The Carnel Appetites of The Followers of Death God - - Lamentations of the Flame Princess & White Box : Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game by Seattle Hill Games - More OSR Ghoulish Campaign Commentary

 "Mordiggian...was a benign deity in the eyes of the inhabitants of Zul-Bha-Sair. A colossal shadow appeared that was not wrought by anything in the room. It filled the portals from side to side, it towered above the lintel – and then, swiftly, it became more than a shadow: it was a bulk of darkness, black and opaque, that somehow blinded the eyes with a strange dazzlement. It seemed to suck the flame from the red urns and fill the chamber with a chill of utter death and voidness. Its form was that of a worm-shapen column, huge as a dragon, its further coils still issuing from the gloom of the corridor; but it changed from moment to moment, swirling and spinning as if alive with the vortical energies of dark aeons. Briefly it took the semblance of some demoniac giant with eyeless head and limbless body; and then, leaping and spreading like smoky fire, it swept into the chamber."
The Carnel God Clark Ashton Smith 

So let's pick it right up from where we last left off here.  The silver masks of  Mordiggiel, are found in the far flung areas of Medieval Europe. The silvery masks of the the Clergy of Mordiggiel have been changed by their association of the Lovecraftian god of death. And where pray tell is all of this information coming from?! Black Box Books -- Tome Three: Cannibals and Confusion By Kirt A. Dankmyer

And these silvery masked bastards are taking on any & all comers down to their realms. And where are these realms besides the four corners of the globe?! They happen to be below the streets of Paris in the Catacombs.  And according to the wiki entry these date back to the time of the Romans but for our purposes they date way further into the past possibly even pre Biblical Flood; "Paris' earliest burial grounds were to the southern outskirts of the Roman-era Left Bank city. In ruins after the Western Roman Empire's 5th-century end and the ensuing Frankish invasions, Parisians eventually abandoned this settlement for the marshy Right Bank: from the 4th century, the first known settlement there was on higher ground around a Saint-Etienne church and burial ground (behind the present Hôtel de Ville), and urban expansion on the Right Bank began in earnest after other ecclesiastical landowners filled in the marshlands from the late 10th century. Thus, instead of burying its dead away from inhabited areas as usual, the Paris Right Bank settlement began with cemeteries near its centre." 

And this ties right into White Box : Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game because of the style of ghouls that it presents; "Armor Class: 6 [13] Hit Dice: 2 Attacks: Claw Special: See below Move: 9 HDE/XP: 3/60 Ghouls are pack-hunting undead, corpse eaters. They are immune, like most undead, to charms and sleep spells. The most dangerous feature of these horrid, cunning creatures is their paralyzing touch: any hit from a ghoul requires a saving throw or the victim becomes paralyzed for 3d6 turns." 
These are the classic Lovecraftian ghouls who have never left Europe, lost faith in Mordiggiel nor stopped breeding with the locals all around Europe. Where did they first come from?! What if they've always been beside us to begin with?! 

According to the Wiki entry on Ghouls; "In Arabic folklore, the ghul is said to dwell in cemeteries and other uninhabited places. A male ghoul is referred to as ghul while the female is called ghulah.^[6] A source^[who?] identified the Arabic ghoul as a female creature who is sometimes called Mother Ghoul (ʾUmm Ghulah) or a relational term such as Aunt Ghoul.^[7] She is portrayed in many tales luring hapless characters, who are usually men, into her home where she can eat them.^[7]" 

Some state^[who?] that a ghoul is a desert-dwelling, shapeshifting demon that can assume the guise of an animal, especially a hyena. It lures unwary people into the desert wastes or abandoned places to slay and devour them. The creature also preys on young children, drinks blood, steals coins, and eats the dead,^[8] then taking the form of the person most recently eaten. One of the narratives identified a ghoul named Ghul-e Biyaban, a particularly monstrous character believed to be inhabiting the wilderness of Afghanistan and Iran." 

So basically the race of ghouls are a type of genii that has evolved next to us this whole time.But what if that's not entirely the whole story?! What if the fact that Elves are immune to the paralizying touch of a ghoul offers a lot more insight into their origins?! 
If we go back in time to the mythology of Elves  then there's the point of contact; "The word elf is found throughout the Germanic languages and seems originally to have meant 'white being'. However, reconstructing the early concept of an elf depends largely on texts written by Christians, in Old and Middle English, medieval German, and Old Norse. These associate elves variously with the gods of Norse mythology, with causing illness, with magic, and with beauty and seduction.

After the medieval period, the word elf tended to become less common throughout the Germanic languages, losing out to alternative native terms like Zwerg ('dwarf') in German and huldra ('hidden being') in North Germanic languages, and to loan-words like fairy (borrowed from French into most of the Germanic languages). Still, beliefs in elves persisted in the early modern period, particularly in Scotland and Scandinavia, where elves were thought of as magically powerful people living, usually invisibly, alongside everyday human communities. They continued to be associated with causing illnesses and with sexual threats. For example, several early modern ballads in the British Isles and Scandinavia, originating in the medieval period, describe elves attempting to seduce or abduct human characters." 

And it's this point where things get very interesting because a lot of the same characteristics of Elves & Ghouls intersect. In Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg the Elven race is literally ' the other'. And what does this have to do with the Clergy of Mordiggiel?! Everything because literally Elves were split off from the projenitor race in PreBiblical  Flood times. And Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos goes deeply into this. 

The Elves of Dark Albion or mythology created the OGL Elves to serve as chattle for their appetites and to serve them. Below them were mankind or at least it was for awhile until the Biblical Floods wiped them both back to beyond the pale of the material plane. 
The Ghoul tribes were another matter entirely. They fled to the corners of the dreamlands & dark underworld Fey realms. These served as way points created by their god  Mordiggiel,or so it told them. In point of fact it was the essence of the god  Mordiggiel, that was used to further corrupt the Elven race. 

So while their better at well everything then you. The Elven race is also full of that rich life energy that the true Elves crave.  Mordiggiel cult still flourishes because mankind carves it's into the ghouls image. 

OSR Commentary On Black Box Books -- Tome Three: Cannibals and Confusion By Kirt A. Dankmyer From Ivanhoe Unbound For Your Old School Campaigns

 Now we've been revisiting Geoff McKinney's Carcosa recently & digging through my old campaign notes I came across a reference to Ivanhoe Unbound's Black Box Books -- Tome Three: Cannibals and Confusion By Kirt A. Dankmyer. And these monsters, races, and magick are a perfect addition to Carcosa according to the author Kirt A. Dankmyer; "Four of these six ANTAGONISTS are based loosely on Clarke Ashton Smith! As for the OTHER TWO, one STRANGE CREATURE comes from authentic myth and legend, and one FOE comes from inauthentic myth and legend that I wrote last week!

WHAT SIX MONSTERS DO YOU GET?

1. Stats for an Avatar of Mordiggiel, corpse-devouring Angel of the DEAD!

2. The SKINNY on the Clergy of Mordiggiel and the way they have been CHANGED by association with their DREAD LORD!

3. The forbidden DETAILS of the Graedigg, half human, half FIEND, master of illusion!

4. The tale of the HEADLESS Akephalos, who DEVOUR MEN WHOLE when they go MAD!

5. The secrets of the clever Fögr, who HIDE their VUGLAR HABITS behind DISQUIETING MASKS!

6. And finally the TABOO-BREAKING RITUAL that will bring forth WRATHFUL EMANATIONS from a man's soul... or a Graedigg's soul.

AND THAT'S ONLY THE FIRST HALF!

Ever feel your CLERICS and MAGES need more RANDOM TABLES?'

WHO DOESN'T? Well, our CHAOS MAGIC system has got you COVERED! For every ADVANTAGE, there is a DISADVANTAGE, or at least a GOAT! " 

These races fit the weird & wonderful of Carcosa quite well and given the ten mile size of the hexes of Cacrosa these monsters have more then enough room to appear. And that's some of the advantages of these monsters they quite nicely fit the cultclassic 'B' movie asthetic of Cacosa. And add to this the fact that these races have been inspired by Clarke Ashton Smith & everything becomes clearer. 
We get some unexpected weirdness not directly taken from Lovecraft or Jack Kirby. 

Sprinkling these races & entities throughout the Carcosa setting allows the DM to make Carcosa his own and gives a greater range to the occult forces on the Weird Tales aspect of the campaign. 

Add into Carcosa another alternative magick system & things take an unexpected turn giving PC's even more magical options for their wizards without having resort to the more powerful and icky occult rites that belong to the villains. And this comes into the grip of the Chaos magick of Cannibals & Confusion; "During character creation, with the permission of the referee and all the other players, a Magic-User or Cleric can be declared to be a Chaos Devotee. The character cannot be Lawful in alignment, and a Chaos Devotee Cleric must worship an appropriate god, like a trickster deity. A Chaos Devotee is exactly the same as a normal Magic-User or Cleric in nearly all respects. The only difference is whenever a Chaos Devotee casts a spell, they roll on the special tables below to modify the effects of the spell. First, roll for a Chaos Blessing." 
Ok, not one player I know is going ask permission to play a Chaos Devotee and even if they are a nice one these PC's don't seem to last at my table. These are at best temporary PC's who always seem to get themselves killed. 

And this is one of the aspects of the Carcosa setting, its that deadly all on its own. Numerous times has the Lovecraftian aspects or mundane aspects of Carcosa claimed a victim. Its simply part of the landscape so have a few PC's available. 

Review & Commentary On Black Box Books Tome Eight: Handlist of Horrors From Ivanhoe Unbound For Your Old School Campaigns

I'm always on the look out for another way of using monsters & adding in a bit more mayhem to my games. The truth is that you have to add in the touch of the unexpected into games because of very experienced & jaded old school players. They've seen it all and played it all. The fact is one way of adding a bit of the weird and unexpected are the monsters. I use a mix of standard and the unusual for creating old school style adventures.

GRAB IT RIGHT HERE


   Black Box Books -- Tome Eight: Handlist of Horrors From  Ivanhoe Unbound is another creative and highly evocative tools of the DMing trade. A handy list of weirdness that can add any number of tiny seeds for creature creation, with suggested hit dice levels and a method for calculating all the other statistics from that hit dice level.
Monsters & stats are keyed here for adventure creation with a flare for the unusual & for ninety five sense you do get your money's worth. Example of creatures range from the esoteric such as the DECKLER (10): Undead creature rarely formed when someone dies via a spell. Obsessively devours spell scrolls to the demonic such as the EPHIALODAEMON (7): 6’ tall mantis with head of human infant. Voice like a castrato.
This is one of those non standard monsters books that works when you as the dungeon master want a non run of the mill monster but don't want to spend the rest of the day detailing the still born horror of a monster. There is a mixed bag of creatures & monsters making this a perfect combination of horrors that will keep players on their toes and guessing what's around the next bend of the dungeon or wilderness survival crawl.

This is a case of the monster could be used to build the adventure around them. This makes the hooks & bait for the adventure an on going process that the DM's needs to dip into  Handlist of Horrors. But is this book a welcome set of tools or simply a waste of money? Well this is a resource with tons of potential to keep even the most jaded player on their toes. Things such as the VISCERA MYRMIDON (9): The intestines of several warriors woven together and animated by a wraith. This is a perfect monster to throw into a game of Lamentations of the Flame Princess. This book brings fifty five monster seeds to the table and then keeps things going with solid hooks and leads inside the dark underbelly of the  Handlist of Horrors. This basically means that players are going to have a hard time identifying the weirder monsters. But even the weird ones are variations of many old school stand by's but done in such a way as to keep things fresh.
 Tome Eight: Handlist of Horrors  is a great book to use as a monster fill gap for unexpected encounters during a game when PC's wander into places that might provide them with weird adventure encounters. These places might include wasteland ruins in games such as Mutant Future or even the upcoming Mutant Crawl Classics. Because of the universal nature of Swords & Wizardry this popular retroclone's abilities as a platform are going to be tested.  Tome Eight: Handlist of Horrors is there to fill the gap. There's enough adventure and monster fodder to keep the DM going for years to come.
Four out of five for originality and utility for adventure construction.

Review & Commentary On Black Box Books -- Tome Seven: Goetics and Gnostics From Ivanhoe Unbound For Your Old School Campaigns

There was a time back n '08 when I first got into OSR titles that DYI Dungeons & Dragons was the main reason. Basically it means being selective about what parts & pieces your going to use at your table & as a part of the system that your going to be running. For many this is OD&D or Swords & Wizardry. Black Box Books has produced some very interesting pdfs for old school style retroclones and now we've got another offering from them. Tome Seven: Goetics and Gnostics offers up some very dangerous bits of NPC or player classes culled from the warped mind of Kirt Dankmyer.

There is plenty of off beat stuff in here for ninety five sense, you get the GOETIC MAGE which is basically a mage able to cast spells, wear armor, & cast spells. How does this PC class do this? Well he or she sort of takes a very dangerous infernal or Lovecraftian short cut;"A Goetic Mage uses a dangerous shortcut to arcane power. By invoking various gods and spirits in a very particular way, a Goetic Mage uses divine and demonic power to achieve personal ends. A Goetic Mage is exactly the same as a Cleric, except in seven respects. First, a Goetic Mage is not dedicated to any faith, instead “praying” to a variety of entities, often to force other entities (like Qlippothic demons) to provide them with spells.Second, instead of using the Cleric spell list, a Goetic Mage uses the Magic User spell list and can only use Magic User scrolls. Third, the Prime Attribute for a Goetic Mage is Intelligence. Fourth, a Goetic Mage cannot establish a temple. Fifth, only a Chaotic Goetic Mage can turn undead, using the alternate rule for Chaotic clerics. Sixth, Goetic Magi can never return from death by  any means, not even the most divine magic. Finally, whenever the Goetic Mage prepares spells, casts a spell, or turns the undead, there is a chance that something goes wrong and a Qlippothic Demon worms its way into reality, materializing next to and attacking the Mage. The demon appears 1d6 combat rounds after the action that accidentally summoned it."
They remind me of some hedge wizard/priest types I've seen over the years in a number of games and they can work very well if the campaign calls for it. These mages might be perfect additions into a game of Lamentations of the Flame Princess or as minor cult priest for The Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg.

GRAB IT RIGHT HERE

But the really interesting priest class is the GNOSTIC PRIEST,who is able to do a few very interesting wrinkles  & crazy tricks up their robed sleeves;"A Gnostic Priest uses mundane ritual (arcane magic) to
divine ends. It is a more difficult path than being a Cleric, but it is another way to directly experience the divine.
A Gnostic Priest is exactly the same as a Magic User, except in eight respects. First, instead of using the Magic User spell list, a Gnostic Priest uses the Cleric spell list, though spells are still recorded in a spellbook, a sort of formulaic prayer-book. Second, they may copy clerical scrolls (only) into their book, but can use both Cleric and Magic User scrolls. Third, every time a Gnostic Priest gains a level, they may add a spell to their book of a level they can currently cast. Fourth, a Gnostic Priest cannot progress past 10th level.Fifth, the Prime Attribute for a Gnostic Priest is Wisdom. Sixth, a Gnostic Priest has a percentage chance to resist any hostile divine magic equal -- 3 -- to 3% times their current level. Seventh, a Gnostic Priest may found a temple, exactly like a Cleric. Finally, Lawful Gnostic Priests (only) can turn a Qlippothic Demon like a Cleric would turn an undead being of equivalent hit dice"

Both of these classes can be used for OD&D and this product really does meet the criteria that it sets forth in the blurb. The work here is clever, condensed, and very interesting as well as entertaining. Can I see that the author knows what makes some clever bits and pieces that can easily be used with any number of retroclone systems. But the real heart & soul here is the "RANDOM TABLES TO PRODUCE OVER 288,000 DIFFERENT QLIPPOTHIC DEMONS" What exactly are these entities? Well, according to wiki;"The Qliphoth/Qlippoth/Qelippot or Kelipot (Heb. קְלִיפּוֹת, the different English spellings are used in the alternative Cabalistic traditions^[1] of Hermetic Qabalah and Jewish Kabbalah respectively), literally "Peels", "Shells" or "Husks" (from singular: קְלִיפָה Qliphah/Kelipah "Husk"),^[2] are the representation of evil or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, the polar opposites of the holy Sephirot.^[3] The realm of evil is also termed "Sitra Achra/Ahra" (Aramaic סטרא אחרא, the "Other Side" opposite holiness) in Kabbalah texts."  These unclean and weird spirits are tied intimiately with both character classes and these tables could be used to churn out some pretty horrorific unclean spirits which is perfect for any weird or horror themed OSR game? But are they worth it? I think so and best of all the material here in  Goetics and Gnostics is open game content; "This product uses the OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a (see attached document and/or http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/OGLv1.0a.rtf )
DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT IDENTITY: The names Black Box BookTM and Ivanhoe UnboundTM, including the Ivanhoe Unbound logo, when used in any
context, are product identity, copyright 2015 by Kirt A. Dankmyer. All other artwork is in the public domain. All text that does not directly affect the game rules
for the creatures and classes contained in this document are product identity.
DESIGNATION OF OPEN GAME CONTENT: All game rule text and tables, with the exception of material specifically excluded in the declaration of
product identity, is open game content. Please give up-front credit where it is due, including conforming to the Swords & Wizardry Compatibility-Statement
License (http://www.d20swsrd.com/swords-and-wizardry-srd/legal-information)"
This is really important to me as an OSR hobby author & designer, because I actually like & will be using this material in the future for an upcoming publication. However could  Goetics and Gnostics be used with a product or setting such as Dark Albion? Yes it could be used as a fill gap until Cults & Chaos hits the wild in July or it could be used to represent a foreign wizard or mage if the DM is using OD&D or Swords &Wizardry for a gritty game such as Dark Albion. Basically  Goetics and Gnostics is a set of tools with a very wide range of applications. If you want demons and unclean spirits fast for a game tonight or something different for that class guy whose always got to play something weird or different this might be the pdf for you. Much of the material here is short & too the point but that's fine because it allows the dungeon master & the players to fill in the background as needed.
All I want to see is from  Ivanhoe Unbound   is a collected best of  Black Box Books with a print option so I don't have to keep flipping through pdf after pdf.

Four out of five.

Review & Commentary On Demihuman Delvers, Volume 1 From Ivanhoe Unbound For OD&D, Swords & Wizardry, & Other Retroclone Campaigns

Ivanhoe Unbound is the brainchild of  Kirt Dankmyer & Abigail Hanley and almost close to the opening of 2015 they released Demihuman Delvers, a title that I've always been curious about but have never had the time to really look into. Until now, what this is title is basically is an expansion of the Swords & Wizardry demihuman races
Basically this pdf clocks in at twenty seven pages of optional races for your old school OD&D style games.There are some old favorites here including,  Gnomes, Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, but you also get access to Half-Ogres, Skulks, and the Uldra. Straight out of the gate this book scored points with me because of the Derro right there on the second entry in. These are the screwed up, insane, and highly dangerous murderers of the underworld. The entry on the Derro gives a pretty good idea of the sort of a set up we're going to see in Demihuman Delvers;
"Derro are a degenerate subspecies of dwarves, augmented and twisted by ancient dark magics. Their rough skin is white with bluish undertones and is spotted with short  tufts of coarse hair. Their hair is straight and tends to be tan or pale yellow. Their eyes are a uniform pale yellow in color and glow with a faint sickly yellow light, lacking in both iris and pupil. It is said by some that they were once a servitor race, but now they are slavers themselves, part of a culture of cruelty and greed deep underground. It’s their greed that sometimes drives them from their society into adventuring, a greed for magic and knowledge". This is followed by the twisted dwarf abilities, weaknesses, and more. This also includes an advancement table as well. This brings up a point about this book. Its as much a book  for the DM looking to add in a bit more flavor to his NPC monsters as its a book  to the players who are sick of playing the same old same old races during games. There are even half dyrad to fill out the ranks of player character fey races and the options continue from there. A note about organization, Ivanhoe Unbound doesn't waste space, this is a book that does a job and does it well. Namely filling in a niche for optional PC races that long time players of D&D are familiar with and suiting them to Swords and Wizardry and other retroclones in the OD&D mold.


Another thing about this product from Ivanhoe Ubound, this book feels like its talking to you as the reader. The writer is taking you into his confidence and explaining the 'ins and outs' for his own games and personal campaigns. Let's pick on the half dyrad again here's the author's own house rule for these beings.
House Rule: 'Fairies Wear Boots. The presentation above is meant to be similar to the one in Dragon #109.
Of course, in my own game, if a player wanted to play a male Half-Dryad, or some other gender, I’d allow it. I don’t see woodland fey being bound too tightly by traditional gender roles'
This sort of thing is sprinkled throughout the book and really brings home a sense in how to use these optional races and how to mold them for your own games. Its a nice touch and the voice of the author comes through on that front. I was even surprised to find the Half-Dwarf (Mhul) in the mix here. There are twenty one beings presented in this book and for two dollars you get a wide variety of both tradition and non traditional races to play with. This includes cat beings like the Sekhem who  are the descendants of a cat goddess and her favored priest, with the bodies of cats and the hands, height and minds of humans. This book has a wide smattering of races and options presented for the demihuman heavy dungeon masters. I've played with a few of them and the love of settings like Dark Sun, Planscape, Ravenloft and other second edition worlds.This  means that Planetouched, Aasimar and Planetouched, Tiefling are going to find their way into both Swords & Wizardry games as well as OD&D campaign worlds based on those second edition properties & settings. The house rule blurbs scattered throughout the book seem to try to present options for working these races into a sort of backhanded setting idea or two. The execution for this sort of thing varies but more often then not the author hits the nail on the head with his ideas.
Now with the fact that White Star has hit the market in a big way, and its based on Swords and Wizardry, this is a perfect resource to even out some of the races from back water or primitive worlds. This makes the more exotic races found in this book perfect for populating any number of White Star Worlds. A mix of these could easily represent a whole Federation like organization with lots of mixing and matching going on with another Ivanhoe Unbound product. In this case Five Year Mission is a perfect compliment to the material found in this book. You can read more of my thoughts on this subject on the link.
Many of the races found within Demihuman Delvers would also make excellent foils for a DM looking to create fast exotic alien traders or NPC's for their own games. The book adds just a bit more depth and ideas to keep a DM happy with some very solid footing in a Swords & Wizardry style of book.

Do I think that this is a perfect book? No there are several things about it that set it apart. The fact that  Demihuman Delvers highlights one of the problems with exotic demihumans;  the burden the book presents to the DM to shoehorn some of these races into their own campaigns can be down right problematic. Where to you stick the half giants and what is there relations to the humans, Elves, and Dwarfs. How do the Dwarves feel about the Muls and there are more. These burning questions are going to pull on a DM seeking to use both the traditional races and some of the racial options that this book brings to the table.That being said if your a Swords & Wizardry or D&D player who likes a challenge to play certain exotic D&D races or your a DM who wants to increase the PC creation options then Demihuman Delvers might be right for you!

Reconsidering Five Year Mission From Ivanhoe Unbound For Your Old School Space Operas

Five Year Mission by Ivanhoe Unbound is a great retroclone add on book for any old school B/X or Swords & Wizardry style system. This includes the ever increasing roster of White Star rpg products which the endless community of fans and publishers continues to increase everyday. I've reviewed this product  before.This is a slightly different animal from the pen  Kirt A. Dankmyer because  Five Year Mission 
has expanded. Basically this is a tool kit that allows a DM to expand their OD&D style games or White Star games into a Star Trek Style campaign setting complete with everything.
This includes everything but the Warp drive.  Like many of Ivanhoe Unbound tongue is in cheek but not in a back handed way. The writer loves the material and has cleverly assembled a complete package for extended adventure forays into the great beyond.
 

Everything from astrocrats to the ever present star knight is in Five Year mission. The classes also include : Engineer, Expendable, Guerilla, Sawbones, and Scientist plus more.  Advanced and expanded star ship rules are also presented with a flare for Star Trek Style missions plus a boat load of  Federation style planets; no seriously there are a ton of worlds here expanded upon and fleshed out with thumb nail style overviews for fast play. There's even rules for playing a Data Style PC as well as the usual White Star suspects. This book plays fast and loose with many of the themes of  original series Trek, Next Generation, and the spin off series. This is all done with the usual flare for writing that Kirt has. The book also expands upon the gear, guns, and gats that Star Trek fans are used to.
New Star Ship modifications are included in the game book as well.  This is a nice welcome section to see for a space craft geek like myself. This book could be used with any number of other retroclones as well but more on that in a moment.
There is a ton of alien races described and fleshed out as well, if it was me and I was the author I'd pick the most interesting race and do a splat book there's more then enough for at least three campaigns worth of material this is one of the strengths of this book. The ability to flesh out how a Star Trek ship would exist with the bounds of a Star Wars universe. That basically means that a DM could find out how a ship on a five year mission might react to the evens of a full scale Rebellion era series of events. To turn this around how might a group of White Star adventurers deal with the realities of a Star Trek away mission gone wrong. Basically this book is a giant 'what if ' issue adventure waiting to happen to the DM.  Except this time your Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas. You get to decide what happens in the next hex.
Basically that brings up another important point at the heart and soul of this book, exploration. This isn't simply hex crawling its deep space exploration and we get to see what happened in those missing five year missions because your party is one whose doing it! This whole section gives a terrific overview of the notion of hex crawling as a  complete series of adventures within the bounds  and parameters of star craft exploration of space!
But there's more you get a whole campaign Romulan style neutral zone to play in, called the Contested Zone. There's its history,background, events, planets, enemies and more all waiting to be dropped deep ended into the back end of your campaign. This enables both White Star and Trek style military operation adventures to be carried out right within the bounds of a campaign adventure. The Trek fans will love this series of options.  There's also about twenty worlds sketched here as well just waiting for a series of adventures to take place there and get your PC's into deep amounts of trouble.
With the amount of expanded Trek material out there Five Year mission takes this and blends it down into an old school surrey and serves it up in some very compelling ways.  There are several things on the table that Five Year Mission could be used for. For example this book could be used to create any number of adventures within the bounds of established worlds and expanded Federation style colonies with a dark political bent or a huge number of first contacts. Other missions that this style of book could be used to construct include galactic warfare and expanded alien expansion missions.
 Another idea for a campaign is take regular garden variety Sword and Wizardry adventurers and spin them into failed colonies that require recontact with the Federation style empire of the book. This also leads to the idea that Five Year colony could be used to create a 'Last Ship' style of campaign especially set against the backdrop of a Rebel Rebellion or the rise of an Imperial style presence in the Five Year Mission universe.  A very good example of this sort of a campaign inspiration might be had from another Gene Roddenberry product, in the form of  Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. Five year mission with its White Star roots is a perfect match for this style of campaign. Crew, ship, and ideals are all there waiting to be tapped.  Do I think that Five Year Mission is worth the price of admission? Yes, yes, I do.

Review & Commentary On Five Year Mission From Ivanhoe Unbound For The White Star Rpg System

The White Star rpg has been based on the Swords and Wizardry engine pretty much catters to the pulp and Star Wars style space opera genre. It also has one of the most active and passionate  fan bases imaginable pumping out incredible content for the game as fast as possible. But much of the OSR material for the game has centered around this style of space opera and Star Trek style adventuring has been lacking. And yes there are a number of OSR products and retroclone that meet that need. This isn't what Five Year Mission by Kirt A. Dankmyer is, instead this is an add on tool kit support system for adding in federation style star ships casts and crew to your White Star Games. But Kirt this isn't a complete product, its a product that has some development and the designer/writer wants to share it with you! And at .70 cents can you go wrong?

Grab It Right Over
HERE

Five Year Mission adds in tongue and cheek elements to the game in Kirt's solid writing style and it adds in a whole other dimension to your White Star games. This book adds in all of the usual suspects from Trek to your White Star Games. Think about that all of the usual suspects are now dropped straight into your Space Opera games of White Star. Here's the offical word from Ivanhoe Unlimited:

BUT it will transform into the final product! As more is added, the price will go up! But you'll get the updated version, free of charge!
What is it about? It's a supplement for White Star with a sort of Star Trek theme.
Right now, it contains:

• FIVE (5) new classes: Engineer, Expendable, Guerilla, Sawbones, and Scientist!
• FOUR (4) new racial classes: Exiled Ruler, Living Starship, Quixoitic Alien, and Simulacrum!
• FOUR (4) new starships and THREE (3) new starship modifications, including the Quantum Teleporter!
• FOUR (4) new NPC alien races!
• A handful of other things, mostly equipment!

But let's take this a step further, have you ever wondered about those away missions that have gone wrong during those five years out in the middle of unexplored space? What would happen if some Star Wars style adventurers ran smack into the midst of this business? Well now you can and at .70's cents its easy to get into the back end of the action. Most of the material here is well done and plays out someplace between the original Star Trek series and Next Generation with a combination of the two possible and easily done. Now there are tons of Star Trek expanded universe material out there to use. What Five Year Mission does is saves you half of the head ache of searching for it and hunting through tons of books to locate facts and figures. Five Year Mission isn't complete but its a damn fine start to a promising book that could add a ton of material to the White Star Universe for Old School play. Personally I would get in on the ground floor cheaply and then as things build you the old school DM is ahead of the curve.
There are several other possible uses for Five Year Mission easily right out of the gate. It could be used to emulate those dirty and dangerous failed colonies we used to hear about on Star Trek in both the original series and the Next Generation. Combined with elements already in  White Star this book could simulate a post apocalyptic world or colony. Used to get PC's right smack into the middle of dangerous situations in the wastelands. This book could be used with elements of Swords and Wizardry  added in to simulate elements of science fantasy or monsters who have become mutational horrors reminiscent of some the classic D&D or AD&D modules such as Expedition to the Barrier Peaks. And you've got the makings of a complete campaign for years to come. The possibilities here are endless and its only .70 cents right now. Personally I can see a myriad of uses for this product and as a Star Trek fan this is a welcome addition to the growing White Star universe and family of products

Review and Commentary On The Prodigy (Bard) From Ivanhoe Unbound For Your Old School Campaigns

Kirt Dankmyer is either a madman or a genius or maybe a bit of both, his latest OSR effort is focused on the Bard but this is another take on the class. Music is one of the most powerful forces of life and these PC's are the focal point for that genius. But that same genius damns them as rogues and outcasts. In this you have part of what makes the Prodigy something very special. For that energy that burns brightest within them also burns them out as well and should they stay in one place for too long it can consume their minds and hearts.
 This is only an eight page pdf but it packs a nice punch for a fun roguish adventurer of musical powers and abilities that both can entertain and bring the fun adventure side to this genius. Why do I like the Prodigy? Because its got lots of useful bits and pieces that with the right player could become a perfect vehicle to allow parties to get embroiled in the deep end of country, court life,and urban pseudo European locations. But is that the limit of the class? Not at all, I think that when you start looking into this class it has potential for all kinds of AD&D 1st edition or OSRIC style games.

The layout and artwork is bare bones but that's not why you'll want to get this .98 pdf, instead your getting this as another addition onto the bardic PC class that allows for a roguish genius to be added into your old school games. This is a perfect addition to parties where the elements of a thief can come into play but you get a real PC that burns with the power of music to make a bit of extra coin and entertain as well. But there's a bit of a sleazy element at play here as well, in fact quite a bit of it. This is a class that is at home in the bar room as well as the court. But there's more, because the road is always calling with this class. So where could this class be useful? Well the obvious answer is for the primarily  historical rpg  and adventures but that goes without saying. So anything from the early Stone age  to the Seventeenth century are the realms of the Prodigy, but he could be just as at home in the seedy gin joints of the Roaring Twenties to the sweat halls of today as a DJ. The energy of music is pretty universal and one of the unexplored parts of rogues and thieves especially the guilds is their connections to performers and musicians. Don't believe me well go look at the relations between fences, pawns, and musical instruments. But that's not all, the prodigy could be used as a part of a post apocalyptic adventuring party as well. A way of getting into and welcome by post apocalyptic communities who might otherwise be very hostile to the party of adventurers. Musicians and entertainers are always welcome to the grind and tedious nature of the wastelands but due to the very nature of the PC class they're always going to be on the move.

This same sort of energy and creative crack of musical lightning will also make them welcome in interstellar courts where the nature of the intrigue and FTL makes the prodigy a useful and coveted asset to the courts and court life of a backwater planet. In point of fact the Prodigy is ideally suited as a force of adventuring prowess and focal point for clever DM's to exploit by their very nature. Imagination and exploitation work hand and hand to make this a very interesting and clever way to motivate adventurers into the deep end of the pool. In point of fact with some clever slight of hand a DM could draw higher level Prodigies into full blown courtly intrigues on a grand scale with their weirdly adaptable abilities into a game of White Star or a similar old school space game.Even though this material is for OSRIC a clever DM could easily adapt this class to most of the major retroclones on the market with a bit of slight of hand on their part.
But through all of this is The Prodigy (Bard) From Ivanhoe Unbound worth the money for yet another version of the Bard PC class? Yes I think so because it makes a certain amount of sense to add in a PC class that can and will pull a party out of the mid campaign doldrums and into a high energy as well as high adventure point. And that's exactly what   The Prodigy (Bard) From Ivanhoe Unbound does in spades!

Review of Ivanhoe Unbound's Black Books - Tome Four : Doglocks and Draughts For Your Old School Campaigns

  So recently I received a copy of Black Box Book's latest offering Tome Four Doglocks and Draughts, I was thinking not another black powder rules set for OD&D. Well fortunately its far more then simply that. Doglocks and Draughts is a set of black powder rules of OD&D and Swords and Wizardry retroclone style systems but its more. What this is an expansion of several already readily available black powder rpg systems. This takes the material up to another level by expanding upon the black powder weaponry and then adding in the bonus of weird mundane medicine with some very interesting and potentially weird side effects. The whole bit of OSR weirdness clocks in at about nine pages and remains perfect adaptable to any number of old school style rpg systems. Much of the material reminds me again of stuff that would be available as optional systems to add to OD&D. 

Grab It Right 

HERE

  The material here is concise and easily dropped into any OD&D campaign or pulp style retro clone system. The author does a good job with a no nonsense  approach to the material here that gives the DM all kinds of room to adapt and fold the book into their existing campaigns. Because of the way this is done there is little chance of this material upsetting the balance of existing campaigns. The material here can be used for existing fire arms as the next phase of gun powder weaponry or dropped right into a perfectly timed existing campaign setting.
   In point of fact this material could easily be adapted into a game of Labryth Lord or as a potential expansion of gun powder systems for a game such as the Lamentations of The Flame Princess rpg system. The potential here is to move the time line of the LoFP world to get the most out of Doglocks and Draughts while giving the PC's even more options at the table. But with a game such as LoFP this might make little difference because of the very nature of the 'survival horror' nature of some of the game's adventures. Do I think that this is another worthy down load? Yes I do because it does what its supposed to and without breaking up to much of the DM's time to read or to fit this pdf into their own existing head space and campaigns. Grab this one now and get working within the frame work of your own games and campaigns as well. 

Lamentations of the Napoleonic Princess Campaign Idea

 

So over the weekend I received a copy of Ivanhoe Unbound's Black Box Books Tome Four: Doglocks and Draughts HERE. This was the same weekend that the LoFP Reference book was released for free HERE And with the recent passing of my friend Charlie this passed week I've been thinking about all of the ideas that passed across the sand tables down in Torrington and Litchfield Ct. in various friend's homes. Napoleon for better or worse changed the world in ways that we can scarcely imagine. The scale of this man's achievements were incredible, monstrous, and on an epic as well as grand scale. Genocide was common and the cost of his endeavors was enormous in both human life and economic scale.  These battles changed the face of the world.  Is it any wonder that given such circumstances that my mind turns to using this real world history as the basis for a an alternative world approach using the horrific and weird Lamentations of The Flame Princess rpg as the basis for such a campaign. 

There's a ton of free resources out there and you might want to start with Wiki's list right over HERE

The first French empire stretched across the world and you can beat your bottom dollar that given the scope and the military machine of  Napoleon's army that thousands of minor tribes, peoples, villages, towns, etc. were wiped out without a second thought. Now given the weird lens of LoFP's history this becomes an even bigger and far more warped time of history to use.
Here's chart of the First French Empire at its height from Wiki.

Now you can damn well bet that this is an era that would allow the forces of adventurers and mercenaries a perfect opportunity to go into areas where the weird is still the rule. Given the updated time scale this might pose a problem with fire arms and the like. Not really at all. Given that the empire worked from 1804 to 1814 with the world in turmoil. This is a perfect time to exploit the horrors and high weirdness raging across Europe, the Middle East, and all kinds of  foreign entanglements happening in Russia.
Note that this would definitely be a humancentric campaign. Elves, Dwarves, etc. might be only seen as occasional NPC's. 

But surely we can't play mercenaries in such a campaign setting? Well there were all kinds of Europeans and others employed by Napoleon's army more information about right over HERE


The kit and parcel of the army's weaponry might be perfectly aligned with Tome Four: Doglocks and Draughts which expands the scope and range of firearms for the OD&D class of games but also adds some bits as well for this campaign idea. 

Review and Commentary on Black Box Books -- Tome Three: Cannibals and Confusion From Ivanhoe Unbound For Your Old School Science Fantasy Campaigns

Grab It Right
HERE

  Science fantasy is a hard one to really classify and but there have been some writers of incredible exception and Clark Aston Smith is one of my all time favorites & this eight page swords and wizardry supplement covers all of the basics for creature design and designation. Black Box Books seems to cover some of the most esoteric OD&D style angles of content that I've seen from the OGL. The monsters have a myriad of uses and are right up the Weird Tales sort of a alley. These are meant to be dropped right into an existing Swords and Wizardry or Labyrinth Lords style of adventure. The Avatar of Mordiggiel is from the Clark Aston Smith story The Charnal God, as well as the Clergy of Mordiggiel. These are presented with a concise and condensed background that a DM expects from Swords & Wizardry. The Graedigg, is a nasty piece of work just waiting to devour your adventurers. And the Akephalos are the monsters from myth and legend, and pretty much in line with the mythology of these horrors right HERE.
  Then we get another clan of nasty and dangerous cannibals that are straight out of Icelandic or a frozen landscape. Wrathful emanations are a sort of dreamlike monsters who resemble their creators. Something akin to a monster which seems one part Doctor Strange comic book spell and one part legendary myth. These things can kill with intent of the cleric or spell caster and can be used for a variety of taboo or weird in game effects. 
Finally we get a weird little take on Chaos magic which is perfect for a cleric or wizard devoted to a chaos god or goddess random magical insanity and decadence. Think something akin to a weird or more sinister  So does  Cannibals and Confusion From Ivanhoe Unbound lives up to the hype? Here is the break down, for a dollar and one cent you get a whole mess of pulp style weirdness to drop straight into your Swords & Wizardry or OD&D campaign or your favorite retro clone role playing system. Because of the mix of mythological and pulpy goodness this is a perfect little convention set of monsters and magick to drop into your favorite old school campaigns. To be perfectly honest,this set of weirdness inspired by Clark Aston Smith might work in a set of adventures set in a customized or loosely based Smithian set of adventures. Is it worth the price and set up of the whole pdf? I think so, it reminds me of those other small 70's and early 80's style Old dungeons and dragons style fanzines that used to make the rounds back in the days of legend & yor. There's even a few options for printing out this product into a handy fold away pamphlet style booklet for easy small handy Seventies take away for your old school campaigns.  All in all this one has a ton of uses. 

 All of these monsters and spells can be used to enhance any number of areas from a great campaign up change in the post apocalyptic wastelands to the use in a Clark Aston Smith style dungeon location where you need any number of weird or more then slightly strange horrors to stalk as well as feed on your adventurers. Do I think that this one is worth the download? Without a doubt this little add on puts a more then slightly sinister spin on your old school campaigns with an OD&D addition of weirdness to your campaigns. 

Review Of Black Box Books -- Tome Two: Buffoons And Blasters For Your Old School Campaigns

Another offering from Black Box Books that takes the science fantasy PC's in an adventuring group in another direction and offers up a few science fantasy artifacts that can be added into the DM's toybox for adventure design or for use as 'treasure' but like all things there is an element of adventure design. 

So as they they say on with the show! 

There are times in a science fantasy campaign when you need a buffoon or a jester style character especially in  Swords and Wizardry or OD&D style game. A bit of buffoonery goes a long way towards keeping a party of adventurers and cut throats alive. Well it looks like Black Box Book has released another in its like of  old school science fantasy weirdness with Black Box Books -- Tome Two: Buffoons And Blasters

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HERE 

This is a weird little download which features a pretty interesting mix of PC classes and artifacts for Swords and Wizardry or any old school campaign focusing on an OD&D style campaign. This pdf features many of the same old fashion conventions that Kirt A. Dankmyer visited in Astronauts and Ancients namely the idea of a pdf that can be folded into a pocket sized booklet for easy of use at the gaming table. 

The real draw here are the character classes and there are three rather unusual takes on the classic OD&D style Jester classes.  Kirt gets into the meat and potatoes of a 'funny' man class with the these three. 

• The CLOWN-MONK, this is an interesting take on the traditional monk that takes on the idea of one who uses comedy as some to allow his audience to move further along on the path of enlightenment 
• The FOOLE, a combination of funnyman & jester with a scattering of magical abilities who uses random magic and dumb luck to befuddle his opponents 
• The HECKLER, could Don Rickles be a space adventurer who uses insults to disorient and deal distractions to his opponents? This class answers this question in spades.  But fortunately they have plenty of hit points and some very interesting abilities to compensate as well. 

The classes are well balanced and concise in their execution while hitting the high notes of the the material. Are these classes useful? Yes but they are specialized in what they can do in a science fantasy or space opera setting. They could be used in a post apocalyptic wasteland with little problem but in point of fact this might actually be one of the proper places to really explore the potential of such classes. All in all this is a solid set of well done classes. There are smattering of toys and artifacts that would fit the bill in a number of science fiction or fantasy venues. These are well done and highly detailed but there is a complain its just that I wish that there were stats for OSRIC or AD&D 1st edition. All in all this is very well done and very nicely executed addition to a science fantasy DM's arsenal and a must have for a DM wanting to add a bit of that baggy pants of comedy to help with the survive of a party survive in space, in the wasteland, and other venues of adventure weirdness.  

Review Of Black Box Books -- Tome One: Astronauts And Ancients From Ivanhoe Unbound For Your Old School Campaigns

Black Box Books has produced some very interesting pdfs for old school style retroclones and now we've got another offering from them. This one is Tome One Astronauts and Ancients. This covers the Greys and Reptile men of UFO lore as well as using them both as PC races for the  Swords & Wizardry retroclone rpg system. This little product packs a ton of material into its nine pages of material. The ideas here are clever and very original. Damn it I wanted to avoid using these guys in an upcoming campaign but this is a really nice little product and Ivanhoe games has even incorporated in a pocket version for print out and booklet folding for a product that looks like it was dropped right out of the Seventies or early 80's.

GRAB IT RIGHT

HERE

Kirt A. Dankmyer is a clever author and knows how to put out an original and weirdly entertaining product. Do I want to used these guys? Well that is my bench mark test for a gaming product and the answer is yes I'm definitely using these guys coming up. With a cost of only .98 cents this is a no brainer for download. This booklet simply presents the basics for these races and with games like Carcosa and other science fantasy retroclones adventures this is one piece of  gaming goodness that goes a long way. 

According to the Drivethru rpg blurb : 

BOTH the GREYS and the SERPENT FOLK are magic-oriented, with SPELLBOOKS BURNED ON THEIR BRAINS!

IVANHOE UNBOUND is PROUD to present these TWO NEW RACES for SWORDS AND WIZARDRY WHITEBOX or ANY OTHER OLD SCHOOL GAME based on the 1974 three booklet version of the WORLD-FAMOUS RPG whose name rhymes with "TRUNCHEONS AND FLAGONS!"

AND SPEAKING OF BOOKLETS, this supplement comes in POCKETMOD FORMAT. Print out a SINGLE PIECE OF PAPER which can be TRANSFORMED with FOLDS and a single cut into a TINY EIGHT PAGE BOOKLET with EVERYTHING YOU NEED to use these two races in your OSR game!

And this product really does meet the criteria that it sets forth in the blurb. The work here is clever, condensed, and very interesting as well as entertaining. Can I see that the author knows what makes some clever bits and pieces that can easily be used with any number of retroclone systems. All in all this has been a really nice little download to grab and it actually does live up to it's hype in the rpg site descriptions. Grab this one and add a bit more science fantasy strangeness to your dungeons and adventure locations. Highly recommended!