OEF

Warriors of the Red Planet Update

2012-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

The final text for Warriors of the Red Planet has been delivered and the book is deep in layout. Normally it wouldn't take too long to lay a book out, but I'm also creating art for it. And the writing was so good I wanted to do a "AAA" job on the art. Well, AAA art takes time. If all goes well the book will be done by the time the John Carter movie comes out (wouldn't that be swell?!).

Here is a sneak peek of a page:

This is a typical page. The header pages have a full page illustration with a pull quote.
Layout is far from final. The way I work I set up everything into templates, so if I change the design in one place it can be updated everywhere painlessly. My goal is to have at least 1 illustration per page in the Monsters section, hopefully more time permitting. This will be a fairly heavily illustrated book when it is done.

Venger!

2012-01-21T16:58:00.001-08:00

iBooks Author

2012-01-19T17:36:00.000-08:00

Looks like an amazing RPG book making tool!

Apple iBooks Author

Wizards Is Reprinting the AD&D Core Books!

2012-01-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

Wizards of the Coast announced on Thursday that they will be releasing a limited-edition reprint of the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) core rulebooks: the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual. Each of the books will be a faithful reprint of the original content and art, but receive a new cover design.

This is great news, if the new covers are compelling there is a chance I'll pick these up. Now what I would really like to see Wizards do is make ebook versions of all the past D&D products available for sale.

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/01/wizards-is-reprinting-the-add-core-books/all/1

The original press release:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Product.aspx?x=dnd%2Fproducts%2Fdndacc%2F02410000

The John Carter of Mars that Could Have Been

2012-01-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

I am really rooting for Andrew Stanton's version to be amazing, but I have to admit from what I've seen this version by director Kerry Conran looks much better, much more visionary.

Pleasing all of the people all of the time?

2012-01-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

All across the intertubes news of 5th edition has spread, from no less a luminary source than the New York Times to the humble Grognardia blog and everything in between. It is quite surprising to me that news of an update to a little hobby game from 1974 should receive such attention in 2012. The year of doom. The dead rising from the grave!… Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! and 5th edition!

This announcement should be no surprise to those who noticed that Monte Cook went back to work at Wizards. I really enjoy his writing and design work, so am pleased as punch to hear this. There is also some excitement that Robert Schwalb has joined the 5e design team as well. I'm less familiar with his work, but this does sound promising from what I have read.

The biggest news, for those of us who care, is that Wizards is sending out all the right signals that this edition will be a game designed with the intention of uniting the various factions of D&D players. I am very happy to hear the plans to make 5e more modal with a basic system, and branching out to service individual niches. It sounds like a return to form. I don't think any system can ever pull together the disparate forces that comprise the D&D fan base. Monte Cook is certainly a good choice for the task though.

Robert Schwalb

As you have no doubt read, our primary goal is to produce a rules set that speaks to every incarnation of D&D. So if you are a diehard BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia enthusiast or have embraced 4th edition, loved 2nd edition, 3rd edition, or never moved on from 1st edition, we’re creating this game for you. Imagine a game where you can play the version of D&D you love best. And then imagine everyone plays at the same table, in the same adventure. We aim to make a universal game system that lets you play the game in whatever way, whatever style, with whatever focus you want

A noble goal indeed! But I can't help but think they are trying to build the ultimate Swiss Army knife. The product that does everything!

Perhaps a better analogy is the spork. The spork is intended as a system to be faster and less cumbersome than it's fork and spoon predecessors. Thus it is demonstrably better, mechanically, than previous utensils. Right?

Whatever happens, I really do wish Wizards all the success in the world. Because the success of D&D directly affects the hobby gaming business in general. None of us likes seeing local game stores closing down, we much prefer them to be vibrant and funded well enough to maintain a place where we can go play some games and see new games physically in person before purchasing.

5th Edition Sneak Peek

2012-01-13T08:22:00.000-08:00

The State of Dungeons & Dragons: Future

2011-12-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

Greg Tito over at the Escapist Magazine wrote an interesting article on the state of Dungeons & Dragons, and by extension the roleplaying game business in general.

There are several quotes by Mike Mearls scattered through out, a man largely responsible for 4th edition. Mike is a smart talented designer but I have to disagree with some of his assessments of the problems with 4th edition.

"Mearls admits 4th edition might have gone too far in creating a perfectly balanced game."

No, I don't think that's the problem. Setting aside the impossibility of creating a perfectly balanced RPG, a task harder than catching a unicorn in real life, the real problem is how far it strayed from D&D and the fact that it is weird - and not weird in a good way. Mike was actually closer to the problem in a later quote:

"You don't want a situation where someone comes into a room and says 'Hey guys, I'm playing a Shardmind Seeker' and the response is 'What the hell is that?'" he said. "I know what it is because I worked on it, but it's not even in the Player's Handbook. If you [publish] too much, that shared language, it just evaporates."

The production values of 4th edition are great, and some of the products are really impressive. In particular the Map Tile sets are spectacular, and the board games based on it are wicked cool. It is a fantastic game, if they had just called it anything but D&D.

The best summary of the problems with 4th edition I heard was at Gen Con the year it was released when a (well rounded gamer) friend came back from a demo session with a puzzled look on his face and all he said was "what the hell was that?". That pretty much encapsulates my whole experience with it. It was like something from some strange outer dimension called Left Field.

The solution is given at the end of the article, and this is something I wholeheartedly agree with:

"Let's just play D&D," he said. ... [Let's] get back in touch with what makes role-playing games great, what makes D&D great."

I think the OSR is busy doing that.

source escapistmagazine.com

Prometheus Trailer

2011-12-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

Like I said, 2012 is shaping up to be the most amazing year ever for movies. (I hope!)

The Hobbit - There and Back Again

2011-12-20T20:37:00.001-08:00

2012 is shaping up to be one of the most amazing years ever for movies!

Map Monday - Narnia!

2011-12-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

When I saw the Hobbit cartoon by Rankin & Bass in 1977 (I would be 8) it introduced me to the particular flavor of fantasy that would inspire and lead to a career as an artist and game designer. The next day I went to the school library to get the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The librarian with good intention steered me towards the Chronicles of Narnia as a more age appropriate series.

I will readily say that I fell in love with Narnia as much as I did the Hobbit (possibly more so), it was several years later before I finally read LOTR.

For me Narnia is still as compelling, but in a more innocent simple way than Middle-Earth. I love both series for similar and for very different reasons. Both are filled with strong messages. Narnia evokes a dimension-spanning sense of wonder and magic. While Tolkien's world carries a weight, a gravitas of history and lore.

This map of Narnia is aesthetically pleasing because it is wonderfully hand-drawn. Something that is refreshing to see these days when we are inundated with perfect digital images. I'm not knocking digitally generated maps, they have their own appeal, and have allowed many creators to be freed to pour their imagination onto blank pages with more ease for us all to enjoy.

JCOM - tv spots

2011-12-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

As March 9th gets nearer, the Disney marketing machine gears up. These two tv spots show us that if nothing else John Carter will certainly be visually rich. This time I'm not hearing any complaints that it looks like Star Wars Episode 2.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810213765/video/27620656

John Carter is still in his Earth duds. He definitely does not arrive on Mars butt-naked like in the book.

I really like how visually distinctive the Warhoons are from the Tharks.

Prometheus

2011-12-14T17:20:00.000-08:00

Ridley Scott is one of the greatest hit-or-miss directors of all time. When he hits, he hits big. One thing he rarely gets wrong is the visuals. Even his worst films are often visually compelling. Take for example Legend. The antagonist "Darkness" is one of the greatest villain designs of all time (played by the equally hit-or-miss brilliant Tim Curry). I admire what Ridley was going for: a fairy tale style story. Anti-Tolkein in it's aesthetic, more like an Arthur Rackam or Lord Dunsany style fantasy. But Legend missed so badly, as much as I wanted to like it even Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" captured the spirit of this old world fantasy much better. I recently watched the 'director's cut' and it was unimaginably worse. I still admire many of the visuals though. And Mia Sara is stunning as Lili, the love interest to Tom Cruise's insipid and demoted main character Jack. (it is interesting that Legend came out the same year as Top Gun)

Mia Sara as Lili

Tim Curry as Darkness

When Ridley Scott hits he hits better than almost any director out there. Rivaling Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, or even Peter Jackson on their best days. The two best examples are Alien and Blade Runner. Epic films that inspired generations of artists and directors after them.

Now Ridley Scott has decided to revisit the universe he created in Alien, a prequel called Prometheus. Fans of imaginative fantasy and speculative science fiction can only rejoice - so long as we get the brilliant Ridley Scott of Black Hawk Down and Matchstick Men not the dull director of such misses as Robin Hood and Kingdom of Heaven.

Perhaps it is a pseudo prequel, or only distantly related to Alien. The message isn't very clear on exactly what this film represents. Whatever it is I always admire Ridley Scott's craftsmanship, he is one of the best film directors and producers of all time, even when he makes a lackluster film the art and craft of the film itself are admirable.

Here is the teaser poster for Prometheus. May it be as great, or greater than Alien and Blade Runner!

Map Monday - The Big Map Blog

2011-12-12T11:30:00.000-08:00

Some great vintage real world maps to appropriate for your fine gaming needs at The Big Map Blog!

Gary Gygax's TSR collection on eBay

2011-12-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Some really amazing products from TSR's early days here.

Apple and JCoM

2011-12-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

Apple made a really beautiful John Carter site. Lots of cool stuff to look at.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/johncarter/

A Real Trailer

2011-11-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

Feast your eyes.

JCoM Poster

2011-11-29T11:53:00.000-08:00

The images for John Carter (of Mars) have been pouring in lately. This poster is a very striking image, but if I didn't know better I would get the impression this was an animated film. Particularly with the placement of the Disney logo and the overall treatment. I like that it feels very pulp with a modern sensibility to it. I'll be curious to read the reactions as this image makes its way around.

Also, several great stills have been released. They are all very consistent with previously released images, no surprises here really. Woola looks almost exactly as described in the books except he looks to only have six legs instead of 8 - that could just be the angle of the shot but I don't think so. I expect him to be animated well considering Stanton's background as an animation director.

New John Carter of Mars image

2011-11-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

Entertainment Weekly scored a new image from the JCOM movie. I think it shows off the naturalistic visual style Andrew Stanton is going for, instead of a CG environment. Giving the effects artists real world background plate to match their CG creatures against. This should give the movie added realism.

Testing Blogger App

2011-10-13T17:42:00.001-07:00

From OS5

Dr. Seuss does Call of Cthulhu

2011-10-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

More John Carter Images

2011-10-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

A flood of new images for John Carter of Mars directed by Andrew Stanton have appeared online.

My general impressions: tharks look great, the movie is going to have a very "naturalistic" feel (not as computer generated looking as Avatar was for example), woola looks strange but accurate, costumes are pretty cool. I'm not that wild about the ship, but the glimpse of it from the trailer makes me think it will look alright animated.

See more here:
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?p=21611645
http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/debbiedowner/news/?a=47771
http://www.cartermovie.com/photos/jcm03.html

A Fire & Ice Remake?

2011-10-02T23:38:00.000-07:00

The Frazetti/Bakshi movie Fire & Ice is interesting. It is a movie I really wanted to like. There are some powerful visual elements, but the story could be stronger. I still enjoyed it, even when I recently rewatched it.

Now Robert Rodriguez (of Spy Kids fame) is going to do a live action remake. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/07/26/exclusive-images-robert-rodriguezs-sexy-concept-art-for-fire-and-ice/

One of my favorite artists James Gurney did many of the backgrounds for the original (he has been posting quite a bit about it lately). Now another favorite artist, Justin Sweet, is doing some concept work for the remake.

The interest to the OSR is obvious as Frazetta optimizes much of the fantasy genre that inspired the original dnd.

Mouseguard RPG boxed set the Unboxing

2011-09-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

Seems like boxed set RPG's come fewer and farther between these days. I was surprised to find that Mouseguard RPG, one of my favorite RPG's to come out recently, was being released in a boxed set. So I had to order it and wait patiently for it to arrive.

The wait was worthwhile. The components are gorgeous. And unlike the recent "red box", this set isn't a large box filled mostly with air. It is packed with quality parts: a softcover version of the original rules book, a 48-page supplement with adventure scenarios, a GM deck of 12 Action Cards, two Player Decks of 12 Action Cards, Condition Cards, Characters Sheets, GM sheets, a GM screen, Mouse Dice, Mouse Playing pieces and a Map of the Mouse Territories.

That's a lot of value in a surprisingly deep box. From pictures I thought it would be much smaller. And the square format is quite novel and pleasant. Everything is gorgeously designed the layout, the art, the typesetting. I'm looking forward to reading through this and hopefully convincing some friends to play!

I highly recommend you purchase your copy of Mouse Guard RPG now.

The Complete Tome of Horrors

2011-09-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

The third party 3rd edition "d20" products varied widely in quality and usefulness. The vast majority of them deserved no better than a trip to the landfill. There are a few exceptions though, and the Tome of Horrors was one of them.

The Tome of Horrors, of which there were three in total, brought back the menagerie of monsters from D&D's dusty past and updated them for the d20 system. The beauty of it was that the updating was so well done that little effort was needed to run them in your own classic D&D game.

And now Frog God Games has brought back this classic trilogy for the Pathfinder system. While I am fond of Pathfinder in many ways, I much prefer the original in my own game sessions.

Paizo is running a limited time offer to get all 3 Tome of Horrors in one monstrous 800 page book! I have long since lost interest in such encyclopedic volumes, but I do love it in PDF format for my iPad - which I have migrated as much of my collection to as I have been able to. I love being able to bring this one thin lightweight device to the gaming table that also provides instant search.

I've already purchased the PDF and have been enjoying reading through it. Adventure ideas leap out at every page!

The Two Towers

2011-09-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

In 2002 the best of the LotR movies came out. History often seems to have interesting parallels to it, who could have imagined that the themes in good professor Tolkein's mighty trilogy would tie so directly to events surrounding the release of these movies? Film critic John Mclaren in his review of The Two Towers puts it well:

The screenplay explains (with barely disguised contemporary resonance) what we are protecting in Western civilisation when we defend ourselves against those who would wish to destroy it. When Sam tells Frodo that there are "some things worth fighting for", when Merry tells Pippin that there "won't be a Shire" unless they do something about it, when King Theoden laments that "the sun has gone down in the West" this film could be entitled not the "Two Towers" but "the Twin Towers". It is Miltonic in its scope. It is cinema as art.

I love Peter Jackson's interpretation to film of LotR. Each film is unique and wonderful in its own way, and work remarkably well together as one giant 9+ hour movie. But of the 3, The Two Towers is my favorite, and is the only one that wasn't improved by the "extended editions". The theatrical release was perfect to me. The pacing, the framing devices, the epic clash of good and evil so well drawn. And it also had an eerie relevance to what was going on in the world at the time. (ok, I could have done without Legolas surfing down steps on a shield, but that is the only thing I didn't like, and that is only a minor annoyance).

Estebon Maroto's Lizard Men

2011-09-06T23:11:00.000-07:00

Pretty cool take on lizard men. Maroto's art is one of the original inspirations for D&D art.

Shortsighted TSR

2011-09-05T00:23:00.000-07:00

When D&D exploded into my middle-school world I had no comprehension of the history of the game. I searched desperately at bookstores for copies of the DMG and MM, to no luck. I do faintly recall a bookstore in Tucson AZ that had some unrecognizable D&Dish books, but they weren't the droids I was looking for. In hindsight I think they were Judges Guild products, but it was so long ago I can't be sure.

It took some time for me to get the core books, though I did get a few Dragon issues early on (the mighty #83 being the first, and still my favorite, if only for nostalgia's sake).

It was only later that I discovered that the PHB was really intended to be the gateway drug for AD&D. And it was one of the last of the hardcover books that I acquired back then!

TSR always seemed embarrassed about the original D&D. What I mean is they were constantly trying to make new RPG systems to get away from it. Classic D&D seemed to be the neglected orphan as the company went on to AD&D and AD&D 2nd edition getting further and further away from the elegance of the original game that was such a huge hit.

For a short time I was enamored with GURPS. Looking back now I don't understand why TSR didn't take the original D&D and adapt it to other genres to become the first true universal RPG. Instead they made various RPG's that bore little resemblance to their breadwinner. Boothill, Gamma World, Star Frontiers, Top Secret, Marvel Super Heroes, and the infamous Indiana Jones RPG and so on.

I'm all for innovation, but when you have the best and best selling RPG in the world, why in the world do you do everything in your power to run away from it? Why weren't these game designed to be fully compatible with the original D&D? There was obviously more going on at TSR than good creative direction. What a sad state of affairs to end up being bought out by an usurper like WotC! All because you don't "get" your #1 product.

When I look out at the OSR landscape I am blow away and inspired by the creativity and passion for this beloved game. But, I see a little bit of the short sightedness that blinded TSR. Why are so many trying to copy, to duplicate -literally- the original edition, when there are so many frontiers left to be discovered that the original edition can be adapted to?

John Carter Exclusive Footage Report

2011-08-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

Empire Big Screens reports on exclusive footage they were recently shown of Andrew Stanton's John Carter movie.

Even though Stanton pointed out the footage wasn't fully rendered, it was still mightily impressive. The photography is naturalistic, the CGI subtle - it looks expensive. Comparisons must be made with Avatar, as it has a similar epic feel. Although John Carter the film appears to have a drier sense of humour - Tars is going to be quite the character. The green-skinned Tharks are fascinating creatures with expressive faces, so look forward to seeing them in all their glory.

Follow the link for more:
http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/film/empire-big-screens-exclusive-footage-report-john-carter

Happy Birthday E.G.G.

2011-07-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

John Carter Trailer

2011-07-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

Renews my confidence in Andrew Stanton's ability to translate this incredible story to film.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/johncarter/

Really Old School Monster Manual

2011-07-13T19:48:00.001-07:00

http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2011/07/monstrorum-historia.html

A Real First Look at John Carter

2011-07-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

The marketing machine is starting to kick in and Andrew Stanton is showing off and explaining the work he and his team have been putting into bringing John Carter to life.

http://io9.com/5819836/everything-you-need-to-know-about-disneys-john-carter-movie

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/awards-campaign/posts/sneak-peek-andrew-stanton-reveals-secrets-from-john-carter-of-mars

Tramp Tuesday

2011-07-05T21:38:00.001-07:00

MIA

2011-07-05T00:12:00.000-07:00

I've been MIA lately. Sorry, but I'm busy relocating to a better abode, and busy working hard at a studio that is helping define the future of gaming. Also, I have been busy writing (and illustrating!) the next innovative RPG that will be coming out of Studio Denmark which will be published by Atlas Games.

And, of course, working on the great Warriors of the Red Planet that the amazing Al is designing. So, please forgive me if my posts have been spotty of late. I will have a ton of stuff to post for you in the near future.

Oh, and also I delivered the final hi-rez image of the Petty Gods cover to James last week. :)

Cheers.

John Carter Concept Art

2011-06-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

Finally some concept art from Andrew Stanton's version!

Read the article here.

Lizardman

2011-06-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

This has always been my favorite lizardman illustration.

John Carter

2011-06-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

Warriors of Mars

2011-06-06T01:31:00.000-07:00

My latest acquisition. I finally gave in, bit the bullet and purchased this unique piece of roleplaying history. While it is a wargame, it really sits in that weird space between rpg and wargame that so many of these games did in the mid 70's. It does include rules for 1:1 combat, and used in conjunction with the LBB's you could easily make this into an RPG, in that same spirit of individualism that early D&D had.

If you don't know the history of this book it is really quite interesting. Gary and Brian put this together without permission from the Burroughs estate, and were almost immediately told to cease printing and selling these books when it was published. So I don't think there are a whole lot of copies out there.

This book has that endearing early TSR quality, but I don't think it is as good as John Carter, Warlord of Mars Adventure Gaming Handbook by Heritage Models Inc. (though, thankfully, it doesn't have Princess Points!)

I've had a PDF of this book for some time, but the actual book is much better than I thought it would be. By today's standards it is not particularly well written, organized, or illustrated - but it certainly has charm. I'm hoping that next year's John Carter movie will be wildly successful which might make this book just a little bit more valuable. :)

Look Back: The Book of Marvelous Magic

2011-06-03T01:13:00.000-07:00

The Book of Marvelous Magic is a compendium of interesting magic items to use in your D&D games (as opposed to AD&D).

This book evokes deep nostalgia for me. Even though in 1984 I was in a frame of mind that considered AD&D to be the "real D&D", and anything for basic to be "for the kids".

When this came out I considered Clyde Caldwell to be TSR's "best" artist (my opinion has since changed considerably) so I thought this cover was grand. So when I saw this at the game store I snatched it up using my meager allowance money, brought it home and eagerly read through it. Looking at it now, over 25 years later I consider the cover art to be perfectly serviceable, but certainly not the greatest art on a D&D product.

It is notable that this book is the last thing Gygax wrote that could remotely be considered "original D&D" material. Not AD&D.

The variety of magic items within seemed inspired and eminently useful. I immediately put them to use in my D&D games (oh, the days when I had so much free time to play!) and I vaguely recall having considerable success in using this book. Really, it was one of EGG's better efforts.

Looking through it now I wonder how much of it EGG wrote, and how much of it is Frank Mentzer's. I see little evidence of EGG's distinctive prose, in fact it is mostly quite dry. What I suspect is that EGG wrote a bunch of ideas for magic items and Frank was left with the job of detailing them out.

Skimming through it now I still love this book. It is chock full of great (and some not so great) ideas, but many, many of the magic items are very useful regardless of what system you are using. For example I like that so many of the items are not just your typical wand, boots, or other mundane item. Such interesting things as Figureheads, Hammocks, Kites, Soap, and Spinning Wheels make their appearance here. It reminds me of how staggering Gygax's imagination really was.

I think I want to start using this accessory again, it's been a long time.

Dragoncharmer

2011-06-02T01:43:00.000-07:00

I drew this in high school at a time when I became obsessive about drawing. I drew on the tabs between my class notebooks. Usually dragons and chicks.

I can see the influences of Boris Vallejo and Larry Elmore.

Notorious EGG

2011-05-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

One of the most notorious posts EGG ever wrote.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®
WHAT IT IS AND WHERE IT IS GOING
by Gary Gygax

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® pioneered role playing in the gaming hobby. It brought fantasy before hobbyists, and it set before them a game-form most had never heard of. Perhaps 150,000 persons now play D&D®, but it was by no means an instant success. 1,000 boxed sets, hand assembled and labled, took eleven months to sell, another 1,000 of the same took only five or six months to sell (and Tactical Studies Rules was thrilled). Finally a third printing of 2,000 sold in five months. So from January, 1974, to December, 1975, only 4,000 sets of the original version of the game were in circulation. (Of course, I have no way of knowing how many pirated copies of D&D were in existence, but some estimates place the figure at about 20% of the total sales, some as high as 50%. In any case 5,000 or 6,000 sets was certainly nothing to set the gaming world on fire, or was it?) Today the “Basic Set” sells 4,000 copies per month, and the sales graph is upwards. A month has not gone by in the last two years when I haven’t been interviewed by one or more newspaper writers or independent journalists who want to know all about D&D. I have likewise been interviewed by radio and TV news media, generally for the same reason. At the risk of claiming too much for the game, I have lately taken to likening the whole to Aristotle’s POETICS, carrying the analogy to even more ridiculous heights by stating that each Dungeon Master uses the rules to become a playwrite (hopefully of Shakespearean stature), scripting only plot outlines however, and the players become the Thespians. Before incredulity slackens so as to allow the interviewer to become hostile, I hasten to add that the analogy applies only to the basic parts of the whole pastime, not to the actual merits of D&D, its DMs, or players. If you consider the game, the analogy is actually quite apt. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is like none other in that it requires the game master to create part or all of a fantasy world. Players must then become personae in this place and interact with the other populace. This is, of course a tall order for all concerned — rules, DM, and players alike.

Relating a basic adventure, an episodic game session in the campaign, to a trip in an underground labyrinth does help the uninitiated to understand the simplest D&D fundamentals — discover an unknown area, move around in it by means of descriptive narration from the Dungeon Master, overcome whatever obstacles are there (traps, problems, monsters), and return with whatever has been gained during the course of the whole. The DM takes the part of everything in this fantasy world which is not operated by a player. While this should not mean it is then a game of DM versus the players, it does mean that DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a co-operative game where players must interact successfully amongst themselves first, and non-hostile portions of the campaign milieu thereafter, in order to be successful. The Dungeon Master is incidentally against the players when he or she is operating that part of the “world” which is hostile, or potentially so, but in general the referee must be disinterested. At about this point I am always asked: “Well, then, how do you win? who wins?!” The answer is, EVERYBODY — providing that the game is well run. The DM gets the satisfaction of testing his abilities against those of the players, the fun of taking the non-player parts, and the accolades of participants when a particularly well-done adventure or series has been completed. Players enjoy the challenges of each situation and have the prospect of continuing adventures and puzzles to confront them, each with his or her game persona. Thus all taking part in the campaign get something besides a momentary diversion. Winning no more applies to D&D than it does to real life. The successful DMs and players gain renown via their campaigns or their superior characters. To enthusiasts of the game it is far more satisfying than triumphing in a single game or whole series of games. Simply stated, D&D is a multi-player game of fantasy role playing, where the rules give systems of resolution for common game occurrences, lists and explanations of things which are not actual (monsters, spells, magic items, etc.), systems for interaction, and suggestions as to how to put this into the campaign, i.e. create the milieu. Once begun, the campaign continues until the DM and/or all of the players decide it should end. As with any exercise in fantasy it requires suspension of disbelief. Those who find the game interesting will soon enough thereafter create their own sort of involvement and belief. But why is such a game (and similar fantasy role playing games, for that matter) so popular? What is its appeal!?

Our modern world has few, if any, frontiers. We can no longer escape to the frontier of the West, explore Darkest Africa, sail to the South Seas. Even Alaska and the Amazon Jungles will soon be lost as wild frontier areas. Furthermore, adventures are not generally possible anymore. The frontiers are receding into memories, modern communications make all of the world available to casual travellers, and the most backward places are becoming more and more civilized. Certainly it is still possible to go scuba diving, mountain climbing, auto racing, sky diving, and so on. These are expensive and risky for no real purpose in most cases. One can also have adventures as a criminal, or possibly as an agent of the government (if one is sufficiently qualified), but the former is distasteful to say the least, and the latter is most unlikely. Americans, with more leisure today than ever, crave entertainment. Some desire adventure and excitement. Obviously, various entertainment media are doing big business — TV, motion pictures, spectator sports, recreational vehicles, sporting goods, book publishers, and game manufacturers are all growing. “Escape fiction” sells better today than ever, and witness the success of the recent science fiction and fantasy films.

Looking towards space and the future for new frontiers and adventure is logical. The universe has fascinated mankind since recorded history, and today it seems quite probable that within a few decades numbers of us will live off of the earth, and in a century or so we will travel to the stars. Perhaps there will be frontiers and adventure enough then for all who care to test their mettle. But it is no less surprising for us to look into the realms of fantasy for imagined adventure. Most literate people grow up on a diet of fairy tales, Walt Disney, and comic book superheroes. We somehow relate to stories of young princes going out into the world to seek their fortune, of knights rescuing maidens in distress and slaying dragons, of dealings with wicked magicians and evil witches. The myth of all peoples contain great stocks of such fantasy lore. If nothing else, the desire to believe in such seems to be innate in humanity. Whether or not there are parallel worlds or places where fantastic creatures actually live and magic works is not germane, for most of us are familiar with the concepts as if they were actual, and we have a desire to become involved, if only vicariously, amongst such heroic epics of magic and monsters. It is therefore scarcely surprising that a game which directly involves participants in a make-believe world of just such nature should prove popular; and had I reasoned out the enthusiasm it roused amongst the first few who played it, it would have been evident that D&D was destined to become a very popular game indeed. (Naturally, hindsight is usually a 20/20 proposition, and the fact is I wrote the game for a small audience of devoted miniatures players . . . ) If millions take to the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien, and nearly as many follow the heroic feats of Conan, the market potential of a game system which provides participants with a pastime which creates play resembling these adventuresome worlds and their inhabitants is bounded only by its accessibility. Access has two prominent aspects; availability is the first; that is, are potential players informed of the fact that the game exists, and are they able to physically obtain it; and difficulty is the second, for if once obtained the game is so abstruse as to be able to be played only by persons with intelligence far above the norm, or if the game demands a volume of preliminary work which is prohibitive for the normal individual, this will be recognized and the offering shunned even if it is available. D&D failed on both counts, and still its following grew. Today we are putting D&D onto the track where it is envisioned it will have both maximum availability and minimum difficulty. This is best illustrated in the “Basic Set.” Well over two years ago we recognized that there was a need for an introductory form of the game. In 1977 the colorfully boxed “Basic Set” was published. It contained simplified, more clearly written rules, dungeon geomorphs, selections of monsters and treasures to place in these dungeons, and a set of polyhedra dice — in short all that a group of beginning players need to start play with relative ease. Later editions have cleaned up most of the flaws in the first, and the newest will do away with the geomorphs and list of monsters and treasures in favor of a complete basic module, so that difficulty will be reduced even further. This should broaden the game’s appeal to a base in the millions, and then the major factor becomes availability. Popular demand always increases availability, and D&D has been blessed by its enthusiasts most generously in this regard. Coupled with the work being done by TSR to publicize and promote the game, the availability factor will also be maximized over the next few years. Finally, to maintain interest, a series of new and interesting modular dungeon and outdoor scenarios, as well as more playing aids, will be made available periodically. The number of D&D players should certainly continue to mushroom for several years.

Fanatical game hobbyists often express the opinion that DUNGEONS & DRAGONS will continue as an ever-expanding, always improving game system. TSR and I see it a bit differently. Currently D&D is moving in two directions. There is the “Original” game system and the new ADVANCED D&D® system. New participants can move from the “Basic Set” into either form without undue difficulty — especially as playing aid offerings become more numerous, and that is in process now. Americans have somehow come to equate change with improvement. Somehow the school of continuing evolution has conceived that D&D can go on in a state of flux, each new version “new and improved!” From a standpoint of sales, I beam broadly at the very thought of an unending string of new, improved, super, energized, versions of D&D being hyped to the loyal followers of the gaming hobby in general and role playing fantasy games in particular. As a game designer I do not agree, particularly as a gamer who began with chess. The original could benefit from a careful reorganization and expansion to clarify things, and this might be done at some future time. As all of the ADVANCED D&D system is not written yet, it is a bit early for prognostication, but I envision only minor expansions and some rules amending on a gradual, edition to edition, basis. When you have a fine product, it is time to let well enough alone. I do not believe that hobbyists and casual players should be continually barraged with new rules, new systems, and new drains on their purses. Certainly there will be changes, for the game is not perfect; but I do not believe the game is so imperfect as to require constant improvement. Does this mean that D&D will be at a dead end when the last of AD&D® is published? Hardly! Modules and similar material will continue to be released so as to make the DM’s task easier and his or her campaign better. Quite frankly, the appeal of D&D rests principally upon the broad shoulders of the hard-working Dungeon Masters. The rules never need improvement if the DM is doing a proper job, but of course he or she can do so only if the rules are sufficient to allow this. With refined rules and modular additions, all aspects of a long lived and exciting campaign will unquestionably be there for the DM to employ. Will D&D dead end when its novelty dies? That is impossible to answer. It is my personal opinion that the game form is a classic which is of the same stamp as chess and MONOPOLY® ; time will be the judge. No doubt that there is a limit to the appeal of the game in any of its current forms. If tens of millions play a relatively simple, social sort of a game such as MONOPOLY, it is a sure thing that a far more difficult game such as D&D will have a much more limited audience. As the game cannot be simplified beyond a certain point, we look to another means of popularizing it.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS can be played on a computer. Computers are most certainly a big aspect of the near future, particularly the home computer. Non-programmable computer games are already making big inroads into the toy and hobby market. They will grow still more, and soon programmable games will join this trend. D&D program cassettes plugged into a home computer would obviate the need for a DM or other players. Thus the labor of setting up a campaign or the necessity of having a fairly large group to play in it would be removed. The graphic display would be exciting, and the computer would slave away doing all of the record work and mechanics necessary to the game, giving nearly instantaneous results to the player or players. Computerization of D&D has many other benefits also, and such games would not destroy the human-run campaign but supplement game participation. This is the direction we hope to make available to D&D. Let’s see if my foresight is as keen as my hindsight. All that being so, what is the purpose of this column, the reader may justifiably inquire? Well, as I make no claim to perfection, no such claim can be made for ADVANCED D&D or D&D for that matter. This column will cover controversial rules or systems, problem and so-called problem areas of D&D/AD&D, and consider new material as well. If the games are not to be continually changing and “evolving,” neither is it envisioned that they have reached such a state of perfection so as to become immutable. What appears herein is discussion which will sometimes lead to alteration, amendment, or expansion of one or the other system. Initially, what you read here will be direct from me, but all DMs — and players also — are invited to submit article material of high calibre. A glance at the introductory sections of all of the works comprising the D&D/AD&D systems will show that many individuals contributed to the designs. The list in the forthcoming DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE is longer still. All of these individuals, and the audience at large, are cordially invited to submit their thoughts and opinions on pertinent matters. If I am not to be “the great god gygax,” a claim I have never made nor supported, there must be input which presents argumentation and systems which are meaningful alternatives to replace or augment existing rules and systems. This is not to say that anyone’s favorite variant, even if well designed, is likely to become D&D/AD&D, but at worst reasons for why it is unacceptable will be given, and the possible results could be a major change in the game.

So here is your forum. Let us hope it becomes a useful and meaningful exchange!

Discuss.

John Carter

2011-05-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with the WotRP project I am working on with Al of www.Beyondtheblackgate.blogspot.com I found this interesting article after reading through some old The Dragon magazines, and thought it was a great and relevant description of John Carter. I particularly like that he has a permanent Tower of Iron Will. Nice touch!

From The Dragon #27, July 1979, pg 30

Edgar Rice Burrough’s
JOHN CARTER OF MARS
30th level fighter
ARMOR CLASS: 5
MOVE: 12”/36” (jumping)
HIT POINTS: 158
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Weapon (+10)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Radium pistol
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
ALIGNMENT: Lawful-good
STRENGTH: 20
INTELLIGENCE: 14
WISDOM: 11
DEXTERITY: 18 (00%)
CONSTITUTION: 19
CHARISMA: 18 (33%)
HIT BONUS: +6
PSIONIC ABILITY: See below

John Carter was originally an average earthman, but has become a sort of immortal, archetypal warrior; he can recall no childhood, just an endless series of wars and martial endeavors. He always seems to be physically about the age of 30. After serving on the Confederate side of the American Civil War, he went west as a prospector. Trapped in a cave by Indians and mortally wounded, Carter, on the verge of death, somehow psychically transported himself to Mars (or Barsoom, as it is known to its inhabitants). Mars’ gravity is only one-fourth that of Earth, so Carter instantly became the strongest humanoid on Barsoom, with a relative D&D strength of 20 (for game purposes, always treat John Carter as if he were on Barsoom, as this is his heroic environment in the novels). Carter freed Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, from the Green Men of Barsoom, eventually married her and became Warlord of Helium (and a good deal of the rest of the planet).

Carter’s Mars is a world of paradoxes. Barsoom is a dry, dying planet, studded with abandoned cities and ancient races, falling gradually into barbarism. There is a universal code of honor for hand-to-hand fighting, which states that if one man draws a certain weapon for a duel, his opponent will counter with the same or a lesser weapon. Barsoomian fighters (including John Carter) are usually armed with a dagger (1-4 damage +10), short sword (1-6 damage +10), and long sword (1-8 damage +10). In addition, they carry a pistol, but this is rarely used save by cowards or in wars. Carter abides by the code of honor, and will respond with the same type of weapon he is attacked with (regardless of the number of opponents), unless he is attacked magically (which he may interpret as some sort of psychic attack). Then there is a 50% chance each attack that he will feel justified in using his pistol against the magic-user. This pistol contains five rounds, each doing 1-10 damage if they hit. All five rounds may be fired in one melee round.

John Carter is about six feet tall with short black hair and gray eyes. Like all Barsoomians, he wears no armor; only a leather harness for carrying his weapons. His great strength enables him to move in giant leaps. He can jump up to 20 feet high, and leap right over the heads of his opponents. He will generally try to help anyone he thinks is in trouble, but if he is doublecrossed or finds out he has been deceived, he may go into a fighting rage, attacking everyone he can reach until all the miscreants have been punished. Honor in battle is exceedingly important to him. John Carter has long fought the Guild of Assassins on Barsoom, considering them honorless fighters. If he recognizes that a party member is an assassin, he will disarm him and force him to leave the party (for the party’s own good). He will give the assassin his own dagger so he has a fighting chance of reaching safety.

Psionically, Carter has a permanent Tower of Iron Will; no one has ever broken it. Over the years he has honed his ability to teleport between worlds, and he is likely to show up anytime, looking for adventure.

Tramp Tuesday

2011-05-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

Dave Trampier is my favorite old school artist. This is an illustration of Orcus from an old The Dragon magazine.

White Dwarf #4

2011-05-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

White Dwarf #4, January 1977

Early White Dwarf is vintage old school. There was no Games Workshop products in my area growing up, and nobody I know of even heard of White Dwarf. It wasn't until I was an adult in the US Army stationed in Ft. Collins Colorado that I was exposed to White Dwarf and the Warhammer universe.
Later White Dwarf magazines became a house organ to Games Workshop and pretty much exclusively promoted only their products, so I didn't really get into it. However, my interest in 1970's DnD has compelled me to dig up early White Dwarf magazines. And they are incredibly satisfying. Scratching an itch for old school that only pre #30's Dragon and Dungeoneer magazines scratch.
White Dwarf #4 closely resembles early Dragon and Dungeoneer magazines. In fact reading this issue one wonders what DnD would have been like with different creators behind it. There is a great article on a Barbarian class (which TSR would not publish a version of until July 1982 in Dragon #63). It is fun to see the differences and similarities. Both have tracking skill, but that is about where the similarities end. The White Dwarf Barbarian strikes me as being much truer to the spirit of the original edition.

Other articles that predate later TSR offerings include Alice in Dungeon Land (astute readers will recall Gygax's great Dungeonland module), and an article on competitive DnD which was a little hard for me to decipher since it is the 4th in a series of articles which I don't have. All in all early White Dwarfs are a great read for anyone interested in the formative years of DnD (and the hobby in general), but they are much harder to come by than Dragon is. I would very much enjoy a compilation of White Dwarfs like the Dragon Magazine CD archive.

When does Original Edition end and 1st Edition Begin?

2011-05-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

For a personal project I have been reading the issues of Dragon magazine around the time of the release of the 1st edition books to try to ascertain when exactly the transition from the original LBB's to 1st edition really began.

The Monster Manual was first released in 1977, but the Monster Manual could largely be used with the original edition. Dragon Magazine 12, released in February of 1978 mentions the Monster Manual briefly, with the header "Advanced D&D Monster Manual" and a 4 paragraph article that says little more than how great the production values are. The articles in that issue, and subsequent issues continue to support the original D&D.

I would expect the era of 1st edition to really begin with the release of the Player's Handbook. The Player's Handbook was released at Gen Con in August 1978. Interestingly enough, reading through The Dragon magazines right around that time there is little fanfare of this momentous occasion. There are 1 page ads, but the editorials say nothing about it. The Dragon 19 has a lot of editorial about Gen Con but doesn't even mention that the Player's Handbook is released! All they talk about is how bad weather affected turnout. (Funny enough, they talk more about Gamma World!)

Even the articles are still for original edition. For example the Witch article in The Dragon 20 could be played with nothing more than the LBB's. Not until The Dragon #22 do we finally get the memo. AD&D is the future, original edition was the past. Sure enough the next issue features an article "Random generation of creatures from the lower planes" which is clearly designed for 1st edition.

Still, original edition didn't go down so easily. Articles continued predominately to support the original, while 1st edition articles were few and far between for several issues.

The Dragon 28 features an interview with Gary Gygax about the publication of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Then the very next article is "A short course in D&D" an article about D&D, not AD&D. Though it mentions the Player's Handbook (and the Holmes Basic I assume) in a way that sounds like it is merely an extension of, not a replacement, of the original D&D. Though I must say the next issue #29 is really beginning to feel "1st edition", but in a way original edition players wouldn't feel alienated (in fact, I doubt there was any divide yet).

The Dragon #30, October 1979, is the first to mention the infamous disappearance of James Egbert. TSR couldn't buy publicity this good. They went from an obscure popular game amongst the niche wargaming crowd to a worldwide phenomenon in a short time. At this point the full 3 volume 1st edition set was available on the market, and is predominantly what new players would know about the game (and the Moldvay edited basic set soon to be released).

The Dragon #31 introduces Sage Advice. A controversial feature amongst the OSR to be sure. It represents a changing mood in TSR from encouraging freeform play amongst D&D players, to more official "rulings" from on high. This is really starting to feel like the 1st edition era now. Still, most of the D&D related articles look like they'd work perfectly well in either an original or 1st edition game.

The Dragon #32 has much relatively generic material that could pretty much be used in any edition, and it has an adventure called The Fell Pass that feels very original edition. The Dragon #33 seems to really be all about 1st edition. Perhaps one article Bazaar of the Bizarre could be used for both, but the other article plainly state "AD&D". I'm ending this particular exercise here. I'm sure there are a few original edition oriented articles, but the tide seems to have clearly turned at this issue.

So there seems to be a broad gray area from February 1978 through January 1980 where original edition was phased out and 1st edition takes over. Sure The Dragon is a limited slice of the gaming pie from that era, but I suspect it is pretty representative.

MegaDungeon Monday - Dungeon 3

2011-05-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

So far I have been keeping these geomorphs rather generic. All the doors are plain open doors. I haven't been adding much in the way of "dungeon dressing", I figure that DM's will want to have control over where secret, concealed, locked, and trapped doors are and what things can be found in the various rooms.

I'm curious if you would prefer these have more "stuff" in them, predefined secret doors, statues, traps, pits, etc.

A Cryptic Statement

2011-05-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

Reading through an old The Dragon magazine (#27) I read this mysterious passage by Bob Bledsaw (overseer of the Judges Guild).

Dungeons & Dragons is the universal language of fantasy role playing (being the grandfather of the third generation systems).

This was published in July 1979. What exactly does he mean by the "third generation systems"?

Another Tramp Inspired

2011-05-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Did this recently for Dungeoneer Deluxe. The inking style was inspired by the great DAT.

MegaDungeon Monday - Dungeon 2

2011-05-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, I missed Monday by 17 minutes, but here are the latest geomorphs for MegaDungeon Monday. Enjoy!

S&W IV

2011-05-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

As you have no doubt been alerted by the blogoshere Swords & Wizardry 4th printing is now available. Go get it immediately. It is still my favorite retro-clone.

I've only skimmed through it, but I can already tell I like the layout better than the Complete Edition, and it is back to the original, and more appropriate, cover. That cover was very well done it just didn't feel right for S&W, unless it was for a Cthulhu edition of S&W! Still, I can't help but feel the 1st printing nailed it so well that it is difficult to improve upon.

Though I nit pick (can't help it) S&W IV looks potentially good.

Swords & Wizardry is no replacement for the Original Edition

2011-05-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

I started this blog when I discovered Swords & Wizardry. S&W introduced me to this exciting movement known as the OSR. I loved how well written S&W was and how well it emulated the original edition of the original, and best, fantasy role playing game. Since then I have played many hours of S&W, exploring it's strengths and weaknesses.
I soon came to the conclusion that S&W was a different game from the Original Edition. A beautiful, and succinct emulation, but different nonetheless.
As I have immersed myself in classic D&D blogs and forums like Knights & Knaves, Grognardia, and others, I came to realize the whole OSR thing was much larger, more creative, and more interesting than I had imagined. I was drawn to the original edition - the "white box" set; the original 3 booklets. I have 2 copies of this set. One in good condition, the other previously owned by Lawrence Schick, that has some markups and design notes written in ink in it. This is the version I have taken to playing lately. And I can wholeheartedly say it is better than Holmes, Basic, AD&D, 2nd, 3rd, 3.5, or 4th edition. There is just some magic that the original edition captured that none of the later editions have. Perhaps it is in the ambiguity and the largely undefined nature that allows the DM to ad lib according to the needs of his own group, But, whatever it is, there is a mystique and a magic to those first 3 books that is unmatched by any later edition, or later RPG I have seen. Which is why I have returned to playing the Original Edition lately.

Homage to Dave Trampier

2011-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I have expressed here how much Dave Trampier is my favorite of the old-school D&D artists. Not only was Wormy one of the most enjoyable features of Dragon magazine, Tramp's art throughout the early TSR products was, to me, the most engaging. He combined storytelling with great ideas and deft draftsmanship. I believe if he had continued to pursue his art career he would have gone on to great things. But, alas, I guess the world always needs another taxi driver.

I have another blog I occasionally post on that supports a DnD inspired fantasy card game I designed and illustrated a decade ago that still has a strong following (a great big thank you to all of you who help keep new shoes on my kids!). I'm not 1/10th the artist he is, but I have been doing interior B&W art for the latest Dungeoneer set, and the inking was largely inspired by DAT. There will be more to come.

Look Back: Cities of Mystery

2011-05-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

I bought very few TSR products during the dreadful "2nd edition" era, but there is one that has remained as one of my favorite D&D supplements of all time: Forgotten Realms Cities of Mystery. This boxed set has proven to be, and continues to be, one of the most useful sets published.

My own boxed set has long since disintegrated, and the cardboard buildings that came with it long gone. The main booklet though remains on my gaming table as an essential resource whenever I have to run a city adventure.

Of all the adventure types I always find running city adventures to be the most difficult. Give me a good dungeon any day! Even extra-planar adventures on radically strange dimensions are easier to run than a city. The openness of a city combined with the complexity and endless possibilities drives me to madness. I never seem to have the time to develop a proper detailed city before hand, and I find most published city settings to be tedious at best (City State of the Invincible Overlord, the original Thieves' World set, and Lankhmar excepted).

Looking over the credits I see it was written by Jean Rabe and edited by Kim Mohan. Considering that my favorite era of Dragon magazine was when Kim was the editor, and many other TSR products edited by Kim also being some of my favorites I think that may be part of the reason. While Jean Rabe seems to be a very good writer, though nothing else in her bibliography particularly stands out to me.

The first thing about Cities of Mystery that makes it my favorite city resource are the random tables. While there have been many random tables for city encounters such as the excellent one in the original DMG (brazen strumpet!) and in Judges Guild's Ready Ref Sheets, I find the ones in Cities of Mystery to be the most useful to my campaign. Particularly when I am playing sandbox style. Which is usually the case, though the occasional "adventure path" appeals to me once in a blue moon. These random tables manage to be relatively comprehensive, yet remain easy to use.

I've made a PDF file of the pages I most use, which boil down to 11, 12, 15, 38, 44, & 45.

Mixing Governments (page 11). In previous posts I've discussed how to randomly choose two cultures or government types and combine them to create a new, interesting government/culture. Cities of Mystery beaks government types down to 20 basic different types - convenient for rolling a d20 for. You can quickly roll twice and come up with dynamic combinations like: Magocracy Theocracy. Imagine how the tension of ruling bodies of mages and clerics make for a city! Who has the dominant power? How does that affect daily life in the city?

Putting Life into Leaders (page 12). With two dice rolls, one for alignment another for personality, an influential city NPC can be rolled up. A Chaotic Good Foolhardy council member, a Neutral Evil power hungry sheriff, or a Lawful Neutral soft-hearted mayor all generated on the fly as needed.

City's Defenses (page 15). Whether the town is heavily militarized and defended, or a sitting duck can be figured out instantly. This is very useful, particularly when player's are higher level and operating on city or nation-threatening level adventures.

Business tables (page 38). This is perhaps the most useful section. Player's quickly get tired of the typical tavern and store locations. These tables help the DM to come up with a wide variety of more interesting, and believable businesses. Herbalist, Perfumer, Soap Maker, Wainwright, and so on. These are just a few of the business types I probably wouldn't think of on my own in the heat of a gaming session. I like some of the additional modifiers to business types such as: a shoddy store where the merchant is sour and gruff but actually likes to provide a service to help others. These kind of combinations make for a more interesting encounter than just providing a laundry list of items a store has and not much else in terms of "flavor".

City Encounter Tables (page 44-45). While the business tables are highly useful, the city encounter tables help to keep the game from being stale. Interesting encounters are always right around the next corner. A parade, a pick pocket in progress, an unusual animal running around the streets, or any number of other interesting things can happen. I like that these tables are divided by district type (much like the Judges Guild Ready Ref Sheet city encounters are, but these are far more extensive).

Other parts. Like I said, I have long since lost the rest of the boxed set. Though I do remember constructing the 3d cardboard buildings and using them on the map posters that were included and using them a lot, particularly for encounters that required use of miniatures to help visualize the scene.

The cover of Cities of Mystery is one of Larry Elmore's more evocative covers. A classic encounter with the player characters being offered some bauble by a con man, while a wererat lurks in the shadows waiting to pounce on unsuspecting victims. Anyone who says Elmore paints nothing but the same heroes and monsters over and over hasn't paid enough attention to the wide variety of inspired work he did for TSR throughout the 80's.

Warriors of the Red Planet

2011-05-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

For something a little different, here are some purely landscape images of Burrough's Mars. One of the things I find most interesting about his descriptions of the terrain are the vivid colors. He even describes colors that don't exist here on Earth. While that is impossible to convey visually, I do like the idea of painting the environment with very non-conventional colors, like yellow rocks, orange mountains and so on.

And here is a page of Mars landscape rough marker drawings from my sketchbook.

Megadungeon Monday

2011-05-09T03:00:00.000-07:00

I came up with a name for my regular Geomorph column: Megadungeon Monday. I've experimented with various looks for the geomorphs, here I present 3 versions. Basic B&W, classic blueline, and a burnt sienna color inspired by the Desert of Desolation series maps which I've always been fond of. Your opinion is valued as to which color these should be posted in the future. Enjoy.

New Conan Trailer

2011-05-04T21:12:00.001-07:00

I don't have much confidence in this movie from what I've seen and heard, but this trailer is the best thing I've yet seen for the new Conan movie:
http://movies.yahoo.com/summer-movies/conan-the-barbarian/1809953260#first

Cave Geomorphs According to Public Code!

2011-05-03T21:49:00.000-07:00

The geomorph police busted me for improper gridding of my geomorphs. According to Section 1974 of regulation TSR2002 all geomorphs are to be on a grid of 10 x 10 squares. So, I have corrected my heinous error, in addition I have made 7 more Cave Geomorphs for your gaming pleasure! Enjoy.

Geomorph - Cave 1 Low Ink Version

2011-04-28T13:45:00.001-07:00

Geomorph - Cave 1

2011-04-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

I make a lot of map geomorphs for my games, and I keep meaning to post them here as a regular feature. I just realized I don't make very many cave geomorphs - even though I think caves are evocative and particularly compelling as an environment for adventuring in. So, as a new beginning to a regular series here on OEF is a Cave Geomorph you are welcome to use in your game. I hope you enjoy it.

Crypt Assassin

2011-04-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

This very cool art poster by Erik Roper is available from Monolith Press. It is both very contemporary, yet looks like it could have been the cover illustration on an RPG from the 70's. I love it.

New Feat: Rockabye

2011-04-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

Rockabye: a 5th level Daddy is able to rock a baby in a precise pattern for a period of time requiring a level of endurance a 1st level Daddy didn't know was possible, to make the baby fall into a fitful slumber for 1d4+2 hours.

Unless you are a Daddy you may not fully understand how awesome this post is.

Postless Week

2011-04-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the Incantatrix spell list - restricted to only original edition spells (and the new ones designed specifically for her, but rewriting them into a simplified "OEF" style). It's taking longer than I thought.

Also I've been brewing up some ideas and drawings for Ember frost.

In the meantime enjoy this classic illustration. And happy Friday!

Blog Blogs

2011-04-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

Blogs for your enjoyment:

http://digitalorc.blogspot.com/
http://swordandsanity.blogspot.com/
http://savageswordofscadgrad.blogspot.com/
http://www.ruleofthedice.com/
http://nfiaos.blogspot.com/
http://www.rpgblog2.com/
http://lordgwydion.blogspot.com/
http://daddyrolleda1.blogspot.com/

Incantatrix S&W style

2011-04-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

A recent poll on Beyond the Black Gate asked how many classes do you prefer in your old-school game. The original 3? or more? My answer: both. You'll have to read the comments why.

I have always been favorable to Ed Greenwood's Incantatrix class that was published in an old Dragon magazine. Maybe it came along at the right time, but it just seemed so cool to me. It was originally designed for 1st edition, so I thought I would make a Swords & Wizardry version. This version is easily portable to your classic "Original Edition" game, just give it the saving throws of a Cleric and it should work out fine.

I am going to post this in parts, the first part will describe the class and experience chart. The second post will describe the Incantatrix's spell list, a 3rd post will describe the Incantatrix's unique spells. If the reaction is positive, I'll make a PDF version of the complete Incantatrix class available.

Incantatrix
You are a mysterious figure, a student of arcane powers, spell casting, and spell stealing. Usually cloaked in fine robes embroidered with mystical symbols, you can be a devastating opponent. However, you are usually physically weaker than other adventuring classes, and are untrained in the use of armor and weapons. As an Incantatrix when you progress in levels, you can become a very powerful caster of spells. You specialize in stealing magic: draining spell knowledge from other spell casters, and applying that knowledge to yourself. You also excel at protecting yourself from powerful spells. Perhaps one day, though, you will rise to such heights of power that you can build a mystically protected tower for your research, creating fabulous magic items, and scribing new formulae for hitherto unknown spells. Such arch-Incantatrixes can sway the secret orders that control the world, and command respect and fear across the realms.

Incantratrixes are always female.

Prime Attribute: Intelligence, 13+ (5% experience)

Hit Dice: 1d6-1* (Gains 1 hp/level after 9th level.)

Armor/Shield Permitted: None.

Weapons Permitted: Dagger, staff, and darts.

Incantatrix Class Abilities

Spell Casting: an Incantatrix owns a book of spells, which does not necessarily include all of the spells on the standard lists. Reading from the book, the Incantatrix presses her chosen spell formulae into her mind, “preparing” these spells. Once a prepared spell is cast, it disappears from the Incantatrix’s ability to cast (until it is prepared again). It is possible to prepare a spell multiple times using the available “slots” in the Incantatrix’s memory/capability. If the Incantatrix finds scrolls of spells while adventuring, she can copy them into her spell book.

Incantatrix’s Tower (11th): At 11th level, a Incantatrix gains the title of “Incantatrix,” and can build a stronghold for herself to house her libraries and laboratories. She will attract a mixed bag of mercenaries, strange servants (some with odd abilities and deformities), and even a few monsters, perhaps. This motley crew will swear fealty to her and serve her with whatever loyalty she can inspire in them.

The Best Batmobile

2011-04-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

The batmobile from the campy 60's Batman show will always be my favorite.

More ways to enjoy one of your favorite OSR blogs

2011-04-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

Click on any of these links to see Original Edition Fantasy in new and interesting ways:

http://originaleditionfantasy.blogspot.com/view/flipcard
http://originaleditionfantasy.blogspot.com/view/mosaic
http://originaleditionfantasy.blogspot.com/view/sidebar
http://originaleditionfantasy.blogspot.com/view/timeslide
http://originaleditionfantasy.blogspot.com/view/snapshot

Emberfrost

2011-03-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

As much as I like the name of Pergammos as the name of the planet. Fantasy settings tend to have a more generally evocative name. After some deliberation I've decided to call the setting Emberfrost. There are a few crappy myspace blogs that use the name, but in general it seems to be largely unclaimed. Hard to find these days.

At worst I can call it "Legends of Emberfrost" or "Lords of Emberfrost" or something like that to make it unique.

Pergammos - a new fantasy world

2011-03-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

I love astronomy. If I hadn't decided to be an illustrator for a living I would have gone to pilot school to be a helicopter pilot, but my 3rd choice would have been astronomy! So of course the recent incredible breakthroughs in finding exoplanets has me excited. Any time a planet is in the "goldilocks" zone it makes astronomers get all tingly inside. The goldilocks zone is where the distance from its sun makes liquid water possible on a planet.

Gliese 581 is a planet that is in its star's goldilocks zone.

A fascinating thing about Gliese 581 is that it is tidally locked. This means one side always faces it's sun, while the other always faces away. Fire and ice. This struck me as an incredibly compelling planet for a Fantasy World. Imagine if a planet only had a strip, about the width of California, around it's circumference that was habitable. To the north deserts, unquenchable fire, and uninhabitable lands boiling with magma. To the south a frozen desolate wasteland too cold for any life to bear. But, that space in-between a veritable paradise. A perpetual Hawaii in twilight where life thrives.

Of course Star Wars beat me to the punch with Ryloth. But, Ryloth is mild compared to Gliese 581. And I'm talking about a fantasy world with fire dragons and ice dragons, wizards, artifacts, and mighty warriors!
So I took a little time to develop the idea. I don't know how far I'll go with it, but I'm thinking of making this a publishable fantasy campaign world for use with the Original Edition (and as my previous post indicated, any edition from 0 to 3.5).

Andraxis the bold used a particularly powerful Ethereal spell and flew high above the clouds, higher than any mortal had dared to before, after returning he created this detailed map of what his astonished eyes saw. To the north (left) the world was bathed in fire and blinding light. To the south (right) the world sank into darkness and cold. In the middle the mighty domains of man, elf, and dwarf could be seen bathed in verdant green. Andraxis took months to recover from the ordeal, and swore to never venture so far into the heavens lest he incur the wrath of the immortals. But the sights he saw and recorded has benefitted all the sentient races.

Gondalfar, the world famous cartographer gives us his detailed contour of the world. He drew heavily on the works of Andraxis, and on his own world famous explorations to create the standard map used by the Imperium:

Gondalfar's map looks uniformly peaceful, but it is well known that fire breathing dragons, evil Efreet & salamanders, and intolerant fire elementals dominate the lands to the north. While to the south snow dragons, frost wyrms, and ice devils rule the lands.

Your Dungeon is Suck

2011-03-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Spent some time this morning reading through Your Dungeon is Suck. I came across this sarcastic, foul-mouthed, hilarious blog via Beyond the Black Gate. It is a thoroughly entertaining indulgence, a veritable feast on the worst of the OSR filled with barbs, attacks, characterizations, and poignant digs at all the old-school gaming bloggers. I especially like the ones that hit close to home. I'm guilty of almost all the infractions he charges OSR bloggers with (except I haven't made a retro-clone; yet...).

One point in particular made on YDiS is about the minuscule and barely relevant rules differences between the original set through 3.5 edition. (It is true that 4th edition is just out in left field - a nearly complete departure from the original rules). With barely any effort and a tad bit of imagination you can pull a monster, a magic item, or even a whole adventure from something published in 1974 and play it with your 3.5 edition books. It really cracks me up to read on forums how worked up individuals will get over a weapon that does d6 damage in the Original Edition and the same weapon doing d8 damage in 3.5 edition.
This is the quote from YDiS that really got me:

If you do not have the imaginative gumption to bridge the insignificant mechanical gap between these [editions], then you should not be playing roleplaying games – you should be reading books. If you still need a creative outlet to express the glorious uniqueness that is you, write fanfic.

Ok, I'm going back to work on my retro-clone now. It's going to have the 3 truly true classes, and only the 3 truly true classes, and it will have hobbits, balrogs and banths. Oh, and all weapons will only do d6 damage, because I know you were very concerned about that.

Sometimes its good to laugh at yourself a little. ;)

Roslof

2011-03-23T23:57:00.000-07:00

This blog tends to focus a lot on the art of old school RPG's. With the passing of Jim Roslof I really am at a loss of words. The impact of his art direction has had a deep and lasting effect on my own art and the art of many successful fantasy illustrators today. It is relatively easy to focus on his art, but one of the most important things he did was hire amazing artists to illustrate the world of Dungeons &; Dragons.
He was in charge of the art department at TSR during its most important formative years and he was largely responsible for hiring Larry Elmore, Clyde Caldwell, Jeff Easley, Keith Parkinson, Tim Truman, Fred Fields, Brom, and others. These artists went on to not only define what James Maliszewski defines as the "silver age" of RPG's, but a whole generation of fantasy artists. A field of illustration that is still going strong. These artists influenced my own artistic direction. If you do an internet search of any of these artists you'll soon see the impact he had on imaginative fantasy art to this day.
He was criticized for his decision to hire Keith Parkinson, but Keith went on to have a fabulously successful career and influenced a generation of artists.
It took years for me to understand the influence Jim Roslof had on my career and the career of many artists working today. I will be forever indebted. Thanks Jim, and God bless your family!

Amazing Mapping Tool

2011-03-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

Radical.

WotRP: Zodangan battle ship sketches

2011-03-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Work continues on art for Warriors of the Red Planet. Fresh from my sketchbook are these concepts for Zondangan battleships. Note, these are just rough sketches - I'll take the best designs and do more polished drawings for the book.

John Carter of Mars - movie concept art

2011-03-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Artist extraordinaire Rafael Kayanan worked on pre-production for a previous version of a John Carter of Mars movie. From what I understand the current director, Andrew Stanton, had a different direction in mind so none of Rafael's concepts are being used. He posted a lot of the amazing concept work he did on his blog. It would have been an interesting and very good take on Burrough's Mars stories.

Words cannot express...

2011-03-12T23:01:00.000-08:00

The shock, grief, and horror I feel for the kind families and folks of Japan suffering through such tragedy. Operation Blessing has long been my charity of choice for international disasters, they are a remarkable organization with the ability to respond and get into tough places quickly and efficiently with urgently needed supplies, medication, and aid. Won't you help them with their relief efforts in Japan? Any little bit helps.

Fractured Dimensions

2011-03-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

Fractured Dimensions is a new miniatures company specializing in the "old-school" look and feel. They have posted on their blog a few sneak previews of the miniatures they are working on.

I am particularly fond of the classic looking Orc and Hobgoblin miniatures:

I will be following their blog avidly, and of course purchasing the miniatures as soon as they are available.

Whatever happened to the "pig-looking" orcs anyways? Nowadays they've just gotten...weird.

Hot Elf Chick!

2011-03-10T17:50:00.000-08:00

Hot Elf chick bids you welcome to the OSR.

Top 10 d20 Products

2011-03-10T15:40:00.000-08:00

Frog Gods Games just announced the imminent release of Tome of Horrors Complete , since the original Tome of Horrors was one of the best d20 products published (before the tidal wave of d20 crap flooded the game stores and conventions) I thought it would be interesting to do a top ten list of d20 products.

The "d20" period of D&D is special to me because it brought me back to my first RPG love: D&D. I had long since replaced D&D with Call of Cthulhu, GURPS, Rifts, and any number of other RPG's. D&D3 "d20" reminded me of how much I liked the original D&D.

At first things seemed great, the core books wore solid, well thought out, and had some interesting innovations on the original system. But it didn't take long before the avalanche of utter garbage from the "d20 community" and the official published products themselves that I was overwhelmed, and sought refuge in those humble 3 booklets from the Original Edition.

Still, I have to give credit to "d20", it made me once again interested. And, while I don't have as much time these days to play, I still get to enjoy the occasional D&D game and exercise my imagination.

D&D Player's Handbook 3.0. Don't knock this choice, it set the bar for d20 products to follow and opened the gates for fans and pros alike to start publishing d20 products of their own (and really, it was the start of the OSR if you think about it). Among the innovations I like are: removed the awkward "Advanced" moniker, just calling it "D&D" was a good move. Ascending AC, prestige classes, spells organized alphabetically (rather than by class), simplifying all the nasty things that can happen to a character into "Conditions", and removing sub-classes. Sure there was plenty to hate: Feats turned the game into a stat-block nightmare, attacks-of-opportunity were unintelligable, but overall it was a good refreshing of D&D.
Tome of Horrors. This book felt as close to a 1st edition product as anything published during the d20 period. It brought back so many classics from the original Fiend Folio and was both nostalgic and contemporary - a difficult task to achieve.
Arcana Unearthed. Monte Cook's magnum opus of a campaign setting. He pulled out all the stops to show what he thought the original Unearthed Arcana could have been, but wasn't. This book is well worth reading and drawing inspiration from. While I wouldn't play it as is, it certainly has provided inspiration for my own campaigns. (Actually, I want to say Arcana Evolved, because Monte Cook's revision of Arcana Unearthed was superior in almost every way. Really, a great book.)
Call of Cthulhu d20. Of all the d20 books published by Wizards, this one struck me as the best. I love the original CoC and it is my choice of system when running a Cthulhu game, but for pulling Cthulu-esque elements into a D&D game the CoC d20 was the perfect resource. My only complaint is they got too clever with the layout - all the silly diagonal text layout was unnecessary and made it harder to read. But the quality of the writing and the design are superb.
Delta Green d20. During the d20 heyday a lot of publishers would slap the d20 logo on anything, but Delta Green wasn't like that - it was a premium quality product.. The Delta Green supplement to the original Call of Cthulhu was one of the best written, well conceived RPG products ever designed. Pagan Publishing found a way to turn CoC into a sustainable campaign. It was creepy, brilliant, intriguing, and fun. The d20 version maintained all the quality of the original without compromises.
Midnight. Fantasy Flight Games published a dark d20 setting with a simple concept: what if in the Lord of the Rings Sauron won? Midnight is a campaign world where the "dark lord" won the great battle in the war of good vs. evil, and now the heroes (the players) live in fear and are part of a rag tag rebellion, it is just a great idea. I might be biased because I illustrated the original edition, but the concept was so strong and the setting so well conceived it all added up to a great game.
Mutants & Masterminds. The fact that Green Ronin continues to publish Mutants & Masterminds should tell you something. They found a way to take the d20 system and write, arguably, the best Superhero RPG out there. While Champions my be the, um, champion of "crunch", Mutants & Masterminds took the most familiar RPG system in the world - D&D - and turned it into one of the best superhero RPG systems you can imagine. I just love this game.
Magical Medieval Society. Written as if by serious historians and scholars as if magic really existed during the Medieval period. This product might seem tedious to others, but it takes the proposition of magic seriously and the ramifications it would have on a medieval society. It is one of the most brilliantly written RPG supplements of any period, not just d20.
Iron Kingdoms World Guide. Privateer Press was very smart in how it took advantage of the d20 open license. They published just a few EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY (yes, the all-caps was worth it) products and sold enough of them to fund their true ambitions: a cutting edge miniatures company. The writing, art, design, and layout of Privateer Press demonstrate a dedication to craftsmanship that tempts me to call them the Apple of the pen & paper games industry. Everything they published for d20: Monsternomicon, Witch Blade Saga, and Iron Kingdoms deserve a place on this list, if only there was room.
Pathfinder. Only because Paizo created something as close to the D&D Rules Cyclopedia for d20 as possible with all the power of modern graphics, game design, writing, and illustration they could muster. I just wish it wasn't in all in 9pt font, wall to wall text. But you still have to be impressed by that core book, it sums up just about everything and the quality is as good as it gets.

And that about finishes the top 10 products of the d20 era. Your mileage may vary.

Inspirational Image of the Week: Purple Worm!

2011-03-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

I always liked how this purple worm looks like an oversized earthworm with a gaping fang-filled maw.

Dream Cover- Frazetta

2011-03-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Of all the artist who have ever painted a fantasy image, Frazetta is by far my favorite. If I had the proverbial Time Machine, and could go back and design the covers of the original fantasy RPG books there is no doubt exactly who I wish illustrated them. As much as I love what Trampier did for the 1st edition PH cover, these are my ultimate dream covers:

The Best Graphic Novel You'll Read This Year

2011-03-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

Dark Horse comics has released a complete compilation of the John Carter of Mars: Warlord of Mars series into a trade paper back. I have heard complaints that it is only in black & white, but to me that is a feature! I love that it is only in b&w, I can savor every beautiful ink line from masters such as Rudy Nebres (besides, I have all the original comics). Best of all it is printed on smooth paper - the best for B&W reproduction. The quality is excellent.

In addition, the series is excellently written by Chris Claremont with an obvious affection for the master story teller: Edgar Rice Burroughs. I am really enjoying it, and you should to.

The Awesome Image on the Top Right of this Blog

2011-03-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

This is from an old TSR ad in the '70's I think. If you have any other cool TSR ads from the 70's feel free to send them to me. I like collecting them.

Red Seems to be Popular

2011-03-06T20:36:00.000-08:00

I think a vast majority of people were introduced to D&D in the early 80's by the Moldvay Basic edition. This makes the red version of the OSR logo the most popular version - as I see it posted on several blogs. (also, that is how it was first introduced). So, here is a red version of the cleaned up (I dare say "professional quality") of the OSR logo. Feel free to use it however you like.

Further Thoughts on S&W Complete Rulebook

2011-03-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

Thinking about what I wrote about the S&W Complete Rulebook I can better summarize my thoughts:
1. I don't like the layout
2. I like the writing
3. I wish it was actually more "complete" (or that it wasn't called complete, then there would be no confusion, it is actually Strunk & White's AD&D, in that case it's kinda cool)

The Link List is Growing

2011-03-06T19:04:00.001-08:00

I have been adding to the link list on this blog, every old-school, or remotely old-school related blog of quality I can find I add a link. So, do yourself a favor and click on a random link on the right and enjoy.

Bar Wench

2011-03-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

This illustration has always tickled me.

Thoughts on Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook

2011-03-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

I've had some time now to read through Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook, and played a few sessions using it. It is a solid well-written retro-clone, and extremely conservative in it's interpretation of the classic rules. But, for my own personal preferences I am going to pass on using this book anymore.

As readers of this blog may know, I started this blog because I was so impressed by the original Swords & Wizardry RPG. The writing was so efficient, it felt like the Strunk & White's version of OD&D. Yet still maintained enough character that it was enjoyable to read. The layout was clean, the font size ideal, the organization superb. I still use it as my primary reference during play.

I suspect the S&W Complete Rulebook is a reaction to the call for more information to fill the gaps left by the original S&W. What I saw as a virtue of the original I think was seen as a weakness by some critics. And I can certainly see how S&W could be a great foundation for a more complete edition. Which is why I was so excited to get and play it.

The cover was my first indication that something was wrong. While the art itself is perfectly fine, and the logo much more legible, it did not seem to fit the feel of the swords & sorcery world the original evoked. It felt more Cthulhu-esque.

Opening up the book I was greeted with a dense wall of 9pt text. This did not bode well.

I was hoping for an improvement, instead what I was seeing is something that looked less well layed out. Font sizing was unpleasant - body text too small, headers strangely too large, kearning and leading too tight. It all added up to a less pleasant reading experience, and less friendly for use at the gaming table.

The character class choices were fine: Assassin, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Magic-User, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Thief. Best thing is the avoidance of the Gygaxian "sub-class" nonsense. And I like that the first person "You are a..." was kept. But in order to cram so many classes into a small number of pages the spacing between paragraphs was removed (for example under Thief Class Abilities).

Races, similar to classes, had a fine set of choices: Dwarfs (I'm so used to Tolkien's Dwarves that Dwarfs sounds clumsy), Elves (why not Elfs?), Half-Elves, Halfings, and Humans. I wouldn't have minded a few more like Gnomes, Half-Orcs, and a personal favorite: Half-Ogres.

The multi-classing rules show where S&W is too conservative in its interpretation of its' source. I think they are still a mess and cause inequalities in character advancement and abilities. We had a Half-Elf Fighter/Magic-User who seemed to dominate the game. And this by a player who is usually a bit timid.

Alignment: this section didn't do much for me, but I loved the illustration on that page! In fact several of the illustrations were quite good.

The equipment section stands out. I like how a few more useful items were added and the list didn't turn into an everything-and-the-kitchen sink catalog.

Weight and movement section was very well written, and concise. This was perhaps one of the best summaries of what often turns into bogged-down bloat in other RPG's.

Combat presents 3 alternate methods, this coupled with the ascending/descending armor class options, makes the rulebook come across as indecisive and too much trying to please everyone, which usually ends up pleasing no one. I would prefer to see the designer choose the best one and stick with it. Optional rules are best left on the cutting room floor, or possibly as a free downloadable expansion.

High Level Adventuring: one of the things I expected from this book was, like the cover says, it would be "Complete". An impossible task for an RPG, but I would think the following things are essential for an RPG to have that moniker: cover all the classic classes, cover all the classic character races, cover all levels of play from beginning to "immortal", cover all regions of play from Dungeon, to Wilderness, to City, to Extra-Planar, and cover all forms of combat from martial to magical to psychic. Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook is far from complete in this aspect.

The last thing I'd want is an 800 page tome written in wall to wall 8pt font in order to be "complete", but I was hoping for something more complete and written in that wonderful "Strunk & White's" concise manner the first S&W RPG was written in.

I didn't mean for this to be a review, just some random thoughts, so I'm going to summarize now.

If this overview was too harsh, I didn't mean for it to be. It really is well written and a great addition to the retro-clones already available. It has a place on my gaming shelf, and I might occasionally pull it down to reference something. But, I don't plan to use it at the gaming table (though since it's on my iPad, I guess I will always have it available just in case).

Conan the Barbarian Poster

2011-03-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

Kind of cool.

OSR Manifesto

2011-03-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

Imagine it is summer of 1971. You and your friends enjoy playing wargames with lead miniatures, pencil, paper, and dice. You get this idea to add fantasy elements: elves, orcs, dragons to the game. Then you realize how cool it would be if each player just played one character instead of an army.

Next thing you know you've invented the world's first roleplaying game.

You quickly put together a rule set and get your friends to playtest the heck out of it. Play session after play session you refine and add to the rules while you map out an ominous mega-dungeon. BUT! You know the idea is hot and rush to market. You put together all your playtest notes into a rough manuscript and try to get it published. No one is interested, so you scrape the money together and publish it yourself!

People love the game and next thing you know you are selling copies of the game like crazy! Your company grows from you and a few family members and friends in a basement, to an office to much more!

How do you manage the growth of this phenomenally successful and crazy cool idea?

All right, let's return from fantasy land and come back to reality.

Presently you have the opportunity to add to this quirky and wonderful game. The OSR is an opportunity to re-invision how the original fantasy RPG, and it's children could be. And you can participate with your own designs. ePublishing has made it so easy.

On the excellent Maximum Rock and Roleplay blog, Chad Thorson has given the OSR community a brilliant "OSR" logo.

Here is the logo cleaned up in high resolution format. As a community perhaps we could establish a manifesto that adjudicates the use of this logo. You may freely use the OSR logo on your product given the following criteria:

The product is compatible with the original white box (or wood-grain box) edition of the worlds first and most famous fantasy RPG.
That's it.

I would go so far as to say Blue Box through 1st edition are in most ways an extension, and generally compatible with the original edition. Even 2nd and 3rd edition at least payed homage to the original. So the definition is fairly flexible.

As long as you hold to this criteria you can use this logo on your OSR product. What do you think?

Hand Drawn Maps are the Best

2011-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

As much as I love what digital tools can do for us, there is nothing more compelling to me than a map hand drawn from the imagination of some artist or designer or other creative type.

In an era where we see more fantasy maps than we can shake a stick at, it is always refreshing to see a hand drawn map. Especially when they are as well done as these maps by Mike posted on his Sword +1 blog.

Inspirational Image of the Week: Esteban Maroto

2011-03-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

If you're reading this blog you probably have an affinity for what some would consider really bad amateur art. The art by Greg Bell in the original D&D books fill you with warm fuzzy feelings. The art by artists such as Sutherland, McLean, and La Force send a thrill up your leg like Chris Matthews watching an Obama speech. Yeah, I know how you feel, I get the same thrill. That warm feeling is called nostalgia, it's a wonderful thing.

Well, interestingly, I only recently discovered Esteban Maroto - the ridiculously talented artist who Greg Bell unapologetically lifted from. Maroto really was a very skilled artist, and I'm surprised it took so long for me to discover his work. This artist has molded my aesthetic more than I knew. Comparing his art to contemporary fantasy artists I'd say he was ahead of his time in many ways, and holds his own quite well. Even in this digital age that has allowed artists to be more prolific than ever.

James Purefoy on "John Carter of Mars"

2011-03-01T13:37:00.000-08:00

James Purefoy plays Kantos Kan in Andrew Stanton's John Carter of Mars, He drops a couple of interesting tidbits in this interview for Ironclad (which looks like a pretty cool movie itself). His comments on JCoM is towards the end of the lengthy interview if you want to just skip down.

The Rise of ePublishing

2011-02-28T22:47:00.000-08:00

I was really disappointed when Hasbro discontinued PDF sales. It never occurred to me that they would do something so stupid, unfortunately the only PDF I bought was the 1st edition DMG. I had planned to buy more, but TOO LATE!

There is money in my bank account that would be in Hasbro's bank account now. Thanks Hasbro!

Every product ever published by TSR/Wizards should be for sale as a PDF on Kindle, iBooks, Smashwords, RPGnow, wherever! Each title may not mean a lot of money, but cumulatively that's hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars not flowing to Hasbro.

I guess I can't be too hard on them, many traditional publishers are having a hard time coming to terms with the new market. Random House is only just now starting to get a clue. The Kindle is cheaper than ever, the iPad is ridiculously popular and represents the future of computing for most people, and we RPG fans would just be happy to have all of our precious little books all on our devices of choice for instant viewing and enjoyment.

I have my old-school collection on my iPad, and that's the only rulebook I need to bring to the game table, with some paper, pencil, and dice and I'm ready to go.

If anyone doubts the power of epublishing they only need to look at new and upcoming authors. Amanda Hocking makes more than most of us will in a lifetime, and she's never been published by a "real" publishing company. All she does is sell her novels on kindle for 99 cents a copy.

What I am saying my friends is the OSR has a future. And it is ePublishing.

Petty Gods Cover

2011-02-27T21:32:00.000-08:00

By now most of you have probably already seen the preview of the Petty Gods cover over at Grognardia. I appreciate that most people seem to like it.

When starting this cover I was trying to choose between three different ideas. Should I do a bunch of petty gods front and center? Or perhaps I could show Azwa (the petty god I illustrated for the interior) turning a fighter into stone? Or should I show some intrepid adventurers in a world filled with petty gods?

As you can see, the third idea is the one I chose. There is still an homage to Azwa in the great stone head in the background. But, if you look carefully you may notice lots of faces of petty gods hidden amid the things of the world. The story is quite simple, I hope you enjoy it.

Inspirational Image of the week

2011-02-25T22:48:00.000-08:00

Original drawing for Q1: Queen of the Demonweb Pits by Jim Roslof

Jim Roslof

2011-02-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Pray for Jim Roslof. Word is he is gravely ill. He art directed some of the greatest art in the history of D&D.

2011 Predictions

2010-12-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

At great risk, with the likely result of being completely wrong on all counts, these are my predictions for 2011.

-Hasbro sells off all rights to D&D.

-OSR continues to grow and more innovative products continue to be produced by the fans.

-more local hobby game stores close

-Obama's college transcripts are opened and it's revealed he was president of the college D&D club. (meanwhile birthers claim this proves he was really born in Greyhawk)

There is only D&D...

2010-12-31T16:35:00.000-08:00

All other RPG's are just variants.

Races systemetized

2010-12-30T00:02:00.000-08:00

Some time ago I had considered what basic classes might have looked like if they had received the same Gygaxian systematization that much of the other elements of OD&D had gotten. I was a little surprised at the positive response to that post and thought I'd try my hand at doing the same thing to races.

Well, I don't think the races map nearly as well, or maybe I'm just not doing it right. Here is a diagram to illustrate a first pass at the idea. Maybe you have suggestions to improve this or think it is too ridiculous an idea to even attempt.

There is definitely some wonkiness with mapping the six attributes to the basic races.

Dungeon Master Fatigue and Why Petty Gods is such a Cool Idea!

2010-12-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has had the task of being Dungeon Master for any period of time knows what Dungeon Master fatigue is. Players will drain your mind and spirit given enough time. Week after week you dredge your brain for cool ideas to bring to the game table and night after night players take the game in directions you never expected forcing you to be quick on your feet and constantly come up with cool new ideas to keep everyone entertained. It is demanding, but rewarding work. Penny Arcade has recently featured this idea in their typically brilliant humorous way.

When the eloquent and verbose James Maliszewski proposed the idea of Petty Gods I was immediately excited! What a great resource for fatigued DM's! And judging by the few submissions that have been previewed my excitement appears to have been well warranted. What I like is how the petty gods are perfect for filling those little holes in the adventure where something interesting needs to be in order to keep the game fun and moving.

So I have contributed my abilities to the project and am looking forward to the final result.

Here are the pages from my sketchbook from before I did before the finish, for those interested in such things: