Review and Commentary Free OSR Resource From Dragon's Foot - The Village With No Name By Robert James For Your Old School Campaign

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Here's a great Old school first edition AD&D resource that is perfect for both the causual pick up game or an extended mini campaign for a group of both seasoned or solid beginning players who need a leg up into a campaign.

Blurb From Dragon's Foot :

Along the road in a distant location is a village with no name but with citizens under siege by a gang of evil rogues, adventurers and rubes. Who will confront these men and their leaders? And what twist of fate awaits the PCs? 

The Village with No Name is an AD&D 1st Edition Adventure for a party of 1st-to-3rd level adventurers. It is the first instalment in a multi-part series of adventures. It can be played separately or as part of the larger series.
This is a nineteen page quick play pdf with every thing a DM needs to get into the action of an old school retroclone game. Easily adapted into about ninety percent of the retro clone games on the market.
 X plorers and Stars Without Number are two of the games that spring to mind when reading this one. I've used this game as a base adventure for the following: 

"This is a perfect adventure to introduce a group of players to a small failed colony world for a space based game with a science fantasy overlay that can be adapted into a solid campaign world. Because this is an AD&D first edition game many of the science fiction retroclones are easily plugged into this one. A solid and easily adapted adventure with plenty of room for the DM to do some adapting for his or her own campaign."

With a bit of work this wonderful little free Dragon's foot resource could be adapted as a post apocalyptic location that has sunk into the mire of another Science Fantasy dark age. But this might take a bit of work on the DM's part. 

The Sword and Sorcery Option

Because of it's set up and the way this is written. This adventure makes an excellent option for a DM of an Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea campaign. This one has everything that a DM needs to get the players in broiled in a deep end of the lake campaign involving thieves, cut pursues, and much more.  The maps, locations, and material have a universal appeal that makes this a very clever piece that canm be used to introduce players into the world of Hyperborea with very little adaption on the DM's part.
This is a nice out of the way location that players can use again and again once the initial adventure is run. The DM can use this material as a spring board for many of the ideas we see in games like  AS&SH as well as others.
There's enough NPC's, action, and ideas where this one might be used as part of a larger adventure waiting to happen. These might include Lovecraftian horror or even a Conan style invasion location. 

All in all this a very handy resource for the DM to have in his arsenal. 

The Kaiju Breed & Kaiju Products Table For Reptisaurus From Carlton Comics For The Mutant Future Rpg System & Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

Many of the ideas are from this thread on Goblinoid  Game Here This monster was created by Carlton Comics back in the 1960's. Carlton was a local outfit that did a wide array of titles and over the years I used many of their creations in my Mutant Future and Post Apocalyptic Games. This particular incarnation of this monster is based on the 1960's comic book appearance of the monster. Because Carlton was a local company here I've always been a fan of theirs.  And so I use this particular breed quite often. 

No. Enc.: 1d4 (1d4)

Alignment: Chaotic

Movement: 90' (30')

Burrow: 90' (30'), Flying 150'(50')

Armor Class: -4

Hit Dice: 17

Attacks: 2 or 1 

Damage: 8d8, 2d10 or 10d6 Claw,Bite,Breath Weapon

Save: L17

Morale: 10

Hoard Class: None
Mutations:Energy Beam 
Flight, Psionic
Force Screen Regeneration as per Troll.All kaiju have the following common mutations:
Gigantism (Immense): Fifty feet or more and very heavy and strong. 
Natural Armor (Super-Heavy): Kaiju have a minimum AC of 0. 
Reflective Epidermis: Laser Weaponry 

This fasting breed of Kuija has been seen during the Mutant Future. The first ones of this breed of monster was first seen during the 1960's when the first breed of it was identified by the Carlton Institute From Derby,Ct. 

Described in his first appearance as a mutant pterodactyl, Reptisaurus and his mate spent millennia in a state of suspended animation on their desert island home until atomic testing awoke the creatures from their slumber. After awakening, the monsters and their offspring ended up saving the Earth from an invasion of aliens from Jupiter looking to colonize the Earth. Victorious, Reptisaurus and his family then retreated deep underground to slumber for another 100,000 years.
The events of the Mutant Future awakened the spawn of these monsters who have been seen roving the world of the post apocalyptic causing undue havoc and misery.
These monsters yield a wide variety of valuable products from their corpses once slain. They breed relatively quickly and are uncommon in certain regions of China, Russia, and parts of North America.
 More Information right over HERE
Only a qualified alchemist can work with these remains to create the proper products from Reptisaurus and its ilk.

Random Reptisaurus Kaiju Products Table 1d10 

1. Lice Lizards which have genetic healing properties 200 gold pieces each. 2hit points each, AC6, 1d4 damage 
2.  Tongue tissues capable of acting as a cure light wounds treatment worth 300 gold pieces.
3. Red Tissue can be used for mutagentic property treatment worth 150 gold pieces 
4. Eye tissue allows devices of true seeing and wizard eye to be created. 350 gold pieces each. 
5. Claw fibers can be made into fiber armor 200 gold pieces per six foot sheet of material 
6. Horn tissues used in 'Man Up Virility' treatments 300 gold pieces for fresh horn.-1/2 to 1/3 base value for loss of 'freshness'. 
7. Tail poison gland used for gene damage treatments. Worth 120 gold piece  per gland. 
8. Intestine Gut Worms 1 hit points AC 6 Damage 1d6 worth 200 gold pieces. Used in Gut Armor production. 
9. Wing Material 200 gold pieces, used in glider production and manufacture 
10. Nerve Fiber Jump Starter Cell Cluster - Power any minor device for 300 hours per cell. Worth 100 gold pieces each. Guarded by Massive Fiber Worms - 10 hit points Each, AC 7, Damage 1d6 Quick Slicing Teeth. 

Be sure to check out this blog fore more Mutant Future ideas as well!

http://mythadvocate.blogspot.com/

Five Ray Harryhausen movie Trailers As Influence For Your Old School Campaign

Ray Harryhausen is a major influence on many DM's and their campaigns. These are a few of the movies that I love to turn to. Here's a few of my favorites for your Friday. These are a few of my favorites with giant monsters, sword and sorcery adventure, and the incredible artistry of Harryhausen. 

Jason & The Argonauts 1964 

 Twenty Million Miles To Earth 

The Beast From 20000 Fathoms movie trailer

Earth Vs The Flying Saucers 1956 

The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad 1958 

Review and Commentary On "&" Magazine's Free OSR Download - Mundane Magica For Your Old School Sword and Sorcery Campaigns

 Need a bit of dungeon dressing, a wide array of strange magic items for your post apocalyptic fantasy sword and sorcery campaign, a hint of weirdness to play around with your players perceptions and perplex their sense of wonder?
 Have I got just the free OSR supplement for you!
 Right Over
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Commentary On The 1954/2014 Godzilla trailers And Your Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

I started looking into the original Godzilla movie from 1954 after all the new Godzilla trailer and movie echoes it in both spirit and substance. There is a ton of stuff going on with the new movie that parallels the old 1954 classic.

Owen Gliberman sums up the movie quite well with the following: 

In Entertainment Weekly, Owen Glieberman, who gave the film an A- rating, wrote:

"Godzilla, an ancient beast roused from the ocean depths and irradiated by Japanese H-bomb tests, reduces Tokyo to a pile of ash, yet, like Kong, he grows more sympathetic as his rampage goes on. The characters talk about him not as an enemy but as a force of destiny, a "god". The inescapable subtext is that Japan, in some bizarre way, deserves this hell. Godzilla is pop culture's grandest symbol of nuclear apocalypse, but he is also the primordial spirit of Japanese aggression turned, with something like fate, against itself.

Could this world ending agression not merely turn on itself but us as well? A sign of the times when a Godzilla is returned as an OSR force of nature. Call of Cthlhu may hold the answer for the beginning of a kick ass OSR campaign. 

The 1954 trailer might be considered ancient history in this style of world. A place of eldrith horror and abominable legends that plump the deepest fears of mankind. For more on this,we need to look into the 1954 movie's history and its connection to the new movie. 

Major Plot Spoiler ahead From Wiki : 

When a Japanese fishing boat is attacked by a flash of light near Odo Island, another ship is sent to investigate only to meet the same fate, with only a few surviving. On Odo Island, a village elder blames their poor fishing on a sea monster known as "Godzilla" and recalls that in earlier times native girls were sacrificed to appease the giant sea monster. Word gets out and a helicopter arrives on the island with curious, but skeptical, reporters. Frightened natives perform a night-time ceremony to keep the monster away. However, that night, while the natives sleep, a storm arrives and something else comes with it, bringing death and destruction. A boy sees the cause during the midst of the destruction.

The next day, witnesses arrive in Tokyo. Archeologist Kyohei Yamane suggests that investigators be sent to the island. On arrival, Yamane finds giant radioactive footprints, and atrilobite. When an alarm sounds, the villagers arm themselves with sticks and various weapons and run to the hills, only to be confronted by Godzilla, who is revealed to be an enormous dinosaur-like creature. After a quick skirmish, the villagers run for safety and Godzilla heads to the ocean.

Yamane returns to Tokyo to present his findings and concludes that Godzilla was unleashed by a nuclear explosion. Some want to conceal that fact, fearing international repercussions. Others say the truth must be revealed. They prevail and Godzilla's origins are announced to the public. Ships are sent with depth charges to kill the monster. When that fails, Godzilla appears again, frightening patrons on a party boat, and causing nationwide panic. Officials appeal to Dr. Yamane for some way to kill the monster, but Yamane wants him kept alive and studied.

Meanwhile, Emiko, Yamane's daughter, decides to break off her arranged engagement to Yamane's colleague, Daisuke Serizawa, because of her love for Hideto Ogata, a salvage ship captain. Before she can do that, Serizawa tells her about his secret experiment. He gives a small demonstration, using a fish tank in the lab. Shocked, Emiko is sworn to secrecy and never gets a chance to break off the engagement. That night Godzilla climbs from Tokyo Bay and attacks the city. Though the attack is over quickly, there is much death and destruction. The next morning, the army constructs a line of 40-meter electrical towers along the coast of Tokyo that will send 50,000 volts of electricity through Godzilla, should he appear again. Civilians are evacuated from the city and put into bomb shelters. As night falls, Godzilla does indeed attack again. He easily breaks through the electric fence, melting the wires with his atomic breath. A bombardment of shells from the army tanks has no effect. Godzilla continues his rampage until much of the city is destroyed and thousands of civilians are dead or wounded. Godzilla descends unscathed into Tokyo Bay, despite a squadron of fighter jets' last-ditch attack.

The next morning finds Tokyo in ruins. Hospitals overflow with victims, including some with radiation poisoning. Witnessing the devastation, Emiko tells Ogata about Serizawa's secret Oxygen Destroyer, a device that disintegrates oxygen atoms and organisms die of asphyxiation, and that it accidentally created a new energy source. She hopes that the two can persuade Serizawa to use it to stop Godzilla. When Serizawa realizes Emiko has betrayed his secret, he refuses, and Ogata and Serizawa fight and Ogata receives a minor head wound. As Emiko treats Ogata's wound, Serizawa apologizes, but he refuses to use the weapon on Godzilla, citing the public bedlam his weapon could cause. Then a newscast shows the devastation Godzilla has caused. Choirs of children are shown singing a hymn. Finally realizing this, Serizawa decides he will use the weapon once and then its secret must be destroyed for the good of humanity. He then burns all his papers and research. Emiko breaks down and cries when she sees this, as she understands that Serizawa is sacrificing his life's work and himself to stop Godzilla.

A navy ship takes Ogata and Serizawa to plant the device in Tokyo Bay. They don diving gear and descend into the water, where they find Godzilla at rest. Ogata returns to the surface as Serizawa activates the device. Serizawa watches as Godzilla dies then tells Ogata to be with Emiko. At the cost of his own life, Serizawa cuts his own oxygen cord so his knowledge of the device cannot be used to harm mankind. A dying Godzilla surfaces, lets out a final roar, and sinks to the bottom before completely disintegrating.

Although the monster is gone, those aboard ship mourn the unexpected loss of Serizawa. Godzilla's death has come at a terrible price and Dr. Yamane believes that if mankind continues to test nuclear weapons, another Godzilla may appear again one day.
Which he will in 2014 and far beyond into the Shadow Years of Mutant Future. 

Old School Gaming With The Big 'G' 
One really nice write up for Godzilla that I've seen recently is the 2005 release from Chaosuim called Secrets of Japan.
This is a really well done book and Godzilla gets a pretty small two page write up but its a write up that reveals some pretty cool little OSR gems.

From RPG manufacture Chaosium Inc.'s highly successful Call of Cthulhu series its "Gazira," Japan's defender against unspeakable elder gods.  That's right Call of Cthhlu's Godzilla battled Lovecraftian gods and paid for it with unspeakable scars and horror left in the wake of those battles. Now imagine that its two hundred years from the Rise of the Old Ones and the battles with giant monsters. 

If we start looking into the implications of this. There are some really weird possibilities for a central event that might have caused a post apocalyptic world shattering to happen. What would it be like suddenly if the 'Rise of The Old Ones' and the clash of giant monsters shattered a future world sending it back to the stone age. Suddenly, Mutant Future coupled with Realms of Crawling Chaos seems to be not only a viable OSR campaign but one many of the elements of Labyrinth Lord don't seem so far off.

All of the Goblinoid Games material is available right over
HERE 
Secrets of Japan Available Right Over
HERE

Where might all of this lead? What possibilities might happen? Well one possibility might be the ideas laid down in Pacific Rim. Giant Robots vs Lovecraftian horror on a scale well beyond the pale of mortal man.
Surely there isn't a way to involve adventurers and treasure seekers into this equation. Well actually. Here's a chance to introduce your PC's into the giant monster black market. 

In fact there has been talk about a crossover even though its only talk at this point. According to wiki : 
At WonderCon 2013, Guillermo del Toro expressed enthusiasm for a potential crossover between Godzilla and del Toro's Pacific Rim—another Legendary Pictures kaiju film—but stressed that no such plans are in place.^[113] In an interview at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Edwards expressed an interest in making a sequel that uses the "Monster Island" concept used in Destroy All Monsters.^[114]

^{These ideas are easily converted over to a post apocalyptic old school gaming as well as adventuring and even now folks are looking at playing this sort of campaign. 
As always your mileage may vary.}

 ^{This is from my twisted mind and in no way shape or form I'm I trying to violate the copyright and trade mark of the holders. This post is only for entertainment purposes only.} 

Commentary On The New Godzilla Trailer For Your Post Old School Post Apocalyptic Campaigns

Juliette Binoche, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Elizabeth Olsen, David Strathairin, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ken Watanabe star. GODZILLA is out May 16th.

This is a really dark version of Gozilla that harkens back to the original ninteen fifties monster films and I get the feeling that this Godzilla is going to be a force of nature. The trailers I've seen so far make Godzilla look like the end of mankind. If this is the start of the end for man. Could this be the beginning of your post apocalyptic game?
I've seen friends use the big 'G' in the past. And this doesn't look like anything new when it comes to a Mutant Future style game. 

If we start looking at the weapons,armor, etc for a post apocalyptic style game suddenly the power of some of those weapons makes sense.  I believe that this is a direct link back to the original '54 classic and all this time the monster has been growing. The trailers point to it. Suddenly Godzilla as the cause of a post apocalyptic event is likely and very scary. Mutation from giant monsters isn't new but it is very interesting as well as intriguing.

As DM's we've got to be careful when it comes to dealing with this sort of genre though. We move too far to the left or right we lose the sense of fun with these and dive down into the giant monster as the man in the rubber suit thing. Yet there has to be a sense of fun with these.

This is a very dark trailer and it could be a very interesting movie. One of the aspects of the movie Rodan that I loved as a kid was the minor monsters that lived on the larger monster. There was this whole ecology when it came to that Toho film. This new film given the size of this version of Godzilla might have even more minor monsters to cause problems in your post apocalyptic games. 

Pacific Rim had whole sub categories of minor creatures and organs that made the film very interesting to think about in game terms. This Godzilla is a force of nature and perhaps only the survivors may have time to exploit the nature of this creature. All in all are we looking at a whole new dawn of a giant monster movie?
The trailer looks very good and this new film has some very intriguing aspects to it! 

Very gamable aspects in point of fact! 

Review and Commentary on the Free OSR Resource From Dragon's Foot - Footprints #07 Magazine

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When I need a bit of inspiration for an OSR  campaign or retro gaming piece that I can insert into a game I turn to Foot Print magazine. The reason is simply that most of my players have dismissed this venerable retroclone/AD&D first edition perdoical. That's fine with me. The fact is that besides  Fight On. This is the one that I turn to. Issue seven is one that I've found particularly useful over the years.  What's in it?


From the Dragon's foot Blurb : 

Here's a quick look at the contents:
Artisans (NPC class)
New Spells 
Little Prayers (article/spells)
Cat Of Nine Lives (monster)
Boggarts! (article/monsters)
Scion Of Cthulhu (monster)
Spells for the Sophisticated Travelling Wizard
Clerics Turning Undead (article)
Random Encounters (article)
Master Encumbrance Guide (article)
Over the last day or so I've been going over AS&SH as well as OSRIC while planning an adventure set. I've turned to a series of notes that I made a few years ago involving this particular issue of Footprints.
Using Issue Seven For your OSR Campaigns 
Artisans (NPC class) - These folks are the forgotten NPC class in many fantasy, science fantasy, and sword & sorcery campaigns. Especially a game like AS&SH Artisians are essential to the success or downfall of a tribe of warriors or barbarians. These folks can also be the cause of warfare as well as politics. 
New Spells - These are another great source of spells for your OSRIC or AD&D first edition game. A nice cross section of spells. 
Little Prayers (article/spells)- Clerics need love too and this is an excellent article for dealing with the cleric aspects of a campaign. With a bit of work this is a perfect excuse for adding in more politc to your clerical campaigns with these spells playing a role. 
Cat Of Nine Lives (monster)- This is a great monster and adding these guys into a science fiction or science fantasy game can really throw the players. 
Boggarts! (article/monsters)- These are a classic monster that needs more love and play time in games. 
Scion Of Cthulhu (monster)- These Locecraftian horrors have seen a workout in my campaigns and adventures. From Carcosa to Stars Without Number, the Scion of Cthlhu has made appearances in one form or another my players hate these things. 
Spells for the Sophisticated Travelling Wizard- I've used this article for spell slingers in Spell Jammer to sophisticated traveling wizards in science fantasy campaigns. Wizards are great sources of adventure and this article adds yet another backdrop for them. 
Clerics Turning Undead (article)- Clerics and undead are always an unholy combination and this article goes towards trying to clear up the confusion. Mostly for OSRIC and AD&D first edition with some cross over into other editions. 
Random Encounters (article)- A good overview on random encounters in games and a welcome article. Well written as well. 
Master Encumbrance Guide (article)- This article is welcome because encumbrance seems to cause lots of arguments among players. Articles such as this one help with this issue. 
All in all this is one of the most useful issues of Footprints at least to me. The articles are well balanced and informative. Get this one while you can and go to town with it for your OSR sets of adventures! 

1d30 Damned Lovecraftian Treasures of Sharath For The Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea Rpg System

 Among the damned lands of Sarath there are ancient treasures to be found but they have a price. Here is a selection of 1d30 random pieces of  Lovcraftain damnation and plunder that await your adventurers!
 Right Over
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Review and Commentary On The Free OSR Resource And Download - The Book of Miscellaneous Spells For Your Old School Campaigns

Grab It For Free Right over
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 The Book of Miscellaneous Spells by Andrew Hamilton is a retroclone friendly OSR style supplement  of spells for about 90% of the AD&D style games currently on the market.
The book clocks in at fifty five pages of sheer brilliant spells that had their origins going all the way back to a thread on Dragon's foot. They're so much more though.
According to the book : 

This supplement is compatible with

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) TM

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition (AD&D 2E) TM, and open gaming license versions of these games

including OSRIC TM. With game master ingenuity and translation,

this adventure is also compatible with the original

Dungeons & Dragons TM, including the Holmes, Moldvay/Cook, Mentzer/BECMI/RC, and

open gaming license versions of these games
These are very well thoughtout and balanced spells that can save a character's bacon in many different campaigns and with a bit of ingenuity they've even got an application or two in a science fiction or fantasy style campaign. Have I mentioned that their free?
Andrew Hamilton does a great job here and the editing job is well done. There are some really weird spells and some useful ones. This is a well rounded mixed bag of stuff.
With a bit of work these spells might do well in a science fantasy or Spell Jammer style game as well. They might possibly be used by DM for weird wizard NPC's or the like.
The spells are made up in the usual AD&D first edition style of spells and easily used by a wide variety of classes form wizards to clerics they're all represented here.
The material reminds me of the old Game Science spell books that had a ton of spells and applications. The limit here is really a player and DM's imagination.
With a bit of work these spells could be used in a sword and sorcery campaign game like Astonishing Swordsmen And Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg quite easily.
 We even get a cross section of Druid spells here and some serious magic user action here. These aren't campaign level make or breaker spells. These are adventurer spells that will give a player a well balanced edge but nothing that will unbalance your games. All in all this is a pretty solid free download from the folks at '&'magazine.
 Grab this one while you can! 

Review and Commentary on The Free OSR Resource - And Magazine Issue Number 7 For Your Old School Campaign

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For Free

This is old school magazine with a difference, it's free and it's pretty solidly written. Here's an  overview of the contents and it's aimed at the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons first edition crowd and its well. 
I picked this issue because of its Inner planar articles and wonderful overview of the Inner Planes and their inhabitants. I've been fascinated with them ever since Dragon magazine. 
So this issue has a lot of Monster Manual Two style content concerning the Inner Planes all in all good solid stuff. 
The Archer variant is well done and rounded for a deeper PC class for adventuring. 

This Issue's Features

You want to do WHAT??? Adventuring on the Elemental Planes, by Bryan Fazekas ........................................................ 10

Elemental Expansion and True Elementals, by Andrew Hamilton........................................................................................ 17

Bonus Articles

Archer / Archer-Ranger PC Class, by Lenard Lakofka............................................................................................................. 22

A Deeper Look At Saving Throws, by John Fredericks............................................................................................................ 30

Doom AD&D, by Nicole Massey................................................................................................................................................. 32

Interview with Vince Florio, Wild Games Productions, by Andrew Hamilton.................................................................... 42

Regular Columns

Map 1: Fortress of the Efreeti Lord, by Fingolwyn ..................................................................................................................... 2

Featured Artist ................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Tread Softly, by Nicole Massey...................................................................................................................................................... 6

& Magazine on the Net ................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Creature Feature I: Ecology of the Sindh, by Dan Rasaiah ...................................................................................................... 45

Creature Feature II: Ecology of the Greymen, by Bryan Fazekas ........................................................................................... 48

Creature Feature III: Some New Mephits, by Dan Rasaiah ..................................................................................................... 54

Creature Feature IV: Para-Elemental Grues, by Andrew Hamilton....................................................................................... 56

Friend or Foe: The Jann Ak-Azul, by Andrew Hamilton......................................................................................................... 60

The Toybox: New Weapons IV – Pole Arms and Daggers, by Nicole Massey ..................................................................... 62

Spell Caster's Paradise I: Para-Elemental Spells, by Andrew Hamilton ................................................................................ 64

Spell Caster's Paradise II: Forging Spells, by Andrew Hamilton............................................................................................ 69

Emporia & Domiciles: The Nexus, by Nicole Massey .............................................................................................................. 71

One Page Dungeon: The Oasis of Blessed Curses, by Dan Rasaiah........................................................................................ 75

Mini-Adventure: The FireForge, by Andrew Hamilton and Bryan Fazekas......................................................................... 77

For Further Reading, by Ron Redmond ..................................................................................................................................... 90

Map 2: Caverns Deep-n-Dark, by Fingolwyn............................................................................................................................ 

The Doom campaign article is pretty interesting and solid for what it does which adapts the world of Doom into a AD&D campaign. Very interesting stuff.
 The interview with Vince Florio was nice and a good overview of one of the OSR personalities
Map 1: Fortress of the Efreeti Lord, by Fingolwyn is a really nice addition and perfectly suited for the other contents of the issue. 
All of the Creature features, ecology and other articles back up solidly the Inner Planes theme of this issue and add in to the over all feel of the issue of '&' magazine.
I give this a four out of five for a free download!

Who are these folks?
 & is published four times a year and is part of the & Publishing Group. The magazine’s tagline, “Filling in the Gaps for Old School Gamers,” summarizes the mission of the periodical: to feature fan-driven content for older editions of AD&D (primarily first edition) including fiction, editorials, and a variety of game aids such as new monsters, spells, and character classes; rules variants; adventure maps; and original adventures.

Review On The Free Sword and Planet Download - Cargo to Mars - Published In The Spring 1954 issue of Fantastic Story Magazine For Your Old School Science Fiction Campaign

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HERE

This story is a solid science fiction post Colonial Mars romp. It features the adventures of the Reliance and its Captain, its a pretty short and sweet tale whose background can be woven into a pretty interesting adventure for X plorers or Stars Without Numbers.
I've used to this story as source material my post apocalyptic Mars campaign and some of the factions in my game have come from this one. All in all its a nice little gem of a public domain download. 

The Fantastic Story Legacy


Fantastic Story Magazine had a heck of a linage of writers and artwork. Now mostly forgotten this was a major science fiction clearing house back in the Fifties.
According to wiki : 

Fantastic Story Magazine was a 1950-55 science fiction pulp magazine which merged pulp reprints with new stories.

It was published on a quarterly schedule by Best Books, a subsidiary imprint of Standard Magazines. Initially priced at 25 cents, the 160-page debut issue (Spring 1950) was titled Fantastic Story Quarterly, and it continued with that title for a year. Beginning with the Summer 1951 issue, it was known as Fantastic Story Magazine until it folded (Spring 1955), leaving a total of 23 issues.

The first editor, Sam Merwin, Jr., left with the Fall 1951 issue. His replacement, Samuel Mines, edited from the Winter 1952 issue until Fall 1954, when he was replaced by Alexander Samalman who edited the last two issues in 1955 (Winter, Spring).

Each issue featured a lead novel or novella and short stories. A. E. van Vogt's Slan was reprinted in issue #10, and Stanley G. Weinbaum'sThe Black Flame was reprinted in #9. In the first issue, Edmond Hamilton's novel The Hidden World was followed by "Trespass!", a short story collaboration by Poul Anderson and Gordon Dickson, plus stories by Raymond Z. Gallun, John Russell Fearn and others. The second issue included stories by James Blish and Jack Williamson, with Eando Binder in the third issue and Eric Frank Russell in the fourth, followed by Damon Knight (#5), Henry Kuttner (#6), Chad Oliver (#7), L. Sprague de Camp (#8), Sam Merwin, Jr. (#9), Daniel Keyes (#10), Fletcher Pratt (#11), Walter M. Miller, Jr.(#12), Richard Matheson (#13), H. L. Gold and Carl Jacobi (#14), Murray Leinster (#15), Philip K. Dick (#16), Manly Wade Wellman and Otis Adelbert Kline (#17), John W. Campbell, Jr. (#18), Alfred Coppel (#19), Ray Bradbury and Ray Cummings (#20), Arthur K. Barnes (#21), Jack Vance (#22) and David H. Keller (#23).^[1]

'The Church Of Universal Truth' From Marvel Comics As A Faction For Stars Without Numbers

From the pages of The Guardians of the Galaxy, Strange Tales and The Infinity Gauntlet saga comes The Church of Universal Truth as a Faction For The Stars Without Number Game.
Attributes : Forces 5, Cunning 3, Wealth 5 
Hit Points : 29 
Demagogue/Cunning :6, Organization moles/Cunning :5, Zealots/Force 4, Marketers/Wealth :5
Tags: Theocratic, Deep Rooted, Warlike
Note that this is only for a sector spanning arm of the church and this cult spans millions and millions of light years with a very tightly controlled organization. The Church can and has popped up anywhere within several universes.
 

The organization according to wiki: 

The Universal Church of Truth is a star-spanning religious empire in Marvel Comics'fictional shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. Composed of diverse alien species, it first appeared in Strange Tales vol 1 #178 (February 1975), written by Jim Starlin.

In the original stories, its seat of government was Sirus X, also called Homeworld, in the Hercules star cluster.

Organization And Structure  

The head of the Church and object of its worship was Adam Warlock's evil self, the Magus. The assistant to the Church leader is the Matriarch.

Doctrine is enforced through the Church's Black Knights, and matters of law are subject to a Grand Inquisitor.

Head Of The Church

The original Magus is Adam Warlock's potential future, evil self who has traveled to the past and rules a religious empire called the Universal Church of Truth. The Magus guides Warlock through a series of actions that will eventually result in him becoming the Magus.

Warlock resists, and avoids becoming the Magus with the aid of Thanos. When Warlock successfully chooses a different future - suicide - the Magus ceases to exist

Warlock is later resurrected and acquires the Infinity Gauntlet a powerful artifact. He uses it to expel his evil psyche, which takes physical form as a new version of The Magus. The Magus wages war on Warlock and other superheroes in an attempt to gain the Infinity Gauntlet for himself, but fails. After the Magus is defeated, he is trapped in a soul dimension as a phantom

The Magus escapes the Soul Gem in an immaterial form. He absorbs the life energies of others to regain his physical form and power, and schemes to usurp the cosmic power ofGenis-Vell. Genis defeats the Magus and reverts him back to an energy form. The Magus then retaliates against Genis's friends and allies. The Magus wounds Moondragon and then heals her, revealing that she is destined to become his slave

In an effort to repair damage to spacetime, Warlock "stitches" a tear with an alternate, stable timeline- the timeline where he became The Magus, causing his immediate transformation into a third incarnation of The Magus. The Magus then takes control of the Universal Church of Truth and fights the Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Magus allies himself with Lord Mar-Vell, and is killed when he fails a mission.The church briefly resurrected him as a child before the Annihilators imprisoned him inside his cocoon

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