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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT SIX MONSTERS DO YOU GET?

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND THAT'S ONLY THE FIRST HALF!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Grab It Right 

HERE

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

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

Grab It Right
HERE

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

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