Free Old School Pulp Download 'The Martian Circe' By Ramon F Jones From the Summer 1947 issue of Planet Stories magazine For Your Old School Martian Campaign

 

You can download the novella here. 

Mars has been my imagination's home since I was a kid & many a night was spent working my way through piles of my uncle's ancient Pulp magazine collection. And that brings up 'The Martian Circe' By Ramon F Jones  From the Summer 1947 issue of Planet Stories magazine. 'The Martian Circe' echoes through with the Pulpy voice of Ramon F. Jones & his Mars is an almost settled colonial world on the edge of the solar system; 

 'Who was this sweet-voiced singer weaving a spell of dreams and drugs that drove men mad and threatened to smash the System? SBI Captain Roal Hartford dared the death of the Thousand Minds to learn her dreadful secret!' 

So we've entered the world of Captain Roal Hartford agent of  the Solar Bureau of Investigation. And his is the world of the Martian underworld & therefore the  perfect foil for adventurers & scoundrals. But who was Ramon F. Jones?! According to his wiki entry; "Raymond Fisher Jones (November 15, 1915, Salt Lake City, Utah - January 24, 1994, Sandy, Salt Lake County, Utah) was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel, This Island Earth, which was adapted into the 1955 film This Island Earth and for the short story "The Children's Room", which was adapted for television as Episode Two of the ABC network show Tales of Tomorrow, first aired on February 29, 1952.'

'Jones' career was at its peak during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His stories were published mainly in magazines such as Thrilling Wonder Stories, Astounding Stories, and Galaxy. His short story Noise Level is known as one of his best works. His short story "The Alien Machine", first published in the June, 1949 Thrilling Wonder Stories, was later expanded into the novel This Island Earth, along with two other short stories, "The Shroud of Secrecy", and "The Greater Conflict", known as The Peace Engineers Trilogy, featuring the character Cal Meacham. Jones also wrote the story upon which the episode "The Children's Room" was based for the television program Tales of Tomorrow in 1952. " 

'The Martian Circe' concerns a phantom tavern 'the Starhouse' the venue for The Queen of the Silver Stars'  that has been drifting around the Martian cityscapes & taking out the souls & sanity of solar system miners. Harmeena is a gas like agent of the Martian Harm plant that causes those who inhail its gases to save vs poison or suffer horrifying visions as per a Fear spell.  And 'Starhouse' operates out of one of the Martian Capital cities  Heliopolis. Heliopolis is the center of the wizened and withered Martians of Mr. R Jones tale. The Jones Martians as I've taken to calling them are +3 to their Constitution, +1 on Intelligence, -2 on Charisma, & +1 on Wisdom as they are an ancient race of Mars. And they barely tolerate humanity on their end of Mars. And the Jones Martians  lead deeply into the mystery of the phantom singer Alayna The Queen of the Silver Stars. 
And this makes it perfect as a folio for an Infinite Mars campaign which is a combination of Stars Without Number and Worlds Without Number combined with Warriors of the Red Planet. 

Humanity produces a subtle radiation that is harmful to the Jones Martians & the Martians are planning on using Harmeena as one of the weapons of conquest. Any human who has exposure to the drug for more then two months becomes open to Martian telepathic mind control. And this is the secret of Starhouse, the tavern is an illusion that can be projected onto any human mind anywhere on Mars. And this is all due to the Thousand Minds. The Thousand Minds is the secret & highly advanced psionic ruling  body on Mars of the Jones Martians. The Thousand Minds can see through & control every Jones Martian on Mars. The Thousand Minds are the real masters of the Jones Martians & for the moment only use the 'Starhouse' to distribute Harmeena among every facet of human society including rich humans & gamblers who are looking for the seedier side of Mars. 
The situation in Heliopolis & the other Jones Martian human cities is a ticking time bomb and only he destruction of the Thousand Minds will save humanity. They are located in a series of Jones Martian  burrows outside of Heliopolis bout five miles or so from the city. 
The Martian capital cities  of  Heliopolis is actually an old Welysan city state that was taken over by the Jones Martians. The Jones Martians themselves are products left behind by the Welysan super science prototypes  in the wake of the failed Earth invasion of the early 19th century. Jones Martians gain +1 on Intelligence & can automatically transition into the psychic discplines of Stars Without Number. They gain -2 on all physical attributes. Jones Martians are a subrace of the Martian humanoid races artificially created more then 10,000 years ago by the Welysans as a genetic test bed for the impending Earth invasion. The genetic cloning templates were abandoned and left in the ruins of the city states various underground labs.
Humanity resurrected these genetic clones and has used them as workers, scientists, etc. Now Mars itself is on the verge of rebellion and this gives opportunities for adventure. 

Free Old School Pulp Download 'Under the Sand-Seas' January 1941 issue of Super Science Stories For Your Old School Post Apocalpytic Solar System Campaign

"Six hundred miles of devouring red desert lay between them and the nearest city -- and the bust of a long-dead Martian smiled with the knowledge that could get them there!"

It's been a long while since we've looked at 'Under The Sand Seas' by  Oliver E.Saari from the January 1941 issue of Super Science Stories magazine before. But this time we're going to dive in deeper into the nineteen page novellette. 

"Under The Sand Seas' follows the crew of an air plane on a Sciencitific expediation deep into the 'Sand Seas' when their plane crashes into an enourmous magnetic anomly. The plane doesn't survive and begins to take on sand. All around the crew there are tumble weed like Martians. And the magnetic anomaly is in  point of fact actually an ancient Martian crypt opened by telepathy. 
The Sand Sea is incredibly dangerous capable of swallowing a man whole easily without a trace. The weeds are a race of semi intelligent wind evolved beings who are blown about by the fierce winds of the Sand Sea. The only hope is the battery powered five or six man sled the party has w
The Sand Sea itself is the blasted remains of the Ancient Ones one of the first races of Mars ruled by Tarum of the last of the Scientist Kings. Tanrum the Last perfected infinite atomic energy using the element of gold as it's atomic fuel. And that infinite energy was used a Super Science weapon and the result was the Sea of Sand! The weapon caused the  complete destruction of the Ancient Ones civilization. 
And the expediation worries that it might cause destructive issues upon the Earth. 
What are the OSR game applications of Under The Sand Seas' by  Oliver E.Saari? Quite a few actually. The infinite atomic energy weapon systems are very dangerous. And that brings up the defense capabilities of the systems themselves. The fact is that these weapons systems must have been designed to kill some very dangerous monsters or an evil race. And this is where the Hyperborea rpg comes into play. Not only does the Sea of Sand have other artifacts within it but the sea itself must have areas of extreme radiation due to atomic weapons being tested or deployed. Now it be that these infinite atomic energy systems were created by the Ancients to combat the Hyperboreans?! It's possible given the time frame and the fact that the Professor discovered the atomic generation's secrets within Tanrum the Last's crypt. The fact that those secrets were spelled out on the writings on the walls of the crypt. 

You can download 'Under the Sand-Seas' January 1941 issue of Super Science Stories here 

Free Old School Pulp Download 'The Martian Circe' By Ramon F Jones From the Summer 1947 issue of Planet Stories magazine For Your Old School Martian Campaign

You can download the novella here. 

Mars has been my imagination's home since I was a kid & many a night was spent working my way through piles of my uncle's ancient Pulp magazine collection. And that brings up 'The Martian Circe' By Ramon F Jones  From the Summer 1947 issue of Planet Stories magazine. 'The Martian Circe' echoes through with the Pulpy voice of Ramon F. Jones & his Mars is an almost settled colonial world on the edge of the solar system; 

 'Who was this sweet-voiced singer weaving a spell of dreams and drugs that drove men mad and threatened to smash the System? SBI Captain Roal Hartford dared the death of the Thousand Minds to learn her dreadful secret!' 

So we've entered the world of Captain Roal Hartford agent of  the Solar Bureau of Investigation. And his is the world of the Martian underworld & therefore the  perfect foil for adventurers & scoundrals. But who was Ramon F. Jones?! According to his wiki entry; "Raymond Fisher Jones (November 15, 1915, Salt Lake City, Utah - January 24, 1994, Sandy, Salt Lake County, Utah) was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel, This Island Earth, which was adapted into the 1955 film This Island Earth and for the short story "The Children's Room", which was adapted for television as Episode Two of the ABC network show Tales of Tomorrow, first aired on February 29, 1952.'

'Jones' career was at its peak during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. His stories were published mainly in magazines such as Thrilling Wonder Stories, Astounding Stories, and Galaxy. His short story Noise Level is known as one of his best works. His short story "The Alien Machine", first published in the June, 1949 Thrilling Wonder Stories, was later expanded into the novel This Island Earth, along with two other short stories, "The Shroud of Secrecy", and "The Greater Conflict", known as The Peace Engineers Trilogy, featuring the character Cal Meacham. Jones also wrote the story upon which the episode "The Children's Room" was based for the television program Tales of Tomorrow in 1952. " 

'The Martian Circe' concerns a phantom tavern 'the Starhouse' the venue for The Queen of the Silver Stars'  that has been drifting around the Martian cityscapes & taking out the souls & sanity of solar system miners. Harmeena is a gas like agent of the Martian Harm plant that causes those who inhail its gases to save vs poison or suffer horrifying visions as per a Fear spell.  And 'Starhouse' operates out of one of the Martian Capital cities  Heliopolis. Heliopolis is the center of the wizened and withered Martians of Mr. R Jones tale. The Jones Martians as I've taken to calling them are +3 to their Constitution, +1 on Intelligence, -2 on Charisma, & +1 on Wisdom as they are an ancient race of Mars. And they barely tolerate humanity on their end of Mars. And the Jones Martians  lead deeply into the mystery of the phantom singer Alayna The Queen of the Silver Stars. 

Humanity produces a subtle radiation that is harmful to the Jones Martians & the Martians are planning on using Harmeena as one of the weapons of conquest. Any human who has exposure to the drug for more then two months becomes open to Martian telepathic mind control. And this is the secret of Starhouse, the tavern is an illusion that can be projected onto any human mind anywhere on Mars. And this is all due to the Thousand Minds. The Thousand Minds is the secret & highly advanced psionic ruling  body on Mars of the Jones Martians. The Thousand Minds can see through & control every Jones Martian on Mars. The Thousand Minds are the real masters of the Jones Martians & for the moment only use the 'Starhouse' to distribute Harmeena among every facet of human society including rich humans & gamblers who are looking for the seedier side of Mars. 
The situation in Heliopolis & the other Jones Martian human cities is a ticking time bomb and only he destruction of the Thousand Minds will save humanity. They are located in a series of Jones Martian  burrows outside of Heliopolis bout five miles or so from the city. 

Appendix N Sword & Sorcery Commentary - Sword Mistresses of Robert E. Howard & C.L. Moore

 Tonight its a night spent  with C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry, a French Sword & Sorcery sword mistress of the first caliber. According to the wiki entry on her; "Jirel of Joiry is one of the most notable creations of writer C. L. Moore, who appeared in a series of sword and sorcery stories published first in the pulp horror/fantasy magazine Weird Tales. Jirel is the proud, tough, arrogant and beautiful ruler of her own domain—apparently somewhere in medieval France. Her adventures continually involve her in dangerous brushes with the supernatural."  And its these brushes with the supernatural & the occult that set Jirel of Joiry on a simlar path to Robert E. Howard's Dark Agnes de Chastillon (also known as Agnes de Chastillon, Dark Agnes, Agnes de la Fere and The Sword Woman) who has her adventures in in 16th Century France. 

The Robert E. Howard stories have a very similar Sword & Sorcery element but the occult is only present in the last story. Jirel of Joiry drips with he presence of the supernaural. The world is a hostile & dangerous place for a swordswoman whose talen it both natural & trained. Both of these adventuresses possess a fiery temper. And yes I'm purposely avoiding Red Sonja. She has her own blog post coming up. Jirel of Joiry is one of the first ladies of Sword & Sorcery. Because her brushes with the supernatural come at a steep price for her. The ego she has is vast but her attitudes humanize her. 
Her adventures are both understandable but her attitudes separate her from the pack of later swords women.  Jirel of Joiry is the master plan of a mercenary adventurer taught her sword craft by a master swordmen. Only to have her teacher murdered in the second half of the stories. 

There's something about the Pulp writing of C.L. Moore's that speaks volumes to the Appendix N aspects of both the OSR & the old school Dungeons & Dragons. Both of these Pulp swords women are easily the equivelant of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg adventurers. Both  Jirel of Joiry & Dark Agnes are ladies pushed into the life of adventuress by circumstances beyond their control. Both have brushes with the supernatural 
                                                                                                    

Neither of these ladies is superhuman in any way shape or form but they do fit the heroic Pulp heroine. And they more then a match for thier respective time periods of history. An excellent overview of the red haired sword women of both Robert E. Howard & C.L. Moore can be found at this episode of Pulp Crazy here. 

According to the wiki entry on Moore's Jirel stories there's a little nugget of information included; 

"Moore's Jirel stories include the following:

• "Black God's Kiss" (October 1934)
• "Black God's Shadow" (December 1934)
• "Jirel Meets Magic" (July 1935)
• "The Dark Land" (January 1936)
• "Quest of the Starstone" (November 1937), with Henry Kuttner
• "Hellsgarde" (April 1939)

These stories, except for "Quest of the Starstone", appear in the collection Jirel of Joiry (1969), and in the Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks compendium Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams (2002). All six appear in a collected edition under Paizo Publishing's "Planet Stories" imprint, compiled under the title Black God's Kiss." 
The volume to get that contains all of the Jirel stories is the Gollancz Fantasy Masterworks compendium Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams (2002) available from Amazon for 18.00 dollars US a real steal. 

Appendix N Commentary - Robert E. Howard's Rattle of Bones - A Tale of Solomon Kane

 

"Fool that I was to trust a Frenchman!"
Rattle of Bones Robert E. Howard 1929 

Its been a long while since the cracked spine of Robert E.Howard's Solomon Kane graced my hands. Last night after a rather long day on the road it was time to settle in with a bit of drink & Kane. Appendix N reading is interesting. The volume in question The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane Paperback - June 29, 2004 you can find it here. The story Rattle of Bones  (1929)  by Robert E. Howard & what a great little supernatural venenace tale it is. Lots of food for adventure here.  The puritan adventurer stops at the Cleft Skull in the Black Forrest  & mayhem ensues. Supernatural mayhem to be exact. If your reading this blog then I don't need to explain who Solomon Kane is or why the Robert E.Howard stories of Kane are so essential to reading for Dungeons & Dragons or their retroclones. Solomon Kane is a character  of focus, commitment, and . . . sheer will. And also faith. Kane in my view is the perfect paladin who doesn't wear armor. Kane has worked as a bounty hunter, instrument of vengence, adventurer, and wanderer. Timothy Truman's artwork of the puritan adventurer captures the essence of the character. Joe Murray is the artwork's owner & I have to say that I'm insanely jealous. 

There's something about Solomon Kane that echoes in my mind. He's far more human then many other Howard characters. And the supernatural happens both around & too him. There's a challenge about him that speaks volumes in both his morality & violence that seems worlds away from Conan. If there's one character that speaks volumes for Lamentations of the Flame Princess  rpg to me its the works of Solomon Kane. Everything in the Kane tales is on point when it comes to Weird Tales feel & tone of Kane's world. And this is a world of grim adventurers, nasty Weird Tales occultism, & the promise of nasty adventures. 

Solomon Kane is the kind of adventurer that you want handling your back. But he is definitely not the guy that you want on your trail. The relentless and dangerous violence that follows in his wake is paramount but in this tale he's both causal witness & almost victim. Rattle of Bones  (1929)  is a mini primer on Solomon Kane in one small package. 

Keeping The Adventurers All In The Family - 1d7 Random Sword & Sorcery Blood Relative Patrons Table For Old School Campaigns

 The two barbarian warriors crossed the wilderness as well as the  wastelands just to get to these strange & sick looking bio mechanical towers that hovered over them. They hurt the eyes of the warriors just to look upon.

'I was expecting more Crum, the architectural aesthetic for those towers is so two thousand years ago.'
'Look we need his help if we're going to get to star port temple, you knew taking the job you were going to have to deal with the old pervert.'
'Yeah but everything always revolves around blood, demons, magick, & sex with him. He's like what fifty thousand years old? You'd think that Martar The Servant of Santus'  would have had his fill by now'
'Would you? For your information I'm only four seven and half thousand years old and my harem is quite extensive. Most likely you two might be my great grand sons twice removed. In fact this country is filled with my grand progeny'
'Are you going to help us or not Grandfather Martar or not?'
The old wizard considered them both for a moment with deep & abidingly  inhuman eyes under brows snow white like the snow around them.
'What's in it for me?'
Crum smiled that half lopsided smile of his.Mostly because of the half healed scar from his pit fighting days.
The three were enveloped in a gust of snow, elderith energies, & a hearty laugh of things best not discussed.
Wizardly patrons for parties are rare, dangerous, wily, and some can almost be of a god level. Many are hundreds if not thousands of years old. Many wizards willingly cultivate their own adventuring groups of 2nd to 3rd level often with their own blood flowing through the veins of such parties. Many such wizards have inhuman, demonic, or monstrous genetic material within their own veins. This often gives even the most good repudiation wizards a capricious and wily sense of humor leaving them someone never to cross during deals or dealings with such.


There is a 1d4 chance where such powerful wizards are operating that any NPC that the player characters are dealing with maybe related through familial or other relationships to such a wizards. Wizards of this caliber often have such later operations with blood ties to ensure far more supernatural or preternatural success in rites, rituals, and even Vancian based spells. When there are four or more blood relatives present or precipitating in magick rites  there is a 40% chance of the spells effects & duration being doubled. The supernatural forces, spirits, and gods may look favorable on such operations. 

There is a 60% chance that such a wizardly patron may call on adventurers for a favor or errant. The wizard is available for magical research & identification of magic items at a 30% discount & may elect to buy any treasure from PC's. But this might be at a substantial discount. There could be complications if such privileges are abused or if the PC's sell to a rival wizard instead of their own blood. A loss of honor in certain supernatural regions could result as well with more monstrous members of such families.
There is also a 20% chance that such a wizard may have a god or demon  of magick or the occult as a parent further complicating such relations & adventure opportunities.

1d7 Random Sword & Sorcery Blood Relative Wizard Patron Table 

1. Segus The Magnificent is a 20th level wizard whose gone into semi retirement & has a large colony of great grand children across the dimension some of whom are not human. He is an active & dangerous patron when it comes to adventuring as he has a keen interest in the fate of certain Prime Material worlds. He also has a blood war with an underworld demon & his own progeny. He loves illusions & music of all kinds, there are several noted bards within his blood lines. 
2. Titus of Rhoades - A highly dangerous necromancer whose mother was the goddess of witches. Titus loves to play the scholar & admirer of beauty as well as patron of the arts while he worms his way into academic or political circles whist placing family members in key positions of power. He is a depraved worm of the lowest order. 
3. Ironus Mull witch of the heavens, this witch has an entire tribe of great grand children devoted to her & several power witches within. She also has several key heroes and necromancers placed within routes of power & adventure. Her overall goals are murky at best. 
4. Tina Hargraver - The white hero of Hargrave is one of the most powerful wizards the PC's are ever to encounter. A great spy mistress and mover of nations this wizard has hand picked sons & daughters scattered throughout the worlds spreading her brand of adventuring & magic making. Ti'na as she is know all that more powerful as a seller of information & favors. Two great hero kings & queens of near by nations  are her sons & daughters.
5. Yotri The Wise One - A seemingly harmless beggar & man of knowledge who wanders from place to place in the company of heroes & gods is actually one of the foremost divine wizards with progeny spread across the universe. He collects favors, treasures, and tithes from his blood. He is actually a highly dangerous wizard because of his connections and seemingly good nature. He is a master manipulator and rumored to be son of a trickster god. 
6. Quses The Bold A wizard of some renowned who has retired to her tower in the deep wilderness. Quses The Bold is a queen of natural magic that has spawned two groves of druids who rule her kingdom & expand her realm planting trees & spell soaked seeds where ever they go. This gives her magick a foot hold & spies of ent blood across the dimensions. It is rumored she has switched sexes and fathered a hero or two but none bare broach the subject. 
7.   Martar The Servant of Santus is a master of sex, death, and demonic magick whose reach has touched twenty two worlds. He is a master of seven star systems whose not slowed down. Rumored to be the son of a dragon & a sky goddess this wizard is a wily and dangerous foe who places his family at key points in history.

1d10 Random Swords of The Ancient & Violent Ones For Your Old School Campaigns

 

Ahimelech Giving the Sword of Goliath to David By

Aert de Gelder  (1645–1727)

The fire-eyed maid of smoky war
All hot and bleeding will we offer them.
William Shakespeare,Henry IV, Part I (c. 1597)

Act IV, scene 1, line 114.

Swords have a power & legacy beyond the violence that they are often employed. They are a part of the souls of their owners. The blood & violence that coats them sometimes imbues them with far greater energies then were ever intended for their shiny blades. The supernatural or occult  power of the acts of their owners often make them forever! They are passed from hand to hand & person to person on a journey throughout eternity.


Zrínyi's Charge on the Turks from the Fortress of Szigetvár

By Simon Hollósy  (1857–1918) 

Each of these blades is +1 impregnated by the acts of depravity & violence that they have done. There is a 20% chance of a demon or other ancient essence of evil having taken up residence within the blade. Make no mistake these blades have seen & been marked by their course in history. They are not instruments of war & violence to be trifled with.

1d10 Random  Swords of The Ancient & Violent Ones

1. Vetrsra The Ripper of Wombs - This sword carries with it the blood of a thousand victims & the souls of its victims ripple in the blade's length in certain lights. The blade occasionally drips blood or sweats tears of its victims. Every new moon it will balance & point its way to a treasure or minor artifact. 
2. Rtea The Reaper of Men - This blade has a handle of bone & ivory made from the spine of an innocent man. The blade cuts the cords of the soul to the afterlife and it can point to the nearest entrance to the underworld.  
3. Brus the Mirror - This blade has been fashioned from the metals left after a battle field has been stripped of most of the debris of war. The sword marks its owner with quick 1 point wound. The blade hungers for the blood of warriors & will lead its owner to a dungeon scene where it can slay monsters & adventurers alike. It will twist its owner's reflection in certain lights into a monstrous form perhaps his or her future self.
4.  Trisus's Razor - This blade has been hand crafted as the highest example of a sword maker's art and was used in twelve campaigns by one family of minor royals. The blade was turned into a weapon of murder & since then it now hungers for the blood of murderers & mad men. The blade can slice through spells & weird magicks as its power flows from the soul of those it has killed. Once per day this blade can slice through 1d6 spells of power. 
5. 43:5 is named from an unknown verse in the Christian Bible & has as it hilt the pages of twelve Bibles of the town of Trell. The town was plagued by undead horrors & this sword took the heads of the undead & the necromancers who summoned them. But the blade slayed the priest who wielded her. She now sings with the power of his tragic soul. For his truest love lived in the town & he had to put her to eternal rest. The blade has a 20% chance of doing a decapitation on a critical roll.  Each new moon there is a 10% chance she can banish a minor undead horror.
6.  Betty - This blade has been fashioned from Detroit steel & was used to slay a minor demon lord. The blade was lost too history as it was flung into a time warp. The blade drips demonic ichor when a monster of the Outer Hells is nearby. It loves to slay monsters and cultists of the darkest stripe. 
7. Brsru Rue - This sword was made from the remains of a steel mirror that was used as an entrance to the underworld. The necromancer who used it was slain by cracking the mirror in two. His soul is trapped within it but now is used to slay murderers & outlaws. The sword loves to hunt the souls of the wicked & feeds on them for eons. Once per new moon it will give its owner visions of violent & horrid crimes being carried out within a 6 mile radius. The sword will point the way to the guilty. 
8.  The White Blade - Made by the last dying remains of a long lost people this blade  contains their frustration & anger over their unnecessary deaths. The blade is used to deal violence to those that would violate the lives of the lost & dead. Each time the blade is unsheathed it will shine with a white hot light capable of dealing 1d6 points of damage to those within 15 feet of the blade. In addition the owner will speak in the tongues of several lost tribes now extinct. He or she will seek out their works. 
9. Ugg's Folly - This blade once belonged to the family Ugg, a group of traveling jesters & performers. The sword can dance once per day but seeks the murderers of its former owners. A cult of child killers & madmen who use the moonless nights to travel from place to place & world to world murdering wantonly. 
10. Simon's Slayer - This blade once belonged to the sell sword Simon L & it is rumored contains his soul. The sword hungers for adventure & can point the way to any dungeon but the sword must each fort night be blooded by an innocent. This is not a killing blow but a simple drop of blood. The sword also hates all servants of Chaos & the owner may 20% chance fly into a berserk rage gaining +3 against all who serve Chaos. 

Free OSR Adventure Resources For Labyrinth Lord & Your Old School Campaigns

Right so I spent part of my Sunday going over OSR gaming material and because Labyrinth Lord has been making some rumblings on social media again. I thought I'd share some of my favorite free adventure material for the game. The no art version of Goblinoid Games retroclone is free but years ago I sprung for the lulu printings.


The Tomb of Sigyfel From  Goblinoid Games  

is a one page set up dungeon crawl that has everything your going to need from the ground up. This is an adventure that your going to want to run to get your PC's into the LL groove and get things moving! "The location presented may be placed near any settlement in the Labyrinth Lord's campaign world. This is an old-school dungeon crawl ripe with danger, wealth, and glory for those who navigate it successfully. The careless will join the dead within the evil tomb." this makes a perfect add on to get the players blood pumping and put the PC's right into the middle of the action!

The Gibbering TowerFrom Goblinoid Games

If your looking for an adventure to get the game moving along with a DYI flare then the Gibbering Tower might just be perfect for you. This adventure can be used to fill in rooms, adjust and drop in treasure from your campaign, and give your players a run for their money when you fill in the details as you the DM would like. "An ominous tower lies in a valley among dark woods. Moans and unintelligible voices from the tower occasionally rattle the valley and reach a small frightened farming village. Rumors say that long ago a demon-worshiping sorcerer once lived in the tower, but no one dares investigate. Can a brave party of adventurers explore the tower and bring an end to its demonic utterings?" This is a perfect local to drag and drop a cult or other mission based adventure

TM1 The Ogress of Anubis From 

New Big Dragon Games Unlimited

Sometimes the DM needs a drag & drop adventure that works on a certain Egyptian theme for extensive OSR old school style adventures. This adventure places the party square in the face of certain doom;"

Azeneth believed the life of the high priest (or priestess) should be as comfortable as that of the kings and the gods. She spoke her contempt for her father’s “weakness” loudly and publicly, almost from the time she learned to talk. As she neared her teens, she made it known her plan was to supplant her father and become high priestess of the temple, sometimes claiming it was her place as the incarnation of the goddess Nekhbet.

Many say Azeneth has the power to command serpents, and it was she who sent the asp that killed her father Kemosiri. Regardless, she siezed her position as high priestess of the temple and set about her accumulation of power and wealth. 

Recently, children from the villages around the temple have begun to disappear. Rumors abound that Azeneth is sacrificing them and cannibalizing them because she believes this will make her wealthier, more powerful, and more divine. The people of the villages have begun to refer to Azeneth as the “ogress of Anubis”—believing it was Anubis himself that made this woman mad, and commanded her to consume the children she sacrifices"
This adventure has the right balance of nastiness and old school play that adds in a whole other level of weirdness because of its tricks and traps. I highly recommend this adventure.

Pyramid of Gorsh  From  Usherwood Publishing

A perfect add on to The Ogress of Anubis is Pyramid of Gorsh which takes the DYI aspect of module & encounter building in another direction;"The Pyramid of Gorsh pits the adventurers against an unknown alien race within a mysterious, ancient pyramid." You can drop this adventure into your old school campaign for that added element of danger and weirdness.

Burial Mound of Esur the Redfrom Dyson Logos

"In order to defeat a great evil that haunts the land, or to fend off invading armies, or a similar task of heroes, the characters have to find the Ring of Esur the Red. "
This is another adventure that you can stick right into your favorite hex crawl & blink when your players find the location on the map. This adventure is just the right size for a quick play & encounter session.

BTL001: Brave the Labyrinth - Issue #1 (PDF) From  Small Niche Games

This fanzine was one of the primary reasons why I got into Labryth Lord. It's a great resource that adds in new PC classes, some fantastic ideas, and great array of NPC's all waiting to be dropped right into your own LL campaign.



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

1d6 Random Shadow Stained Other Worldly Weapons of War For Your Old School Campaigns

It was great pity, so it was,
That villanous saltpetre should be digg'd
Out of the bowels of the harmless earth,
Which many a good tall fellow had destroy'd
So cowardly; and but for these vile guns
He would himself have been a soldier.

Act I, scene 3, line 59.

William Shakespeare,
Henry IV, Part I (c. 1597)

Do not pick up that lonely & forgotten weapon from that vault for you don't know where it has been or who hath wielded it.

In long forgotten hallways & time haunted places that have been forgotten by man. There are weapons of warriors & outlaws long passed. These weapons await new masters but have the touch of long forgotten conflicts etched on them. They yearn for the action & blood of new owners. They have passed from shadow to shadow of Earth's past, present, & perhaps the darkest of  futures.

These weapon's minor names & enchantments have long since passed into the lowest of ethers returning to their dead demonic & god like masters. But these weapons have hungers that can not be satisfied by mere storage in some dusty & remote corner of the other dimensional realms.
Each of these weapons will bond with its user on a successful Wisdom roll. The wielder & owner's mind will be flooded with visions of shadows of what was, echoes of distant events swathed in blood, thunder, & perhaps some grain of wisdom that might save their party. These weapons gain a +1 on their damage because of their eagerness in violence.


Because they've been partially in the other dimensional shadows they are often subject to all kinds of weird energies.  These weapons often have a random weird trait grafted onto them taking the place of their ancient names.

1d8 Random Weird Weapons Trait Table

1. glows green in the presence of the undead, but will turn blue in the presence of black magick with a twenty foot effect. 
2. The weapon draws & drinks the gore of its victims doing an extra 3 points of damage. The blade's metal absorbs the bloody mess gaining a bloated reddish luster. 
3. Weird lights play from the blade when drawn or attacking causing confusion in the enemy as per the spells effects. 
4. The weapon howls causing fear in lesser hit dice creatures who must save or flee the area as per the spell. 
5. An ancient name of power appears on the blade when blood is spilled on it. The name acts as a power word stun effect! 
6. Those who gaze on the weapon despair & are filled with a lust for their own deaths. They can do nothing for 1d4 rounds as the blackest of thoughts & dreams fills their souls. 
7. The weapon summons 1d4 hungry ghosts of its past who will attack the target and consume its soul. They may 5% chance attack the owner of the weapon unless a wisdom check is made. The will of the owner baying them into submission.
8.  Sands of Time - The weapon ages its target by 1d1000 years on a successful hit but the power is fickle and can only be used once a day. 

Theses weapons have warped & strange personalities that they pick up over the centuries from the countless hands of owners. The weapons are not sentient per say but fickle & strange in their own traits of the shadows from which they come. They may give the owner a problem or hint of something vital with shove or push in a certain direction if they will it.

1d6 Random Shadow Stained Other
Worldly Weapons of War Table

1. Vrrus The Crossbow - This crossbow has a string made from the hair of a nymph the weapon can strike a demon or otherworld creature without penalty. The crossbow has seen action in a variety of wars and there are thirty two notches along its length. Each notch is a conflict by running your hands over the notches you may gain an insight into a coming conflict. The weapon hates demons on sight however and may 2% chance fire at one on its own. 
2. The daggers of Serusos Sha - This brace of sixteen throwing daggers were owned by the insect man pirate Serusos Sha & point the way to any near by gold. But they also can also pierce the shadow of a mankind and hold him or her fast like a hold person spell. The daggers have other abilities but these are undiscovered 
3. Shadow Vine - This weapon still has its name but its other powers have faded. The weapon can once per day act as a holy symbol even in the hands of a fighter and it loathes vampires decapitating them whenever possible. It also remembers past owners and bleeds sweet blood to lure a vampire to its owner. 
4. An Wra The Ax of Life - This war ax doesn't remember its owner & its personality is long since gone but the weapon can attack with a vengeance & slice through any magical bonds. The thing hates black wizards & necromancers with a reckoning. It gains a +2 against all such vile practitioners.
5. Trident of the Long Forgotten Sea - This weapon is able to summon a thunder clap once a day & is +1 against any mummies. The trident is of long forgotten sea god & can allow the owner to breath under water as per the spell.  It may have other abilities that are sleeping within its enchanted length. 
6. Srsus The Spear - This war spear can cut through the spells of deception with easy. This spear once belonged to a demi god of war & it has its rage inside it once per day the owner may berserk for 4 rounds gaining +2 on all attacks with this weapon. 

1d10 Random Swords of The Ancient & Violent Ones For Your Old School Campaigns

Ahimelech Giving the Sword of Goliath to David By

Aert de Gelder  (1645–1727)

The fire-eyed maid of smoky war
All hot and bleeding will we offer them.
William Shakespeare,Henry IV, Part I (c. 1597)

Act IV, scene 1, line 114.

Swords have a power & legacy beyond the violence that they are often employed. They are a part of the souls of their owners. The blood & violence that coats them sometimes imbues them with far greater energies then were ever intended for their shiny blades. The supernatural or occult  power of the acts of their owners often make them forever! They are passed from hand to hand & person to person on a journey throughout eternity.


Zrínyi's Charge on the Turks from the Fortress of Szigetvár

By Simon Hollósy  (1857–1918) 

Each of these blades is +1 impregnated by the acts of depravity & violence that they have done. There is a 20% chance of a demon or other ancient essence of evil having taken up residence within the blade. Make no mistake these blades have seen & been marked by their course in history. They are not instruments of war & violence to be trifled with.

1d10 Random  Swords of The Ancient & Violent Ones

1. Vetrsra The Ripper of Wombs - This sword carries with it the blood of a thousand victims & the souls of its victims ripple in the blade's length in certain lights. The blade occasionally drips blood or sweats tears of its victims. Every new moon it will balance & point its way to a treasure or minor artifact. 
2. Rtea The Reaper of Men - This blade has a handle of bone & ivory made from the spine of an innocent man. The blade cuts the cords of the soul to the afterlife and it can point to the nearest entrance to the underworld.  
3. Brus the Mirror - This blade has been fashioned from the metals left after a battle field has been stripped of most of the debris of war. The sword marks its owner with quick 1 point wound. The blade hungers for the blood of warriors & will lead its owner to a dungeon scene where it can slay monsters & adventurers alike. It will twist its owner's reflection in certain lights into a monstrous form perhaps his or her future self.
4.  Trisus's Razor - This blade has been hand crafted as the highest example of a sword maker's art and was used in twelve campaigns by one family of minor royals. The blade was turned into a weapon of murder & since then it now hungers for the blood of murderers & mad men. The blade can slice through spells & weird magicks as its power flows from the soul of those it has killed. Once per day this blade can slice through 1d6 spells of power. 
5. 43:5 is named from an unknown verse in the Christian Bible & has as it hilt the pages of twelve Bibles of the town of Trell. The town was plagued by undead horrors & this sword took the heads of the undead & the necromancers who summoned them. But the blade slayed the priest who wielded her. She now sings with the power of his tragic soul. For his truest love lived in the town & he had to put her to eternal rest. The blade has a 20% chance of doing a decapitation on a critical roll.  Each new moon there is a 10% chance she can banish a minor undead horror.
6.  Betty - This blade has been fashioned from Detroit steel & was used to slay a minor demon lord. The blade was lost too history as it was flung into a time warp. The blade drips demonic ichor when a monster of the Outer Hells is nearby. It loves to slay monsters and cultists of the darkest stripe. 
7. Brsru Rue - This sword was made from the remains of a steel mirror that was used as an entrance to the underworld. The necromancer who used it was slain by cracking the mirror in two. His soul is trapped within it but now is used to slay murderers & outlaws. The sword loves to hunt the souls of the wicked & feeds on them for eons. Once per new moon it will give its owner visions of violent & horrid crimes being carried out within a 6 mile radius. The sword will point the way to the guilty. 
8.  The White Blade - Made by the last dying remains of a long lost people this blade  contains their frustration & anger over their unnecessary deaths. The blade is used to deal violence to those that would violate the lives of the lost & dead. Each time the blade is unsheathed it will shine with a white hot light capable of dealing 1d6 points of damage to those within 15 feet of the blade. In addition the owner will speak in the tongues of several lost tribes now extinct. He or she will seek out their works. 
9. Ugg's Folly - This blade once belonged to the family Ugg, a group of traveling jesters & performers. The sword can dance once per day but seeks the murderers of its former owners. A cult of child killers & madmen who use the moonless nights to travel from place to place & world to world murdering wantonly. 
10. Simon's Slayer - This blade once belonged to the sell sword Simon L & it is rumored contains his soul. The sword hungers for adventure & can point the way to any dungeon but the sword must each fort night be blooded by an innocent. This is not a killing blow but a simple drop of blood. The sword also hates all servants of Chaos & the owner may 20% chance fly into a berserk rage gaining +3 against all who serve Chaos. 

Another 1d5 Random Strange & Twisted Dungeon Locations Encounter Table For Your Old School Campaigns

There are ruins & twisted locations that that have slipped down between the cracks of reality into their own dark and twisted Hells of their own making. They wander across the dimensions under their own power taking adventurers and lives as they want. These places have an agenda all of their own & love to take the souls of those whose egos & reputation attract their attention.


Adventurers who travel between places and times may hear 1d6 rumors or whispered legends about this place  or that place of legend. They might be drawn to the chatter in a local watering hole or tavern. There could be 1d3 minor relics or treasures to draw the attention of adventurers in pawn shops or certain forbidden market places. The legend of these places wealth seems to grow with each telling.Most horrible of all sights are the little unpainted wooden houses remote from travelled ways, usually squatted upon some damp grassy slope or leaning against some gigantic outcropping of rock. Two hundred years and more they have leaned or squatted there, while the vines have crawled and the trees have swelled and spread. They are almost hidden now in lawless luxuriances of green and guardian shrouds of shadow; but the small-paned windows still stare shockingly, as if blinking through a lethal stupor which wards off madness by dulling the memory of unutterable things."The Picture in the House"
HP Lovecraft




Another 1d5 Random Strange & Twisted Dungeon Locations Encounter Table 

1. Morotundur - A former strong hold of the Atlantis empire this place had all of its occupants slaughtered by demons and their souls eaten. This was a result of an ancient object that was held in the dungeons below the place. There is a demon of law  spirit bound within the stones that hold the place together with the souls of anyone it captures using them as fodder for its power. There is 1d20 minor object of power which have been dropped by adventurers over the centuries here.
2. Rincazgu -The so called castle of lust that holds the souls of some forty six vampire lords and their attendants. This place was once the ancient court and repository for the royal vampire lords and ladies throughout the centuries but the death of one innocent girl cursed the place to Astral winds and now it wanders eternity taking anyone it can to satisfy it blood lust and perverse ironic twisted magicks.
3. Detungl - The residence of the Lord of the Purple Fools, this place holds the promise of an evil and very foolish god of chaos who challenged the mad  satirist gods. They cursed the fool and trapped him within this place's walls. He or it now wanders the planes eating the souls with promises of hidden treasures and relics.
4. Kongorgl- The abode of the last saint of  Ubbo-Sathla who can no longer retain its own shape and so its existence has shattered the local time and space continuum. The whole place shimmers and shakes as the violence of its existence causes it to constantly fade and become 'real'. There are treasures of this place that come up on the auction block from time to time renewing interest in this location.
5. Lulronturth - The so called spawning ground of the ancient lords, this former castle is now ruins but below the place are under ground ruins that were once the prison for the damned soul of a wizard of very high undead status. The thing fed on so many people that the gods cursed the place right out of existence. Wandering the planes has the advantage of the owners of this place setting their own agendas of good evil. There are many souls sold to the demonic owners of the place. There are actually 1d8 legendary monsters wander the halls of this ancient pile of old school goodness.
   

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