OSR Commentary On Sabre River (CM3) By Douglas Niles Along With Bruce Nesmith & Adventurer Conqueror, King 1st edition Rpg

 "You are a guest of the count, one of your allies and the strongest man in the region. Your sojourn has been pleasant, a nice change after weeks of battle. Suddenly the courtyard below your window is filled with the noise of galloping horses. More guests?"

"You yawn as you look out. But these people arriving look more like tax collectors than guests. You decide to give your attention to something more interesting, like dinner."

"Relax while you can, friend, because these new arrivals are about to lead you to a crimson sailor, a cozy Tower of Terror, and a river with an aching heart."

Sabre River (CM3) By Douglas Niles Along With  Bruce Nesmith hit the stands in Eighty Four. And there's something interesting going on with CM3 that makes it perfect for Adventurer,Conqueror, King Rpg. Especially given the fact that this module has something something that not only ties in with the dungeon crawls of this module but makes it incredibly necessary. And that's the horrible 'Curse of Sabre River.' 
CM3 Sabre River is a high level module with Conqueror to King level encounters we're talking table X (10) encounters. And the then there's the fact that the players can be challenged  to high level  wrastling matches. And there's a good chance that one or more of the party will die. And did I mention the dungeon crawls are cleverly woven into this one. 
If there was ever a module that cleverly worked it's Mystara and high level end encounters it's CM3. 

And if there's a single adventure that could benefit from the Adventurer, Conqueror, King Heroic Fantasy Handbook Sabre River CM3 is it! From the adventure setting curse, to the wrastling encouters, to the meaty NPC villagers, to higher caliber monsters CM3 is ripe for the Heroic Fantasy Handbook treatment. The player's PCs definitely have the chance to carve out thier own legendary domains while threading through the epic upper levels 18-22 of PC's. This is base level of eight and above for ACK's. 

CM3 if picked up and taken place right after the events of CM1 which we cover here on the blog. Allows the PCs to carve out thier own little piece of Mystara and expand thier influence all of the while solving a supernatural dilema that affects the whole region and looking like heroes while they do it. That is if they survive the experience. 

OSR Commentary On CM2 Death's Ride By Garry Spiegle & Adventurer Conqueror, King 1st edition Rpg

 "A cloud of death hangs over the land, as an unlikely trio of evildoers orchestrates a reign of terror over the tiny Barony of Twolakes Vale. Because of these fiends' actions, hordes of undead have escaped through a gateway from the Sphere of Death, laying the peaceful lands of the barony to waste and terrorizing its citizens. Can the undead be stopped?"

Right so let's pick this  right where we left off from yesterday with CM2 Death's Ride by Garry Spiegle, with cover and interior art by Jeff Easley. Let's get some history on this one from the CM2 Wiki entry;"Death's Ride (ISBN 978-0-88038-117-8) is a 1984 adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Its associated code is CM2. The module was designed by Garry Spiegle, with cover and interior art by Jeff Easley." The main reason that we got involved with CM2 Death's Ride is because of the incredibly iconic Jeff Easiey cover. But the module has solid footing as the PC's pick right up from CM1; "The barony, which is ruled by Baron Sir Maltus Fharo, has sent no taxes, caravans, or messages in several months. A small body of troops sent by the king to investigate has not returned. At this time, Ericall doesn't have the resources to send a large body of troops, so he is asking the characters to go to the barony, find out what's wrong, and if possible, restore contact. The king gives the characters a royal warrant and permission to act in his name." 
Right so the situation is far worse then the king even remotely suspects with three NPC  villains combining thier strengths; "Wazor an "Atlantean Mage", Ulslime a cleric of "Death" and  Korbundar the huge blue dragon who have opened a gateway into the literal sphere of Death'.  There is a huge horde of undead bearing down on the PC's. If we look at CM2's plot from the perspective of the Wiki entry here's the PC's break adventure plot breakdown;"A strange black cloud hangs over the Norworld barony of Two Lake Vale, which is cut off from the rest of the world. As the player characters move to investigate, they encounter armies of the living dead and other vile creatures besieging the last pockets of human resistance. The only relief is to find and destroy the dreadful Deathstone, which is responsible for the black cloud, thereby facing the united forces of an evil sorcerer, a powerful priest, and a mighty dragon' 
CM2 Death's Ride by Garry Spiegle is a perfect module to couple with the  Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg! This is especially true for an epic or heroic level mini campaign. 

For Adventurer, Conqureor, King rpg CM2 is going to be run with PC's on the Conqueror's level. And that is from 7th level and up. And I'd say on the upperside of the ACK's level because this is such an epic module. CM2 for ACK's is one that could be run using ACK's Heroic Fantasy Handbook. All of the adventure elements are here within CM2 Death's Ride. From the kingdom details of the  Barony of Twolakes Vale, to the external threat presented by the undead horde and the three vile villains responsible.What is there within CM2 for the ACK's player's PC in CM2? Well besides an entire kingdom up for grabs and hordes of literal undead. There's plenty of twists and turns to keep the PC's interested. And besides t the Barony of Twolakes Vale is a perfect spot for the PC's to take over. 

OSR Commentary On GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand by Michael Price & Garry Spiegle For Gamma World 2nd Edition.

 "The fearsome Scarlet Knights of Genetic Purity have declared a campaign of terror against all mutants — humanoids and mutated animals!! Your bitter enemies, the Gray Rock tribe, have accused your tribe, the White Feathers, of murder and treachery. Your tribe is now under sentence of death — you and your party have been declared outlaws and traitors. The fate of your tribe lies in your hands. Pursued by an enraged mob of mutants, you must flee across the frozen Parklands of the Ancients to find proof of your innocence." 

It's been a lot of years since the spine of GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand  by Michael Price & Garry Spiegle. The wiki entry on GW3 has some of the low down on this module; "The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand (also known by its catalogue number, GW3) is an adventure published by TSR in 1983 for the second edition of the science fiction role-playing game Gamma World."  GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand  by Michael Price & Garry Spiegle is one of the more important modules in my opinion for Gamma World 2nd edition.  GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand  brings into play the dreaded Knights of Genetic Purity & has some the real details about this group. GW3 has it's action take place on & around the former Yellow Stone National park. There's an American Indian feel to the PC's tribes & NPC's within GW3. This translates to making the Knights of Genetic Purity almost the American government during the 1800's attitude. And  GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand  has a mini campaign feel to it. And this is one of the things that makes GW3 one of the key modules for Gamma World 2nd edition. GW3 has the potential for a lot of action & conflict if played right. GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand  is one of those modules that can easily pick up right after GW2 Famine in Fargo.The PC's have grown up & now moved on too another GW community. And now the PC's are up too their eyeballs in the machinations of the Knights of Genetic Purity. 

GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand has several key encounters & ranges from minor to out death by mutant or robotic horror. This is a solid module to continue the adventure in the lands of Merica on Gamma Terra. This could be because the PC's mutant tribe the White Feathers has moved into it's Winter home in Yellow Stone. And the knights have regarded the PC's tribe as interlopers. The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand features nine linked scenarios, as well new creatures and artifacts. So the DM is going to have to do a bit of research & deal with all of the interconnected adventure elements. The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand works quite nicely at introducing new mutants & horrors to the PC's lives. 

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The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand is perfect for introducing or slipping in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons PC's into Gamma Terra. There is plenty of room to add another tribe or set of ruins of the Ancients with a portal to another fantasy world. The are adventure elements of The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand that act as both campaign anchor & action lever. The one cavet is that the module is a bit all over the place. According to the module's Wiki entry; Chris Baylis reviewed The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand for Imagine magazine, and warned potential buyers that "All modules need some work of the GM, and GW3 is certainly no exception. The sketchy background and the uncovered contingencies must be thought over with care." And it's these adventure elements that need to be handled so deftly by the DM. Is The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand worth getting?! In a word, oh yes! There's plenty of room within this module for DM customization. And this very DM pivot point allows  the DM to make Yellow Stone National Park  a perfect campaign setting for Gamma World. Because for me & my players our version of Greyhawk's Flan resemble American Indians. The Flan: The generic all-purpose native race, filling in for Celts, hill people, horse nomads, Native Americans or whoever needs to be primitive in the continental Flanaess this time. And these Flan are the cross point into Gamma Terra for our games. The White Feathers & several Flan tribes had compacts & trade agreements. 

This allows the DM to scatter planar portals across the Flan's region of Greyhawk. According to the Greyhawk wiki entry on the Flan;"Pre-migrations Flan are described in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting's Guide to the World of Greyhawk as "hardy and capable hunters but not particularly warlike, and their small and scattered groups made no appreciable civilizing efforts." This is a simplification, for the Flan boast several pre-Migrations cultures, including those found at Sulm in the Bright Desert, Veralos on the edge of Rift Canyon, Tostenhca in the Griff Mountains, and several others." 
And it allows one group of adventurers to cross over to the other setting to adventure on either Gamma Terra's Yellow Stone or the Flan's regions of Greyhawk. 

Back in the Eighties within my Uncle's home campaign of Gamma World the events of GW3 The Cleansing War of Garik Blackhand saw a group of 5 Flan adventurers cross over the dimensional divide to help their White Feather friends. 

Further OSR Commentary With Lamentations of the Flame Princess & CM2: "Death's Ride" (1984) by Garry Spiegle

"A strange black cloud hangs over the Norworld barony of Two Lake Vale, which is cut off from the rest of the world. As the player characters move to investigate, they encounter armies of the living dead and other vile creatures besieging the last pockets of human resistance."


 Tonight we're fufilling an email request for using CM2 Death's Ride with LoFP. And yes this would also work as a Lion & Dragon rpg full on mini campaign as well. 
So lately things at the table top level have been interesting for quite a while. Its been awhile since the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg rules have been cracked at the table top level. And earlier today there was the Swords & Sorcery commentary of CM3 Death Rides but its history is interesting;  " CM2 Death's Ride (ISBN 978--88038-117-8) is a 1984 adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.Its associated code is CM2.The module was designed by Garry Spiegle, with cover and interior art by Jeff Easley" This module is like snap shot of Eighty four D&D. And really not that much of a D&D Companion set adventure. But everything in CM3 Death's Ride feels like a Hammer Horror or Gothic horror movie gone wrong. 

Because this is a Companion set module & we get a very detailed overview of the Barony of Twolakes Vale. Could this module be used as a full on Lamentations mini campaign?! Why do you ask?! There are two reasons for this. Hordes of undead & the presence of lots of dark magick in the form of the death stone. One of the things that dark magick brings in Lamentations is lots of adventure complications. But match lock & wheel lock guns are going to make a huge difference?! Are you kidding the PC's will be lucky to escape with their lives.  The Random Estoretic Creature Generator could be used to add some very dangerous characteristics to the undead. And along with that Gregorius21778: Almanac of Animated Cadavers. 

But wait CM3 Death's Rider is a very high level BECMI adventure, & while this is very true you've also basically got negative material plane artifact  intruding upon the vale of reality here. There are three powerful forces of evil in the form  an evil sorcerer, a powerful priest, and a mighty dragon. Each of these by themselves could be a whole campaign's worth of adventure. Together these are a very dangerous combination. But could the presence of the death stone have far more reaching complications?! Imagine if combination of corpses were pulled together because of the presence of the Death stone?! What happens if you can get rid of the NPC villains but the death stone doesn't go back or get destroyed so easily?! 

Perhaps the demon generators from No salvation from Witches could be used to a bit of infernal machinations to the affairs of CM2.. And this may be in fact why the PC's decide to rule   the Barony of Twolakes Vale to keep the horrors from the rest of the world. Perhaps something really nasty escapes the confines of the death stone. 

What happens after the events of CM2 Death's Ride?! The barony has been outted as the haven for evil & black magick. The PC's may have to remain to protect the barony's inhabitants from both the 'Church's inquistors & the dark forces. Couple CM2 with LoFP's Better Then Any Man  and suddenly the presence of the priest, the sorcerer, & even the dragon make a twisted sort of sense. 

And these are just some ideas for using CM2 Death's Ride as the basis for a mini LoFP or a Matchlocks & Wheelocks campaign jump point. 

OSR Sword & Sorcery Commentary - CM2: "Death's Ride" (1984), by Garry Spiegle

"A King's Commission leads to danger!

All communication with the barony of Twolakes Vale has ceased. King Ericall, worried about the security of his border and angered at the loss of tax revenues, has commissioned you, a delegation of powerful adventurers, to investigate. This is not a petty problem to by solved by the armies of local nobility. Indeed, the king's forces are desperately needed elsewhere. Twolakes Vale is, after all, only a small barony on the far frontier of Ericall's domain.

"And yet? The cloud is there, its nature and cause unknown. None have returned for the barony for weeks. Furthermore, the cloud is spreading, and vague reports of unrest and mysterious disappearances are starting to trickle in from nearby baronies.

Can you discover the secret of Two Lakes Vale?"

 So over the past couple of days the module CM2 Death's Ride has come up again at the table top level because of the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg Bundle of Holding &  campaign from a couple of years ago. A bit of background & history on CM2: "Death's Ride" (1984), by Garry Spiegle, the module was the second Companion-level adventure for Basic D&D  & was released in 1984

 CM2 is  one of those modules that has several things going on at once & its one that over the years has graced my table several times. Looking over the module again, we can't honestly say that we'd run it as is in Hyperborea at this time.  Now you'd need a setting that's Sword & Sorcery but has the necromatic backstory too it. That's the easy part I'd set  CM2 Death's Ride within Clark Ashton Smith's  Zothique as a possible back story for the wizard's nercomatic heritage. 


DM Steve's version of Zothique based on Rodney Mathews fantastic artwork.
Used without permission no breech of trademark or copyright is intended.

But with CM2 Death's Ride needs to be set within a world that can support both the Sword & Sorcery elements & the High Fantasy elements without loosing the Companion-level adventure elements  for Basic D&D. Fortunately we've got all of those elements within the Wilderlands of High Fantasy setting! 

What about the Sphere of Death?! This strange overlap plane of entroptic energies & source of undeath?! Now I've said before that Frank Mentzer doesn't get half of the credit he deserves. And when it comes to BECMI this is most certainly the case. Are these planes or sphere?! Why not both?! We've got the death leech an alien creature that certainly seems right in line with the negative energy plane. Hmm The death leech seems like its straight out of Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. Hell if you want to Flame Princess the module further add in the Random Estoretic Creature Generator to add some off the wall spice to critters in CM2 as needed. 

Alright so let's say that we want to keep the sphere of  Death & Entropy using it as the shadow of the negative plane along with immortals & the like.But let's keep the OSR vibe going. A strong possibility for CM2  is using the Dark Dungeon Retroclone by Bucky The Black Ball. 

The Twolakes Vale is a Northern land locked barbarian kingdom state within the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. We've got all of the information about the state & we could theoratically use AS&SH system as the engine to drive this. The necromatic elements including the sphere of death are intact. And we've got a setting that not only can support a dragon but the Sword & Sorcery PC classes from AS&SH. 
And then there's the fact that PC's could take over the Twolakes Vale as their own kingdom in the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. All of the required stats are within the module.