Businesses As Usual - TRey Causey's Strange Stars & Citybook VI: Up Town From Flying Buffalo

 If you've been following our Strange Stars sessions then you know that at sometime everything is  going to go back to Circus. Circus.  With Circus I had to get a series of higher class up town sections. Fortunately, I had the answer already on my book shelf! 

Coming out in '92 Citybook VI: Up Town this is part of the iconic Cataylist series. Citybook VI: Up Town  is going to be an old part of Circus. 'The Lost Inn' is going to get a work out coming up! The idea of an inn that takes on the lost and the desparate harkens back to the 'Bygone Age' of Strange Stars. The Greenhargon's Museum is also going to be featured with the owner not knowing anything about the alien nature of the place. The museum is going to be a patron for the PC's coming up. 
Another business that's going to be making an appearance for obvius reasons is Iron Shield Financial Services. For adventurers Iron Shield is a must! And this includes space based adventures. The Age of Ravens blog has a complete review of Citybook VI: Up Town right over here. 

For Trey Causey's Strange Stars the businesses from Citybook VI: Uptown fit in very nicely. Given the weird and alien natures of the businesses there's some really solid businesses and NPC's to mine for games. Stars Without Number fits the Citybook VI: Up Town asthetic quite nicely. 

Butcher, Baker, Alien?! - Using the Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker series From Flying Buffalo For the Original Traveller rpg & Cepheus Engine rpg Expanded & Updated

  "25 City-based establishments with over 75 fully-described non-player characters, and scenario suggestions for use with any role-playing system. This book won Flying Buffalo its very first Origins Award in 1982. Maps, portraits, descriptions; everything you need. This book established that you COULD have a GM book that is genuinely for ANY Fantasy Role Playing System, and not just thinly disguised for one particular system. All the descriptions and mechanics are in generic terms so it will fit in with whatever campaign system you are using."

Citybook I Butcher, Baker, Candlestitck Maker for me is a trip down the memory rabbit hole. Even all these decades later I can still smell my Uncle's pipe smoke from across the table top every time the pages open. 

Tonight City Book 1 Butcher, Baker, Candlestick  maker from Flying Buffalo fell into my hands. Its been a few years since this book made its way into my hands. Most of the time, many people think that this is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign  setting book. But what if the City Book Catalyst  series was used as the basis for a science fantasy style game? No not Spelljammer something else. Roll back to the late Seventies & into the early Eighties. Early issues of White Dwarf magazine covered tons of rpg games, and especially the big three or as the White Dwarf wiki entry covers the subject very well;'During the early 1980s the magazine focused mainly in the 'big three' role playing games of the time: AD&D, RuneQuest and Traveller.

In addition to this a generation of writers passed through its offices and onto other RPG projects in the next decade, such as Phil Masters and Marcus L. Rowland. One huge attraction of the magazine was its incorporation of mini-game scenarios, capable of completion in a single night's play, rather than the mega-marathon games typical of the off the shelf campaigns. This would often be in the form of an attractive and interesting single task for either existing or new characters to resolve. These could either be slipped into existing campaign plots, or be used stand-alone, just for a fun evening, and were easily grasped by those familiar with RPG rules." 
And this is where I first learnt of the City series but it's possibilities for other games presented itself way back in White Dwarf issue #37 where we get the classic introduction to the  Traveller rpg. Within the article we get an overview of the iconic game of science fiction rpg. 

There were tons of potential for crossover with OD&D and its this crossover potential that our groups of players took full advantage of. Often times we would see players bringing in PC's from one game to another. City Book 1 Butcher, Baker, Candlestick  maker from Flying Buffalo 's series world setting became a back water world in our campaigns of Traveller. 
Why?! There were two reasons, one was psionics in Traveller & the second was that it was fairly easy to take the OD&D magic system & adapt it as needed. 

There were several in's with using the 'City' books for the Traveller rpg & the best one was the Spirit Boat from Flying Buffalo's Treasure Vault featuring an all too familiar catlike humanoid alien prince. Fans of Traveller will immediately recognize the alien feline  homage to the all too familiar iconic science fiction game. 

And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to some possibilities of using alien NPC's stuck on some Traveller or Cepheus Engine rpg. There's an over arching plot of destruction & a terrorists cell  that runs through the Citybook series that could have wide reaching ramifications to a campaign. Everything comes to a head in Citybook Sideshow. 

This plot could send in the adventurers to investigate this cell before it grows to become an Imperium problem. We did when one of our party who had trained in the dojo featured in Citybook III: Deadly Nightside was called in when several of the thieves guild were murdered and the guilds were wiped out. The heads of two the thieves guilds were actually agents of the Galactic  Imperium. 

The Citybook series is a classic & works very well to bring together a shared universe but its value in my mind is its application & how it can be used to weave together a complete campaign even for a sector there's lots to offer. 

For the Cepheus Engine the Citybook series has a drag & drop group of NPC's,locations, & maps. This could easily be an exotic  backwater in the 'These Stars are ours setting. 

This gives the TSAO setting an almost Serenity like feel to the City book series. The Dark Ages backwater world that has the ear of the local star system. Legends of the Reticulans & the Citybook system could be even ported over ad hoc to the Sword of Cepheus rpg. 

So today we're looking back into this very topic because of the fact that there's got to be a top town method of looking deeper into these products & the late ancient Roman Empire. Many of the Flying Buffalo products for this series can be quite literately be used with any fantasy rpg system. And we've been thinking about the cross points for the most important & largest Roman cities as well as the Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker series of books. Here's a great list of the eleven most important Roman Cities of the ancient world. Notice that they have the population density & civilization infrastructure to support the businesses that are featured within that illustrious series of books. And this is something that even Independence Games & Zozer Games has a part of their frontiers. The idea that civilization is the key to the colonial infrastructure. Something that we see in other OSR & other  fantasy rpg's over & over again. 

OSR Commentary On Citybook VI Up Town from Flying Buffalo For Your OSR & Old School Campaigns

 "16 fully-described businesses, organizations, and cultural establishments for use with any role-playing system, including over 70 completely developed non-player personalities to interact with your players' characters in City adventures"

So we've been looking into the possibillities of getting our usual lot of players into the deep end of higher society to take advantage of two of our fallen nobility PC's because they come from higher tiered society. And tonight we grabbed Citybook VI Up Town from Flying Buffalo.  Why?! Because of the fact that this is the perfect book to embody a late Roman Empire fantasy  style campaign. 

There's just enough of a hint of danger to keep the player's PC's from taking full advantage of some of the marks erm NPC's. Citybook VI Up Town from Flying Buffalo feels like fantasy Beverly Hills mixed in with ancient Rome with the intent of making the players sweat a bit. The businesses presented within Citybook VI Up Town are interesting & with more then a hint of the late Roman flavor I spoke of; 
Community Services: Marianrose Conservatorium; Amaranthine's Rest; Greenhargon's Museum; Ironshield Financial Services; The Reliquarium; and Lord Llewellyn Finster & Lord Wescott
Lodging & Entertainment: The Lost Inn; Gloriana Theatre; Harrow Downs; and Cydryn's Aerial Palladium
Personal Services
: Madrigan's Fine Catering; Exeter's Antique Emporium; Haprice's Golden Scissors; Feats of Clay; Hides Alive; The Cask & Bottle; and Jasmine's Fine Jewelry (and Explosives)
And because it clocks in at almost a hundred pages it has bit of something for everyone within it's pages. The DM & the players benefit from businesses that are both solidly done & yet more then a tad unsuaal to say the least. 
Citybook VI Up Town could be used with OSR game such as Adventurer, Conqueror, King with a far more high fantasy flare for a campaign to add both a bit of whimsy & a far more grittier grittier underbelly to the politic of an ACK's campaign. Back deal bargains & political intrigue going on board rooms of Ironshield Financial Services or the lofts or boxes of the Gloriana Theatre. 
For Castles & Crusades Citybook VI Up Town adds a bit of the sophsticated to the fantasy of the uptown fantasy aspects of a C&C campaign. 

Citybook VI Up Town from Flying Buffalo Is Available Here 

Some Thoughts on Wererats In Old School Sword & Sorcery Campaigns

 So I started looking back at some of DM Steve's notes on Thieves Guild by Game Lord, LTD. Now back in June of 2020 I covered some of my experiences with Thieves Guild but then that business didn't go anywhere. And I shelved those notes.

Zipping through the Stackexchange I came across this post about to 'To what extent were Dungeons & Dragons were-rats based on The Swords of Lankhmar?'  And the post got me thinking about using were rats controlled thieves guilds as their elite leadership & as one of the controlling forces for the local beggar's guild. And there's an Arduin connection where Daniel Boggs said, 'At this point, no one seems to remember, although the connection seems very likely. However it wasn't Gygax who introduced wererats to the game or coined the term. The were-rat was first one of the Twin Cities monsters introduced by Dave Arneson and his players. Who precisely is responsible is unclear, but wererat first appears in David Megarry's prototype Dungeon! game (1973) and next in Greg Svenson's Tonisborg Dungeon (circa Jan 1974).' 

So this begs the question, 'Are wererats the perfect monster hybrid to bridge the gap in a Sword & Sorcery' game?! I believe the answer is yes & there are several reasons why:

1. Wererats are an urban monster & ideally suited to city life and flourish there. 
2. Wererats are never alone and always socialize in packs. 
3. They have inherit aspect that ties directly into giant rats which go all of the way back to original Dungeons & Dragons. 
4. Wererats are masters of the sewers & the seedier parts of cities. This ideally suits the monsters. 
5. Wererats are a dangerous part of an alien eco system that humanity simply doesn't understand. 

Flying Buffalo Catalyst system books coupled with Thieves Guild books gives legs to a possible network of wererat controlled thieves guild holdings. And as a part of an information selling network a perfect addition to a Sword & Sorcery campaign. 
According to the Forgotten Realms Wiki entry on Wererat's ecology;"Ratmen were cannibals, eating uninfected humans and subsisting on what they could scavenge or steal. Wererats were noted to rarely mate with other wererats, instead mating with uninfected humans. The progeny of a male wererat and a human woman was human, but the child would inherit many of the physical characteristics of its father in his human form. The child of a female wererat and a human male were giant rats with paws that resembled human hands known as ratlings. These ratlings grew to maturity by the age of two and had the ability to transform themselves into human children who appeared to be roughly three times their real age" 

So this speaks to the fact that wererats are being very careful to whom & where they're bestowing their curse or gift upon. 

The wererats are certainly masters of the night & given their abilities within urban environments make formidable NPC adversaries; " Wererats were weaker than normal humans but they were more intelligent. Only silver or magical weapons could harm them and they were adept at surprise attacks.^[6]

Wererats shared the animal instinctiveness of all lycanthropes and were markedly more dexterous than humans as well as a little more hardy. Any damage caused by a weapon not made of silver or coated in alchemical silver would be reduced. Wererats were often carriers of filth fever due to the environments that they lived in". 
I have no idea what 'fifth fever' is but wererats are perfectly suited to the role of thieves guild leader or as chaos priest go between for the forces of darkness. In Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea they were the last surviving true Ancients according to them. An analog surviving hold over of some of the Hyperborean's human slaves. They used foul magicks to curse themselves with the wererat curse. 

OSR Lovecraftian Commentary - Flying Buffalo's Citybook Series & And The Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead By Joseph Mohr From Old School Role Playing

" As the adventurers arrive at a sleepy little sea side town not all is as it seems. The town is under attack by pirates. But these are no ordinary pirates. These pirates are undead and their nightmare ship is just off shore waiting for the plunder to be brought aboard. This adventure allows the players to explore the mystery of these undead buccaneers and find out why they still sail the seas."

This blog entry picks right up from here. So DM Paul challenged me to find a beginning OSR adventure with a nautical feel & yet had the backing for an expanded mini Lovecraftian campaign. Enter Josephe Mohr's 'And The Sea Shall Give Up Her Dead' a pay what you want OSR adventure for OSRIC . This adventure could easily be set on the outskirts of Saltmarsh's other towns. With Saltmarsh being the larger town  a few years before the events of the 'U' series. This gives the PC's familiarity with the Saltmarsh region & also gives the small town of Seaside a Lovecraftian underbelly. Seaside itself is a party to a Lovecraftan legacy;"Zanzia is a country in my gaming world but you are free to place Sea Side in a suitable location in yours. The town has a secret history which will become apparent soon after the players begin investigating these undead pirates that are plaguing the town. The players will discover, in time, that Sea Side is not so innocent in this affair. The undead do not rest because of things that the townspeople have done." This could easily be reworked into the Cult of Mother Hydra & Father Dagon ala  Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box By Raven God Games.  Why?! Because the pirates were looking at another juicy offer ala the Slavers from  A0- A4 'Against The Slave Lords'.

This easily ties back into the  the Freakshow section of the urban landscape with the lord of the underworld of Freakshow a party to the curse of Seaside. The situation is very unstable & almost dreamlike. And its this instability that allows the DM to play a bit. The waking world & the real world crossover with dreams of vengence. 

These dreams of vengence cross into the real world & the dreams of a cabal with its ties to City Book's Port 'O call in Lamentations of the Flame Princess's 'The Squid, The Old Man, & the Cabal'.  The lodge & the events surrounding it all tie into the Cult of Dagon & undead pirates. But there's more even this going on! 

OSR Lovecraftian Commentary - Flying Buffalo's Citybook Series & The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh Series by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull.

 "With 22 businesses and services for seaport cities, mariners of every sort can
find excitement and adventure. Establishments are complete with detailed maps,
fully developed NPC personalities, and over 60 suggested scenarios.  Includes scenarios written by Dave Arneson, Michael Stackpole, Bear Peters, and Charles de Lint."

This blog entry picks right up from this blog entry here. So its been one of those incredibly busy days that we've had here in Connecticut. So its been one of those days where we've had to turn back to the OSR &  old school once again. And in this case it's Steve Crampton's Facebook post that reminded me of an underultiized old school resource. And un thus case its Citybook Port 'o Call. And Citybook Port O'Call goes all of the way back to '84. While the entire Eighties moved at light speed. We slowed the fast forward with a mixing of D&D with a bit of H.P. Lovecraft's Dream cycle by placing Citybook Port 'o Call.  within the Dream realms. Flash forward to June 1st 2021. And we need an OSR  flash mini campaign?!  Now this all goes back to  Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box By Raven God Games. 

If  Citybook Port 'o Call ties in the U1 series of Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh Series by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull. Then it stands to reason that the Alchemist is the key to the first part of this. 

Then now would be the perfect time to add in the lord of the underworld  from Citybook Freakshow. The cult of Dagon & the Deep Ones are leaning on the lord of the underworld because of the competition from Alchemist & his smugglers from the Sea Witch. The lord has his assassins knock off the alchemist. And then he's brought back by a Lovecraftian necromancer from the cult again & again to reveal the routes into the harbor. The Deep Ones don't like the competiton. 

The Deep Ones have three things their interested in humanity, breeding, & expanding their operations under the cloak of the Freakshow section of the urban landscape. The alchemist & his crew are a part of a rival outfit. That's namely the Slavers organization from A0- A4 'Against The Slave Lords'. The Deep Ones & the Cult of Dagon are making a move on the port. And the Slavers represent an obstacle. Why?! 
We'll get into that coming up! 

Butcher, Baker, Alien?! - Using the Citybook I: Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker series From Flying Buffalo For the Original Traveller rpg & Cepheus Engine rpg

 "25 City-based establishments with over 75 fully-described non-player characters, and scenario suggestions for use with any role-playing system. This book won Flying Buffalo its very first Origins Award in 1982. Maps, portraits, descriptions; everything you need. This book established that you COULD have a GM book that is genuinely for ANY Fantasy Role Playing System, and not just thinly disguised for one particular system. All the descriptions and mechanics are in generic terms so it will fit in with whatever campaign system you are using."
Citybook I Butcher, Baker, Candlestitck Maker for me is a trip down the memory rabbit hole. Even all these decades later I can still smell my Uncle's pipe smoke from across the table top every time the pages open. 

Tonight City Book 1 Butcher, Baker, Candlestick  maker from Flying Buffalo fell into my hands. Its been a few years since this book made its way into my hands. Most of the time, many people think that this is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign  setting book. But what if the City Book Catalyst  series was used as the basis for a science fantasy style game? No not Spelljammer something else. Roll back to the late Seventies & into the early Eighties. Early issues of White Dwarf magazine covered tons of rpg games, and especially the big three or as the White Dwarf wiki entry covers the subject very well;'During the early 1980s the magazine focused mainly in the 'big three' role playing games of the time: AD&D, RuneQuest and Traveller.

In addition to this a generation of writers passed through its offices and onto other RPG projects in the next decade, such as Phil Masters and Marcus L. Rowland. One huge attraction of the magazine was its incorporation of mini-game scenarios, capable of completion in a single night's play, rather than the mega-marathon games typical of the off the shelf campaigns. This would often be in the form of an attractive and interesting single task for either existing or new characters to resolve. These could either be slipped into existing campaign plots, or be used stand-alone, just for a fun evening, and were easily grasped by those familiar with RPG rules." 
And this is where I first learnt of the City series but it's possibilities for other games presented itself way back in White Dwarf issue #37 where we get the classic introduction to the  Traveller rpg. Within the article we get an overview of the iconic game of science fiction rpg. 

There were tons of potential for crossover with OD&D and its this crossover potential that our groups of players took full advantage of. Often times we would see players bringing in PC's from one game to another. City Book 1 Butcher, Baker, Candlestick  maker from Flying Buffalo 's series world setting became a back water world in our campaigns of Traveller. 
Why?! There were two reasons, one was psionics in Traveller & the second was that it was fairly easy to take the OD&D magic system & adapt it as needed. 

There were several in's with using the 'City' books for the Traveller rpg & the best one was the Spirit Boat from Flying Buffalo's Treasure Vault featuring an all too familiar catlike humanoid alien prince. Fans of Traveller will immediately recognize the alien feline  homage to the all too familiar iconic science fiction game. 

And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to some possibilities of using alien NPC's stuck on some Traveller or Cepheus Engine rpg. There's an over arching plot of destruction & a terrorists cell  that runs through the Citybook series that could have wide reaching ramifications to a campaign. Everything comes to a head in Citybook Sideshow. 

This plot could send in the adventurers to investigate this cell before it grows to become an Imperium problem. We did when one of our party who had trained in the dojo featured in Citybook III: Deadly Nightside was called in when several of the thieves guild were murdered and the guilds were wiped out. The heads of two the thieves guilds were actually agents of the Galactic  Imperium. 

The Citybook series is a classic & works very well to bring together a shared universe but its value in my mind is its application & how it can be used to weave together a complete campaign even for a sector there's lots to offer. 

For the Cepheus Engine the Citybook series has a drag & drop group of NPC's,locations, & maps. This could easily be an exotic  backwater in the 'These Stars are ours setting. 

This gives the TSAO setting an almost Serenity like feel to the City book series. The Dark Ages backwater world that has the ear of the local star system. Legends of the Reticulans & the Citybook system could be even ported over ad hoc to the Sword of Cepheus rpg. 

The Upside Down City - Blood Soaked Travels With Game Lords LTD's Thieves Guild & The Catalyst series By Flying Buffalo - More OSR Campaign Commentary

"A complete rules system for fantasy thieves!
This new, completely revised second edition of the Thieves' Guild™ rules now provides more ways than ever for players to experience the danger-filled life of a medieval brigand, burglar, or cutpurse. Thieves' Guild™ gives thief characters opportunities to use a wide range of thieving skills and abilities to plan and commit the perfect crime. In addition to basic game mechanics, system rules cover every aspect of thieving activity, including:
• Basic Thieving Abilities • Thievish Combat Tactics • Disguises and Diversions • Tailing and Surveillance • Poisons and Venoms • Fencing Stolen Goods • Medieval Justice • Ransoming Prisoners • Underworld Organizations • And Much More!"



Its been a few years since I busted out my box set of Thieves Guild the Fantasy system from 

1984  by  Richard Meyer & Kerry Lloyd & Michael Watkins aka  GL 3901.  This was a glorious box set from a very different era. A glorious era in fantasy table top gaming called Nineteen Eighty Four & Game Lords were a very cool company. You can read all about their history & products right over at the Black Gate Blog here 



Now flash forward to the Nineties when lo & behold I was able to pick up the whole range of Game Lords product on the cheap. Then I began to run a first edition AD&D style game with sprinkles of Flying Buffalo Catalyst system books you remember those right?! Butcher,Baker, Candlestick maker well the line had one particularly nasty book called Deadly Nightside. As the Amazon reviewer called 'the dude' puts it; "Admittedly, the art is a bit stiff, but the stories make up for it. There are settings like "The Bloodmoon School" for training in the martial arts - replete with a thematic system of advancement and a mysterious sensei with a hidden purpose. There are organizations like the "Beggar's Guild" that establishes an information network and suggests that your best friend might secretly be one of the "changelings" exchanged for deformed children at birth. There's an assassin's "guild" called "The Steel Man" that is over the top on atmosphere. But best of all is the metaplot - there's a connection between the "Steel Man", the "Shadow Riders" (caravan raiders on the route into town), and a slave trader. Played right, it's an epic campaign... And I haven't even mentioned the time traveler!"
Now back in the 90's I used the Thieves Guild box set to give legs at the table top level among my players with the Flying Buffalo Catalyst rpg seamless  system. 


Now I used Deadly Nightside  quite lines up nicely with its sister book Citybook V: Sideshow which both of these line up almost but not quite with 'The Thieves Guild' books. Christ, I got a ton of use out of the Catalyst series of books including using them for a Vampire Dark Ages game in the early to late 00's.  But now seems like the perfect time to bust out Thieves Guild & the Catalyst series.  The inhuman terrorist cell, the strange almost Night Breed businesses, and more all cry out to be used including Thieves Guild. I have a cunning plan! 


What I'm going to do is add in these books to my Castles & Crusades rpg/Victorious rpg campaign now that the player's PC's have been brought to New York City in 1870;

"Imagine if you will that usual hum drum city of 1870's New York isn't, imagine just for a moment that half a step away & around the corner is another city a world away. A city if you will full of danger,excitement, fairies,dragons, & thieves. Now imagine that at certain hours, days, & times of the year that people can cross between these worlds only a foot fall away. "  Imagine if you will desperate thieves & adventurers stalking the night of 1870's New York City for any booty they can find. A shot rings out & the player's PC's find themselves in a whole cloth different world! The Upside Down city a far from conventional York City of the Castles & Crusades or Dungeons & Dragons variety with overtones of Lord Dunsany thrown into the mix. Elves, gods, & worse exist right around the corner in this fictionalized heavy dark fantasy New York..


As for Games Lord LTD. they still exist after a fashion right over here.  This campaign aspect is still brewing in my head at this point but this is what I've come up with tonight.
Apparently Tunnels & Trolls rpg has a humble bundle & Eric Tenkar is covering that here. 

Sailing & Strolling Down The Seas of Memory Lane With Flying Buffalo & Fighting Fantasy

Today was one of those days where I fell down a memory hole of my life and back to the early days of New York City Dungeons & Dragons scene back in the early Eighties. New York City isn't the cultural mecca it likes to pretend it is because the place has fantastic adverting & marketing departments. Anyhow back in Dragon magazine in the late Eighty two I saw the following advertisement. Way back in August of last year we lost Rick Loomis & its when you least expect it that some of the angst of a friend's death grabs a hold of you..



 Anyhow Mike Stewart's Facebook post grabbed me by the throat & forced me down as memory rabbit hole. But it also got me thinking about the overarching  urban theme of the Catalyst books according to the Wiki entry;"Catalyst is a series of fantasy role-playing game supplements created by Flying Buffalo as a series of game aids that could be used with any medieval fantasy-themed role-playing game system. The first one, Grimtooth's Traps, was released in 1981. Numerous other Catalyst books were produced including the Citybook series, seven Traps books, Treasure Vault, and the Lejentia campaign setting. The newest one, City of the Gods Map Pack was produced in 2011." Now one of the things that's got me thinking about Catalyst series is  sheer weirdness of some of the books  entries. Many of the businesses seemed to me to overlap providing the DM with a ready made urban & city environment. And before we get into isn't that the idea behind the supplement Mr.Obvious!?  Hear me out here folks. 


These books were made in Eighty two & yet there's some major rpg hobby & writing talent here;"Major contributors to the Catylyst books include Michael A. Stackpole, Liz Danforth, Steve Crompton, Ken St. Andre, Paul Jaquays, Deb Wykle (aka Debora Kerr and Wynn Mercere), Rick Loomis, Larry DiTillio, and Bear Peters along with many others." When Citybook III was published I couldn't wait for the next one. Why?! Because these books presented a perfect & I do mean perfect for using as a space going sailing ship port long before Spelljammer  was even a setting idea in TSR second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons writers & designer's brains!



This goes all of the way back to Dragon magazine issue #91's cover artwork which was one of my all time favorites. Sure I used Spelljammer much later on but with a few additions. Such as the fact that the Jammers could travel between planes & underwater.

Spelljammer was a 'johnny come lately' setting & as much as I liked it part of me still to this day resents the Hell outta of it. But back to Citybook setting there's everything from otter people to slime crime bosses. It was perfect to drop into its mini or demi plane or use right with Judge's Guild adventures & material.. 

 Anyhow this all goes back to my campaign notes & some idea that have been knocking around since the early Eighties. This goes back to staring at the cover artwork by Rodney Matthews for Fighting Fantasy #16 Seas of Blood. Damn I used to stare at that cover artwork for hours imagining all kinds of campaign adventures. Fighting Fantasy had/has some of the best cover artwork. BTW this is a damn fine adventure to run through for FF..


Rodney Mathews artwork makes this on point for me.

But its been a long time since I sailed these seas of dream & dungeons so I need to refresh my memories again. But already a lot is coming back to me & we'll cover this in the next blog entry coming up tomorrow. 

Templar Knight Mayhem - Tegel Manor Session Report Five Inside The Monastery

Tonight's Tegel Manor session was interesting to say the least as the PC's found themselves in the middle of an inter dimensional raid. They ran into a patrol of Aldebaran raiders & found themselves back to back with the bastards. Some dirty tricks & a bit of psionics allowed them to get past the patrol & get the better of them. That's when things got interesting they managed to save the monastery of some Templar monks/knights.  These knights are psionic & had cleaned out their former monastery as a part of a major adventure arch that involved Frog God Games Black Monastery once upon a time a few years ago.



The monks took in the PC's after the defeat of the raiders & told the PC's about their guarding one of the Eternity Crystals. They also found the crypt of  Sir Briane aka the Silver Knight whose descendant was the champion of the monastery until he was murdered in battle defending his brothers. The psion crystal matrix was destroyed during the raid and the knights are awaiting appearance of a new champion (more on him coming up). 


The PC's found thousands of protective spells in the Alko language  carved into the foundations of the monastery. These descended deep into the crypts & around the parameter of the foundations of chapel of the monastery which originally was a converted Roman temple. 


Can the Templars hold out as the sky fills with the flying saucers of the  Aldebarans raiders with the PC's as they await the arrival of the Templar Knight's new champion? Can they resist the temptation to ignore the raiders that are ravaging the countryside? The  Aldebarans raiders came straight outta of  Light City Foes: Stardust From  Halls of the Nephilim.




And what secrets does Tegel Manor hold in the wake of the legacy of  the Eternity Crystals? Tonight one of the PC's saw the burning psionic eyes of some renegade psion who works with  the  Aldebarans raiders! Even as this is going on the ghosts of the Templar knights don't rest easy in their crypts! Something evil beyond all experience stirs out in the battle fields & hungers for the souls of the adventurers. Something from TSR  the Fiend Folio is coming for the party next week!