OSR Commentary On SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide: The Roleplaying Game & Nightshift: Veterans of the Supernatural Wars rpg - What Shadows Hide Cthulhu Sourcebook - Session Five

 "Created by Eric Bloat & Josh Palmer, SURVIVE THIS!! What Shadows Hide  is a standalone roleplaying game and does not require any additional gaming material to play. However, as part of the SURVIVE THIS!! game line, What Shadows Hide is 100% fully compatible with SURVIVE THIS!! ZOMBIES!, DARK PLACES & DEMOGORGONS, VIGILANTE CITY, and SURVIVE THIS!! FANTASY, We Die Young, and can be used to mix and match to create your own custom play experiences."

We've been dealing with the horde of vampires that had been unleashed on The Tabitha Township from October 1st session. We picked up after sacrificing one of the blessed statues that we'd recovered from the vampire's lair. Explosives and holy water plus blessed shrapnel took out the rest of the swarm of vampires. We knew the head vampire was leaving these hordes to slow us down. But whom was his contact in town?

We looked into our local contact Irwin 'Patch' Ferrelli the local pawn shop & occult expert. When our party arrived we found the shop bathed in a harsh blue light and the front door open! Patch was no where to be found but we heard multiple demonic whispers coming from the walls and the ceiling. In the back of the shop we found 'Patch' floating above the floor with his black stone near by. 
We came face to face with the 'Architect' a supernatural entity wreathed in blue flayed skin and leather. 'Oh you've come from your friend have you? He's but a bit of bait to get you here' The game goes on and we continue to play' You may have your friend back for now after all he's used goods'. Patch fell to the floor in a heap covered in a multitude of cuts and scars that were already starting to fade?! 'Come East if you dare and your friend knows the way'. 

Patch, the Pawn Shop Proprietor

• Name: "Patch" (he rarely gives his real name)
• Appearance: A man in his late 50s or early 60s, with a gruff but kind face. He has a jagged, faded scar running from his left temple down across the bridge of his nose and over his right eye. He often wears a worn, leather-and-patchwork vest over a plain shirt and his hands show signs of hard work and a few old bullet wounds.
• Personality:
  • Quirk: He has a habit of polishing a small, smooth, black stone he keeps in his vest pocket, always seeming to talk to it under his breath.
  • Catchphrase: "Things ain't always what they seem, kid. Especially not in this city."
  • Disposition: Gruff and wary, but with a hidden sense of humor. He doesn't suffer fools but will help those he sees as genuine. He has a deep-seated respect for the supernatural, born of hard-earned experience.
• Role in the Game:
  • Information Broker: Patch's pawn shop is a hub for rumors and gossip. He can provide information on supernatural activity, strange occurrences, and people of interest, though he may require a favor or a trade for it.
  • Unique Gear Merchant: While his shop has a stock of ordinary goods, he often has bizarre and occasionally powerful supernatural artifacts or items he's acquired over the years. Some may be mundane but have a strange story, while others might be genuinely useful (or dangerous).
• Goals:
  • Survival: His primary goal is to survive another day, which he does by staying ahead of the supernatural world's dangers and trading to keep his business afloat.
  • Redemption: He carries a heavy burden of guilt from past mistakes made during the supernatural wars and might be looking for a way to atone for them.
• Connection to the Players: Players might seek him out for a rare item, a piece of information, or even to get rid of something they found. Patch can serve as an unexpected ally, a quest-giver, or an old friend who's seen it all. He can also provide an opportunity for the players to impact the world by helping him, getting him out of a jam, or using his knowledge to their advantage. 

Over the next few days we nursed Patch back too health and he gave us 

the Gaalvantic compass. This occult item belonged to the 'Flayed Hand' cult 

and always pointed in the direction of 'Hell's' influence. 

We packed up our kit 
& began the process of moving on knowing that the vampire horde 

were 'mercenaries' working for the greater supernatural threat. 

Time to move on.  

Castles & Cruasades Codex Germania - The Witch & the Aftermath - Session One Report- Session Five

 Under a hail of dragon's fire and worse we were pinned down! This action picks right up from the last session on October 31!  We retreated and picked off cultists as we went with arrows and short bows! That dragon wanted us dead and fortunately we had a scroll with a shield spell on it or our goose was cooked literally. 

German dragons are nothing to mess with! And this one had centuries of bones under our feet to prove it! 
The past sacrifices of the cult crunched under our feet as we passed through the tunnel slaying several Orc generators that had been set up by the cult as we went! 
The tunnels smelled of suffering and sulfur in equal measure. We finally broke daylight after our wizard cast fire ball to collapse the tunnel behind us!! 
The infernal dragon's breath of fire and ice nearly cooked and froze us in equal measure. We were highly understaffed to take on a dragon of that age! Not to mention that our witch didn't know about the infernal nature of the beast. Now we've got a very pissed off dragon on our rears! As we were exiting the tunnel a band of goblin like creatures attacked. 
Darrin The Great wasn't having it and used a ring of meteors to take on the German goblin like monsters we weren't taking any chances at this point. And that's when the werewolf like humanoids attacked! Screw this and the druid gave a strange cry that seemed to echo across the forrest surrounding us! Then hundreds of pixie like Fey attacked the were wolves! They fled as Hell fire rained down on them. We were determined to get back too our lord's castle before the dragon and cult attacked! 
We needed too get to the castle fast! And so we sacrificed the scroll of teleportation to instantly find ourselves back on castle grounds with some very surprised German warriors and knights looking at us! 

We were able too warn about the impending dragon attack in less then two hours! We were able to prepare the seige engines and castle defenses then waited! We didn't have long to wait as the two headed infernal dragon appeared on the horizon with his cult in tow! We ended here! 

Baptism of Fire Rpg By Rpg Pundit From Mad Scribe Games - Elven Chaos Cults & The Deep Rot of Chaos Session Eleven

 We brought out the short bows & torches as we went deeper into the ruins as well as tunnels. We're picking up from last session on October 27! . We pushed the hobgoblin warriors and their orcs back with really well rolled dice rolls. 

The Elven knights stayed behind acting as generals for the Orcs and their Hobgoblin handlers! The space was crammed and chaotic! Two of the clerics for the Chaos cult was trying to aim poison darts at the player's PC's. A good shot from the Pagan scout of the party took out one of the cleric and it turned out to be one of the minor royals of the court. How was he getting out to the deep wilderness?! Another vile trick of Chaos! We fought our way back to back down too the tunnels under the forest! 

 The tunnels below the forest were ancient and we saw lots, lots, of Roman style ruins and something more ancient! That's when we saw the eyes of a vile beast of Chaos in front of us! 

We regroup back up the tunnels and our priest wasn't impressed at all! We've got to figure out how we're going to dive down the tunnels as our torches are running out! 

OSR Review & Commentary Smoke Over Station Street By Independence Games For The Rider Rpg Or Your Old School 2d6 Old West Rpg Games

 "New Liberty sits at a crossroads geographically, politically, and morally.  The coming of a train laden with gold has turned simmering rivalries into open suspicion. Ranchers, gamblers, merchants, and lawmen all want their share, and every handshake hides a loaded pistol."

"As rumors spread and sabotage strikes the town, the characters must decide where they stand.  Will they uphold the law, protect the innocent, or try to seize their own fortune while bullets fly over Station Street?  Or is all of this simply a red herring for something deeper and more ominous?"

Smoke Over Station Street is a forty eight page adventure that dives deeply into the New Liberty campaign setting. The player's PC's are set up in New Liberty for Old Western adventure. This adventure pit the party against shadowy forces of the campaign setting and yet, there's possible opportunity within the Chaos. 
And what Smoke Over Station Street does is provide the DM with a solidly written adventure for the Rider Rpg. The adventure does this by giving the DM,' the EPIC structure of Essential and Optional Scenes to let the Referee tailor play at the table.' within Smoke Over Station Street.

The adventure structure of Smoke Over Station Street is solidly done because it takes the Rider Rpg rules & exploits them. And Smoke Over Station Street is easily fitted into an existing Rider Rpg campaign. The Rider Rpg is both a 2d6 historic and cinematic role playing game wrapped in one package. Smoke Over Station Street has a great roster of NPC's and lots of opportunity for your PC's to get in way over their heads. Smoke Over Station Street is a great campaign starter or mid point adventure for a Rider rpg campaign. 

Elias "Juggernaut" Voorhees NPC Slasher Villain For Amazing Adventures RPG

Here's an NPC vile villain that we used for our Amazing Adventures Halloween game for 2025! 

 Elias "Juggernaut" Voorhees

Elias is a silent, imposing, and seemingly unkillable force of nature, haunting the vicinity of Crystal Lake (or a similar location renamed for your campaign). He is driven by a supernatural need to avenge his mother's death and slaughter anyone who intrudes on his territory.

Attributes

Elias Voorhees uses the standard Amazing Adventures attributes, with extremely high physical scores and low mental/social ones.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	10 (+0)	22 (+6)	6 (-2)	12 (+1)	4 (-3)

Primary Attributes: STR, CON (as a special NPC, these are always Primary, making associated checks easier: Challenge Base 12)
Secondary Attributes: DEX, INT, WIS, CHA (Challenge Base 18)

Key Stats

• HP: 150 (roughly equivalent to a high-level threat, ensuring he can take a beating)
• AC: 15 (natural toughness and thick clothing)
• Speed: 30 ft.
• Senses: Passive Perception 14
• Alignment: Lawful Evil (he follows a strict, twisted moral code of "no trespassers")
• Challenge Rating: Varies by party level, but designed to be a significant "boss" encounter (roughly equivalent to a Challenge 10+ monster)

Skills

• Athletics +10 (proficient in grappling, lifting, and swimming)
• Intimidation +7 (his silent, looming presence is terrifying)
• Stealth +5 (surprisingly quiet for his size, using the environment to stalk prey)
• Perception +6 (expert tracker)

Special Abilities & Traits

• Undead Nature: Elias does not need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep. He is immune to poison and disease, and has resistance to cold damage.
• Relentless Endurance: If damage reduces Elias to 0 HP, he makes a Constitution saving throw (DC 10). If he succeeds, he drops to 1 HP instead. He also has advantage on all death saving throws.
• Regeneration: Elias regains 10 hit points at the start of his turn, provided he has at least 1 HP and is not submerged in deep water (his only "weakness").
• Brute: A melee weapon attack deals one extra die of its damage when Elias hits with it (included in attacks below).
• Terrified Trip (Custom Power): As a bonus action after a successful attack, Elias can force a target to make a Wisdom saving throw (DC 15). On a failure, the target is struck with terror and falls prone, attempting to flee in their next turn.

Actions

• Multiattack: Elias makes two attacks with his Machete or one attack and an attempt to Grapple.
• Machete: Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage.
• Aggressive Grapple: Elias has advantage on skill checks to grapple a creature of up to Large size. While grappled, the target is restrained, and Elias can use his other attacks against them with advantage.
• Throw: If a creature is grappled, Elias can hurl them up to 20 feet. The target takes 1d4 bludgeoning damage for every 5 feet traveled if they hit a solid object and lands prone.
• Spear (Alternate Weapon): Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage.

Description & Roleplaying

Elias is a hulking figure, wearing worn-out coveralls and his signature, scarred hockey mask. He never runs, but moves with a methodical, unstoppable stride. He is completely silent, communicating only through heavy breathing and the sound of his footsteps.

He focuses his attacks on single targets, aiming for brutal, decisive kills rather than drawn-out fights. His motivation is simple: protect the lake from intruders. He does not differentiate between good and evil; all who trespass are guilty and must be eliminated.

GM Notes

The key to running Elias is the chase and atmosphere. He is not meant to be a traditional fight that can be easily defeated; he is a force that must be survived. Clever players may need to find his "weakness" (submerging him in water, like the end of many films) or specific plot devices to stop him temporarily. Award Inspiration Points when players act out of genuine fear or use creative tactics to escape rather than fight head-on.

Manifestation of the Yellow Stone Horror - A Mini Campaign Idea Using The Victorious Rpg & Wreched Eqoque Session Eight - Martian Capture

 The PC's were captured by the Martians! The PC's got in over their heads after the  alien Otyugh telepathically called in the Martians! They arrived within 10 minutes because they were looking for the PC's. They had power neutralizing collars for em! 

A Handling-Machine from War of the Worlds: Goliath.

The aliens made life a bit of a Hell after hitting the PC's with stun beams (actually modified heat rays) and overwhelming numbers. This leg of the campaign picks up from October 22's session here on the blog!  The players are going to have to think their way out of this situation after the Resistance turned tail and ran! 

The PC's were handed over to several war machines with baskets after the power damping collars had been applied. They were going to be taken to a human processing facility near the edge of London. The PC's were not happy at all. But they had a plan and it involved Sir Tristan because his enchanted sword!  And the arcanists of the party didn't have any effect on their magic or items by the collars of the Black Martians! 

During a lull the party cut their way free from the Martian cages and fire balled one of the war machines!  They escaped! And they almost got heat rayed by the war machine but managed to escape the war machine with a scroll of fire ball that had been prepared ages ago to deal with the Yellow Stone horrors! 

They heard the honking signal of the last war machine calling others to it! They heard another squeal back from another nearby warmachine! The party needed to generate a way to escape the Martians! They did this  by creating a steam cloud with the fire and water powers of two of the heroes! 

Castles & Cruasades Codex Germania - The Witch & the Aftermath - Session One Report- Four

 The candy is passed out, the kids in costumes have come, and the dice were rattling tonight! Tonight's game came into it's own with our adventurers coming face to face with dragonic cultists. This week's session picks right up from October 18th's session. 

There were lots and lots of cultists whose eyes were glowing red and there was dead silence staring at the adventurers. Then there was growling as the double headed infernal dragon came around the corner. The party's mage threw up a shield and blocked the incoming fire and ice breath weapons! Thus saving the adventurers even though they took out a fair bit of the cultists. In the background the hag/witch queen commanded her minions. The double headed dragon is a scion of Tiamat or Tiamats Tochter! 

We were pinned down as the dragon rained down ruin on us. The cultists were up to something but we couldn't act on this! The dragons were waiting for our mage's spell to run out. We had our cleric smite the dragon because of it's infernal nature! The cleric succeeded backing off the horrors for a bit and giving them minor damage. We pressed the attack with a volley of arrows and sling stones! We ended here! 

OSR Campaign Commentary On House of the Rising Sun (Arduin Grimoire volume 6) By David A. Hargrave - Dragon's Graveyard & Bloody Arduin's Dragon Magick

 

 Let's talk about House of the Rising Sun there's some of the great Arduin world building in this Arduin supplement. I've been working with Mathew Tapp's Barrows & Borderland rpg and I wanted to add a section of the Dragon's Graveyard too the wilderness. Now in the past I've looked into Arduin's House of The Rising Sun back in Jan 13th in 2024. Now this is based on the classic Dungeons & Dragons S02E07 The Dragon's Graveyard - Oct 20, 1984. Now Tiamat guards the graveyard and could it be that she actually guards the ancient secrets of Dragon magick. And this ties into our plans for Arduin's Portal to Adventure Kickstarter. 

What did the dragon magick actually do and according to Arduin's House of the Rising Sun?! According to Brave's A.I. Leo; "House of the Rising Sun (Arduin Grimoire Volume 6)  Dragon Magick"

House of the Rising Sun, the sixth volume of the Arduin Grimoire series by  David A. Hargrave, includes a dedicated section on  Dragon Magic, spanning  four pages. This section presents a collection of powerful and perilous spells attributed to dragons, most of which are extremely dangerous for non-dragons to attempt.

The spells are described as being so potent and inherently draconic that only dragons can reliably cast them. The section concludes with a list of additional dragon-exclusive spells, noted only by name and a brief effect description, emphasizing their inaccessibility to other spellcasters.

Key aspects of the Dragon Magic section include:

• Spells that reflect draconic nature, such as breath weapons, regeneration, and elemental control.

• High risk for non-dragons, often resulting in severe backlash or death.

• Integration with the broader Arduin magic system, yet distinct in power and origin

Since Tiamat is the final guardian of the ancient dragonic magicks and artifacts then it makes sense then that she also guards the deepest secrets of dragon magick! 

Baptism of Fire Rpg By Rpg Pundit From Mad Scribe Games - Elven Chaos Cults & The Deep Rot of Chaos Session Ten

We defeated the werewolves with flame arrows, fire, and lots of violence! The player's PC's snuck deep into the wilderness & came across the werewolf leader's cabin. We set it on fire and then cut off his head as he came out of the cabin's door!  Scratch off one werewolf who is a part of the Polish minor royalty. We also took out some of the Orcs with fire arrows and throwing irons or daggers! We followed the rest of the Orcs back to a ruined Pagan temple deep in the wilderness! 

These ruins were guarded by ancient Elven Hobgoblin warriors and saw two Elven knights giving orders to their troops. The knights move them and the air hums with some weird Chaos magical energies. Then we saw the minor royal who was doing the cluing  with the Elves. 

The hobgoblin were looking for their Orc subordinate warriors and found none. We took out two more hobgoblins but then they found out we were there! The player's scout hurried away as our warriors engaged in battle with the hobgoblins.  As the violence started the Elven knights withdrew back into the dungeon and we feel it might be because there are several Elven royals and the Chaos cult in the ruins! The hobgoblins were enough for our seven players to handle! 

OSR Commentary - Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier rpg & The Primal Order: Knights: Strategies in Motion Rpg Supplement

 So let's continue where we left off on the blog from flowing Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier rpg & The Primal Order on the blog from here. 

 Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier rpg I've been looking to incorporate some of

the old school cosmic beings within the rpg. 

And that means looking deeper into

The Primal Order: Knights: Strategies in Motion Rpg Supplement This meant that I went back to Brave's A.I. and here's what it had to say; "The Primal Order: Knights: Strategies in Motion is a supplement published in 1993 that provides a structured framework for incorporating deities and religious elements into roleplaying games, using a "capsystem" based on quantifiable divine power. It introduces mechanics centered on "primal energy," which 

exists in two forms: Primal Base, a permanent reservoir of power that defines a deity's rank and essence, and Primal Flux, a daily renewable energy pool used for temporary divine 

effects like spells or miracles. This supplement offers detailed guidelines for creating pantheons, designing religions, and developing artifacts, and includes conversion notes for nearly 20 different game systems, including AD&D, GURPS, and Rolemaster."

"While The Primal Order is not a standalone game, it can be adapted to work with Thirteen Parsecs. The supplement's core mechanics can be used to add deeply structured cosmic deities to the game, explaining how they accumulate power through worshipers, temples, and planes of existence. For example, the Primal Order system

can be used to define the background and abilities of powerful cosmic entities within Thirteen Parsecs, potentially transforming a character class like the Augmented into a demigod or even a full-fledged deity. The system's emphasis on quantification and structured progression makes it particularly useful for campaigns where divine power is a central theme, though it may be less suitable for games where deities are handled as literal, rule-free entities." Lately my PC's have been within 13 Parsecs have been running into 'cosmic beings' and this means that we need to see; "Integration of The Primal Order with Thirteen Parsecs" "Knights: Strategies in Motion, a 1993 supplement for  The Primal Order 

(TPO), provides detailed frameworks for developing deities and their religions using 

the TPO "Capsystem," which quantifies divine power through Primal Base and Primal Flux. Although designed for fantasy RPGs like AD&D, its core mechanics can be 

adapted to Thirteen Parsecs: Beyond the Solar Frontier, a sci-fi RPG powered by the O.G.R.E.S. system."

The integration would involve mapping TPO's divine energy system onto Thirteen Parsecs flexible rules, potentially allowing characters such as the Mystic Knight or Psychic to embody god-like entities or demigods whose power 

grows with followers and influence across star systems.  

The supplement details three fictional deities and their  

strategic religious development, offering narrative and mechanical models that could inspire cosmic cults or divine conflicts within a spacefaring campaign

While no official conversion exists between TPO an  Thirteen Parsecs, TPO was originally designed with cross-system compatibility in mind, including 

conversion notes for systems like GURPS and Shadowrun. This precedent 

supports a homebrew adaptation, leveraging TPO's structured approach to high-powered divine gameplay within the sci-fi setting of  Thirteen Parsecs.

Cross Compatiblity Of Arduin Bloody Arduin With Other Rpg Systems Especially OSR Systems

Sometimes you need to look deeply into the origin points of the hobby for me as a dungeon master it's good to step deeply into the Aruidin Bloody Arduin rpg system.  And so I asked Brave's A.I. how compatible is the Arduin rpg system developed by Dave Hargrave with other rpg systems & here's what it said; 

 "Arduin Bloody Arduin (ABA) is designed to be compatible with most other tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), particularly Old School Renaissance (OSR) rule sets. The developers at Emperors Choice Games & Miniatures Corp. emphasize that ABA will be a proprietary, sovereign system, meaning it is not open game license (OGL) or any other open system. Despite this, its design aims for compatibility with a wide range of existing TTRPGs, allowing players to use ABA with various rule systems. The system is intended to be flexible enough to integrate with classic TSR dungeons, new modules from publishers like Frog God Games, or any other content with minimal adjustments. This compatibility is a key feature, enabling the use of existing adventures and campaign settings while maintaining ABA's unique identity."
These cross compatibility abilities of ABA enable the DM to take their favorite adventure modules or adventures then add them into their own campaigns without fuss or muss. 

 Arduin was a turn point rpg system with other rpg systems which brings us to;"Arduin Bloody Arduin Compatibility with Other RPGs

Arduin Bloody Arduin (ABA) is being developed as a proprietary, sovereign system by Emperors Choice Games & Miniatures Corp., but it is explicitly designed for broad compatibility with other tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), especially those in the Old School Renaissance (OSR) genre."

These systems dovetail deeply into Arduin's campaign setting and this is on a system level; 

"Compatibility Details

The system is intended to work seamlessly with a wide range of existing content:

• You can use classic TSR Dungeons & Dragons modules or newer adventures from publishers like Frog God Games with minimal adjustments.

• ABA is designed to be compatible with most fantasy role-playing games, allowing for easy integration of campaigns, monsters, and settings from other systems.

• A compatibility guide is being developed, exemplified by efforts like the  Portal to Adventure character sheet, which is designed to work with Arduin, Barrows & Borderlands, and Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg, showing a precedent for cross-system play." 

Arduin as a campaign setting is a highly rich and detailed world with deep Sword & Sorcery goodness baked in! And this is what I love to plug into as a DM for my players. And this goes back too 'Caliban the Flying Dutchmen of dungeons' for me. This is indicative of Arduin in general. 

The Direbane rpg blog goes deeper into the world of Arduin with a great video that has a solid overview of Arduin. All in all Arduin is a great setting for both old school and OSR games!