Review & Commentary On Mad Scribe Magazine Issue #11 For OSR Games By Mad Scribe Games

" In our eleventh issue, Mad Scribe dives deep into the heart of tabletop culture and beyond! We sit down with legendary D&D artist Erol Otus, chat with Griff Morgan about Blackmoor, revisit the cult sci-fi film Hardware, and explore the rise of robots in gaming. Discover how karma systems can shake up your RPG mechanics, and don't miss the chilling new adventure Whispers in Room Seven From painting miniature eyes to cosplay by Joanie Brosas and Kyle's top board game picks, there's something for everyone. Plus, Editor-in-Chief Chris debuts his cyberpunk short story, Dreams of Electric Coffins. Crack it open and stay weird!"

So over the weekend I grabbed Mad Scribe Magazine Issue #11  and it's exactly what I was looking for tapping into the major OSR Science Fiction vibes. There's a sense of nostalgia with each issue. The interview for Erol Otus whose been one of my favorites since I looked at my first OD&D materials.  They packed a lot into Eighty eight pages of OSR goodness. 

Griff Morgan's got a fantastic attitude towards Blackmoor's history and future. There's a great angle to the interview with Griff and it takes into account the scope of Blackmoor. Then Mad Scribe covers one of my all time cultclassic Science Fiction favorites and that's of course the fantastic film Hardware. The article was an injection of VHS goodness usage within OSR games. There's a great article on painting eyes on miniatures. 

This slides into the history of Robots within old school and OSR gaming. 'Whispers in Room Seven'  is a great little adventure with a twist or two for use with OSR games. Editor-in-Chief Chris brings his  his cyberpunk short story, 'Dreams of Electric Coffins' and it's a great little story  for inspiration for Science Fiction gaming. 

All in all  Mad Scribe Magazine Issue #11 is a great little issue that covers a lot of territory within old school and OSR gaming with a mix of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and adventure. 

OSR Commentary on Baptism of Fire Rpg By Rpg Pundit

  When it comes to Baptism of Fire by The Rpg Pundit  the hard copy has been in my  hands over the weeekend. We got together today to discuss our campaign. I hammered home the fact that your PC steps outside of a city within this campaign then you are hip deep in wilderness of Poland. And this blog post picks up from here on the blog. 

 Everything in the wilderness is trying to kill your PC's and this includes many of the Fey. These Fey are completely alien to what the players might be used too. Many of the Pagans within these Poland regions are simply appeasing these spirits and Fey. This means that the Fey courts may have deep ties to the human royals within Baptism of Fire. The courier class is an essential go between the royals & the Fey. 

The Christian faith is the shield against some of more heinious monsters in the game. The priest NPC class is the boots on the ground Christian influence that is converting the Poles and others. These conversions are part of the stablility & order that the church brings to the country. This is still a long ways off. 
The pagan influence is woven throughout this campaign setting. 101 Sarmatians gives a whole cloth groups of the royal families of Poland. 
And this brings up the fact that the Christian  relics from the first era are going to be very valuable to the Poles. This is the adventure plot point of  The Pundit Files – Issue 27: The Bones of St. Florian. The wilderness plays a central point within this adventure as an adversary as much as the monsters do. This is an echo of old school Dungeons & Dragons without a doubt. The Bones of St. Florian is a great adventure to introduce the PC's many of the themes of Baptism of Fire. 

Where The Treasures Are - Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg & Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg

This is post is going to pick right up from here on the blog.   Part of the advantage to diving into Sword & Caravan is the fact that there's so much setting information much of it a bit on the daunting side of things. That being said the book is also perfect for Lamentations of the Flame Princess with some gaming adjustments such as level & PC stat adjustments . These are no big deal. The big deal with Sword & Caravan seems to be deciding where to place your party of PC's on the Silk Road! 

Sword & Caravan dives deeply into a world of the past that no longer exists at all. The advantage here is that while history has been written by the victors. The past is a fertile ground to place your party of adventurers. And while yesterday I spoke of using demi humans with Sword & Caravan don't over do it as my adopted uncle used to say. Basically we've gone with the Lamentations of the Flame Princess axiom that the demi humans are fading from the Earth. That doesn't mean that their going quietly or nicely about it either. 

The Silk Road could offer hope & opportunity at least that's what the players might think! The truth is that the march & boots of history is going to pave over many cities, races, and culture. There's one name that echoes through the ages for a reason & that's the Great Khane. Merchants may be the spreaders of culture but the Khanes forces are the great equalizer along the silk road. Everything from the Caspin sea to the shores of China feel his forces presence. 

Wizards, mages, and even many of the treasures of mankind are going to find their way into the Khan's vaults, & coffers. So many of the treasures of myth & legend are going to fold themselves through adventures into the Khan's hands. According to a quick History Channel snap shot here, "Genghis Khan conquered more than twice as much land as any other person in history, bringing Eastern and Western civilizations into contact in the process. His descendants, including Ogodei and Khubilai, were also prolific conquerors, taking control of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the rest of China, among other places. The Mongols even invaded Japan and Java before their empire broke apart in the 14th century. Genghis Khan’s last ruling descendant was finally deposed in 1920."

So history basically gives the DM a wide latitude when it comes to legendary objects & treasures found along the Silk Road. 

The fact is that Sword & Caravan gives a pretty solid table of random treasures & loot major as well as minor to use within your games. The question is how many of these disappeared into the Khan's vaults never to be seen again?! 

A Sword & Caravan rpg campaign would have to be the right mix of styles & setting details with the PC's being a mix of treasure seekers & merchants. And there are several adventures that could be woven into a very dangerous mix for said adventurers especially if one was using LoFP. Zzarchov Kowolski's Pale Lady having just the right mix of Eastern as well as Western influences. And yes I know all about about Kowolski's other adventures & efforts. The Pale Lady stands out with it's other wordly & fairy tale on acid atmosphere. Why?! Because of the fact that I'm trying to stick with a bit of an LoFP theme here. 

The Pale Lady fits the Slavic & Silk Road weirdness factor in spades. The rabbit men, the Pale Lady, etc. doesn't need an explaination only to be placed & run on the Silk Road as a part of the mythic Indo European landscape. How & why?! Well get into that next time. 

OSR Thoughts On Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg

" Sword & Caravan is an OSR setting book for playing a historically accurate fantasy campaign set in the East along the region known as "the Silk Road" at the turn of the 12th/13th Centuries. This historic campaign's timeline is set amid the turbulent era between the Third Crusade and the Mongol Invasions. This marked Europe's earliest period of post-classical interaction with the East."

 

 

"As Players, you may decide to take on the roles of crusaders, merchants, or explorers traveling to ancient and mysterious lands. Alternatively, you may choose from any number of unique character concepts native to those lands."

 "With a detailed gazetteer of every region along the Silk Road from the Crusader States and the Muslim world to China, Sword & Caravan gives you everything you need to explore the history and varied cultures of a region filled with war, intrigue, commerce, and conquests."

Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan supplement is a huge expansion for the Lion & Dragon rpg moving the game into the era of the Silk Road. Sword & Caravan clocks in at around almost two hundred pages of history, new classes, & much more for the  Lion & Dragon rpg.  And while it's meant for the Lion & Dragon rpg Sword & Caravan could be used with DOM Publishing's Fantastic Heroes & Witchery as well. This could be a sorta of backdoor way of going especially with those already using  Dark Albion as thier primary campaign setting. This of course would be an alternative history way of handling adventure elements. 
Sword & Caravan's 12/13th centuries are an extremely  dangerous time in Europe & Asia with entire cities being wiped off of the European map. DOM publishing's Fantastic Heroes & Witchery  would be a far more dark fantasy centered Europe with many of the tools of Dark Albion coming into play to leverage play. 

While the history within the  Sword & Caravan supplement is front & center many of these titles are also a type of tool box approach to their contents. The DM can mix & match as the adventure  situation & the player's wishes dictates for their campaigns. The biggest change within  Sword & Caravan  is the role in which social interaction, commerce, and merchants play within an OSR setting. Yes dungeon crawling is a huge part of the equation but the party is far more mobile with the exploration of strange & alien cultures being front & center. There is nothing stopping a DM from using demi human races within a Sword & Caravan campaign. And yes the human centric element is front & center. There are many DM whom I heard from who are taking the traditional approach of using Sword & Caravan with demi human or humanoid elements. Many DM's have cited Michael Moorcock's alternative historical fiction books as being an element of this sorta of a tradition old school campaign. 

The truth is that the Silk Road presents it's own unique challenges for the DM who wants to move to a 12/13th century campaign model. Sword & Caravan certainly has the right tools for the job. My own Italian merchant character who is just starting out from an upper middle class family has his own set of challenges especially navigating both the dynamics of family politics & the Islamic world of this time. 

This is a very interesting mix to say the least & lately given my propensity for getting out from behind the screen. There's going to be more then a bit of hesitation on my part. With that being said, Sword & Caravan has some excellent tools for PC generation & much more. 
With that being said could Sword & Caravan be used with other OSR rpg's or titles?! The first one that springs to mind of course is Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. And given the period of the Silk Road's occupation?! The short answer of course is yes! 

Sword & Caravan would be a powerful tool for a LoFP campaign given all of the weird elements, dangerous NPC factions, & much more. But there will have be some adjustment when it comes to some minor gaming or rpg mechanics. And some of these same adventure & DMing elements also come into play with Lion & Dragon as the era's completely change & move according historical motives. 

Given the amount of material in both Dark Albion & Lion & Dragon it's easy to see the pivot points for a DM looking to increase their chances of  successful Sword & Caravan campaign with the Rpg Pundit presents supplemental material. While not necessary these periodicals certainly enhance the chances of a successful campaign. The step to run a Sword & Caravan campaign is a big one given the mountain of information that is provided to the DM. This isn't a bad thing at all & the book does give more then it takes from an OSR dungeon master. Sword & Caravan is an excellent addition to the OSR DM's arsenal & an excellent book. 

Rpg Pundit's Sword & Caravan From Mad Scribe Games For The Lion & Dragon rpg Is Available Right Here