This post contains spoilers about the Netflix show "Dark".
After we finished watching the show the other day (I can't wait for the next season!) I started thinking about running a time travel type D&D game. As I'm not the best historian in the world, I was trying to wrap my brain around doing a game with 3 different time lines (like the show), set in a medieval world. However I wanted to have guns in it, and I couldn't quite figure out how to do a future world. Part of it was "what technology is in the past thirty years, and or the future?" Obviously I could have it set on the brink of gunpowder. But what happens in the future?
In the TV show there are 3 time periods, 1953, 1986 and 2019. Obviously there are changes in the way the world is between the time periods. Certain things are constant however, like cars, phones, roads etc. I realized quite quickly last night that doing a time travel game similar to the show would work extremely well with Dark Places Demogorgons! Rather than try and pull off some kinda of typical D&D fantasy game. The neat thing about trying something like this is you can have relatives in the time periods of the characters.
So using the dark mold I could easily start the thing in 1986 (because DP&D is set in the 80s!) and then time travel to now which is easy, and I love the 50's so that would be easy to write that as well. I would think that have a central location like a Diner or a Bar would be handy. Maybe the jukebox in the bar is bright shiney new in the 50s and barely useable in the 2020's with scratched records.
The other thought I had was running a "Call of Cthulhu" game with this, however I'm not that well versed in the rules of the game, and I'm not really a horror guy.
Anyways, just some thoughts. I think it could be interesting.
If you get a chance watch the show if you haven't already! It's wonderful.
Welcome to "The Return Of The Blue Baron" Volume 2 in the "Blue Baron" Series of Collaborative Dungeons.
It is with heavy heart that I confirm the rumors which you must have heard by now. My husband, Lord Gavanov Keiner, 23rd Baron Keiner, known to many as the Blue Baron, is no more.
Yet hope remains in the words of his final command, a rather unique funeral arrangement. The Blue Baron dares all brave and adventurous souls who would risk death in trade for fame and glory to come forthwith to Einhornstadt, arriving no later than three days before moonrise.
My Lord Baron calls on you from beyond the grave. Ignore him at your loss and peril.
Expectantly,
Maria Keiner
A collabarative dungeon for Blueholme Prentice & Journeymann Rules, for 4-6 players levels 3 and up.
The dungeon contains:
2 Levels
46 Rooms
New Creatures
New Artefacts & Magic Items
Please note: A POD version of this will be released soon. It will be at cost. As well a black & white printer friendly no art pdf will also be released. We appreciate any feedback, reviews and errata information that you can provide. Thank you very much!
At some point this weekend, I need to start prepping for our first DCC game on Tuesday night. I'm beyond excited.
My wife grabbed me a bunch of washable markers, and a large plastic grid sheet from the dollar store. I intend to draw out the map on the table as we go. I need to find these things, they are somewhere in our house..... ugh.
I'll be using d20s for any of the monsters (specifically the ones in that one room!). As it's easy for them to say "I hit the orange one!". Also at one point I may use other random dice. In the case of lots of monsters, then it's "K i'm attacking the blue d6, or red d8".
I have to find my 8" tall plastic Mike Wazowski. There's a section of the dungeon with a large head that shoots crossbow bolts. That should be a riot
Character sheets are printed and ready to go.
I also need to re-read thru the module to see if there are any other nifty set pieces I can use.
The Goslin, or "Goosemen" of the Northern wastes are a mutant cross breed of Humans and Canadian Geese. The upper torso of the Goslin is that of a Goose, with a long neck and large heavy wings, the lower half has legs and feet of a human. The Goslin's are evil creatures that hunt humans and non humans alike, they are particularly protective of their young. In combat they will beat opponents with their large wings, and spit acid every 4 rounds (1d8). The Goslins make their homes along iced water and streams. They are semi intelligent, proud, and somewhat easy to outsmart. As an escape they will fly away to live to fight another day. They have developed a cold mutation over the years, so that the weather does not affect them, unlike their ancestors they do not fly south for the winter. They tend to hoard shiny things. Under no circumstances should adventurers get between the Goslin and their young.
Hey everyone, couple of cool things I've noticed in the last few days.
The Masters Hoard
A System Neutral Collection of 22 Magic items
Hopefully most of the items are fairly original and are often accompanied by a quirk or two! 22 magic items in 26 pages! Cool stuff, and it's free! (But should be pay what you want).
3 Toadstools stuff:
Apparently I have a bit of a perfectionist issue. But don't fret! The pdf version of rotbb should be up on drivethru by the end of the week. I've sent out a copy to all the authors for final approval and I have a few little details I need to fix up. Shouldn't take me too long to do. Also a few nitpicky things on my part. I've realized that I'm good at details, I have a list that I need to run thru quickly and then it's ready to go. Just latetly I was working on a CD production, and my client changed the lineup on the graphics, but didn't tell me. I had to reburn the CD masters. It's things like this that I catch (for better or worse hahah). Hence why this is taking so damn long. Another thing I realized is that I'm going to have to copy and paste text out of publisher directly into word for the "printer friendly BW version" of rotbb, due to the changes I'm working on. Because the publisher file has become the "master"... k I'm rambling.
The intention is to put up the pdf and then if there's any little erratta bits I'll fix em. After that I want to figure out a way to make it a POD, at cost. The intention behind the baron has always been to A. Have fun B. Promote other authors & artists. Hence "at cost". A few people have wanted me to make a bit of money at it, but I honestly don't want to. Part of the charm of working on this, is seriously bouncing things off of people, asking for a favour here and there, and having fun. Example I talked to James West a few weeks back, I asked him if he would be up for drawing a cartoon for the book. The idea was to have a 1e DMG joke in it. James had a few other things going on at the time when we started writing, so he wasn't able to jump on board. However he was able to draw an awesome cartoon! Check out his profile to see a picture of it
Here's a thing I'm considering for the final layout for POD. Let me know if you think it's silly or not. The general idea is if your flipping thru the book you would be able to quickly see a room number.
Further here's a friggin awesome golem and puzzle by Denis McCarthy.
Last night when I got home I thought I might try and do another podcast with anchor. I had downloaded the app, figured I'd use my onboard mic from my tablet. Boy was I wrong! Talked for five minutes and listened back. Ugh. I'll have to go back to the drawing board. Thankfully I have a bit of audio gear at home. So I'll probably end up using a mic, small mixer and my laptop in the future. First two episodes were done at work (in a recording studio). At home this should give me the opportunity to learn reaper better.
http://reaper.fm
As I stated in the first episode, I'll probably throw some funny commercials in on occasion. I've found a excellent source!
Next week the return of the blue baron will be done. I'll be sending it off to the writers first, and once it's approved it'll go up on drivethrurpg.com as a free download. Then onto a new project.
I've got far too many ideas in the can. (I discussed this on episode three that got trashed).
I'm starting to think that we should start writing the third volume for the baron now lol. Since it took me six months to get it done. That said I need a break. Plus it's summer here! Yesterday was thirty degrees Celsius, with a crazy amount of humidity.
It's been almost one year since my first FREE RPG DAY. I picked up the quick start rules for DCC, and my wife grabbed a copy of "Vagina's Are Magic". Which she was delighted about. I also managed to grab a copy of the 1e DMG.
I've been slowly planning on running Isle of Dread for an upcoming session of the "old school group", however we had a change of plans. I messaged the group about how a "Funnel" works in DCC and they are stoked. So that's the new plan. Last Tuesday of June (which coincidences with my birthday week as well).
I am still going to keep working on ideas for Isle of Dread and flesh it out. A few brief thoughts on it.
Inspiration: Well obviously "Lost World", but also the movies "The Mummy" and of course some Indiana Jones. I'm going to throw in a great ape for good measure. I'm thinking he might be a problematic issue for the Phanatlons, or alternatively the Rakasta have been proving their metal against him for years. As well Pirates of the Caribbean. I sort of like the idea of random undead milling about on the Island.
Modules: I think I'm going to include dwellers of the forbidden city on one of the near by Islands. I am also thinking of sticking "B4 The Lost City" somewhere on the island. As that might be fun. I just have to draw a line with the original inhabitants of the Island, and the people who live in the lost city.
For the DCC adventure, I'm going to use a piece of vinyl my wife bought me from the dollarstore, I can use erasable markers on it. I intend to run the war wizards funnel from the starter rules. For monsters I'm going to use different coloured dice. I also want to find some mini's for the statues in one room, and some very big head for another room. I have a mike wazowski toy, that should do the trick for that, and get some laughs.
For Free RPG Day this year, I intend to grab a copy of "Eldritch Cock" and possibly Goodman games "fifth edition fantasy" module if I can. I'm hoping to also go searching thru their treasure trove of old school TSR stuff. See if I can't get my hands on a 1e monster manual, or PHB. I remember seeing a copy of "Horror On The Hill".
As usual, my A.D.D. gets in the way, and I change my mind about what adventure/system i'm going to run 10 times. I'm hoping to slowly prep the mini campaign of Isle of dread, etc for when and if we get up and running again. I'll have to go and grab a notebook.
I put this up this morning: Hey everybody I need your help with a random table for isle of dread. After reading the adventure and doing some research online, I found a few ideas however a bit more fuel would be helpful. So basically "locations, things on the ground, possible dangers" etc:
Thanks to everyone whose contributed so far, this has given me enough to keep the fires stoked! Goblins Henchmen, Mark Grehan, Johua De Santo, Glenn Robinson, FM Geist
1)large wooden head
2)net trap
3)stake with a emancipated human tied to it
4)rolling boulders
5)large rock with strange writing on it
6)treasure map in an old shoe
7)Small cave, empty but with a fire pit and a lingering smell of recently cooked meat.
8)A leather pouch containing only a bent iron nail.
9)Crushed lantern containing one pint of oil.
10)Belt buckle with image of local deity of healing.
11)Pages from a diary rolled up inside wooden tube the diary is of a mans last day on the island may have useful information or just be the mad ramblings of a man dying of thirst.
12)A cache of obsidian spear heads
13)A leather bottle containing what appears to be wine.
14)A small empty bottle marked with a skull.
15)A human skull which has had a hole drilled into the side of it. The inside has been etched with intricate writing in an unknown language.
16)A scrap of cloth torn from a cloak just visible is a devotional prayer to the gods.
17)Paw prints in the rock which if followed disappear after fifty metres or so.
18)A small and narrow pile of earth roughly Five feet in length. A white stone has been placed at one end.
19)A collection of soot blackened skulls hanging from a tree which clatter together in the breeze.
20)A silver ring marked with waves and set with a pale blue stone which has one use of create water left in it.
21)A rough draft copy of chapter four of Volos guide to monsters written on cheap parchment and with many sections crossed out.
22)A pile of good outdoorsman clothing on the beach just above the high water mark.
23)A structure built into a tree if checked it contains a wooden chest, a crude sleeping mat and a wooden face crudely carved in blood soaked wood, the masks teeth are real and have been hammered into it from whatever creature/monster fits.
24)A small nest of friendly Kobolds who worship someone called Krasnack Navy The bringer of items. They believe the more gifts given by someone the more powerful that person is.
25)An intricate music box carved out of wood the music played acts as a sleep spell.
26)A large pit rimmed with wooden stakes the bottom of the pit is covered by dark foul smelling water but occasionally glimpses of something shiny can be seen in the waters depths.
27)The Dungeon master sunning himself in a hammock a drink in one hand and a half completed list in the other.
28)A dead tree with shrunken heads dangling from every branch. When approached all the heads will look toward those who approach. If any of the heads are taken the taker will begin to have nightmares of being hung by a noose every night, giving them a -2 to all rolls. The dreams continue until the head is returned to the tree.
29)Stewpot, grime crusts the inside of the pitted cast iron.
30)Cyclopean hands of basalt, they beckon motionlessly
31)Entrails strung through a thorn tree; birds peck and squabble over it. Feathers litter the ground
32)A flat stone surface, gouged with the marks of tools, blackened with ash
33)A toothless muleskinner grins and waves
34)The delicate crunch of paper-thin rusted gears underfoot
35)An obsidian bowl filled with teeth, some with viscera still on
WOOO! As you may know I've taken a somewhat sabbatical from playing elf games, and more importantly DMing. Just had a lot of things going on in the last while and I couldn't wrap my brain around doing anything. I decided to take a good step last night and email my old school group for a possible one shot. It's scheduled for the week of my birthday. Normally we go camping that weekend, so we are shooting for the Tuesday!
Now of course, my head is running thru far too many ideas!
First adventure: I originally thought maybe i'd run Isle of dread because I've honestly been dying to. However this may not end up being a full campaign, possibly just a one session thing. The nice thing about possibly doing isle of dread is that I'd have a lot of prep to do! I've decided instead to run "Palace of the silver princess" because it's also been on my to do list. If they survive and want to keep playing, I think I will do the following. Have the players guard a caravan, and then use the intro for isle of dread from that point. I'm thinking I will have the POTSP happen around the town of Luln in karameikos.
Rules: gal darn I've got a LOT of rules kicking around the house. I'm going back and forth between running straight up b/x or whitebox. They both appeal to me. I know the players like having variable weapon damage, but they are not big fans of descending ac. If I run whitebox, I think for ability checks I'm going to do something super simple. Roll 10 or higher. As I've stated before we usually end up having a few drinks while playing, and I feel like whitebox might be the best bet.
Level: The module is for levels 1 -3, I think what I'll do is have them all create 2nd level characters, along with possible henchmen NPCs. Looks like I'll have at least 3 players, possibly up to 5. In which case I'll increase monsters and the like.
Alright, so unless i change my mind, which is bound to happen! I think its going to be the "palace of the silver princess" with whitebox rules.
I recently received a copy of Retribution by Raging Swan Press, written by Creighton Broadhurst. Here's the publisher blurb: In the frozen depths of winter, murderous winds mercilessly batter the crumbling Priory of Cymer. Within, trapped by their duty and the heaped snowdrifts that render travel near impossible, the few remaining faithful huddle together and tend the sacred places of their forbears. With the weather worsening, nerves fray and tempers snap as the wind howls its mournful dirge for the forgotten dead of a fallen time. But the worst is yet to come. One of those trapped within holds a murderous grudge that only blood can expunge and as the storm reaches its savage height terrible revenge is wrought amid the frigid halls and faded glories of a bygone age. It appears this was the first adventure that Creighton ever wrote! You can read a interesting article about it here. This adventure was written for Pathfinder, however it's crazy easy to convert it to a OSR type game (which I intend to do). I love the premise, the adventurers get caught in a snow storm on the way to a monastery. The cool thing is as the adventure goes you get to rachet up the mysterious, things going bump in the night, etc. It's got sort of a Ravenloft kinda vibe to it (at least that's how I read it). I was actually working on a similar idea for an adventure, a bunch of PCs delivering goods to a monastery (only to find it burnt to the ground...) However, I think I may pull a few of my ideas and Retribution and amalgamate them. First off, there's a lovely little detailed town called Swallowfield (Love the map!) and the adventure takes place on the Lonely Coast (dig that map too!) The art in this book is fantastic b/w, the lay out is easy to read (the font is a bit small for older eyes). However great presentation. The book is filled with Pathfinder stat blocks (obviously cuz its for PF), however I found a tidbit of information that would help me when running this adventure in an OSR environment. Tactics! For each encounter there is a list of tactics that the monsters will do. Now obviously this throws reaction checks out the window sorta, but still handy for me. Example "the goblins will fire arrows, while a few try to escape". I mean i could have thought of that, but having it right there is handy. This module is an "adventure path", ie it's a bit of a railroad. Not in a bad way though, there's a story and there's ideas and reasons for finishing up the story. If complications arise, there's ways of dealing with them. However the core of the adventure can easily be ran by a open minded old school DM. Especially if you are good at thinking on your feet. The middle section of adventure is where everything ramps up, with interesting encounters. Most are there to increase the intensity! Not all of which are deadly, or combat related. Rounding off the book is a big section of incredibly detailed and awesome NPCs. I have a few more raging swan books that I intend to review. I'm hoping I can take them all and plug them in to one mini campaign (which seems rather easy to go). Creighton makes references to the ease of putting these adventures into your own campaigns. That being said, there's a wealth of world building on the Raging Swan site. I'm slowly looking thru this and the other adventures, and making notes on bad guys (converting them to Whitebox). The other thing that struck me while reading this, is that it would be a almost no prep 5e adventure. All the DC's are there. References to "specific skill type checks" are easily convertible to 5e skills, and in some cases are named the same. This is another thing rolling around my head for whenever I get back into playing again. Pretty cool book. If your a PF fan, I'd say this is a must have! If your a OSR fan, and don't mind a bit of a "story" to go along with your possible TPK then I think it's a pretty good adventure.
As the title says, "Mental Health Checkup (not really RPG related)". So roll for Insanity
I've noticed a few people in the OSR being open about their anxiety, stress and mental health, I figured it's about time I do the same.
I've been dealing with a lot, and I've been holding it in until it breaks, that's not a good idea.
From an outward appearance you'd think I was a happy go lucky guy right? (well other than in the winter, which i"m pretty sure I suffer from a bit of SAD).
After a recent breakdown, I started really trying to put things in perspective and to write things down (journal if you will) and it helps.
This whole depression has been on and off for awhile now. I think it really started to hit me about 2 years ago. (thanks almost mid life crisis! I appreciate being down). 90% of it comes from my work situation. It is the top the thing I need to change to get on with my life. Obviously there's a pile of fear and anxiety that go along with that. There are seriously whole days where I procrastinate and just sit at my computer.
As time has gone on,by the time I get home I'm so friggin bagged that I can't pick up a pen to draw or write in the evening. Let alone my guitar. I've even started to pull back "outings", my current D&D group, band practice, doing things on the weekend. These are not good things.
Plus I've had a few panic attacks in the last few years, mostly while driving (yeah that's fucking scary isn't it?).
After my last breakdown, which was about two weeks ago, I finally decided
"Fuck it I'm going to see a therapist"
I finally went the other day, and it was wonderful. I'm not on meds yet, I actually wouldn't mind being on them for a bit, I guess we will see.
(*From now on SWCL for the purposes of I'll spell Continual wrong for the rest of this post, also the guys who wrote this use SWCL as a way of abbreviating the game).
Publisher blurb:
You remember, don't you? The sounds of battle heard through the clatter of dice? The shuffling of character sheets? The war stories shared with fellow campaigners?
There is a longing in the soul of every adventurer and though it sometimes fades to a whisper, you still hear it. Swords & Wizardry Continual Light marks your return to fantasy roleplaying - or if you're curious what fantasy gaming is all about, this is the perfect introduction.
This book, a twenty-sided die, and a few six-sided dice are all you need to return to the table, recall those halcyon days of heroism, and forge brand new legends! Welcome back!
For those not familiar with Swords & Wizardry, the game is based on the original 3 brown books, or OD&D, there are a variety of versions of Swords & Wizardry (Complete, Core, Light) and a number of variations of Whitebox, included thematic games like Dark Places & Demogorgons, WW2 Operation Whitebox, White Star, The Hero's Journey (Note I haven't seen a post apoc whitebox game yet? And I've been thinking about it!). All of these games are retro clones of "the world's most famous roleplaying game" and a lot of them only need 2 dice, 1d20 and 1d6. Personally I`m a big fan of S&W, it`s a great pickup game, and its infinitely hackable!
About a year or so ago Erik Tenkar (yes that Erik, the one that runs the famous Tenkars Tavern) got a few people together to release Swords & Wizardry Light, which was a 2 page rule set. When I first saw it I was like `Yes this is going to be so damn handy at the gaming table`. My only issue with that game was that the downloadable version was crazy high quality (talking DPI here), It looked fucking amazing don`t get me wrong. It just took forever to download and to print. I believe it has been revised. (I`ll check). The other nifty thing that was released was character cards, with a character class basics, that you could just fill your stats in. these were also handy. I`m sort of imagining a nice present for someone in a cardboard box with all these niceties, and of course SWCL and a few sets of dice. (Hint hint). It would make the perfect gift for a gamer.
Anyways on to the review. First off Erik and James Spahn wrote it. The art in the book is fantastic BW. The layout works, it`s not overly `layoutey`for the sake of being that way. You can find things easy enough, and that`s good enough for me!
SWCL is easily convertible to regular SW, or any other OSR game, adventure. It contains ascending AC and descending. So that old module that your uncle has lying around in his basement, that`s purple in colour with a keep on it, you can play that. I`m sure your uncle won`t mind, his copy is pretty beat up and he should probably order a reprint anyways.
The game has your standard four classes, and four races. There are class restrictions in play. I really like the neat little tidbit that is thrown in to get players to use humans. (You`ll have to grab a copy). The book contains rules for optional classes (written in honestly one sentence, but it works!) and they are great! A lot of thinking went into getting this book trimmed down to pure essence of what you need to get rockin and rolling. Oh another cool thing when rolling up the standard 6 abilities, if you have a charisma bonus you also get a torchbearer (Henchmen, Goon, possible PC if your character dies).
Each class comes with some standard equipment and then there`s some optional stuff you can get as well. The nice thing about this, is that you can get up and running super quick.
The leveling system is smart, it`s not based on experience it`s based on adventures completed! Something that I am totally going to steal (err borrow). The classes goto level 7, and after that you can receive perks. Which is a pretty nifty way of doing this. These perks (feats) are not game changing things, they are extra spells, higher attack damage, higher hit points etc.
There are four levels of spells for Magic Users, and three levels for clerics. I should note, that Clerics do not start off with a spell at first level.
The one thing I should note, is that this book is written from the point of view of someone who has played an RPG before. Meaning that it does not contain the usual `what`s a role playing game``, it doesn`t have a ton of advice about running a game in it. Which is entirely fine. However if this is a kids first game, given to him or her by some one who isn`t teaching them about gaming, then it might be a difficult thing to grasp. That being said my first real RPG was 2nd edition and it didn`t cover a ton of this stuff either. Obviously we live in the age of the interwebz and people can look up how to play games. K here`s the thing about Swords & Wizardry, and SWCL, it`s not a beginners game. It obviously can be, but so can a whole lot of other RPGs (pretty much every brand has it`s starter set). I would consider SW Light a beginners game, at the very least a rules light getcha going game.
My only grump on this game is there isn`t the spell ``Continual Light``. There are a few other little things, that are not worth mentioning here.
The book is twelve pages, and fits perfectly in my backpack. It`s a standard 8x11 book, the cover is a sexy glossy with a illustration by James Shields. The book contains a few extra white pages, that you can use for notes, and house rules. (or to write your own crit tables!) Of course you can add in some monsters you made up as well!
I intend to run SW Whitebox next game, and now that I have a copy of SWCL (and a extra copy of WB) these will be the players reference copies which will be super duper handy! In fact I may end up using SWCL for the first few levels. I am definitely going to use the leveling system. And just to be a gritty old grognard, I`ll use the crit tables from DCC.
The other wonderful thing about this game is, that its a great game to write for. Of course if your not into writing, there`s a ton of great resources and adventures for it already!
I decided to take a day off today, of course the bosses were like "well if you get bored you can come in". Really? Anyways, I do have a plan for today. First and foremost, I need to sit down and do a bit of personal writing. Then I have to make some supper (a nice slowcooker soup recipe). After all that I need to spend some time cleaning up my room, as we have a bit of a leak in the roof and I'm worried about important things.
On the docket for RPG related things today, I really need to re work Dusty Door, I have some wonderful art I need to add to it. It should hopefully be up a little later today.
The Baron is very close, I am however doing it in my spare time at work using publisher. Porting files back and forth to home and work is a major pain in the ass. Of course if I was using a USB stick that would be handy. It's coming along. I have to spend a bit of time today finding some art for the book. Scott found a pile of great stuff! He ended up sending me a clipart file of like 100 images. I do however need a few sorta specific things for rooms. I get to surf for a little while.
Of course I did have a discussion with someone about running a game today. I should really get something prepared for when I actually have time to do so. The other day I was looking at the 1e dmg adventure (well map basically) and I wouldn't mind fleshing that out at some point.
As usual I have about 100 other projects on the go, and I will probably spend sometime either working on or thinking about them.
