[From the Mailbag] Pre-School Happiness

Here I thought I'd actually get a summer vacation. Little did I know that my new profession/career choice would take a drastic chunk out of the hoped-for much-needed vacay.

Turns out that 11 out of the past 15 work days? Yeah...spent in faculty- and pre-first-day-of-school meetings. 8 hours per day. Very little time to set up my classroom. (Monday and Tuesday of this week, actually.)

But Friday when I crawled into the house, i found a little something courtesy of the Manor.  +Tim Shorts  pulled off another miracle.  Two amazing micro-adventures and a great NPC. And since we're playing this weekend, I'm gonna throw these at my players. THANKS, TIM!

Now...back to my keyboard.  Had an inspiration for a new caster class... it should be making an appearance in the next Stronghold 'Zine!

[From the Mailbag] Happy Monday Goodies!

I decided today that I need to sweep the leaves accumulated at the door of the Stronghold and clear some dust from my head. It's been a LONG time, relatively.

Changing careers at mid-life is difficult; it's even worse when dealing with depression and some medical issues as well. Walking away from 20 years of legal education/experience and deciding to go back to school and get a teaching certificate has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life.

Let's see: what else to catch up on? The 5E campaign was interesting, to say the least...except it died, badly. A DM trying to run two groups of 5 each. Other than my 35+ years, and the DM's experience (He's 20-something years old), NO ONE had ever played before. It devolved from every day, to every other day, to maybe once a week... Needless to say no one's made a peep since the first of June. So...I'm pretty sure it's dead.

Now to plug some new game stuff:

First of all: a shipment of goodies from the Manor. +Tim Shorts   can always be relied on to make a day better and to produce amazing stuff. Today's envelope of joy is no different.

• The Ghoul Nest: a laminated card with a great side adventure and a unique monster. I think I'll have to drop this into my family game. My kids don't face enough undead in their gaming.
• NPC Card: Blake, a 4th-level mage. A great resource, complete with stats and backstory.
• Death Coins: a Micro-Adventure. Comes complete with a great map, great magic items, and a compelling story. I can't wait to drop this one on my group; it's just enough—at face value—for a good night's worth of adventuring, but could be used as the basis for a much longer adventure or the kick-off for a campaign.

I would highly recommend signing up for Tim's Patreon campaign so that you can get this great stuff for yourselves: www.patreon.com/Gothridge. Go there. Now.

Wait...don't leave yet. Also in the mail was the fulfillment of a Kickstarter that I've greatly anticipated: Planet Mercenary Based on the webcomic "Schlock Mercenary" by Howard Tayler and set in that universe, it came with some great add-ons and looks ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. The ruleset was written by Alan Bahr and Howard Tayler.... I'll be honest...father-type stuff has kept me from cracking it open yet, so I can't give you a review yet. Knowing Alan's gaming cred with +Gallant Knight, and knowing his experience (most recently: "Tiny Frontiers" and "Tiny Frontiers: Mecha and Monsters"), I'm sure it's going to be terrific. It's already gotten some great reviews, including one from Steve Jackson.

And now, it's time for dinner, then settle down in the 100º-plus-temperatures to plan some characters' imminent demise.

[Found Items] The Toad God Lives!!!

Some 1,859 days ago (5 years, 1 month, and 2 days) +Tim Shorts  unleashed upon the world a vision of amphibian animus that inspired its own adventure creation challenge, not to mention a 20-page bit of magnificence by +Dyson Logos .

Today there is undeniable proof that the Toad God lives!

This appeared overnight in the Stronghold's garden..

(Actually, lest too much arcane mystery be attributed to the Toad God and its power strengthened thereby, I will admit that I was walking through the local Kroger's store and found him on sale in the garden aisle. At that moment, he had to be mine. ...Come to think of it, the intensity of the attraction and need...perhaps there's a bit of the arcane at work after all.)

Not wanting my children to worry about the devilish divinity of this creature, I immediately dubbed it "King Toadankhamun, Pharoah of the Frogs."

 It may be easier to see in this picture: the smug, self-satisfied and satiated expression on his face. Look at the undisguised evil in his eyes and malicious pleasure on his face, as if he'd just finished swallowing a neighborhood dog, cat, or small child.

Now, the Mistress of the Stronghold—that beautiful, loving half-elf who stole my heart—isn't quite as enamored of the presence of the Toad God, especially as one of the first things that visitors would see upon arrival. (I suspect it has more to do than the potential threat posed to her beloved miniature yard moose that inhabit this garden.) As a result, the Toad Goad may soon be banished to the rear of the Stronghold where he poses little danger to anything but the occasional intruder. But he is here, now. And what better impetus could I have to revisit those various adventures mentioned above?

[From the Mailbag] Kickstarter TPK Happiness!

If you've been around the internet for any length of time, I'm sure you're aware that Kickstarter projects are a mixed bag. Particularly, it seems, where RPG materials are concerned. Some are just bad ideas to begin with. Some are good ideas, but don't get the backing they need or deserve. Some are great ideas that fund--sometimes spectacularly--and are never heard from again.

Then there's the good stuff. Ahhh, yes. The good stuff.

Look. There are some good Kickstarter campaigns that make wild promises and never seem to deliver. I think we know of at least one "infinite" example. The names associated with these campaigns become watch-words. Just head over to Tenkar's Tavern and you'll learn about a few from his excellent and often money-saving reviews. There are some campaigns that fund and rush to get a project out the door...and it winds up crappy disappointing less than it could have been. I've seen a few of those.

Then there are those campaigns from individuals and/or companies that you can trust; who will fund, communicate, and provide product ... and will take their time to do so to ensure a quality product.

In my opinion, that's TPK Games in a nutshell.

TPK has a great reputation in my house. My kids know (and fear) the company logo. But they also know that it means fun, creative, and imaginative gaming material. And quality.

This is what I received in the mail just ten minutes ago.

 Yeah. So eager to share that I just pulled everything out onto my lap/keyboard and took a photo. The main product of the KS: Fen of the Five-Fold Maw adventure and chase cards. Thrown in as incentives are copies of Feats Reforged Vols II and III. (I already have Vol. I.) And, as a bonus, a TPK pin. Here's a close-up of Fen and the chase cards (and pin).

Brian and his team over at TPK are great people. Not only are they creative and know how to put out a good product, they're honest and communicate with their customers. Fen was a little late coming out in hard copy, largely because of some production issues on the printer's end. But TPK sent out constant and frequent updates, enough so that I never once pictured them sitting on a beach in Cabo drinking umbrella drinks. I cannot stress this enough: TPK Games stuff is so good and they're such a good company that I'll wait patiently and without complaint for their product. Period. They're currently running a new KS campaign, called Wardens of the Wild. Just as soon as my next paycheck comes in, I'm hitting the pledge button on this one. I trust them enough to do so on this elf-centric product, even though dwarves are more my style, simply because TPK MEANS QUALITY.

And if you haven't already picked up a copy of Fen of the Five-Fold Maw for yourself, hit the link and get one NOW.

Now you'll have to excuse me while I go seek out a cold beverage, a shady spot, and start a read-through of Fen. I'll see you all later.

(Go get a copy. Seriously.)

Long Live The King! (Flayed Though He May Be....)

My friend, +Tim Shorts from The Manor and GM Games has released a new nugget of S&W happiness.

The Flayed King is his latest offering. It's a 'zine/adventure that's once again up to Tim's normal EXCELLENT standards. It's  also sufficiently gruesome fun, even if you happen to be one that judges a booklet by its cover, that is. (A cover, I might add, that was birthed from the talented hands and warped magnificent mind of the great +Jim Magnusson. You could drop this into any ongoing campaign as a side quest or run it as a one-shot.

It's on sale and (at least for now) it's FREE! FREE! FREE! Head on over here and pick yourself up a copy.

"Fun" vs. "Balance"

As I was thinking back upon last weekend's 3.x session, and reliving the sheer hopelessness of the situation with my (all-too tolerant) wife, one of my kids said, "Dad, that just doesn't seem fair that Uncle L would throw that at you." It was then that I realized--truly realized--for the first time that there was a generation gap in the definition of "fun."

Don't get me wrong: several of our former players ditched the group and dumped 3.x play in favor of 4E because, and I quote, "Third edition is broken; there's just no balance to some things." BALANCE became a four-letter word to our gaming group. Seriously, everything needed balance for these players. Challenge ratings had to beclosely monitored and followed TO THE LETTER. Everyone needed to receive a powerful magical item if one character received one. We were (nearly) always assured of a victory, knowing that the villain/foe would be BALANCED. After ten years of gaming together, the one time we didn't actually see "balance" was when the DM at the time decided to throw everything he had at us as a "I'm leaving and want to show you how broken 3.x is!" effort.

The fact is, it probably would have been fun if we hadn't been on the DM's personal railroad.

You see, to me (and to most of my group) fun does not necessarily equate to victory. Certainly not "certain victory." We've long accepted the fact that everything in the world doesn't scale with our character level. We're going to be handed tasks and missions that are WAY out of our league. "Running away" is as much of a part of role play as "kicking butt and taking names." You learn from each.

Picture from Exfanding Your Horizons
by Flashman85

Let me explain simply: Just because the DM puts a dragon in front of your characters, doesn't mean he's going to let you win. Period.

Look at the difference in size. Dragons are majestic. Unless you have a group of characters that are equally majestic (and not just egotistical) then "running away" should be considered a viable option. You can always regroup and come back later.

I'm not alone in this. Consider this quote from the author of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen (5E), Steve Winter:

A mistake (from my perspective) that many people seem to be making is assuming that every situation in D&D should be "fun." If my ambition is to have nonstop "fun," I'd be better off playing Lego Star Wars or Whack-a-Mole. D&D can also be thrilling, frightening, inspiring, maddening, depressing, frustrating, immensely gratifying -- name a reaction on the human emotional scale and there's probably a place for it in D&D. The match against Cyanwrath was never meant to be "fun." It was meant to trigger an emotional response -- anger, even hate, and a desire for revenge against the Cult of the Dragon. I haven't seen much to indicate that it isn't doing that.

Amen. Even "frustrating" D&D can be fun, if only in retrospect. Frightening or depressing? Yep, but they're still moments to reminisce about later.

And before I get called a hypocrite for saying these experiences can be edifying in nearly the same breath that I said the railroad campaign was not, let me point out a key difference: our responses, reactions, etc., were all scripted for us. We had no chance given to us to run away. (We even tried to, individually, commit character suicide at one point. It wasn't allowed because it wasn't in the script.)

Of course, thus is only my 2¢ worth. I realize there are as many ways of having fun as there are players. I'm not saying that this is BADFUN or WRONGPLAY...just that, I suppose, that younger players may have different expectations than an old Grognard. When you have some of each of those parties entering the same game, you mp (as DM) need to be aware, and should set forth your expectations regarding "balance" and "fairness" at your table.

[From the Mailbag] Starter Adventures

Look what was waiting for me after a miserable day at the office...Tim Shorts' Starter Adventures!!

I took advantage of the holiday sales over at Lulu to get my copy. I haven't even opened it yet; wanted to show it off too much first. From all indications, though, it's a great book. Knowing Tim's abilities and his other works, I have no doubt that I'll find great use in this.

And actually, my reaction when I saw the Lulu box was close to this (although the sound and video quality on the clip are crap):


**EDIT: It sometimes helps to add the image when you type: "Look what I got!" Sigh.**

[From the Mailbag] MYTHOARD!

I just received the inaugural Mythoard package/bundle in the mail today. Great stuff. Really great stuff. Talk about an early Christmas; my wife suggested I leave it under the tree for a week.

Pshaw.

The first thing I saw coming out of the envelope was a poster of two baby phoenixes, courtesy of Baby Bestiary.

Next out was a book: 10+ Treasures by David Guyll & Melissa Fisher, published by Awful Good Games. Designed for Dungeon World, at first glance, most--if not all--of these items are easily translated to any OSR or 3.x version of that one RPG. Not only does the book come with 30+ detailed treasure items, there's also a section that walks through item creation, and the theory behind it. Excellent stuff.

Then there was a postcard from the incomparable Jim Magnusson. This postcard features the Mushroom King. As one of Jim's Patreons, I already received a copy of this; however, one can never have too many--it just means another framed piece of art for my office. (Let my clients figure THAT out.)

Also included was a pack of Blue Dungeon Tiles by Red Kobold. I didn't have the chance to support these when they came up on Kickstarter, as I was low on funds. I wish I'd made the effort; these look GREAT. They're double-sided, usable with wet-erase, dry-erase, or permanent markers. 4x4 grids of corridors, rooms, and stairways. I'll definitely be saving up to grow my collection of these babies.

Last, but not least, Tim Shorts' Mythoard Exclusive labor of love: Stone Fields of Azoroth. Three separate books outline the environs: The village of Bad Water, the Last Temple of Praxus, and the Prison of Azoroth. Each one comes chock-full of NPCs, flavor, and maps. Everything you've come to expect from Tim, and more. You won't be disappointed. Well, I guess you will...unless you were one of the subscribers to Mythoard.

Then, down in the bottom corner of the envelope were three little beauties. A random d20 and two random d6. Ain't they purty? They wanted to get photographed just as soon as they came out of the wrapping. As you know, I can never have too many dice. These will cap off my 2014 fairly well.

Thanks to Jarrod Shaw as well as Kevin Chenevert and all the other contributors. My day has been made! If you haven't already checked out Mythoard, do it now. Sign up. Well, as long as you don't take MY bundle.

[Found Item Friday] El Diablo Cometh!

I dropped by my FLGS this morning, thinking as I got out of my car that I should leave my wallet under the seat. After all, I really couldn't afford much of anything. I mean, NOTHING at all.

I should have listened to my doubts.

Well, maybe; maybe not. I went in looking for a copy of the 2nd Edition AD&D title, The Complete Book of Dwarves. I was going through my shelves earlier this week and realized that my copy was missing. At least, I'm fairly sure I had a copy. The FLGS usually has an eclectic mix of out-of-print titles from earlier editions. They didn't have that title (although they did have The Complete Book of Psionics (which I'm not interested in) and The Complete Book of Fighters (which I already have)) but they did have a couple titles that piqued my interest. Titles that I got for around 60% of cover price (even the marked-down price was discounted for me).

First up was the Diablo II: Diablerie. One shelf down was the Diablo II: To Hell and Back. Both are 3.x supplements released by WotC, meant to build off of the popularity of the Diablo II video game. The first, the Diablerie is more of a brief "setting" book. Within its 96 pages you can find character classes for Diablo-specific classes, such as the Amazon, necromancer, and sorceress. There's some equipment lists and a bestiary. A blank character sheet template in the 3.x style. Even a sample adventure--five pages--that sets out a "How To" for the uninitiated (with differing levels of encounters: Basic Level, Nightmare Level, and Hell Level), explaining how to prepare an encounter for the Diablo-verse. Most of the book is geared this way: playing in the Diablo-verse.

The To Hell and Back volume is a detailed 192-page "module" set in the Diablo-verse. It contains a bigger bestiary, equipment lists, and magic items. I'm not sure that I'd ever use it as a stand-alone adventure path. I'll more likely cut it into pieces and use those pieces as drop-in encounters in our regular adventure. However, I can also imagine sitting the guys down one night and describing how they wake up next to a shimmering portal, a portal which disappears even as they awaken. They find themselves in a small hamlet, one terrorized by demonic creatures that have taken over a nearby church and accompanying catacombs. Heh. Just thinking about it makes it more intriguing.... Hmm....

They were previously-owned by the same person, as I found scribbled notes on steno-pad paper in several spots in both books. Also slipped inside To Hell and Back is a print-out of the web enhancement "The Secret Cow Level" that anyone familiar with Diablo will recognize. There's also a couple of old PC character sheets: Krump, the human barbarian (played by "Jake") and Isabell, the human Amazon (played by "Sally").

I'd be interested to know if anyone's played around with these books. If you have, drop me a line in the comments. Let me know your experiences, would you?

[Found Item Friday] Pristine PHB!

In my city, we have a used bookstore that has been in operation since 1929. It was housed in a GREAT location in downtown, three floors of new and used books, rare books, odd books. Especially great was the basement--meandering corridors, random rooms filled with ramshackle shelving, everything was just on the edge of controlled chaos. It was always great to go in, if even to browse. (It is said that one of the Magistrate Judges at the nearby Federal Courthouse made a visit there every lunchtime of every weekday of his tenure as judge until his death a few years back. I believe it, based on what I knew of the man.) Recently the third-generation owners made a controversial decision and moved the bookstore from its historic location to a nearby mall location.

My post is not about that bookstore.

Instead, it's about the location. A newer, Johnny-come-lately (relatively) bookstore seized on the opportunity and consolidated their three or four smaller stores and moved into the space. The shelving is all a bit newer and more modern, but their selection is just as eclectic as the "historic" bookstore. I hadn't had a chance to visit since the move; all that changed this morning.

About ten years ago, the original owners added a coffee shop to one side of the store front. I've never frequented the place, mostly because I don't drink coffee, but also because their baked goods were exorbitantly-priced, mediocre-quality items. But I had a meeting yesterday and they wanted to meet there to chat.

This was a mistake.

After the meeting, I wandered the aisles. Call it fate, call it karma...I wandered straight to the "game" section. Most of it was Call of Duty guides (and other various video games). But then...the infamous binding jumped off the shelf at me.

Now, you may ask yourself why I'm so excited by this, even though you should know I'm a big 3.x fan. I'd be a lot happier if it was a 3.5 PHB, but I'm still happy with this. Why?

1. It's in pristine condition.
   
2. It's for the use and education of my kids.
   
3. It's "close enough" to 3.5 or Pathfinder. Especially for my kids.
   
4. Did I mention it was in pristine condition? The binding is still tight and the Character Creator disk in the back? Still sealed in the plastic envelope. The Wizards of the Coast order form is also still folded inside the back cover.
   
5. Oh, and it was only $6.00.
   
6. Yes, I said $6.000
   

Yeah. I'm pretty pleased with myself. They also had a 3.0 DMG in the same condition; sadly, I only had so much cash with me yesterday. I figure the PHB will get more use anyway.

Also grabbed was this little beauty: "In the Belly of the Beast" by Mike Mearls. It was only $1.00 and in very good condition; the pull-out pages of NPCs, etc. was still intact, for example. I grabbed it for that fact alone. It's more of a political intrigue than my normal fare, but it still has some good fodder for combat and adventure too. It's got some good, dangerous NPCs with some good backstory; they'll take a little beefing-up, as the equipment lists are fairly generic. Maybe it'll be good for my players to do a little bit more role-playing; it requires the careful negotiation and manipulation of three rival factions who are all ready to fight. Hmm. I'll just have to find the right place to drop it into a campaign.

Unfortunately, the store is now on my radar. NOT good for my wallet.

[From the Mailbag] Manor Micro-Adventure

Look what came in the mail today!


Yay me!

(Yeah, I actually said "Yay me"...so sue me.)

Gotta love them Patreon perks. Map goodness, micro-adventure goodness, and my friend Tim Shorts' warped mind-- all wrapped into one. And let's not forget the joys of getting something useful and fun in the mail instead of another overdue bill.

Guess work is on hold for a little while today while I read through the Hideout of the Long Dead Mardrid. That's OK. That foreclosure will hold off just a little while longer.

Oh, and if you want cool stuff like this in YOUR mailbox -- and who wouldn't -- head on over to Patreon and sign up to support Tim's work!

EDIT: I should note that the vertical lines in the pictures are a product of a bad camera and low lighting and not due to any defect in the actual product. Sorry, Tim.

Mail Call!

Over the weekend, I received a Mail Call extravaganza.

OK, see, that implies that I received a hefty-sized amount of mail. I don't mean to imply that. I just mean that what I got in the mail was terrific.

A week or so ago I finally had enough disposable income to jump on-board a couple of Patreon funding projects. The first one was Tim Shorts' Micro Adventures efforts. Anyone who knows Tim from The Manor 'zine knows that he does good work.

In the mail I received three of these micro adventures--two copies of #3 and one of #5. (As you may know, Tim and I have this running joke about me getting two copies of everything he does.) These babies are fantastic! They're ideal for a little short side adventure; I can even see using these as adventure hooks to something bigger.

The first one he sent was his "The Pig and the Ogre" micro adventure while the second one was entitled "Ghost Ship." For patrons of his efforts, he sends out 4" x 6" copies of these adventures--hand-drawn color map on one side and flavor on the other. The copies are laminated, both to protect them and to enable you to use grease pencil or dry-erase markers to customize them and make notes for your own campaign use. Initial reviews suggest that 30-45 minutes of game play can be culled from these little gems. I'm guessing that a good DM could stretch that as necessary.

I can't wait to take over the DM screen in my group sso that we can incorporate some of these adventures. Meanwhile, I'll just have to content myself with reading them over and over.

If you haven't already, please consider following the above link over to Tim's Patreon page and throw him some monetary love. The quality of the product--both physically and intellectual--is top notch.

Post-FantasyCon Catch Up

It's been a hectic couple of months around the Stronghold. Health issues have rebounded and expanded, while stressful life- and career-related problems have stayed fairly constant. I still haven't paid myself a paycheck in three months. More ecclesiastical duties heaped on my shoulders as well.

Sigh.

This shirt may be my new favorite!

But we had scrimped and saved and, for our "summer stay-cation," attended the inaugural three-day FantasyCon, as well as the 67th annual WesterCon, both in Salt Lake City. We made it to both the inaugural Salt Lake Comic-Con last fall and the "FanX" version of the Comic-Con in the spring.

Yes, Salt Lake City hosted three fantasy/sci-fi conventions in the last 9 months. (Not counting WesterCon or LTUE.)

The Comic-Con experiences were a lot of fun, even if you had to endure a LOT of people. I hate crowds, so it was a real downer for me. But it was a blast to be around the cosplayers, the vendors, and the celebrities. Plus, I grew up with one of the founders. So, I thought that this newcomer upstart, FantasyCon, had a lot to prove.

Turns out, IMHO, that they instead raised the bar for Comic-Con to meet.

Yep. I said that. Despite being on July 4th weekend, and despite not having the benefit of public transportation ON the 4th, there was a pretty good turnout. Around 50K is the last estimate I saw. While not Comic-Con numbers, it was a reasonable result for a holiday and a convention lacking the "Comic-Con" branding. Of course, the smaller numbers were a definite plus for me. I think the planning and mechanics were better than Comic-Con, as were the panels and the exhibits. (Although some of the volunteers were trumped-up little Nazis with delusions of grandeur. Also, I didn't like being searched upon entry. Comic-Con didn't bother to check for my concealed carry; FantasyCon almost made me surrender my grandfather's pocketknife. Guess where I felt safer?)

This guy sums it up pretty well. The LARPing was amazing. As were the displays and all the "extra-curricular" stuff. It was fun to walk through the Hall and feel the thumping of the kettle drums coming from the battle arena and, simultaneously, hearing the clangs of hammers on anvils from the on-site blacksmiths. Then to randomly hear the notes of a bagpipe echoing through the Hall above everything?

The guest list was pretty stunning, too, especially when comparing it to the guests that Salt Lake Comic-Con has announced. FantasyCon had a pretty hefty line-up of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit actors. Heck, they had Elijah Wood (yes, Frodo) DJ their opening night party. The day after that was announced, Salt Lake Comic-Con announced who? Oh, yeah. Smallville's Lex Luthor. Ho-hum.

As I said, FantasyCon really raised the bar.

Of course, getting to meet some childhood and longtime heroes of mine didn't hurt. I'll have to share my conversations with John Rhys-Davies, Sylvester McCoy, and Claudia Christian. But that's for another time. Suffice it to say that not only did I have a longer beard than Gimli, but Sallah (the finest digger in Cairo) told me I had a beautiful family and took the time to speak to each of my children (and forced the photographer to break the rules about the number of people in one paid picture and forced him to take another photo). The Seventh Doctor showed me on my Day of the Doctor shirt exactly where his TARDIS was parked. And Susan Ivanova was calling us "her family" by the end of the weekend.

While there, I increased my gaming inventory. A local game store--that has heretofore gone unnoticed by me--had a booth and were running a 20% off sale. I was tempted to pick up a couple of Pathfinder tomes, but even at that price, I would have quickly blown my budget. Instead, I picked up a couple sets of dice...they were pretty and hey, as you know, I can never have too many dice. Here they are, in all their polyhedral glory: they come from Chessex, of course. "Silver Volcano (speckled) and "Purple-Teal/Gold (gemini)" dice sets, shown in that order. These latter ones are the first ones I saw, from quite a distance away. They grabbed my eyes and held on for dear life. (Of course, it didn't hurt that  They're also ones my wife fell in love with. I think she thinks I'm going to give them to her.

Hah.

Because, hey, dice. Am I right?

There was also a booth for an outfit called "Dark City Games." I didn't know anything about them, but their booth signage boasted "solo and single-player" games. The packaging was sufficiently retro to catch my attention: they looked for all the world like a 'zine stuffed into a plastic zipper bag. Now, when I go to conventions, I collect business cards. I collect them like crazy. I'd rather do my research online than be harangued by a salesperson in a crowded space. Plus, if I do see something I like, I can always get more stuff later. But all these people had on their counter space was some resin scenery, some WotC miniatures, and a display of their own wares. It looked like they had some fantasy, sci-fi, and steam-punk adventures, as well as a western and a horror title.

No business cards.  No flyers, No advertising materials of any kind.

So I asked for their contact information. The girl looked left and right and told me that, if I was really interested, she'd give me a free sample; the contact information was inside the product. Well, who was I to say "no"? So I grabbed their fantasy offering and thanked her. Come to find out, it's a $12.95 bit of gaming.  At first glance, it appears to be their own system; at least, I didn't see anything immediately obvious that denoted an outside system of any kind. It contains a 48-page booklet, outlining rules, backstory, maps, and the adventure itself; it also comes with a fairly nice (albeit small) sheet of counters and an 8"x14" map.

The map isn't great quality, but sturdy paper stock (not quite card stock weight). I haven't had a chance to really delve into the system or mechanics. Hey, if nothing else I can either throw it in the trailer for use while camping or use the background, flavor, and maps for my own world, throwing out their mechanics.

My wife was shocked. I told her, "Hey, it never hurts to ask, right?"


WesterCon was a fun experience, although the panel selections weren't as varied or numerous as those at, say, LTUE. I had the chance to sit down and talk to author Larry Correia for a while as well.

All in all, despite hurting my knee the second day (which prompted me to buy a sweet cane topped by the "Hound of the Baskervilles" in bronze), it was a terrific vacation and money well-spent.

2013 Totals

2013 is now a cold corpse, receding in the distance as we journey onward on horseback. I was doing some book-keeping/house-cleaning in the Stronghold and noticed that my "2013 Totals" table (on the sidebar) had not been updated since mid-June 2013. I also noticed that my "Year-To-Date Acquisitions" page had suffered in limbo since July 18, 2013.

So...I have no idea how my totals compared to 2012. But, I think I can be excused, seeing as how I purchased a law firm and became a self-employed small-business owner around the time that I stopped keeping track of my gaming milestones.

I'm going to try and do better this year. I make no promises; of course, I have no idea if any of you care about my self-congratulatory totals and inventories. If you do, then accept my promise in good faith. If not, continue to ignore my tallies.

One thing I think I will have to do is refrain from including links to products on my "Acquisitions" page. That alone was sufficiently time-consuming (between link-searching and coding) that it made updating the page a chore. Shopping sprees of free items on DriveThru RPG and similar sites also made upkeep generally confusing and frustrating, especially when you add in the afore-mentioned link-searching and coding.

As far as the biggies--Miniatures and Dice--I have found a rough estimate, made as of about mid-November: 125 miniatures and 33 dice. There were probably a few more before the end of the year, but that looks pretty good. I also hereby declare 2014 to be the year of the dice, apparently, as I've already doubled my total dice purchases for last year...I'm at 70 right now, after a mail delivery today.

I know I said this last year, but I'm going to shoot for some increased blogging. 2013 was a year of stress and frustration, both on a personal and professional level, even more so than 2012. I've already endured health issues, family issues, and financial issues and it shows no signs of slowing down. As always, though, the hobby and the friendships made through the hobby helped make it survivable.

Everyone join me in a toast: raise your dice cups high and keep them d20s dry. Here's to 2014!

[D&D 40th Anniversary Bloghop] Day Twenty-four

Day Twenty-four: First movie that comes to mind that you associate with D&D. Why?

Dragonslayer would be the answer to this question.

Why? Well, let me count the ways.

1. Hello, DRAGONS?!?
   
2. It came out during my gaming youth.
   
3. Umm... DRAGONS and DRAGON SLAYING?!?
   

Honestly, though...it was a tie between this movie and Clash of the Titans, also from 1981. I'm sure a lot of people would go with Clash first, because of the whole "lots of monsters, swordplay, adventure, quest-thingy" theme, whereas Dragonslayer is something of a different movie, in part because the hero is a bungling clod through most of the movie. (Before you object: Peter MacNicol. A dragonslayer? Really? In what universe does that make sense?)

On second thought, I'm firmly going with Dragonslayer. It edges out Clash of the Titans on several fronts. First, a golden mechanical owl. Secondly, Clash always gets all the love; Vermithrax Pejorative is due a little respect himself. Thirdly, you've got the bungling hero thrown at the dragon right off. First adventure, BAM! DRAGON.

Finally: "ten tons of rapacious reality. No maiden is safe."

Need I say more?

[D&D 40th Anniversary Bloghop] Day Twenty-three

Day Twenty-three: First song that comes to mind that you associate with D&D. Why?

Easy.

Hotel California, by the Eagles, 1977.

If you have to ask why... c'mon, have you never LISTENED to the lyrics? I know, I know, Don Henley has claimed that the song was an "interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles" and that "It's basically a song about the dark underbelly of the American dream and about excess in America." All that symbolism aside, I still say:

Why has no one written an adventure based on Hotel California?!?

Let's take a quick look at the obvious: you have an adventurer, traveling in the dark. He sees a light in the distance, and immediately becomes sleepy. We have a mysterious woman whose motives are unclear who welcomes him into the house by candlelight. Charm spell, anyone? Once inside, he hears voices. Ghosts? Undead? Captives? Minions? Who knows?

This mysterious woman--Tiffany--has a bunch of boy toys pretty boys thralls in the courtyard, dancing. Honestly, some of them may actually be zombies, too. I can see in my mind both kinds: the thralls are in the middle of the courtyard, ball-room dancing while the zombies are around the edges, perhaps a few interspersed in the crowd, and every day they're shuffling, shuffling, shuffling. (I couldn't resist.)

Now, the idea that you entered the building willingly takes on a particularly dark and sinister note, doesn't it?

The hero asks for provisions, without any luck. And then, the voices come back, and loud enough to wake you up in the night. As you wander around investigating the building, you find garish, tacky, or out-of-date decor: mirrored ceilings, although despite the lyrics I always see them as a room of mirrors, like in the funhouse; fancy, cloying food and drink; and prisoners, but possibly willing prisoners. Maybe they're more thralls, maybe some of them are merely kept for occasional "snacks."

Then you find yourself in the "master's chambers." Perhaps Tiffany isn't the BBEG after all.... Whoever IS master, however, has a beast of some kind chained in his chambers. All of the thralls and his other subjects have gathered there for a ritual sacrifice: The Feast. No matter what they do to it, it will not die. Perhaps it's troll-kin. Perhaps they have a resident cleric who waits until the creature is on the verge of death and who then heals it back to normal. Whatever it is, the ritual is sufficient to cause the adventurer to run, nearly senseless, for the front door.

Only now he finds that there is no front door. The entire building is a trap. And the evil butler, himself likely a mid-level vampire, tells him that he can "check out" at any time, but cannot leave the building. He can die at any time, but he cannot escape.

Now you tell me.... Why would I possibly associate this song with D&D, hmmm? `

"Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim; I had to stop for the night."

[D&D 40th Anniversary Bloghop] Day Six

Day Six: First character death. How did you handle it?

I've discussed this one before too, in passing at least. I have to look back at Urdin Darjyr, my Dream Dwarf Storm Druid. Yeah. Really.

The storm druid was introduced in Dragon Magazine, Issue #328. Instead of focusing on nature and plants, etc., the storm druid looks to the skies, channeling nature's raw, untamed energies. In addition, this particular dwarf was a dream dwarf by race: a sub-race introduced in the 3.5 Races of Stone supplement. From the D&D Wiki page: "Dream dwarves feel the hills slumber beneath them. They see the world as a resting giant of inestimable power, and they are caught in the dreaming. While other dwarves shape metal and stone, dream dwarves contemplate and meditate. Wise and cautious, they understand nature in a way at once similar to and wholly alien to the understanding of druids and shamans of other races." Yep, a dwarven hippie.

Urdin's backstory made him quite interesting and fun to play, while the special druidic class gave him some serious awesome nature-magic firepower. He wielded a pretty wicked dwarven warpike, too. However, if I remember correctly, he was a multi-class nightmare. I think I had a couple levels of fighter and of barbarian to give him some additional oomph feat-wise. If I remember correctly, he'd started out as a fighter, one of Boric's bear-riders. Then he was trapped, alone, in the wilderness for several years which gave him a few levels of barbarian--mostly for the rage ability and a couple others. Then he had levels of storm druid. He had forsaken the worship of Moradin for the worship of nature after he was stuck without shelter during a tremendous thunderstorm.

Ultimately the adventure led Urdin and his compatriots to a small island--Mezeketh Isle--in search of the Jathiman Dagger. The Jathiman dagger is a weapon capable of killing gods and, at least in this campaign, was kept in check by a "curator" whose will and soul kept the dagger's powers from manifesting. He also acts as a physical guard to keep the dagger from being removed from its current location. Urdin died in the fight to keep the dagger out of the hands of the villains. He was resurrected shortly after the battle ended. In an effort to protect the dagger from the world (and vice versa), Urdin took his retirement and sacrificed his freedom by trapping himself on the small island, at least until a replacement could be found. Through a little post-campaign PBEM, he actually became a Death Delver, a Prestige Class that "delves...deeply into the mysteries of death...to better understand and eventually gain some small power over it...and thereby draw strength from his understanding and indomitable courage in the face of it." {Heroes of Horror, Wizards of the Coast, p.93}

In effect...and we said this at the time...by being struck down he became even more powerful. Of course, he can never leave the island to exercise that power.

[D&D 40th Anniversary Bloghop] Day Five

Day Five: First character to go from 1st level to the highest level possible in a given edition. (Or what's the highest level character you've ever ran?)

My characters didn't last long, back in the day. Mostly because we were easily bored and changed it up far too often. So, once again I'm going to have to jump ahead to my first 21st-century game, Dragon Mountain for the answer to today's question.




I've spoken about him before, my namesake, Boric Glanduum. As I've said before, shortly after the turn of the century, I joined a newly-resurrected group as one of two new players. I was the last one recruited and so was shoe-horned into filling a party need--the cleric. But I made the best of it and rolled up a dwarf. I hadn't played in a LONG time, and certainly had never played 2nd Edition AD&D; I was a NOOB for all intents and purposes. The DM was willing to work with me, though. He and I had a killer backstory woven into the entire campaign. Yeah, it was full of the usual tropes: exiled royalty, stronghold-stolen-by-dragon, magic weapons, etc. You know the type. He put together much of the backstory. I started out as a chosen of Moradin, a High Old One, even, and then advanced from there. During the campaign we had visitations from Moradin's Avatar, I became a Favored of Dumathoin, and lost a clan artifact to a lowly rust monster. Boric spanned 2E, 3E, and then 3.5. He's had several incarnations in 3.5; currently he's 26th level and we're preparing to dust off these epic characters and bring them from retirement.

Let me share a few artifacts I've dug from my files about Boric. You can click on the links if you should happen to want to look at full-size PDFs of the documents. First, a little of his backstory (the introductory paragraph was updated as time went by to show some of the later deeds. It also relied heavily upon a Dwarven Lexicon I've built up over time from various TSR and WotC products.

I also came across a copy of the 12th-level version of Boric's Character Sheet, complete with THAC0 chart for his various attacks, both with his ancestral warhammer and with his clan's Rod of Lordly Might (featuring a hammer rather than a mace).

By the way, this chart is what I think of every time someone tries to tell me just how much more complicated 3.x Edition combat is than, say, 2nd Edition combat. It features every possible iteration of each attack, special attack, or power, including certain common buffing spells such as prayer and bless.

[From the Mailbag] It's All Tim's Fault, Honey!

A couple weeks ago, Tim over at Gothridge Manor decided to show off his loot from the Troll & Toad Clearance Sale. At the time, it caused great consternation in some corners of the OSR as others dropped by Troll & Toad and promptly dropped their paycheck(s) on clearance items. At the time, I resisted the urge.

Then I gave in.

I dropped more than I expected, because every new web page that I flipped over had something else that I "needed." Plus, I argued with myself, I really need to get the order to a point where the exorbitant shipping is justified. So let me share my loot with you...with the understanding that it's all Tim's fault.

First of all, they had a few Babylon 5 titles to go along with the new Ruleset I picked up over the holidays from Paizo. They had a copy of the ship plans for the G'Quan, a Narn heavy cruiser. This should dovetail nicely with the Earth Force Hyperion plans that came in from Paizo. Plus, I just really love the Narn and am excited to crack this open and see what the ship actually looks like.

The next item they had was a 1st-level adventure: The Cold Equations. The players have to flee a dying passenger liner a day or so out from the station; it looks like it involves the Psi-Corps and corporate intrigue. In looking at it now, it may not be compatible with the ruleset I have. I'll have to really sit down and figure out if that's true. The problem is that there were (apparently) several different versions of the Babylon 5 system published.

The third one evoked a few bad words when I pulled it out of the box and saw the Traveller brand sprayed across the front of the book. I definitely know that this one isn't compatible. This one is a "start up" adventure in which the players are thrust into the middle of an inter-Drazi conflict (hence the title: "The Trouble with Drazi"). At least this may give me some ideas and inspiration for the system I do have. I will hold out that hope, at least.

The final Babylon 5 title is a sourcebook covering the Zocalo, the merchant/shopping area on the station. After being burned with "The Trouble with Drazi," I need to sit down with this one and review compatibility. It's an interesting little read, though, including some species-specific weapons, things to buy, connections to make, and so forth.

Now, Tim could try and argue that the Babylon 5 titles are not his fault because I was already on the hunt for those game materials. These next few are certainly his fault, because he brought them to my attention. Because of that, and because I'm weak-willed, I lay these directly at his feet. Well, figuratively. After all, he already has copies and they may get ruined with all the snow and water on the ground.

The first one is a monster manual from Expeditious Retreat Press entitled "Monster Geographica: Underground." I also wanted the other one Tim grabbed up that dealt with marsh and swamp monsters, but I guess I pondered my purchases for too long and it was sold out. Like Tim, I love me some monster manuals: you can never have too many.

Next up is a level 4-7 adventure from Fast Forward Entertainment entitled, "Temple of the Troll God." The adventure promises full-color maps and an introductory portion of the adventure online; unfortunately, the website no longer exists. I'll have to do some checking around to see if these bonus materials exist anywhere else.

Another title from Fast Forward, this one by none other than James Ward himself. "Slave Pits of the Goblin King" also boasts free maps and bonus adventure stuff online. Maybe this material will be easier to track down if I can track down contact info for James Ward. We'll have to see; it may not be worth the effort.

The final Fast Forward title, also by James Ward, is "Demonic Lairs"--a collection of homes of ten powerful demons and devils. I had to grab this one because, hey, LAIRS.

Troll & Toad was getting rid of a bunch of their magazines as well. They had a good stack of Dragon magazines, and quite a few earlier issues. Since I have the digital versions up through Issue #250 on my Dragon CDs, my collection starts with #251. I subscribed starting with #279 through the death of the print run. Somewhere, however, I've developed holes in my collection. Fortunately, they had one that I was missing: #278. This one I know was borrowed by a guy in my group that wanted to start his own group with a couple of the guys from the group and their wives. The campaign lasted exactly one session and I've never seen the magazine again. Needless to say I was happy to see this one for sale, especially on clearance.

And the final "book" purchase for this order was the one issue of Autoduel they had. I've never owned a copy of Autoduel before; I've never even held it in my hands. I may be addicted now; I may just need to try and track down all of the issues (even though my brain tells me it would be pricey). Just flipping through it brought back fond memories of playing Car Wars. That still remains one of my fondest set of gaming memories, Car Wars.

Then there were the dice. Yes, Tim's fault again. He alerted me to the fact that they were selling off dice on clearance as well. The first set I grabbed up were a set of Crystal Caste Ancient Red. (I love the little spring-loaded latched boxes, although the latch never seems to be very secure.

Like Tim, I like me some odd and unusual dice. (Note: the Lego minifig is there for scale. These are some odd size dice!) Two of them are Chinese character dice: one shows numbers 7-12 to go with the 1-6 d6 I already own and one shows the characters for the words for each number 1-10. Also shown is a d10 showing geometric shapes; I thought this would be perfect for random dungeon design. Simply roll the die to get the shape of the next room, hallway, or structure.

Again, there's my Lego Centurion (non-Battlestar Galactica Ancient Rome version) for scale. These dice are "rock, paper, scissor" dice. I bought two so that it would keep both parties in a "rock, paper, scissor" contest on an even keel and remove any possibility (OK, most possibilities) of cheating from the game. Yeah, I know you could just play "rock, paper, scissors" but LOOK DICE!

Finally, my King Emeralds. These things are massive for regular polyhedrals. I have some d30s and a couple d20s that are this size already. When I saw that it was a complete 7-die polyhedral set, I just had to jump on them. Especially for $3.13. You read that right. I don't know that I've ever purchased a set of 7 dice for that price (other than the Ancient Red shown above that were $2.36).

As far as prices on the other stuff above, all of the books were priced at 49¢, except for the "Demonic Lairs" title which was $1.99. The magazines were 99¢ and 86¢ respectively.

There was a pile of plastic miniature goodness in the box as well. In an effort (too late) of keeping this post picture-light, I won't post individual pictures of the minis. Maybe I'll keep that for another post later in the week/month.