Reviews & Commentary Lesser Gnome's Creature Catalog From Lesser Gnome Games For Your Old School Campaign

Once again I'm late to the party with Lesser Gnome's Creature Catalog From  Lesser Gnome, 

this is a twenty -two page monster filled pdf harvested from their adventure, the majority have their own original illustrations by Lloyd Metcalf. Includes creature's sections from adventures including: Whisper & Venom, Bird of a Feather, & The First Sentinel. Given the fact that these are Lesser Gnome's spin on some familiar monsters, they each have some rather unique properties. The layout is solid and well put together, the monsters interesting and easily put into any old school adventure but this is a case where the adventure should be built around the monster.



The monsters are done in a style that echoes and emulates the old Monster Manual style without aping it. Most if not all of the stats here are done for Labyrinth Lord and easily adaptable to your favorite rpg system including Lamentations of the Flame Princess. These monsters should be used sparingly because of the twists and kinks put into them. Examples of these sorts of creatures include this lovely little nasty; "The Byrgh, or rubbish crab, is a crustacean that lives amidst the filth of caves. Byrghs are usually found near cave/
cavern entrances. Unless in mortal peril they never venture above ground. Byrghs are generally found in groups of 5-7 individuals sharing a single nest. The nests are made from whatever cast off items or refuse the Byrghs scavenge"  Basically these are the type of horrors that players are going to remember and used correctly not the type of thing their going to want to encounter again. Favorites of mine include the Murkbeast, The Nexid demon kind, and Gaunt Swept Scavenger among the many others in this book. There's a bit of an other worldly quality to these horrors and they'd fit right into a sword and sorcery or a Lovecraftian horror fest. Is this pdf a big advertisement for Lesser Gnome products? Most assuredly and they do deliver a quality piece of an adventure or monster.
Basically this is a pdf that show cases some solidly done and well thought out horrors many of which can be applied to a wide variety of settings and adventure venues. Given the fact that these horrors have been created for the Labyrinth Lord retroclone game systems they're easily adaptable across the board and this includes Mutant Future's D&D back game Mutants & Mazes. Which is something that doesn't often seem to get mentioned or forgotten by other bloggers. Why this is I have no idea because it makes many of the retroclone and monsters easily adaptable across the board. This is a fact that I've often employed at the table numerous times. This makes Lesser Gnome's Creature Catalog a bit more flexible & do I think you should download it? Yes its worth your time and effort. A four out of five free download in my humble opinion.

Review And Commentary On The FREE OSR PDF: Underworld Lore The Occult Issue #4 By Gorgon Milk and Co.For Your Old School Sword and Sorcery Campaign

So I'm always on the look out for another OSR resource or two, sometimes things slip under the radar case in point is this issue of Underworld Lore. Underworld Lore issue #4 focuses on the OSR occult in a  sort of 'Crowley by way of Ringling Brothers and Barnaby Circus' vibe, this is an issue that crosses into the gonzo and back again in several articles. Alright it crosses over into the gonzo and has a toe in the OSR occult multiple times. But in a good way, you know that sort of discovering that the neighbors had a really cool occult reference book that you happen to find at the local tag sale.
You can download it right over HERE

So what makes this issue so valuable right around this time of year? There a metric ton here of resources, like the first article. Did you ever wonder about those three gods on the artwork in back of the 1st edition AD&D Deities and Demigods book? Yeah me too!
Those folks watching over the entire proceedings? Well wonder no more. The article 'Three Dead Gods' by Gavin Norman goes into exactly who and what  these entities are. For use with any old school campaign.
















 Then there's a well done demon generator by  using D6's and D30's and besides you can never have to many demon generators and given the Halloween season its a pretty natural fit. Christian Sturke does a nice job with this generator and its got some amazing possibilities especially for a sword and sorcery game such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea or Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

Michael Raston gives us Lam in which the article details on Lam, how to summon Lam, and possible results of said summoning. Believe me your old school campaigns will never be the same again when Lam appears.
We get a pretty damn complete interview with Paolo Greco, author of the Chthonic Codex and some nice details about this OSR product. There are few bits and details on the product if your looking to learn more about the product.  Obscure Sources of Occult Power is a really stand out artitcle,  a d12 table of unusual magic items which is perfect for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Many of these items are shall we say unique and rather classy! Mezzoglunes is an adventure location by James Garrison & 

Greg Gorgonmilk which details a d12 table of psychic real estate accessible to mortals only through the act of dreaming. There's a ton of OSR adventure location potential in this article for any number of OSR games in which the details of Lovecraft's Dreamlands or some other dreaming world is used. Plenty going on under the hood to keep this adventure location going for months.  Arcane Accommodations is a d30 table of magical dwellings for your favorite wizard or other unusual magical practitioner. I had a hand in this table but completely forgot that I did so. Anyhow this table has potential for Lamentations, AS&SH, and lots of other games where a wizard's domicile is needed. This also includes the post apocalyptic world where wizard's having unusual lairs is the norm and not the exception.

Finally we get into a whole lot of trouble with the Delver's Dictionary an article of strange slang terms and weird words of adventurer's vocabulary by Greg Gorgonmilk & Matthew W. Schmeer. These will be creeping into your adventures regardless if you want them too or not. Finally we get a look at  The Thief 's Plan for Salvation by Christian Sturke which is damn well done. I also have to love the vintage adds and real world adds in this issue along with the pinups and what not.
All in all this is a good issue if you as the DM want to add a bit more occult zip into your campaigns. Nothing here is particularly Earth or campaign shattering but there's enough here to work with to create a perfect sword and sorcery old school campaign and even perhaps link it back upon itself to create a modern/OSR adventure that could be run back to back with each other.

Reconsidering YS1 The Outpost of the Outer Ones From Jeremy Reaban For Your Old School Campaigns

The big problem that I see a lot of folks having on G+ is the time factor and the fill in game between adventures and levels for PC's. Given the the time of year that it is I started to look for a science fantasy/horror stop gap adventure, something with the Lovecraftian themes and the weird horror aspect of Lovecraft. YS1 The Outpost of the Outer Ones From Jeremy Reaban is a pay what you want adventure that ticks all of the boxes and its only twenty pages! Fast, simple, and very well put together the Mi Go are one of my favorite alien races of the Mythos. I've already reviewed this module in detail. 
Today I'm going to talk about actually using this module as a convention style set up for a Halloween get together. This module doesn't come across as a horror or investigative adventure instead this is a straight up dungeon crawl.  


The Set Up right out of the gate could be based on the rumors that the adventure provides :
"Graveyards have been dug up and the bodies removed. But only recent burials.  Local farmers have been reporting their haystacks  have been getting up and walking away at night. A ranger has mentioned hearing strange buzzing sounds coming from the woods at night.  Old Gwen (a local witch) has gone missing from her  cabin in the woods.A group of creepy looking men have been asking about the strange occurrences in the woods, and muttering something about a yellow sign. Hope they  don't mean the Golden Dryad, my favorite tavern." None of these are going to give a damn thing away about the rest of the crawl at all. This module is a bit light on the traditional treasure but get's into far more dangerous things. This module is meant for levels six through ten depending upon what OSR rules set your using. It's meant for OSRIC or Labyrinth Lord, it could be used with Lamentations of the Flame Princess but there will have to be some adjustments where necessary.
I've used this module a number of times with Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, the module puts the PC's center stage with the horrors from Yuggoth and brings things to a head quite nicely. The reason why I chose AS&SH with The Outpost of the Outer Ones is quite simple. AS&SH is damn close to OSRIC and the stats are easily adaptable between the two games. AS&SH actually features a version of the Mi Go close enough to this adventure so that transitions and conversion is a snap.
There is a sense with this dungeon crawl that your adventurers are going to be taken for a wild ride into what essentially amounts to a weird, gonzo and very isolated crawl in the claws & lairs of the Mi Go. This modules goes over the author's style of them in spades and the module could be used as a fun little crawl with White Star or even Stars Without Number but level adjustments and some mathematics might be involved. Knowledge of the mythos isn't going to help your PC's at all. This is the author's take on the Mi Go and in places it's quite original. This module could be used with Dungeon Crawl Classics but it would take a good deal of wrap around or a copy of Call of Cthulhu D20. The PC's are going to need a great deal of luck and skill to survive this one. Can this module also work for other games? Easily this module could be adapted to X plorers, or as medium style game for Hulks and Horrors, your fancy sci fi technology isn't going to help you with the Mi Go folks.

1d6 Random Encounters With The Dread Mi Go Table For Your Old School Campaigns

The Mi Go are one of Lovcraft's most recognizable alien races and yet can be encountered just about anywhere including the wastelands. They are horrific and very dangerous often seeking rare or weird mineral specimens in the deepest parts of the wastes. These horrors often have their own secret and esoteric alien agenda when adventurers encounter them. They may try to subdue the party to implant their brains in the alien metal cylinders that they use.

“For the things in the chair, perfect to the last, subtle detail of microscopic resemblance - or identity - were the face and hands of Henry Wentworth Akeley.”
― H.P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness: Collected Stories Volume 1
Mi Go war parties encountered in the field are often on a mission and will engage with adventurers  rarely. They have a twenty percent chance of perusing some wizard or other magic user, the psychic and occult energies of individuals attracts them. The Mi Go often murder folks for their brains and place them in the metal brain cylinders that they are so fond of.

1d6 Random Encounters With Mi Go Table

1. A clutch of 1d8 Mi Go has found a rich vein of some sort of weird radioactive mineral created from  the remains of various humans caught within an atomic explosive device. They will be using it to power their forbidden alien devices and their quite aggressive. 
2. There is aura of telepathic calm that acts as a charm spell, there is a 1d8 Mi Go surgical warrior team ready to take out anyone that they meet. They're building a new faster then light bio mechanical psionic space craft and they need brains and fast. The Mi Go are choosing brain material by volume for their alien project. 
3. A Mi Go fifth level dark priest is looking for sacrifice victims and clone material. There is a an assault team of 1d4 2nd level warriors armed with laser stunning crystals that does 2d6 +1 points of damage temporary damage in a twenty foot radius. There are brain cylinders and clone banks standing by. 
4. A swarm of 1d10 Mi Go are holding dark rites to summon a Lovecraftian demon to the local space time continuum for an alien agenda. They have set up a hyperspace gate filled with "mathematically-perfect music" near a group of standing stones. Anyone who wanders within a radius of ten to twenty feet must save vs device or be hurled 1d10 light years to another alien solar system. 
5. A group of 1d8 3rd level fighters and agents belonging to the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign are in the area with 1d4 2nd level dark priests to bring down to the area a very nasty aspect of Hastur to the local area. They have set up two very large psychic bio crystals to pull in all of the negative pseudo emotions of the area to 'gate' this horror into the area but its not too late! 
6. 1d8 2nd level  Grey warriors are in the area looking to trade psychic crystals with the stolen minds of some of the locals with their Mi Go  dark priest masters who are here to harvest the flesh they need for an alien bio construct. The reasons for the thing are unknown.

If the Mi Go are encountered on temperate or Earth like worlds there is a 20% chance of parties encountering their Grey servants who will often be armed with alien energy weapons of their own construction. Grey often construct gateways to Yuggoth for their dark masters for easier access to the local environs. Mi Go encountered in wilderness settings are often more aggressive and dangerous then those operating within

Yuggoth... is a strange dark orb at the very rim of our solar system... There are mighty cities on Yuggoth—great tiers of terraced towers built of black stone... The sun shines there no brighter than a star, but the beings need no light. They have other subtler senses, and put no windows in their great houses and temples... The black rivers of pitch that flow under those mysterious cyclopean bridges—things built by some elder race extinct and forgotten before the beings came to Yuggoth from the ultimate voids—ought to be enough to make any man a Dante or Poe if he can keep sane long enough to tell what he has seen...
—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Whisperer in Darkness"

Review and Commentary on The Castle Gargantua Adventure From Kabuki Kaiser For Your Old School Campaigns

There are mega dungeons, mega adventure locations, then there's Castle Gargantua a gigantic sprawling location with incredible campaign exploration potential straight out of the twisted fairy tales of the early days! This is one of those magical locations that sets up everything straight out of the the gate, I mean everything there are remours tables for each of the playable races about the castle, rooms, weird events, etc.. But what is the set up for the adventure location: "Whoever built Castle Gargantua is long gone. It could have been a
mad wizard. He would have been called Gargantua and lived in a tower looming over the castle. Or it could have been a giant so tall that when his shadow was cast, people thought it was the night falling; a giant so primeval that he could barely be distinguished from nature itself, his feet like the trunks of sequoia trees—a primeval ur-giant from a time bygone. Since your players will roll for rumors known by their  characters, they will come with their own version. Let them, just  remember that whatever created this place, it's gone.Time has passed since its creator vanished and the castle has been plundered several times. There's nothing much left of its original riches and most of its legendary monsters have been dispatched by  past heroes. An awful lot of adventurers and bandits still roam the castle halls, often butchering each other and shaping opposed factions where they’ve taken over. In many areas, these ruffians are the real threat. In other places, lingering Chaos magic has turned harmless critters, animals, and normally trivial monsters into gruesome gigantic creatures in proportion with the castle."
This place is sprawling, massive, and incredibly complex as large as the Empire State building and the design here is tight. Basically this is a mega dungeon is the love child if David Lynch and The Brothers Grim had sex and Tim Burton was the nurse maid. Then raised the same adventure location and its made to be cross compatible with almost all OSR system, well not quite. It's made to be cross compatible with Labyrinth Lord, Labyrinth Lord Advanced, and Lamentations of the Flame Princess. And its made to be different each and every time because the burden to roll up the contents of the place are on sort of on the DM but this is in keeping with the DYI D&D aesthetic of the OSR authors. Lay out here is top notch, maps and cartography are by Dyson Logos, lots and lots of art throughout the adventure.
Grab It Right Over HERE


Here's the thing this adventure goes with the early D&D and AD&D trope that no adventure location is going to be abandoned for long. I'm all for this bit of dungeon adventure ecology and this adventure takes that to its extremes. There are dozens of halls, rooms, treasures,etc. that have been passed around and over here. There are themes to room and complex weirdness waiting to twist PC's into knots and whatnot. There's lots that can happen to them. And the maps are concise enough to make it happen. Did I mention the gorgeous and slightly disturbing artwork?


This is a campaign waiting to happen, seriously this place could take months and months of exploration and discovery. There's a ton going on within this place and once again this is a book with its adventure location in play. Things are happening here and your adventurers are going to blunder head first right straight into the whole of it all.

The entire adventure location gives a sense  of helplessness and being caught in a trap that has been sprung. Castle Gargantua is the type of place that exists in some ancient fairy tale as a rumor or legend but the reality is that much more dangerous and nasty. This is one of those adventure locations that's going to change a party seriously they will not be the same after a trip to Castle Gargantua.
Page after page of incredible description and weird rooms, this isn't a fun house dungeon its a weirdness sink with your PC's names on it. Its all here and waiting for the PC's. There is a story to this place and throughout the 114 pages of the place you can see bits and pieces of the castle's tale here and there just as all of the best tales of dungeons and mayhem. This isn't a place for the faint of heart.


 

This is a dungeon or adventure location as wilderness setting, something out of the sprawling tales of giants and they're left behind one incredible location! And this is one place that can take on all comers, your levels and skills don't count for anything when a giant sized curtain is falling on your PC's head! You get dust storms rolling across floors and terrifying wilderness encounters with all kinds of horrid monsters from myth and legend against a wilderness background of a giant's former playground. One really nice part to this one hundred and fourteen page book is the price point the pdf is five dollars!

Is there anything that I don't actually like in this adventure? Not really it clicks all of the right buttons for a grand style dungeon romp through one of the most complex dungeons I've seen. The tone, horrid fairy tale feel gone wrong and more is perfect for a dark game of Lamentations of the Flame Princess or a huge sprawling game of Labyrinth Lord. Its all there waiting for your PC's and they're not going to know what hit them. Grab this one! Five out of five stars! Highly recommended!



Because of the nature of the various tables and random encounters etc, this adventure is different each and every time your adventurers enter the location folks!

1d6 Random Adventurer's Corpses Encounter Table For Your Old School Campaigns

Parties of adventurers and freebooters often times come across the bodies of those beings  who have come to adventure sites and ruins before them. These individuals sometimes do not succeed in leaving the sites or ruins of adventures. They sometimes die where they stand and leave behind corpses just waiting to be found by some fool or adventurer. These corpses often have their own agendas still in play even days, months, or years later. Murder, acts of violence, death by misadventure, and much more provide the finders of these corpses with a road map to the lives and deaths of these people. Many times these corpses provide a lead to trouble and further adventures!
Here are 1d6 reasons to get your own adventurers into trouble and woven into the lives of those who have come before them.
1d6 Random Adventurer's Corpses Encounter Table

1. This space warrior died by the sting of some unknown horror, the acidic pus sack is still in the corpse's neck pumping the last of its venom onto the rotting meat. The acidic poison will do 3d6 +2 points of damage to any exposed flesh. The adventurer has a slightly enlarged bump on the back of his neck this is actually a hidden cyber vault containing several maps of the region, a small cache of jewels and the number of a local safe cracker. 
2. This bloated and steaming corpse is actually being devoured by green slime. Anyone approaching the corpse has a 30% chance of slipping on the stuff and the damage that results will be very dangerous. There is a ring of teleportation in the corpse's left pocket. 
3. This adventurer has his face swollen to three times its size and its infected with rot grubs. These things will jump seven, maybe within a ten foot radius around the corpse. Near by is his magic rapier, minor magic +1 dagger its name means spleen hunter. 
4. This person's body has been turned into a blackened shape on the ground. 1d6 demons are hovering around nearby trying to catch the soul of the body. A magic ring actually houses this person's soul and this is why the demons can't find it. A small ring of great value holds the ability store stouls. The corpses holds no real secrets. 
5. This adventurer's corpse has two dueling pistols by his side but his cloths have been ripped from the inside out. The body has 1d6 alien parasites within it and a minor god watching over it. 
6. This adventurer has had his face ripped off and his ears stolen. There is a nearby devil worshiping cult and they are on the look out for this corpse. This adventurer stole several keys to the demon's lair and a map of the place. Anyone with information on the whereabouts  of this corpse might want to not disturb it. A demon has been bound into the thing by another party's wizard. There are 1d4 minor artifacts or relics on the corpse.
   
   

Three Days To Go On The Hubris Dungeon Crawl Classics Adventure Campaign Kickstarter.

There are worlds that authors imagine that are original,brutal, honest, weird and dangerous all at the same time. That's what Hubris reminds me of and its for the Dungeon Crawl Classics game, its by Mike (wrathofzombie) Evans  and there's a kickstarter for the setting/campaign book and you've only got three day to get in on the action. So for the past two weeks I've been seeing this piece of artwork floating around G+  and I finally broke down and took a look a the Hubris A World of Visceral Adventure Kickstarter. There isn't one square inch of safe area on the plane of Hubris, its weird, wild, insanely dangerous and incredibly detailed.


Here's the back story according to kickstater  and the campaign's author :
"Legend states that Hubris was created from the fetid corpse of a long-dead god. Hubris is a land of terrible creatures, grand inequality, strange and cruel gods, dangerous magic, opulent nobility, destitute commoners, people that have become corrupted and turned to savage beasts, constant wars, and worse.  
Its kingdoms are not kind or benevolent: In the Blighted Sands the Klind are slavers and openly practice sorcery, offering sacrifices to their depraved serpentine god, Set. Across the continent the Fairweather kingdom is governed by a corrupt and inbred royal family with the nobility following suit. Esenbar is ruled by a staunch xenophobic theocracy that tolerates little outside of their strict doctrine. The barbaric Ingvar of the Frozen Wastes wage vicious battles against the savage frost giants of The Crag, and care little about the goings on of the world; their life is cut from battle with an axe or sword. The Black Queen rules the citizens of the Floating Island of Terror from her throne of bones and dreams terrible machinations for Hubris. Shadowfall, built in the remains of the burrow of a gigantic worm is ran by vampires and their thralls, and welcome all who are devious, vicious and cunning. 
There are no easily recognizable heroes in the world. You wander the wilderness or delve into ancient ruins: out of desperation, some crazed need for adventure, or for some bizarre belief that the world can actually be made a better place. Though civilization offers you security and comfort, you shirk those in the hopes of gaining riches and power. But when you die, no one will sing songs of your deeds. You will die a horribly bloody death at the hands of some twisted abomination or by the knife of an assassin sent by some fat, scheming noble. 
Your epic tale will be forgotten in days as the dangerous world continues on without you and the apathetic masses stay complacent to dogmatic control of their government. 

This is not a fairy tale or an epic ballad. This is a savage world. This is Hubris."
I've been quietly looking at Mike's posts on Hubris on his blog today and he knows what he's doing with this setting in spades. He get's its and knows how to weave his setting together to make it compelling and interesting. All of this presents a setting with original races, ideas, monsters, weird setting material and much more. The author has his setting sources in the right place for this project;Hubris is a weird fantasy setting inspired by various things, such as: Alice in Wonderland, Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, HP Lovecraft stories, Vornheim by Zak Smith, Lamentations of the Flame Princess RPG by James Raggi, Labyrinth, The Thing, Hellboy comics by Mike Mignola, Hellraiser, Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, and not to mention the awesomeness that is Dungeon Crawl Classics and the whole DIY RPG community!
Mike Evans already has a bunch of resources and material that's going into Hubris on his blog right over HERE

The problem is that you've only got three days to get in on the action, and after  taking a look at this project its going to be time and cash well spent. Do I think you might be interested in this campaign world? If your a DCC fan this one is a no brainer! I wish that I could have gotten in on the action sooner!

1d6 Ancient Ruins & Lairs of Terrifying Aspect A Horror Encounter Table For Your School Campaigns

There are monsters closer then we think, things that lurk and creep in the dark shadows of our mundane reality. Everyday we pass by them unaware that these horrors from ancient times continue to fester and molder in the corners of our existence waiting to explode onto the world. These places wait for fools and freebooters to stumble upon them. Here then are six a ancient ruins and lairs with their own thumb nail sketch of these places to inflict on your adventurers.



There is a twenty five percent chance of their being some random loot or other item from some past trespasser here in these ancient places. There might also be some weird trash or debris left or dump here in the past. These sorts of ruins make excellent toxic waste catch alls and dumping ground sites.

1d6 Ancient Ruins & Lairs of Terrifying Aspect A Horror Encounter Table

1. Asowh'u castle - This castle served as a base for a warlord and his cult of anphibian Deep One hybrids. They have long since vanished but the ancient frog god thing they served still survives deep underground with its trove of relics and undead servants. It has remained asleep for centuries but might awaken at any moment. 
2. Enarorothmin Tumble Down - This is a massive former castle now rubble and the site of a massive battle and massacre. The murder and looting of 100 warriors has created a huge battery of supernatural energies waiting for another murder to occur to set this place off. The warriors will rise from their graves as skeleton warriors of an intelligent aspect. There is a small golden hoard here as well that the warriors were guarding. 
3. Dugotullaiazgo's Lair - This fort was the site of a cult dedicated to a dragon thing, the locals put the whole lot to fire and flame but the lair site remains along with the relics and loot they took from a forty mile radius. Now rumors of ghosts and worse have begun to circulate among the locals. 
4. Enarorothmin The Arranger's Fortress - This place was once the site of battles with bandits and worse. Hargl the bandit king had been possessed by an ancient demon spirit that was locked away in the vault below the fortress. The standing stones of the place made perfect foundation material but the legend of the Arranger remained and the spark of violence, bloodshed, as well as murder gave the demon the opportunity it needed. Now the place is the realm of shepherds and sheep but the demon has been gathering a new flock of its own. The silver, gold, loot, and relics still remain on the site waiting for some fool to find them. They are cursed in blood and the demonic taint of the Arranger itself. 
5.  Drogbaliatheng folly is a tumbled down fortress and bailey that has stood for centuries. The weight of the place's past misdeeds still haunt it hundreds of years later. Ghosts, ghasts, and other minor undead gate into the place by the standing stones but no one is sure why. There have been strange lights seen on the hills surrounding the place and a rumored pot of silver around one of the standing stones but all treasure seekers have been killed. There is also a series of tunnels under the hills surrounding the place. 
6. Hazglitu House Of The Fallen King - This place reeks of the deeds of the past when a king brought down his own kingdom for the love of a witch betraying everyone around him. She was hanged withing the courtyard and cursed the place with horror and depravity. The warriors and fighters here were turned into wights and the door into the otherworld still swings at  three am. Demons, horrors, and worse come to gather here under the swinging and dancing ghostly corpse of the witch where she holds court. Jewels,rings, treasure and relics have all been found here. But the locals fear that its cursed. Then there are rumors of the lower levels.

Review & Commentary On Crawling Under A Broken Moon Issue #10 & The Dungeon Crawl Classics Rpg Quick Post Apocalyptic Adventure Design

Monsters, mutants, misfits, and other post apocalyptic horrors of 'Merica are coming straight at you in the latest Crawling Under A Broken Moon. This is one for the dungeon master to grab, basically this is a thirty two page monster manual style book for the Crawling Under A Broken moon setting but there's a bit more too it then simply another post apocalyptic monster manual. Basically each individual monster has both adventure hooks and a random chart of factors to throw the party of mutant adventurers into a tail spin. This includes everything from the flaming feces of the Jack-O-rang-utan to the diabolical twistedness of the Necrocornicon. This is the wastelands of 'Merica where the rage of He Man like muscle bound heroes meets the road rage of death bot harvesters, giant robots, mutants and horrors of the wasteland.
Every issue of CUABM has built upon one another for a complete Dungeon Crawl Classics post apocalyptic adventure kit. As we'll see in a moment how this works out.
Grab It Right Over HERE


There are a few of the monsters in this issue of Crawling that are extremely powerful and represent what amounts to an opportunity for a DM to take. Many of the mutant menaces in here could with little issue actually be used as a funnel opportunity for a DM to break in new mutant or wasteland adventurers into the folk of his or her campaigns. For example imagine that a wizard riding on a harvester death bot decides to mow through your campaign village. Pretty much an instant funnel right there. This is also a way of tying together the motives and purposes of a party of adventurers even different types. Keeping adventurers on the same page can be a bit difficult at times in Dungeon Crawl Classics monsters mutant or otherwise offer a prime opportunity for this. Thinking outside of the box is one of the prime ways that a DM can use monsters and these twisted horrors of the wasteland offer a prime opportunity.

Part of the back handed gamer nostalgia echo of Dungeon Crawl Classics conceals a very sly take on adventure design something that Crawling Under A Broken Moon also excels at. Monsters here have lairs, motives, and fit into the mold that CUABM puts forth. Taken as a whole these monsters also can be adventures unto themselves.

In point of fact each and everyone of these monsters could be inter spaced between adventures to create mini quests or adventure play encounters thus creating memorable and storied adventure encounters for your games. There's also plenty of fodder here for the creation of other post apocalyptic adventures and one thing that Crawling does as a whole is to stick with the gods and spirits of the wasteland as potential patrons. Over and over we see this sprinkled throughout the crawling product line again and again. There are lots of iconic monsters in this issue as well including Laser Ursines!


Another bit that get's tossed around is the idea of the monster as treasure and adventure hook that dovetails into your campaign's background. A great example of this is the Fruiti- Slush Ooze a cold mutated treat from the depths of the history pages one of the adventure hooks could spawn an entire campaign on its own.
"The fruit flavored jerky that can be harvested from corpses of Fruiti-Slush Ooze victims has become a  lucrative trade item to a small but wealthy cartel of exotic gastronomes operating out of the Citadel of Scrap. It is said they pay a high price but only if it is fresh."
   This issue is filled with stuff like this on just about every monster entry. Do I think its worth the price of admission? Yes in spades, the quality of Crawling Under A Broken Moon continues to impress and issue ten is no exception.

1d6 Horrific Vaults and Lairs Adventure Encounter Location Table For Your Old School Campaigns

There are horrors in the wastelands just waiting to bring the misery and horror of the underworld upon the unsuspecting lands above. Places that call to adventurers and fools to explore and try to exploit but these places are store houses of not only riches but legacies of corruption and horror. Here then are 1d6 vaults waiting to snare the unsuspecting and foolish into their midst.


1d6 Horrific Vaults and Lairs Adventure Encounter Location Table

1. The vaults of Cavarurcagin - Once the burial place of a mighty lich emperor of an evil reputation this vault has become the gathering for a particularly evil cult of Cthulhu and the old ones. The place sports ancient relic weapons systems still in operation and a vast labyrinth of tunnels and ornate underground structures. Rumors of treasure abound. 
2. Fanchazgoro's Spiral - This ancient weird underground location was once the home for an order of undead knights of a most evil disposition and there are rumors of their return from the Underworld. The place has attracted many undead horrors and even a minor cult of necromancers. There are rumors of a planetary weapon of destruction that these knights were guarding.
3. Gwelingb's Lair - This twisted cave system served as the lair of the Old One Gwelingb and the hide out for a gang of thieves and cut throats who acted as the god's cult. Sacrifices were stripped, looted, and dumped into the lair of Gwelingb. But the loot was never recovered! Now rumors of the cult's return have surfaced and there have been disappearances in the night. 
4. Vantha's Hide Away - This place was once the home to an elemental demon cult that sought to bring the power of their god to the wastes by using high tech dimensional gates. They instead became the prey and their god waits and watches guarding a haul of high tech gadgets and relics. But its demons have been breeding and murdering in the night. 
5. Ugororobendro The Undying - This is not an actual cave system but the lower intestinal tract of a demon god. When the Earth was young this lord of Hell fell and his body decayed now only this section of living bio planar flesh remains and it has spawned horrid servants to spread its corruption across the land. Treasures and relics have been gathered by the cult to fund its evil and horror 
6. Shiniang The Ancient Place - Caught between dimensions these vaults hold an entire alien city and its undead horrors waiting to spread their evil in the world. Treasures, relics, and demons remain to guard the place's evil and horror! The vaults here hold countless ancient horrors from beyond the grave!

The Tekumel Sourcebook - Swords & Glory Vol. 1 From M.A.R Barker's World of Tekumel For Your Old School Campaigns Has Been Released!

I love, love, the Empire of the Petal Throne Rpg , Professor M.A.R. Barker's world of sword, sorcery, and  planetary  adventure finally has the source book it deserves. I've been waiting months for this book to see the light of day and finally its been released to Drivethrurpg.

The Tekumel Sourcebook - Swords & Glory Vol. 1 From M.A.R Barker's World of Tekumel

is one for the corner stones of old school rpging for me. This is the sourcebook of the world that I've been waiting for. System agnoistic and perfectly suitable for any old school system with a ton of material to make any Empire collector and dungeon master's mouth water. The world setting of Tékumel is exposed and anointed with this book. According to the website of the foundation this book has the following features; The Tekumel Sourcebook, Swords & Glory Vol. 1, is now available in PDF, hardcover and softcover printings from DriveThruRPG.com!  This edition is a reprint of the original Gamescience edition, with the following changes and additions:

• The original full-color box cover art has been reproduced on the cover, instead of the blue single-color cover
• Notes about the Gamescience and later editions have been added on the frontispiece page
• A new index and glossary have been added
• The original back cover art has been reproduced on the new back cover (see below)

The Foundation will be releasing the maps from the Swords & Glory, Vol. 1 boxed set in the near future, to go along with the re-release of The Tekumel Sourcebook.  The original maps from Empire of the Petal Throne may be used in conjunction with The Tekumel Sourcebook.  You may purchase the print version of the Sourcebook along with the PDF as a DriveThruRPG bundle (nb: you may need to log in to view the Sourcebook).

This is the setting source book, I've been literally waiting years for the foundation to release. According to them The Tekumel Sourcebook provides a wide-ranging survey of the World of Tekumel, specifically the Five Empires and surrounding lands as of 2358 A.S. - history, geography, customs, architecture, religion, magic, languages and much, much more!  An invaluable resource for players and gamemasters of Tekumel!The new printing includes an index and glossary, entirely new to this edition.  (The maps are sold separately.)
So to say I'm excited is an understatement and this is a setting book whose world for years I've been waiting for. It may be a bit of time before I can afford to get this book but it will be mine!

Using The Dark Albion OSR Setting Book & Stars Without Number For Your Old School Science Fiction Campaigns

Its been a very long while since I've dipped my oar into the Dark Albion OSR setting book by Rpg Pundit. The book is a dark fantasy campaign set within his dark and twisted version of a fantasy England and Europe during an alternative War of The Roses campaign. The work is sprawling, massive, a work of passion and love. And its been created to work with just about any of the editions and retroclones of OD&D and AD&D on the market. The fact is that its a bit intimidating but that's never stopped me before tackling OSR books.



As I said the book is expansive and creates an entire Dark European realm of incredible detail and filled to the brim with adventure possibilities. But the various D&D clones are not the only rule sets on the block. Lately I've been looking at Stars Without Number From Sine Nomine Publishing  by again because its sitting on my shelf staring at me. Stars Without Numbers handles hard science fiction very, very, well. It includes everything  you need straight out the gate to run a campaign from character classes to space ship rules. It also includes a free version for download. It will work with Dark Albion very easily and there's a reason that I bring this mash up in point of fact. I've recently been reading the Russian science fiction classic   Hard to be a God (Russian: Трудно быть богом, Trudno byt' bogom)  a 1964 sci-fi novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky set in the Noon Universe.  Its a dark and bloody universe that the book was set in and its myth soaked, tyrannical planet of the novel reminded me of the setting of Dark Albion.
According to wiki, 'the novel follows Anton, an undercover operative from the future planet Earth, in his mission on an alien planet that is populated by human beings whose society has not advanced beyond the Middle Ages. The novel's core idea is that human progress throughout the centuries is often cruel and bloody, and that religion and blind faith can be effective tools of oppression, working to destroy the emerging scientific disciplines and enlightenment. The title 'Hard to be a God' refers to Anton's (known as his alias Don Rumata throughout the book) perception of his precarious role as an observer on the planet, for while he has far more advanced knowledge than the people around him, he is forbidden to assist too actively as it would interfere with the natural progress of history.'  Dark Albion is a setting that doesn't play it safe and never talks down to its audience, its by Kasimir Urbanski aka Rpg Pundit. The setting is dark, weird, and plays with the author/designer's passion as both historian and rpg designer so its the same with 'Hard To Be A God'. The novel goes for the audience's jugular vein and its relentless in both its setting details, message, and work as a piece of science fiction. The system of Kevin Crawford's Stars Without Numbers easily works with Dark Albion drawing as they do from the same well of the D&D system.  As always there might have to be some modification on the dungeon master's part but for one experienced in this sort of a thing this should be pretty easy.



The darkness of the Dark Albion setting echoes the details and fire of the setting itself. This is a Europe where the myths and legends of an alternative historical  age are in full effect. This is a mythic place where the forces of Chaos and Hell nip at the heels mankind at every turn. The flames of ignorance threaten to turn into the bonfires of war at any moment. The visuals of the Hard To Be A God film from 2013 are stark, brilliant, and have some of the same style. The film is worth seeing for the visual reference into itself. Here's the film Hard To Be A God's trailer.

The stakes in the novel have never been high for a society and Dark Albion plays on the idea of the soul of mankind being at the center of its campaign. The PC's are movers and shakers of society regardless the social strata that they find themselves in. All of this is of course a thought exercise because I already have a campaign in play but in terms of match up this isn't a bad marriage at all. This  campaign could be carried out using any of the retroclones with Dark Albion. But the inclusion SWN I thought lent a certain ring of science fictional respect and yet maintained the weirdness of the Dark Albion book itself. This is not a campaign idea for the faint of heart. Its a dark look into the underpinnings of a planetary society on the edge with a razor to its throat and its waiting for just the right push. Science fiction and dark fantasy never play it safe but for a break from the hum drum of the usual this might make an excellent alternative. I'm filing this one away for a future date.

Less Then Seventy Two Hours Till Venger Satanis Alpha Blue Kickstarter Closes, & Some Space Brothel Thoughts

So I've been quietly following Venger Satanis's Alpha Blue Kickstarter,  and its ending in less then seventy hours from the time of this writing. He's already got more then a few ideas for his space brothel including a possible version of space poker according one of the recent updates he posted. Yeah, that's right kids space poker and hookers who doesn't love that for adventurers?

But time is running out and given the high octane space action influences this is pretty much going to be a no brainer to get in on. Given the influences in Alpha Blue ( taken from the Satisfiers of Alpha Blue), "Aside from my imagination, I'll be relying on classic sci-fi TV and film inspiration to see my through... such as Blake's 7, (vintage) Doctor Who and Star Trek, Star Wars, Ice Pirates, Heavy Metal, Thundarr the Barbarian, Starchaser: the Legend of Orin, Flash Gordon, Blade Runner, Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, Dune, Saturn 3, Woody Allen's Sleeper, and a dozen more." What actual use are space brothels? I've used brothels as meeting points for adventurers in science fiction and science fantasy pieces for years. Basically these places can operate as a one stop adventurers point for all kinds of adventure hooks. From a place where bounty hunters can collect a target for a reward to a place where information is brought & sold to the obvious use. Brothels in space and planet side can serve a wide range of actual applications. The 'Needwant' from the recently canceled Defiance was a major focal point of the city in that television show but wasn't the only one from books, film and television. Spider Callahan's 'Lady Sally's' serves a major point in his novels and refers to the employees as 'artists' and their regulars as clients. Given the time of year, 'the Comstack' brothel from 'True Blood'  on HBO from the fifth season has a certain flare to it. Mrs.Palm's place from Terry Pratchett 's Discworld also has some interesting clients and story hooks to it. For a real spin on the space brothel or a sub genre there's the holo brothel from Babylon Five's 'River of Souls' stand alone movie which had a very dangerous and dark purpose besides stealing a person's look. Given Deep Space Nine revolutionized the holo brothel by making it far more accessible to the main stream public & creating yet another element for Star Trek's writers to play with an adventure element. Is it really any wonder that the holographic bits and pieces easily lend themselves to all kinds of science fantasy and science fiction hi jinks. Holograms in the Star Trek universe are as much NPC's as they are adventure opportunities. A fact that's been floating around ever since Star Trek first introduced the holo deck in the Star Trek cartoon. From 'Firefly' we get Nandi's shuttle and her profession plays a central role in the show's plot.
   Which brings up one of the facts about Alpha Blue not only is this pleasure palace in space but an adventure location unto itself. Described as a "now decommissioned, Alpha Blue is something akin to an interstellar whore house or "love boat", drifting from planet to planet, acquiring new talent, clients, and security.  It's as big as a city, so there's no shortage of wild escapades, interesting characters, lucrative opportunities, and naked throbbing pleasure.  Plus, there will be plenty of scenario seeds fleshed out for planet-side shenanigans. " We are essentially talking about giving the DM cart blanche for adventure hooks, plot links, and even entire adventures. Alpha Blue is the quintessential adventurer's dirty little secret. I can already see this being part Las Vegas in space meets adventurers R& R location on acid in a good way.


These places provide the DM with ample opportunity for NPC creation interaction, adventure hooks, a place where those rumors get started and passed round. Even a place where weird or interesting items, treasure or equipment might be bartered for to pay off bills, get a bit of extra scratch and cash, and as a place to introduce the latest scandal rocking the cosmos allowing for even more old school space action to come the PC's ways. As I said there's a myriad of uses for the space brothel and Alpha Blue looks like just the place to help satisfy a DM's itch for an old school space brothel with a twist.

Re Examination of 100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House From Skirmisher Publishing And How To Use It For Your Old School Campaigns

Grab It Right Over HERE for .99 cents

You see a lone ruin in the distance and your group decides to investigate the place. Suddenly that little ruin on the map becomes a side adventure what will you as the DM do? Skirmisher Publishing's  100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House has you covered! So Skirmisher Publishing sent me an updated version of a product that I looked into in the past, 100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House From Skirmisher Publishing is a system agnostic random resource book. Basically this is a set dressing book that with a few flicks of your dice can dress up ANY adventure location that your PC's run across. The book is keyed for houses and random adventure locations, they've updated the pdf with brand new artwork and more.

According to their Facebook page;

"Skirmisher has re-released its Electrum-bestselling "Oddities for a Creepy Old House"!

This revised edition is two pages longer and includes five new pieces of art, re-edited and updated text, improved layout and design, and the addition of an "exploding dice" mechanic to several entries to make them more dynamic."  Even though it only clocks in at twelve pages this pdf has all of the right system buttons to push for because it can be applied for any old school or new school adventure location. Basically with a toss of a few dice you can work up numerous interior contents with incredibly eclectic and dangerous backgrounds for your party of adventurers to run across!  

The front side of Castle Miranda by Pel Laurens - http://www.forgotten-beauty.com

The system here allows the DM to bring the contents of this product  into a wide variety of  venues from the old house in the wastelands to the the interior contents of an abandoned mansion. Numerous objects dovetail into one another and there's plenty opportunity to customize the contents and objects to suit your own whims as DM. Several of the objects can easily lead into the deep end of your own locations by coming from other adventure locations because of the quirky and down right weird nature of the contents and items. This leads me into how the material in  100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House is set up. The material here is set up for both on the fly adventure design and deep PC encounters. Meaning you simply toss a few items into your adventure or built up campaign plot hooks within the adventures based on the objects themselves.




Many of these objects would be right at home in a game of Call of Cthulhu or Chill or even World of Darkness. But for myself I've used this product numerous times with Mutant Future, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, OD&D, and most recently Fantastic Heroes and Witchery. This is one of the things that makes 100 Oddities for a Creepy Old House great. And its not simply objects but also setting stuff such as furniture and the like. For example : "A small, framed mirror hung in such a way on the wall that no one of any ordinary height would be able to see their reflection in it. There is a 50% chance that the mirror is too high or too low."


I've used this product to populate abandoned houses, manor houses and even small villages in a pinch and for use with several weird borderland dreamland locations. The thing is to write down the things that your players are taking and then loop those into further adventures down the road. All in all this one of those products with a multiplicity of uses in OD&D style adventures or science fiction, post apocalyptic and horror games. I'd say that's its well worth the price of admission and then some.

New OSR Monster - Ugotuturch : Limbo Harpy Things For Your Old School Campaigns

Ugotuturch are a species of undead demonic things that resemble the harpies of myth and legend but wait in the angles of time and space to feed on the souls of the dead whose planes and universes end. They often wait just outside the dimensional threshold for some black sorcerer or wizard to release the forces of Hell when the stars are right. They have many of the qualities of humans but nothing could be further from the black truth. They are inhuman horrors baring only the faintest qualities of humanity. Those who see them know that they are instead demonic mockeries of human form molded in the limbos outside of time and space just waiting for the fleeing souls of man kind to feed upon. And they do feed well.


Even demons and their ilk hate the Ugotuturch whom they regard as nothing more then chaotic  vermin  of the worst kind. Ancient parasites that feed on the flesh, bone, soul stuff, and essence of life when they can get it. Ugotuturch means ash or offal feeder in the Black tongue and the basest insults in other languages.
 

Frequency: Uncommon 

No Appearing : 1d6 

Armor Class: 8

Move:60" Flight Class: D

Hit Dice: 6

% in Lair: 40% 

Treasure: D
Initiative:8

No of Attacks:3

Damage:2d6 Claw, Bite 1d8

Special Attacks: Bite causes disease

Special Defenses:Can create a stinking cloud as per the spell

Magic Resistance: 40% 

Intelligence: Average 

Alignment: Chaotic 

Size: M (6" Tall)

Psionic Ability: Nil 

Attack/Defense Modes: Nil 
Morale:8

Ugotuturch are remorseless parasites with the faces and bodies of twisted victims of disasters whose bodies bare only the vaguest resemblance to humanity. There  bodies are twisted things of scale and demonic flesh whose limbs end in demonic looking bat like wings with wicked claws that can tear through bone, limb, and even light metal for food. They're mouths are a wicked load of fangs and teeth that rip, rip, tear, and feast. And they do feast well.  They are Ugotuturch are clumsy flyers at best and are greedy self things that will coordinate attacks to take down victims but fight among themselves for the choicest morsels. They have a class D flight capacity and are clumpsy things at best. Some however can be class C or better
Ugotuturch   touch  can causes disease such as the Red Death or plague and their horrid digestive systems can once every three hours release an effect of a stinking cloud as per the spell. Three times per day they may 'gate' in 1d4 of their own kind. They may also pass on their curse which takes nine hours as the victim writhes and is twisted in mutational undead agony as the curse wracks their body in bone crunching horror.  This curse is passed on with a loving minor bite to the limbs or throat of the victim. Protection from Evil and Chaos will keep the Ugotuturch at bay and holy symbols will work on them.
The Ugotuturch  are the basest of horrors and serve several minor petty demonic patron masters as well as at least two major demon god horrors. They love to roost in old ruins, such as abandoned churches,temples, rectories, priories, and other former holy places.  Ugotuturch are the bane of certain holy orders who fight them when and where they can. They use torch, salt,holy water, and Hawthorne wood stakes to kill these things. Areas are often salted and put to the torch so that their taint may not spread.

Call Ugotuturch
1st level black magic spell
Casting Time : one full round 
Range :30 feet 
Save: None 
Effect: Summons 1d4 monsters but there is a 10% chance of summoning 1d6 instead 

Spell Resistance: No

This spell is often written in black market or basest wizardly texts to snare the unfortunate. This spell must be written on a tablet and taken to a wasteland to be burned while intoning the twisting words of the Black Tongue to summon the Ugotuturch from the depths of Limbo between the angles of time and space. There is a ten percent chance of summoning far more then the caster bargained for. A small offering of lamb or other offal is advised to have on hand for the monsters for the often come a long way and have been known to feast on the casters instead of serving them.