OSR Review & Commentary On “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” From Skirmisher Publishing For Your School Game Campaign

 "Welcome to “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” the seventeenth entry in Skirmisher Publishing’s popular and bestselling series of system-free sourcebooks dedicated to inspiring rich stories and spicing up encounter areas with exciting curiosities! 

“100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair” draws on the long spanning multicultural tradition of Vampire myth-telling across the world and, of course, the plentiful body of literature and films that feature them. This supplement is dedicated to the places where Vampires lurk and focuses on the horrors that accompany the denizens of their lairs and provides enough detail on each to bring them to life (so to speak). "

“100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” is a system agonistic tool kit from Skirmisher Publishing for dressing up your adventures or old school encounters. Vampires are the focus & one thing to remember is that vampires can be some of the most dangerous thinking NPC monsters in old school games. These undead can come in many varieties. The  Ravenloft campaign setting for Advanced Dungeons & Dragon 1st & 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons have weaponized the vampire. 
Here we have “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” which helps to dress up a vampire's lair within 18 pages with a handful of dice. “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,”  is a great addition for a DM's tool box for creating a vampric NPC villain's base of operation. And for a classic dungeon master there's the Dragon magazine article from The Dragon October 1979 #30 'Good Evening' By Lenard Lakofka .

Reference photo taken from Wayne's Books. 

“100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” works really well with  the Dragon magazine article from The Dragon October 1979 #30 'Good Evening' By Lenard Lakofka  for creating base or lair, contents, and even perhaps secondary options for adventures & encounters.  So not only can “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” be remote lairs & adventure locations but also lairs in modern cities or fantasy city locations.  “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” goes fast & loose enough to be used with a wide variety of rpg products.  So if we want to take the route of  the Call of Cthulhu rpg  with “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” then there's another Skirmisher Publishing product we can use their classic 'Mythos Society Guide to New England'.  Which goes into the history of vampires in Rhode Island. 

Is there another OSR use for “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,” to use this book to generate vampire lairs with Elf Lair Publishing Night Shift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars. 

“100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,”  From Skirmisher Publishing is agonistic set of tables & reference pieces that brings  that brings home the idea that home & lair are easily the central point of an old school & modern encounter. You can use “100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,”  From Skirmisher Publishing to dress your dungeons or modern encounters. Its easily worth the down load 

“100 Oddities for a Vampire Lair,”  From Skirmisher Publishing Is Available Right Here 

Retooling the Free L5B: The Kroten Adventures by Lenard Lakofka (Author) For An OSR Sword & Sorcery Campaign

 This blog post is going to pick right up from where the last blog post left off. And we pick up with the fact that in Hyperborea, the Koaten region is actually a place that has been transported from Greyhawk over to Hyperborea. But how & why are lost to legend & its simple as that. From here the campaign can easily kick into high gear. 

L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide is essential for what we're gonna talk about today.  This is the Kroten Campaign Guide for the L5 module, providing information on the town of Kroten and the surrounding area. L5B fits right into the classic AD&D first edition vibe; The L5B  Adventures  is the second in a three book set:
L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide
L5B: The Kroten Adventures (this file)
L5C: The Kroten Campaign Companion

 

Classic AD&D author Len Lakofka provides everything we need to what is essentially the bread basket to the Hyperborea setting & this setting needs to be placed in an area of relatively stable volcano ridden land. The rich farm land provides for 'The Downs' of previous blog entries with all of the farm produce it needs.  L5B: The Kroten Adventures  is the Kroten Adventures manual for the L5 module, providing five adventures in an around the town of Kroten on the Lendore Isles. The Lenore Isles are not some back water providence on Hyperborea but a mini country within the Hyperborean campaign setting all with its own peoples, adventures, and government. Think of this as a sort of 'little Greyhawk'. 

The royals on Kroten on the Lendore Isles while paying lip service & taxes to the Hyperborean capital yearly are mostly independent. And the Hyperborean capital doesn't care. The Lendore Isles are convenient  scapegoats for both privateers & pirates. Those are all,' Lendore Isles matters'. Very provincial & no real concern to the Hyperborea crown. 
Traditional AD&D first edition monsters in  the Lendore Isles? No problem because these are isolated isles. So the demi human  races & monster species are on their own The town of Restenford is inherited by the settlers on Hyperborea.  They literally moved in after the 'Green Death' plague took out the Hyperboreans! The feel of the Kroten Campaign Guide is one of almost Walesh Arthurian England but with a twist up of Sword & Sorcery in the mix. 

Trade is the life blood to the Lendore Isles because of the incredibly dangerous & alien Winters of Hyperborea. The  Lendore Isles are a slice & call back to Greyhawk within the Hyperborean seas. 

The residents of the Kroten area  are aware of some of the rich deposits of gems around these volcanoes. But they are also aware of the legends of salmanders, effreeti, and other plane of fire horrors. This leads to legends of a gate way to the plane of fire. Something that Dwarves of the Kroten area know about! 
These 'Dwarves' are all too aware of the ancient Dwarves of Hyperborea who once used them as slaves & worse according to legend. They stay far off the radar of these creatures because the Dwarves will be used for slaves or even their souls becoming  material as a part of some magical artifact. 

The seas  around Kroten is a haven for privateers who use the place as a landing area for their smuggling activities. And they often take a gnome or Dwarven warrior aboard who goes out into the world to act as a spy for their people. Most of the human population is well aware that Hyperborea is a dangerous world of sword, sorcery, & super science. They are pretty thankful that the greater Hpyerborean  world leaves them alone. Or does it? Next time we dive deeper still into L5B: The Kroten Adventures. 

The Free L5B: The Kroten Adventures by Lenard Lakofka is available right here. 

Retooling the Free L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide by Lenard Lakofka (Author) For An OSR Sword & Sorcery Campaign

 "This manual describes the Town of Kroten and the nearby area, which is located on Lendore Isle in the World of Greyhawk. Details include nomenclature used by the author, world background, and local features. Also included is a detailed description of the Town of Kroten, excepting three key areas: The Fane of Syrul, the Fane of Pyremius, and the Castle Kroten itself. These areas are described in L5B: The Kroten Adventures."

This blog post picks right  up where our last blog post left off &  picks up with the free L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide by  Lenard Lakofka from Dragon's foot here.  We established that the The Downs might be Sword & Sorcery Arthurian England with splash of H.P. Lovecraft & Clark Ashton Smith.  And this means that Koaten region is actually a place that has been transported from Greyhawk over to Hyperborea. The town of Restenford is inherited by the settlers on Hyperborea.  They literally moved in after the 'Green Death' plague took out the Hyperboreans! The Kroten Campaign Guide provides the DM with information on the L5 module;"
This is the Kroten Campaign Guide for the L5 module, providing information on the town of Kroten and the surrounding area." And it also gives detailed information on the following; 
This manual is the first in a three book set:
L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide (this file)
L5B: The Kroten Adventures
L5C: The Kroten Campaign Companion
This details the region around Kroten but its actually U1 Sinster Secret of Saltmarsh  written by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull. This module provides the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea with the town of Restenford is also a great town for making Saltmarsh the unsavory sub village where all of the sea scum hang out. The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh written by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull is the perfect add on for  L1 'The Secret of Bone Hill' by Lenard Lakofka.

And this makes  the Kroten Campaign Guide an excellent free download to add to a  Astonishing SWordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg campaign. The feel of the Kroten Campaign Guide is one of almost Walesh Arthurian England but with a twist up of Sword & Sorcery in the mix.  The  last time we talked about the Hyperborean vaults below 'The Downs' & some of their impact on the kingdom's future fortunes. Could the Kroten Campaign  have something similar?! The idea here is that Greyhawk in the past may have played host to a Hyperborean colony in the past. 
Half of my campaign version of Hyperborea's population came from Greyhawk from one of the many horrid disasters of that plagued that campaign setting. 

The real secret might be the dangers  that the volcanoic areas around   the Kroten area itself. The residents of the Kroten area  are aware of some of the rich deposits of gems around these volcanoes. But they are also aware of the legends of salmanders, effreet, and other plane of fire horrors. This leads to legends of a gate way to the plane of fire. Something that Dwarves of the Kroten area know about.  But the seas  around Kroten is a haven for privateers who use the place as a landing area for their smuggling activities. 

What really makes seas the Kroten area so dangerous is the abundance of undersea volcanoes. Not only do these claim more then one ship in the area. But also the fact that there are cities of Deep Ones & their cults in the area. Next time we dive below the surface to talk about some of the major factions of Kroten. 

The Free L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide by Lenard Lakofka is available right here. 

Retooling L1 'The Secret of Bone Hill' by Lenard Lakofka (Author) For An OSR Sword & Sorcery Campaign

 
"Danger lurks in the Lendore Isles. Bands of evil creatures prowl the hills overlooking the town of Restenford, seeking unwary victims. Now you have come to this sleepy little village looking for adventure and excitement. You seek to fathom the unexplored reaches of Bone Hill and unlock the mysteries of Restenford."



Dreams are funny things & last night there was this dream about L1 'The Secret of Bone Hill' by Lenard Lakofka. Personally about 90% of the time Len doesn't get half of the credit he deserves in old school gaming. Let's get the history of L1 out of the way here;" L1: "The Secret of Bone Hill" (1981) is the first adventure in Lenard Lakofka's "Lendore Isle" trilogy. It was published in 1981" Fantastic but how does any of this relate to the Downs from our previous blog entry on  N3 'Destiny of Kings' By Stephen Bourne?! Well its got everything to do with it! The Downs might be Sword & Sorcery Arthurian England with splash of H.P. Lovecraft & Clark Ashton Smith. Then 'L1 The Secret of Bone Hill' by Lenard Lakofka is the mythic Icelandic & pirate venture throw in together. The town of Restenford with a bit of redressing could easily become the perfect pirate venture location for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. If we're talking about Icelandic fishing villages here why are you showing a Neolithic Italian village below?! The reasons are two fold, one is the melting pot of cultures that is this country. Remember Hyperborea is a place of the 'lost' as well refugee  settlers from 'Old Earth'. 

The photo is by Giuale - Own work of the  Reconstruction of the Neolithic village of Travo

This is a photo of a monument which is part of cultural heritage of Italy. This monument participates in the contest Wiki Loves Monuments Italia 2016. 

The second reason is the fact that the town of Restenford is inherited by the settlers of the town. They literally moved in after the 'Green Death' plague took out the Hyperboreans. The town of Restenford is also a great town for making Saltmarsh the unsavory sub village where all of the sea scum hang out. The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh written by Dave J. Browne with Don Turnbull is the perfect add on for  L1 'The Secret of Bone Hill' by Lenard Lakofka.

The royal linage of the kingdoms of Dunador control rich volcanic fields of ' The Downs' and the rich fishing grounds of the town of Restenford. But there's a bit of a secret to these kingdoms. Ship building, raiding, and much more but its the merchant trading that the town of Restenford's coffers full. The royal linage of the kingdoms of Dunador look the other way on a bit of privateering. But its the literal hundreds of trade ships that get get sent out & come into the port that keeps the coffers of the kingdom full. Sure you've got to have Sword & Sorcery action in Hyperborea. But there has to be places of stability amid the Lovecraftian chaos. 

Now last time we talked about the Hyperborean vaults below 'The Downs' & some of their impact on the kingdom's future fortunes. But let's kick it up a notch for a moment if these first or even fourth level PC's are assigned to a trading vessel & go out into the world then the events around the 'U series' of modules can unfold right when they get back! The Alchemist is actually a lich that's been operating for years in the town of Restenford & he's been stoking the fires between the Deep Ones & the tribes of Lizardmen. 

Why?! Because of AS&SH's planar connections with Greyhawk of course! Greyhawk plays a key part in this whole affair. Half of my campaign version of Hyperborea's population came from Greyhawk from one of the many horrid disasters of that plagued that campaign setting. 

And yes there's a ton of Len's world on Dragon's foot for free. Sometimes a DM doesn't want to overwhelm his players with all of that yet. We'll get those next week. 

In Memorum For TSR Writer, Wargamer, & Module Designer Lenard "Len" Lakofka (1944-2020)

 


Well, Lenard "Len" Lakofka (1944-2020) has passed & we had the odd email here & there. He was a very nice & personable person whose works always graced my table. He was one of the original TSR alumni & pioneers of the original Dungeons & Dragons leading right next to other greats. 
 L1 The Secret of Bone Hill is in my opinion the essential Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh module. Len on the other hand did a Hell of a lot for the OSR through the release of L4 Devil Spawn &  L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide. 

I found Len Lakofka's modules solid & were well recieved at the table top with my players. There isn't a month that went by when I didn't look forward to his  monthly feature, Leomund's Tiny Hut, appeared in Issue #30 of 'The Dragon'. The Dragon issue 30 was released in October of 1979 & Its October 23, 2020 that Len passed. Pass the dice, miss the player, another one us has left the table. Rest in peace Lenard "Len" Lakofka you will be missed at our table tonight. All my best, condolences, & respects to the  Lakofka family this evening.