Review & Commentary On Axioms Issue 19: Cohorts & Dynasties By Frank Skeivoll Romsvig, & Alexander Macris For Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg

 "Axioms is Autarch's quarterly supplement for the Adventurer Conqueror King System. Each issue of Axioms offers a mix of short content updates for ACKS, such as new classes, new sub-mechanical systems, explorations of specific themes within the game, short adventure scenarios, and more.  "

"In this issue, Cohorts & Dynasties, we offer:

• New rules for dynasties, including birth, succession, blood rights, and more
• New mechanics for adventurer-scale battles with large formations of troops

"While designed for use with ACKS, the systems are compatible with any d20-based fantasy RPG. They add a new level of flavor to the fall and rise of heroes in every campaign"

Axioms Issue 19: Cohorts & Dynasties By Frank Skeivoll Romsvig, & Alexander Macris For Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg is one of the latest Axiom issue to come across my desk. And what it does is add in rules on Cohorts & Dynasties. These are incredibly important because they plug directly into the King end game of ACK's. And PC's are able to pass along thier own hard work & sweat with adventuring onto their heirs & breathern (lackeys) now in ACK's. Axioms Issue 19 clocks in at fourteen page with some easily read articles & solid ACK's content. We've got rules here for adventurer-scale battles with large formations of troops & why this is important.  Is because it puts the military power of ACK's within the PC's hands. 
Within the ACK's bounds this is incredibly important because of the fact that rulership is partially dependant upon military might. And in ACK's this equals push back power with larger troop formations. 

Militaries & armies are dependant upon monies & some of these monies are partially from taxes as well as dungeon delving troves. This all cycles around too dynastic rule which is now a more dynamic part of ACK's. Is  Axioms Issue 19: Cohorts & Dynasties By Frank Skeivoll Romsvig, & Alexander Macris a crucial issue?! Yes in a way because it presents a new & different dynamic to the ACK's rpg system. Get  Axioms Issue 19: Cohorts & Dynasties if you want to add in the idea of empire & dynastic rulership as a part of your Adventurer, Conqeuror, King rpg campaign. 
Axioms Issue 19: Cohorts & Dynasties By Frank Skeivoll Romsvig, & Alexander Macris For Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg  Is Available Here! 

Review & Commentary On Axioms Compendium Volume 2: 9 - 16 From Autarch For Adventurer,Conqueror, King Rpg

Today has been a real roller coaster of a day as friends of mine have been messaging me, talking to me, etc about this 1.1 OGL business. And then Autarch today dropped the Axioms Compendium Volume 2: 9 - 16. What's so important about this Axiom Compendium; "Created with the support of hundreds of generous patrons, AXIOMS is a quarterly magazine  devoted to the Adventurer Conqueror King System. This exclusive compendium compiles the ninth through sixteenth issues of AXIOMS into an easy-to-use reference. It includes: 

• Issue #9 - All Creatures Great and Small
• Issue #10 - Macabre Monsters, Twisted Temples, and Grim Guardians
• Issue #11 - The Empyrean and the Chthonic.
• Issue #12 - The Art of Thievery.
• Issue #13 - Machinery to the Max.
• Issue #14 - Codex and Scroll.
• Issue #15 - Ancient Ways.
• Issue #16 - Wounds and Woe.

:Among the features within are “The Fetid Crypt of Anatu the Defiler”, an ACKS adventure; 9 new monsters, including faeries, nymphs, and nosferatu; 5 new character classes, including the dread priestesses of Nasga and the Nosferatu scion; 2 new playable races, the Nosferatu and Katripol; rules for creating custom fantasy races; rules for creating dwarven machines; and updates to the mechanics for hijinks, mortal wounds, and more.

While designed for use with ACKS, content in Axioms is compatible with any d20-based fantasy RPG built on the OGL. Axioms is made possible through the support of our patrons, who receive early access to the articles on a month-by-month basis. If you're already a patron, thanks for your support! To learn more, visit https://www.patreon.com/Autarch."

Not only does the Axioms Compendium Volume 2: 9 - 16 collect all of the pass issues of Axiom but it adds a ton of content to the Adventurer, Conqueror, King Rpg. And this includes updates for creating your own fantasy races, a ton of new monsters and more all done in a very tidy one hundred & sixty two pages. And for ACK's its much needed update of the material. The adventure “The Fetid Crypt of Anatu the Defiler” is a corker and very well done. Easily dragged & dropped into your own ACK's campaign. 

The forces of Law get a boast with the Dwarven technology & lore with the Machinery to the Max article. And we get a full on look at lore & research in 'Ancient Ways' while the ACK's thief get's his due in The Art of Thievery. If your an ACK's DM the the Axioms Compendium Volume 2: 9 - 16 is a must have!

And now is an excellent time to take too the deep end of Adventurer,Conqeuror, King! the Axioms Compendium Volume 2: 9 - 16 is available right over here! 

Review & Commentary On Axioms Issue 13: Machinery to the Max by Alexander Macris, & Darren Wheeler For The Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg

 There are times when it's easy to see the forrest for the trees and today is one of em. It's been a few years since the spine on our Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg book has been cracked. Last night was one of those nights. Why?! Because of the fact that the veneer of ACK's has filtered down among so many of our campaigns over the years. Adventurer, Conqueror, King's Players Companion adds a whole other dimension to the rpg line. 

 One of those is the Dwarven Machinist class one of my players all time favorites. And this brings me to  Axioms Issue 13: Machinery to the Max by Alexander Macris, & Darren Wheeler. Which expands the Dwarven Machinist class in very unexpected directions. Clocking in at nineteen pages. Axioms Issue 13: Machinery to the Max brings the Dwarven Machinist into it's own. It presents a class that has the potential to be the mad scientist, inventor, and insane explorer all rolled into one. 

For post apcolapytic campaigns the Dwarven Machinist could be a horror or a blessing depending upon their alignment. And Axioms Issue 13: Machinery to the Max takes this too it's logical conclusion. Devices, engineering, & ideas pepper Axioms Issue 13 giving the DM & his Dwarven players even more options. As Dwarven Machinists can save or damn a community as they want to. A guild of Dwarven machinists will be more then enough to take on any challenge presented to them. 

Sure there's device after artifact or automaton within Axioms Issue 13: Machinery to the Max.  But it's the presentation of the Dwarven Machist class as a complete & viable PC type that will add weight & value to a party of adventurers. 
There's some damn fine work for ACK's within Axioms Issue 13: Machinery to the Max and for an ACK's campaign focusing on Dwarven mechanisms & machineries this issue of Axoims is a must. 

Axioms Issue 13: Machinery to the Max by Alexander Macris, &  Darren Wheeler For Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg Is Available Here 

Mail Call - Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic Hardback By Matt Jarmak For Adventurer,Conqueror,King Rpg as well as Old School or OSR Game Systems

 "The ancient almanac of unusual magic, penned by the wizard-lord Aryxymaraki in the time before the Day Without Night, has been rediscovered…

Within the pages of Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic, you will find four new kinds of magic-user, each of which uses magic in new and exciting ways:

• Dwarven earthforgers inherit an ancient tradition allowing them to draw on the spark of the divine found in all creation to power their magic.
• Gnomish alchemists are experimenters whose concoctions range from ‘helpful and safe’ to ‘incredibly poisonous’.
• Terran engineers are scientists and builders from another time, whose inventions and tinkering certainly appear magical to most non-technological societies.
• Warlords draw on the chaotic energy of battle, taming it with their practiced tactics and leadership to ensure that their side wins.

These new classes are built for use with Autarch’s Heroic Fantasy Handbook, which provides rules for ceremonial and eldritch magic"

Its been forever since the Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic Hardback  By Matt Jarmak hardback was supposed to appear it seems. Then yesterday it materialized in our mailbox. Its so nice getting ACK's materials like this book because it blends so well with the Autarch’s Heroic Fantasy Handbook. In point fact its simply a PC extension book of that line. 


The hardback is a handsome volume printed in the US which is very unusual but the quality of the paper does set it off. And its the fact that there are  plans for this book that make it special. You can find a review of it over here that we've already done on the blog here. 

The layout is top notch the binding is solid, the whole cloth of the volume is perfect for the ACK's fanatic in me. This is also a perfect book to use with Troll Lords  Castles & Crusades. So the timing of this delivery couldn't be better. 

Given the recent material from James Mishler games Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic couldn't have come at a better time. So tonight its gonna be about cracking spines & getting to work on the campaign notes. There's some really interesting ideas happening. Is Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic worth getting?! Absolutely if your an ACK's fanatic like myself... 

Review & Commentary For Aryxymaraki's Almanac of Unusual Magic By Matt Jarmak For The Adventurer, Conqeuror, King Rpg & Your OSR Retroclones

 "The ancient almanac of unusual magic, penned by the wizard-lord Aryxymaraki in the time before the Day Without Night, has been rediscovered…" 

Within the pages of Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic, you will find four new kinds of magic-user, each of which uses magic in new and exciting ways:

• Dwarven earthforgers inherit an ancient tradition allowing them to draw on the spark of the divine found in all creation to power their magic.
• Gnomish alchemists are experimenters whose concoctions range from ‘helpful and safe’ to ‘incredibly poisonous’.
• Terran engineers are scientists and builders from another time, whose inventions and tinkering certainly appear magical to most non-technological societies.
• Warlords draw on the chaotic energy of battle, taming it with their practiced tactics and leadership to ensure that their side wins.

These new classes are built for use with Autarch’s Heroic Fantasy Handbook, which provides rules for ceremonial and eldritch magic. Because they use eldritch magic, the new spells (and tactics) described for the gnomish alchemist, the Terran engineer, and the warlord constitute more than one hundred new eldritch spells usable in any campaign that includes eldritch magic, even one that doesn’t include any of these new classes. Of course, it wouldn’t be an ACKS supplement without full builds for all of the classes and spells, and the source factors for gnostic magic, allowing you to build your own content to expand what’s in the Almanac"

Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic is one that I've been waiting for since the kickstarter reared its head a long while back. Clocking in a fifty six pages of ACK's goodness Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic  packs in the magical PC goodness for orienting magus towards the Heroic Fantasy Handbook.  

And like it Dwarven earthforgers are a welcome add on to Adventurer, Conqueror, King giving the Dwarven PC classes a much needed magical elemental boast. The class is well rounded & feels like it belongs in Dwarven hold deep beneath Greyhawk.

 Here's exactly the sort of flavor we're talking here;"At first level, dwarven earth-forgers are able to learn and cast gnostic ceremonies in the runic tradition. Unlike other ceremonial spellcasters, dwarven earth-forgers know only one ceremony at first level, determined by their choice of sigil of creation (see below). The ceremonies available to dwarven earth-forgers are referred to as invocations. They may cast an invocation at any level equal to or less than the maximum level listed on their progression table, below, for their class level. The invocation will describe its effects at each level in its description. When they perform an invocation, they may choose which level to perform it at; they do not need to prepare it ahead of time" We get behind the scenes building of the class from the ground up. Then variarations & much more.  The Gnome Alchemist is another class that as player & DM that I really like ;"Gnomish Alchemy is a new subset of magic for ceremonial and eldritch magic. It is a kind of eldritch magic, and uses all of the same source factors and can theoretically access the full spell list. In addition, any spells designed for gnomish alchemy can be used by eldritch spellcasters without any change necessary (beyond determining their shade). Instead of its spells being categorized as Black, Grey, or White magic, they are categorized as Toxic, Tolerable, or Safe. Instead of risking Corruption when casting Black or Grey magic, they risk exposing themselves to Toxicity when using concoctions that are Toxic or Tolerable. And instead of comparing their Corruption to their Wisdom score, they compare their Toxicity to their Constitution score. Thanks to their distance from the magic, provided by their use of alchemy rather than direct ritual, they can blithely perform acts that would sear the soul of an ordinary eldritch caster. However, because their ingredients have difficulty doing things outside the physical, effects that are perfectly safe for ordinary eldritch casters may be among the most toxic for a gnomish alchemist." 
Simple easy, & straight forward.. And its a well done class but then we slide deeper into the Alchemy levels for the Gnome Alchemist we get deeply into their background, motives, class structure, & much more. 
And then we get into one of the primary villain NPC race's magicks  of my campaigns 'The Terrans'. And their traditions of Terran engineering; "Like Gnomish Alchemy, Terran engineering is a new kind of ceremonial and eldritch magic. Terran engineers can easily do some things that are horrifying or dangerous for other eldritch spellcasters (including gnomish alchemists), but have difficulty with other things that might be simple for them. Instead of their spells being Black, Grey, or White, they are categorized as Hypothetical, Experimental, or Tested. Only Tested spells can be cast or learned safely! Even Experimental spells carry dangers with them, and Hypothetical spells, which truly test the boundaries of engineering, are even more dangerous. Like gnomish alchemists, Terran engineers do not gain Corruption in the normal way; instead, they gain intellectual apathy as they delve deeper past the frontiers of the science they know and learn the dark secrets of the universe. Their ability to resist this is based on their Intelligence score, rather than their Wisdom score." 
We get deep into the actual nuts & bolts of the alien technologies & dangerous sciences of the Terrans. And not all is wonderful with them. Take for example the spell Aversion Field; " Aversion Field Range: 0’ Terran Engineering 4 (Hypothetical), Duration: 9 turns Eldritch 4 (Black) By means of a supersonic noise above the level of human hearing, the caster can create a field that repels animals. The field affects a 480’ diameter sphere centered on the engineer when cast, though the field does not move after casting. The field lasts for nine turns. Animals and giant animals in the field when it is cast, or who attempt to enter the field for the duration must save vs Spell; on a failed saving throw, they flee in panic for 30 rounds. On a successful saving throw, the animal is not affected by the aversion field." Applied to the holdings of a Terran royal through his or her engineer a pattern of spells & operations for the Terrans emerges. And its not all rainbows & sunshine. This is a race whose spell casters have an agenda & its clear through out Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic that PC's better watch out. Finally we get a brand new class of magic in form of Warcraft; "The ebb and flow of combat…the dance between life and death. There is an art to war, to knowing when to step forward and when to fall back. When to take a chance, and when to cut your losses. And as with any art, there are masters of it. Those masters call their art warcraft. Is warcraft magic? There is power in it, and its secrets seem to be visible only to a talented few. Perhaps it is a matter of training and talent only. Perhaps there is magic in it, as there is magic in a sunset or in a baby’s first breath. There is a raw power available in combat, as primal forces surge to the fore while combatants strive for victory or death. Warcraft is the art of recognizing that power and of manipulating it through the actions of yourself and your allies. Practitioners of warcraft do not directly manipulate magic, and would not consider themselves spellcasters. They are strategists and tacticians, commanders and captains. By recognizing the flow of the battle (consciously or not), they can identify the perfect action to take at the time, and the effects of such perfect timing can be magnificent." 
Without a doubt Warcraft magi would be right at home in the field with the armies of Rome! Seriously this class is everything I was expecting & wanting from  Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic. This is a battle magi worth of ACK's warfare. A solid class of magus capable of pulling off some of the magicks to bring the war to the enemy in spades. This is a good solid class to add to party if their looking to profit & deal with warfare on a tactical or grand level. 
Could Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic be added to other OSR systems?! Easily in my opinion where Labyrinth Lord  & its subsystems are used. Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic is a good book to add into the mix to get the maxinum ulility out of your OSR systems. 

All in all I'm really glad that I backed Aryxymaraki’s Almanac of Unusual Magic it has just the right combination of OSR magicks & classes to make a worth while addition to a DM's tool box for Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg. 

Pre Christmas Review & Commentary On Gregorius21778: 30 Items of the Dwarfs From Kai Pütz a.k.a Gregorius21778 For Your Old School Or OSR Campaigns

"What you have here is a collection of 30 OSR items made with “Dwarfs” in mind. All of them are LotFP compatible, but if one exchanges “sp” for “gp” and assigns different Saving Throws it should work well with any other OSR-clone, too.

Most weapons, armor and equipment here may be bought by PC (or assigned to NPC, or a loot stash) without any problems. A few entries are “fluff items” that the GM may introduce during a game session.  Nine “magic items” are included as well, often crafted by Dwarf enchanters I named “runesmiths”."

Gregorius21778: 30 Items of the Dwarfs  is a solid addition to a menu of Dwarven options. We've got food, magic items, & even some equipment. There's mystic items in there too. Even though this is a Lamentations of the Flame Princess product 30 Items of the Dwarfs could easily be used with Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons. 30 Items of the Dwarfs  would be exceedingly useful for either Adventurer,Conqueror,King rpg or Castles & Crusades. 

30 Items of the Dwarfs  gives the dungeon master a tool kit to pepper items through out their Dwarven kingdoms & ruins.  One or two items could be the campaign target or focus to give the DM a hook to draw in the players easily. 
 Kai Pütz puts a bit of effort into his writing to draw in the reader with his take on the classic Dwarven tropes & tricks. And  Kai Pütz does  this for almost everyone of his items. Larry Elmore's Dwarven artwork feels like that Dwarven patron that employs your party. 

Gregorius21778: 30 Items of the Dwarfs   is highly recommended for anyone whose a fan of Dwarven PC's & NPC's magic, equipment, & magic items. These items are excellent for setting the scene of your dungeon, adventure, ruin, or kingdom. 

OSR Campaign Commentary Notes On S3 'Expediation To The Barrier Peaks' by Gary Gygax, DA3 'City of the Gods' By Dave L Arneson & David J Ritchie, Set On Greyhawk

"The Grand Duchy of Geoff has recently been plagued by a rash of unusually weird and terrible monsters of an unknown sort. This western area, particularly the mountain fastness which separates the Grand Duchy from the Dry Steppes, has long been renowned for the generation of the most fearsome beasts, and it has been shunned accordingly -- save a handful of hardy souls with exceptional abilities. Within the last few months, however, a walled town not far distant from the area, and four small fortresses as well, have been destroyed by mysterious attacks!"


 Today was the sort of a day that takes me back to the beginning of the OSR, DM  Steve & I started talking about S3Expedition to the Barrier Peaks the  infamous 1980 adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game written by Gary Gygax. Its infamous because we've been talking about using the module in both Mystara, & Greyhawk. We've got experiences playing with it in both campaign settings. Now we've writing about using DA1 Temple of the Frog By David Ritchie & DA3 'City of the Gods' in Greyhawk using Adventurer,Conqeuror, King's Rpg rules to run this classic module. But S3 'Expediation to the Barrier Peaks' by Gary Gygax is a perfect fit in this in this science fantasy  adventure path. 

"New Magic?

That's what the flying egg has. New magic unlike any ever encountered in Blackmoor. New magic of a type that could give the fledgling kingdom an important edge in the wars that are brewing on its borders.

There are only a few minor problems. Like the fact that the magician who piloted the metal egg to one of Blackmoor's sworn enemies, the monks of evil and eccentric Order of the Frog, are also interested in the magic represented by the egg. And, most important, the fact that the egg came from the distant and dangerous City of the Gods.

Set amist the blistered salt flats of the Valley or the Ancients, the City of the Gods is a strange and deadly metal metropolis whose powerful guardians do not welcome intruders. Yet it is to this place of deadly menace that Blackmoor's leaders now send a daring expedition? to bargain for aid in the coming wars? or to steal the magic of the gods."


But let's talk about the real threat that happening to Greyhawk, 'Why are there spacecraft crashing into Oerth?'. Besides the fact that Gygax & Arnseson love a good science fantasy dungeon crawl. So let's say that Saint Stephen The Rock is already deeply entrenched within Greyhawk by the time Gary Gygax's S3 'Expedition To the Barrier Peaks' happens. 
Captain Bork Riesling or one of his cybernetically altered clones may have been aware of the impending alien threat due on Oerth. If we read through S3 then there's a real sense of doom that seems to hang over the star ship of classic module. While the shp featured in  S3 'Expedition To the Barrier Peaks' is not the 

'Warden' of Metamorphis Alpha rpg fame. This 'Warden' might be connected with an mission to recover the crew of the FSS Beagle. A science survey vessel that's deverted to recover the crew of the FSS Beagle . This isn't going to happen not only because the horror aboard the 'Warden' but because of Captain Riesling.

 Why?! Captain Riesling himself  & his command decisions for the FTS Beagle; 

"Captain Riesling has never been a man to go strictly by the book unless there was some

advantage in doing so. Had there been a pressing reason to break the regulation

against contact with non-starfaring alien cultures, he would have done so without a second thought. But, at the time,it seemed like a good idea to avoid the denizens of this planet

except for gathering a very few specimens who wouldn' t be missed. The place was unbelievably primitive and terribly dangerous, even to robots. So Riesling decided to refrain

from formal contact. Instead, the distress beacon was activated, most of the crew went

into stasis, and the robots were programmed to go into a standard routine designed to

make the locals shun the Beagle's landing place. " 
The about comes straight out DA3 'City of the Gods'. Its Captain Riesling's paranoia about "Stephen the Rock" & his Froggies that causes the downfall of the "city" later on. There's a lot of a similiarities between the two modules for use: 

1. Two crashed space craft introducing invasive species to a primitive culture in either 'Greyhawk' or Mystara. I'm leaning towards Greyhawk here. 
2. Long receaching consquences & enviromental effects of the appearance of these space craft. 
3. The modules offered the introduction of a number of classic D&D  or AD&D monsters into the classic cannon of the 'Grand Games'. 
4. The long reaching affects of these events on a Greyhawk campaign are well known.  And any use of the City of the Gods as an adventure location would be set well before 'The Rain of Colorless Fire'. Unless this is campaign is set within 'The City of the Gods' on modern Greyhawk ala Dungeon issue #115 Raiders of the Black Ice by Wolfgang Baur. That's a whole cloth other blog entry. 

Now talking with DM Steve he pointed me to the Great Libarary of Greyhawk site & their take on the 'City of the Gods' module;"Ages ago (certainly before the Twin Cataclysms), the City of the Gods was the heart of a technocracy in what is now Blackmoor. The lords and ladies of the City used a combination of elemental magic and clockwork science to create automatons to perform all menial labor for them. Meanwhile, they devoted their time to art, philosophy, and war.

The original technology and magic of the City of the Gods seems to have been Baklunish in origin, based on secrets given to humans by the efreet.

The end of the age came when the city's automatons were struck down by a plague called "gear madness," or when the city's humanoid inhabitants transformed themselves into constructs themselves. Over the centuries, most of what remained of their civilization was covered by the encroaching Black Ice.

The City of the Gods was originally a fiefdom of some other land. The accessory College of Wizardry suggests that at some point before the City of the Gods was swallowed by the Ice, Blackmoor was claimed by the Baklunish Empire. By the early days of the Baklunish-Suloise Wars, the region now called Blackmoor was independent of the Baklunish and considered an ally of the Suel Imperium. During this period, the Suel emperor sent the people of Blackmoor an artifact known as the Unquenchable Scepter as a gift.

Occasionally, gears and other relics of this lost civilization will turn up in antiquities markets in various modern cities. These are eagerly sought by clockwork mages, gnomes, and dwarves, as well as groups like the Society of the Serpent." 

So what other secrets are hiding out in the lands of black ice?! Whose been behind the whole cloth mental illness  of  Captain Riesling's paranoia? Well that leads to one entity & that entity is 'The Egg of Coot' or at least Havard's version of the Egg. 

Could the Egg be behind the crashing of the science survey ship 'the Warden' into Greyhawk & other classic settings?! You bet it could! There's this great little article 
"Then finally came Oerth Journal #6. In it is a short story by Robert Kuntz called "Tales from the Green Dragon, Robilar Remembers: Journey to the City of the Gods." After I read the exploits of Mordenkainen (Gary Gygax)and Robilar (Kuntz) in the City (DM'ed by Dave Arneson, no surprise) I was more the wiser. However, Mordy and Robilar only scratched the surface. Here is the TRUTH about the City of the Gods."


Both DM Steve & myself are fine with this because it forshadows possible events done by the great Larry Elmore artwork mock up cover that Harvard made and while this is set in Blackmoor it could easily take place in Greyhawk right before the Rain of Colorless Fire. That's Larry Elmore's son by the way on the cover. Larry was kind enough to point that out when I posted this piece of mock cover artwork on Facebook. 


Its from here on where I'd grab my copy of ACK's Domains of War & Colonial Troopers  by Night Owl Worshop.  The events between Stephen The Rock & Captain Riesling have been heating over possible over ten or twenty years. With their mysterious technologies aging isn't a problem for these two. 


The forces of Temple of the Frog & Captain Riesling meet on the battle field set up by the Egg while it waits from the shadows for the weakened 'victor'? Possibly but there's far more going on here. Let's get back to 'The Warden' science survey ship for a moment from S3'Expedition to the Barrier Peaks' By Gary Gygax. That's gonna be a prize that both Saint Stephen 'The Rock' & Captain Riesling are going to want. They've possibly got survey parties scouting out the ship but communication was lost because of the dangerous conditions & invasive alien monsters around the 'Warden'.  But the Egg is really the one that gonna want that technology badly. If only there was a class of PC's who might be able to give the players an edge? 
 Too bad there wasn't a group of Dwarves who might have an advantage in this? Oh wait there is. There's The dwarven dynamo PC class from 'ACKS and Crafts' From Harpoon Cannon Gaming which is a perfect addition to just this sort of a campaign. But we'll cover that coming book coming up soon. 


For the moment the 'Warden' science ship is in the middle of Greyhawk's Grand Duchy of Geoff pumping out monsters & horrors into the countryside. The PC's in such a campaign are going to have to navigate the royals of  Geoff, 'The Gods', and even more! More Greyhawk ACK's madness coming up! 

The Gerry Anderson OSR Campaign Options - More Campaign Workshop Thoughts Part III - When A 'White Star' shines

 

A big problem with the OSR is the noise factor, the 'buzz' for new products & books has become a bit of a scree in the ether. Take for example the fact that putting a Gerry Anderson inspired Pulp campaign has been very challenging. Taking a look back at Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons has been a bit of an eye opening experience. You can read part II here. 

Lately a player of mine has been asking me if the campaign will have 'real' warefare rules,  about 'space ship' construction, & so forth. It got me thinking about using more resources from Adventurer,Conqueror,King rpg. This brings me to the cross over between Mentzer & Labyrinth Lord or more specifically the Goblinoid Games rpg Apes Victorious rpg.  There's a tremendous nostalgia between late Sixties & early Seventies Sci fi that driven by the 'Planet of the Apes' films. 

There has to be a meet point between the star spanning alternative Earth of U.F.O. & the Lovecraftian rest of this campaign. The problem with cosmicism ; "the literary philosophy developed and used by the American writer H. P. Lovecraft in his weird fiction.^[1][2] Lovecraft was a writer of philosophically intense horror stories that involve occult phenomena like astral possession and alien miscegenation, and the themes of his fiction over time contributed to the development of this philosophy.^[3]

The philosophy of cosmicism states "that there is no recognizable divine presence, such as a god, in the universe, and that humans are particularly insignificant in the larger scheme of intergalactic existence."^[4] The most prominent theme is humanity's fear of their insignificance in the face of an incomprehensibly large universe:^[5][6][7] a fear of the cosmic void" That void in ACK's world is the 'realms of chaos '

Is that getting players to open up & say,'ahh' for it is the incredibly difficult aspect of mixing gritty heroics & Lovecraftian bleakness. PC's should struggle to be heroic even in the fact of cosmic indifference. We get all kinds of Adventurer,Conqueror,King style Conan/A Princess of Mars goodness this is where ACK's 'The Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu' is playing a healthy part within this campaign. 

But what about 'the greater implied' universe of this campaign?! Hmm if only there was a Pulpy science fantasy alternative that could work with all of this & still retain the flavor of the whole affair?! 

The answer has been sitting on my hard drive since 2015, Between Star & Void From DYS Games is for The White Star rpg system now in the White Star Galaxy edition and its completely backwards compatible with all previously-written third-party White Star content.

But,but, its not Pulpy enough were the cries heard the other night. Fortunately Charles Thorin did me a solid by producing a whole bunch of Pulp inspired classes & whatnot through his Magic Pig Media imprint .  So we've got Space Amazons coming up! 

This contrasts really solidly with the darkness of a Carcosa/Cha'alt setting especially given the changes that we've seen in Venger Satanis's Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise. Eighteen months have passed & the black pryamid is on the move with the political forces of Cha'alt exploiting the demon worms & the alien  natives. 




The do gooders of such a campaign are in for more then a passing 'bitch slapping' by the forces of Cha'alt including the Great Old Ones. But I've got more thoughts on that coming up. 

Review & Commentary On AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen By Michael H. Stone, & Alexander Macris

 Over a thousand years ago, the Zaharan Sorcerer-Queen Semiramis reigned over a court notorious for its decadent arts and lavish opulence. The hidebound nobles of Zahar were troubled by the ascendance of the kingdom’s first female monarch. Semiramis was beset by over one hundred suitors, each one demanding that she marry him so that the kingdom might have a king. Many of these suitors were powerful spellcasters who wove enchantments upon her, but to no avail: The Sorceress-Queen wore the Ring of the Queen’s Heart, a legendary magic item gifted to her by the goddess Nasga that made her immune to her suitor’s charms.

As beautiful and cruel as her goddess, Semiramis instead seduced her perfidious suitors into swearing eternal love to her – then had them slain. The Sorceress-Queen mummified and interred all one hundred suitors in her own majestic sepulcher, where they would serve her as loyally in death as they ought to have in life.

Since then, the sepulcher of the sorceress-queen has lain hidden and undisturbed, its undead inhabitants slumbering in torpor until the prophesied time of the Awakening. But now a reckless warband of lizardmen has broken open the ancient tomb and disturbed evils not seen in centuries…

When it comes to anything ancient Egyptian themed I'm a huge sucker for OSR supplements, books,& especially adventures. So when it came to the Middle Kingdom inspired Adventurer,Conqueror,King rpg AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen (SoSQ) adventure I was all in. So much so that I stepped up & bought in on the Table Top Game On Funding Project. This is not a huge adventure & it clocks in at fifty six pages of OSR goodness but realize that this is a nasty little dungeon romp for PC's levels 7-9. 

This isn't the usual animal of an adventure when it comes to ACK's because the Zaharan Sorcerer-Queen Semiramis is a menace in every sense of the word here. If the dungeon isn't cleared & her reign of evil isn't stopped then things are going to get beyond ugly for the PC's here. Our witch queen is set up in this adventure to become a real thorn in the sides of the PC's if she's not put down. That's the whole cloth issue here 
This is a nasty dungeon as well with tricks,traps, & some really nasty monsters all crammed & jammed into fifty six pages of ACK's goodness. Sorcerer-Queen Semiramis could become a straight up villainess of epic proportions within her own right to the back drop of the PC's rule with their own ACK's campaign. 

AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen  does a good job setting up its own inter universe adventure logic & sticking with it. This adventure owes more to Robert E. Howard's Conan then it does real world history. But it does it in a slick & solid package that rises to the usual level of ACK's products. The cartography is well done, the layout is good, the plot of the dungeon is well thought out but its placement?! I've got some 'suggestions' on that. 

But where does one place AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen  in the campaign setting of ACK's?! Well there's the official explanation  which dives it right into the world setting of  the Auran Empire found within The Auran Empire Primer . And then there's my personal take on AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen . Take this adventure & throw it whole hog into Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu world setting. 



Not only is  AX6: Sepulcher of the Sorceress-Queen going to shine but its going to take  the Zaharan Sorcerer-Queen Semiramis into the threat level that the campaign deserves. Here we get to see the influence & darkness of the Zaharan Sorcerer lines of royals in spades! 
The adventure is solid but the NPC potential of  the Zaharan Sorcerer-Queen as a campaign villain is outstanding. She's got to be the potential to be a royal pain in the arse of any PC's for years to come. A very well done adventure & one I'm glad to add to the collection! 

Some Revamped Thoughts on The Hollow World's Light House & the Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg

"Thousands of years ago, the Immortal Ka inspired learned people from the many cultures of the Hollow World to make a dangerous journey to the mountainous area where the Valley of the Lighthouse is found. There they could shed their cultural bias and dedicate their lives to the accumulation of knowledge.

The existence of the Lighthouse is a secret to players, but they may eventually discover its location and inhabitants.

How would you use the Lighthose in a Campaign?

-Havard"

Check out some incredible Blackmoor goodness from my friend 
Håvard Frosta Blog 




I ran across this thread on the Piazza & let me give you a bit of background on the 'why' of things. I've been doing research combing through forums & going over my Mystara & Greyhawk box sets. Most of this has been an attempt to put together shadow passages between the various dungeons of Mystara & Greyhawk. Not simply T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil by Gary Gygax & Frank Mentzer. 
Are the connections between Mystara & Greyhawk deeper then most players realize?!  I think so & poster Argentmantle goes into a very interesting background for the Lighthouse in his own campaign;
The second example is a bit hairier. The Lighthouse was used as the repository for vast amounts of knowledge... and like the Vatican, its vaults were chock full of things that were best left locked away. The characters were working for a patron who was (unknowingly) under the influence of Thanatos. They were researching a way to remove the Nithian towers. So, over the course of the campaign, they researched bits and pieces of lore. They eventually stored the Regalia of Evil, which allowed the entropic effects to twist the people of the Lighthouse, there. The final showdown took place in the 'catacomb' like storage vaults of the Lighthouse... a merry chase across the land and eventually a final showdown at the Tower of Soth. In the end, the characters had delivered the Regalia of Evil to the Tower of Soth and one of the Burrowers awakened."


That regalia he's talking about is the 'Regalia of Might' or 'Evil' which goes all of the way back to Eldritch Wizardry in 1976. They would be further developed in AD&D second edition's Book of Artifacts.  These are powerful artifacts & are only a sample of the type of items found in the lighthouse

.


Poster Argentmantle goes on to further define his own campaign setting use of the lighthouse, the 'regalia', & the lighthouse as campaign adventure setting ; "The Tower of Soth is one of the Burrowers that was trapped by the Spell of Preservation.

I personally used the idea that the architecture was a mixture of Egyptian (i.e. Nithian) and organic style. It was twisted but recognizable. Until the party reached the inner sanctums of the place, it was a normal building with details that were just wrong. Like the room seemed to have a recognizable 'pulse' just out of conscious hearing. Or that a hallway had a capillary effect, organically moving just a bit... enough to feel 'wrong' but not enough to scream about. As they got nearer the 'core' the level of wrong increased until the party was walking through the circulatory system of a large wormy thing. 

The Nithian hieroglyphs were also a neat way to play things up. We used a cheap book that someone got at a used bookstore as the guideline. This way I could make the players have to do some work as well. The outer rooms were filled with hieroglyphs that were recognizable and meaningful, speaking of warnings, ancient hidden things, shadows in the night... but as they moved deeper into the place, they discovered that the hieroglyphs no longer meant anything and were becoming just a collage of twisted images. In the final antechambers, the walls were just adorned gross and twisted imagery.

As they brought the artifacts into the Burrower's tomb, the place began to seethe with life. Like something very old and very terrible was waking up. Unluckily, the players didn't quite get the message until they had brought the Regalia into the 'heart' of the tower. The players thought they would confront a powerful Nithian mummy or Pharoah, maybe even the agent or invested mortal form of Thanatos himself. The problem was they had fully reawakened the thing and it had started to be alive again.

I explained the situation, that they were literally inside of the monster that they weren't supposed to be in... they had awakened it fully. And it really should have digested them at this point. The reason the party ended up as worm food was because a Wizard and Priest didn't get along in character... and didn't share the pieces of information that when together gave the missing pieces of the puzzle. I applauded my players for sticking to their roleplaying... shook my head and started polling for information for the next campaign.

I like a building sense of dread and fear and than a climax of heinous evil. Basically, there is a lot of foreboding along the way, corruption, twisting, and than the truly evil stuff kicks in. When dealing with things like the Burrowers or Entropic Immortals or Evil Gods, I believe that these incarnates of evil are palpably so. I think I read too much Lovecraft and CAS for it not to be that way.

Now, onto the Regalia of Evil...
The Regalia of Evil is a trio of Evil (notice the capital E), artifacts. They consist of a crown, orb, and rod. I modified these slightly to appear like a ankh, rod, and double crown of Nithia. The party collected them with the idea of keeping them out of the clutches of Evil minions, but in truth were delivering them to a more powerful, more subtle evil that was working at the Lighthouse. Them strong nature of these things corrupted some of the staff of the Lighthouse who were involved in the running battle through the lower levels. Then the party chased the villain. They made it to the Tower... defeated him on the doorstep then carried the artifacts into the tower. 

I think the Regalia was a 2E thing... I know they were in the AD&D 2E Book of Artifacts and showed up in 3E. They are basically alignment artifacts of extreme potency and more so when combined as a set. I think the combined power was that they could make one of the Burrowers bend to the will of the wielder (if they were evil)... in truth, this was a lie propagated by an Entropic Immortal... it gave the wielder no power of them, just needed the delivery service.  There is supposed to be a Good and Neutral set as well. I just liked the concept and kinda made the powers and abilities of it my own. I'll look and see if I have that stuff in an old binder somewhere. I was making notes on my PC, but not really keeping things saved with each transition to a new computer."
The real question is does Greyhawk also have a lighthouse as well? These entropic aligned Immortals might also be connected with their other planarly counterparts. Are these lighthouses spread across the planes as a sort of storehouse for both knowledge, magic, dangerous artifacts & more? The 'Regalia of Evil' are indicative of the sort of artifacts that we see in Greyhawk lore. These artifacts first appeared in Eldritch Wizardry in 1979 & played a role in several D&D & AD&D products over the years. They are certainly not to be taken lightly & Greyhawk's mythology is peppered with them.  In fact I recalled a recent blog post from  the Greyhawkery blog titled 'Infinity War and Greyhawk' from May fifth of last year. 
It up points the type of world & history shattering effect that artifacts can have on a campaign. So could these lighthouses actually be locations of cooperation between the gods & the Immortals? Certain factions of godly power studying, examining, & planning to foul the plans of the followers of Entropy across the planes?!
The answer might be a resounding yes because they came from a time when the planes were truly threatened in a epic level war against Entropy itself. This means that these lighthouses might be peppered across the planes in various old school & OSR settings. This also means that the 'lighthouses' that have been abandoned for a very long time might be some of the most dangerous dungeons that player's PC's can come across.
This goes right back to the 1979 Original Dungeons & Dragons book 'Eldritch Wizard' many of the artifacts in that book specify a conflict or many battles that these artifacts had seen action in. Not only are these artifacts vital to the historical mythology of Greyhawk & Mystara but to very nature of the planes.


And that gets into my next bit of D&D relic & artifact lore. The idea that should relics like this come into a campaign or be the Macguffin for a campaign then it could & would effect the entire campaign's outcome. This dives deep into the fact that OSR games such as Adventurer,Conqueror, King rpg could use these objects of power to tip the balance of a campaign setting. 


This dives very deeply into the very nature of domain play & what the appearance of the Lighthouse of Ka means. The Lighthouse along with its scholars represent knowledge & perhaps the next phase or jump in history. He who possesses such knowledge possesses the means of moving the whole world forward! Thesehold issue #9 dives deep into the fact that this sacred aspect of the Lighthouse could be exploited by a party of high level adventurers! The lighthouse is both the key & the damnation of a campaign! 



Does the Lighthouse represent the point where the clash of the past & the present could collide? If the safeties of the Hollow World were removed? Could PC's be left facing some incredible battles as cultures of the past & present clash on the fields of battle. Could high level villains such as ACK's liches & undead royals of the past under the patronage &  influence of the Entropic immortals become a conquering army unleashed on a world unprepared for the onslaught?! 

With powers such as the Entropic Immortals & the Hallow World at sake as a cultural museum there's lots of possibilities. The importance of the Lighthouse of Ka across worlds is key to both balance & possibly power itself within a game setting. I'm going to be exploring ACK's role  further in Hollow World campaign  in the next couple of days.