pain-wracked head with the other. Hysterical, she rejects all attempts to calm her, having eyes only for Carter. The girl flings herself into his arms, whispering, ‘I knew you didn't die, I knew.’ She convulses in agony, then goes limp. She is dead.

Later, Bergman privately briefs Koenig on a startling revelation: the world, as they knew it, has been destroyed. A five-degree deviation in the tilt of Earth's axis has resulted in devastating geological and climatic changes. The only remotely habitable area is a site in southern California known as Santa Maria. Helena joins them with the results of Regina's autopsy. What she thought was a mental condition had an underlying physical cause—the girl's skull contained two separate brains, and the resulting pressure killed her. Further discussion is interrupted by an urgent summons. A celestial object is moving out from behind Earth.

It is the duplicate Moon...from which they receive what sounds like their own Moonbase navigation signal. Bergman muses they have somehow caught up with themselves. Koenig and Carter fly to this other Moon. They find another Moonbase, deserted and stripped of all equipment—the end result of Operation Exodus. Further investigation reveals a crashed Eagle straddling the rim of the crater. Boarding the wreck, they find two dead astronauts still strapped in their seats. Wiping dust from their helmet visors, they find themselves face to face with their dead selves.

Helena's post mortem reveals the duplicate Koenig and Carter died five years earlier, killed on impact when their Eagle crashed. Koenig reckons the rest of the duplicate Alphans settled at Santa Maria. Helena agrees, feeling Regina′s ‘delusions’ were telling them that all along. If they encounter their ‘others selves’, she fears what happened to Regina could happen to them all. However, unexpected events force Koenig to initiate Operation Exodus. The duplicate Moon has increased velocity—moving in the same orbit as theirs, it will collide with them in less than two days.

With evacuation to Earth now a necessity, they must quickly assess the situation. Helena insists that only Koenig and Carter should go, as their other selves are dead—though she, too, must go to study the medical implications. They arrive at Santa Maria in the middle of the night, finding a settlement in a desolate valley. They land a distance and continue on foot, Helena plagued by a nameless anxiety. On arrival, they see dwellings identical to those in Regina's painting. Sending the others out to reconnoiter, Koenig approaches the nearest geodesic house. He watches a figure making observations with a telescope. It is a duplicate Bergman.

The older man seems troubled by the Moon he sees, as if it were in the wrong part of the sky; he keeps looking to the other side of the sky...where the other Moon emerges from behind a cloud bank. When Koenig steps out of the shadows, Earth Bergman does not seem at all surprised. At another living unit, Carter peeks through a window. He sees an older Sandra and another woman preparing a meal. He is startled by the identity of the other woman and tries to prevent Helena from looking. She is drawn to the window—and sees her older self. The two identical women lock eyes. Sandra shrieks in horror, bringing the Earth settlers out in force to confront some very familiar intruders.

At daybreak, Bergman putters in his garden while conversing with Koenig. He tells him that this is Earth, but not the world they knew. It is a past or future Earth, perhaps one where they never existed. Apart for their community, the planet is empty (aside from artifacts of an extinct civilization). They are interrupted by the antics of two children—Paul and Sandra Morrow's offspring. Koenig admires the settlers' fortitude and commends the decision to bring back life to this dead world. Bergman wryly replies that Koenig should approve: he made it in the first place.

Carter visits Earth Regina's grave. Earth Morrow informs him that she died after an unnaturally violent storm. Carter reckons that was when they came into orbit and his Regina died, too. Morrow does not feel this is a coincidence. During this, the two Helenas meet. They reflect on how they were once one person, but are now two separate individuals existing at the same time. Earth Helena knows her life here is at an end. 'Death' is a means of returning to herself and to those she loves—especially her husband, John Koenig. She leaves the living unit to find him. She walks over to Koenig and, without a word, they share one tender kiss before she dies in his arms.

Enraged, the Earth settlers demand that the Alphans leave at once. Koenig tries to reason with them, but weapons are soon drawn. Bergman intercedes. He proclaims that, though they are the same people, they are trapped in different times. Should another set of Alphans come and settle on Earth, chaos and disaster would reign; as witnessed, both Regina and Helena died when confronted with their other selves. The coming collision, however, will restore normality...leaving one Moon, one community, one time. He ominously concludes if the Alphans are not on their own Moon when time corrects itself, they will have nowhere to die.

After returning to Moonbase, Koenig and company solemnly await the collision. When the two Moons touch, they create a space-time schism—returning both to the chaos of the anomaly. There, the Moons merge to form a single Moon. Once complete, everything vanishes in a burst of white light—which fades as the Alphans awaken to find they are again in a different part of space. Carter wonders if the other Alphans also survived. As Koenig questions if they ever really existed, Helena reaches down and retrieves something that had fallen to the floor...a bouquet of roses given to her by Earth Bergman from his garden.

Using Time,Another Place For Your Old School Space Based Games 

The whole episode is one big time anomaly waiting to happen. There are plenty of opportunities here for interaction. The first question is did the new time line merge with the original one or simply merge and go its own way. 
The timeline allows a DM to inject in a post apocalyptic element into their own game without disturbing their own campaigns. The incredible environs of Moonbase one and its technological artifacts are there in the waiting. Who knows what alien creatures would be waiting on the surface of the moon. 
There is also an entire future Earth of Space 1999 waiting for a party to land and ripe for an alien invasion or menace to be had. This place is a perfect world for an alternative take on the show complete with weird mutant menaces, odd aliens, and strange 70's inspired 1999 technology. 
The world may have all kinds of space craft artifacts waiting in the wings for PC's to liberate for the good of this dark world. This is not the world that the PC's know and its dark environs are perfect for wizards and heroes from other post apocalyptic games to travel to. 
Here are ten possible finds from 'Another Time, Another Place' 1d10 

1. 1d4 communicators with network capabilities. These things have the last records of the victims of the anomaly. 
2. Two moonbase alpha weapons with battle damage. They will need two hours worth of work. 
3. A cracked computer disk set with the stored maps of several interstellar systems on it. 
4. A broken fuel rod leaking 1d4 points of damage radiation per round. 
5. Skeletons of two security officers with two neat round holes in their heads. They have scanners and weapons on them. The weapons are drained of all power. 
6. A painting depicting death herself. The robed figured has the face of a woman in distress. 
7. A scanner in perfect working order without the power. The planet below sends a signal repeatedly from Earth. 
8. An antique book of  forbidden knowledge showing the anomaly's  location and spells dedicated to the Outer Gods. 
9. A large computer bank containing many of the technology of the Space 1999 universe. The bank does need some work but otherwise will give up her secrets to another computer. 
10. The last will and testament  of Commander Koenig. Contains the codes for the base's Eagle transporters.