OSR News From The Underdark Gazette - Saturday, July 31, 2010

Michael Curtis Has Unearthed Some Old TSR Treasures For Us!

Yesterday, Michael Curtis of The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope, blogged about the disappearance of the Old Edition Downloads section of WotC's website. The formerly existing page hosted a ton of PDF's, providing free downloads of many classic TSR era releases, including a lot of great Forgotten Realms items, some classic modules and more.

This morning, Michael posted download links for all of these old treasures! While the WotC page is gone, the items can still be downloaded. For now. Head over to The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope and download what you want, while they're still available. With the Wizards page discontinued, the files themselves could be deleted at any time. Thanks Michael, for doing this research and giving us another chance to download these goodies!

New Releases

Spellbook Games has released an updated version of the classic Judges Guild module, Inferno. Available in PDF format on RPGNOW for $13.32. 54 pages.


"The classic returns! Available for the first time in many years is the original module, Inferno, published by Judges Guild in 1980. Now, with the cooperation of Judges Guild and Bob Bledsaw II, Spellbook games is proud to make this masterfully crafted classic module available to you. Inferno: 1980 features all of the original monsters, NPC's, and artifacts from the first printing, with only minor grammatical and organizational editing done by the Author. Inferno: 1980 also includes brand new art and maps done by a stellar art team, to really make the game come alive. Inferno was approved by TSR in 1980 for use with Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, and our version is still completely AD&D compatible. Inferno 1980 provides a play experience identical to the beloved Judges Guild module. This module is intended for high-level Adventurers and experienced RPG players. It's lethal reputation is well-deserved."

Those of you who own Fight On! # 3, which features the 5th circle of the Inferno, now have access to circles 1 - 4, if you didn't already own the original Judges Guild printing.

The Wilderness Alphabet by Jim Pacek. Available in Print for $9.00 and in PDF for $4.00. 65 pages.


"A book of random tables and charts to serve as inspiration to a Game Master using any number of popular tabletop RPG rules. The book is organized with one set of tables for each letter of the alphabet. Each letter focuses on one type of wilderness encounter area. Check out the preview for more info!"

If you head over to the author's blog, Carjacked Seraphim, there's a neat little Lulu preview widget, which will allow you to take a look at some of the entries. And be sure to check out the rest of Jim's blog, as well!


Giants in the Deep by R.C. Pinnell. Available in Print for $8.75 and in PDF for $3.50.

"This mid to high level adventure is the 4th in a series of 6 giant supplement modules. A "light" plot links it to the next in the series, but all are designed to be played separately. Designed for 1E rules systems."

Free Downloads

Jamie Albrecht of For A Fistful of Coppers has a One-Page Dungeon for you - The Red Lotus Caves of the Blind Minotaur.

If you're not on Christian's mailing list, you can download the first issue of the destination unknown zine, here. And issue # 2, here.

Lord Kilgore has a Five Color Magic System, you can check out.

Rats!

Tavis over at The Mule Abides, has some cool OD&D Character Sheets!

It's fun, seeing people get presents. It's even more fun, when they share their bounty, with everyone! Zak at Playing D&D With Pornstars, organized the Secret Arneson Gift Exchange event and has posted some of the presents, here and here. 

The OD&D Warriors of Mars fan supplement has been updated and is available for download, at Jason Vey's site.

Paul Fini of The Warlock's Home Brew has four sets of Dungeon Tiles, for you to download.

Sword & Wizardry Whitebox: The Polish Translation! 

Events & Happenings

Fight On! has won the June 2010 Lulu Sales Contest! Congratulations, on this well deserved victory! If you're not reading Fight On!, you're missing out on what is, in my opinion, the best value in Old School gaming that your money can buy! Every issue is packed with the most wonderful ideas, inspiration and material for you to plug right into your games. In a word, it's Awesome!

In Other News

Save or Die! Podcast: Adventure # 1 - A Classic D&D Podcast.

The Editor of Encounter Magazine is seeking submissions.

Dark Fate RPG's Random Hexmap Generator.

I Hit It With My Axe: Episode 20: Friday Night in Vornheim.

The Fantasy Wargaming cover to cover series, continues at Swords & Dorkery. Including a recent post with some FW links!

Michael Curtis has linked to a Video Review of The Dungeon Alphabet. The reviewer has several videos in his DM's Discretion series, which focus on AD&D.

What I'm Pimping This Week

Idol of the Orcs by James C. Boney. Goblinoid Games. Available in PDF for $4.95 and in Print for $10.95.

"A band of unusually organized orcs has taken to raiding farms and waylaying travelers near the local town. The characters must seek out the orc lair and rid the area of this menace, but things are not entirely as they seem. A sinister voice whispers instructions from the darkness; what demonic force lies at the heart of the labyrinthine orc lair?"

You can check out the Grognardia review, here.

About The News

Unless otherwise noted, all links to products and files are to the individual authors sites, pertinent posts, or sales pages. I don’t link directly to files, unless that is the only link available. The OSR News is produced as a service to the community and is entirely a non-commercial endeavor on my part. I have received no remuneration for advertising, reviewing or reporting on any of the items appearing herein. Please feel free to send me information on any new releases, events, or other items of interest, which you would like to see mentioned.

As always, the What I’m Pimping This Week section of the OSR News and its accompanying blog widget, feature products which I have purchased (or items which are available for free download) and wish to support. No one has asked me to spotlight their material in this section and I have received no payment of any kind for doing so.

Legos: The Emerald Rose Band - Never Split The Party

For those who've never seen it (and because I'm playing around with ScribeFire.)

Powered by ScribeFire.

More Wizards In Need of Work - A New Batch of Resume Files, From The Adventurers Guild

1. Smiling Jack - Human Male. Handsome, impeccably groomed and sporting a mouthful of perfect teeth, Smiling Jack is new in town and looking for work! Cheerful, humorous and kind, you'd never guess, that he's a serial killer who hunts long-haired, young blond women, every new moon. Jack enjoys the theater and enjoys talking about utilizing Illusions and Enchantments to enhance the stage experience. He has many contacts amongst theater folk, tavern owners and the local Thieves Guild. He knows several mid-level government functionaries. He owns a pair of yellow, Silk Gloves, which are adorned with Green Sigils of Elemental Fire. The Gloves can cast a Ball of Fire, 1/day, which does 5d6 points of damage, save for 1/2.

2. Rogarth the Assiduous - Human Male. Short, balding and mustached. Studious, intent, serious. Qualifies as a Sage, in the fields of Ancient Languages, Lost Civilizations and Literature. He knows several rare, almost forgotten spells. A True Neutral, if there ever was one. He spends his spare time, trying to prove his highly unorthodox, but intriguing, alternate historical theories. He has a Fox familiar, named Tommy, who can travel and see into the Ethereal Plane. He can take his Master with him, for up to 1 Hour per day.

3. Braeg-Ith-Zhong - Human Male. An unhealthy looking, thin, alcoholic, who looks twenty years older than his actual age, Braeg has seen far too many things, which man wasn't meant to know. Paranoid. He has enough knowledge about the Lower Planes, to qualify as a Sage on the subject. Braeg Believes several world leaders are involved in Infernal Pacts and that the "Takeover," is only decades away. Braeg speaks the language of the Brain Eaters From the Underdark, as well as that of the Dark Elves. He spent five years, captive in one of their underground cities. He owns a small, Silver Chalice, engraved with Holy Symbols, which can cast a Protection From Evil 10' Radius, twice per day. 

4. Mizzimir - Human Male. A young, nondescript fellow, trying to get his start in the adventuring community and make some cash. He's a skilled tailor. He collects books and writes decent poetry. His best friend is a priest at a local, popular temple. Mizzimir owns a set of Grimoires of the Pact Insidious, though he doesn't know what they are and hasn't attempted to use them. 

5. Wanda of the Wands - Human Female. A thirty-ish, attractive woman, Wanda is deeply in debt and trying to raise enough money to pay the "Inheritance Tax," on the property left to her by her deceased Teacher. This consists of a Small Tower and an acre of land, which has been used as an academy of magical learning, for the past few decades. Wanda enjoys arguing, swimming, creating 1st level spells for her students to try out (she currently has two, teen aged apprentices) and smoking exotic substances. She carries two Magic Wands - One is a red, glass Wand of Magic Missiles, which operates at 9th level and the other is of highly polished, pale wood, which casts Unseen Servant.

6. Cassimon - Human Male. A bearded, dark haired man, pushing middle-age, Cassimon is passionate, strong-willed and loyal. He specializes in Conjuration/Summoning Magics and knows methods for Summoning Angels. He has a friend named Mugad the Bear, a Dwarf who leads the Steel Reapers, a Dwarven mercenary company, with some 200 members. Cassimon likes games of strategy, women and strong drink. He's quick to anger and quick to forgive. His familiar was granted to him by one of his angelic contacts and is an Eagle named Hace, which can Breath Fire 2/day, for 5d6 points of damage. Hace grants its master 20% Magic Resistance.

7. Beumont Blackrazor - Human Male. Suave, debonair and dashing! Beumont is a ladies man, a graceful dancer, a wonderful conversationalist and a daring adventurer. He's also looking to get out of town, having been caught teaching the wife of a local lord, certain exotic techniques of Sexual Magic. He spends most of his money on fine clothes, fine dining and impressing the fairer sex. While much of his room & board is taken care of by his various lovers, he still needs cash to cover his researches and carousing, so he supplements this "income," by adventuring. He has a Silver, hand-held mirror, dedicated to the goddess of Love. It is so ensorcelled, that the reflection will shower the gazer with compliments, telling him/her how marvelous they look, etc. It will also add a bonus to the bearer's Charisma Reaction adjustment and allow him/her to cast Charm Person, twice per day. Orcs really hate Beumont and are twice as likely to have a violent reaction, towards any party which harbors him.

8. Myrra - The Lady of Crimson - Elven Female. MU/T. An assassin, who spent much of her time doing "Wet Work" for a highly influential Society of Wizards, Myrra left her former employers on bad terms and is now looking for more socially acceptable work. Myrra likes highly methodical, bizarrely intricate plans. She also enjoys head games and playing the Cat to a target's Mouse. She's not totally adverse to the idea of more Killing for Hire, but she likes the idea of being an "Adventurer," now. She has a midnight blue cloak of protection +2, which adds +10% to her chance to Hide in Shadows.

9. Yuermar - Human Male. A rugged outdoorsman, Yuermar likes to hunt, fish, climb mountains and delve into dungeons. He far prefers camping out to sleeping inside and is a cheerful, knowledgeable companion on the road. He carries a wooden, rough looking Staff +1, which holds 3 levels of spells and detects True North. He likes to take trophies of his kills, especially Monsters.

10. Gibbz - Human Male. Fat, bald, short and ugly, Gibbz is also brave, a genius and knows more about Magical Theory than most Wizards, twice his age. When not adventuring, he likes to spend his days researching, or talking shop with other magi. His nights are usually spent in the local Red Light district. He enjoys writing magical textbooks and essays, which sometimes contain "blinds" and coded information. Gibbz owns a Ring of Spell Resistance 10% and a plain, cream colored wooden Staff +2, which can cast a Short Ranged Teleport Spell, 1/day. In the future, Gibbz becomes an important Mover and Shaker and Mage of Power. At that point in his Timeline, he makes a Frenemy of a Minor Demon Princess, who becomes somewhat fascinated with the mage. She has taken to making appearances, earlier in the wizard's Timeline, in an attempt to snare him in her schemes.

If It Makes Your Eyeballs Explode, Please Let Me Know!

So, I wanted to add those new Sharing buttons, Blogger made
available to append to the end of posts. But, my old Template wasn’t having anything to do with them. I had tweaked and hacked it quite a bit, mainly to get my Three Column set-up, so maybe that was the issue. As I had been eyeing the nifty new Template Designer, anyway, I decided to go ahead and re-design the site. If you popped in more than once yesterday, you probably saw several different incarnations of my blog, as I spent most of the afternoon, experimenting and tweaking. Please let me know if the new scheme makes your head explode, or causes any other discomfort.

I decided to 86 Erasmus, while I was at it. If anyone noticed that Dr. Craven is missing from their Follower Widget and wonders where the strange long-haired dude, came from, now you know.

Live writer refused to detect the new theme correctly, getting it horridly wrong. I downloaded a program, made to fix this problem. It made things much worse. Removing and re-installing didn't help and the programs horrid attempts to conform to the theme it's mis-detecting, is causing it to be more trouble than it's worth!

Being able to edit within the theme is one of the most useful features of Live Writer. Damnit! So, I'm giving ScribeFire, a plug-in for Firefox, a whirl. I like what I'm seeing. ScribeFire detected my theme perfectly, on preview. I don't see where you can actually edit within the theme, though. But, you can switch back and forth, between the editing and preview screens, with just a mouse click. So, it's almost as good. Maybe even better, as while Live Writer got things real close, it would drop the ball, on occassion. ScribeFire appears to be letting me tweak things, quite accurately. Saturday will be the real test, as a lot of formatting goes into the News. 

It’s Read An RPG Book In Public Week, so let’s all pick something relatively Safe For Work and be seen, supporting our hobby!

While I’ve just barely started on it, I’ve added a Tab section, with a new page: A Guide to Free OSR Resources. In the weeks to come, expect it to turn into something truly monstrous!

One more note of interest, for the day: The Blogger at Swords & Dorkery is starting a cover to cover series of posts, on Bruce Galloway’s Fantasy Wargaming! He used to run Galloway’s rules, so it should be quite interesting! I might even break out my copy and read along.

Allright, I'll be back soon. Let's see how this post turns out!

OSR News From The Underdark Gazette – Saturday, July 24, 2010

Nod # 3 Is Now Available!

Since the debut of his blog, back in March, John Stater has become one of the hardest working Old School Gamers out there! In addition to the great gaming stuff, he posts to The Land of Nod, Mr. Stater also has a periodical, Nod, which is available in Print and PDF. You can download a PDF of the first issue, for free! I shined the Blog Spotlight on The Land of Nod, several weeks ago and Mr. Stater’s blog, as well as his periodical, definitely deserve some pimping!  And speaking of John’s hard work:

Nod # 3 by John Stater, has been released! Available in Print for $10.00 and in PDF for $3.50.

“This issue of NOD contains a massive sandbox set in the vast wasteland of a ruined empire. It also contains new classes (13 different bestial humanoids, the elementalist and the druid), a fantasy Egyptian pantheon and another chapter of George MacDonald's classic story Phantastes. 122 pages of electronic content.”

124 pages. If you missed Issue # 2, you can pick it up in print at a 15% discount, between now and August 15th. Nod is billed as Compatible with Swords & Wizardry and is, of course, useable with all the wonderful games, we like to play!

Congratulations, John and here’s looking forward to more awesome material from The Land of Nod.

New Releases

Chalice of Pericles by Jason Metcalfe. Available for $2.50 in U.S. or A4 format.

“Chalice of Pericles pits adventurers against the evil necromancer Darkan Hess in a race to secure a legendary artifact hidden deep within a catacomb. Darkan's powers are formidable, but the adventurers' efforts do not go unaided; an ancient guardian lends her will to their dire struggle. Chalice of Pericles is a short adventure for use with the Labyrinth Lord role play game. It is suitable for 4-6 Characters of Level 4. This edition of Chalice of Pericles has been formatted for US Letter sized paper.”

The first in the author’s Heroes of Pelendor line of products!

 

Faster Monkey Games has released Gems by Joel Sparks! Available for $2.00, but currently on sale for $1.50, as part of RPGNOW’s Christmas In July Sale.

“Diamonds can be your best friend. So pretty, so much easier to carry than hundreds of heavy coins, and everybody wants to trade for them. Same goes for rubies, sapphires, and emeralds too, not to mention the over 100 other types of valuable stones detailed in this exhaustive 12-page supplement for any game. GEMS, the first All the Treasures of the Worldresource kit from Faster Monkey Games, details everything from shiny quartz pebbles you might trade for a beer to enormous star sapphires worth a king's ransom. Plus:

• Variations in size and quality, making every stone unique.
• Cat's eyes, crosses, stars, and double stars.
• Evaluating gems by character type: Jeweler, Merchant, Fence, or PC, with options for underground races and secondary skills.
• Fake gems, uncut gems, and commonly misidentified stones.
• Buying and selling gems and other valuables.
• Appraisal costs and documents.
• Using treasure as cash.

Add some sparkle to your next treasure roll with GEMS!”

Jeff Rients has published Ye Olde Book of Spells! Available in Print, at cost, for $5.20, or as a Free PDF download. 35 Pages.

“Players always bogarting your copy of the rulebook to look up their spells? Hand 'em this little puppy instead! Compatible with any old school system involving stinky underground mazes and overgrown winged lizards. You know what I'm talking about.”

There’s also a free version on Scribd, formatted so as to allow for booklet printing.

Congratulations to everyone!

Free Downloads

Encounter #2, a Fanzine for Classic D&D, is out!

Head over to Sham’s Grog & Blog, where Mr. Bowman has a Revised Magic Swords Determination Table PDF, for you to download.

How about an OD&D Character Sheet recreation from Falconer?

Greyharp has made the old Blackmoor Temple of the Frog adventure into a stand-alone PDF booklet. The link is about half-way into the thread.

JB from B/X Blackrazor has a B/X Conversion for Against the Cult of the Reptile God.

Jim Pacek from Carjacked Seraphim has some GM Helper Cards for you.

How about a one-page Post Apocalyptic RPG? Tempora Mutantur!

Thanks guys, for all your hard work and dedication!

Events & Happenings

The Central Texas Mini-Con, is being held on July 31 and August 21, in Austin TX. Check it out, here. Also, more news of the Mini-Con can be found at Troll and Flame.

In Other News

RPGNOW is holding their Christmas In July sale. You can get a deal on a few Old School products, from this page!

Another old Judges Guild adventure, has been released in PDF. Lara’s Tower, is available for $3.00.

Check Out Dizzy Dragon’s Random Geomorphic Dungeon Map Generator – It uses Geomorphs, created by Dyson Logos.

A Wise Houserule from Joeskythedungeonbrawler.

Brave Halfling is offering the Swords & Wizardry Whitebox Perfectbound and Hardcover’s for 30% off!

I Hit It With My Axe: Episode 19: Silly.

What I’m Pimping This Week

Mythmere's Adventure Design Deskbook Vol. 2 – Monsters by Matt Finch. Black Blade Publishing. Available in Print for $14.00 and in PDF for $6.00. 64 pages.

“This isn’t your grandpa’s old ‘how-to’ book on random monster creation.

“This invaluable resource on monster creation includes eighty-six tables that deal with numerous attributes, traits and characteristics of new, soon to be thought-up creatures for use in your fantasy campaigns. It is designed to tap a deeper creative wellspring than a mere monster book that only lists chapter after chapter of familiar monsters and beasts of a more mundane nature. Rather, the tables contained in this volume are akin to a skeleton key which can be used to unlock the passageways of your imagination, helping you to unveil the strange and bizarre inhabitants of your PCs’ nightmares.

“This second volume of the Mythmere’s Adventure Design Deskbook series turns your attention to one of the hobby’s most appealing aspects – the creation of new and unfamiliar monsters which may be used to challenge your players and their PCs as they pursue fortune and glory in the midst of your fantasy campaigns. This volume walks you through two entirely different alternate methods of creating a new monster using a host of detailed tables, one method focusing on the monster type, and the other focusing on the monster’s fighting characteristics.

“Written by Matt Finch

“Cover art by Kenneth Seward

“Illustrated by Brian DeClercq and Matt Finch”

Matt Finch is Awesome! And I love the Adventure Design Deskbook Series!

Mythmere's Adventure Design Deskbook Vol. 2 – Monsters by Matt Finch – It’s What I’m Pimping, This Week!

About The News

Unless otherwise noted, all links to products and files are to the individual authors sites, pertinent posts, or sales pages. I don’t link directly to files, unless that is the only link available. The OSR News is produced as a service to the community and is entirely a non-commercial endeavor on my part. I have received no remuneration for advertising, reviewing or reporting on any of the items appearing herein. Please feel free to send me information on any new releases, events, or other items of interest, which you would like to see mentioned.

As always, the What I’m Pimping This Week section of the OSR News and its accompanying blog widget, feature products which I have purchased (or items which are available for free download) and wish to support. No one has asked me to spotlight their material in this section and I have received no payment of any kind for doing so.

So, If I Keep Running Stonehell At The Birmingham Meet-up…

I’m gonna want to do something different for my home campaign. Right?

Maybe I was just looking for an excuse, to make another hexmap.

For now, filed under New Hex Map and available in my Supplements Section on the right. I didn’t really try anything new, this time, technique-wise. I just wanted to make it and see where my head was at. I need to set aside a weekend or two, for some serious map work.

While going over some old files, I ran across my first Gimp worldmap. My recreation of the map from my Kastmaria campaign:

I was doing a lot of experimenting and learning to use the program. It’s amateurish as hell, but I like it. Also, available for download.

I don’t really want to reboot Kastmaria, but I want to use this map for some reason.

I’m hoping my buddy Lee, will be able to play in my home campaign and if he keeps coming to the Meet-up group as well, I don’t want to use the same dungeon. The meet-up thing is kind of an open table, almost convention like deal, which meets once a month. So, while a massive, pre-made Megadungeon like Stonehell is kind of ideal for that situation, I’m afraid that the nuances involved with a campaign world, will kind of fall by the wayside. So, I’m thinking that maybe I should remove Stonehell from Alaethia and run the latter that way, at home. Or, run something entirely different. There’s always Greyhawk and the idea of doing a Forgotten Realms grey box game, has been on my mind for the past few days. But I damn well know, that I would rather do something of my own. Alaethia was the first setting I’ve designed in over a decade. Now that I’ve reminded myself how to go about it, I want to design something else. And if I keep farting around like this, I’ll never get the new game started. :)

Due to the recent death of my father in-law, I’m pushing back the start date of my home campaign. It’ll Probably be mid to late August, now.

Then, there’s this weird map I made, several months ago. My second Gimp worldmap. I think I want to go back and redo the mountain layer:

So, a monthly LL/AEC and Stonehell game at the Meet-up. And, something else at home. Maybe even a different clone. Swords & Wizardry? I’ll decide on something, this weekend. I’m running out of time.

Troll In the Corner Pathfinder Rulebook Giveaway

Troll in the Corner is giving away a set of Pathfinder Core Books and some PDF’s as well. The winners will be picked by Random Drawing. Details, here. And yes, you get extra entries/chances to win, if you post about the contest on your blog or site.

We now return you to your regular, Old School programming!

A Big Shoutout To Tenkar of Tenkar’s Tavern, For Giving Me A Free Copy of Dragon Warriors!

Tenkar of Tenkar’s Tavern ran a contest, earlier in the month, randomly choosing respondents to this post, requesting everyone’s favorite BBEG’s. I won! Woo-Hoo! I now have a copy of the new edition of Dragon Warriors!

“Dragon Warriors was first published by Corgi Books in 1985-6 as a series of six paperbacks. This new edition compiles the material from those books into a series of new releases, revised and updated, with new text, art and maps. The PDF release has had all the errata from the printed rulebook corrected, and has been exhaustively bookmarked and cross-linked for ease of use.”

A big thanks to Tenkar! He also has more contests in the works, planning to giveaway more stuff, when his blog hits 40, 50 and 60 followers. Tenkar is a featured reviewer for OneBookShelf / RPGNow / DriveThruRPG and keeps everyone up to date and informed on all kinds of gaming goodness; Old School, New School, Tenkar and his trusty iPad, has the skinny! In short, head over and follow that blog! You might win something cool and even if you don’t, you’ll have found another awesome and informative blog!

Here’s my evil villain entry. A baddie from an old, long-running 3.5 campaign. This was copied and pasted from my notes, with a quick, dashed off synopsis added for the blog Comment (as you can see, I used the BoVD, back in my 3e days):

Chong Wahng - Thrall of Orcus

Male human Ftr 6/Wiz 3/Thrall of Orcus 4
CR 12; Size M (5 ft., 10 in. tall);  AL CE                    

HD 6d10+6 + 3d4+3; 4d8+5 hp 85; Init +3 (+3 Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 18 (+3 Dex);

Attack +15/+10/+5 (+4 Str) melee, or +13/+8/+3 (+7 Base, +3 Dex) ranged;

SV Fort +11, Ref +7 (+3 Base, +3 Dex), Will +9 (+5 Base,); Str 18 (+4), Dex 16 (+3)(14), Con 12 (+1),(14) Int 16 (+3), Wis 10 , Cha 11 (+0).

Skills and feats: intimidate +6 Balance +6.5 (+4.5 Rank, +2 Dex), Bluff +5 (+5 Rank), Climb +13 (+9 Rank, +4 Str), Concentration +8 (+7 Rank, +1 Con), Handle animal +9 (+9 Rank), Hide +7.5 (+5.5 Rank, +2 Dex), Intuit direction +3 (+3 Rank,), Jump +6 (+2 Rank, +4 Str), Knowledge (arcana) +11 (+8 Rank, +3 Int), Listen +6.5 (+4.5 Rank, +2 Alertness), Move silently +3 (+3 Dex), Perform +2 (+2 Rank), know. religion +11 (+8 Rank,), Ride +6.5 (+4.5 Rank, +2 Dex), Sense motive +5 (+5 Rank,), Spot +3 (+1 Rank, , +2 Alertness), Wilderness lore +2 (+2 Rank);

Alertness, Enlarge spell, thrall to demon, cleave, Point blank shot, Precise shot, Quicken spell, [Scribe scroll], Track, powerattack, Weapon focus (katana,) lichloved. Deformity- obese, evil brand, sacrif. Mastery.

Carrion stench – dc 15
Touch of fear 3/day
Demon wings
Tongue studs of hellfire
Bracers ac +5
Katana +3 keen
+20 / +15 / +8
1d8 +7 dmg

Wizard Spells Known (4/3/2): 0th -- Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Resistance. 1st -- Charm Person, Feather Fall, Identify, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shocking Grasp, truestrike. 2nd -- Ghoul Touch, Knock, See Invisibility.

Chong Wahng was a warrior from Feudal Japan, who went through an inter dimensional portal, with his brother, in search of their missing father.
His brother, Hashimi, a Samurai/Kensai was a Player Character in the campaign. The brothers were separated during their dimensional jaunt and didn't see each other again, for many years.

Hashimi's new home, became a battle-ground for extra-planar forces, as the various sides sought to gain control of the Rod of Seven Parts. Certain parties wished to use it, to free an Undead God from its imprisonment (The Epic Handbook version of the Atropal.) Others, wanted to prevent this.
The characters became embroiled in the struggle and soon found themselves at odds with the minions of Orcus. During a confrontation at a warehouse, Hashimi was reunited with his brother, Chong Wahng! Now grossly fat, Evil and seeking the two parts of the Rod, which the PC's held, Chong had been keeping tabs on the party and manipulating them, for a while. They had also met and fought his Vampire girlfriend, on a couple of occasions.

After much scheming, backstabbing and fighting, as well as various attempts by Chong to convert his brother to his cause, the party finally killed the Vampiress and captured Chong, taking the part of the Rod he was carrying. Though they left him alive, Chong was eventually slain by the forces of Hell, his master having abandoned him, due to his failure.

Chong had, on occasion, dropped hints to his brother of bigger schemes and that Hashimi was more of a pawn than he realized. Several months later, during a raid upon a secret society which was performing some work for hire for their foes, the party stumbled upon a room of sealed containers, which contained several Clones of Chong Wahng. They had been heinously experimented upon and were no longer human. Hashimi never discovered, whether or not the Thrall of Orcus, which he had been interacting with, was a Clone of his brother, or the original. Nor, if there was any truth to the more disturbing implication, that he himself, might be a Clone.

Birthday Booty!

This month, on the 22nd, I will be celebrating my 42nd birthday. Today, I received the last of my presents (so far as I know) in the mail.

The Fight On! Hardcover Compendiums! Woo-Hoo! I also got issue 9, which arrived several days ago.

Of course, since my wife, Jillena, got me these, which cost a nice little chunk of change, I’ll have to wait a few weeks before I can order Mr. Raggi’s boxed set. I hope they last long enough. But, the Fight On! Compendium’s were only available for a limited time. The month of June. I definitely wanted to get them while the getting was good and I really, really wanted em! I hope Fight On! won the June Lulu Sales Contest. I haven’t heard the results, yet.

These were from my wife, but I decided to get myself a little something, as well. Namely, the PDF of Mythmere’s Adventure Design Deskbook Vol. 2. I printed it out tonight and just need to slide the cardstock sheets into some protectors and pop them into a binder. I always print out my PDF’s on cardstock, because I like the nice and sturdy copy, it produces. Combined with sheet protectors and a decent binder or folder of some sort and I get a nice looking, very durable copy!

Matt Finch is my favorite OSR designer. I absolutely love his work and the first volume of the Deskbook series, is fantastic! I can’t wait to read Vol. 2.

My dad got me a 4 gig flash drive. I needed another one. He also got me this:

We both dig AC/DC, so it’s a cool thing, we can bond over. No Bull is a good concert film, though AC/DC - Live at Donington is better.

So, tonight I’ll pop in some AC/DC and maybe read some Fight On! Or finish work on a couple of projects.

I shall return, shortly. With more hexmap stuff and maybe another post in the Cheap DM series.

Brisco’s First Hexmap: “The Village”

After watching me work on a map the other day, my 6 year old son, Brisco, asked if he could make one. So, I pulled up the template in Gimp and let him go to town.

He calls it “The Village,” and tells me that the place is run by an Evil Wizard named Mr. Bacon and his Troll Warriors (the MM Goblins.) The Trolls have the ability to Summon more Trolls, but Summoned Trolls cannot Summon other Trolls. A Troll can only Summon another Troll once in its life, though. The map sports several volcanoes and Brisco has some ideas for a Dungeon inside one of these. The ones at the northeast section of the map, are '”Blood Volcanoes.” They spout blood, instead of lava.

The Barn in the middle of the eastern lake, sells Pets, which will help you fight and heal you. A barn, just to the north, sells trees, which have similar powers. The waters of that lake, are poison and dangerous to touch. The desert in the southwest, with the darker cactus’, are the home of Bats and if they touch you, you’ll have bad luck for a week.

Also in the northeast, below the more normal forest, is the Graveyard of Doom, with dead trees, ensorcelled by Mr. Bacon to attack interlopers.

The forest at the northwest, is home to a creature that is half Dragon and half “The Biggest Monster Ever Seen,” which I’m going to interpret as Cthulhu.

There’s a secret store in the mountains, which sells gadgets. Including Catapults and a Sword that does a thousand points of damage per hit.

The various portals, all lead to the nearest portal.

The Castle in the northern part of the forest in the west, is where folks live and where PC’s come from. There’s a cage, right beside that hex. The cage is for trapping Mr. Bacon and is wizard-proof. I’m assuming an anti-magic shell, or something of the sort.

The orange hexes are burning hot and will damage any travelers. The sun is closer, when travelling in these hexes. The mining tools, near the top of the map, show where to start digging, so you can dig a tunnel underneath, the burning hot hexes.

Hex 1205 features lines and if one of these are stepped on, you will be rapidly transported, to the opposite side of the hex.

I think my son is going to grow up and design the next Planet Algol.

OSR News From The Underdark Gazette – Saturday, July 17, 2010

Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy Role-Playing, Hammers of the God and more!

Mr. Raggi is now accepting Pre-orders! Orders are to begin shipping on July 26. 50,00€, price includes shipping.

LotFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing

“Mystery and Imagination, Adventure and Death

Beyond the borders of civilization, beyond the influence of manipulating politicians, greedy merchants, iron-handed clergy, and the broken masses that toil for their benefit, the ruins of ancient civilizations call to those bold enough, and desperate enough, to escape the oppression of mundane life. Treasure and glory await those courageous enough to wrest it from the darkness. But the danger is great, for lurking in the forgotten shadows are forces far more corrupt than even civilization. The price for freedom might be paid in souls.

LotFP: Weird Fantasy Role-Playing presents a sinister and horrific twist on traditional fantasy gaming and provides you with all the tools needed to create and run a long-lasting campaign tailored to your specific vision. Simple enough for a beginner – with material intended for those that have never before played a role-playing game – yet meaty enough for the veteran, this is a complete game in one box. Included in this box:

• Tutorial Book – To introduce the basics of this game and role-playing in general
• Rules Book – The comprehensive reference to play the game
• Magic Book – All the details on spells and magical research
• Referee Book – Advice and tools to create a campaign suited to your tastes
• 7-piece Dice Set
• Pencil
• Character Sheets
• Graph and Hex Paper

plus two bonus adventure modules:

• Tower of the Stargazer
• Weird New World

And more!

Includes artwork by Ernie Chan, Dean Clayton, Laura Jalo, Kevin Mayle, Peter Mullen, Cynthia Sheppard, Amos Sterns, and cartography by Ramsey Dow”

As you are probably well aware, Mr. Raggi has been busy! Behold!:

Hammers of the God 

“By the Sign of the Hammer!

A mysterious map and a promise treasure to be won are all that are required to set any adventurer worth the name into the wilderness. But sometimes what is found is far more than treasure.

Many that are good and noble will kill to make sure the secrets to be found under the old mountain stay buried. Many that enter the darkness will become beguiled by the splendor of the halls in which they walk, mesmerized by the riches to be found there, never realizing that death follows their every move.

Dwarves never forget a grudge. But what if they hold that grudge against themselves?

Beware the god who has been discarded.

For Character Levels 3 – 5

James Edward Raggi IV Writing, Layout

Laura Jalo Interior Art

Maria Kyytinen Proofreading

Dean Clayton Cover Art

Ramsey Dow Cartography

Matt Johnsen Hammers of the God Logo

36 Pages + Cover (A5), published 2010”

10,00€ to Europe. 11,00€, outside of Europe. Shipping included. If you order this with the Boxed Set, you can pick it up for 8,00€.

Tower of the Stargazer and Weird New World, both of which are included in the boxed set, are also available for purchase, separately. And if you haven’t picked it up, yet, Death Frost Doom is once again available in print! Check the site for pricing info.

Congratulations, Mr. Raggi! A Tip o’ the Hat for having the Balls to pursue your Dream and the Best of Wishes, for the continued success of Lamentations of the Flame Princess publishing!

New Releases

Villains & Vigilantes v 2.1, from Monkey House Games, is now available in Print! The 64 page paperback is $14.95.

“Villains and Vigilantes(tm) - the world’s FIRST complete superhero RPG - is back! V&V features dynamic random character creation, accessible and fast-paced rules, and an imaginative, far-ranging campaign universe created by Jeff Dee and Jack Herman! This new edition - 2.1 - revives and updates the 1982 edition, and features brand new illustrations.”

Congratulations on the re-launch of this classic game!

Free Downloads

New Haven Games is working on a “re-make” of 2e D&D. Myth & Magic – Fantasy Role-Play. They have a “Starter Kit” now available, though you have to join their Forums, in order to download the PDF.

Visit Al, over at Beyond the Black Gate for The Red Crystal Caverns – A Megadungeon Sub-level.

From Monkey House Games, a free Villains & Vigilantes adventure - “Oil Pressure.”

For those who use mini’s, ze bulette from Dungeons and Digressions has some cool paper-ones, for you to download.

Michael Shorten from Chicagowiz’s RPG Blog has put the free version of his Swords & Wizardry Quick Start back up on RPGNOW.

Bob from Back to the Keep has some Labyrinth Lord Reference Sheets for you.

For those who missed it the first time around, Randall at RetroRoleplaying is providing the links for Chicagowiz’s Siege Perilous – A Swords & Wizardry supplement for playing in the world of Ultima.

Thanks to everyone, for all your hard work and dedication!

Events & Happenings

The Polls are Open, for voting on the 2010 Ennie Awards! The Grinding Gear from Lamentations of the Flame Princess is up for Best Adventure and several Old School Publishers are in the running for the Fan Award for Best Publisher!

In Other News

I Hit It With My Axe: Episode 18: 200 lbs. Of Meat And A new Fur Coat.

JB from B/X Blackrazor had released the cover for his upcoming B/X Companion.

Work on the Cold Text File –C1, by Scottsz, continues at Lord of the Green Dragons.

Bob Back to the Keep has a review up of Od&dities 15.

Head over to the Oubliette blog, for a Stonehell Play Report.

Paul Jaquays has an Old School Gamer T-shirt available. Picture on the left. Part of the proceeds, go to support for the Gygax Memorial Statue, as well as the college fund for Mr. Jaquays’ daughter. Thanks to grodog for pointing us to this.

What I’m Pimping This Week

I’m “on location,” out of town and busy this weekend, so I’m gonna let White Dragon Run ride!

About The News

Unless otherwise noted, all links to products and files are to the individual authors sites, pertinent posts, or sales pages. I don’t link directly to files, unless that is the only link available. The OSR News is produced as a service to the community and is entirely a non-commercial endeavor on my part. I have received no remuneration for advertising, reviewing or reporting on any of the items appearing herein. Please feel free to send me information on any new releases, events, or other items of interest, which you would like to see mentioned.

As always, the What I’m Pimping This Week section of the OSR News and its accompanying blog widget, feature products which I have purchased (or items which are available for free download) and wish to support. No one has asked me to spotlight their material in this section and I have received no payment of any kind for doing so.

Artifacts of the Ancients – Designate S-43M

Designate S-43M

A sword, formed a strange, mirror-shiny metal, sporting a hilt wrapped in a weird, black, spongy material, which perfectly shapes itself to its wielder’s grip.

Created by an ancient society of sorcerer-scientists, the sword is an artificial intelligence, produced by both technology and magic.

S-43M’s memory banks, were wiped, thousands of years ago. It remembers very little of its creators and is eager to search for such knowledge. It is a storehouse of information on the subject of war and is well versed in both magic and science. It’s knowledge of human, demi-human and humanoid physiology, matches what one would expect of an advanced civilization. It is even-tempered and approaches its task of killing, in a very business-like fashion. While capable of emotion, such displays will tend to be very cerebral and measured.

The sword seeks stimulation and adventure and so long as these are provided, it will usually be content with its wielder. It is thoroughly amoral, being just as pleased defeating an evil red dragon as it would be slaying a paladin. Its only objection to slaying a village of peasants, would be the lack of challenge involved. Aside from its desire to learn more of its own history, it’s goals tend to be long ranging and often abstract, chosen mainly to alleviate, or stave off, boredom.

The Following is declared Open Game Content.

Longsword +3

Int: 20. Ego: 14. Personality:  34. Communication: Verbal, Read Magic. Alignment: Neutral. 

Powers: Once per day, the sword may release a stream of invisible, short-lived nano-bots, into the wielder’s bloodstream. These will act like a Ring of Regeneration, save that Fire and Acid are no bar to their abilities. The techno-sorcerous creatures, will remain active for 12 hours, then disintegrate. The sword is capable of self-repair and should any harm befall it, can completely restoring itself, so long as at least 20% of its parts are still present. The sword has the ability to interfere with magical energy and provides 20% MR and a +2 bonus to saves vs. magic. 1/day, the Sword may manifest a Globe of Invulnerability.

Relics of the Ancients - Ecstasy In Slaughter

Ecstasy in Slaughter

This Relic is a Bastard Sword, featuring a cross-hilt, wrapped in red leather. The pommel is made of rose tinted glass-like steel, depicting the head of a beautiful, savage woman. The entire sword, is made from an alien, stone-like substance, dark-green in color and shot through with bright red, spidery lines.

Ecstasy in Slaughter is a forgotten minor Avatar of Daeena, an ancient goddess of War and Love. Having left any planes known to mortals, ages ago, her Sword Avatar is only a shadow of it’s former might. Yet that is still quite formidable. 

The sword remembers very little, of the time when she was still strongly connected to her greater self. She will, for now, make the best of her situation and set about to find a Fighter who will serve her purposes, if she has not already done so. If she does not like her wielder, she will contrive to escape or slay the offending warrior, utilizing her Limited Wish to do so. Otherwise, the sword is capable of assuming human form, for up to two hours per day and will be quite possessive of her newfound lover, enjoying sexual play, as much as wading into battle and shedding blood.

The Avatar has an encyclopedic knowledge of ancient history, though her memory of the past thousand years, or so, is rather spotty. She is able to recount the locations of lost cities, ancient dungeons and forgotten treasures. She is also, a military genius.

Finding a way to be free of her current state of existence and reclaiming the power of her greater self, is of paramount importance to the Sword. Still, she is very much a creature of the moment and is easily distracted by her appetites. The Sword is usually quite talkative, exuberant and charming, though occasionally, it is beset by dark moods and can be rather dangerous, at such times.

The Following is declared Open Game Content.

Bastard Sword +4

Int: 18. Ego: 20. Personality:  38*. Communication: Verbal (Several Languages,) Telepathic, Read Magic.  Alignment: Chaotic.

Powers: 1/day, the sword may cast a Limited Wish. The wielder is immune to any Charm type spell below 4th level, as the swords own personality will act as a bulwark against such magics. 1/day, the sword may cast Heal upon the wielder. 1/day, the Sword may summon 1d4 4th lvl Berserkers from Valhalla, who will follow her commands and remain for the duration of 1 Turn, or until slain.

*The stat format used here, was chosen to reflect rules, which assume Character Level will be taken into account in cases of Sword vs. Character. Even so, it would take a high level character to have a chance of withstanding the Sword.

The picture above, is from the graphic novel La Reina de la Costa Negra, a full English translation of which, may be accessed here. It is, of course, Belit.

Satan and the “OSR”

As a blogger, I'm glad I'm not high profile, like Mr. Raggi. Being human, I'm bound to write something inflammatory, stupid, inappropriate, or otherwise open to criticism, on occasion. At least I don't have to worry that the entire bloody community, which I choose to interact with, will be blamed, mischaracterized, insulted and belittled, due to something I've said. Not so much, anyway.

So, if I do write something objectionable, please feel free to call me on it. But make sure that it’s something like, “James, you’re full of shit!” Or, better yet, “James, you’re wrong and here’s why.”

I’d be really peeved, if people said this sort of thing:

“The ‘OSR’ has lost its way!”

“The ‘OSR’ is Tainted!”

“The ‘OSR’ needs to be taught a Lesson!”

“The Leader of the ‘OSR’ thinks he can tell me what to think!”

“I’m not  a member of the ‘OSR’ and don’t associate me with those people!”

“Those ‘OSR’ people are just Faddists! They’re not real Old Schoolers!”

“Those ‘OSR’ people are Fanatics! They’re trying to tell me how to play D&D!”

So, you can rest assured, that I will, in all likelihood, be overlooked by those who feel the need to damn and demonize their fellows.

Or turn a network of gamers, into some Illuminati-like opposition! ;)

There are no “OSR” leaders. There is no “OSR” membership card. There is no ”OSR” clubhouse. There are no “OSR” dues. There is no “OSR” dogma. There is no “OSR” secret handshake. There is no “OSR” initiatory ritual, oath or secret lore. There is no “OSR” party line.

There is no Satan. There is no “OSR.”

Long live the Old School Renaissance!

In Which I Run Stonehell, Knock Some Rust Off My Game and Kill Four PC’s

The Poison Gas Trap activates on a 1-2 on a d6. Oops! Four failed saves? Everyone back to town. You can just clone your dead to save some time, or roll up new ones as you prefer.

I attended my first meeting of the Birmingham Area Tabletop Gamers group, yesterday. Glen, Shane Ivey of Arc Dream Publishing, Kendra and my friend Lee, who showed up after the Poison debacle and took over the two hireling Fighters, decided to play some Old School and try out LL/AEC. I ran Stonehell. 1st level characters, 4d6 drop the lowest and arrange as desired. Three of the players ran two characters each, while the fourth ran one. It was pretty fucking awesome! The intrepid players moved past the incident mentioned above, which happened about 45 minutes into the game and headed back in. We played for over four hours and got quite a bit accomplished.

Highlights of the game, included Shane’s 1/2 Orc Fighter’s habit of taking humanoids prisoner and enslaving them. “Go spin that wheel!”

Lee got the first Natural 20 of the day. I used the idea from Matt Finch’s Primer, to use ad hoc rulings for critical hits and misses. Also, in lieu of the old AD&D rule of Fighters getting an attack per level against monsters of less than 1 HD, I gave the Fighters the ability to Cleave, when taking a foe out, once per round per level.

So, Lee got a Nat. 20, taking out a Goblin. He then got another Nat. 20 on the Cleave, taking out another one! I gave him a third attack for the first crit., which he used to take out yet another goblin and for the second crit., ruled that he had managed to kick the corpse off his blade, shoving it into a fourth goblin and knocking it prone. He was a whirlwind of death and it was a really cool moment!

Getting to run Stonehell, gave me an even deeper appreciation of Mr. Curtis’ work. There’s so many nice little touches and the whole thing comes together so very well! The fantastic organization, makes it a breeze to run!

While they learned their lesson about traps, managing to neutralize a particularly nasty Green Slime threat, they were still very negligent about searching for secret doors and whatnot.

The party only got into real trouble one time, other than the poison fountain, that is. A battle with some goblins and wolves. It got a little hairy, but they pulled it out, without any casualties.

I wasn’t nearly as rusty as I feared I might be, but it’ll take a few more sessions before I’m really back into the groove of things. Getting into Character(s), keeping things hopping and spontaneous creativity, is a breeze, for me. It’s remembering the little details, remembering to use the little details, as well as the finer aspects of timing, that’ll take me a few games to work all the kinks out of.

Everyone had a good time and hopefully, will show up and want to play again next month. I’ll be there, running an open table, for anyone wanting to risk the hazards of Stonehell Dungeon! Now, I just need to get my home Campaign going, I’ll be set! I think I’ve got my initial group of three set up, but due to a death in the family and subsequent out of town trip, it’ll probably be another two or three weeks, before I kick it off.

OSR News From The Underdark Gazette – Saturday, July 10, 2010

Chaosium Goodness, Now Available!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                            A ton of Chaosium’s Michael Moorcock inspired RPG’s are now available in PDF format, from RPGNOW! 23 products are listed on the page! Way, way freakin’ Cool!

And if that isn’t enough, the venomous pao, from the Strange Stones blog, has turned us on to some free downloads of rare Stormbringer Monographs: Chaos Cults of the Young Kingdoms by Charles Green (85 pages) and Gods of Law in the Young Kingdoms by Charles Green & Richard Watts (112 pages) may be downloaded from this page. (For the second item, the text hyperlink didn’t work for me, but the PDF link from the picture, did.) There’s some other stuff of interest on this site as well!

 

 

New Releases

Apocalypse Tech Report – An Equipment Supplement for Mutant Future by R. Baseel is available from Classic Diversions. The PDF is $5.00 and the print version is $10.00. 32 pages.

“The Apocalypse Tech Report provides additional equipment and new forms of technology - including cybernetics and nanotechnology - for the many worlds of Mutant Future. Included in this supplement are 60 technological artifacts from the pre-apocalypse era - including tools, weapons, gadgets, and armor – along with 10 new robots. The cybernetics section introduces guidelines for creating cyborgs characters and equipping cybernetic implants, along with a simple method for using the game mechanics of standard mutations and technological items as the basis for powerful implant features. The nanotechnology section contains rules for nanoviruses, nanoaugmentations, and independent nanocolonies. These microscopic robots can provide enormous technological benefits to those who are knowledgeable enough to use them properly. If mishandled or used for less benevolent purposes, they are capable of destroying entire civilizations.”

A Trick on the Tain by Keith Hackwood, with art by Andy Taylor, has been released by Brave Halfling Publishing.

Mr. Hackwood dropped me a line and asked me to mention this Castles & Crusades release, which gives me the opportunity to ask you guys whether or not you’re interested in C&C coverage. Let me know what you think! Available in print for $9.95, the print version comes with a free PDF. A PDF only version will be available for purchase, in August.

“Enter a harsh and unforgiving tundra known as the Tain where traveling these lands means certain death for most. The party of adventurers become caught up in the the plight of the native inhabitants and the cruel designs of an evil hag. The actions of these heroes could bring about the end of a people or save them depending on the choice they make.

This 20-page full-sized module is intended for a group of low-level characters (about 6-8 total levels) with a Challenge Level of 1-5. In this module, you will also find:

12 New Illustrations
3 Different Maps
4 New Creatures for Castles & Crusades
1 New Magical Item
1 Quick Reference for the adventure’s encounters”

Congratulations to the authors and publishers of these new releases!

Free Downloads

The Text File version of Goblinoid Games’ Original Edition Characters, is now available for Download!

The Free Primer for Shadow Sword & Spell is available. Written by Richard Iorio II and James Maliszewski, this may interest some Old School folk.

Shane over at Swords Against the Outer Dark has a Simplified Battlemat for you!

Thanks everyone, for your dedication and free downloads!

Events & Happenings

Cyclopeatron has an updated schedule for the August 14 SoCal Mini-Con!

In Other News

Jim Pacek of Carjacked Seraphim fame, has started another blog, chronicling his running of Castle of the Mad Archmage. Check out In The Dungeons of the Mad Archmage. Two dead PC’s and counting!

Scottsz has posted his Cold Text File C1 Part 1, over at Lord of the Green Dragons.  Delving into the mysteries of The Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan is going to be fun! If you missed the author’s first Cold Text File series, I urge you to rectify that oversight!

The Dungeon Alphabet is being carried by Borders!

Dan Proctor has informed us that the Third Printing of the Revised Edition of Labyrinth Lord is shipping and should soon be available at your local gaming store.

Mr. Raggi has some info on Pre-Orders for the LotFP Weird Fantasy Role-Playing game. This is going to be one hell of a nice collector’s item!

Christian of Destination Unknown is getting back into the zine business!

I Hit It With My Axe: Episode 17: A Dire Situation.

The Greyhawk Grognard has a review of the Pathfinder GameMastery Guide.

The 2010 ENnie Nominations have been announced. The Grinding Gear from LotFP has been nominated for Best Adventure. Death Frost Doom, also from LotFP, received an Honorable Mention for Best Cartography. Labyrinth Lord, received an Honorable Mention for Best Game. Congratulations to Mr. Raggi and Mr. Proctor, for this well deserved recognition!

If you would like to cast a vote for the Fan Award for Best Publisher, you may do so here.

What I’m Pimping This Week

Advanced Adventures #13 – White Dragon Run by James C. Boney. Art by Peter Mullen, John Bingham and Jason Walton. Expeditious Retreat Press. Available in Print for $12.00 and in PDF for $6.00.

“The little village of White Dragon Run is at the edge of civilization - the place where monsters are a constant threat and adventurers thrive. It is here that reputations are made or broken, and deeds are performed only to be set in verse decades after the real story is long lost. On this thin line between country and chaos lies White Dragon Run. The last stop for the civilized before the well-trodden road becomes the weed-infested trail leading to creatures that would rather fight than herd, fish or farm. There’s a fortune to be made for the up and coming adventurer with the strength, the wile, and the cunning to strike out against dangers both natural and unnatural. White Dragon Run is the final stop before meeting one’s destiny behind the sword, stave, dagger, or holy symbol.”

I reviewed White Dragon Run a couple of week’s ago and decided to give it some more love. So, it’ll be featured in the Blog Widget O’ Pimping, for the coming week!

About The News

Unless otherwise noted, all links to products and files are to the individual authors sites, pertinent posts, or sales pages. I don’t link directly to files, unless that is the only link available. The OSR News is produced as a service to the community and is entirely a non-commercial endeavor on my part. I have received no remuneration for advertising, reviewing or reporting on any of the items appearing herein. Please feel free to send me information on any new releases, events, or other items of interest, which you would like to see mentioned.

As always, the What I’m Pimping This Week section of the OSR News and its accompanying blog widget, feature products which I have purchased (or items which are available for free download) and wish to support. No one has asked me to spotlight their material in this section and I have received no payment of any kind for doing so.