Commentary On The Fiend Folio For 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons For Your Old School Science Fantasy Campaigns

 When it comes to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition Fiend Folio there's something to remember about the monsters. These monsters have a completely different feel then thier American counterparts. This makes them ideal to use with Science Fantasy rpg's. Now I've talked extensively about the Fiend Folio on this blog. 

This is especially true of the OSR based games such as Stars Without Number where the creatures & monsters can easily be stand in's for alien creatures and monsters. 

Stars Without Numbers the number of systems that have been isolated by the Scream is numerous. We have no idea what or whom has been trapped. 
This makes perfect fodder for having the humanoid tribal  races that are in the Fiend Folio to the forgotten & fallen remains of alien empires. 

This goes back to something I said in my commentary on the Fiend Folio; "The Fiend Folio is the forgotten Monster Manual and the monsters are easily discounted and overlooked. This makes perfect fodder for the DM to use them and reintroduce his or her players to the terrors of them. " Stars Without Numbers has numerous space dungeons & ruins baked right into the campaign background. And this same principle applies to the undead of the Fiend Folio; "This book has some great undead in it and they are so great to add into post apocalyptic games such as Mutant Future and Gamma World as needed for alien planets and ruins. Yeah, there's a bit of science fantasy over flow with Fiend Folio and the gonzo factor is such an appeal here" 

Coming across a Vodyandi on a waterworld someplace in the interstellar back of beyond would cause quite a stir among players. The Fiend Folio has mostly been forgotten by today's fifth edition & Shadowdark crowd. This makes it a perfect suppliment to get a second life as a post apocalpytic or Science Fantasy supplement. 

Let's go back to our friend the Voyanoi here for a second. These alien horrors could have been bred by Interstellar Kua Toa and used as muscle, guardians, etc. The empire dies off and this leaves the ancient guards still going about thier duties. There's plenty of  life in the Fiend Folio as a supplement for OSR Science Fiction games. This brings up the encounter tables in the back of the Fiend Folio; "Fantastic encounter tables in the back of the book make dungeon and wildness setting design and monster placement a snap. This keeps things moving at the table during play. "

And this is doubly so for OSR Science Fiction games where a fast moving encounter can mean the difference between a successful game campaign and the loss of a player. 

Monsters & Manuals - The Care & Feeding of Dungeons In Old School Campaigns - AD&D first Edition Session Report

  I have to laugh at something I heard around the table when it came to 'monsters' in the dungeon. We had a bunch of very experienced & jaded players who were all dungeon masters in their own right. They run their own home grown campaigns & so have become a bit jaded at being on the other side of the screen. That all changed over the holiday when we got together. Its essential to play and get in time on both sides of the screen. Here's why.

Suddenly we were a group of adventurers again huddled in a tavern looking desperately for work, money, and to simply survive against an alien world. This was a sword & sorcery setting, there were lots of weird humans, cut throats, workers, & strange types. It wasn't just about breaking into a dungeon, it was about playing at the setting. And of course today this took place in the classic Thieves World setting so things got hairy very quickly. 


By the time we had gotten into the dungeon's ruin's were already knee deep in three plot hooks & looking into the deep end of some dire circumstances. The dungeon master's description dripped with details, the exotic sights & sounds had NPC's drifting through that would later on become important. The lack of Elves, Dwarves, etc. told us everything we needed to know & this wasn't a world inspired by Tolkien or Robert Howard or Lovecraft. This was a home brew world set on the edge of a crumbling empire where the lost, the desperate, the outlaw, & even the stupid all went as the last stop before death.


We had heard rumors of some ruins that had yielded treasures beyond imagination and this town had grown over night. Men had practically come on ships and then deserted them in the port's bay but operations were shut down and now they were desperate to restart but the cruel deaths had them wondering. Something was in the mine killing the men. We signed up with the mine owners as a part of the lynch mob that was going down into the mines. The DM had made a twisting bunch of weird tunnels on a map. We ventured into the darkness & kept track of our torches. Then we heard the first scream and it echoed off the walls. The second was followed by the first, on the ground we found a few scattered gold coins leading off into a side tunnel. One of our number was transfixed by the beast's stare & simply stared off as his guts were torn out!
And that's when we saw it! Our guns went off & for a brief moment the entire scene was illuminated! Then the monster closed and we died!



Yes that was this holiday's brief encounter with an Advanced Dungeons & Dragon's Umber hulk in my friend Tom's 1600's African inspired setting that's a spin off from Accursed & Ancient Terra. What did I learn? Well its essential to sometimes get out from behind the screen and actually play. The second thing is too go back and look at the iconic monsters of AD&D & for that matter even the retroclones to use them in new ways. Yes we died rather badly but that really wasn't the point to the game. It was to take a look at how Tom was setting up his adventures & the spins that he was putting to them. Once again a very valuable lesson at the cost of a PC but the lesson will stay with me.



Right now I still have no idea what's happening under Tom's boom town or why there is an Umber hulk killing adventurers, and miners. Seems I might have to go back to find out! As soon as I roll up another PC.. 

Meditations On The First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual II For Your Old School Campaigns

Uncle Eric is back with another mediation on the ancient and helicon days of gaming this time we're going to set the way back machine to October of '83 and if there was a year that gaming changed then this marked one of the releases of one of those game changers. I'm speaking of the original Monster Manual II.
This book was wall to wall interior  by Jim Holloway, Harry Quinn, Dave Sutherland, and Larry Elmore and there was a marked difference in the tone of the entire manual. This was the book that collected many of the monsters from the various old school Seventies and Eighties adventures that had proceeded it's release. It was way more interesting in certain other aspects as well, this book was and is an adventure construction set in many respects and still is. My copy of the MM II has been with me since I first picked it up in downtown Torrington back in '83 at a little downtown book shop that stood next to the Yankee Peddler Inn and that I skipped school to get the damn tome. Its been with me through ex girlfriends, an apartment fire, a tornado, the break up of numerous campaigns, friends, and more. But why? This book was and is still widely regarded by many Advanced Dungeons and Dragons players & dungeon masters but its also one of the most glanced over and half forgotten tomes today.


The Monster Manual II brings many creatures and monsters from Gary Gygax's home setting of Greyhawk into one venerable manual.It also mark's Gary Gygax's last major contribution to the creature end of the setting and  includes many old favorites, most of which were expurgated or "toned down" in the later, politically correct version of the game. Quite a number of monsters came  from S4: Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, and a dozen new devils that had been first published in the pages of Dragon magazine. This book is widely regarded among my other DM friends as being one of the hands down most useful books to have at the table;"The book included random encounter tables for dungeon and wilderness settings built from the Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Monster Manual II" this alone makes it a very useful book. The DM can use this book only to build dozens of adventures not only for AD&D but also for any old school post apocalypse or science fantasy campaign.



The title was so popular that Wizards of the Coast used it on a three point zero title revamp in 2002, but that title didn't include all of the monsters from the original book. The fact is that the original Monster Manual II is hands down one of the best books to use to populate your dungeon or outdoor ruins or wilderness adventure locations. So is there another reason why the MMII is still popping up at tables across the world along side emulators and retroclones like OSRIC and the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Companion;" Like the Fiend Folio before it, the monsters in Monster Manual II listed the experience point value for each monster within the entry". This is a book with a very hands on approach and has a much more approachable feel to it then some of the later books from TSR that would follow it, its almost as if the author is daring you to use these creatures and monsters in your adventures. There's something that almost makes you want to take all  of these creatures and make them your own. This one of the bits of the Monster Manaul II that stands out to me as one of stand out DYI D&D points of this book.


Here are my ten reasons why the Monster Manual II is still one of the cornerstones of not only AD&D but also our hobby.

1. The monsters are not only approachable and easy to use but also adventure unto themselves. The encounters with these creatures are memorable, easy to construct adventures around , and they're iconic in every sense of the word. . You get dozens upon dozens of demons, devils, undead, demodands, daemons, dragons, giants, and more.Many times there has been lots of urban legend heaped upon these monsters and its quite easy to go back to the source material to create your own spin on some very iconic horrors. 
2. There are many supposedly 'silly' monsters in the MMII, remember that even the silly ones can and will murder your PC's with impunity. Take for example the Modrons from the plane of Nirvana These are some the silliest monsters ever created, but have a lighthearted feel that 3rd edition lacks. And they are really dangerous as well as alien. 
3. Each and every monster has its own distinct flavor and style but these creatures appear in a variety of places they even have note next to each monster that indicates which book it can be found in the tables that not only list the monsters in this book, but also those in the original MM and Fiend Folio. This gives the DM plenty of adventure and creature fodder to play with for their own adventures. 
4. Its one of the seven 'must have' books  for all 1st edition players/DMs and that completeness makes the book worth holding onto even more. There's more then simple iconic and nostoglia involved here. The MMII brings lots of things to the table and that includes lots of adventure hooks scattered throughout the entries especially certain demonic and diabolic horrors, this book was a game changer in the way that we thought about the planes. 
5. This book expands and works so well with the first Monster Manual and Fiend Folio that for that reason this is another must have. The monsters are easy to use, a fast way to jazz up an adventure and can be used to highlight one another. In addition there are several tribes and creatures within these pages that will challenge a party like no other. 
6. Lots of the monsters in the MMII are easily converted over to any number of science fantasy or post apocalyptic worlds. Don't be afraid to add in mutations and adaptions for these monsters at the drop of a hat during world or setting building. There are many monsters with lots of additional uses in a wide variety of adventure settings. 
7. Many of these creatures are the horrors you bring out to end or challenge the jaded or know it all D&D players. Those folks who can quote chapter and verse because many of these horrors have been half forgotten today. Use these creatures for challenges and more for adventures. 
8. The MMII is one of the lower tier collector books out there and sells for as low as fifteen dollars, this makes it a very economic purchase for the money. There's lots and lots of utility in those pages over the years. 
9. Once again this is a book to thumb through if you need ideas for adventures with your players. The book is one of those that will have you coming back again and again to dip into its contents for adventure ideas. 
10.   The MM II has an excellent mix of extraplanar and standard horrors; so it will be suitable for any level campaign. However, I would recommend it especially highly if you were running a campaign that dealt with the various planes, there's lots of material to add into and spice up your own home brew adventures. This makes the MMII an easy fit for all kinds of weirdness.
    
    The bottom line is that the Monster Manual II doesn't get anywhere near enough of its due today for the monsters, devils, and incredible mix of monsters that it brings to the table. This book marks one of the legacies of Gary Gygax and has a ton of material to offer today's DM's. Grab a copy, dust it off, and start running your adventures the way you want to.

ACK's Dwimmermount + Dark Albion Equals a Massive Campaign Setting Idea As Your Old School Campaign

Near the Black Forest of Germania people are going missing, weird relics & strange magics have been filtering into the cities of Germania, tales of monsters stalking the countryside, and now the entire region around the city of Muntberg has disappeared like it never existed!?
Tales of centuries old cults becoming active again people disappear in the night have started again. All of this is happening even as tales of the country of Avalon boiling over in civil war! People are whispering that the olden days have returned & it is all the work of that devil mountain Dwimmermount! Yes, I'm talking about crossing Dwimmermount with Dark Albion here & your right its madness in a way. But let's just go along with this thought exercise here for a moment. How did all of this come about?

Not my actual tea but one created by Nikon D70

This morning I got together with some other dungeon masters & gamers for coffee, we were talking about OSR gaming. We spoke at length about some of the challenges of using Dwimmermount with other products specifically lower fantasy and sorcery products such as Dark Albion. One of my coffee clutch pointed out an article from The Soldiers of Misfortune website which has an interesting article breaking down the War of The Roses;"Many historians consider the masses of defeated mercenaries returning from France to be one of the main causes of the Wars of the Roses. There had undoubtedly been dynastic conflicts in England before, but apart from the long feud between Queen Matilda and Stephen of Blois, there had never been such an enduring and bitter struggle for the English throne. The unemployed veterans of the Hundred Years War were the ideal reservoir for anybody looking for experienced and ruthless fighters. In addition, in recent decades the English had settled many colonists in Normandy, and these were now also returning having lost everything.

Even more dangerous were the struggles of the great magnates, trying to control the increasingly insane King Henry VI. The war in France had long served as a valve allowing the power-hungry nobles to expend some of their pent-up energy. The most dangerous contender for power, for example, Richard Duke of York - also a descendant of Edward III and thus a Plantagenet - had served several times as a commander in France. After the final English defeat at Castillon (1453) the nobility focused their energies on the struggle for power at court, many of them looking for compensation for lost estates in France."
Those bitter and unemployed veterans of the Hundred Years war are the key here. Everything here is set up for the return of these veterans to become the catylist for the events of the War of The Roses'. While Dark Albion follows the exact events of history it does not follow the actual supernatural forces that would have a lot to gain by the falling of Albion itself. This includes the Elves of Dark Albion, who have a vested interest in humanity and restoring their rightful place as Albion's rulers. Their cults have infiltrated every level of society across Dark Albion's Europe as per Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos. But what does this have to do with Dwimmermount? Centuries ago the mega dungeon was a site of a battle between the other world Eld & the Dark Albionian Elves. The Elves with their dark magics were able to drive away the mega dungeon location into the realms of Fairyland & for a time all has been right. But now with the intrigue & bloodshed happening across Europe especially Albion. The mega dungeon has returned & when the first few relics poured into Muntberg filtered through the hands of adventurers the region's fate was sealed. More & more relics have made the town  even the entire region unstable as the Aztoth pulls them back into the world of the fairy and spirits.


Landsknechts mercenaries have come to Albion to seek work but also to ask the temple of the Unconquered Sun to send inquisitors to find out what has happened. The returning of the hidden valley of Dwimmermount in the Black Forrest regions of Germania have not gone unnoticed supernaturally at all. The foul star creature's worshipers have seen signs in the sky that point to coming violence that could upset their master's heinous plans for Germania. They have sent several groups of cultists under the guise of adventurers to investigate but not one has returned. Now the temples of Albion have sent their own under guise of Landsknechts back to their homelands even as war threatens to tear Albion apart from within.


The Lancastrian army of Margaret of Anjou had ill-disciplined Scottish and French mercenaries, as well as northerners and Welshmen, in its ranks during the campaign. So the black magicians of the French are well aware of the return of the devil mountain & it's black secrets. They long for the power & possible advantages that it could give their country but they don't realize the price. For the more power & relics that adventurers, mercenaries, and others collect the further from Albion's European reality are they taken.

As events unfold around the war and its ripples that echo round Europe what role will the PC's play? Can they unravel the mysteries of Dwimmermount or become part of its legacy of black evil & treachery?


Events in Albion will unfold around the war even as the power & foundations of  church of the Unconquered Sun are shook to the core. Such as when King Edward IV and his Yorkist troops are beseeched by a priest to stop the pursuit of their Lancastrian foes who have requested sanctuary from the abbey. Everything can change on the whims of war, the power & desperation of the factions drive such a campaign. At its heart and soul the domain level of play is determined around the events of the Rose War. A mega dungeon or adventure location such as Dwimmermount is going to be incredibly important. Rumors or legends of such a site are going to attract both the royals and their circles & the inquisitors especially if the place is next door in Germany.
This is the exact sort of thing that Dark Albion's Cults of Chaos was created for, that is the creation of factions,cults, weird happenings & more centered around the forces of Chaos within cults. Yes, a lot of this is going to fall hard on the shoulders of the dungeon master to alter the flow, tone, and more of Dwimmermount but there is a system to hand such a task. Adventurer, Conqueror, King is a perfect system to merry to such a task. Dark Albion & ACK's work very well together & I'm surprised that more folks haven't talked about it.


While this is only a thought exercise, its one that has the gears turning in my head. I can see several of the systems of Dark Albion filling in ACK's backstory very quickly & being able to turn adventures out around the areas of  Muntberg with impunity. There are several serious hang ups to such a campaign, one of which is to be able to find experienced role players who would be willing to take on some of the challenges of this.
These include the following: 

• Dealing with the tonal issues of  Dwimmermount's OSR game setting voice verses the low sword & powder levels of Dark Albion 
• The campaign wide issues of Dwimmermount's doors opening in Dark Albion's setting. Not to mention the factions of the dungeon should they have influence within the setting of Dark Albion. My vote is not to have them have any at all. Dwimmermount should be a self contained adventure location. 
• Dwimmermount would be an adventure location sponge tempting fools, idiots, and adventurers across Albion's Europe and could be a location that would take years to pin down. The War of The Roses would continue to rage onward. 
• This sort of a campaign would require a lot of time on the DM's part and be a commitment of love. He or she would have to have a real love affair with the material and history of both Dwimmermount & Dark Albion. It could work very well and be very rewarding.

This could work very well as one hell of a great campaign setting and idea that would take years to play through. This sort of a game lends itself to the sort of a game that inquisitor PC's would love to play through.

Monsters & Manuals - The Care & Feeding of Dungeons In Old School Campaigns

 I have to laugh at something I heard around the table when it came to 'monsters' in the dungeon. We had a bunch of very experienced & jaded players who were all dungeon masters in their own right. They run their own home grown campaigns & so have become a bit jaded at being on the other side of the screen. That all changed over the holiday when we got together. Its essential to play and get in time on both sides of the screen. Here's why.
Suddenly we were a group of adventurers again huddled in a tavern looking desperately for work, money, and to simply survive against an alien world. This was a sword & sorcery setting, there were lots of weird humans, cut throats, workers, & strange types. It wasn't just about breaking into a dungeon, it was about playing at the setting.


By the time we had gotten into the dungeon's ruin's were already knee deep in three plot hooks & looking into the deep end of some dire circumstances. The dungeon master's description dripped with details, the exotic sights & sounds had NPC's drifting through that would later on become important. The lack of Elves, Dwarves, etc. told us everything we needed to know & this wasn't a world inspired by Tolkien or Robert Howard or Lovecraft. This was a home brew world set on the edge of a crumbling empire where the lost, the desperate, the outlaw, & even the stupid all went as the last stop before death.


We had heard rumors of some ruins that had yielded treasures beyond imagination and this town had grown over night. Men had practically come on ships and then deserted them in the port's bay but operations were shut down and now they were desperate to restart but the cruel deaths had them wondering. Something was in the mine killing the men. We signed up with the mine owners as a part of the lynch mob that was going down into the mines. The DM had made a twisting bunch of weird tunnels on a map. We ventured into the darkness & kept track of our torches. Then we heard the first scream and it echoed off the walls. The second was followed by the first, on the ground we found a few scattered gold coins leading off into a side tunnel. One of our number was transfixed by the beast's stare & simply stared off as his guts were torn out!
And that's when we saw it! Our guns went off & for a brief moment the entire scene was illuminated! Then the monster closed and we died!



Yes that was this holiday's brief encounter with an Advanced Dungeons & Dragon's Umber hulk in my friend Tom's 1600's African inspired setting that's a spin off from Accursed & Ancient Terra. What did I learn? Well its essential to sometimes get out from behind the screen and actually play. The second thing is too go back and look at the iconic monsters of AD&D & for that matter even the retroclones to use them in new ways. Yes we died rather badly but that really wasn't the point to the game. It was to take a look at how Tom was setting up his adventures & the spins that he was putting to them. Once again a very valuable lesson at the cost of a PC but the lesson will stay with me.



Right now I still have no idea what's happening under Tom's boom town or why there is an Umber hulk killing adventurers, and miners. Seems I might have to go back to find out!

OSR Commentary - Episodic Adventures & Quick Old School Campaign Design

"There is much to worry about in the mutated world of the future, but Baron Jemmas, Warder of Horn, has more on his mind than most. In recent weeks several of the outlying towns of his Barony have been wiped out by a band of mysterious golden marauders."


I've been mediating on Gamma World's Legion of Gold module & wishing that B/X Dungeons & Dragons had followed this adventure's example. Legion of Gold was written in 1981 by Gary Gygax with his son Luke and Paul Reiche III.

"This is the first GAMMA WORLD module to be produced by the Game Wizards at TSR Hobbies, Inc. This module includes the main Legion of Gold adventure, several mini-adventures which lead up to it, background information, suggestions for the referee, a special players' map and numerous referee's maps."
This module does exactly what it says on the post apocalyptic tin. But today we're going to be talking about the anthology location adventure approach of a Legion of Gold formula campaign set up. 

The sand box anthology approach allows the DM & the players for that matter to determine the tone & direction of their own home campaign. Legion of Gold has been my go to Gamma World module because of its short anthology adventure style. It gives the Dungeon Master just enough with a minimalist approach to the post apocalyptic material to get the DM started.
When we start talking about B/X Dungeons & Dragons these mini sessions allow the dungeon master to take a series of miniature adventures & string them together to form an over arching campaign. This approach has been something I've liked & used as old style television episodes in the past. Isolated adventures that form the back bone of an episodic campaign played quickly and with little fuss.

This brings me to the point here of Holmes Dungeons & Dragons with its dungeon of the skull mountain example in the classic rule book. I mentioned this dungeon to a younger friend of mine whose in his twenties & he had no idea that such a dungeon existed. Each room & location within the skull mountain dungeon could be played like a separate television episode forming an over aching epic campaign.

Let's take this approach to the next logical step with the Legion of Gold model then we could have a series of small wilderness adventure encounters which take the PC's from first through fourth levels. A mix of ruins, a mini dungeon, & perhaps an underwater adventures. Then bring in something like Faster Monkey Games Skull Mountain adventure which is based on the classic dungeon for Labyrinth Lord. Faster Monkey Games Skull Mountain was six dollars but all of their adventures & supplements have been free for a year or so.
Then your cooking up an epic campaign with minimalist fuss & you get to have a convention style game with an episodic set up.

I've done a rather long & rambling review of Skull Mountain in the past so I'm not going to retread over old territory.

Skull Mountain is a perfect stand alone location based adventure that can stand quietly off in a campaign world. Its ideally suited for a Sword & Sorcery campaign world such as Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Because of the very nature of 'Skull Mountain' it lends itself to the anthology location adventure approach of a Legion of Gold adventure formula campaign. In point of fact Skull Mountain could be used as both the final goal & big evil of such a campaign.
You as the DM don't have to write an over blown  or aching script for such a campaign, the players will fill in the gaps, corners, colour in all of the blank spots so fast it will make your head spin. In the down time between playing sessions the action & pulp adventure style will have their imaginations working overtime. The products of their imaginations will become your old school campaign quickly & with very little effort on your part but keep a note book handy.

Ghouls, Ghosts, Shadows & More Swords & Strangeness - Actual Play Adventure Event

I got together with my players last night for my Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers Of Hyperborea game taking place in the Judge's Guild  mega dungeon adventure location of Tegal Manor The PC's in last night Tegel Manor session managed to make a good showing. They went over a bit of their treasure & some of the relics they'd picked up over the last couple of games. Things have been interesting as they find out the unsavory & horrid revelations of the family history of the Rumps. A history including piracy, smuggling, slavery, and debauchery of every strip. These are not the family you really want related to you let alone exploring their Roman style house. This was something the party are slowly finding out. The 'safe bedroom' the PC's spent the night in was adjoined to two other rooms and a secret alchemical workshop. 


One of the bedrooms held a really nasty Ye Liveliest Awfulness/yellow mold hybrid monster. The thing resembled a pair of yellow ladies and beckoned one of PC's to bed. The yellow ladies had a victim who was slowly being digested under the covers of the bed. A flaming sphere handled the Lovecraftian bastard & the PC's managed to recover a valuable shield. The horror was brought back from one of the numerous expeditions by the Rumps to Venger Satanis's The Purple Islands of Purple Putrescence.

The PC's managed on to the next room which happened to be the foot of one of the towers of Tegel. There they found another alchemy workshop/ playroom and this one housed a Lovecraftian ghoul blooded member of the Rump clan. She's been having an on going war with her uncle a vampire at the top of the turret & her rather camp & obnoxious cousin a necromancer & reverent of her uncle. He's both insane & a completely nut about games & toys, to that end there's two Roman style ancient Bocce ball courts have been set up in the room. Along with two Roman statues holding some stylized Bocce balls. The balls came to life nearly taking off one of the heads of the PC's.



Photo by Queensland Museum

The PC's managed to blast the two balls & the other metal sets which infuriated our necromancer who then dropped two other black balls down the stair well of the tower. Eight shadows slithered out of three holes on each ball and the fun really began for the PC's a running game of cat and mouse ensued! This encounter taxed the PC's and our alchemist had to help the PC's with the remaining shadows after they managed to make a good show of themselves. They made it over the alchemist's table and she quickly whipped out a potion to take care of the remaining horrors. The PC's decided to parley with the alchemist even as they were taunted by her cousin above.

But the PC's still have to content with her uncle with whom the war of attrition continues night after night. This means the PC's not only have a vampire to contend with but the whole place is riddled with giant rat holes that enable him to direct his minions where and when he'd like. The PC's were able to taunt the bastard cousin back but the encounters left them very nervous and they actually retreated back to their room locking the door behind them for safety's sake. This is a good thing, the players are engaged & interested. Note that unlike AD&D first edition AS&SH's vampires are constitution drainers and very dangerous.

What happens now? Well, that's going to be up to the players. There are a six things that they sort of missed in this past week's game.

1. The corpse hidden in the far corner of the game/play room is a human colonist from some far flung colony. A possible victim as the plane lost manor makes its rounds has been killed by one of the numerous undead. 
2. There's far more going on within the house then it seems and there are other adventurers about within it. 
3. The relics collected by the Rumps always seems to make their way back to the manor.. eventually. 
4. There's other members of the Rump family stalking the adventurers as I write this. 
5. Other corpses in the halls of Tegel Manor hold vital clues to the destiny & fate of the PC's. 
6. The cult of Old Ones is alive, active, and very much on the scene in Tegel Manor. 

Tune in next week for more old school weirdness!   

The Continuing Legacy Of The Purple Islands Actual Play Event & Commentary On Battle For The Purple Islands Kickstarter

The PC's managed to drag the were bear shaman from the clutches of the demon chains & begin to heal his wounds from the last encounter with some of the ghostly inhabits of Tegel Manor. But the purple shadow of Venger Satanis's The Purple Islands of Purple Putrescence casts a dark reflection on reality.

So last night I got together with my players inside Tengel Manor, one of my Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers Of Hyperborea PC's is a shaman that bares the marks & relics of his time on Venger Satanis's The Purple Islands of Purple Putrescence. His weaponry & power comes from the purple god things & crystals of the islands. The spiritual connection with the islands is strong and their gods take an active role in the PC's adventuring. This suits the shaman character as he continues to search for his people especially among the wilds of Hyperborea.


So in last night's game in Tengel Manor the PC's were dealing with some of the ghosts, ghouls, and zombies of the manor. They made it into the clacking hall and dealt with a wraith who wanted to drop one of the PC's into a trap door with a shoggoth below waiting to munch on him. That didn't work out for the wraith as he was discorporated by a lucky shot from one of the other PC's. This was after a lengthy rpg style argument with the wraith trying to maneuver the PC over the trap door. Things did not go well after that for the wraith!
The PC's managed to shut the trap door & search the room for treasure at least for a bit. They also discovered a journal & accounting ledger which detailed the various islanders,fishermen,etc. the wraith/slave trader had sold from the dungeons under Tegel manor. The journal detailed some of the explorations of this depraved member of the Rump line who spent time on the purple islands.

Shoggoth monster from The Lost Continenent 1961 from Hammer studios
 
The PC's continued to explore coming across a bedroom that belonged to one of the members of the Rump household. Striges attacked the PC's and they burned the room except for the valuable sword hanging on the wall a memento of one of the many wars of Hyperborea. There's a deep and abiding tie in with the islands of Purple Putrescence but it gets even more exploited in The Battle For The Purple Islands Kickstarter coming up. So what essentially are the islands?

'The purple islands (there's three of them very close together, and are usually considered a single place) is an eldritch science-fantasy setting with gonzo sword & sorcery.  Both books will be usable with any sort of Lost World, Mars, Dream Lands, Hyborian Age, alternate Earth ruled by civilized apes or menaced by dinosaurs and sleestak, or a world of savagery, super-science, and sorcery.'
So how does this all tie into my own twisted version of Tegel Manor? Notice I said that these plot points didn't tie into the The Battle For The Purple Islands ... yet.   Well the players moved the time table up for me on this one. They met with a vital NPC & discorporated him for the moment.


In yesterday's update Venger dropped a vital clue to the tie in between the purple islands and my twisted  version of Tegel Manor.
"I re-watched The Green Inferno today.  Going to incorporate some of that in Battle For The Purple Islands.  ;)" Thanks for spilling that little vital clue that ties back into one of the Rump line who was an explorer or should I say exploiter of weird little corners of the multiverse. Passel Rump wasn't the kind of a guy you really wanted to hang around unless it was to have a slave collar round your neck or to be sacrificed on a stone altar in some godless corner of the various universes. This all ties back into an NPC I created that one of the players killed about three campaigns ago when I first laid hands on the Islands for Purple Putrescence. The Battle For The Purple Islands is going to push up certain time table events for my players and the clock is ticking not only for the Kickstarter but for my PC's to save those islanders before they become a sacrifice to some ancient & malevolent Lovecraftian god. And why is the manor moving across time and space?! How does this tie into a dimensional traveler whose been watching the PC's from the shadows of Tegel Manor?


What sort of shadowy corruption has Sir Tristan the knight from Albion stumbled into? The PC's have found several corpses in the gardens of Tegel Manor, the Keltic were bear shaman was a part of the mercenary knight's party. What other secrets has the fool stumbled upon and be corrupted by? He's far from home and the clock is starting to tick, tick, down for not only his party but for you too! The Battle For The Purple Islands is moving closer to winding down and now its your turn to help bring this project to life!
Time to open your hearts and wallets for the The Battle For The Purple Islands Kickstarter As The End Draws Naught!

Tick, tick, tick, ...

How Will 'The Battle For The Purple Islands Kickstarter' Be Affecting My Campaigns - Actual Play Commentary

The Islands of Purple Haunted Putrescence are in my campaigns one of the sources of all kinds of crossover potential because they're adventure location holes in the cheese cloth of the multiverse. So while my campaign of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea has been incredibly active with the islands apparently Venger Satanis the original author has wanted to go back to them.



While my players have managed to escape the islands some months ago, their PC's were incredibly changed by the islands themselves. Remember that this is an 'Adult' title with a completely over the top and gonzo comic book style brought to you by Venger himself. This was one of the reasons why I surprised to see another Kickstarter going from Venger about the Battle For The Purple Islands the basic plot is, 'an OSR scenario of warring factions competing for dominance in a purple world gone mad.'


I was very surprised to see that MonkeyBlood Design (Glynn Seal)  
was already involved in this newest Kickstarter venture from Venger Satanis, because he's got his own Midderlands campaign Kickstarter wrapping up within this week!  Go here To Support It



So how will the Battle For The Purple Islands be affecting my on going campaign? Well let's look into the book's book's background;
"Battle For The Purple Islands will be a 12 - 15 page PDF adventure that uses the purple islands as a backdrop.  While the original book was a hex-crawl full of encounters, scenario seeds, random tables, magic (items), and helpful advice, this will be a specific, focused adventure involving various warring factions competing for dominance in a purple world gone mad... or is that a mad world gone purple?
You see, much of the dark forces reigning supreme over the purple islands were vanquished by adventuring heroes.  They came, they saw, they slaughtered.  A few years went by without incident.  Everyone started coming to the islands after things quieted down - colonists, anthropologists, big game hunters, sightseeing tourists, etc.  But then obscene purple blasphemies deep within the islands began to resurface."

So it looks like there's some solid adventure hooks and plot lines to throw at your OSR players & some really well thought out gonzo weirdness to exploit for your own in home campaigns. The fact is that this can't affect what I've got going on in my home campaigns.



I've been doing what I've been doing for a long time and earlier today I talked about back calling. This is a situation where none of my players or their PC's have even begun to scratch the surface of the islands, the Lovecraftian powers, or the time & space warping plot lines.
So do I think that you shouldn't be supporting the Battle For The Purple Islands?

No, I think you should be! The fact is we want more OSR material from Venger Satanis. I think that the O5R material is fine but lets face facts, its easier to use material for the retroclone systems that we already own.

So go to the kickstarter open your wallets and support what looks like a great adventure resource coming up!

Commentary On A Weird Tales Or Sword & Sorcery Campaign Theme On Some OSR Resources & Adventures Featured In The Fifteen Percent Special Sale For Your Old School Campaigns

So the emails have rolled in asking all kinds of questions about OSR adventures, PC classes, etc. & which ones have merit and so forth. Alright this is based solely on my opinion and on the table experience as a dungeon master so your mileage may vary. Beyond the Ice Falls by  Raven God Games 

is very well done especially for a Viking or 1970's Marvel style Conan or Sword & Sorcery campaign. Grab any of their stuff because its done by Joseph D. Salvador. Yes the same author who did more then a few of the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea adventures which are also under the same sale.


Next up is L. Kevin Watson Lovecraftian adventures for both fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons & the OSR, The Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil (5th Edition Fantasy- OSR) From  Fat Goblin Games.

This has definitely different take on the Lovecraftian material but its easily adaptable into either Astonishing or your favorite OSR system. DNA - The Buried Zikurat OSR Adventure is the second follow up adventure and continues in a similar vein but is whole separate from the first adventure. Its very well done & nicely written. These adventures are balanced and play their parts well for getting the weird feel of the Mythos across in the author's unique style.

Even though the following isn't on sale per say, I have to say I'm a huge fan of  Jeremy Reaban. The man writes good PC classes and excellent adventures that can easily be adapted across the board for OSR style games. His adventures are balanced professional and hit that OSR Sword & Sorcery fix just right. All of his OSR material is 'pay what you want' and I try to give the gentleman props every single time. His work is very well done & easily adapted to OD&D, B/X Dungeons & Dragons as well as similar retroclones.


Don't think that just because the big sale is one that older tried & true OSR companies don't have anything to offer. Goblinoid games springs to mind with the classic Wyrms & Warlocks adventure which offers DM's an interesting little side adventure that pits the PC's against a Medusa & her mate. There's also one of the prime Lovecraft  OSR books in my humble opinion on the block Realms of Crawling Chaos. This is perhaps one of the single best books for a DM to have in their arsenal. From PC classes to a full Lovecraft monster catalog this one has it all.


Any of the Barrel Rider Games PC's stuff is excellent fodder for a DM or players looking to add player character variety to their OSR games. There isn't enough time to go into the quality and variety of their offerings. Which brings me to one of the most unsung Weird Tales style offerings that came out way back when I first got into the OSR, I'm speaking of the excellent The Peoples of the Pit Adventure from Brave Halfling. 

Wicked, nasty, and a very dangerous ride for PC's;""The People of the Pit" is an excited adventure module for 4-6 player characters of levels 5-7 and has been designed for OSRIC(TM), but is easily compatible with the Advance Edition rpgs. The module was written by Alphonso Warden and features art by John Bignham." I've used this one countless times with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea before I was even aware that there were adventures for that system! Yeah I'm a huge fan of Alphonso Warden & he does an excellent job with this adventure. His other adventure which I love is for Swords & Wizardry and its a great take on an old Lovecraft favorite of mine 'The Nameless City'. This is a freaking deadly little romp of a Lovecraftian adventure. The Nameless City (WhiteBox Rules) was an old favorite mine and still retains that Mythmere games reputation. Just remember that this is an adventure for PC's of level seven to ten. Unfortunately, The Nameless City isn't a part of the big Drivethrurpg sale.

Speaking of Weird Tales style books may I highly recommend  Ivanhoe Unbound 

Black Book series which is for original Dungeons & Dragons. There are two bundles which cover books one through five & books five through six in the other bundle.

This material covers everything from ancient astronauts, demons, to black powder gun rules. All for under three dollars USA.


Speaking of strange, dangerous, and completely weird, the first edition monster book Malevolent and Benign

from Expeditious Retreat Press  is well worth the price of admission. Its chalk full of all kinds of horrors, monsters and things waiting to meet your players and incredibly useful for constructing dungeons, adventures, and more.