Review & Commentary On The Village of Greenhaven By Ryan David For Your Old School Campaigns

 "The Village of Greenhaven provides a complete forest town, including locations, landmarks, shops, NPCs, Random Tables, and Potential Encounters!"

 

"Designed to be system agnostic so that you can skin this "Pop-In Principle" to your world, Greenhaven is ready to be the centerpiece of your next Campaign!"

Tonight I was listening to Inappropriate Characters with Venger Satanis, Rpg Pundit, and Ryan David. And Ryan David was talking about  his system agoinstic supplement The Village of Greenhaven. 
Now I've been looking for a slightly Eurocentric village to use for Wretched Country second edition & Greenhaven fits the bill. This is a quant little village that can be dropped into any existing campaign. Greenhaven itself has a population of 100 and for a Wild West settlement it's quite a big one. And there's more then a little bit of the air of the supernatural about the town;"Greenhaven is a quaint village nestled between rolling hills and dense forests. The air is fresh, and the aroma of pine trees fills the surroundings. The village is surrounded by a sturdy wooden palisade, and a narrow dirt road leads through the entrance gate. The villagers are known for their hospitality and strong sense of community" Greenhaven is well written, the layout is very well done and I really like the artwork. Because it's sorta of got a European feel to it, I've decided to go with Texas as a drop in point and this is the beauty of Greenhaven. This village could be just about anywhere and it's system agnostic. The village is very well stocked and well funded so for our games it's gonna be just off of some of the main stagecoach routes. 
Greenhaven feels like a supernatural refuge and home base village for PC's. There are secrets and general smaller village NPCs as well as certain villagers who could be retired adventurers. 
There a wide array of shops and business within Greenhaven. And these are well thought out and done with full blown descriptions of NPC's. You as the DM are going to have to provide the stats for these NPC's. 
For Wretched Country second edition Greenhaven is an island of stability amid a world of horror, depravity, and violence. And for us it's going to a supernatural refuge. A place where those who are touched by the supernatural can find a bit acceptance and peace at least for a while in the Wild West. 

 Greenhaven is a town with secrets and twists to it's inhabitants and author does a good job of instilling these into the NPC's and background of the place. There's zero reason why Greenhaven couldn't easily be used with classic OD&D, B/X, or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons first edition. The material here is very flexible and well done. And with a price that works out too two dollars this is a real steal folks. Grab this one befor the author starts using common sense and jacks up the price. Not that he would but because this adventure location is very much worth the price of admission. 

OSR Review & Commentary On Ashen Void By Albert Rakowski From Underworld Kingdoms For Your Old School Fantasy or Science Fantasy Campaigns

 "Ashen Void - a system-neutral Dark Fantasy campaign setting."

"Welcome to the arid, mysterious world plagued by trans-planar monsters known as the Angels. You won't find any rules here, nor any concrete information that must be used. Everything is presented in form of lists and random tables, to help you flesh out your own version of the world - or to allow smooth transplantation of ideas to your game."

Ashen Void is twisted in all of the right ways, this is a stat free & totally random set of tables about a world plagued with trans-planar monsters known as the Angels. Ashen Void is a hard one to pin down as this is a totally free & randomly generated world with tables dealing with everything from giants, ruins, wastelands, towns, etc. all totally random. And there are so many random tables but this is a good thing & we'll get to that. Albert has a long history with the OSR through his World of Ortix blog here. 
There is so much A.I. generated artwork by Albert Rakowski that its a bit distractiong at times. Yes, believe me I get the trend with the  Mork Borg rpg setting up the background artwork & the distracting fonts. Fortunately there's very little of that in Ashen Void.  Instead in Ashen Void we get random tables to generate entire campaign evirons, dungeons, monsters, and much more. This customization of randomness is going to keep players on their toes. 
And this consistant with  random table after table of well everything in Ashen Void & this is done on purpose according to the author's introduction; "In this book you will f ind the outline of a setting that has been growing in my mind for the last few years. Or maybe even longer, as it began somewhere between 2011 and 2013. All rules are presented in a very vague way to make the game as system neutral as possible. They should be compatible with virtually any OSR ruleset. Nothing that is described here should be treated as an element necessary for the setting’s coherence. That’s because nothing is coherent here - it’s just a toolkit for you to use, either to include in your own campaign" 
And what a tool kit! Ashen Void does a Lot of the heavy lifting for the DM to create their own OSR or Science Fantasy setting from scratch. With a handful of dice & Ashen Void the DM can create world after world of good solid gaming material from the ether of imagination. 
In eighty eight pages Ashen Void manages to accomplish campaign material that other supplements take page after page to explain. And it's all at the DM's whim. All in all it's really hard to put a rating on Ashen Void because of what it randomly does & how it does it. But Ashen Void is a solid addition to a DM's tool kit regardless of their genre of choice. Ashen Void fits the OSR very well with it being perfect for Mutant Future, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Mork Borg, or any other of the original OSR titles. It would also be perfect for orignal Dungeons & Dragons. 
Ashen Void is perfect as a campaign setting for any 2d6 rpg and I'm looking at any of the Cepheus Engine games here. This is especially true of Sword of Cepheus, Cepheus lite, Barbaric, or any of the other 2d6 powered system. 

Ashen Void By Albert Rakowski From Underworld Kingdoms For Your Old School Fantasy or Science Fantasy Campaigns Is Available Here 

1d10 Random Prehistoric Swamp Encounters On Retro Pulp Venus Table For Your Old School Campaigns

The swamp world of Venus is a world of vast oceans and prehistoric swamps. A place of dangerous and deadly monsters as well as mutated dinosaurs and other creatures of bygone ages. This is an old world which has evolved mega predators and weird giant monsters. Some have speculated that this world has been used as a dumping ground for giant monsters or Kaijū by aliens over the eons. 

There have been thousands of civilizations and tribes which have evolved across the face of this world despite or perhaps because of the presence of these monsters. 
There is speculation among super scientists and adventurers that the humanoid tribes of this world might have been cast off experiments and that this planet may be nothing more then a biological dumping ground for various races and several temples found in the low lying swamp regions suggest that this might be true. But this is world teeming with possibilities for adventurers or those looking to start over. 
A world of countless ruins, weird humanoid races, dinosaur like monsters, and even mutated monsters from a thousand worlds across the universe. Just the sort of place for adventurers to wind up who seek opportunity and fortune. 

The most dangerous areas are the deep inner Venusian swamps which team with primitive life forms and dangerous predators and scavengers of all types. Here then is a random encounter table for some of the more dangerous Venusian life forms. 

Art work by Dinoguy2 (Corrected Miglewis) - Dinoguy2

The swamps often expand and contract with tidal movements bring with them quick growing giant fungus and deadly slimes and oozes. These are fed on by some of the larger insect things and other predators. Amazingly these swamps are where the largest and richest concentrations of ruins and dungeon complexes are, once the home of incredible lost and forgotten port city states some time in the past. Artifacts, relics, and strange technologies are often forced to the surface by tidal actions. There is evidence of incredibly violent and lethal conflict sometime in the planet's past.

1d10 Random Prehistoric Swamp Encounters On Retro Pulp Venus Table

1. A giant squid shrimp horror that is hungry capable of making a meal of a man quite easily. The deadly claws and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. This predator actually hunts and stalks prey as well as rests easy in the stagnant swamp waters. 
2. A giant crab trilobite capable of eating a man's hand quite easily, forges upon the bottom of the muck and mire. Blends into the background of the swamp like environment. 
3. Swarm of 1d8 giant dragon flies that are telepathically linked to each other, hungry and very dangerous. The size of a small child and very clever creatures. 
4. 1d8 giant muck snails that are armed with bony flails will stalk and slowly close on prey much larger then they are. Heavily armed. Use Flail snail stats. 
5. Monstrous giant swamp scorpion thing capable of bringing down two fully armed men. 
6. Killer swamp scorpion and scavenger swarm, 1d10 of these horrors will stalk and kill a fully grown man easily. 
7. Giant swamp squid quietly lays in wait for its prey, over thirty feet in length and capable of ripping a man or mount in half. 
8. Giant poisonous centipedes! 1d4 of these lethal and deadly swamp predators
9. Giant hunter centipede that is over thirty feet in length feeds on the 'chattering slugs' of the undergrowth. Equipped with razor sharp jaws and a lethal sting. 
10. 1d40 chittering slugs, these giant armored slugs are immune to energy weapons but are herbivores feeding on the dense undergrowth. They make a rasping sound similar to the sound of armor of larger alien prehistoric creatures. 

1d20 Lovecraftian Yog- Sothoth Aspects Random Encounter Table For Your Old School Campaigns

Adventurers from time to time may run across the cosmic horror and majestic insanity of Yog-Sothoth in one of its various incarnations of godhood and high strangeness. Here are a few of the forms of monstrous weirdness that your PC's might encounter. 

Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.

—H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dunwich Horror"

 

Artwork by Dominique Signoret

Adventurers from time to time may run across the cosmic horror and majestic insanity of Yog-Sothoth in one of its various incarnations of godhood and high strangeness. Here are a few of the forms of monstrous  horror  that your PC's might encounter. Yog-Sothoth is a manifestation of insanity itself  masquerading as  globes of lights   massing toward the opening of the protomatter main body.  And these manifestations of the Outer God's body are not alone  but they constantly break apart and merge with the nearest globes, and the protoplasmic flesh that flow blackly outward to join together and form that eldritch, hideous horror from the  outer darkness & planes.  Adventurers can encounter Yog-Sothoth at any point in time, space, & across the planes. Wizard's towers are often built to forbidden specifications from tomes of black magick made under the influences of this one of the most powerful Outer God's influence. 

1d20 Lovecraftian Yog- Sothoth Random Encounters Table

1. 1d8 strange glowing man sized globes of god essence whose very presence sets combustible materials on fire. The air is filled with unearthly chants of a million insane and alien worshipers. Save vs death or have your eye balls erupt in a fleshless wax of matter and horror. These beings give grave insights into the nature of time space. 
2. The air is filled with weird alien machine like entities and the very air buzzes with activity as they fly around and move across alien space times slipping between the cracks of reality itself. They whisper bits and pieces of forbidden knowledge and for a price they will tell you all they know. But can you handle the knowledge that the buzzing ones share for they are both key and gate. 
3. The air itself is actually the god things and each particle whispers and invades your being as you breath it. The gates of perception shatter under the weight of its presence. Gain 1d8 random spells of incredible potential. 
4. There are 1d6 giant spheres of plasma and liquid material that move and flow in obscene ways. The material will turn to liquid and pour itself down the throats of its victim granting them horrid visions of beyond reality. Prepare yourself for they're coming. 
5. The Antherous sun thing comes, a living embodiment of the living energies of Yog Sothoth which will cause 1d10 mutations in those who see its forbidden light and bath in its presence. 
6. The star spawn of Yog-Sothoth, a pitch black amoeba like thing floats and flows through the air made from the stars themselves and it gives visions of those places forbidden in time and space that were and are. Do not look lest ye become lost in its depths. 
7. The Twisting Crystal entity, made of millions of crystal shards of dead and ancient alien civilizations this thing carries with it the messages of  billions gone and projects them out into the ether in a psychic shout of release and doom. Do not listen to its ancient and horrid song. 
8. The Other Thing is made from the blood and bile of twelve ancient demon lords who were slain by this horror as it created itself from their flesh. It watches and whispers the ancient gossips and secrets of old nameless hells. It will swallow the souls of any who witness its birth and rebirth as it creates itself. 
9. The Abnormal & Twisted things made from the ancient flesh of alien and long forgotten sacrifices. This entity remakes and flows the flesh of itself within and without. This old horror tells the tails and stories of ancient pathways of time and space. It also marks the ways of reincarnations between lives. 
10. The Gateway of Lost Lives, this is a gateway in time and space of what could have been. It eats the possibilities left behind as we move across our lives. Sorcerers and ancient alien scribes sometimes summon it to witness the 'could have been past' to divine the future. It will eat 1d30 years for such bargains. 
11. The Green Gates, this entity will for the price of one soul allow it to be reborn from within its green and pleasant space as ancient alien plant thing bound to this god thing. It will also transform and terraform a barren world to one teeming with life within 1d30 days. But some of its life forms are bizarre and very dangerous.  
12. The Dust of Old Stories this black cloud thing travels the universe and moving across the face of the dimensions collects the stories and tales of extinct peoples and stories of ancient genocides. The thing will descend and sing its songs into worthy and insane ears. This god monster will on occasion wipe away a world to preserve its stories so that they might live on within itself. 
13. The Dealer In Broken Pieces - This entity is a cloaked humanoid figure that moves from world to world collecting the insane thoughts of ancient black magicians and sorcerers to sell them. These pieces of magical souls will allow a mage to level up but he must pledge himself to this entity and upon his death this thing will come to collect his soul. The cycle is unending with the dealer. 
14. The Shatter of Visions made from a billion pieces of cosmic mirrors this entity projects a million dreams of death and disappointment. Dreams of ancient and horrid aspect are psychically projected it from this thing. Many come to worship it and bask in its insanity for insights of a most horrid type. 
15. The Tendrils of KU - This god thing is all that remains of the flesh and form of the KU who pledged themselves to the last alien to Yog Sothoth so that they might live for eternity. This thing dreams 1d30 visions per hour and will warp physically and mentally anything that endures the unending cycle of power and sound that comes from it. The thing worships itself as it consumes and births itself over and over again. Come hear its messages and visions. 
16. It Opens Doors is a minor god thing that will create and change the laws of reality around it. The thing opens forbidden dimensional doorways with its command of magic and mystery but stare at it for too long and you will become a part of its weave and pattern of mystery. Gain 1d6 spells staring at it but you have a 30% chance of becoming a part of it as each hour passes. 
17. The Floating Hands is a cloud and flesh thing made from over a million alien hands, claws, and appendages from across time and space. This is a god thing of violence and horror. It is called to end cities and communities. It will descend when called upon and destroy the summoner's enemies but it will also demand the soul of the summoner whose hands must join with it. The thing will write with its iron claws tales and stories of those who are a part of it. But these stories are destroyed after it is done. Those watch it must be quick or be driven mad by its revelations of horror and depravity. 
18. That Which Abides is a collection of ancient flesh and decaying horror, this god thing is made from the flesh of dead and ancient Old Ones. It exists because it must and collects the old magicks of wizards long past. The thing will grant 1d6 spells of horrid aspect but it must be paid in blood and deeds. Those who can not are destroyed by magic and curses uttered by the thing's multiple mouth parts. 
19. The Ringed Gate Thing, this ring shaped horror of flesh and alien organs sings of old and forbidden secrets. It must be paid in organs and blood sacrifice and it will grant valuable insights into ancient artifacts and relics. Very violent and dangerous entity though with a very short temper and dangerous 
20. Yog Sothoth itself and all the horror that goes with it. It will be angry and very hungry for the souls of the innocent. 

1d10 Random Treasures from Beyond HP Lovecraft's DreamLands Table For Your Old School Campaigns

From the time haunted shores of the Dreamlands there have always been treasures pulled by men of renowned and ancient aspects from the minds of dreamers. But many of these weird and ancient relics and things are relics from nightmare haunted bygone ages.

What weird or strange treasures will your adventurers pull from the stuff of dreams in time haunted lands? Here are are some tables to fill your adventurers coffers with treasures from the edge of sanity and the deepest gates of nightmare itself.

“By noon Carter reached the jasper terraces of Kiran which slope down to the river's edge and bear that temple of loveliness wherein the King of Ilek-Vad comes from his far realm on the twilight sea once a year in a golden palanquin to pray to the god of Oukranos, who sang to him in youth when he dwelt in a cottage by its banks. All of jasper is that temple, and covering an acre of ground with its walls and courts, its seven pinnacled towers, and its inner shrine where the river enters through hidden channels and the god sings softly in the night. Many times the moon hears strange music as it shines on those courts and terraces and pinnacles, but whether that music be the song of the god or the chant of the cryptical priests, none but the King of Ilek-Vad may say; for only he had entered the temple or seen the priests. Now, in the drowsiness of day, that carven and delicate fane was silent, and Carter heard only the murmur of the great stream and the hum of the birds and bees as he walked onward under the enchanted sun.” 

― H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath

1d10  Random Treasures from Beyond HP Lovecraft's DreamLands Table

1. A broach formed from the blackest nightmare whose surface shines and shimmers with the souls of those who have parished insearch of the original hoard from which it came. The working was from the dreams of a jeweler and wizard from Asia Minor during the Roman Empire. It grants visions of myriad Heavens or Hells every New Moon. Worth 600 gold pieces 
2. A wizard's stick pin formed from twin demons intertwined in damnation or sexual union. The pin allows one to peer into the sleep of the waking world once per week and pull a memory or dream from one sleeper. Worth 760 gold pieces. The pin is +1 vs creatures of dream. 
3. A golden carved box containing one perfect dream of a child, this piece bursts with the energies of its creator and sleeping with this box under a bed will allow one to help from the insanities and terrors of the Underworld. The thing has a gug's tooth locking mechanism. Worth 800 gold pieces to the right collector. 
4. A jeweled memory piece of glass spun from the memories of a lost lover. This piece allows one to pull the dream memories of the dearly departed and interact with the illusion as if they were real. The piece is worth quite a bit at 1000 gold pieces to a necrotic collector of such curiosities. 
5. The jeweled eyes of a Cat From Saturn taken at great expense. These eyes allow one to peer into the underverse of the Outer Darkness and view sights beyond. They are worth 750 gold pieces to a collector or wizard and are quite striking. 
6. A jeweled ruby box containing sand from the pouch of the Sandmen who guard the far shores of sleep. Able to instantly put anyone into a deep sleeping trance but these sands are also an addictive drug of the most dangerous type. Worth 5000 gold pieces to jaded and degenerate royalty and personages. 
7. A single cut diamond container holding the ever frozen snows of distant icy dreams of loss and heart break. These snows will instantly freeze a dream in place and allow one to delicately collect the reality from the very air around a dreamer. Worth 5000 gold pieces to a dangerous wizard of icy and weird aspect. 
8. An iron wrought bracelet of hellish aspect enclosing a piece of solidified jeweled nightmare. This cut and sharp shard of a child's terror gleams with the inner fears of its former creator. The thing will allow its owner to detect the nearest door into deeper realms of nightmare and shadow itself. A very valuable tool in the right hands or a weapon of very dangerous aspect. Worth 1000 gold pieces because few would valuable such a collector's piece. 6000 to a wizard of nightmares but be warned of such insane and dangerous individuals. 
9. A cut piece of ancient and ground demon gold bathed in the waters of Order and polished by the tears of angels. This golden bracelet allows one to gather the dreams of hope and bravery against the most dangerous of dark dreams. It will heal the mind of its owner's target once every month and allow the energies of order to rebind the victim's mind and heal all of the insanity and depravity of recent experiences. Worth 10000 gold pieces to a temple of Order, a very rare find. 
10. An emerald of clarity and illusion, this jewel has been formed from the dreams of ancient and lost angels during a world's creation by the dreams of its god. This emerald gives one the ability to construct realistic dreams for others to inhabit. Worth 700 gold to the right healer. It has very dangerous and addictive qualities though. 
    
    

Free OSR Download - Phonomicon Ex Cultis From Wedge the Halfling Under the Door! For Your Old School Campaigns

"Phonomicon ex Cultis is an aid for any, primarily fantasy, roleplaying game; a glorified random table of 100 gods and cults for your PCs or NPCs to follow."

Grab It Free Right

HERE 

 Religions in OD&D and AD&D 1st edition have been something I've specialized in since I was a kid. Clerics have always fascinated me and this is a solid way of coming up with some very fast and on the fly adversaries and allies for use with your old school game campaign. 

An innovative and interesting take on creating new and quick religions on the fly for your NPC cults and enemy needs. A very well thought out solution to the old deer caught in the headlights problem of coming up with a cult or group during play with details right then & there.

The premise behind Phonomicon ex Cultis is simple. At its heart, it’s a table of 100 gods, goddesses and powers to provide a pan-system source of small religions as a springboard for use in your roleplaying game. The concept underpinning this was to take the most common phonemes (or word sounds) in the English language and use them as a basis for generating powers that NPCs worship. If words have power, then do sounds have power too? And if similar sounding words can be grouped by similar meaning, do they take on further strength?

Take AIN as an example – you’ll find it in slain, sprain, strain, pain… all words concerning damage and discomfort – and all of a sudden you have AIN, Patron Deity of Injuries. Perhaps the civilised folk known him as Bain, and appeal to him for a quick recovery from wounds; perhaps the barbaric humanoid tribes know him as Tarrainain, and revel in his name as they butcher villages in their path; further still, perhaps the snake-headed Inquisitors of Koth whisper their prayers to Ains’sain as they prepare the torture implements for the next victim.

The ideas for this system are well thought out, for a free system this one is a solid hit for a  DM who needs or wants religions during play for adversaries, enemies, allies and more.  I can see using this system for everything from a Call of Cthulhu style horror game to a D&D style adventure with a slant towards cults and deities. My advice here is to grab this resource yesterday and let fly with the dice to develop some nice setting backdrop details for your PC's.

With a bit of work about 90% of this material could be applied to your favorite old school science fantasy or post apocalyptic campaign with little to no issue at all. I love the way the system here can easily be mated into any old school system.  With science fantasy planet religions,cults, and more this is nice tool to have. This is perfect for a generation ship full of mutants where cults have sprung up  or the post apocalyptic wastes where religions have taken a weird turn. This system makes coming up with cults for the wastelands a snap.

All in all this is a great resource for an old school DM to add into his tool box. For adventure generation this is a solid resource for adding in enemies into the mix for both short and long range adventure NPC's.  By allowing a  random selection of the 100 deities, each with a sound associated with a name, portfolio of influence, types of worshipers, granted powers, symbols, descriptions the DM can pick and choose his favorites for certain regions or territories within a campaign. Duncan Young deserves a ton of credit for this pdf and its a really nice resource for the asking price. Once again my advice is to grab this one while you can and get cracking on creating your own take on that cult you've been wanting to send against your PC's in that up coming at adventure.

Four out of five stars. 

This product is easily applicable to any number of OSR or old school Dungeons & Dragons gaming systems. Phonomicon ex Cultis is dead simple to use the exacution is perfect for adding in colour & cults to your games. 

1d10 Random Weird Lovecraftian Post Apocalpytic Wasteland Ruin Adventure Location Table For Your Old School Wasteland Campaign

There are locations that defy explanation out in the waste lands, places that will cause insanity to some degree in those that see them. These place challenge the perceptions and ideas of adventurers, most often they are blights and abominations on the face of reality. Here then are a series of random high level places of horror and Lovecraftian depravity to cause PC's incredible rewards but lessons in destruction.

These places should be used as reminders that not all things are understood and easily dealt with out in the post apocalyptic wilderness.

"And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished; for the small hours were rent with the screams of nightmare. Never before had the screams of nightmare been such a public problem; now the wise men almost wished they could forbid sleep in the small hours, that the shrieks of cities might less horribly disturb the pale, pitying moon as it glimmered on green waters gliding under bridges, and old steeples crumbling against a sickly sky."

Nyarlathotep

By H. P. Lovecraft

1d10 Random Weird Lovecraftian Post Apocalyptic

 Wasteland Ruin Adventure Location Table

1. Giant floating head of some nameless pre apocalyptic god, now a Mi Go hive full of the alien horrors that have been contacted by a local cult kidnapping a sacrificing old folks and children from local communities. Strange chanting spells echo from this floating horror that slowly drifts across the sky. There will be d100 Mi Go available at anytime to harress and cause harm. The air and time are strange around the structure causing PC's to lose 1d10 hours each time they encounter the thing. 
2. A series of weird spinning temple structures moves one mile above the Earth and blasted landscape stopping only drop 1d30 alien grass hopper warrior things armed with energy weapons who worship an ancient demonic god fetus that is stationed at the center of the thing. There are 1d20 random floating Ioun stones which are used as weapons at any one time. Demonic chanting can be heard echoing from the fetus thing at the center of the structure. 
3. A giant eight sided octagon temple to Cthulhu can be seen with ghoul/zombie warriors who guard the place. They have a strange dried and decayed fish like aspect to them and ride lizard beasts to gather slaves and sacrifices. Two star spawns of Cthulhu sit at its center feasting on the victims. Weird ESP waves of insanity wash off of this structure causing nightmares and suicidal thoughts to all who approach it. There are rumors of highly prized relics at its center. 
4. An ancient shopping mall has been converted to a temple structure to a cloud like alien Great Old One. The thing is attended by massive air elementals and there are masses of windmills of wood swirling in the constant winds. A field of of weird solar panels and energy drawing stations sit around the structure but why is not known. There are whispers of a treasure of ancient technology and relic energy batteries inside the place. 
5. A small nuclear power plant has been converted to a temple of the toad god, at its center is one of his demons. The place is served by a variety of high level mutant warriors and the spawn of the god.Each day they distribute 'food' to the surrounding communities and take the head of a house as sacrifice. The cult will recharge weapons and relics for a fee of 4 pints of blood and a blood oath why is not known but several local warlords lust after the plant maintained by several super scientist slaves to the cult. 
6. Several ancient massive structures of black basalt walls radiate horror and insanity are said to be the prison of ancient and horrid gods who offended the Great Old Ones. Anyone spending the night will be gone by morning and only a blood splatter will remain to speak the tale of their passing. Moans,weird lights, and strange craft in the sky often hover around this place. There have been several hoards of jewels that are rumored to have been found around this place. 
7. This strange and accursed structure is a massive tomb of some king who even in death serves his horrid demon god. A cult of 1d100 mutant ghoul things march to his command each night armed with weird weapons of ancient design to gather slaves and sacrifices to his demonic lord. The thing eats them before the dead eyes of this king as his treasures relics bare witness to this horrid scene. The screams of the slaves echo under the noon day sun. Many treasures have been recovered from the sands of this place. 
8. A sky galleon now sits eerily from its once great launch site. Weird music floats on the air and the place is haunted by 1d100 old ghosts who go about their pre apocalyptic tasks. A Lovecraftian demon god watches over them and will for the price of one soul allow a wizard or party to watch them to learn the secrets of the Ancients as the ghosts operate the super science machines before the forces of the Apocalypse take them back into the hell mists of time. There is a 20% chance of a ghost noticing a PC and be able to ask about some piece or relic of times gone by. The demon plays a flute made from a world leader's thigh bone while this occurs and summons the winds of change once again. 
9. A burning crypt holds the remains of a once great wizard and he squirms in agony for eternity even as his demonic lamia watchers over see his punishment. For the price of a glass of water to relieve his suffering he will talk about and tell stories of any relic or magic item but there is a 40% chance that he may lie. Should he break free of his crypt two type II devils will seek adventurers to help in his recapture. He is a lich of demonic aspect and body leaping abilities. 
10. A hotel has become a temple to Nodens and is populated by the souls of the lost and damned who have displeased him. They are unaware of time's passage and think this place paradise but Nightgaunts guard the rafters and watch them intently, there are ancient wise men and wizards among their numbers whom wasteland warlords consult from time to time. Only those willing to trade a bit of knowledge or a special tale are granted passage to this place by Nodens for 1d4 hours but its doors lead to the 'other places' and times as well. There is a 60% chance of the nightgaunts shoving a PC into a dimensional warp or worse in this place. Under this ruin ghouls feast on the wizard's bones.
    

OSR & Campaign Commentary On World of Jordoba Player Guide by Matt Finch

"The World of Jordoba is the masterpiece swords & sorcery campaign setting written by ENNIE award-winning author Matt Finch. Jordoba is an ancient world populated by strange peoples and stranger monsters, physically fraying into the depths of the oceanic multiverse. Ruination has spread across the world, and the civilizations of the Sea of Khoramandu are pushed back to the very coasts. And yet, humankind has risen from worse threats in the past eons of its existence. Scattered villages remain in the wildlands, and new barons carve out freeholds in the wilderness, their names scribed upon new maps. Great wizards make sorties into the very shadows beyond reality, seeking forgotten lore and undiscovered frontiers of arcane scholarship. It is a world where unnatural things survive from ancient times, where nameless gods have turned their unfathomable intentions, and where even civilized regions must literally be re-explored.
This is … the Weirdling world of Jordoba!"


So once again I return to my first OSR love Sword & Sorcery with Matt Finch's World of Jordoba Player Guide  which is done in the style of Seventies Marvel Conan or Sword & Sorcery comic book. This puts the reader in the product's mind set & campaign setting.


While this is about as system neutral a product you can get the whole affair reminds me of Marvel's Guide To The Conan universe .  The setting has the feel of a place about to come to the end of its act. There's a great deal of the Robert Howard or Clark Ashton Smith twilight's end of the world bit about World of Jordoba.  The World of Jordoba Player Guide setting has the feel of a campaign setting on the last days as the setting bloated sun pulls the whole thing into the Abyss.  The dungeon master gets just enough detail to set adventurers onto the path of glory;

"MandrAknow  this, my fellow wanderer;The ancient civilizations around
the wine-dark waters of the Sea of Khoramandu arepressed back to the very
coasts. Do they not cling to the very coastlines against a  tide of beasts and barbarians
rising from the inland wilds?Even great kings upon their glittering thrones in the citystates
lie awake of nights,knowing that civilization may be in its last days!
Even the very fabric of the world is rent and frayed. Oh yes, There are places I know
of where you can walk straight through into another world than this, another time than
this, even into realms of shadow that lie behind the reality we see. Our world is parting at the seams,companion. The oracles know it. The great mages know it. Astrologers chart a path of ruin in the skies, and the wolves sing their triumph to the five moons.
Listen well, for what I tell you is little known and seldom spoken of. We talk of Goodness and of evil, we speak of law and chaos. But these are just the conceits of human morality, the way we order our little, insignificant place in the universe so that
we can understand it. In truth, however, there is a far larger conflict at work — the cosmic  forces of Order, Balance,and Ruination. This battlemight mean little to you now,
when your purse is shallow and your name means nothing.But as you claw your way
forward in the world, forces and destinies begin to coalesce  around you."

From here the World of Jordoba Player Guide setting book jumps into religion, city states, numerous locations, the gods, astrological information, etc.. The whole book feels like Matt Finch's campaign setting notes & that's not a bad thing. What your getting is a thumbnail setting done right. That is to say a whole campaign world in fifty pages that you can make your own.
What really puts the world of Jordoba in a different place is how setting elements are used to draw the average Dungeons & Dragons or Swords & Wizardry PC in. The planar rifts element is used here ;
Rifts are areas of planar instability; the interior of the rift could be occupied by a
part of one of several different “worlds” at any given time. Most of Jordoba’s rifts have a native Jordoban interior that is the most common occupant of the rift. Passing through the border and back  while the native Jordoban region is resident in the rift is no different from ordinary walking. However, the native Jordoban region will often be replaced by part of some other world: possibly switching places with that part of the
other world, or perhaps sliding into one of the rift’s outlets in a third and entirely
different world. The  functioning of most largerifts is inconsistent: some astrologers can make good  guesses about the drift of  worlds through the rifts." This adventure campaign element allows the dungeon master to place the World of Jordoba 
'where' & 'when' they want it. That's significant because it takes the pressure off of the dungeon master from ruining the flow of home brew campaign that's already in action.  The cartography is by Glynn Seal, the cover artwork by Adrian Landeros & the whole Sword & Sorcery affair has Matt Finch's writing & design all over it.
The dungeon master also is given a wide variety of factions, guilds, & brotherhoods to play with the PC's lives & use for adventure opportunity. They're well done & pretty solidly sketched out but not overly so. This same formula applies to the various locations around the setting such as;
 
Mbalamad, City-State of
mm-BAHLA-mahd
Population (city): 60,000
Current Ruler: Her Eternal
Divinity Ralaibala II, God-Queen of
Mbalamad, Suzeraine of the
Ghanzertes
What people have heard:
- Vast Moon-Temple
- Sacred monkeys
- Rich dyes and pottery glazes
from Ghanzertes river clay.

Like I said the dungeon master is given just enough material to be able to customize Jorboda & make it their own for their home games. But what makes Jordoba is the idea of a multiveral cancer spreading across the world consuming the adventure setting as it goes. 
"Jorboda is  physically fraying into the depths of the oceanic multiverse. Ruination has spread across the world, and the civilizations of the Sea of Khoramandu are pushed back to the very coasts"
This gives the dungeon master all kinds of lisence to get use old school adventures & OSR material at will. The World of Jordoba Player Guide's setting 

is solidly done & crams lots of ideas into fifty pages that many other OSR adventure settings take a very long time to do.
So for example if a dungeon master wanted to run the classic Keep on the Borderlands in this setting. The keep & all of its kit could be a short ride away. The idea of keeping Greyhawk intact & allowing the PC's to cross into another campaign setting makes this a brilliant adventure addition.
I can see using the World of Jordoba with other OSR game settings such as Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. The planar rifts & feel of the campaign setting allows parties to make the cross over easily. The fact a myriad of OSR systems could be used to run the Jordora make this a prime candidate for Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
The idea of expeditions from a dark historical Europe into a decaying dimensional Sword & Sorcery hellhole has all kinds of appeal as an adventure campaign.

Are there certain things that I'd change about the World of Jordoba Player Guide? Yes right off the bat there's no print on demand option for Drivethrurpg. Secondly I'd love a large version of the map featured in the Player's Guide as a separate PDF and as another print on demand product. 
Now the reason why this is a concern is the fact that this product uses planar rifts as possible adventure & campaign hooks. Players love to have actual maps & physical products to interact with.
All in all I was really impressed with the way that Matt Finch managed to pack so many original ideas into fifty pages. I think that the World of Jordoba Player Guide is worth your time & money.

Review & Commentary Player's Handbook like a Fucking Boss By Venger Satanis

Christmas confession time I've been reluctant to do a commentary review Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss By Venger Santanis .Why pray tell? Well, because I'll be honest I'm not a Fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons  dungeon master or player. I've tried the system , looked it over, wrapped my head around it, & sorry folks its not for me. Basically I did all of this at the behest of a player of mine & to convert or use some of the Fifth edition stuff if necessary. If you love it then fantastic! Go for it but for me & my players  Fifth edition hasn't made an impact. I'm an OSR & retroclone system dungeon master.
Fortunately Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss By Venger Santanis  is actually almost entirely system neutral.  So what the heck is it?! Well according to the Drivethru add;
"
This is a grab-bag of fantasy goodies for use with O5R roleplaying games.  That means everything from Basic D&D, AD&D, all the various retro-clones, systems similar but not identical (like Crimson Dragon Slayer), and 5th edition." This is more or less what Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss By Venger Santanis is.  This a bunch of PC options that can more or less add punch & power to your player characters. "

But it done in a slim style & with the razor style of Venger. But first let me say that Glynn Seal of Monkeyblood Design must be a God damn genius. The layout is clear crisp but easy on the eyes. The artwork is good and there's a fold out piece battle scene artwork piece that is killer. The philosphy of the book touches on something that I've been finding with folks in the OSR over the last couple of years;
"Though I grew up on Basic D&D in the mid-eighties, my old school tastes have straddled the dark, mistladen past, as well as, the contemporary
conventions of today.
My own fantasy heartbreaker, Crimson Dragon Slayer, had done away with the more cumbersome elements of the game. To me, the old school renaissance is about taking the essence and philosophy of the past and then making innovation after innovation until everything that seemed inordinate, clunky, and weird is made smooth - sanded by decades of theory, practice, common sense, and talking to other gamers with a shared passion for RPGs. But sometimes we can go too far, innovating ourselves right off the map."
This past summer, I decided to re-read the many fantastic posts at Grognardia. That inspired me to go back to basics, or Basic D&D. I kept all the funky stuff that I usually threw out - rolling for initiative, racial access to certain classes and level limits, different tables for saving throws and experience points… pretty much everything except descending
Armor Class, one spell per day magic-users, and worrying about circumstantial modifiers (just used
Advantage/Disadvantage).To my surprise, I really got into it. The minutia which, for many years, I assumed to be awkward relics that stood in the way of progress actually turned out to be absorbing and a whole lot of fun. When every point of experience is counted (fighting monsters, looting treasure, exploring, making the game world
your own, etc.), then every experience (point) counts. It matters if the PCs wait in ambush for the ogre to walk by or if they charge into the next room.
A couple dozen XP might be the difference between going up to level 2 and staying level 1. It's
amazing what simple pleasures you forget about after the game's been streamlined.
In my desire to maximize our enjoyment of the macro-game - the story, overall battles, interacting with NPCs, and exploration - I had neglected the micro-game that takes into account precious resources and their management. Not only arrows, torches, and rations but also gold and kills before
having to rest. Even silver pieces are cherished when they can be spent on training!"
So, even though I'll continue to run and primarily write for Crimson Dragon Slayer, that recent minicampaign reminded me just how awesome old school retro-clones can be. For all of our renaissance, innovation and renovation, there's something about the original iterations of the game that can't be beat… even with a ten-foot pole."

So it seems to be really well written, nicely thought out, from the heart, & then we get chart after chart of system neutral character options for your old school games. From 'fantasy sounding names' to 'dishonor & infamy tables'.
I admit the random 'CRIMSON PHASIC DETH WYZARD VORPAL' table is very METAL & well done. Its basically a metal table for battle wizards to get an extra edge & it would fit quite nicely into Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea second edition  or Dungeon Crawl Classics game. Behold the sort of effect I'm speaking of;  "Invisible fire strikes 2d6 opponents for 3d6 exploding damage, as well as, affixing
them to the floor and walls as if they were caught in a spider's web." Cue guitar or keytar syth riff here!
Then he goes into short essays on bards, clerics, reflecting in battle as an optional rule, cut down swarm rules for play,  a fun list of possible character actions, words,and accomplishments in order to gauge your raw quotient of awesome in a given adventure, awesome point rules & that's it!?!

What the hell did I just read?! At thirty two pages this was way too short of a book. Venger is a solid writer & designer who needs to settle down & do more writing & designing. This is a three & a half or four star book because of the fact that I was expecting more from a book with the title
Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss. This book seems to be a catch all of random tables & PC options for players with a few solid random tables and it seriously needs a lot more expansion before it hits the four or five star territory. Alright Venger so you've been playing since the mid Eighties then I'd love to see more essays & actual options of yours on the subject. Players actually value your wisdom & by the fallen Gods I'd love to see more of it from you as a writer! This book should be about hundred pages with all kinds of bits & bobs about your gaming over the years that pepper your blog & books. Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss feels like a bit of catch all and in that regard I was a bit on the disappointed. But as a player optional reference well that's a bit of a different story. As a book of player options  Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss 

if your DM agrees to using it at the table its a book that works as a quick fill in & fill out for players. There are tons of optional pieces that the player & DM can easily & quickly work into an adventure on as a part of the on fly & seat of your pants style that Venger loves.  So in this regard its a four out of five. Understand exactly what your getting into when you purchase Player's Handbook Like A Fucking Boss.

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