OSR Commentary On Skirmisher Publishing's The Living Building By Derek Holland, & The Skirmisher Group For the Mutant Future Retroclone & Gamma World Rpg

 “Just after dawn, a village scout dashed from the forest carrying a wondrous, and perhaps even terrifying, story of a huge, circular shell with a door, a massive coiled building that sprang up during the night. And it is still growing … ”

"Whether from forgetfulness, mental blockage, or intrusions of the dread “real life,” every storyteller has probably experienced that sinking, not-so-prepared feeling before a game. This sourcebook provides a remedy for the next time that happens, and includes an adventure location that is both a little pre-generated and a little homemade, is immediately expandable and adaptable, and can be replayed without seeming like a re-run, because the building changes even as the characters explore it."

“The Living Building” includes background and physical description for the title structure; a floorplan for a particular living building; problems with living buildings that can make them interesting and dangerous places to explore; tips on using living buildings in game sessions; tables for determining the contents of rooms; hazards that characters might face in living buildings; and a section on monsters particularly likely to be encountered in living buildings that includes four new creatures and three new mutations. "

So I'm going be needed an adventure location for our upcoming OSR Science Fiction or Science Fantasy rpg campaign over the weekend. And it's gotta be weird, dangerous, etc. Here's where the classic Skirmisher Publishing's The Living Building By Derek Holland & the Skirmisher Group comes in.  The Living Building is a great stand in for a near human alien building especially for a B/X inspired OSR game. And that's exactly where the sweet spot is for our weekend games. But why?! Because Skirmisher has put in some time & effort for OSR  games such as Mutant Future. 

And these conversions is where this Dragonfoot thread comes in really handy according to  Finarvyn back in July 2011 he says, " The answer to this is totally based on how well you take adventures from one game and use them in another. Can you take OSRIC or B/X D&D or S&W and use them interchangibly? If so, then you're in good shape for the editions of GW that you mentioned.

I think that in general 1E/2E and 4E are all extremely interchangible philosophically. All are very similar to old school D&D. (B/X perhaps.) Mutant Future is based on Labyrinth Lords, which is also similar to B/X D&D. All of these use quite similar mechanics, etc, and adventures for one can be used for another with minimal effort, in my opinion.

As long as you steer away from the oddball versions of GW (3E was based on the MSH colored chart, I think 5E was the one created for Alternity, the newest GW is written for D&D 4E) you'd be fine." 

And to bring this back to the Living Building there's the entire building & it's contents all in one. This means that the DM has everything as it also includes the monsters as well. This makes the Living Building a snap to drop into your own OSR games. 
And this is one of the best reasons to use 'The Living Building' by Derek Holland for alien adventure locations & according to Drivethrurpg reviewer Jason A.; "I was not expecting to get as much as I did from this book, buying it just for the novelty. But there is so much material in this book, each room giving detail and source for new items to be brought into my Gamma game, and room by room an easy way to organize the info. Imagine a structure growing from the ground, encroaching on a location, but with such wonders for your post apoc group, except something is wrong, it keeps growing and there are dangers the original builders never thought would be a worry to the original owners, but as a post apoc group, the things inside are strange and deadly. Good tables too, new mutations, and interesting monsters." 

I'm going to adjust the mutant monster encounters, and the artifacts table for our humanoid near human alien colony that the players are going to be encountering. And  ' The Living Building' has everything that I need going into DMing this weekend. And this makes   The Living Building  perfect for Stars Without Number, Hulks & Horrors, and other OSR Science Fiction  games that use a B/X base. 

Or   The Living Building  could be used with Siege Engine rpg games as well especially James Ward excellent Starship Warden rpg.  Still available through Amazon even though Troll Lords has moved on. 

 The Living Building  is a self contained encounter & works well as an unexpected adventure location that the player's PC's run into. All in all I'm glad to dig out this classic Skirmisher Publishing resource. 

Skirmisher Publishing's The Living Building By  Derek Holland, & The Skirmisher Group For the Mutant Future Retroclone &  Gamma World Rpg Is Available Here 

Review & Commentary On Summoning 'Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' By James Mishler, & Jodi Moran-Mishler From Mishler Games For Your Old School Campaigns

"Have you ever wanted to go out into the wilds and capture and train Magical Beasts as companions, friends, and your helpful bodyguards/prize fighters?

Have you ever wanted to show up that snarky friend of yours who said you just didn’t have what it takes?

Have you ever wanted to be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was?"

 So today has been a hot, blistery, and coma inducing heat wave here in the Northwestern corner of Connecticut. But last night James Mishler contacted me with a new product to review & now I've got a certain animated children's show from the 90's humming through my head. Anyhow, Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit By James Mishler,  & Jodi Moran-Mishler clocks in at sixty four pages of OSR goodness. 
This must have been a labor of love for the Mishlers because he covers everything from the PC summoner class to every aspect of magical beast ownership, training, and overlap.  Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit hits literally all of the aspects of the class & running a magical beast campaign. Here's what's behind the PC class itself: 
Starting Magical Beasts
Binding Magical Beasts
Healing Magical Beasts
Summoning Magical Beasts
Training Magical Beasts
Companion Magical Beasts
Bonus Special Abilities
Summoner Specialties
Beast Master
Beast Lord
Building a Summoner Organization

Mishler has been running a full on OSR style campaign using his  Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit & the crazy thing is that it could well work as a full on add in to your own OSR campaigns. And here's exactly which old school book I would use  Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit for and that's the AD&D first edition Fiend Folio.

The idea of a pack of trainers joining adventurers in the campaign wilds and then trying to cope with the murder rage of something like a devil dog or some of the other nasties in the Fiend Folio is great. 
 Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit gives all of the guidelines as well as the weirdness factor in spades for a full on expedition into say Greyhawk to go and collect em all. 

Sorry please forgive me but in sixty four pages  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' is both frightening and awesome to think of this supplement's applications. Imagine heading into the dungeon to collect your magical beasts and things go either very wrong or very right depending upon your perspective. On the one hand there's more then enough information to integrate this supplement into your old school campaigns. And on the other hand  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit'. 

Sky is the limit when it comes to using  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' because there are several OSR campaign settings where this supplement could easily be dragged and dropped. First of all  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' could easily be dropped into a LoFP Carcosa campaign where the guidelines provided for 'magical beast or monster' creation could have entirely different blend. A more insane Lovecraftian bent to be exact.   'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' could also be used for a down right crazy Castles & Crusades rpg campaign. The foucs turns on itself & now the player's PC's  are running for their lives! They're  trying to deal with the consquences of screwing up in a dungeon whist running for their lives from a dragon after waking it! 

And the third option is to use  'Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' for a Mutant Future or Gamma World style post apocalyptic game campaign & man would absolutely insane. 

This could easily work with either Mutant Future or Gamma World as the mutant animals are taken through the Magical Beast Ability Scores,  mutated through the 14 Energy Types. 
Magical Beast Experience vaule is calculated and then  Magical Beast Experience Value is worked through. And then  Magical Beast Loyalty & Morale comes into play with 
Breeding the Magical Beasts. 
And there's going to be a lot of mayhem & death with a campaign like this making it all the more fun. And deadly among the irriated ruins of  your favorite post apocalyptic landscape. 

And further given how much work the Mishler's put into  'Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit'  it's easy to see further campaign options. But is it worth the eight dollar price tag?! Well yes because there's even a 'magical beast PC class as well. And yes I know what your thinking but the Mishlers have created a whole book load of options for the class & it works! The levels, experience charts, campaign options and more are well done and easily droppable into your favorite OSR game system. Get this if your into a quirky off beat and easily playable OSR option. 

Summoning 'Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit' By James Mishler,  & Jodi Moran-Mishler From Mishler Game For Your Old School Campaigns Is Available Right Here!