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Sunday, November 30, 2014

If you're seeing things running through your head

Paranormal Investigators & Exterminators (PIE)

Grab it on RPGNOW - Like right now

From the good folks over at Genius Loci Games +Johua De Santo - http://geniuslocigames.blogspot.ca/

Artwork by +Frank Turfler 
Product Description
Ghost, demons, old gods and other paranormal entities have been appearing across the world for nearly thirty years. One group staved of the tide for a long time but as the threat of ghosts and goblins, specters and spooks overwhelm the planet they needed help … they needed to franchise!
You and your crew are new franchisee of the Paranormal Investigators & Exterminators (PIE), your job is to capture Paranormal Entities (PE) and make a tidy profit in doing so. A Homage to a frighteningly scary roleplaying game, Paranormal Investigators & Exterminators was developed for the mini-six roleplaying game system and features new and alternate rules in its lean 12 pages.
Included:
Alternate and New Rules and Equipment!
Two mini-adventures set in the PIE universe!
Three Pre-generated Characters so that you can jump right in!
Five blank character cards if you want to make your own characters!
Three paper-minis created and designed by Frank Turfler of the three pre-generated Characters!

Thoughts: This looks like a lot of fun!  A lot of my friends grew up loving a certain franchise, and while they are not exactly role player's per se, I think it would be relatively easy for me to talk them into this for sure!  As it stands, a few of us can pretty much quote that entire movie from start to finish.  

I digress.... It appears after a bit of google fu that the "Mini Six Roleplaying system" is based on Open D6 - reference - http://rpggeek.com/rpg/4559/mini-six
Here is the system reference document - http://opend6.wikidot.com/

Which makes me think for a little extra flavor you could add in the VSD6 system, which I believe is based on exploding dice.  http://vengersatanis.blogspot.ca/2014/02/vsd6.html


DAMN  IT!!! This looks like a LOT of fun! 







Friday, November 28, 2014

Songs were sung! Cactus were placed!


The Knights Of Kii lived along time ago, when the world was a silly place.  They had a unending passion for large cactus's, which of course were extremely difficult to find in the underground.  Don't ask me why they didn't just search the desert.  (Refer to "Silly Place").  Eventually the Knights realized the error of their ways, and went searching in the desert.  They found and collected many Cactus's which they used to decorate their underground lair.  However the one cactus they so dearly wanted they were never able to find.  The cactus of moderate health (tm).  Unfortunately, they died a untimely and horrible death.  During a rather large food fight, things got out of control and one of the Knights slipped and impaled themselves on a Cactus.  Following the death of their friend, the rest of the silly knights jumped on the remaining cactus's and died.  


Thus is the story of the "Knights Of Kii!"  A group of stalwart adventurers who set out on a quest to find and gather Cactus that they so dearly loved.  Bards have often sang great songs about their quest!

O' behold the Knights Of Kii!
Acquiring large cactus's
They placed around their lair
Tis said that they found 
The Cactus Of Moderate Health 
Deep within the underground. 
- Sir Gawain.   "The Worst Bard Ever"  (sorry it doesn't rhyme).







Thursday, November 27, 2014

Basic Fantasy Field Guide

I am immensely excited about this! I downloaded it this morning, and this evening I'll power thru most of it.  The field guide has been kicking around in various versions on the basicfantasy.org for awhile now.  It appears though that they have settled on a finished version of it now.  (Correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I think this is the first time its been available as a download on the various rpg sites by one book shelf).  

Even though I just grabbed a copy of basic from 81, I think most of my gaming for the foreseeable future will be Basic Fantasy, as we started a campaign using it and my newb players seem to easily grasp ascending AC, etc.  There is also a new 3rd edition version of the basic fantasy core rules, also FREE! (what in the hell are you waiting for?).  Just a note when I first found out about the OSR, basic fantasy was one of the first sets of rules that I grabbed (being a cheap bugger!), as well as Blueholme.  Which by the way the new version of Blueholme has also been released with a updated cover! 

I think I'll grab a copy of the 3rd edition version of Basic Fantasy, just the pdf for the time being as a reference.  I printed off the 2nd edition twice already! plus most of the modules that are available.  

Product Description: 
Need a few more monsters? You've come to the right place! This tome contains over 180 creatures for use with the Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game. From ordinary animals to extradimensional intruders, this book contains something for almost any game!

Challenge your players with alien Eelbats or deadly Clockwork Skeletons. Populate your wildernesses with stalwart Chelonians or the wily Rabbit Prince. Perhaps the next tomb your players raid will house a powerful Bone Horror! These and many more weird, wonderful, and wicked creatures lurk within this book.

You can grab a free pdf copy right here

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Monday, November 24, 2014

Inside module information

I posted this on G+ this morning, but its worth a quick blog post as well I think.  


Possible idea for inside cover of new module. 

*If you are a player stop reading this now. 

*You are still reading it aren't you? 

*Those responsible for the subtitles in this book have been sacked"

*There's a orc in the room"

*ahahaha fooled you!" 

*Those responsible for sacking the previous editors of this book have been sacked

Encumbrance & Coins

Just a little note about Encumbrance & Coins.  In all honesty I don't think I've ever worried about encumbrance, I started with 2nd edition, and it just seemed so mind boggling along with all the other rules.  (We were pretty young players).  Reading thru the basic rules from 81, it is a bit more straight forward.  The rule that I've implemented is from Advanced Fighting Fantasy 2e.  Which is basically you can carry 10 to 20 things.  I've stuck with 20.  Not including coins.  It's just a bit easier.

Now onto coins.  While I get the point of copper, electrum pieces, I really don't have much use for them .  Obviously encumbrance played a factor back in the day, regarding carrying coins.  That being said I'm a fan of 10 SP's = 1 GP's.  And that's it.

Do you worry about all the extra coin types?




Thursday, November 20, 2014

Awesome Review! - The Lizardmen of Illzathatch



















Got an awesome review from Joe J. You can grab a copy by clicking the below link, its Pay What You Want.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/140087/The-Lizardmen-of-Illzathatch?term=3+toad

This is a fun little adventure for the casual old school RPGer that will last 1-2 game sessions. Mercifully light on background, this dungeon can be slapped onto almost any campaign with little effort. Small though it is, the dungeon has plenty of surprises for the careless party. 

Although designed for a 3rd level party, a carefully armed and experienced party of 1st-2nd level characters could probably succeed here too.

Rating: 
 
[4 of 5 Stars!]


Did anybody catch the little easter egg in the description of the product  yet? 

A little update on #theenormityproject

I am getting very close to being done drawing all the maps.  The problem becomes, when you finish what you think is the last map, and then you draw a tunnel leading off the page.  AH! I gotta draw another one.  (Not really AH! more like, alright I got more to do woot).  Anyways its coming, I"m enjoying it.  At this point because I just got that fairly fresh copy of basic, I think I am going to use it as much as possible.  With one little extra, I am going to add in DEX for every monster for the Holmes & Blueholme players out there.  I think it will be a nice little addition.

Also thanks to everyone for the suggestions about word processing software.  I went ahead and downloaded scribus and I'm going to slowly figure it out.  At this point I think everything will just start in openoffice as regular document (no 2 columns).

I am also going to try and spend as much time as possible reading thru various modules for extra ideas, or threads.  

The list of silly easter eggs has gotten a bit bigger.  :)

Cheers

A little more mapping



Wednesday, November 19, 2014

New Cover For The Overrun Mines

Same idea, just a little bit more color.  As soon as I have time, probably today, I'll do up the rest of the modules with some newer covers.  It had been bugging me a bit.

Here's the link for the overrun mines - http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/134136/The-Overrun-Mines?term=the+overr


Monday, November 17, 2014

Pre-Generated Characters For The Lizardmen of Illzathatch

Name:  Ealfgan The Charming      3rd Level Male Human Fighter
Current XP: 4000       Current Hit Points:  11          Armour Class: 3
STR:  13
INT:  5
WIS:  7
DEX:  10
CON:  6
CHR:  14
Equipment:  0 GP`s  3 SP`s
Plate Mail Armor, Long Sword (1d8), 1 week standard rations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Name:  Eryn Heartstrong     2nd Level Female Human Cleric
Current XP: 3000       Current Hit Points:  11          Armour Class:   6
STR:  10
INT:  14
WIS: 16
DEX:  9
CON:  12
CHR:  9
Equipment 0 GP`s  8 SP`s
Leather Armor, Mace (1d6), Shield, 1 week standard rations, Holy Symbol, Backpack

Spells:
1st Level:  Cure Light Wounds, Light, Detect Evil, Protection From Evil
Turn Undead:  Skeletons: T  Zombies: 7  Ghouls: 9  Wights & Wraiths:  na

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name:  Thainan Hardslarg            1st Level Dwarf
Current XP: 0     Current Hit Points:  5           Armour Class: 5
STR:  13
INT:  14
WIS: 14
DEX:  13
CON:  9
CHR:  14
Equipment:  42 GP`s  0 SP`s
Chain mail, Short Bow (1d6) , 20 regular arrows, Spear (1d6), Backpack, Flask Of Oil, Standard rations 1 week, 50’ of rope, 6 torches, 1 quart of wine. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name:  Alken Ravenstree              2nd Level Human Female Magic User
Current XP: 2500       Current Hit Points:  5           Armour Class:  9
STR:  9
INT:  13
WIS:  14
DEX:  7
CON:  11
CHR:  14
Equipment: 89 GPs
Robe, Dagger (1d4), 50” of rope, Large Sack,  Backpack, Flask Of Oil, Lantern, Tinder box, standard rations for 1 week, Mirror, Spellbook
1St Level Spells:  Charm Person, Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Read Magic

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name:  Cirdanor Allsys                  2nd Level Elf
Current XP:  4000      Current Hit Points:  7           Armour Class:  4 
STR:  13
INT:  15
WIS:  9
DEX:  10
CON:  10
CHR:  7
Equipment:  79 GPs
Chain Mail, War Hammer (1d6), Shield, Sling with 30 stones (1d4), Backpack, 6 Torches, standard rations for a week, tinder box,  Spell book
1st Level Spells:  Charm person, floating disc, magic missile, read magic

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name:  Teorin Sindlyka                  1st Level Hafling 
Current XP:  0    Current Hit Points:  5           Armour Class:   6
STR:  11
INT:  11
WIS:  16
DEX:  10
CON:  14
CHR:  4
Equipment:  53 GPs 10 SP`s
Leather Armor, Shield, Short Sword, Short Bow, 20 arrows, Backpack, standard rations 1 week, 6 torches, 50`of rope, Tinder Box,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name:  Griffolk Chawe                   3rd Level Male Human Thief 
Current XP:  2400      Current Hit Points:      6       Armour Class:   7
STR:  8
INT:  11
WIS:  14
DEX:  14
CON: 16
CHR:  9
Equipment:  44 GP`s
Leather Armor, 2 daggers, Crossbow, 30 quarrels, thieves tools, Backpack, 50`of rope, 6 torches, tinder box, standard  rations for 1 week. 
Thief Abilities: Open Locks:  25%  Find or Remove Traps:  20%  Pickpockets:  30%  Move Silently:  30%  Climb sheer surfaces:  89%  Hide in shadows:  20%  Hear noise:  1 -3






300th Post!!!! WTH?

WOW! I can't quite believe that I've posted 300 times, I guess it makes a bit of sense though, as I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about RPG's.  That and the fact that I have a reasonable amount of spare time at work and home.

The quick little one page dungeon I did yesterday is now up on drivethrurpg.com , it is "Pay What You Want" so feel free to grab a copy when you get a chance.


The Lizardmen of Illzathatch (SW003)




The green dragon Illzathatch has been dispatched by local heroes “The 
Shields of Atreu”, thus ending his reign of terror across the 
countryside.  Only one problem remains, the adventuring party left to 
raid the lair of the dragon, they have not been seen since. 
A OSR Module for 4 - 6 Characters Levels 3




Just looking back at some of my most popular posts, 

Shane's retarded system for slightly balancing encounters in OSR games (Patent Pending)



Sunday, November 16, 2014

One Page Dungeon For LL & Basic

The Lizardmen Of Illzathatch

Adventure for 4 - 6 PC's Levels 3. Module #SW003. 

Just a note, this will be appearing on drivethrurpg shortly, it will be "Pay what you want" in the meantime, feel free to copy and paste.  Cheers! 
 
The Lizardmen Of Illzathatch is an unofficial low level adventure module compatible with the Labyrinth Lord. 3 Toadstools publishing is not affiliated with Daniel Proctor, Goblinoid Games Copyright 2006 – 2009. (Font, layout, style of artwork, etc.) Are reserved as Product Identity. This game is licensed under OPENGAME LICENSE Version 1.0a 






































Introduction
The green dragon Illzathatch has been dispatched by local heroes “The Shields of Atreu”, thus ending his reign of terror across the countryside.  Only one problem remains, the adventuring party left to raid the lair of the dragon, they have not been seen since. 
Wandering Monsters 1D6
1 – Insect Swarm
2 – Bandits (1d4)
3 – Lizard Men (1d4)
4 – Normal Rats (1d6)
5 – Normal Bats (1d4)
6 – Pit Vipers (1d4)
1 – Entrance
From the outside of the cave, you can see stairs leading down into the depths.  Scrawled on the wall in the goblin tongue “Beware of Illzathatch, soul eater”. 

2 – Dead Adventurers
The room is 25’ x 25’.  The entire room is covered in ash, the walls blackened.  Sprawled around the room are 4 bodies, burnt beyond recognition. 
*This is what is left of the Shields of Atreu.  None of their armor is useable by the PC’s.  However they carry 160 GP’s, 35 SP’s (In total), There is a Warhammer, a short sword +1, a silver dagger and a mace.  There are also four shields with the emblem of the “Shields Of Atreu”.

3 – The Doppleganger
The door to this room is locked.  The room is 20’ x 30’.  It appears to have been a kitchen at one point.  There are 4 dead goblins piled up in one corner of the room.  On the south side of the room is a small hearth, sitting in front of it is a Dwarf, chugging an ale.  Lying on the floor is a Warhammer, 
and a shield with the symbol of the “Shields Of Atreu” adventuring group.  There are a few barrels in the room and a chest.

Doppleganger AC 5, HD 4, Move 90’ Att 1, Damage 1d12, Save As Fighter 10, Morale 10. XP 125
In a chest in the room is the following; 500 SPs, 1 Gem worth 50 GPs, 1 Scroll of magic missile. 
In the barrels are 4 – standard rations (feeds 4 people for 1 week), and a old rusty looking amulet (worthless), 20 feet of rope.
*The doopleganger murdered the rest of the “Shields of Atreu”, after following them into the dungeon.  He may not attack right away, roll a monster reaction.

4 – Not Exactly The Dragon’s Lair
This room is 25’ x 15”’, there is a large depression in the centre of the room that is 10 feet deep, on a gradual slope.  There is a pile of coins within the depression, all glittering in the torchlight.
*this is an illusion, each member of the party must save vs spell.  There is actually a large pit, any PC failing the saving throw has a 1 in 6 chance of falling into the pit 2D6 damage. 

5 - Why are there lizard men here?
This room is 25’ x 15’.  The door is barred shut.  (A successful strength check will open it).  Inside the room is a smithy, and various weapons.  A large hearth is being used by a Lizard man to create weapons.  The other lizardmen in the room are playing a dice game at a nearby table.

4 Lizardmen AC 5, HD 2+1, Move 60’ Att 1 weapon, Damage Handaxe 1d6+1, Save As Fighter 2, Morale 12.  XP 25 Each
* The lizardmen are minions of the evil dragon Illzathatch, they were not so recently under a charm spell by the dragon. 
Below the hearth there is a secret compartment that contains 500 GP`s.  A successful search for secret doors (2 in 6 chance) will reveal the compartment.  The compartment is locked and trapped with a special poison that causes 1d4 damage and will also damage the PC`s intelligence by -2. 

6 - Illzathatch`s Lair
This room is 15`x 20`.  The door to this room is wizard locked (by the spell Wizard Lock).  It can only be opened by a Knock spell, and or using the command word ``Breeyark!``.  Of course the players will not know this.  There are runes written on the door that read `` Home of Illzathatch``. 
Within the room is the spawn of Illzathatch, a young green dragon named Hazathatch.  The ceiling of the room is open and you can see blue sky above, natural sunlight bathes the room.  From the ground the ceiling is 25` high.  It is protected by an illusion on the outside so that passersby will think that it’s a rocky outcropping.

Hazathatch Green Dragon AC 3, HD 4, Move 90` Att 2 Claws 1d4 each, breath weapon chlorine gas 1d12.  XP 125 Spells: Can cast 2 – 1st level spells, and 1 – 2nd Level Spell.  Knows the following spells, invisibility, web, sleep, wizard lock, sleep.
As per usual the dragon is lying upon heaps of gold and jewels.  There is 1500 SPs, 800 GPs, A Sword +1, 2 suits of leather armor, a spellbook containing the following spells:  Invisibility, Web, Sleep.
There is a secret door within the room; it is trapped with a sliding blade.  If the door is found, but the trap is not noticed, the door will appear to open, and a large blade will slide down from the ceiling doing 2D6+2 damage.  A successful dexterity check at -2 will save the hero from losing a limb!

7 – Common Room
15` x 20`.  This room is the common room, sleeping quarters of the tribe of lizardmen.  There are make shift beds around the room, a large firepit in the centre. 

6 Lizardmen AC 5, HD 2+1, Move 60’ Att 1 weapon, Damage Handaxe 1d6+1, Save As Fighter 2, Morale 12.  XP 25 Each
The lizardmen have 60 SP`s, 110 GP`s in total.  One of them carries a cursed hand axe – 2.  The axe is silver and has a sparkly jewel in the centre of the pommel (30 GP`s if removed).  If any of the PC`s pick it up, it will magically seal itself to the PC`s hand (Saving throw vs spell).  A remove curse spell ought to get rid of it.  One of the lizardmen has the key to room 12.

8 - Healing waters
This room is quite small, in the centre is a well, there is a small bucket beside the well. 
* The well will heal 1d4 of damage per person, (but not exceed their starting hit points).  No water can be removed from the room in a vial or by any other means.  If the PC`s attempt to use the well more than once, the water will not have any effect. 
Upon leaving the room, the PC`s will encounter a insect swarm.

Insect Swarm AC 7, HD 2, Move 30` Attack: 1 swarm. Damage 2 points, Save as normal man, Morale 11.  XP 20

9 - Treasure Room
There is a secret room here, a small sliding door.  The area has 2 torches burning that light the way.  Inside the room are 300 GP’s and a ring of protection +1 laying on the floor.  Guarding the treasure is a Giant Rattler. A thief may hear the snake on the other side of the door.  (1 -2 on a d6).  The snake barely fits inside the room.  There are rat carcasses on the floor, obviously someone has been feeding it.
1 Giant Rattler  AC 5, HD 4, Move 120’, Attack: 2 bites, Damage 1d4 + poison*, Save As Fighter 2, Morale 8. XP 125 (*Save vs poison or die in 1d6 rounds)

10 – Bandits & Lizardmen Everywhere!
This cavernous room is 40’ x 30’, and about 30’ high.  There are 4 bandits and 6 lizardmen fighting it out in the room.  (On a roll of 1, the bandits or lizardmen notice the PC’s, 1d6).  The room appears to be leftovers of what used to be a torture chamber.  There are strange instruments of torture littered around the room, most in disrepair.  A few skeletons are chained to the walls.  There are large carved snake heads in the walls, 4 in total, about 6’ high.  Each has 2 GP’s for eyes.    

4 Bandits AC 6,HD 1, Move 120’ Attack 1, Damage: Shortbows 1d6, Shortswords 1d6, Save As Thief 1, Morale 8.  XP 10 each.  The bandits carry 8 SP’s each, and 3 GP’s.  1 bandit carries a gem worth 50 GP’s.

6 Lizardmen AC 5, HD 2+1, Move 60’ Att 1 weapon, Damage Handaxe 1d6+1, Save As Fighter 2, Morale 12.  XP 25 Each.  The lizardmen carry 20 SP’s, and 5 GP’s each.

11 – This ceiling looks a little suspect!
This room is 20`x 20`.  The door to this room is unlocked and ajar.  The floor of the room has a checker board pattern; it appears to be made of granite.  Some tiles are black, others are white.  At the far end of the room is an altar with atleast 30 vials, each with a slightly different color. 
The room is a trap, regardless of what tile the PC`s step on, once they have stepped on at least 3 tiles in the room the ceiling will cave in on them, and the door to the room will close.  Celling block falls save vs turn to stone or take 1d10 points of damage. The only way to get to the altar is to levitate.
The altar has 2 healing potions, 1 potion of Mirror Image.  All the rest of the potions are a trick to get the PC`s to check them out.  They can try them if the like, but nothing will happen.

12 - Statue Of Illzathatch
This room is 30`x 20`.  The door to this room is locked.  (One of the lizardmen from room 7 has a key).  In the centre of the room is a large crudely made statue of Illzathatch.  The eyes of the dragon are made from gems (50 GP each), and the teeth appear to sparkle in the torchlight (20 silver teeth – 10 GP each).  There are 4 lizardmen in the room working on a second statue. 

4 Lizardmen AC 5, HD 2+1, Move 60’ Att 1 weapon, Damage Handaxe 1d6+1, Save As Fighter 2, Morale 12.  XP 25 Each
Treasure:  30 GP`s, 75 SP`s, 1 healing potion.

13 - Uh-oh! A Cave In!
It appears that a few lizard men were working on creating a new tunnel here, however a cave in must have happened recently as all the PC’s can make out are various limbs under the rubble.  Pickaxes and other mining equipment litter the ground, including a wheelbarrow.  If the PC’s wait here for any reason whatsoever there is a chance of another cave in, as it is quite unstable.  (Roll 1d8, on a roll of 1 another cave in occurs, anyone within the immediate area must save vs turn to stone, if they fail they receive 2d6 damage).

14 – The empty room
This room is 20’ x 25’.  The door to this room is locked.  Inside the room are 5 statues of lizardmen, one on each corner of the room.  In the centre of the room is a pentagram drawn on the floor. 

Traps
T1 – Poison gas
When the PC’s enter this area, have them all check their wisdom.  If anyone succeeds they smell a strong odour.  There is a pressure plate on the ground that will release poison gas.  The poison does 1d4+1 damage and effects the constitution of everyone.  -1 CON.

T2 – Blades Of Terror
As the PC’s approach this area they see a beheaded adventurer lying in a pool of his own blood.  (The adventurer is wearing leather armor +1 and has a silver dagger, 15 GP’s in his pouch).  If a search for secret doors is made, the PC’s will find a small lever in the wall that stops the trap.  If any PC’s continues forward 2 giant blades will come out of the walls causing 3D6 damage to anyone.  Allow a saving throw VS Death ray for half damage.

T3 Pit Trap
There is a large pit trap here, which is 15” deep.  A Save VS Spell will show the PC’s that there is a illusion of a floor over the pit.  Anyone failing the spell check will fall into the pit trap 1D6 damage.

T4 – The Broken Trap
Lying in the centre of the floor is a very large looking bear trap surrounded by blood.  It has already been sprung.  The only thing that remains is a leg still attached to the trap.



Friday, November 14, 2014

First thoughts on Basic D&D Moldvay Edition

As you may have noticed, I grabbed a reasonably priced and in quite good condition copy of the 1981 D&D Basic rules last night.  (Insert WOOT!).  After I paid for the copy I walked to my car and giggled like a little school girl.  Its been awhile since I had an ear to ear smile.

As I read thru most of the book last night a few things struck me.  First, I've never really played race as a class, and as I mentioned to +Dyson Logos   , I felt kinda bad for Halflings, compared to the abilities of Dwarfs & Elves in Basic.  He did point out the following, and I quote

While a teen I also felt that halflings got the shaft. But as soon as you leave the dungeon, those little f***ers are scary. The ability to be functionally invisible under any amount of natural cover (10% chance to be seen) is crazy powerful. To prove the point, run an encounter in a field with knee-high grass between a regular party and a raiding team of halflings. Those little blighters are deadly."

The other thing that stood out for me is how close all the retro clones have come to this.  Not only in specifics and rules, but in general layout and feel.  +Michael Thomas  pointed out that Moldvay is his  inspiration for laying things out.

The third thing that I noticed is while reading thru the monster list, there are things like NPC party, guards, nobles, etc.  Something that was left out in AD&D 2nd edition for sure.  And something that has been added to fifth edition.  This is a handy little thing, for obvious reason.  "You stumbled onto another adventuring party"  Now give me 10 mins to roll up stats for these guys...

The rules are laid out extremely well, its easy to read, easy to find things.  I'll probably end up making myself a little DM screen with the charts on it for ease of use.

I really dug the monster reaction table, straight forward! Something I've been missing to tell you the truth.

I'll have to wrap my head around "Alignment Languages" , which is apparently sign language that only characters of that alignment can understand.

The book smells good considering its from 1981.

And now to figure out which module to run!

I have the lost city, the secret of bone hill, and in search of the unknown on pdf sitting on my hard drive.

Keep those dice rolling




Thursday, November 13, 2014

Not a RPG post

As some of you may or may not know my day job is a recording engineer, (among other things).  As the years have gone by, I've had the pleasure of working with some very amazing players, who have become great friends over the years.  I decided just lately to start getting my Telecaster signed by these guys.  The tele is a cheap chinese guitar that's been modded heavily over the years, so much so I think I took a $140 guitar and put somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 into it.

I know have 2 signatures.

Wayne Link - pedal steel virtuoso, most notably known for the TV show "The Western Hour" and playing with the band "Red Wine".  He's been on the country music scene in Manitoba for years.  I've made a bunch of records with him, sometimes as a session guy and sometimes his own records.

John Hildebrand - A fellow recording engineer, we've have sat and talked about audio for so many hours I've lost count honestly, there's so much BS you'd need to get a shovel to get into the control room!  John owned the famed "Century 21 Studios", I acquired one of his old recording consoles that I used for many years.  At one point in time he had a "Neve" console that he sold to AC/DC.  He was also a member of the "Eternals"

Here's the Tele so far....

As I said I have a very specific set of signatures that I'd like to have on there.