'Beastmen. The savage swords of chaos, are unleashed! ' From Axioms Compendium 1-8 From Autarch For Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg

The hordes of chaos are unleashed in Adventurer, Conqueror, Kings rpg as the warriors of evil become an infection on the face of a campaign! 

The Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg has a number of rpg options thanks to the Axioms Compendium & one that comes to mind is unleashing  the hordes of Chaos! 'Beastmen. The savage swords of chaos, are unleashed' is a great mini sourcebook for ACK's.  Beastmen are the barbarian forces & army  to the ACK's late Roman empire. As the beast men move into an area they go from being simple dungeon dwelling monsters to full on forces of darkness. And these hordes literally lower the property value of any place they move. 

Swamp Troll by Severdhead on Deviant Art 

The humanoids become organized under chieftains & leaders changing the tribal dynamics. Areas can fall under the evil influence of these monsters. The most experienced warriors become the leaders of the new face of the tribe of monsters. No where is this more evident then in AX1  'The Sinister Stone of Sakkara' which sets up the hordes as one of the game's main optional enemy. 

Though they can remain trading partners & the like in ACK's these forces are pure evil. They entrench the forces of darkness within a campaign setting. 'Beastmen. The savage swords of chaos, are unleashed' sets up not only the range of these hordes but echoes the economic realities of living with scourge of the humanoids within a campaign. Why!? Because the places where the beast men settle becomes the perfect breeding ground for greater evils to come. This is a pattern that we see over & over within ACK's itself. And this 'Russian doll' nesting of the forces of chaos is evident by the AX2 Secrets of the Nethercity as well. Make no mistake the forces of chaos are the shock troops of the greater fold & the leaders. Evil begets evil. 

And the forces of chaos have fallen way down the long ladder of civilization because while they can use the tools of mankind to reach the stars. These horrors can & do adapt the tools of mankind ie space craft. They can't create new innovations that mankind can or at least this is how it is within my own campaigns. 

In The Shadow of Sleeping Giants - Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg & Kevin Crawford's Worlds Without Number rpg Combined Mini Campaign

 So over the weekend its been me speaking with some fifth edition players because of the James Mishler review I did the other day. 'There's no welcome to the fold here folks', merely me reviewing a fifth edition product that will get used when our Amazing Adventure 5th edition game sessions continue. Now the three new fifth edition players about to have an Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg wake up call! 

So for our upcoming game session next week its a bit of ACK's mixed in with the Worlds Without Number rpg. And in this game mini campaign the PC's are contacted by a salvager with ties to The Olonsean Empire. The PC's are on 'the infinite wasteland'. this is the pan dimensional wasteland that connects to a myriad of post apocalyptical wastelands across the planes. Hence the connection to the ' Greater Earth' Basically this resulted because over the weekend I was playing with some of the world building tools of Worlds Without Number. 

This whole adventure event connects into Joseph Mohr's Sleeping Giant 'pay what you  want' adventure. We've ran Sleeping Giant before & several adventure elements were left hanging. So these 'low hanging' fruit are what the PC's will be dealing with. And  no this isn't a regular D&D or OSR game at all. The last time I ran Joseph Mohr's Sleeping Giant 'pay what you  want' adventure we used Stars Without Number back in the early part of January of this year. 

 The planet Ceqal IV, is alien highly dangerous & radioactive. There are still warmachines left over from the last alien invasion. This is a highly challenging world & the PC's are going to need to think on their feet. More as this develops. 

The Rise of Dr. Raymond Cocteau - An Adventure Encounter For Neon Lords of the Toxic Wastelands rpg

 Dr. Raymond Cocteau has clawed his way out of Hellworld & wants his revenge on the citizens of  the city of San Angeles ! And things are getting weird can the PC's save the day or make it worse with their own ultra violence! 

"Raymond Cocteau: I hadn't counted on this, but I must say you've worked out beautifully. People are terrified of you. Simon Phoenix: What's new? People have always been terrified of me." In 2034,  the city of San Angeles  Science Institute began the dimensional plunger power program. Reaching across the dimensional fabric they have opened their city into the horrors of the  Cocteauverse. A distorted nightmare alternative version of the world of San Angeles populated by multiple versions the vile  warlord  Simon Phoenix!  But this isn't the only issue facing 2034  San Angeles! The dimensional plunger has also opened a gateway into Neo Terraxaxx! And the pansies of San Angeles need your help! Dr. Cocteau is back from Hell itself! And he's got plan! He's recruited other souls of the damned to gain revenge on the Phoenixes! He's reached into the bowels of Hell world itself & summoned the worst scum including a hoard of cosmic barbarians, a cadre of Heathers called the Brandies, a gaggle of unholy Smiters, and even hired a red death stalker enforcer of 7th level as his personal body guard! Cocteau is still trying to create his perfect pearl of a society. But there are several things that he doesn't realize. There are monsters at every turn both human & otherwise!    What Doctor Cocteau doesn't realize is that the nightmare world that has fitted itself over the Earth of 2035 is quite weird. Because this is actually infinite  city of San Angeles! This world is filled with distorted versions of the citizens of San Angeles but in the shadows there are mutants & demons from Hellworld! These bastards are more then happy to drag the PC's into the shadows for murder & mayhem. But there's another wrinkle as the PC's get to play heroes as the damned souls of the cryocons have returned! There's no John  Spartan to save the day here! The PC's land in the Cantina Taco Bell as the cultists (page 186 of the Neonlords of the Wastelands rule book) of Simon Phoenix arrive to tear apart the restaurant,& rob the customers.  There are seven cultists & they are using the old scraps tunnels below San Angeles to get around. Deep in the tunnels there is a demon who appears be the ancient hero John Spartan. This monster  will let loose on the PC's with fire arms. He has a cadre of six mutants as his body guards! Eventually the PC's will have to track down  Dr. Raymond Cocteau to his old San Angels estate & stop him from distorting the Earth even further. This will attract the attention of Simon Phoenix or at least one them. So why would the PC's save San Angeles?! Well there's plenty of high tech loot, money, etc. to keep any party interested! So what has happened to John Spartan?! That's up to the DM.

Review & Commentary The Free Full Thrust: Project Continuum rules By John Tuffley Modified By Emerald Coast Skunk Works & Its Uses With Cepheus Engine rpg

"The  Tactical Starship Combat Rules!
Simple, fast-play rules that can be used with any size of starfleet! Basic rules of play can be learned in just a few minutes! No referring to charts or tables required during play!"

So with the wonderful weather that the Northeastern half of Connecticut is getting hit with. Over the weekend we printed out quite a bit of material for both Cepheus Engine rpg & Full Thrust: Project Continuum rules. These are a highly collected, edited, & expanded version of the Full Thrust  star ship wargame rules. Way back in '94 through '97 we used to travel over a hundred miles round trip to play test the Full Thrust  rules down at War & Pieces in West Hartford Ct. "Full Thrust is a science fiction strategy wargame written by Jon Tuffley and published by Ground Zero Games of England.", at least this is the wiki entry explanation on Full Thrust. But the truth is far more complex & interesting. 

Once a game was concluded between winners & losers then battles were recorded, losses calculated, etc. And then the fun began. These Full Thrust games became the basis for DM Steve or DM Charlie to have our group of PC  salvage experts to move in from original Traveller. And then pick the carcasses of the star ships clean. But intergalactic monsters often moved in to take on what was left behind. What Full Thrust: Project Continuum rules do is brought back the full on interstellar  scope of these games. We owe a huge debt to Emerald Coast Skunk Works - They have done a lot of work on updating and expanding Full Thrust.  Thank you immensely for keeping FT, the “best least-known space combat game”, alive with your expanded rules and ready-made scenarios. I need to get my ass in gear and scratchbuild a few fleets of minis and ship designs with my stacks of bits, and maybe add rules for a few extra systems. Add into this Full Thrust Skunkworks Scenario pack & you are ready to go. 

Full Thrust: Project Continuum rules take Full Thrust & bring it into the next level for space combat. What these rules do is make space combat on a huge scale workable, the game is done by fans for fans of Full Thrust, there is a huge Full Thrust community out in the internet that continues to produce & generate material for free and its solidly done. 

 There's even some Traveller rpg ship goodness for Full Thrust available right here. Full Thrust: Project Continuum is going to work very well for marrying up with Cepheus Engine Rpg for  next week's game. 

Traveller Rules For Full Thrust by Steve Parsonage: More rules to play FT in the universe of Marc Millers Traveller RPG. And with fantastic ships like those of Moon Toad Publishing  & Independence Games conversion isn't that hard at all. 
High quality solidly done ships flying cinematically within the shadow of giant fleets of space craft? Yes this is one of the things that makes Full Thrust: Project Continuum very appealing to both myself & the players. 

The Ship Book:Lune Class Freelancer is a perfect example of an adventurer's ship that wouldn't be out of place dealing with the empires & fleets that we find within the Full Thrust: Project Continuum. 

Special Thanks To Ground Zero Games 

Supper With Elric of Melniboné, OSR Thoughts on Elric of Melniboné & The Stormbringer rpg Campaign as a Whole

" Feared by enemies and friends alike, Elric of Melnibone walks a lonely path among the worlds of the multiverse. The destroyer of his own cruel and ancient race, as well as its final ruler, Elric is the bearer of a destiny as dark and cursed as the vampiric sword he carries - the sentient black blade known as Stormbringer."





There's something about an Elric novel by Michael Moorcock that just draws you in & keeps you going deeper into the novels. So over the last couple of months the Stormbringer rpg has really deviled me in the sense that its drawn me back into the world of Elric & the Young Kingdoms. And its this time around with the tales that several things occur to me. Elric is not a 'good guy' or the hero but instead he's the anti hero. The tales above prove this again & again. But what draws me back again is the idea that Elric's destiny is bound to the ending of his world's cycle. And there's more then one reason but the one reason that sticks out is  
"Stay well away from that sword," Smiorgan warned. "It has the habit of killing more than its master chooses." ~ The Sailor on the Seas of Fate

Personlly there's a hatred that harbors within me for Stormbringer. Because when your a young man you think how cool is the rune sword & its powers.  But the older you get the cruelty of the entity within the sword becomes apparent. It takes away everything that means anything to Elric from his cousin to his own wife to the people whom he loves & that love him. Strombringer is Chaotic evil incarnate doing the job it was designed to do with an malice intelligence & soul blacker then Hell. 

Elric's fate & destiny are eternally determined by the sword & it leads him into conflict across the multiverse because of its orgin which ties directly into the very fabric of the Young Kingdoms acording to the Michael Moorcock's multiverse wiki entry on Stormbringer;"the Mernii, arrived on Elric's World, the Nihrain were a prosperous society who served the Cosmic Balance. To combat the Dead Gods and other powers of Law and Chaos that threatened to tip the scales of the Balance, the Nihrain forged the pieces of the Dragon Sword into the twin Black Swords, Stormbringer and Mournblade, and perhaps their many brothers as well. Out of fear for the blades' power to slay them, the Dead Gods killed themselves (removed their physical forms and joined Eternity). But while both blades had the power to absorb vitality as did all Black Swords, Stormbringer was different from the others, because a mysterious power entered the blade at the time it was forged.

Various books refer to this malicious entity as a demon, the anti-balance, and Sword. It is a treacherous being, chaotic evil to the core, that hungers for blood and souls and wishes to defy and destroy humanity and the Cosmic Balance. As a consequence of its influence, Stormbringer caused every Nihrain who handled it to become mass murderers. A court was assembled in the Nihrainian stables to put Stormbringer and its handlers on trial. But Stormbringer caused the judges to go mad and sentence both court and defendants to a terrible death. In the end, only ten Nihrain remained, including Sepiriz". 

Stormbringer is uniquely tied into Elric's destiny as the Eternal Champion we see this again & again throughout the ages of Elric's appearances. And its Elric's appearances where & when the Eternal Champion is needed that indicate that he's at the beckon & call of balance as much as the lords of Chaos. But once again reading over the various Elric novels has me wondering if there are more then one shade of Elric?! Even as Elric's Young Kingdoms end are there still other echoes of Elric walking through the multiverse doomed to slowly fade from the multiverse? 

The question becomes is Elric as NPC  the victim or the villain of his own destiny as an aspect of the Eternal Champion?! As an NPC we encountered Elric only twice in the entire eight years of playing the  Stormbringer rpg. But everytime was both chilling & unnerving, because we had no idea if he was going to slay any of our party?  Elric of Melniboné, is known as The Albino Emperor, Elric Womanslayer, Elric Kinslayer, the Pale Prince of Ruins, The White Wolf, & these titles are not given lightly. We as players encountered Elric as a young mercenary just starting out & as a seasoned warrior on his way across the moonbeam paths due to a time slip.But it was the  runesword Stormbringer that really gave us pause. Because the sword could at anytime simply act out of sheer malice & murder any of our PC's. Anytime we saw Elric or his companions we literally left town in a hurry. In the Stormbringer rpg campaign that we played in it most often was someplace out in the multiverse & not near any of the Young Kingdoms except far out of the purview of Elric or the Pan Tangian empire. That became more problematic as time went on. 

Rereading Sailor on the Seas of Fate, Elric as a character is still compelling but being even remotely near him as an  NPC in real life would be absolutely terrifying. And its this aspect of inhumanity & evil that radiates to me as a get older. There are strong feelings of piety for this character but in the end he is a doomed aspect of the Eternal Champion. 

If we were to do a Stormbringer rpg campaign or one shot there are so many aspects of the Young Kingdoms to choose form.  Or even to start a campaign away from the purview of the Elric characters & work toward dealing with the revelations of the books. As dungeon master the Elric books offer a window into a very dangerous & often insane world in the Young Kingdoms. This is a world of mysism, sorcery, violence on a primitive scale, and dark malice. In other words this is a perfect world to set a campaign within. 

OSR Commentary - Hacking Into the D20 Wilderlands of High Fantasy Using The Castles & Crusades Rpg

 

"THE MOST DETAILED FANTASY SETTING OF ALL TIME! ~ The Wilderlands of High Fantasy Boxed Campaign Set is the definitive Judge's Guide to the Wilderlands. A companion to the Player's Guide to the Wilderlands, this boxed set is unmatched in scope and detail. ~ This box contains: 2 large paperback books and 9 double-sided fold-out maps"

A couple of months ago I acquired a treasure that was given to me by a friend & that was the D20 Wilderlands of High Fantasy box set. Now this magical box set sits proudly on a shelf but my players are looking forward to spending some time in the Wilderlands coming up via Castles & Crusades new kickstarter. 
Way before this new kickstarter goes on line, the players want to get in on the action. No way is a three hundred dollar box set going on my table top. So that magical thumb drive had a copy of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy D20 on it along with the maps. 

So a post Covid trip  over to the printers & a very large set of maps done on a drafting printer & we're almost ready to go to the table top. Beer, potato chips, etc. near these is fine. But after several mishaps over the years the hard backs don't come any place near the table top level. 

So what makes the Wilderlands of High Fantasy compelling to me even after all of these years well its summoned up very nicely by Amazon reviewer 

John J. Thomas III ;

"This boxed set has a 1st ed of AD&D feel with some Robert E Howard's Conan thrown in, along with elements of what made Greyhawk, Spelljammer and Ravenloft so interesting. If you loved the old B2 keep on the borderlands dungeon for D&D this setting has that same feel to it. Pretty much this set contains a ton of information and yet the DM has a lot of room to add or change what and where they want. You can fit in stuff from other settings and not have to worry about something not fitting in. Somewhere it can fit in. Like the city of Waterdeep from forgotten realms? You can find a spot for it somewhere and will have to make few changes. Like the Ravenloft monsters or some of the places detailed from that setting? It can fit in pretty easily. Its a big area covered in this setting and there's room to add what you like and take out what you don't. What I really love is that there are no powers that be in the setting. Elminster will not show up and tell characters to stop it or go do something. No circle of eight is gonna manipulate events. The whole setting is very much a "borderlands" wilderness. There are towns and cities around but there is no all powerful ruler to enforce their will. Characters in this campaign are pretty much on their own for good or ill. no powers that be will come save em or save the world from some big bad baddie." 

Yeah its the fact that the party is really the heroes that the world deserves.. 

There is enough material here to run for many years. There's tons of towns, islands, hidden fortresses, and much more. This is a massive campaign setting box set & its this massiveness that has me wondering about the adventuring  possibilities with the  Greyhawk box set. The economics, the trade wars, the strong possibilities with war fare across the planes are too much for me to ignore. 

Could many of the tribes of Greyhawk have fled across the planar bridges to escape the destruction of Greyhawk's lands into The Wilderlands of High Fantasy?! There lots of interesting ins & outs here which need to be investigated further. 
One thing that strikes me as very fortunate is the fact that over the years a copy of this book has been in my collection. Hands down this is one of the best D20 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons urban books that that D20 glut produced. 

If  you know the  'how's' & 'why's' the City State of the Invincible Overlord D20 3.5 book.  Then we see the scale of both the Wilderlands & the city state in terms of over all use & wealth as well as natural resources. Would  the Wilderlands  be trading partner & rival to Greyhawk? Hell yes! Would I run this using 3.5 D&D or perhaps Pathfinder?! Hell no! This is where the Castles & Crusades game system comes in & roars! The whole of this campaign idea hinges on several factors. Working out the economics of the setting,the timing, & especially the players. 

Random OSR Thoughts & Commentary On The Monster Manual II By Gary Gygax

 

"the most complete alphabetical listing and description of the latest AD&D™ game creatures" A must for the serious AD&D™ game player. This manual contains all the new members, from Abishai to Zygom, including new creatures like the Deadly Pudding, Devas, and Valley Elves. And you'll also have the advantage of the extended lists of lycanthropes, giants, and other beasts."

There are times when something drops outt of the memory bin & hits you square between the eyes. In this case its Gary Gygax's Monster Manual II. The reason is the inclusion of many of the iconic monsters & classic Gygax descriptions. But what draws one back to the classics?! 
The wiki entry on the Monster Manual II has some clues; "Monster Manual II was a 160-page hardcover book published in 1983, credited solely to Gary Gygax, which featured cover art by Jeff Easley.^[1] The book was a supplement describing over 250 monsters, most with illustrations. Many of the monsters were drawn from scenario modules,^[1] in particular from S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.^{[citation needed]} The book included random encounter tables for dungeon and wilderness settings built from the Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Monster Manual II,^[1] and a dozen new devils that had been first published in the pages of Dragon magazine." 

Its the inclusion of the classic Dragon magazine monsters that does it for me along with S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Why?! Because of the very iconic nature of the Tourament module. The Monster Manual II enables the DM to continue the action of the module by expanding the wilderness of danger & horror beyond the dungeon itself. There tons of hooks that can be included into the mix with the weirdness of the Monster Manual II. 

But what's actually in the Monster Manual II?! The following creatures are listed according to the Forgotten Realms Monster Manual II wiki entry; "Abishai • Aboleth • Afanc • Agathion • Alu-demon • Ankisaurus • Annis • Ant lion • Arcanadaemon • Ascomoid • Aspis • Astral deva • Atomie • Aurumvorax • Azer • Babau • Baku • Banderlog • Barghest • Barkburr • Bar-lgura • Basidirond • Basilisk, greater • Bat • Bat, fire • Bear, northern • Bee, giant • Behemoth • Behir • Bloodthorn • Boalisk • Bodak • Boggart • Boggle • Boobrie • Bookworm • Bowler • Brown pudding • Buckawn • Bumblebee • Cambion • Camptosaurus • Cat • Catfish, giant • Cave cricket • Cave fisher • Cave moray • Chaggrin • Charonadaemon • Chasme • Cheetah • Choke creeper • Cloaker • Cloud dragon • Compsognathus • Constrictor snake • Cooshee • Crane, giant • Crysmal • Crystal ooze • Cyclopskin • Dacentrurus • Dao • Death, crimson • Death watch beetle • Decaton • Deinonychus • Demilich • Derghodaemon • Derro • Diakk • Dilophosaurus • Dimetrodon • Dracolisk • Dragonfly, giant • Dragon horse • Dragonnel • Drelb • Dretch • Drider • Duergar • Dun pudding • Duodrone • Dustdigger • Eagle • Eblis • Eel, electric • Elfin cat • Euparkeria • Executioner's hood • Faerie dragon • Falcon • Farastu • Firbolg • Firefriend • Fly, giant • Fomorian giant • Foo dog • Foo lion • Forester's bane • Formian • Foxwoman • Froghemoth • Galeb duhr • Giant black squirrel • Giant pedipalp • Giant raven • Giant vulture • Gibbering mouther • Gloomwing • Goat • Gorgimera • Greenhag • Grig • Grim • Grippli • Grugach • Hangman tree • Harginn • Haunt • Hexton • Hollyphant • Hordling • Huge centipede • Huge pedipalp • Huge raven • Huge scorpion • Hybsil • Hydrodaemon • Ice para-elemental • Ildriss • Jann • Jelly, mustard • Kampfult • Kech • Kelubar • Kentrosaurus • Korred • Kraken • Lammasu, greater • Lamprey, land • Large pedipalp • Large scorpion • Lightning quasi-elemental • Luck eater • Magman • Magma para-elemental • Mammechisaurus • Mandragora • Mantis, giant • Mantrap • Margoyle • Marid • Massopondylus • Mastiff, shadow • Megalo-centipede • Mihstu • Miner • Minimal • Mist dragon • Mobat • Mold, russet • Monadic deva • Mongrelman • Monodrone • Moon dog • Movanic deva • Muckdweller • Mud-man • Myconid • Nabassu • Narwhale • Nereid • Nonaton • Nothosaurus • Nupperibo • Obliviax • Octon • Ogre, aquatic • Oinodaemon • Oliphant • Ooze para-elemental • Ophidian • Opinicus • Ornitholestes • Otter • Owl • Pech • Pentadrone • Phantom • Phoenix • Phororhacos • Phycomid • Piscodaemon • Planetar • Podokesaurus • Poisonous snake • Pseudo-undead • Pterosaur, giant • Pyrolisk • Quadrone • Quarton • Quickling • Quickwood • Quinton • Ram • Rat • Raven • Retch plant • Rock reptile • Rutterkin • Sandling • Scum creeper • Seawolf (greater) • Seawolf (lesser) • Secundus • Selkie • Septon • Shade • Shadow dragon • Shator • Shedu, greater • Sirine • Skeleton, animal • Skunk • Slicer beetle • Slime creature • Slime, olive • Smoke para-elemental • Solar • Solifugid • Spectator • Spider, giant marine • Spined devil • Spriggan • Squealer • Squirrel • Squirrel, carnivorous flying • Stegocentipede • Stench kow • Stone guardian • Storoper • Struthiomimus • Sundew, giant • Swan • Swanmay • Swordfish • Taer • Tanystropheus • Tarrasque • Tasloi • Tenebrous worm • Tennodontosaurus • Termite, giant harvester • Tertian • Thessalhydra • Thri-kreen • Thunderbeast • Thunderherder • Time elemental • Transposer • Tridrone • Tri-flower frond • Troll, marine • Tunnel worm • Twilight bloom • Ultrodaemon • Urchin, land • Ustilagor • Vagabond • Valley elf • Vapor rat • Vargouille • Varrdig • Vegepygmy • Verbeeg • Verme • Vilstrak • Vulchling • Vulture • Weasel • Webbird • Wemic • Wereshark • White pudding • Willow, black • Wolf-in-sheep's-clothing • Wolfwere • Xag-ya • Xeg-yi • Xaren • Yagnodaemon • Yeth hound • Yochlol • Yuan ti • Zombie, juju • Zombie, monster • Zorbo • Zygom"

This gives an over arching overview of the direction that Advanced Dungeons & Dragons would take in the coming years. The ideas, thoughts, & weirdness of the Monster Manual II is a credit to Gygax's vision. He was ousted from TSR later after the Monster Manual II came out but we get a clear vision of his tone & masterful use of the Monster Manual II. The Amazon reviewer C.Jackson notes in the MMII review; 
"There are a good number of critters within, however, that you might only be tempted to use if you were attempting a very authentic early 80s AD&D experience, or if you are heavily invested in the complexities of early D&D demonology. As with the Fiend Folio (and the Basic Creature Catalog) there are a decent number of "gotcha!" monsters with unusual or surprising qualities that would likely only be entertaining once."And while this is true it should be noted that the monster ecology found within the MMII is used & referenced extensively not only in Greyhawk but also the Forgotten Realms. The Fiend Folio would also have this same distinctision in early Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. 
My own love for the Monster Manual II is over shadowed by my love for the Fiend Folio. The relation ship between the two books is tenious at best & adversarial at worst but that's a blog entry for another time.