OSR Commentary On Adapting Dark Wizard Games's Maxium Mayhem Dungeons#3 Villians of the Undercity By Mark Taomino Into A Sword & Sorcery Campaign

 "Danger lurks at every corner of the small coastal city of Los Farport. The locals insist people are being abducted in the night and taken into into the bowels of the rumored “Undercity Dungeon” below. A lone survivor managed to escape and give some information before dying in your arms: “Secret door… Tavern of the Wiley Wench… Ugh!”

" You and your brave team of adventurers have decided to investigate these rumors, plunder the dungeon and destroy the dreaded “Villains of the Undercity!”…right after you loot his still warm body, of course."
This blog post is going to pick right back up from here on the blog. 

Dark Wizard Games's Maxium Mayhem Dungeons#3 Villians of the Undercity By Mark Taomino doesn't seem like the kinda of module that could have life as a Sword & Sorcery campaign. While this might on the surface be true in actuality & practice it's far from the truth. Los Farport has been a silver of 'Old Earth that has survived the Great Disaster & been flung deep into space just off the South of Hyperborea's deep aural North Winds. Los Farport & it's environs maintain a late Roman Empire style level of technology with pockets of early elecricity & other odd bits of seemingly modern technologies. The truth is that these are one off inventions created by the odd inventor or dark wizard. Warmed by the burning corpse of a dead fire god Los Farport is almost but not quite your seemingly 'normal' world's most popular fantasy rpg table top world. In our version of Villians of the Undercity the 'fantasy' races are actually the former troops of Ragnorok left behind.

 The Elves are from the realm of the Light Elves, the descendants from the  dökkálfar and ljósálfar respectively. The  dökkálfar includes the Norse Dwarves who are from the same realm as  the svartálfar ('black elves').  Los Farport is also the home of numerous human variant races & others. 
This is a world that one upon a time before the Green Death traded with Hyperborea. That's ancient history now. Or is it?! There are various time & space gates that still exist deep in Underborea. The PC's might just find themselves stuck on a one way trip to Hyperborea through a long thought abandoned dungeon. 
The plot of Maxium Mayhem Dungeons#3 Villians of the Undercity By Mark Taomino  remains the same. However the vile villian really is actually working for the cult of Elemental Evil. And he's responsible for turning the heat up on events within the Hyperborea rpg version of T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil. 

Dark Wizard Games's Maxium Mayhem Dungeons#3 Villians of the Undercity By Mark Taomino Is available right from here! 

OSR Commentary On The 'Pay What You Want' Adventure 'The Demon Stones ( Swords & Wizardry) version by Glenn Seal For Sword & Sorcery Campaign

" The sun had set an hour ago, and the rain lashed down and the wind howled on the dark moor. A storm this late in the season was unusual, but this one seemed different. The clouds were more menacing, tinged with anger, the rain colder and more biting than usual.

Skerrill had to find the lost calf and get him back to the farm before his father came back from the city on business. He’d been looking for two hours now, and he was right in the middle of the moor when the storm hit. He knew he should have turned back as soon as darkness fell, but then he was never the brightest boy in the valley. If only he had remembered to lock the farm gate."

"The calf was now likely dead anyway having stumbled among the boulders and rocks, panicking in the dark, and then fallen in a floodwater stream and drowned. Either way, he was in more trouble than he could imagine." 

"Suddenly, a bright flash of white light and a roaring peal of thunder were preceded by an explosion as a huge object fell from the sky and impacted the ground of the moor no more than a stone’s throw from him. Dirt, mud, water, and debris erupted from the impact site, flying high into the air and then covering the moor for hundreds of feet all around."

Skerrill was knocked to the ground instantly and covered in the fallout from the blast. His ears rang and his head spun, but he staggered to his feet in a daze.

He stumbled to where the blast had happened only moments before, and in a depression in the ground lay a huge stone glowing orange as if hot. Skerrill passed out.

Two more thunderous explosions crashed in the distance.”

This blog entry is going to pick right up from here for more Hyperborea rpg high jinks. 

Just around my birthday back in about 2016 in June the 'Pay What You Want' Adventure 'The Demon Stones ( Swords & Wizardry)  appeared. I've DM'ed 'The Demon Stones ( Swords & Wizardry) a multiplicity of times over the years as mini campaign. The adventure clocks in at about sixty one pages & has Glenn Seal's usual thumbprints. Solid cartography, easy to read layout, & interesting adventure plot that keeps the players actually interested at the table top. And them wanting to return. This all goes back to some articles that I found back in 2016 or so about the origin of the Demon Stones adventure back when I did the original review; "While it was an adventure that was designed for Pathfinder to me and some friends it didn't work on that level apparently the author saw that there was room for OSR expansion. "When I wrote The Demon Stones, I had envisaged it being compatible with the latest edition of the world's most popular role-playing game, currently now in its 5th Edition. At the time, a system reference document did not exist, which meant that a decision was made to switch to the Pathfinder system (© Paizo Publishing) which was a safer bet. A dreamier foreword lies in that version. The Pathfinder version was released, but I still wanted to create an old-school version with less rules-crunch. It could easily be adapted to other OSR systems on the fly. It would also be a homage to my gaming roots. For that, I chose Swords & Wizardry, primarily for its popularity amongst the OSR communities. Luckily, Edwin Nagy stepped up to the plate to provide his wealth of expertise and knowledge, and was already a fan of The Demon Stones story. It has taken a little longer than I hoped to release it, with commissioned works taking priority, but you now hold it in your hands or on your screen. I hope you have as much fun playing it as I did creating it. Until our paths meet again, Glynn Seal (MonkeyBlood Design) - May 2016"

So what I'm I doing trotting out the Demon Stones now?! Well the Demon Stones has one part feel of an early  White Dwarf magazine adventure & some foreshadowing of Glenn's highly successful Midderlands campaign that would come later on. What if we took the Demon Stones and stoked the adventure for a Sword & Sorcery campaign?! Hear me out here. Given the origins, backdrop, etc. the 'Demon Stones' could be rather easily slipped into Hyperborea. 
You've got the otherworldly elements, slip in some Weird Tales back door traits, add in a few Cthulhu references, and then allow it to simmer during the Summer seasons of Hyperborea. And there's a strong possibility that the Demon Stones could work as a Hyperborean mini campaign. Add in the fact that 'the Demon Stones' adventure plot could tie right into events around the Hyperborean version of T1 The Village of Hommlet. And you're off to the races with a Hyperborean version of T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil. 

How?! Easy the black magical forces that cults of Elemental Evil are unleashing are attracting the Demon Stones from the Aboreus Winds around Hyperborea. The demon stones themselves were never meant to fall! The evil that they imprison was supposed to stay caged for eternity. But now the forces surrounding Hyperborea are in a state of flux resulting in this invasion of the farmlands! Only brave adventurers can set this right! But wait there's more! Because this is a mid level adventure it's perfect for intermediate level PC's! Yet challenging enough to keep even veterans entertained! 

Because of the necromancer's tampering with the delicate forces surrounding the bounds between life & death the demon stones may hold part of the key to putting this to bed. A brave fool must venture deep into the abandoned fortresses where the key to these events might be found. We'll get into that next time. 

The 'Pay What You Want' Adventure 'The Demon Stones ( Swords & Wizardry) version by Glenn Seal 

OSR Commentary On The Wizard's Scroll - Issue 1- A 'Pay What You Want' Swords & Wizardry Fanzine

 So back in 2016 'The Wizard's Scroll' premeired & since then nothing. Now normally this wouldn't be an issue but since the on going OSR games that I'm involved with have a number of dungeon masters & players with floating dungeon masters. There have been a number of OSR resource that have come to my attention through the other DM's that I share the chair with. This is one of those OSR  resources & this post is going to pick right back up from this blog post here. And this blog post  here as well 

There's a few NPC's that are going back into our current campaign & one of these is Niptuck by Tod Roe. This skinless sorcerer has taken two our number back on Carcosa and turned them into skin bags. All of this centers around the adventure the Demon Shattered Tower By Steven A. Cook from the The Wizard's Scroll - Issue 1. And the tower in this adventure  can be & is a deadly little addition to an ongoing campaign. 

There a couple more adventures in 'The Wizard's Scroll - Issue 1' & one of these is Charles Mason's The Wizard's Tower. The Wizard's Tower is a solid set up for a an isolated expeditionary adventure; "The wizard’s tower is said to be haunted by demons and devils. The tower itself has two demon heads carved into the stone on the east and west sides. The only living inhabitant now is no demon, but he has stared into the depths of the abyss. The wizard acquired the old fortress and renovated it when he was very young. He had the demon heads added to the tower, perhaps to scare off the locals or possibly as tribute to demon patrons. That was over 150 years ago." This is a nasty four level affair in a wizard's tower perfect for a wilderness romp. 
The Wizard's Scroll - Issue 1-  A 'Pay What You Want' Swords & Wizardry Fanzine is available here. 

For a gritty Greyhawk campaign The Wizard's Scroll is a no brainer. It has a ton of potential with just these two adventures. But add in the idea of a Midevil authantic campaign & the Wizard's Scroll  works out even better. 

And the Wizard's Scroll could easily be slipped into a Castles & Crusades rpg campaign with little issue or fuss. The combination of the adventure ideas, locations, etc. all fit with the traditional nature of a C&C driven Greyhawk easily. 

OSR Review & Commentary White Box Arcana [Swords & Wizardry] By James M. Spahn From Gallant Knight Games

 "Magic-users are more than just fragile spell-slingers! With White Box Arcana you'll bring new options to your arcane apprentices and exceptional archmages! Inside this 32-page supplement you'll find all kinds of simple, yet exciting resources to your magic-user, including:

• Latent Spellcasters: Now other classes can have a touch of the arcane!
• Arcane Duels: Complete rules for wizard duels to decide who is master of the magic arts!
• Stronghold Construction: Build a laboratory, design a library, or head-up a magical academy!
• New Spells: Everything from binding familiars and creating magic items, to walking the planes of existence and breathing dragon fire! Over 30 new spells!
• New Magic Items: Over 25 new magic items to add to your campaign!"

 

Wizards hold a special place within my heart from Arthurian literature's Merlin to Ditko's Doctor Strange. The Wizard has been & remains a favorite class of mine.. So when the opportunity came to grab a copy of White Box Arcana it was in my cart before the card had finished its approved signal. And the reason that magic users always appealed to me as a player. When the world was spinning out of control spells & the occult enabled a man to have control over their own small piece of reality. That has a lot of appeal to one small boy back in the Seventies and even today to a certain degree. 
White Box Arcana clocks in at thirty two pages of occult OSR power. We start off with latent spellcasters and the idea that perhaps Gilly the Fighter might have some occult talent within his brawn shoulders. If only he'd have trained with the wizard's guild. James M. Spahn writing is pretty crystal clear on this subclass of magic users; "While magic-users train for years (or even decades) to master the arcane arts, a rare few are born with a natural affinity for magic. These, known as the Latent Casters, find that magic flows their their veins and they are instinctively able to cast a select few magic-user spells. Though they will never learn the powerful enchantments of a formally trained magic-user, Latent Caster characters nevertheless find themselves able to call upon a few useful enchantments when caught in a pinch" The latent spell caster isn't going to burn down a campaign but does offer an interesting side note on wizards as an optional class that we've seen a thousand times in fantasy fiction paperbacks. 

And we get arcane  duels next and the system is easy to understand and work with. Again this isn't going to set the campaign world on fire maybe the other wizard involved. This system reminds me of classic Disney's The Sword in the Stone film with agreements, iniative, and there being both a martial & social aspect to it. 
Sanctums & Strongholds is a solid chapert that goes into Sanctums & Strongholds ;"With referee permission, a magic-user of 7th level or higher may choose to establish a stronghold. The magic-user selects one of three types of strongholds to construct, and may only have one stronghold at any time. The three strongholds choices are academy, laboratory, or library. Most often the physical location a stronghold is secluded so the magic-user can maintain their privacy. The stronghold itself is typically a tower, though keeps, hidden caverns, urban mansions, and other options may be available with referee permission. The type of stronghold a magicuser selects grants bonuses to certain activities." 
And this system is simple, easy, and quickly adaptable to your own OSR or old school games. Then we dive into magic spells for levels one through seven most of these are pretty solidly original spells. 
All in all I think that White Box Arcana [Swords & Wizardry] By James M. Spahn is well worth the price of admission & download. 

White Box Arcana [Swords & Wizardry] By James M. Spahn Is Available Righr Here 

Appendix N Sword & Sorcery - HP Lovecraft & Henry Kuttner OSR Witch Dreams

 "WHETHER the dreams brought on the fever or the fever brought on the dreams Walter Gilman did not know. Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the mouldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with figures and formulae when he was not tossing on the meagre iron bed. His ears were growing sensitive to a preternatural and intolerable degree, and he had long ago stopped the cheap mantel clock whose ticking had come to seem like a thunder of artillery. At night the subtle stirring of the black city outside, the sinister scurrying of rats in the wormy partitions, and the creaking of hidden timbers in the centuried house, were enough to give him a sense of strident pandemonium. The darkness always teemed with unexplained sound—and yet he sometimes shook with fear lest the noises he heard should subside and allow him to hear certain other fainter noises which he suspected were lurking behind them."
"The Dreams in the Witch House"  H. P. Lovecraft, Weird Tales 1933 

The Dreams in the Witch House is one of the cornerstone tales of H.P. Lovecraft that no one really talks about. There's so much too this tale from the mathematics, to the higher dimensional realms travel, to the sheer weirdness of the appearance of the Elder Things in a brief cameo. There's a lot to take on board here but what was happening in New England at this time that kicked off the witch pacts between witches & the Lovecraftian gods?! 

The rat thing Brown Jenkins who served Keziah and Nyarlathotep,is only one of the alien horrors that lurks in Massachusetts. These weren't just simply witches making pacts with the 'Devil'. No this was the influence of Nyarlathotep itself. Now its too bad that there wasn't a follow up to Dreams in th Witchhouse. What if I told you that in point of fact there was a story with a witch house, a curse, strange noises, bad dreams. Throw in the old gods and  even the Necronomicon?! What if I told you that it was written in 1937 by one of the leading lights of the Lovecraft Circle?!  We're talking about C.L. Moore's husband here Henry Kuttner & the tale in question?! Well it takes place right down the road from Arkham in witch house haunted Salem. Kuttner's Salem is a place of crumbling haunted houses, streets with dark histories, haunted places, & of course the Lovecraft gods. The Salem Horror  (1937)  by Henry Kuttner  from Weird Tales Volume 29, Issue 5

'The Salem Horror' isn't a sequel to 'Dreams in the Witch House' rather its more of a side quest of a story that takes place within the same Lovecraft New England as the rest of the Cthulhu mythos. Surely though there isn't an OSR connection here right?! What if I said that there were more then two?!

The Black Man", an aspect of Nyarlathotep as described by H. P. Lovecraft in "The Dreams in the Witch House" (1932). Acrylics on cardboard 34×23 cm by 
Jens Heimdahl - Facebook : Art of Jens Heimdahl

 How many more keys & gates were left behind by the witches thar created pacts with Nyarlathotep?! How many of those gates are still active today?! If such witch gates are active they could theoritically lead anywhere or anywhen! But what happens if one of these gates leads deep into the far future world of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcereres of Hyperborea rpg?! 

How?! Well one gate is hidden within a historic museum of the Salem witch trials which is a converted former witch house that leads to the dungeons within AS&SH's Rats in the Walls & Other Perils. This gate is simply a hidden litle hidey hole within the adventure that I added several years ago. Still hasn't been found. 

The second gate is down in the sewers of Arkham & leads into the dreamlands of Swords & Wizardry's Encephalon Gorgers on the Moon  This one of those adventure modules that works within a campaign if its padded out with some solid background especially if its paired with some solid appendix N authors. 

And the third witch gate leads into the dungeon locations of England, 1620. within the dungeons of No Salvation for Witches for the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. Another possible choice is that the gate leads into Germany or the battle fields of 'Better Then Any Man'. 

Needless to say that anyone using one or any of these witch gates is going reek of Chaos & dark magicks. The authorities are going to take note of this & there might be other consquences folks. 

South of the Mega City - B1 In Search of the Unknown Christmas Post Apocpalytic Mash Up Session II - Rise of the Tcho-Tchoids

The last of the skeletons were dispatched by the PC's & things were heating up fast in B1 folks. The skeletons were pretty mouthy to the player's PC's & they taunted the party even as they were getting mashed. A lot of Zombierama rules from

The OSR Library here in other words those weren't ordinary skeletons. 

 

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So being bound & determined to spend Christmas with my family didn't go as planned!?! Today I got dragged unto the gaming table again!?!  Never let it be said that the players ever let us dungeon masters rest on our laurels. We picked right up from last session with the player's PC's coming face to face with another old foe. 
After dealing with the orcs & several minor goblin snipers the player's party made it into a hallway where several strange bio mechanical alien mercenaries were having slave dealings with B1's humanoids. The aliens were buying a local young lass that had been captured for nefarious purposes.
 The PC's hung back & went to identify the aliens & came straight up with a successful roll of Heretick werks blog's  Tcho-Tchoids. I believe there was a 'Oh Hell no!' from one of the players & the PC's flanked the aliens & the pig faced orcs! 
There was a Frazetta artwork  moment when one of the thieves rolled a 'one' on their check!

 There is a long standing hatred of  the Tcho-Tchoids & the players as Papa has employed them as mercs since their first encounter in 2012. The alien mercs unleashed Hell on the party with grenades, and several fire ball spells. The PC's yanked the slave away from the orcs who went down under knives, bullets, & two natural 'twenties'. The Tcho-Tchoids disappeared in a whisper of psychic powers & retreated to the shadows. The party of six is bidding its time after a morale check once two of their number went down.. 
Turns out the girl is actually a 2nd level fighter and replacement for one of the player's PC's who died last game. The rest of the player's PC's equiped her fast with crow armor salvaged from the orcs, several knives, a short sword, and a goblin bow with arrows. Countess Tara wasn't in any position to be picky folks. She also managed to kill off a goblin warrior about to pick off the party's thief. 
Now its deeper & deeper into B1's inner works & the players absolutely think they know where this is heading. Not realizing that the DM is using  the B1 Insearch of the Unknown Sourcebook available here from the Zenopus archives site.  Papa will have his due folks its gonna get worse from here. Much worse... 

Review & Commentary On Matt Finch's 'The Spire of Iron & Crystal' from Frog God Games For Your Old School Campaigns

 

"For centuries, out in the wilderness beyond civilization's reach,

there has stood an enigmatic tower known as the Spire of Iron and

Crystal. It is a bizarre and ancient structure; four massive, eggshaped

crystals are mounted into a twisting, ornate structure of

rounded metal girders, one crystal at the top and the other three

mounted lower down. Moving lights seen inside the huge crystals

suggest that they are hollow and even inhabited, but no one has ever

discovered the secret of how to enter them. This is not surprising, for

the tower is located on a broad stone ledge halfway up a sheer cliff

face, the glassy walls of which have killed several adventurers who

attempted to climb down to the tower almost a hundred feet below.

Over the course of the last few months, with considerable effort and some

highly questionable methods, the adventurers have assembled quite a bit

of information about the Spire - things not widely known, even among

the wisest sages of the lands."

So right now Frog God's having this huge sale because of Black Friday. But its been a bit of Castles & Crusades that has our attention at the moment & yes Troll Lords has a huge sale on at the moment. But its an older title that has our attention today. Matt Finch's 'The Spire of Iron & Crystal' from Frog God Games is one of those adventures that's  been  sitting on the  hard drive for many years now. Its a nasty little romp of a dungeon for PC's levels 5-8. 

 This is one of those adventure that's gotten good reviews over the years from other corners of the OSR. But what the Hell were Frog God Games thinking with their own Drivethrurpg cover artwork. It does nothing for the module?! Yes we know its part of the 'one night stand' series but com'n on?! The director's cut artwork is so much better. Even Ten Foot Pole liked the 'The Spire of Iron & Crystal' & we almost never agree on anything. More over this is a really 'nice alien outpost on the edge of the wilderness dungeon'. 
I'm thinking of sticking 'The Spire of Iron & Crystal' into my version of a combined Carcosa/Cha'alt setting.
As Grognardia's review of 'The Spire of Iron & Crystal'  gets into the heart of the module; "The Spire of Iron and Crystal is a "pure" adventuring locale. Although there is a brief backstory about the korog and the original purpose of the Spire, very little of that comes into play unless the referee wishes it to do so. There are no essential encounters, boxed text describing your character's feelings about this eldritch place, or dramatic speeches by the Big Bad Evil Guy. What you get instead is an extremely well presented dungeon filled with weird magic and technology, clever traps, deadly monsters, and commensurate rewards. Yes, there's some great potential here for expansion. I can easily see using this module as the kick-off of an extended campaign involving the korog and their underground civilization, but, as written, the module makes no demand that the referee or the players be interested in such things. The Spire of Iron and Crystal is thus a fine modern example of the location-based approach to adventure design that gave birth to some of the best modules in D&D history." 

For me this is going to be a perfect set up because of the dungeon's alien nature & over all weirdness. Its hard to really review it without giving too much away! This a module that seems straight outta of the weirdness of Seventies original Dungeons & Dragons! 

The nice part is that I think  that 'The Spire of Iron & Crystal'  may work very well with both Castles & Crusades as well as Adventurer, Conqueror, King rpg. Already we' ve got plans for this dungeon to appear in a central part of the campaign axis so its gonna be a question of simply slotting it into the mix! And that's one of the best parts of a good old school module is the ability to slot it into an on going campaign. 

Blackness Rising - Bad Moons & OSR Lovecraftian Evil

Over the last two nights I've been going over Lamentations of the Flame Princess's Carcosa. I was an early adapter & advocate of Geoffry McCanney's campaign setting & vision. I grabbed my copy of Carcosa off the shelf last night. Its been a very long hard time since this tome has drawn me back to it. 



Carcosa & I have a very long drawn out history together. Once upon a time way back before the first Disney Marvel movies came out I ran a quite extensive Marvel/Carcosa crossover game that consumed two Summers back in '08 & '09. Lately I've been going over lots of notes for this campaign & familiarizing myself with the campaign. I watched a pretty extensive review of Carcosa on GrimJim's channel last night. Can't really say that I'm a fan of his, I love Machinations of the Space Princess rpg. But our rpg processes & rpg politic are way too far apart. 

The thing I took away from the review  was the Cha'alt/Carcosa as one whole planet bit?! Why $$# didn't I think of that? The rules for randomizing Hit Dice with every combat are quite bewildering & we never made use of them. While I can't really agree with Dungeons & Possums review of Carcosa there are some points in it. So out comes the Lovecraft's 'The Dream Quest of Kadath' & I begin brain storming.  


Anything from Carcosa is going to read as 'Chaos tainted' in my mind. I've made use of both Dark Albion & the  Lion & Dragon rpg when it comes to anything Carcosa &  Dreamlands. This goes back to several mini Dark Albion rpg campaigns. 



Its that Cha'alt/Carcosa Jack Kirby comic book vibe that goes back to my early OSR blog days in '08 and stumbling upon Giorgio Comolo's artwork. His artwork's inspiration 
 made that campaign extend way beyond the mini Summer campaign
it was supposed to be. 



So how does a  dungeon master get a heavily armed group of Carcosa cultists into their campaign?! Well I've gotten a bit sick of using Michael Moorcock's elements but let's go back to Lovecraft & one particularly nasty group of Lovecraftian monsters. The moonbeasts are prone to going to all kinds of worlds to sell their wares & slaves through their black ships. The ships are crewed by their hybrid turbaned slaves. Again this plugs into HP Lovecraft's 'The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath' where they first appear. 



Portuguese black carrack in Nagasaki, in the early 17th century
 are good stand in for the black ships of the moonbeasts. 

An extra moon rising over the upside down city of New York 1870 when the black galleons of the moonbeasts make port to sell rubies, moonwine, and rare wares. Meanwhile Carcosa & Cha'alt mercenaries, mutants, & marauders  make extensive off loading into the city. 



Now this is all going to tie into the extensive set up I've been doing all year with Frog God games 'Encephalon Gorgers on the Moon' Swords & Wizardry Edition adventure. 



The reason behind this is the extensive & harried history of the player's PCs with the brain lashers over the years. This is another nugget of weirdness that's slowly growing behind the scenes of my campaigns festering & bringing with it some real nastiness. 

Blast em with Hellfire! Settling into an OSR Hell - Cha'alt & My Version of the OSR Hells!

There are so many lovely little Frog God Games Swords & Wizardry Monsters that 

I'd love to use in my games. I decided to get my infernal campaign  notes out for some business in my version of Hells. This goes back to my 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons D20 days so a little OSR patience.

Recently we reviewed Troll Lord Games Castles & Crusades Tome of the Unclean  & that review generated a ton of controversy. That's good because it means that folks are reading the blog & thinking about OSR gaming. Let's kick the infernal into hi gear or at least my version of Hell.


Someone made a comment on Me We in one of the OSR groups I'm in about the free D20 Infernum book rpg system book -  'Infernum - Book of the Damned'

"You are in Hell.
For an eternity, there has been nothing in the Infernum except constant war and constant suffering. Those in power grind those beneath them into the burning dust, while those below plot and conspire to overthrow their masters and take their place and all bow before the might of the warring Houses. Now, there is dissent and opposition even against their might, as the Free Cities declare their independence and threaten the hegemony of the Houses.
War is coming to Hell. Anyone, even a mortal, could conquer the Pit and become a lord of the Infernum.
Infernum: Book of the Damned is the Player’s book for the Infernum Roleplaying Game. In it you will find everything you need to start your adventures in Hell and begin working your way up the demonic ladder towards total domination.
Play as Mortal, Demon or Fallen Angel. Equip yourself with the latest infernal weaponry such as the flayer or hellcannon and trap a demon within your chosen tool of warfare. Develop and nurture your mutations as they twist your flesh and increase your demonic power. Feed from damned souls and bind other demons in unbreakable Covenants. Do unto others before they do unto you and remember...
Conquer or suffer. These are the only choices in the Infernum."

Now here's the thing for three years when D20 Infernum book rpg system book  came out I ran the system as an addition to 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons. Shocking I know because the first book was followed up with the setting book Infernum: Book of the Tormentor. The final book in the series was Infernum: Book of the Conqueror  which gives the upper PC levels & to rule in Hell & more.
Now I had a far bit of experience with the Infernum Hell because I also own Mongoose's D20 Book of Hell. Here's the thing this book came out before  D20 Infernum book rpg system book & there are several monsters, classes, equipment, etc. That are  not in the D20 Infernum the Book of the Damned.  There's a very nice quick conversion for 3.5 D&D or  Pathfinder over to Swords & Wizardry on the Pickled Punks OSR blog here. 


Now given the circumstances that several of Frog God Games Swords & Wizardry products are on sale I thought I'd go into these Hellish circles.  Now I had to do a lot of house ruling when it came to running D20 Infernum book rpg system books. So much so that I whole cloth modified very nature of the setting Hell itself. The Seven Circles of Dante's Hell became the main stage of Hell with the Abyss & its demons being the back stage. The view point was reinforced with Green Ronin''s Book of Fiends another 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons  book which I own.  The thing is you as the dungeon master have to realize the amount of scaling that you have to do with the monsters for OSR games. But for converting 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons monsters over to Castles & Crusades? I've got that covered with this forum post over at Troll Lords. 

Now with my Cha'alt/Godbound campaign on hiatus for a bit I've taken some time to evaluate some of my old Hell campaign notes. You've got to understand that this was a balls to the walls Rifts/Gamma World style VHS grind house game. Towns being swallowed up by Hell, humans being mutated into demonic horrors then sent to ravage their own towns, etc. This was a campaign in need of  heroes & it got them! These were some very flawed heroes indeed but they were summoned to Earth to do a job! 


Now I've been thinking about using the Siege engine/Castles & Crusades to do a full balls to the walls Rifts Cha'alt game for weeks now. But what about the forces of Hell are they simply going to be on the side lines?! I've got a team of demonic mutant horrors just waiting to be unleashed on my table top as soon as this quarantine breaks!

Note that I really don't give two craps about the poisoned  politics of any the designers & writers of these games. I've put my time into this campaign & on the whole I've got to say that this part of the community aspect of the hobby sucks. Keep your politics off of my table folks. 

Review & Commentary On “Ynys Bach”: A Celtic-flavoured one-page island adventure for OSR & Old School Campaigns

"Amid the rolling swells of a great ocean – possibly the Sea of Os'r – stands a craggy isle. PCs might find Ynys Bach by chance while “wavecrawling” or they might be led here by a treasure map. The surf pounds against a rocky shoreline, but two beaches of pale sand make viable landing sites for seafarers. "
“Ynys Bach” is a Celtic mythological themed one page adventure  for mid level play for old school games. This is a very nasty little piece of business packed into a one page package from 2013 let me tell ya. “Ynys Bach”  works on three levels. One it works as an adventure location especially for Celtic Otherworld island adventure location encounters. Alan Brodie does an excellent job of ramping up the action with his Formorians being absolutely nasty.
I can absolutely see using “Ynys Bach”  as a mid tier to upper level adventure mini module in Celtic themed Original Dungeons & Dragons or in a Swords & Wizardry campaign. But this is not a module to take lightly.

 A  Fomorian from the Advanced
Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual II

Where could “Ynys Bach”  dropped into in  OSR or old school gaming systems?! “Ynys Bach” could be dropped whole cloth into an Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea campaign whole cloth. The island can easily be dropped into the edge of the world of Hyperborea & it wouldn't be out of the Sword & Sorcery weird tales theme of the game. “Ynys Bach”  would also fit as a last out post of the Formorian royals or as single former fortress to a degenerate kingdom lurking under the waves. 
The Fomorians, as depicted by John Duncan (1912)
 Claw Carver does an excellent job of setting up “Ynys Bach”  as a greater part of an island hopping campaign something that we see quite a bit of in Celtic mythology. I've used this gambit several times in campaigns to bring home the dangerous & nasty business of 'wave crawling'. Overall I think that  “Ynys Bach” succeeds on a number of levels & especially as a solid mid level one off OSR adventure location. 
I could easily see this one page adventure being used for Castles & Crusades's The Codex Celtarum with some very minor adjustments. The PC's are exploring & exploiting the former realms of the gods. Their holdings are now in the hands of the ancient twisted giants of legend. 

 On the flip side of the coin “Ynys Bach”  could be used as the basis for a complete rework of a Celtic mythological Adventurer, Conqeuror,King rpg adventure in which the PC's are challenging & taking over the ancient holdings of the gods. This island is one more chess piece on the board. 
Given this I can also see using  “Ynys Bach” as a part of an old school high level D&D Expert campaign with a Celtic mythological bent. This adventure location could be dropped whole cloth into a full on Expert D&D  Sword & Sorcery campaign as well. For Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons we're talking easily The D&D Companion Rules Set (1984). 

“Ynys Bach"  Is Available Right Here. 

Commentary & Review Of 'The City That Dripped Blood' Adventure For Swords & Wizardry by Steve Winter

"Temelpa, an ancient walled city on a forgotten trade route, thought to be abandoned ages ago, and now, the adventurers find themselves besieged within. 

Unable to leave their refuge, the adventurers will quickly discover the city is inhabited, not deserted as initially believed, by an ancient society. They will soon be embroiled in the affairs of a twisted caste system built on servitude and cannibalism and headed by an inter-dimensional vampiric overlord.

This open-ended adventure allows the GM to unleash an array of unique monsters, factional power struggles, and intriguing plots upon the characters as they fight and scheme to stay alive, entrapped in a hostile city where they are viewed as useful pawns or a tasty exotic meal.

Can the characters hold out until the siege is broken and escape with their lives? Will they champion the cause of the downtrodden and upend the social order? Or will they be the main course for the next cannibalistic feast?

Welcome to the City!"

So I was looking for a good Sword & Sorcery adventure that I could port over to my OSR campaigns. Last night I came across 'The City That Dripped Blood' by Steve Winter  for  the Swords & Wizardry retroclone but easily adaptable to other OSR systems. This adventure could be completely ported over to Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea or Castles & Crusades. 
This is a short but solid adventure clocking in at twenty three pages of factional blood chilling terror. The dungeon master is going to have to be careful not to wipe the party out! Pay attention to the level cap on the adventure because your going to need five & above level adventurers to handle the Sword & Sorcery come down that echoes in on your players.
The wise dungeon master would look to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct Thirteen for inspiration for running 'The City That Dripped Blood'. The PC's are going to get involved in the factional wars of the city of Temelpa. Extraplanar vulture-men  skelzis became vampiric with the help of the magical blood orchid of the area. With the help of their weredactyl servants rule over the forgotten desert city of Temelpa. The human resistance is in dire need of adventurers & the party can get themselves into deep trouble ala  John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct Thirteen

'The City That Dripped Blood' could become a tight & deadly campaign starter with the right group of players. The DM can adjust the monster action & encounters in  Temelpa as they need it. The whole of  cloth of the NPC inter-dimensional vampiric overlord could be used as a reaccuring threat to the party for a mini campaign for quite sometime. 'The City That Dripped Blood' by Steve Winter feels like a good & solid effort by Frog God games. The whole affair & cloth of 'The City That Dripped Blood' by Steve Winter  feels like a great starter for a long term campaign. And this is where I think its strength lies. The cartography & writing are snappy, the zip along & get the adventurers into the thick of the affair of violence & black magic horror  in in Temelpa.
For Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea this is the perfect adventure to continue on right after the events of 'The Anthropophagi of Xambaala' by Corey R. Walden. The PC's start in Xambaala. The events of 'The Anthropophagi of Xambaala' unfold & then the PC's  embroil themselves into 'The City That Dripped Blood'.
"Furtive and odious tales circle through various Hyperborean ports of call. Rumours whisper of an ancient occult city, Xambaala, clinging to the edge of the Zakath Desert. Perhaps the hideous horrors said to assail the city in the darkest hours are exaggerated. Maybe too another explanation can be found for the foreigners who are said to have disappeared to some uncanny fate. But the whispering tongues also hint that gold glints in the shadows of Xambaala, ready to be taken by the bold."



Later on they can face down The Beasts of Kraggoth Manor by Tim Callahan  why? Because the party learns that  the NPC inter-dimensional vampiric overlord from 'The City That Dripped Blood' has ties to the desert ruin house & its dungeons. This is the strength of the  'The City That Dripped Blood'. Its adaptable & easy to integrate into existing campaigns. This is the strength of a good mid level module for an old school or OSR campaign. But I've got a lot of criticisms of 'The City That Dripped Blood':

1. One this module needs a bit more exposition with the whole Temelpa's history & background. 
2. The district's descriptions need far more Sword & Sorcery punch to them. 
3. 'The City That Dripped Blood' needs far better organization of its contents as a whole & more adventure meat on the bones. I was expecting more treasures for the player's PC's that the life blood of experience points. 
4. The DM is going to have to work to adapt 'The City That Dripped Blood' for their home campaign as a kick ass Robert E. Howard type of adventure. This is a mid level adventure & needs the kick to rate it up to a four star. 
5. The module's premise doesn't live up to the actual product unfortunately. 
6. With a shove of a good editor & journeyman this module could be easily integrated into "The Lost City" (1982) by Tom Moldvay easily. 

'The City That Dripped Blood' can easily be turned into a kick ass campaign but its gonna take a bit of work. A three outta of five star module that could have been four or five.

'The City That Dripped Blood' by Steve Winter  is available right here. 

A Christmas Coffin - OSR Commentary & Review of Terror Tales - X! From Beyond Belief Games By Simon Washbourne

"Weird! Baffling! Terrifying! Rousing tales of macabre adventure 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 pulp mystery fiction. (Thrilling adventures 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. Two-fisted tales and mysterious investigations. "
Terror Tales -X! by Beyond Belief is a solid addition to the OSR horror adventure  genre. The whole affair clocks in at twenty one pages & gives the DM all of the optional dark adventure material that they need. The focus is the Precode horror comics of the Golden Age & all that goes with it.  Dark rites at three A.M., occult monsters in the deep urban environment of the city, spooky alleyways that lead into other worldly Hells. Adventurers here are crusaders & heroes at much as victims themselves & the forces of darkness are always a heart beat or closing coffin lid away.


Painted cover of Strange Stories From Another World, number 5, February 1953, artwork by Norman Saunders. Another World was published by Fawcett from August 1952 to February 1953. Saunders' richly painted cover recalls the pulp magazines of the 1930s and 40s.

Ahh now that's the Hellfire & classic precode public domain horror comics that I've come to know & love. These are perfect for OSR horror adventure & with a wide array of PC options its a snap to 'plug & play' this set of rules. There's a nifty sanity set of rules for PC's straight off & a wide array of victims erm PC options.  You got your scientist, your detective,the psychic, the scoundrel, the adventurer, tough guy, & mystic. Two pages of advantages & disadvantages along with quick descriptions. Enemies & NPC's to thread the adventure along. Animals including dinosaurs & normal run of the mill wildlife.
The weird & supernatural is a similar but well rounded cast of Dungeons & Dragons style monsters retooled for horror adventure. Vehicles including surprisingly mounted weapons! Quick & dirty combat rules along with modern fire arms, weapons, melee weapons, & armor. Experience charts for the PC classes & some horror adventure hooks.

Cover of Spook #27, (January 1954)

Christmas time is the season for ghost stories & horror adventure. This year is no different Terror Tales -X! is based around Swords & Wizardry rules so its easy to pop into an existing OD&D or Retro clone system setting. The entire product is open game content on the OGL & that makes this a fantastic horror setting enhancement. But if that wasn't enough there's blogs like the OSR Library offer a huge amount of OSR horror adventure support.
May I also go on record as saying that incredible Horrors of It All Blog has some of the best precode Golden Age Horror comic book stories around & his collections of stories are an unsung gold mine of OSR horror adventure. Comic Book Plus is also an excellent resource for lots of pure gold adventure fodder.
All of this is perfect support material & a starting point for OSR horror adventure especially with the Terror Tales -X! rules.

Another stunning cover from Joe Simon and Jack Kirby: Black Magic number 28 (Prize Comics, April 1952). Following the war, as the superhero genre went into decline, publishing companies turned to romance, crime and horror to stock the news stands. Simon and Kirby were pioneers in all three.

I'm a super hero guy & Sword & Sorcery guy the Terror Tales -X! rules are perfectly compatible  with the other Beyond Belief games rules & for introducing super heroes to the horrors of the dark forces of the occult & supernatural! There is a long tradition of  heroes fighting the over whelming forces of darkness. This crosses over into so many gernes making this a real easy winner to grab for only $3.50!