OSR Review & Commentary On The First issue of Ulfire Tablets, An OSR fanzine dedicated to Old School Science Fantasy Campaigning

 "This is the first issue of Ulfire Tablets, a zine dedicated to roleplaying in science fantasy / planetary romance settings! Try the vile Carcosan Chess, ride dinosaurs, play as (or consume) sentient fungi, read the mind of an ancient sorcerer, create objects of arcane technology indistinguishable from magic, and fight as a post-apocalyptic barbarian! 32 pages of content, mostly with OSR games in mind."

"This volume turned out to be a Carcosa special, but in the bleak future we plan to colonize other planets as well – Barsoom, Tékumel, Athas, Gamma Terra, or anything else along these lines. Get in touch if you wish to contribute gaming materials or art!" 

So I've been looking around for other LoFP Carcosa sources & came across a fanzine called Ulfire Tablets issue #1. And its a first strong issue with the insane Carcosa Chessmen article by  Tamás Kisbali & Bálint Biczók. This chess variant is really nasty & dangerous for PC & while its a throwback homage to Egar Rice Burroughs a 'The Chessmen of Mars'. Carcosan chessmen has some dangerous variants within its rules so use with caution. 
Carcosan Fungimen by M.W. Hess brings three brand new varieties of fungi warriors to the table top & none of them are going to be easy to deal with. The fiction piece is the Sorcerer King of Carcosa by Tulta about an aging Sorcerer king whose come to his final reward of old age but not all is as it seems. 
Parasaur mounts by M.W. Hess brings new dinosaur mount goodness to your Carcosa or Science Fantasy campaign.Science Fantasy Artifact Generator By Tamás Kisbali brings a solid science fiction & science fantasy artifact or technology generator to your games. 
Twenty Fighting Styles for Carcosa By Dan St. Cy brings home the rites & rituals of some really awesome alien fighting styles. Finally we get a very detailed review of Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan: A Campaign Setting for Use with Warriors of the Red Planet, by Terje Nordin (2020); 46 pages. Reviewed by Tamás Kisbali who goes into some really solid detail about this forty eight page rpg campaign setting. 

The first issue of Ulfire Tablets, comes on strong with only a thirty page first issue and keeps up the weirdness for at least its entire run. The material here is solidly done with call backs to classic era resources & solid 'b' movie references throughout. The first issue of Ulfire Tablets, doesn't take itself seriously but treats the subject material as such. And it keeps its feet moving through the Science Fantasy material with very little let up. And this is solid move for a fanzine to take. All in all I think that the first issue of Ulfire Tablets, is worth your time & your attention! 

 The First issue of Ulfire Tablets, An OSR fanzine dedicated to Old School Science Fantasy Campaigning 

Yet Another Free Original Dungeons & Dragons Resource - Claw’s Carvery 1 From The Lost In Time Blog For Your Old School Campaign

So I'm poking around the interwebs this evening and come across this free little pdf called Claw’s Carvery issue one , its Sword and Wizardry retroclone fanzine pdf of some pretty interesting retro style adventure and old school resources.



The pdf is twenty pages long and is a nice little mix of stuff. I've looking through a ton of B/X material on the interwebs and then I remembered this wonderful fanzine.
According to the blog: 

Ingredients:

• Mini-adventures! – Tomb of the Mantis Khan and Ynys Bach
• Magic items! – Flute of the Forest and Prebasang’s Melancholy Marionette
• Random tables! – Villainous cognomens and drifting vessels (expanded)
• Old Norse gubbins! – Grim Aegir and duelling rules for Norse campaigns
• OGL! – Everything is statted for the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules.

20+ pages of reheated giblets. You’re welcome!

Overall this is a nice little mix of stuff for B/X style D&D with some gonzo stuff throw into the background. Not too bad at all and its free. There's some pretty solid stuff that can easily be used for a wide variety of OD&D style games.
Now yesterday I wrote about a science fantasy setting well tonight I'm dealing with something sort of closer to a kitchen sink approach of a fanzine with a little sprinkle of everything to spark off a campaign. Many of these resources are perfect for a more Eurocentric styled sword and sorcery campaign. They fit in neatly into either a Basic or Expert set up for a campaign but I'm leaning more towards the Expert side of the D&D equation.


There's plenty of items here to spark the imagination & get the ball rolling on an old school campaign. I really enjoyed this fanzine and it was nice to revisit it last night. I hope you have fun with it and be sure to visit the Lost In Time blog and the author who made this possible.

GRAB IT RIGHT HERE

Review & Commentary On Issue 7 of Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols Fanzine For Your Old School Campaigns

I like physcal books & fanzines, so when  Alex Fotinakes of the Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols OSR fanzine contacted me about doing a review & commentary on issue seven I jumped at the chance. But I wanted a physical copy of the fanzine. WMLP! Issue No 7 is  very well put together with the binding being surprisingly strong and the physical book itself being especially durable. The cover is a throw back to the early Eighties fanzines of science fiction & comic books or at least that's how it comes off. Actually don't let the cover fool you this isn't at all what it seems to be. This is a professionally done zine on par with other OSR hobby mags and personally it fills a very firm gap in the hobby scene as we'll see.

Now the first thing to notice is that this fanzine actually has an index! I can't tell you as a dungeon master how important this is. The number of fanzines over the years that I've seen without them is incredible and when your at the table trying to remember where an article that you want to incorporate into your own home campaign is indexes are indispensable. This issue has a lot of OSR material in it starting with the editorial which goes on to explain about why WMLP is interviewing  Jennell Jaquays. Which if you know anything about the Seventies Old School table top rpg scene then you know who she is and why the magazine is interviewing her. Her credit in the old school table top rpg scene is as solid as a rock and she's designed some of the classic Judge's Guild adventures, created her own own old school gaming magazine the Dungeoneer, she was there for the Eighties rise of the video game console, she was a part of the D20 boom, and is still a vital part of the gaming industry on many levels including the current video game scene.

So is the interview with Jennell Jaquays. good? Yes I think so because it not only gets into the background of the writer, designer's methods, but the interviewer climbs into her head a bit to reveal a few tips and tricks of adventure and dungeon design. All in all its not a bad interview for the limited amount of page count that Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols has to work with.

Beneath the Ruins is a part of an on going series of articles about a megadungeon that runs throughout the various issues of  WMLP. This is a pure gonzo dungeon level with weird NPC's, strange one off monsters, and a tone of a dungeon that is one side shy of the twilight zone. I've seen similar dungeons in other fanzines but this one is very tight design work and weird encounters that shy on the deadly side. I've seen  Alex Fotinakes writing and design before and this dungeon level speaks volumes about his approach to the material. It's well done and deadly. 

 NPC's are carefully labeled, plots are mapped, rooms described with enough detail to allow a DM to customize what they want without getting too heavy handed. The work is decidedly and apologetically old school.

Duren, a sample city  by John Huh is a sample city state map that hasn't been filled in and over keyed. You can create your own adventure location with extreme predjuiice and still have room for the local smithy. The map is well done, the ideas here are loose enough to fit any old school adventure dynamic you need and the article is short, sweet, and too the point. It sets out to do a job and does it.

Items of Interest  by John Huh is good article about magic items with extensive back stories and some issues. These items can form the basis for bringing players into the game deeper as the item outlined causes PC complications after a very short time of ownership. There's a good cross section of weirdness in these items and the author comes across with a huge amount of honesty in his designs of these items. These are items that you want to put into a game and still have room to throw in your own twists as a DM.

 The layout for this issue is solid, the visuals here are easy to read, and item choices are actually interesting and will hold the PC's interest for some time to come.All in all not a bad article at all.

Then we dive into the 'The Empire of the Tong' a campaign adventure NPC/PC faction for your own old school campaigns. These guys are an isolated community within your own game settings with an internal history, optional PC classes, society and setting all in one handy article. Its a well done and researched article with lots of details and plenty to fill in for a drag and drop in society for your old school games.

Finally we get into The Journal of Quinoa, the Unbathed  by Bob Richens which might be a player hand out that the party finds in the dungeon. This is a great little read and has some real possibilities for use as an adventure hook.. The ideas here are fresh, the humor gallows, and ideas here are fresh but very dangerous for PC's. WMLP! Gazette  by Bob Richens is a jokey little help wanted series of articles that might be used as an adventure hook. There's plenty of potential here for actually using these adds as hooks and sinkers for adventurers
Overall I'd say that Issue 7 of Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols Fanzine is a mixed bag of OSR goodness with lots of potential if used right by the DM to incorporate these various articles, and gems of old school table top rpg articles into their own games. The total package is very well done and works at so many levels as an old school fanzine. 

GRAB ISSUE NUMBER SEVEN OF WIZARDS MUTANTS LASER PISTOLS RIGHT HERE

Review & Commentary On Beyond the Silver Scream From Forrest Aguirre For The Dungeon Crawl Classics Rpg System

The postman brought me a copy of  Beyond The Silver Scream by  Forrest Aguirre

on Saturday. The book is a very clever slight of hand take on several Eighties horror  cliches  and transforms them into a clever zero level funnel. I got a physical copy of the book from Forrest himself and really was excited to get this book. This is a zero level funnel and you're going to need the Dungeon Crawl Classics book to use this material properly.
So grab some quarters from your dad's change tray, score a ride, reach for your Members Only jacket, and get your Walk Man ready its time to journey into the Silver Scream! YOU CAN GET THE PDF RIGHT OVER HERE

 The basic premise for this funnel is a reworking of the usual Dungeon Crawl Classic tropes of taking four or five base level PC's and running them through the DCC gauntlet of adventures to see who survives the Eighties horror movie fun. It takes this idea and twists it into the DCC mold with some pretty damn nice style.
"Welcome to Beyond the Silver Scream, a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG-compatible 0-level "funnel"! Players begin as high school kids in the mid-'70s - early-'80s who go to the local seedy theater to catch the premiere of the new horror flick "Screaming Sorority Girls from Planet Playtex". But the horror isn't confined to the screen! And the special-effects are all-too-real. So take a seat and brace yourself for an adventure where the director isn't the only one doing the cutting!"

 A word about the psychical product, this booklet clocks in at thirty six pages of high class card stock with some very solid paper. It actually feels nice in your hands and doesn't feel as if its going to come apart at the gaming table. This is pretty damn important for the fact that I don't want a product from a small press producer to fall apart. This one won't! Its well made and well done.

 The graphics are crisp and well done, the artwork evokes the fun and nostalgia of that era with a very defined sense of the absurd but make no mistake this a deadly funnel if there ever was one with a few twists thrown in. The NPC's are nasty pieces of work and there's plenty of room for DM customization in the meantime. Forrest does a good job of setting the stage and then taking the action to the next absurd level of DCC horror here. But this funnel does it very well and the author knows his source material very well.

 Here we're taken on a journey into the heart & soul of Eighties horror with more at stake then your mere flesh and bone. Your PC's very existence is defined by the events in this adventure and wrung though a whole host of weirdness to see if your DCC PC emerges from the other side. Did I mention that this happens to be very twisted stuff but done very well. The adventure takes the 'victims' and transforms them into a pile of gore or a horror forged hero ready to take on the worst that DCC has to offer and that's saying something.

 The adventure funnel walks the razor's edge between parody and high weirdness with a special brand of the odd just bubbling under the surface. What emerges is a PC that could be ferreted over into cultclassic or post apocalpytic Eighties fueled campaign. This adventure made me think of Venger Satanis's Crimson Dragon Slayer in a good way. In fact with a little bit of work the dungeon master could transition they're PC's right over to a DCC fueled Thule with very little work and that's a good thing in my humble opinion.

 There's more here lurking in between the pages as well, there's a brand new patron set along with spells but your wizard's are going to have to tread carefully in this one. The material here is both homage and love letter to Eighties horror and a very twisted take on a great idea. Do I think its worth the cash? Yes! Can you get a physical copy from Forrest himself    and follow more of his twisted musings right over here.

 The bottom line is that this book takes the idea of the DCC funnel and turns it out on its head and its a pretty damn fine take Eighties horror and turns it into an original idea while forging your PC's into horror bad asses ready to take on the worst of Dungeon Crawl Classics. Five out of five.

Grab it today and take your DCC game in a new direction today, I haven't write a whole lot of details because I don't want to spoil some of the twists and turns that the author has brought to the gaming table. This is a nice twist on the usual funnels that I've seen used in DCC.

Review and Commentary On Vacant Ritual Assembly #5 By Full Moon Medicine Show For Lamentations of The Flame Princess Campaigns & Your Own Old School Campaigns

Right out of the gate Red Moon Medicine Show continues to impress me with their Lamentations of The Flame Princess fanzine, Vacant Ritual Assembly issue #5 which is going to be the last one for awhile now. At least until Klint Crouse and his crew decide to do another issue. So let's dive right into the pdf of this issue.
GRAB IT RIGHT HERE

This is a pretty jam packed issue with lots of factions and content the pdf is perfectly timed out to use and drop right into the deep end of your Lamentations games.

Issue #5 Includes:

New Artwork from Jeremy Duncan, Aaron Hamric, Olli Hihnala, Sean Poppe, and Xolis

Koster's Knob: A ready-to-use halfling village by Judd Karlman.

Weedwise Wizarding: An accounting of the Knob's more popular strains of pipe weed. New "Pipe Arts" skill.

The Ritualist: A new LotFP character class framework by Kathryn Jenkins.

Unholy Inversion of Hope:  A grimdark, psuedo-Catholic religion from my campaign.

The Sineater Wolves: A heretical order of lycanthropic monks. Rules for lycanthropy.

On The Raggi: An interview with James Raggi IV, author of Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

This fanzine is like a shot in the arm of old school Pre code horror comics fun and games for a Lamentations of the Flame Princess blended with a fine coating of David Lynch and Mario Bava  splatter punk sensibilities. This is followed by  a ready to drop in Halfling village for your campaigns and its a quality adventure setting piece. I don't want to spoil it but its very nicely done. Weedwise wizarding is that herbal gardening and popular pass time of the Halflings including new skills, strains, and high weirdness for LoFP this is another thing that Dragon Magazine sort of hinted about. But here the adult pass times of the Halflings are revealed.
The Ritualist is a welcome addition to the pseudo historical and Gothic brand of adventuring of LoFP but could work in other old school OD&D style games. There plenty of room here to twist and bend this class to your home games to make it work but I liked what I saw.
The Unholy Inversion of Hope is a shot in the arm and a very grim and nasty piece of pseudo Catholic styling of a religion. The piece drips with lots of potential to be a giant factional pain for characters and PC's. There's also plenty of fodder here for further NPC's and adventure hooks. These are guys your going to love to hate.

I absolutely love the Sin Eater Wolves! Finally some decent rules for Lycanthropy and a heretical order of monks to boot! I'm a werewolf kinda guy and and this faction really hits the spot. There is enough adventure meet on the bones to really bring these guys home and with a bit of work they can be a perfect addition to a Red and Pleasantland campaign. Lots of adventure fodder and further bits of wonderfulness to add into any old school OD&D style game. This for me was one of the highlights of issue five.
Another interview with James Raggi and a nice in depth piece on the creator of Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I honestly have to say that Full Moon continues to produce some of the best pieces of gaming material for Lamentations outside of official releases from Raggi and company. Five out of five stars for a very well put together fanzine that you can use all kinds of horror related LofP or OSR games.

Review & Commentary on Tales from the Game Tavern issue #2 From Ultanya Publishing For Your Old School Campaigns

This is the time of year when families gather and gamers will steal off to the gaming table to add in that extra time of adventure to grab some experience points. Over the last couple of years Krampus has been gaining in popularity and now Tales From The Game Tavern Issue two features a whole round of articles and merry mayhem centered around this entity. But is it any good for your old school campaigns and is there adventure potential here under the tree for your PC's this year? Let's find out!

Right its that time of year again when the forces of Saint Nicholas and Krampus are visiting children around the world Ultanya Publishing sent me a copy of their OSR fanzine. The pdf is packed with twenty seven pages of Seasonal OSR adventure fodder for your old school or retroclone campaigns. Here's what you get packed into a system neutral set of OSR rules. The first thing we get into is a quick overview of the Krampus demi god and the traditions associated with him. There is something a bit horrific and dangerous about this entity. We get into a bit of what is now referred to these days as Gygaxian monster ecology with the Krampus. There were more then a few ideas swimming around in my head reading through this issue.
YOU CAN GRAB IT HERE

• Klergy of Krampus: This is a secret organization that assists the Krampus, basically these are his secret priests and clergy. We get both background and some guidelines on how these entity identifies his targets. Basically adventurers might find themselves trying to save a target of these being of power.

• Figurines of Mischievous Power: We then get a complete set of figures of power created in the workshops of wizards with a slant towards those of a Fey or Impish school of magic. They can be very dangerous in their own right and might be the basis for either a mini adventure or a full blown encounter. There are four of these minor magic items and could fit right at home in either a Lamentations of the Flame Princess game or as a part of Red & Pleasant Land dark fantasy or fairy tale campaign.

• The Frozen Man: This is a mid level encounter with a very, very, dangerous and horrid Winter themed monster as a mini adventure encounter. The thing has the potential to make a party's life pretty damn complicated and could potentially form the basis for an entire adventure all by itself.

• Gruss vom Krampus:This is the real heart and soul of this issue, a fully fleshed out adventure starring the Krampus itself or at least having it as the center of the adventure. You get a fully realized adventure location that you can stitch right into your own Dark European or Germany style campaign. There's plenty here to work with including a rumor table, dark locations, adventure complication and a quick map of the area. This adventure could work equally well as a Raven loft setting adventure or as a part of a dark fairy tale woven into a Lamentations of the Flame Princess game.

• Krampusnacht Curios: These are twelve minor magic items left behind by the deadly and decidedly devilish Krampus himself. These relics are both interesting and dangerous for PC's to encounter and one or two could be added into the adventure  Gruss vom Krampus for just that extra sort of kick in the pants to adventurers.

• Roast Beast Soup: This is in game recipe with some very interesting and weird potential for in game setting material. Basically this is a piece that was inspired by Dr.Seuss's story ' How The Grinch Stole Christmas'.

 Tales from the Game Tavern issue #2 has a lot going for it and I can actually see using much of the Krampuscentric holiday gaming material. Much of this issue fits right into the back end of a dark fairy tale OD&D, AD&D 1st edition or a retroclone system campaign. I can potentially see using about ninety percent of this material in a Dark Albion or Lamentations of the Flame Princess game where everything is both familiar and alien at the same time. The ideas here are meant to be added into or used to foreshadow the coming of Saint Nicholas and his brother the Krampus whose the focus of Tales From the Game Tavern. But does it work and is it worth spending the cash for the book or download. My short answer is yes it is. There isn't a ton of artwork in this product but there doesn't have to be. This is solid gaming content and its easy enough to pick up some public domain artwork for that purpose.


 Now the real star of  the show is the adventure Gruss vom Krampus  now without revealing too much its quite plain to see that by tweaking the adventure with the contents of this issue its plain that Tales from the gaming Tavern could be used as mini holiday campaign. Or this book could be used as a jump off point for a whole series of adventures centered around the Krampus. All in all I was pleasantly surprised and delighted to get this issue. There is a ton here that can add just that bit more old school holiday hi jinks and horror to the holidays.

You can even find more support right over on their blog here

Commentary on The Free OSR Resource Gearing Guide to the Planes Issue 1& 2 - Planes of Punishment & Illusion For Your Old School Campaigns

I'm cruising around what's left of the old G+ display before it closes up on us old school gamers like the yawning maw of the Abyss that it is and happened upon the ANT-LERR blog.

The blog describes itself as "a seductive revulsion, a sickening attraction, a leper-temptation.", piqued my Barker/ Kult rpg instinct. See ever since the fan base of that game disappeared in a puff of corporate Kickstarter new edition, I've been quietly looking for something to fill that need. Happily ANT-LERR seems to fill that need and then some. There are two OSR fanzines that I knew nothing about. Well more to the point I'm late again to the table on these. Gearing Guide to the Planes Issue 1 - Planes of Punishment is three pages long of two tables of Punkish DYI D&D that dungeon master might make himself. Visually it works well and the tables are full of inspirational win for a DM whose throwing his PC's into the other world wilds. But then there's a second issue which covers illusionary planes! Gearing Guide to the Planes Issue 2 - Planes of Illusion really works because it's visual style sells the ideas of the tables really well and gives a DM yet another able to screw around with players perceptions of what's real and what means certain death. I can respect that sentiment in spades.


What works here is the approach and the visuals sell the ideas mixed into the tables. Sure its a jumble but you've got planes of death and illusion here. Com'n these are some very nasty and dangerous places to run across for a party. D&D is on the outskirts a game of horror and exploration; its also an exploration game of high weirdness and dark fairy tale like strangeness. These two fanzines capitalize on that sentiment in spades. So what types of OD&D & retroclone campaigns will these work with?  Well since their system neutral there's a whole host of games that these can be used with.
The author/artist hasn't put any restrictions on these and neither should you at all but Lamentations of the Flame Princess jumps to mind as well as the usual D&D suspects and some other places might even be White Star if you want to scare the crap out of your party of stalwart heroes. By the way these are free and my only real comment is to add a bit more content next time but so what these are exactly what fanzines are supposed to be, expressions of the passion and joy of the OSR fan! My advice is grab these and go have fun screwing with some PC's!

Using The Free OSR Resource - Underworld Lore Issue #2 For Old School Adventure Construction

So my regular crew of players for Dungeon Crawl Classics has had a mix up and this leaves me minus a few players rather then the usual nine. Because of work schedules and whatnot these two gentlemen can't make it. But they still want to play. So this leaves me six very experienced players and little time to construct an adventure, so what I'm I going to do? The clock is ticking and I need a pick up game now!
Well Gorgon Milk's blog for a few resource I can use in this case Underworld Lore Issue #2  which concentrates on dungeon born diseases, gods, and other sundry horrors. 

Grab that right over HERE

In the article Preternatural Pestilences has thirty or so random bits and pieces of nastiness that can be inserted into any adventure as set or dungeon dressing but in my case its going to be the center of tonight's encounter. Now on page thirty eight is a rather nasty version of an infectious fungus which is actually a low level monster.

Crave Fungus is another version of infectious fungal dungeon monster , which is a fungal horror that shoots out spores into those who disturb this menace and the stuff takes them over from the inside out. This is not a new idea I can assure you and goes all the way back to William Hope Hodgeson's Voice in the Night and “Fungus Isle” by Phillip Fisher from the October 27, 1923, issue of Argosy All-Story Weekly, later it was reprinted in “Fungus Isle” was reprinted in Famous Fantastic Mysteries in their October, 1940, issue. There's an entire history and very good cross comparison of these two story right over Here. Now given the passion for fungal sporemen and shroom people in D&D style games I think that these lifeforms might be a part of or product of the shroom people from the Monster Manual two. I'm leaning towards a Boot Hill 2nd/AD&D 1st edition crossover.

 A town known as Riven Gulch has sprung up almost overnight in an alternative Weird West setting. There is a mega dungeon that is been producing some rather valuable relics and other worldly treasures and folks are flocking from all over to get in on the action. The Wells National Bank has set up shop in town and is handling many of the transactions of this place. Folks are striking it rich and making out very well. So the bank is a nice rich tempting target.




What no one in town realizes is that others eyes have been watching the various comings and goings of the explorers, adventurers, and professionals into their underground world. And the cycle of birth, rebirth, and degeneration. Now the PC's have stumbled upon a 'deserted' town and interesting hi jinks waiting to happen.

Review & Commentary On Crawling Under A Broken Moon Issue #5 for the DCC rpg System and Your Old School Campaigns, 'Because I have the Pooowwwer!'

GRAB IT RIGHT
HERE

Everyday at three o'clock when school let out I raced home to watch He Man and the Masters Of The Universe. Alright not really, He-man was awesome but I was too busy dodging bullies and playing in graveyards and besides I was more of a Thundarr The Barbarian kinda guy. But He-Man was later added into the roster of characters when I began to really understand the old school cartoon movement and the He-Man/Conan connection. Which brings me to issue five of Crawling Under A Broken Moon issue #5 for the Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg. Basically issue number five of CUBM is a big fat post apocalypitic love letter to Eighties He Man. Serious this issue is one huge passing OSR right hook to the get after school sword and sorcery barbarian cartoons. But is it good? Yes it is if A, Your into the material that this issue is featuring and B. The ideas here are fully developed with an eye toward giving the dungeon master everything they need to get this sort of campaign off the ground with little issue.

Far in the northern reaches of Umerica lay the lands of Aetheria where the Masters of Castle Oldskull do fierce battle with the lich Skull-Or and his mighty minions!

• Articles on both the lands of Aethera and the neighbouring Darklands
  
• The Aetherian Hero character class
  
• The Ancient tech of the Un Men! The secret to the power of Aetheria.
  
• And, the Wizard hating Warrior Patron, Castle Oldskull

The awesome here is turned up to eleven with all of the material in this issue directly related to getting your parties playing in the lands of Oldskull and doing in a bit of a state of style. This material isn't going to be to everyone's liking but if your into having your gonzo action notched up and the ideas here are fresh, well done retreads but done in such a cleaver way as to actually make this very playable.
But is it worth your time? Well yes, yes it is. The ideas here are to take the tropes of He-Man twist them on their ears and then make them as a playable PC class with the the Aetherian Hero.The campaign setting of Aethera and the neighboring Darklands is not only playable but fits the DCC game and adventure setting very well. There was a huge chunk of He - Man was the background material and peoples. Here we get to dive behind the curtain and gets a feeling for the Ancient tech of the Un Men! The secret to the power of Aetheria in the wasteland and for your campaigns. We get the full damn sword and post apocalyptic treatment in issue five and it tears deeply into the pop culture myth and mythology of this very issue. We have everything from major players in the storyline to half forgotten PC's. All of this is done with style and wit this includes the Wizard hating Warrior Patron, Castle Oldskull. Should you grab Issue five of Crawling Under A Broken Moon? Yes and in point of fact if your into He Man or any of the 80'd cartoon universes then this is issue for you.

Crawling Under A Broken Moon fanzine issue #8 From Shield of Faith Studios For The Dungeon Crawl Classics Rpg Or Any Old School SF Campaign

Available right over HERE
A couple of months back I got involved with writing up some tables for a fanzine for the  Dungeon Crawl Classics Crawling rpg. The experience was fun and quite professional for small press outfit. They bring a certain zeal and set of ideals to their fanzine. Its been a very positive experience.
Crawling Under A Broken Moon, while dedicated to bringing the gonzo post apocalyptic aesthetic to the Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg has some other. The materials in here are perfect for hooking up your favorite OSR wasteland classic like Gamma World 1st edition or such retroclones  as Mutant Future, or any old school science fiction or science fantasy rpg campaign. And its a very good issue and not only because I've done a table or two. Seriously this is well constructed set of tables for use with any old school post apocalyptic  rpg campaign

This issue contains a whole mountain of PA goodness:

Contents

A is for Aliens 2

B is for Barter Goods 4

C is for Computers 6

D is for Decay and Ruin 8

E is for Edibles 10

F is for Factions 12

G is for Garbage 14

H is for Hazards 16

I is for Inhospitable Places 18

J is for Junkyard Gadgets 20

K is for Keys & Klaxons 22

L is for Laboratories 24

M is for Mutants 26

So for three dollars you get twenty six pages worth of random goodness that can be used straight across in your old school campaigns to bring the post apocalyptic to your table easily and with some solid style and old school goodness. There's a blog dedicated to this fanzine right over HERE 

And there will be a second part to this coming out really soon. So grab this issue today!

Yet Another Free OSR Resource - Claw’s Carvery 1 From The Lost In Time Blog For Your Old School Campaign

So I'm poking around the interwebs this evening and come across this free little pdf called Claw’s Carvery issue one , its a sword and wizardry retroclone fanzine pdf of some pretty interesting retro style adventure and old school resources. The pdf is twenty pages long and is a nice little mix of stuff. 

GRAB IT RIGHT 

HERE

According to the blog: 

Ingredients:

Mini-adventures! – Tomb of the Mantis Khan and Ynys Bach

Magic items! – Flute of the Forest and Prebasang’s Melancholy Marionette

Random tables! – Villainous cognomens and drifting vessels (expanded)

Old Norse gubbins! – Grim Aegir and duelling rules for Norse campaigns

OGL! – Everything is statted for the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules.

20+ pages of reheated giblets. You’re welcome!

Overall this is a nice little mix of stuff for B/X style D&D with some gonzo stuff throw into the background. Not too bad at all and its free. There's some pretty solid stuff that can easily be used for a wide variety of OD&D style games. 

Review and Commentary On The Crawling Under A Broken Moon Issue #1 fanzine For The Dungeon Crawl Classics Rpg System or Your Old School Campaigns

I haven't gotten into Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg at all. I've been poking it with a ten foot pole for some time but I couldn't get a copy or access to a print copy in my region of New England. So I kinda jumped at the chance to take a look at Issue one of Crawling Under A Broken Moon issue#1 

Grab It Right
HERE

So what's in issue one? 

Welcome to Umerica

Crawling in a Gonzo Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy World

The Technologist

A class dedicated to the accumulation of scientific knowledge and power

Weapons of the Wastelands

Guns, Guns, and more Guns    

Twisted Menagerie

The Sharkhana, Debris Elemental, and Sentrybot

An Interesting Place to Die

Blooms Fashions: a store with clothes to die for

Crawling Under A Broken Moon takes it points from every post apocalyptic trope known in science fantasy movies, literature, gaming, and spins it through the DCC rpg system. The issue is pretty nicely packed with some very familiar material here. The first article describes maintaining the air of what its like trying to describe the post apocalyptic world to your players. There's an artifact condition table and some pretty solid advice. Next up we get the technologist and in true DCC fashion we get a nice little rounded out PC class. There's enough here to work with and add into the back part of the DCC system. This class is probably one of the most useful folks for a full post apocalyptic party. The class is pretty well balanced for a gonzo game. Over all the first couple of bits are not bad at all.
Weapons of the Wastelands which includes rules for Firearms,gun smith work, and lots of familiar modern firearms and some energy weapons thrown into the mix.
Twisted  Menagerie  gives four mutated mutant monsters for the DCC wasteland crawl campaign. The Sharkhana is a humor filled nightmare for your adventurers to encounter. The mutant menace reminds me of a certain 90's shark themed cartoon and it hits a certain nostalgia spot. The Debris Elemental is a monster I've seen used in quite a few old school rpgs and this is always a favorite to see it used in the ruins. The sentry bot is perfect for your malls of murder or ruins of doom. It comes with a complete chart for its behavior and malfunction, this looks like it would be fun to play around. The Lobstrosity is a take off on the Lovecraftian Mi Go retrofitted into the UnAmerica setting. 

Blooms Fashions is an adventure location that can be dropped into any mall or ruined strip mall. Not too bad of a location to drop into a game. I can see using this in some ways. Not a bad first effort for a fanzine, personally I'd wait till she goes on sale. And then grab a copy but all in all its worth the effort for a download.  

AFS Magazine Issue #6 Is Released and Ready For Order Details Over At the Dark Corner Blog

 Have you been getting in on the AFS  OSR Fanzine? If not now is a great time with issue number six released! We've got details on the contents of the latest issue right over on the Dark Corner blog!
Right Over
HERE

Heads Up And Update On Martin Hirchak's Batman Seventy Five Years Fanzine On Sale Now!

So I've been watching my friend Martin's Hirchek latest Batman Seventy Fanzine  and there's been a bit of an update : 

 FYI , the price with shipping , ( in the USA ) , is $11.00 postpaid . Cardstock covers , 36 Color and B / W pages , ALL BATMAN and NO ADS ! This 75 year Batman anniversary issue has contributions from fans and pros alike ! Arken Schumer , Thomas Jones Jr., Jim Johnson , Arvell Jones , Marty Hirchak and many more ! Check or money order to : Martin Hirchak , po box 44678 , Detroit , Mi. 48244. Many people have requested 2 to 4 copies , so, I have taken that into account and increased the print run so that no one will be left out on this ! The print run had been raised to 750 copies...there will be absolutely NO 2nd PRINTING. Please order soon , as every order helps pay down my printing costs ! Thanks to everyone that has supported this endeavor from the start to the finish ....this fanzine has survived a major flood and a widespread electric power blackout ! The original deadline print date was put back a few days , but, that's not bad , considering that roads and freeways were shut down for a week , crippling business and domestic activities. Long live FANDOM ! CHEERS !

You can get more details and ordering information from Martin right HERE
So why I'm I remotely excited about this fanzine? Well, Martin is a dedicated comic fan as well as well established fanzine publisher. I've watched  and read his creations for years. This Batman fanzine features some really top drawer comic book artists and with the likes of Arken Schumer , Thomas Jones Jr., Jim Johnson , Arvell Jones , Marty Hirchak and many more I know that this is going to be a solid and well done run of a comic book fanzine. This is also going to be a limited run production. So grab it while you can.There will also be some variant cover colors to choose from according to Martian : "Batman...75 years ! 3 covers to choose from ! Light blue , Ivory parchnent or white ! Take your pick.. The covers came out great...really nice cardstock !"
Given the breath and depth of Batman history that Martin has been previewing over at the Fanzine Fantasy group HERE this is going to be one hell of a book.
 Marty will be debuting the book over at the Monroe Comic Con

Here are some of the details : 

The Monroe Comic Con and Martin Hirchak debuting Batman... 75 years at our OCTOBER 4TH show !!! 

The Monroe Comic-Con and Card Show
at The Knights of Columbus Hall
202 West Front Street Monroe, MI 48161
October 4, 2014
9 AM to 7 PM
$2.00 PER PERSON

Mark your calendars for Monroe’s 2nd annual Monroe Comic-Con. Just $2 at the door gets you unlimited access to a full day of Pop Culture fun! Join us and meet celebrity guests including; Martin Klebba (Pirates of the Caribbean, OZ, Project X), Alloy Ash (TV personality and model), Tim Holmes (Discovery Channel's Fast N Loud, OZ the Great and Powerful), Daniel Phillips (SyFy's Face Off), and Michael Foster (Disney's Kickin' It). Comic Book Artists include; Joe Corroney (Star Wars, Star Trek, True Blood), Arvell Jones (Iron Man, Captain America, Avengers), Talent Caldwell (Red Sonja,Spider-Man, The Incredible Conduit) and many more.
Thousands of comic books, autographs, cards, toys, and collectibles will be available to purchase at the show.
Awesome panels include OZ the Great & Powerful, Nain Rouge with author Josef Bastian, The Waddling Dead creating and publishing comics with Joseph Michael and Dan Gorman plus live sketches from some amazing art talent.
Special guests include; DJ EGO, The Star Wars 501 Legion, R2D2 Builders Club, and the Dark Knight and Cat Woman characters.
Special Events include; Cosplay/Costume competition, panels, concert, art, hypnosis show, HollyWood Zombie make over, as well as a Special Charity benefit and raffle for The Down Syndrome Guild of Southeast Michigan.

So come be part of this wonderful all age friendly-community event in downtown Monroe, MI October 4th at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 202 West Front Street Monroe, MI 48161 from 9am-7pm.

DON"T MISS OUT call (734-241-6819) or go to our website http://www.monroecomic-con.com/ for more information.
 More details right over HERE