S3 'Expediation to The Barrier Peaks' by Gary Gygax With The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book

 

So let's pick up where we last left off on this campaign built we've been talking about the Amazing Adventures version of Starship Warden. Ernie Gygax threw his hat into the ring with the following comment; "Ernest Gary Gygax Jr.

The opportunities offered with moving characters to either or both the Empire of the Petal Throne or the Starship Warden. Both have been done with early Greyhawk characters. Jim Ward's own Elf flunky Bombadil is with the Vigilists group in Jim's own game. A crse scroll from a game my father was running for Jim James M. Ward. We have fought EPT creatures in the Dungeon but yet to have a character transfer to the realm.." 
First of all I love Jim Ward's Elven PC Flunky Bombadil, that's awesome right there.  Its gotten me thinking about S3 'Expediation To The Barrier Peaks' by Gary Gygax. The Starship Warden of S3 isn't the same ship as first edition Metamorphis Alpha rpg according to the S3  Drivethrurpg entry; ""Barrier Peaks" is about a spaceship crashing into the world of Greyhawk. Gygax was very clear is saying that the ship was not the Warden from Metamorphosis Alpha: "The size and the technology in this vehicle should make such speculation quite misplaced, in fact. The downed space ship is far too small, and its science quite different from that of the famed starship Warden." The connection between "Barrier Peaks" and Metamorphosis Alpha is thus more of a thematic one." 

Is this simply a thematic connection or is this simply another space craft that's a part of the Warden's sciencitific expediation fleet?! 

The 'Warden' is actually a biological collection ship. Monster after monster is let go on Greyhawk. The ship is long since abandoned by its occupants.  This brings home the fact that many monsters of AD&D are invasive species from other worlds. The  world of Greyhawk is a part of one of the crossroads of the planes. This module is also one of the possible origins of the mindflayer species. 

This module seems to be an almost homage to Robert Kuntz's famous 'machine level'. The module has many of the same sorts of technologies that we find in Metamorphis Alpha rpg first edition. 

S3 feels like a precursor to Metamorphis Alpha rpg first edition.There's so many points where you can marry the two games through S3. 

With the Starship Warden there's some more options on the table. S3 'Expediation To The Barrier Peaks' by Gary Gygax has no origin point for the 'Warden'.

Could the micro planar technologies that caused  the Human Space Empires collapse also be responsible for the Warden fleet to plunge out of hyperspace. The Empire of the Petal Throne rpg makes it very clear that when M.A.R. Barker's world was cut off from the rest of the planes that many people, alien races, etc. were trapped on Tekumel as well. 
Now its interesting that Ernie states that we fought E.P.T creatures in his dad's dungeon on Greyhawk. This means that not all of the planar gates were cut off from the planes. The door always swings both ways, could E.P.T. PC's find themselves aboard the Starship Warden?! 

In a word, yes! The fact is that some poor party of players might find themselves aboard the Starship Warden. Given the crazy situation that the PC's might find themselves in this might not be that far out of their wheelhouse.  But this begs the question. How many other dimensional gateways lead to planes cut off completely from the Human Space Empires?! Are there literally hundreds of derelict space craft hanging in hyperspace with undead crews waiting for some poor adventurers to stumble upon them. Let's talk about the fact that the 'Solar Burn'setting & timeline lines up quite nicely with the Starship Warden timeline. What happens if the powers in charge of Solar Burn mount an expediation to actually find the Warden & stumble upon Greyhawk's Warden instead?! 

Things can go from bad to worse as the expediation isn't prepared for the horrors waiting for them inside S3's Warden starship. And this might actually be a warm up for what's about to come! 
And this brings home another point, the ancient gatesways used by the Human Space Empire might in point of fact still be operational way at the back of beyond especially in a setting like 'The Wilderlands of High Fantasy' where the wilderness is so vast that just about anything can & does exist in the back end of beyond. 

There may also be various planar versions of the crash site of the Warden such as in the Wilderlands, Greyhawk, Blackmoor, etc. 
The hyperspace shunt of the planar collapse of the Human Space Empire echoed across the multiverse caused many consquences throughout time & space. This is something we see time & again in Science Fantasy & Sword & Sorcery game settings. 

Judges Guild has several adventures that make this sort of a campaign very easy. Classic JG was easy to insert into whatever campaign you need. The Wilderlands 'wilderness' is rife with adventure hooks that can be exploited to fit your home campaign  narrative. And this is where classic gaming succeeds on so many levels. Easy to adapt, fully modular, and even easy to fit, these are some of the characteristics of classic gaming supplements. 

OSR Keys & Gates - The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book

 Back in Nineteen Eighty, the Wilderlands of High Fantasy was growing & changing with each & every expansion. Spies of Light Elf is another wilderness expansion for the Wilderlands from Judges Guild. 

 Spies of Lightelf: Wilderness Book Two By Bryan Hinnen- Wilderlands project, histories, 25 maps, tables, three villages  Fantastic wilderness detail. Spies of Lightelf: Wilderness Book Two fills in a lot of the details on the side of the campaign setting for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. And surprisingly it does this very well. The question in my mind is there far more going on out in the wilderness of the Wilderlands then anyone suspects. Yesterday we spoke about Portals of Torsh. And the opinion not fact that could there be a definitive connection between the occult technologies of the brass rings of  Castles & Crusades Stains Upon The Green and the portals of JG's portal series?! 

The portal technologies of  the module series Portals of Torsh, Portals of Irontooth, and Portals of Twilight concern a series of planar locations & dungeons which the characters can stumble into or explore. But these portals may lead to ancient locations in dungeons & other ruins that few survive from exploring. Such trips maybe one way. But these portals are reminding me of the microdimensional planar technologies of the Empire of the Petal Throne rpg. 

Given the collapse of the dimensional gates from the Human Empire. Are we actually looking at old gateway technologies that other races stumbled upon and started using?! Anything is possible but the number of campaign setting worlds that might have been cut off by the collapse of the gates of the Human Empire?! 
How many planets continued as local interstellar  governments struggled with keeping up with the local sector demands?! 
Could this partially responsible for the full on cut off situation that we see in original Traveller?! 
Might this same style of hyperspecial gate collapse & hyperspacial shunt  be responsible for some of what has  happened to the Starship Warden?!? 

The brave starship flies through & hyperspecial gateway which messes with the unreality of the ship. Throughout space & time the events of the the microdimensional planar technologies of the Empire of the Petal Throne rpg echo. These events even blast a number of psychics causing the 'Scream' in Stars Without Number Revised. Star faring empires suddenly caught in the wake of events without their control. 

Now imagine that one of these worlds cut off from the rest of the interstellar community might be called Blackmoor & that a treacherous interstellar spacer sees an opportunity to land during the chaos. This is merely idle speculation but it begs the question. Does the wilderness hold far more then the adventurers suspect?! 

Secrets of Judges Guilds "City State of the Invincible Overlord" By Bill Owen and Bob Bledsaw - The Castles & Crusades Rpg Aligned With The Star Ship Warden Rpg book

 Its been ages since we've talked about Judge's Guilds "City State of the Invincible Overlord" By Bill Owen and Bob Bledsaw. There's some very interesting little tidbits worked into the background of the grand ol'e fantasy city state. I went over the some of the ins & outs of Judge's Guilds "City State of the Invincible Overlord" By Bill Owen and Bob Bledsaw here. 

Yesterday's OSR Nexus The Infinite City rpg session got me thinking again about Troll Lord's The Starship Warden & its possible relationship to 'The Wilderlands of High Fantasy'. More specifically ideas about  the planar rings of  the Rings of Brass, magical portals that lead to dwarven roads carved through the planes from Castles & Crusades Stains Upon The Green.

These Brass Ring portals  might in fact be portals created by the same occult technologies that appear in Judges Guild's Portals of Torsh?! Portals of Torsh was by Rudy Craft from 1980. And the module series Portals of Torsh, Portals of Irontooth, and Portals of Twilight concern a series of planar locations & dungeons which the characters can stumble into or explore. These were early planar travel modules. They are very underrated today & most players wouldn't have a clue about them. 

Portions of the Starship Warden that are stabilized & civilized in a sorta of pseudo European setting might have planar traders come in from the 'Wilderlands of High Fantasy' to trade with them. This leads into many possibilities including the fact that the wily invincible overlord or his court may have maps to the starship Warden. Then the question becomes what other destinations & secrets does the court of the overlord have?! Could they be making a packet selling information about other dungeons & adventure locations from aboard the Warden?! 

Review & Commentary On The Advanced Labyrinth Lord Adventure Record Sheets By James Mishler Games

James Mishler Games has been putting out some amazing OSR products over the years. Joining the ranks of his various Labyrinth Lord reference pdfs is a brand new set of OSR style Advanced Labyrinth Lord Adventure Record Sheets . 



Basically these are adventure, session, location, & stat journal sheets that let the players & DM's keep track of their Labryth Lord Advanced game sessions. According to the Drivethrurpg entry; 

"This pack contains the following:

A 2-page Party Adventure Record Sheet, which is used to keep track of the party members, locations explored, NPCs encountered, information learned, monsters killed, treasures won, henchmen & hirelings, divisions of the spoils and XP, and mysteries & loose ends of an adventure session.

A 2-page Character Adventure Record Sheet, which is used during ad adventure to keep track of the character’s combat stats, special abilities and skills, and spells, and is used to keep track of locations explored, NPCs encountered, information learned, monsters killed, treasures won, and secrets kept from other party members during an adventure session.

A 4-page Labyrinth Lord Adventure Log includes two pages dedicated to information needful for running labyrinth and wilderness adventures, including rules for time & movement; light & darkness; listen & spot checks; doors in the labyrinth; traps & trap detection; climbing, stealth, & swimming; and foraging & hunting rules. Also included are a page for keeping track of details of player characters and henchmen, plus a page for keeping track of marching order (by tactics), light sources, monsters and treasures, and notable events." 

But are these Advanced Labyrinth Lord Adventure Record Sheets  actually useful & worth the price of admission? Well?! In a word yes & here's why..Labryth Lord  is a retro-clone of Moldvay-Cook 1981 Basic D&D, a very simple and easy-to-mod version of D&D. Moldvay-Cook Dungeons & Dragons is streamlined & plays very well. Advanced LL adds some classes and races and stuff from 1st ed AD&D to Labyrinth Lord, creating a game simulation very similar to AD&D first edition. But characters are a bit under powered compared to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition. However there was a kickstarter that combined the various incarnations of Labyrinth Lord  into one book. If your looking for a really good break down of the differences of Labryth Lord Basic vs advanced there's this great thread on the Rpgsite. 



The Advanced Labyrinth Lord Adventure Record Sheets  bring home the bacon of letting the players keep track of the little 'ins' & 'outs' that happen during adventuring & table top sessions. These events are very important during old school play because they allow the players to keep track of their PC's during the campaign. This relieves some of the burden from the dungeon master whose juggling all of the other details during the game. So in a word yes the The Advanced Labyrinth Lord Adventure Record Sheets  are worth the dollar admission. 

Review & Commentary On The QUICK START CHARACTER RACE & CLASS SHEETS: BY-THE-BOOK By James Mishler

"The QUICK START CHARACTER CLASS SHEETS BY-THE-BOOK are designed to enable a group of players, new or experienced, to quickly create 1st level characters of the various races, classes, and racial classes available in Labyrinth Lord and Advanced Labyrinth Lord. Each race, class, and racial class is detailed on a single sheet with all the information needed to begin play with that class, including requirements, class abilities, a description of basic 1st level spells (as needed), and a list of starting equipment that makes the most difficult and tedious character-creation element – choosing equipment – relatively fast and simple!

Also included are appendices dealing with Rolling Up Advanced Characters, Rolling Up Basic Characters, Equipment Lists, Fast Packs, and Secondary Skills.

Note that the Quick Start sheets do not usually include any information about advancement, abilities, or spells available after 1st level, other than Experience Points required to attain 2nd level. For all such information, consult the Labyrinth Lord, Advanced Edition Companion, or Advanced Labyrinth Lord tomes."

The QUICK START CHARACTER RACE & CLASS SHEETS: BY-THE-BOOK By James Mishler  is essentially the quick jump kit for the  Labyrinth Lord retroclone system. In thirty two pages you have the essence of everything you need to get the jump on getting your game started with players right out of the gate. It does this in two ways one it gives the player all of the meat of the Labryth Lord system in one easy to digest system broken down into the very basics. Everything here is geared around & toward the player creating their PC's. It does this by creating everything needed to create your zero or first level PC.
This is especially useful for kicking off an Advanced Edition game campaign where the player's need to get the action moving right away. The layout is up to Mishler standards & the reading is easy on the eyes. 
All of the traditional Dungeons & Dragons style fantasy races are given face time here. Dwarves, Elves, Men, etc. all have their moment in the spotlight along with many of the common Labyrinth Lord classes & their advanced versions. 
All of the parts & pieces here fit for getting together a prime cut Labryth Lord game. The impressions here are that The QUICK START CHARACTER RACE & CLASS SHEETS: BY-THE-BOOK By James Mishler  are out for blood. Mostly PC blood in order to get you the player into the role of the PC as fast as possible.
Here's the Half Elf  in all of its glory. You'll notice all of the blown out information is focused exclusivly for the player. This isn't really a dungeon crawl guide but it sure feels like its everything for  the player.
"HALF-ELF RACE Requirements: None Ability Modifiers: None Ability Min/Max: STR 3/18, DEX 6/18, CON 6/18, INT 4/18, WIS 3/18, CHA 3/18 Half-elves are the result of the union of human and elf, and as such they seldom fit into either society. They often inherit a love of nature from their elven parent and a vibrant curiosity and ambitiousness from their human parent. In some lands there are settlements of half-elves, where elves and humans have mingled for long centuries. The child of a half-elf with a half-elf, elf, or human is a half-elf. Half-elves have pointed ears like elves and are slighter of build than humans of the same height. Half-elves average 5’3” to 5’6” tall and typically weigh 110 to 140 pounds. Halfelves typically live for 250 to 350 years. Half-elf skin, hair, and eye color are highly variable, depending on the nature of their human and elven parents. Male half-elves have a base height of 5’6”, females 5’3”. To this (d10) 1-2 Subtract 1d6”, 2-5 Subtract 1d4”, 6-8 Add 1d4”, 9-10 Add 1d6”. Male half-elves have a base weight of 140 pounds, females 110 pounds. To this (d10) 1-2 Subtract 2d6 pounds, 3-5 Subtract 1d8 pounds, 6-8 Add 1d8 pounds, 9-10 Add 2d6 pounds. Half-elves start out at the following ages based on class: Assassin 20+5d4, Cleric 30+3d4, Fighter 20+4d4, Magic-User 35+3d4, Ranger 20+4d4, and Thief 20+5d4. When multiclassing, take the highest base age and add modifiers from all classes. Age provides the following modifiers to 1st level characters: • Adolescent (24 to 44) -1 to Wisdom and +1 to Constitution. • Adult (45 to 99) +1 to Strength and +1 to Constitution. • Middle-Aged (100 to 179) +1 to Intelligence and +1 to Wisdom. • Elderly (180 to 249) -2 to Strength, -1 to Dexterity, -1 to Constitution, +1 to Intelligence, and +2 to Wisdom. • Venerable (250 to 350) -3 to Strength, -2 to Dexterity, -2 to Constitution, +2 to Intelligence, and +3 to Wisdom. These numbers include all cumulative adjustments. To determine skin, hair, and eye coloration, choose from the elf and human lists, or roll d6 for each category separately, 1- 3 as per male parent, 4-6 as per female parent. Elf Eyes: Half-Elves have infravision of 60’, and have keen eyes that allow them, when actively searching, to detect hidden and secret doors with a chance of 2 in 6 (1-2 on 1d6). Ghoul Paralysis Resistance: Half-elves have inherited a resistance to the paralyzing effect of ghouls, receiving a +4 bonus to saving throws against this effect. Languages: Half-elves speak their alignment language, Common, Elvish, Gnoll, Hobgoblin, and Orcish. Half-elves may select from the following classes, with the indicated level limits: HALF-ELF CLASSES AVAILABLE Class Level Limit Assassin 11 Cleric 5 Fighter 12 Magic-User 10 Ranger 8 Thief 12 Half-elves who multi-class usually do so in the following combinations: assassin/cleric, assassin/fighter, assassin/magic-user, cleric/fighter, cleric/fighter/magic-user, cleric/magic-user, cleric/ranger, cleric/thief, fighter/magicuser, fighter/magic-user/thief, fighter/thief, magicuser/ranger, magic-user/thief, and ranger/thief. Half-elf assassins and thieves receive the following bonuses to thief abilities: HALF-ELF THIEF SKILL ADJUSTMENTS Skill Adjustment Pick Pockets +10% Hide in Shadows +5%"
So as you can see everything is boiled down into its moving parts & pieces but the overall fit makes this a nice book to have at the table top level for several reasons. One its a one shop playing field with the set up & references needed to get things moving for the players. Two all of the old D&D favorites are here & ready to go. This makes number three a race again to see whose going to take full advantage of this exclusively. But do I think that you should get , The QUICK START CHARACTER RACE & CLASS SHEETS: BY-THE-BOOK By James Mishler? In a word, very  much so because the book is on sale on Drivethrourpg for a $1,& its well worth it. The time & energy that it took to birth these things into the wild makes this an act your gonna want to get in on.



Even the Appendix are useful with things like adventurers back pack to create everything you need equipment wise; "HALFLING’S PACK Backpack (40 lb. capacity, contains 14.75 lb.) contains 1 oz. vial of ink, 5 sheets of paper, quill pen, sealing wax, a vial of common perfume, shaving kit, small steel mirror, bar of soap, flint and steel, 5 torches, 5 days of trail rations, and a small wooden box containing eight vials of spices (4 oz. each salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, red pepper, paprika, cumin, and oregano); a bedroll, fluffy pillow, set of cookware (pot, frying pan, spoons, knives, etc.), and a wineskin (filled with 4 pints common wine) are strapped to or hang from the outside of the pack. A signal whistle hangs from a chain on the neck, and 5 handkerchiefs are stuffed in a pocket. Value: 39 gp, 7 sp, 7 cp Weight: 35.8 lbs.". Again its about getting you to play as soon as possible.
  The QUICK START CHARACTER RACE & CLASS SHEETS: BY-THE-BOOK By James Mishler takes full advantage of its reader to bring them up to speed on all facets of the Labyrinth Lord retroclone experience.

Do I personally think that its perfect for the beginning or expert players who are looking for a bit more in their game. We need more books like The QUICK START CHARACTER RACE & CLASS SHEETS: BY-THE-BOOK By James Mishler to help fill out the rank & files of player's PC's and get in on the OSR action as soon as yesterday.
You can find the The QUICK START CHARACTER RACE & CLASS SHEETS: BY-THE-BOOK By James Mishler  right here. 

Maximum Mayhem Dungeons Mail Call & OSR Review of The Palace of the Dragon Princess By Mark Taormino From Dark Wizard Games

Saturday's mail call consisted of a lovely white envelop with a really fantastic surprise! The latest entry from Mark Taormino's  Dark Wizard Games. The kickstarter happened June 10, 2018 & leaped ahead at a galloping pace & now I've got this fantastic envelop in hand. Mark knows how to pack his stuff right! Dark Wizard Games is a straight up OSR outfit & their adventures often fit the perfect parameters of old school campaigning while firmly being grounded in the present!

Mark Taormino has a history on delivering quality products & fun malevolent adventures. His adventures can easily be back slotted into an existing campaign without over clocking your own campaign world. I'll let him explain in this video from his successful  kickstarter.

The adventure plot is one part reverse high level adventure & one part inspired insanity; "Once upon a time the kingdom of Thorin Vale was prosperous and benevolent but fell on dark times with the death of the King. A new hope was rising as his only daughter, the Princess was set to marry the King's bravest royal knight restoring the kingdom to ultimate power. However on the wedding day, the evil Dragon Maelfesto attacked the castle by surprise and swiftly took control! The serpent drove everyone out and took the princess captive in the caverns below, wickedly enchanting the palace! The groom went in with a party of rescuers to save her but never returned. Riches beyond your wildest imagination will be gained for the ones who save the fair maiden, defeat the wicked beast and return alive from the Palace of the Dragon's Princess!"

Make no mistake that this is a deadly & high level adventure with all of the right parts & pieces for a party of level 8-12 PC's with axes to grind & coin on their minds. They'll be at the mercy of some of the most dangerous NPC's & monsters that they've encountered.


"The Wedding" artwork by Brian McCranie. The Wedding of Princess Francesca and the Evil Knight she didn't want to marry. Hmmm, somebody seems more interested in the ultimate magical power the Unification Rings will bring himself and kingdom more than his bride!


Taormino's writing is concise & the module's descriptions are up to the usual Dark Wizard standards here.  Dark Wizard Games always brings the old school strangeness & cleverness to the table with over-the-top monster encounters, outrageous magic, nasty  NPCs, traps, puzzles. The physical book is a really solid quality with the layout being right up there with other old school modules.  Palace of the Dragon Princess delivers ; 

40 Pages saddle stitched, 40 Encounters, a Removeable Cover with 2 Blue Maps,1 Fortress Map and 1 Underground Map plus 2 New Monsters & 4 Pre-Generated Characters to begin play with.
So not only are there PC's ready to go at the appropriate level but their perfectly suited for the module!  Not only that but they could with a bit of work be used as a rival set of adventurers if the players have their own PC's.



Since Palace of the Dragon Princess is meant for  use with OSRIC or adapt to 1st Ed AD&D, 5e, DCC, Pathfinder, D20, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, & many other old school Dungeons & Dragons simulations I could see this being dragged & dropped right into Mystara.  The kingdom of Thorin Vale could well be a minor kingdom in the  Grand Duchy of Karameikos. The puesdo European flavor of the Thorin Vale kingdom which has all of the hallmarks of this Mystara mainstay. 



The evil dragon cult has lots of possibilities beyond those presented in the  Palace of the Dragon Princess & could be used to represent far more ranging dangers then those simply presented in the module. The Dragon Maelfesto  has motive, timing, & real reasons for turning the castle into an adventure location. They've got all of the hallmarks of a continuing threat & the DM is advised to keep the master of the cult two steps ahead of the PC's & in fact continue to use him after the adventure ends as a reoccurring villain.



The Master" artwork by Brian McCranie really brings Dragos the  Dragos the evil Cleric / Magic-User cult leader to life & captures the malevolence of the NPC. He's excellently written & has lots of life beyond Palace of the Dragon Princess. There's lots of opportunity for the PC's to carve out their own place in the world of  the kingdom of  Thorin Vale but they're going to have a  lot on their collective plates & to deal with. While tongue is firmly in cheek in Mark Taormino's  Dark Wizard Games's Palace of the Dragon Princess the module never descends into stupidity & nor talks down to the dungeon master or his or her player's PC's. This is a deadly little romp of a high level module with lots of interesting NPC's, excellent artwork,nasty adventure locations, & lots of room for the PC's to make a difference in the world of Thorin Vale if they survive!

All Dark Wizard Adventures & Products Are Available Right Here 

And Dark Wizard PDF's Here 

Review & Commentary On Rats In The Walls & Other Perils By Jeffrey Talianin For Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea & Your Old School Campaigns

"Rats in the Walls”: A dockside tavern in Khromarium is plagued by rats of a most unusual breed. These abominable rodents have ruined the tavern keeper’s business and his life. The man is desperate, and he offers a substantial reward for the elimination of his horrific problem."


So about a week ago during the last snow storm I emailed Jeffrey Talianin about grabbing a copy of the updated Astonishing Swordsmen &  Sorcerers of Hyperborea adventure The Rats In The Wall & Other Perils. Boy I'm glad I did! There are several different things right off the bat about this pdf. First of all every adventure featured in this pdf is centered the Hyperborean city of Khromarium. Next is the fact that the lay out & cartography is light years ahead of the first edition adventure. In fact let's not touch on that other version of Rats in The Wall again. There are in fact three adventures Rats in the Walls, Chainsaw’s “The Brazen Bull”, and “The Lamia’s Heart”, by Jeffrey P. Talanian. (An early draft of the latter was published in the AFS fanzine.) Now Rats In The Walls is named after the controversial HP Lovecraft story but shares only a few adventure elements of its name sake. What the adventure does instead is to place 1st level AS&SH PC's at ground zero & to keep the adventure pressure up. The real star of Rats In The Walls & Other Perils is the city state of Khromarium. 
 Khromarium feels like your wandering around someone else's Sword & Sorcery kingdom that your adventurers have inherited right after they died in their sleep. Elements of this adventure don't feel real but not in a bad way. There is a nightmare like quality about these adventures. Even though Rats In The Walls is only a first level adventure this isn't a first level you really want your PC's to screw up on. They will die rather badly. The adventure is well done & really brings home the madness of the AS&SH's Khromarium
campaign setting. 

 Jason Sholtis  statue of the deity, Aurorus, "The Shining One", inspired by Abraham Merritt.
If Rats in the Wall is the introductory travelogue into the world setting of Hyperborea's capital city. Then 'The Brazen Bull' is the weird 'Heavy Metal'  kid in the corner  of the school bus.
"“The Brazen Bull”: Whilst traversing one of the seedier neighbourhoods of Khromarium, your party are solicited by a greasy-haired Pict. He offers to sell you a sheaf of magical lotus that allows one to see the future or to brew potions that empower the imbiber with sorcery. He beckons you to follow him into a dilapidated building...."

Here the player's PC's are brought into the mind warping effects of the world of Hyperborea right in the city state center of the action. This adventure is like the side streets of a 70's used Sword & Sorcery paperback story brought into focus into the interior of the adventure. This one doesn't over explain every single element & there's room here to really customize the Brazen Bull for your own AS&SH adventure. I like the adventure elements & the bring your own death vibe to The Brazen Bull. So far these are the adventures that I wished had been used for the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyberborea second edition rule book.The adventures feel real & solidly like they belong in AS&SH's world setting without being too heavy handed.  

"“The Lamia’s Heart”: Your party are contracted by the nascent master of an unsanctioned thieves’ guild. To earn his favour, you must steal a singular gem from the mansion of a prominent merchant. Purloining this gem, however, may raise the ire of the city’s official thieves’ guild; notwithstanding, the reward is significant."

If the first two adventures in The Rats In The Walls & Other Perils are Clark Ashton Smith & HP Lovecraft inspired then the third adventure is a straight up homage to Robert Howard creator of Conan. This is straight up an adventure that pays its dues in respect to Conan & his exploits. The design is tight, the layout very well done & the pay off could be a complete TPK if the player's are not careful.


AS&SH art by Del Teigeler and Glynn Seal

Thieves & purloiners are a must in the 'Brazen Bull' & besides the obvious uses. The thieves guild is vitally important to the success or death of the PC's. The fact is that these three adventures are easily exploitable for getting the characters into a heap of trouble in the back alleys of Khromarium. There's plenty of adventure hooks to grab adventurers by the throat & exploit their weaknesses to get them into the further ends of Hyperborea. I'm speaking of using some of the hooks in 'The Brazen Bull' & 'The Lamia's Heart' as lead ins for Tim Callahan's Beasts of Kraggoth Manor.  The deep alleys of the city lead to the edge of sand & suffering just waiting to put the 'hold of Hell' on player's PC's. 


That's the beautiful part of The Rats In The Wall & Other Perils its easily customizable to fit the campaign design & refinement of the dungeon master. Even though it only clocks in at forty four pages there is enough meat here to have the dungeons & adventure elements of Rats In The Wall to fit into your game. The Hyperborean burial grounds that brim with pre–Green Death treasures is only part of this series of adventures. 
Is The Rats In The Wall & Other Perils  worth your time & your money?! In a word yes! This  series of adventures sets the tone & ideas of Hyperborea very well. AS&SH has been using its adventures to help define the world of Hyperborea well & serves as a series of gate way adventures into this blood stained & violently soaked world. 

OSR Review & Commentary On Jarkoon - Adventures on Planet X! By Simon Washbourne From Beyond Belief Games

"Astounding! Amazing! Incredible! Non-stop action using familiar rules! Who wants to read through reams of text just to get to the action? No-one right? These rules assume you know how to role play. They assume you know about “Golden Age” comic book space fantasy adventures. (Sword & Planet rules through a retro lens). They assume you know how OSR products work. There, it’s done. You know how to play already. Just get on with it. Ray guns set to kill! Flash! Bang! Zoom!"
Last night I logged into social media & found that a friend of mine had slipped me a pdf  from the 'X' series of OSR supplements  from Beyond Belief Games. 'Jarkoon Adventures on Planet X ' is a pretty fast & loose Sword & Planet style setting for the X series of  OSR books which borrow heavily from public domain comic books & pulps. According to Brian Courtemanche;" the X series is a growing number of fantastic, fast-start, fun-to-play OSR games by the talented Simon Washbourne of Beyond Belief Games. "



Jarkoon is a setting we've seen a billion times, a Barsoom like planet of adventure with new PC classes, monsters, equipment, etc. The X series is done in a Swords & Wizardry style & this is fine. What separates Jarkoon from a thousand other OSR Sword & Planet settings is the authors enthusiasm & the fact that its packed into twenty pages.
There's no baggage & anyone who plays standard Original Dungeons & Dragons will be picking this setting up in four minutes or less. We get lots of old school Pulp role playing here with the Astronomer class which is your standard Dr. Hans Zarkov style mad scientist who invents gadgets & messes with things man was not meant to know.
"Astronomers are scientific advisers to Kings and Nobles. They know science and can even build small gadgets and devices but rarely venture into the territory of the “Science-Lords” whose ancient mysteries are outlawed in the City-States." All of the artwork is public domain comic book & Pulp artwork re-purposed for this supplement. We get a Jedd erm noble class & this is your typical Prince Voltan from Flash Gordon type or one of the countless Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoomian noble style. We get a scout class which is a redress of a Ranger style space man spiff type. Then the John Carter off worlder PC class of course. Then comes your standard PC warrior class & a Thark style Lo’Kreen race as class PC class;
"An ancient race from a distant sun, dislocated from their own world by the power of the Science-Lords. Somehow, they ended up on Jarkoon where they helped to overthrow the tyranny of the Science-Lords and make a home for themselves." Then there's the Psion class with a psionic system thrown right into the PC class.
You then get into a history of Jarkoon which again is a Barsoom or Sword & Planet setting but the author manages it in three pages!? We get flyers & air craft straight out of ERB's imagination.
A set of really super quick rules & then Jarkoon style names & NPC stats for your nameless folks who seem to come up as NPC's on the fly during game play. This happens to me each & every time. Then its four pages of monsters that have a surprising array of creatures for its size including the dreaded Science Lords. Missile weapons & melee weapons along with armor & the class combat tables.
The layout is clean, the tables easy on the eyes, & the bare minimum of clutter is welcome to someone like me who is getting very jaded with overarching OSR books I've seen over the last ten years. Your could drop your existing Dungeons & Dragons party onto
'Jarkoon Adventures on Planet X '  to watch the fun This is the thing this a pdf that demands to be played & Jarkoon simply a solidly done tool kit for Sword & Planet adventures. This is definitely a solidly done book coming in at twenty one pages & 'Jarkoon Adventures on Planet X ' is definitely worth picking up at three dollars. Why?! Because this little beauty can be used to add zip to existing Sword & Planet settings such as Planet Algol or even Lamentations of the Flame Princess's Carcosa. And yes the 'X' series of books covers a wide range of genres from Wild West to interstellar Pulp adventure. How do I know because I bought a few titles after reading through 'Jarkoon Adventures on Planet X '.

 'Jarkoon Adventures on Planet X ' could also be used as a side supplement to Barrel Rider Games White Star series of Star Wars film inspired rpg supplements.  I give 'Jarkoon Adventures on Planet X ' five out of five. Stay Tuned because I will be doing more  Beyond Belief Games  product reviews in the near future.