Impressions Vidcast featuring Emirikol Was Framed!

Impressions Game Distribution Services produces a monthly vidcast intended to assist retailers and distributors get the inside scoop on the latest releases, as well as provide ways and information to help move those products to gamers and keep FLGS vibrant.

The most recent vidcast features DCC RPG and DCC #72 Emirikol Was Framed. Join hosts Aldo Ghiozzi and Richard Bliss as they discuss Emirikol, DCC RPG, and Nights Black Agents, the latest game by one of my favorite designers, Kenneth Hite.

Oh, That’s Right: I Have a Blog

Forgive the dearth of posts here for the last two weeks. As you might imagine, things are very hectic around these parts as I settle into a new life and new job. Despite the distractions, I’m still busy at work on various gaming-related projects and even managed to finish up a short one today. With a few moments to spare before I consider heading off to the Land of Nod (not the blog or fanzine, but the metaphorical place of dreams), I thought I’d bring you all up to speed on things.

I’ve finally managed to unpack and get settled into the new apartment. Unfortunately, without much time between accepting the position and my first day of work, I didn’t have a lot of lead time to find a place to live. The result is that I’m living in a much smaller space than I had hoped. It’s not a studio or what they laughing call an “efficiency apartment” (read: “motel room without the conveniences of an actual motel”), but it is a bit cramped, especially for the archivist and gamer whose library is one of the reasons people usually only help me move once.

The upside is that the place does have its charm. It was originally a large barn built in the 1880s that’s since been renovated and diced up into apartments. I have lots of old exposed wood beams and floors, as well as a pair of stained glass windows that look into the bedroom and what I’m calling the “reading and writing nook.” I can see the Wallkill River and its cataracts from my window and aside from the Mysterious Thing with Heavy Feet that Lives Overhead, my fellow residents are friendly, yet discreet. Being on the second floor, my place also comes delightfully equipped with a Superhero Emergency Escape Hatch, which is a fire exit leading to a shaft containing a ladder running down to the ground floor, located directly off of my bedroom. I’m contemplating starting a life of crime just so I can utilize it when the S.W.A.T. team starts breaking down the front door. When time allows, I’ll post some pictures of my new headquarters and you’re all invited to drop by for a delve into Stonehell the next time you’re in the neighborhood.

Speaking of Stonehell, work continues on the sequel and my determination to finish it and get it out by year’s end remains unabated. My work schedule and the whole process of relocating and unpacking have cut into the time I’d like to be writing the manuscript, but I’ve taken to getting up an hour early to get some design work accomplished before I start my day. I’m currently working on a quadrant on the 7^th level called “The Welchers’ Halls” for reasons that will become apparent once you see what lies to the south of this section.

Those of you who contributed to the “Help Mike Relocate to the Wilderness Where He Belongs” Fund will all receive a special mention when the book comes out, as promised. I’m really dumbfounded by the contributions some of you made and am in awe that you were willing to part with your hard-earned cash to help out some guy who writes about monsters, magic, and other dubious pursuits, one many of you have never even met. Those funds were a real life-saver this week when I was hit with some unexpected bills above and beyond the astronomical cost of renting a Penske truck and filling that beast with gas. The alternator went on my car and I got hit with another $100+ bill for another repair. Without that extra money, I’d be scared spitless regarding how I would survive until my first paycheck clears. So although I’ve already thanked you all in email, let me do so again: “Thank you, thank you, thank you very much!”

With such limited space to live in, I had to leave the majority of my gaming collection in storage back on Long Island, but I’m trying to view that as a feature, not a bug. Aside from the B/X books, Stonehell I, and the Labyrinth Lord rulebook, I just have my 1^st edition (2^nd printing) Call of Cthulhu boxed set and my complete run of Wraith: The Oblivion (which got loaded onto the truck when I wasn’t looking). Call of Cthulhu is really , well “calling” to me right now, and I’m very tempted to make that the next campaign I run once I find my place here and a new gaming group. If I were to do so, I’d take the “Out of the Box” approach, using just the materials provided in the boxed set and pretending nothing else was ever written for the game. That idea really has my head whirling with possibilities.

The other reason that Call of Cthulhu is enticing me is that I’m now living in the real Wildwyck County. The series I’m writing for Fight On! is based on the landscape, history, and my own experiences in Ulster County as an undergraduate. Now that I’m an actual resident of Wildwyck, I’m hoping to tap into the rich history and atmosphere that pervades the country just outside my front door and make that series even better. I’m planning on watching the full moon rise tonight and brainstorm.

I made the initial efforts to locate a gaming group this week, joining a local Meetup group based in the area, but I’m not sure how that’s going to pan out just yet. So again, if you’re one of my readers and want the dubious honor of having me at your table, feel free to contact me at the email listed to the right. Unfortunately, my internet connection is less than efficient, meaning I won’t have the option of participating in FLAILSNAILS games for the foreseeable future, making me even more determined to find a local face-to-face group as understanding and tolerant of my penchant for weirdness as my last one.

Before I go, I want to remind you all once again that even though my postings may be reduced, my participation in the hobby is not. Some of you lucky bastards have already gotten their hands on Goodman Games’ new Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG and you’ll notice my name in that book’s credits. I did some of the spells for it and there’s one I’m most proud off. A No-Prize goes to the first one to guess which spell that is. Goblinoid Games will be releasing another game I designed using the Action Table System to Labyrinth Lord Society members in the near future and I hope you card-carrying members download it, give it a whirl, and let me know what you think. I charted a course into Bat Country when writing it and I hope that comes through in the final product.

In still other design news, I’m one of the contributing authors to The Secret Fire’s next supplement, Fragment I: The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame. One of my co-designers on that book is an up-and-coming young lad who I think has a lot of potential, and I’m sure you’ll be hearing the name” Eddie Greenwood” again in the future.

Lastly, a reminder that I’ll be down in Texas for NTRPGCon to run a few DCC games (“Emirikol Must Die!,” a convention variant of my forthcoming Emirikol Was Framed! adventure from Goodman Games, as well as a converted (and possibly perverted) version of my first OSR release, “The Fane of St. Toad.” One of those sessions may have a secret special guest, but I’m not telling who or when. There’s also talk of Tim Kask and I doing a workshop on “Gonzo Gaming” with other guests, but that’s still being hashed out as far as I know. After getting to know and play with Tim at Gary Con, doing a seminar with him would be a great pleasure. One that would only be eclipsed if Dan Proctor and I win this year’s Three Castles Award for Realms of Crawling Chaos.

Oh, one more thing: this year’s Goodman Games’ Free RPG Day release features two adventures and another special treat. Those adventures were written by the most excellent Harley Stroh and I. My home group had a blast playtesting my contribution, even if things didn’t turn out so well for one of the PCs.

OK, I’m done. Off to howl at the moon a bit before bed. Thank you all again for the well-wishes, support (both verbal, financial, and professional), and camaraderie you’ve provided me since I first dipped my toe into both the OSR and the industry. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Gary Con Recap Part I

Like the target at a snipers’ competition, Gary Con is an event viewed through many lenses. As a gamer, I experienced the con through the fun and camaraderie I had at the tables, but as a designer, it was interpreted by who I met and spoke to in the publishing industry. And lastly, as someone with a background in history and archiving, Gary Con was a place filled with those whose roots extend back to the long-ago days when this was all new and wondrous. No matter which lens I viewed the weekend, however, it was an outstanding experience.

Unfortunately, the four-day weekend began on a down-note when I received a phone alert that my first flight of the day was suffering from an hour-and-a-half delay. This alert came ten minutes before I was set to depart for the airport and threw all my travel plans askew. Forty-five minutes of trying to contact the airline on the phone without success eventually drove me to abandon my efforts and drive to the airport anyway. The clerk there managed to get me on another flight, but from another airport, making a $100 cab ride necessary to make my flight. Further complications at O’Hare delayed me again and I finally arrived in Milwaukee four hours behind schedule. Luckily, the Lodge at Lake Geneva was kind enough to dispatch a shuttle to convey me from General Mitchell to the hotel. A very big thanks to Larry the Night Security man at the Lodge for coming to my rescue!

After finally arriving five hours later than I intended, I discovered I had missed the meet-n-greet entirely, as well as the majority of games. Dropping off my bags in my room, I wandered down to the hotel bar looking for something to eat (and was again foiled since the restaurant had long-ago closed). I did spot someone in a tied-dyed shirt playing the Battlestar Galactica board game and soon found myself talking with Allan “Grodog” Grohe and Mark CMG of Creative Mountain Games. Alas, last call followed all too soon and a Diaspora of gamers was sent into the desert of the Lodge’s hallways. A brief snack from a vending machine and a long discussion with fellow gamer David(?) from Stone Mountain, GA closed an overlong travel day.

Friday arrived in much better shape. Determined to remain on New York time, and anticipating a diet of completely fattening meals during the weekend, I was up at 6 AM to take a walk around the Lodge’s grounds. Back at the hotel, I finally managed to acquire breakfast and to meet Tim Snyder of The Savage Afterworld at the concession table. Soon thereafter, the Vendors’ Hall opened and I stepped inside to discover Dan Proctor behind the Goblinoid Games’ table, which was situated next to Black Blade Publishing’s wares. I spent a good hour inside there talking with Dan and Alan, as well as meeting John Adams of Brave Halfling (who had his game boxes for sale nearby), Jeffrey Talanian (of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea), and Jon Hershberger of Black Blade. Across from the Goblinoid Games table was the Artists’ Nook. There sat Jeff Easley, who was kind enough to sign one of his illos in my copy of the Dungeon Alphabet, and Jim Wampler, creator of “Marvin the Mage.” I can’t say enough nice things about Jim, both as an artist and a person. He’s an old-school Gamma World fan to boot and did me a solid during the course of the con. Stop reading this right now and go to Mudpuppy Comics and check out a free issue of Marvin. I’ll be here waiting.

With time to kill before my first game, I wandered the rooms, snapping pictures. There, I ran into Frank Mentzer, who I met last year at I-Con. I was pleased that Frank not only remembered me, but went out of his way to welcome me into the ranks of professional game designers. (I’ll let the “Stonehell Outhouse” comment slide, Frank.) Frank’s always a pleasure to talk to and is generally interested in my own efforts to till a row in the field of game design. That means a lot to me.

As I was wearing my Stonehell T-shirt the first day, it wasn’t long before I had my first fan approach me to say how much he enjoyed my work. I’d see Zach (a.k.a. Nogrod from Dragonsfoot) several more times during the con and he’s another great gamer, one I’d share the experience of Tim Kask’s OD&D game with later in the day.

When 2 PM rolled around, it was off to the wargaming room for a game of Dungeon!, an activity I last enjoyed when Reagan was in the White House. Running the game(s) was Dave Megarry, the original designer of Dungeon! Dave took the time to explain the origins of the game, as well as bring the original Dungeon! prototype board for us to “ooh and ahh” over, but the real bomb shell was yet to come. I had encountered Dave and his wife upstairs an hour earlier as they unloaded a large table from the back of their car. I gave them a hand wrestling the dark green table through the front doors of the hotel, not thinking much of the activity other than I was giving a fellow gamer a hand. Only during the event was the identity of that table revealed: it was Dave Arneson’s ping pong table, the same one where he played the original Blackmoor campaign on decades ago! Having never met Dave in person, this was the closest I’d ever get to him and it was an incredibly cool experience. I could see that the opportunity was not overlooked by fellow Dungeon! player, Tavis Allison of the Mule Abides and Adventurer, Conqueror, King. I’ve met Tavis before and, knowing his interest in the history of our hobby, was certain he was just as floored by playing at Dave’s table as I was.

After finishing the Guinness Book of World Records’ Longest Game of Dungeon Ever (the other game’s players packed up, departed, and went on to marry and see their children graduate from college before we finally completed our game), it was back into the Vendors’ Hall to hang around the Goblinoid Games table. There, I met Jeff “bighara” Sparks and his wife (who is not at all still angry about a game Jeff ran 10 years ago), and signed a few more copies of Stonehell Dungeon.

At 6 PM, I got to play OD&D with Tim Kask. The adventure saw us exploring a frigid glacier and the mysterious Tower of the Phoenix located within it. I had a blast, even though we lost a few party members before we actually got inside the place, and, in true old school fashion, forged the legend of Sigurd Bear-Breaker. Facing down a certain TPK, my dwarf drank a potion of giant strength and challenged two giant polar bears to a wrestling match. He broke both their spines and allowed us to continue the adventure to its completion.

Tim was another pleasure to finally meet, especially since he was one of the judges on last year’s "Three Castles Award." During a break in the game, Tim invited me to the VIP Smoking Lounge (otherwise known as the patio off Tim and Frank’s room where they had stashed one of those big standing ashtrays they had somehow “acquired” the days before) and we talked about the old days of Dragon, the Dungeon Alphabet, and artists. Like his partner in crime, Frank Mentzer, Tim was very gracious, kind, and encouraging in regard to my design efforts. It was great getting to talk with him outside of the game.

The game ended around 10 PM and I had the chance to talk with some more fellow gamers (both newly met and by this time old friends) up at the bar. Eventually, the day’s events began to take their toll and I excused myself to grab a few hours’ rest before starting in all over again the next day.

Metamorphosis Alpha: “The House on the Hill” Now At Reduced Rate

Craig J. Bain from WardCo. chimed in on my last post to say that his Metamorphosis Alpha adventure, “The House on the Hill” is now available at the reduced rate of $13.99 for the rest of January. If you’re looking for an introductory module to run along with your brand-new printed copy of Metamorphosis Alpha, here’s your chance to pick one up and save some scratch. From the adventure description:

This is an introductory adventure for the classic sci-fi advenure RPG, Metamorphosis Alpha. The book includes a sample adventure set in a Round House Modular Dwelling Unit (RHMDU) and also includes tables for generating your own RHMDUs and ensuring that each of them is unique.
The adventure is designed to be challenging (despite the size of the RHMDU) and humorous, yet deadly to the unwary or over-confident.

Swing by CreateSpace and pick up your copy today!

If You’re Thinking of Buying Metamorphosis Alpha…

…you should probably know that Lulu is offering 25% off with the coupon LULUBOOK305. That coupon is good until January 31^st, 2012. That applies to all Lulu purchases, not just MA, so feel free to pick up a few other goodies while you’re at it!

Want Metamorphosis Alpha 1st Edition in hardcopy?

According to an announcement made by Craig J. Bain of WardCo. in Jim Ward’s Q&A thread over at Dragonsfoot, you can now purchase reprints of Metamorphosis Alpha through Lulu.com. The reprint is, Bain says, “the 1976 edition with a short adventure included and the corrections - the same as the RPGNow edition, minus the hex-sheet page at the back of the book.” It retails for $14.99.

Pacesetter is Back! No Time-Machine Required

Dan Proctor announced yesterday that Goblinoid Games has acquired the rights to both the Pacesetter logo and brand. This comes in the wake of Goblinoid Games’ acquisition and re-printing of Pacesetter’s TIMEMASTER game. Unfortunately, former Pacesetter titles like CHILL and STAR ACE remain tied-up with other property owners for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, this marks the next step in Dan’s plan to revive old games and produce new ones based on those titles, much like he did with the recent release of ROTWORLD. Expect more announcements in the vein in the months to come.

For the record, I’ve told Dan that if he ever gets his hands on SANDMAN, I’d be the first in line to volunteer finishing that funky-ass experiment that Pacesetter started, but never saw to fruition. Oh man, what I’d do with that crazy game…

Change is Good

No, this isn’t a post about the just-announced and forthcoming version of Dungeon & Dragons (but we’ll get to that in a moment). This is about looking forward to 2012 and new directions in the year to come—which may be important on the off-chance the Mayans knew something we don’t.

Last year, I announced that this blog would be coming to an end. I felt that I had taken the Society as far as it could go based on my original purpose of chronicling my return to the gaming fold and wishing to contribute something to this nebulous thing we call the Old School Renaissance (or whatever OSR stands for this week). In some ways, I still believe that. I’ve done what I set out to do and succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

Since its inception, this blog and the material produced for it allowed me to establish a presence hitherto undreamt of—by me anyway— in the gaming community and the industry that supports us. I don’t think anyone can dispute that The Dungeon Alphabet and Stonehell Dungeon remain examples of some of the better works created by this movement. The Dungeon Alphabet was especially well-received and is one of the few works that achieved success outside of the OSR, drawing praise from not only grognards but folks who entered this hobby in more recent years. That continues to blow my mind.

Having done what I set out to do, my choices were to either start anew or shut down. My workload made me more inclined to the latter. But with the start of the New Year, my attitude has changed. I’m hacking away at the “To Be Done” list, and although I expect it will fill up again (at least I’m praying it will), I think I’ll be able to dedicate some more time to this blog o’ mine. The Society has been around for more than three years now and maintains a steady readership. And while it doesn’t have the number of fans some older and more prolific blogs have, SoTPR is still in the upper echelon of old school blogs. It seems as shame to throw away all that hard work now.

So what to do? First off, it’s high time this place got a revamp. In the weeks ahead I will be playing with the design a bit to come up with something new, but still legible. I’ll be editing and updating my links section and playing with ideas for a nifty new banner up top (I remain one of the few elder statesmen of blognards who has never gone beyond a text header). It’ll likely be a hack job since the visual arts is not my forte, but I’ll endeavor to keep it classy and discrete.

Secondly, I’m going to fold my side blog Secret Antiquities into this one. The premise of having a secondary blog for material not directly relating to fantasy gaming was sound, but the end result was two blogs I ignored and not much progress made on either. Seeing as we’re all gamers, I don’t think anyone will mind too much if I post the occasional design ideas for a system other than D&D and its various clones. Unless my readership starts abandoning the joint in droves, expect to see some reposting of things from Secret Antiquities here as I integrate both blogs into one.

Thirdly, and I know I’ve stated it before, 2012 will be the year the Stonehell sequel is finally released. The fact that it is so far behind tears me up more than I’d like to admit and since my name is synonymous with that dungeon, I feel its failure to see the light of day reflects poorly on me. To correct this, I’m committed to producing one new quadrant of Stonehell a week. While that might mean it takes all year to complete the manuscript, slow progress trumps no progress.

Lastly, although connected to the above, 2012 will see me at GaryCon IV. I intend to try and play as much as I can, but I will be bringing Stonehell with me to Lake Geneva, hopefully with brand new material to test drive. There are no official Stonehell sessions on the schedule, but if you corner me, I’ll gladly run it during the open gaming portions of the con. I’ll even allow your FLAILSNAILERS to bring your PCs for a visit if that’s cool with how things work in FLAILSNAIL-land. As always, Stonehell’s Save Your Ass T-shirts will be honored, so grab one now and edge out your competition for loot.

More projects and plans will be announced as they develop, but I think the above is going to keep me busy for awhile.

OK, with that out of the way, let me say my piece on the 5^th edition which isn’t the 5^th edition of D&D. In all honesty, I was completely indifferent about the announcement. That surprised me a little, but it’s the truth. There’s no gnashing of teeth or rending of raiment here. The game will come, I’ll check it out, and if it’s fun and captures my interest, I’ll play it from time to time. I’ve no expectations that it will heal the great edition rift or create the greatest version of the game ever. I might run it or I might not. I signed up to get a look at the beta version once it’s released, but I suspect that will be the extent of my involvement. I’m certainly not going to attempt to steer its direction. It will be whatever Mike and Monte design within the boundaries laid down by management. I wish them the best and hope Wizards comes out with an entertaining diversion that attracts more gamers to the fold. After all, more tabletop gamers are good in the grand scheme of things.

I don’t expect to give much coverage to the game here so this may very well be the last words I say on the game until it is released. Others will certainly be following its development with close scrutiny. I’ll say this though: “5E” looks really, really strange when seen written out to my eyes. I must be getting older.

New Horizons

I am without a doubt undergoing a sea change in my gaming preferences. I’ve lost all enthusiasm for level-based fantasy games in the last few months and I now realize that I’ve hit my saturation point. This doesn’t mean I’m done with them for good, but it will be some time before I’m running D&D in any of its myriad forms again. Playing the game is fine; running it is another story.

This also doesn’t mean that I’m finished with writing for them either. In fact, I just finished up my work for another level-based fantasy game and have another contribution in that vein on my schedule. However, when it comes to my personal life, it’s time to change things up.

The downside of this realization is that Stonehell is effectively in stasis for the foreseeable future. I hate to do it, but my lack of interest in writing dungeon adventures is blatantly obvious when I look over what I’ve written so far. I have high expectations for the sequel and I’m not meeting them. I’ll come back and write the second book once I can get excited about the dungeon again. My apologies to those of you who’ve been looking forward to the sequel, but I’m not going to take the sleazy route of writing a piece of shit and asking you for your money for it.

“OK, Mike, if that’s how you feel, what’s next?” I’m glad you ask.

Unless something gets changed (which is entirely possible), the next issue of Fight On! will feature the first of a series of articles I’ve written aimed at “modern” horror and fantasy. I use quotation marks because the default period is the 1920s (all the better to fit classic Call of Cthulhu) rather than the 21^st century. I’m extremely proud of this series, more proud of it than anything I’ve done for my own enjoyment in some time. The article features a map (a glimpse of which is below)done by cartographer Ravi Shankar who I met over at the Cartographer’s Guild. Ravi does some excellent work and I encourage you to check out his portfolio—especially if you’re looking for a good cartographer.

The series details a quaint little portion of upstate New York located in the Hudson Valley region. In real life, the Hudson Valley has a great deal of folklore attached to it. One finds stories of everything from headless horsemen to Bigfoot to UFOs. After I’m done with it, there will be even more weird goings-on reported. The purpose of the series is to present a sandbox setting in which referees can place their own historical horror games. Tired of Arkham? Come visit Wildwyck County. If I do my job correctly though, the place can be used for more than just Call of Cthulhu. It’d make an excellent Colonial Gothic campaign if you roll the clock back or a World of Darkness setting if you advance the timeline ahead. One could even remove all the serial numbers and turn it into a fantasy-based campaign using Lamentations of the Flame Princess or Realms of Crawling Chaos.

The series has personal connections for me, which is one of the reasons it has me so excited. Wildwyck County is based on real life portions of New York State where I had many happy experiences. The chance to return to that place (even in a fictionalized and highly spookified form) is a great pleasure. In fact, it’s even inspired me to return there in real life for a few days to engage in some R&R&R (rest and relaxation and research). I plan on taking some photos to use in future articles to support the artwork I’ve already contributed (chosen, but not created by me, thankfully) for the initial article. 

Connected to the ‘Wyck (as the locals call their home)are the eternal autumnal lands of the October Country. I’ve been rambling about and designing for the October Country for over two years now on the blog Secret Antiquities and it represents my second big project. I’ve got enough material to begin playtesting the setting and I hope to assemble the finished material into a book once I’ve worked the kinks out. If I had to pick a work that I’d consider my magnum opus, the October Country would be it. I call it my Rosetta Stone setting because any story I want to tell—fantasy, horror, intrigue, pulp, or weirdness—can find a home in the October Country. It’s a personal place, but one I hope has enough common touchstones to be universal.

I’m not sure how I’ll handle that setting in the future. I’d like to see it in print, but I’m not certain I want to go down the road of self-publishing again. I’ve gotten lazy and like it when all I have to do is string the words together and let somebody else worry about the art, the editing, the layout, etc. Unfortunately, I’m hesitant to relinquish ownership of the material, so self-publishing may be the only course. But that’s all carts far, far in front of horses for now.

This brings me to my last concern: the future of this blog. My original plan was to keep it up until I released the Stonehell sequel and then quietly retire it. Now, with the sequel on hold for the foreseeable future, I’m at a loss at what to do. I have no interest in writing more about fantasy games like D&D here for now, but this blog draws a lot of traffic and has a robust following. Do I mothball the blog until I come back around to level-based fantasy games again or do I repurpose it to reflect my new interests? And if I do that, what happens to Secret Antiquities? Frankly, I don’t know.

That’s my future, folks. One which may or may not be of interest to you, but I thought you deserved a heads up as to where I’m headed. Things have been very, very quiet here as of late and this is the reason why. I hope this glimpse at where I’m going and my future plans sparks some interest and you hang around here or follow me where I’m going, but I understand if you’re more comfortable remaining where I’ve been. It’s all good either way.

Third Annual NYC Arneson Memorial Game Day

This is a “Save the Date” sort of thing. More details as they emerge:

On Saturday, October 1st, 2011, the Third Annual NYC Arneson Memorial Game Day will be held at the Brooklyn Strategist to honor the life and accomplishments of Dave Arneson. As of right now, Tavis from The Mule Abides will be running Adventurer Conqueror King and I will be running a delve into Stonehell Dungeon. Others are encouraged to volunteer to participate by either running a game of their own or merely stopping in to play. More details will undoubtedly be posted here, over at The Mule Abides, or on this thread at the Original D&D Discussion Forum.

All Next Week: School's Out for Summer

What with the edition kerfluffles and the coming End Times, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to turn the Society's attentions on games that do not fall comfortably inside the OSR's tent. Watch in horror as Mike turns in his old school membership card with posts on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week! The Old School's out for summer. Maybe even forever...

Flying Casual

I am so in the mood to play D6 Star Wars right at this moment. Ah, to relive those last pleasant memories before I completely fell out of love with Star Wars...

OK, back to work.

“This is where Forrestal cashed in.”

It has been mentioned previously that I consider the Moldvay Method of Dungeon Stocking to be the epitome of arbitrary dungeon contents generation. I’ve used it for so long that I no longer need to consult the actual chart in order to utilize that method. Recently, however, I rediscovered a table that gives Moldvay a run for its money. It doesn’t surpass Moldvay, but it is interesting in its own right.

The method is found in the booklet that accompanied the Adventures of Indiana Jones: Judge’s Survival Pack of all things. This supplement, published for use with TSR’s The Adventures of Indiana Jones role-playing game, was released in 1985 and the booklet has been the “Flying Dutchman” of my role-playing game collection: always turning up when least expected and disappearing just as quickly.

The booklet itself is a buffet of ideas, some useful, some not, but nestled amongst the various chapters is a section on random ruin generation for use in a game of Indiana Jones. Not surprisingly, there’s much in that section that can be lifted for use in a D&D campaign, including ruin geomorphs and inspirational charts to help determine the ruin’s history. The most useful of all is the “Noteworthy Room Table.” This d% chart gives you an entire array of possible room contents that is further broken down into sub-tables for each result.

I’ve only reproduced the main table below, but just looking it over will demonstrate why I consider it another great candidate for random dungeon stocking: it simply has everything you could ever wish for in a dungeon all on one table. The entries for the sub-tables are given below the chart and a resourceful referee could easily construct his or her own version of these charts. The one major difference is you’re going to be less likely to encounter monstrous creatures to fight, but some rearranging of the probabilities could easily get around that. Or you could simply use the table as is to create a “less fighting, more thinking” dungeon location. I'd simply roll a d6 and on any result of 3-6, I'd consider the room noteworthy to go along with Moldvay's 4 in 6 chance of any given room having something of interest in it. Treasure, traps, and monsters would be resolved by the usual tables; everything else would be determined from the examples given below or similar possibilities.

Noteworthy Room Table

01-10: Treasure
11-16: Find
17-31: Trap
32-36: Secret Way
37-43: Creature
44-53: Obstacle
54-59: Predecessor
60-63: Spectacle
64-66: Incredible
67-72: Dilemma
73: Treasure & Trap
74: Treasure & Secret Way
75: Treasure & Obstacle
76: Treasure & Predecessor
77: Treasure & Dilemma
78: Find & Trap
79: Find & Creature
80: Find & Incredible
81: Trap & Secret Way
82: Trap & Creature
83: Trap & Obstacle
84: Trap & Predecessor
85: Trap & Spectacle
86: Trap & Dilemma
87: Secret Way & Dilemma
88: Creature & Obstacle
89: Obstacle & Predecessor
90: Obstacle & Spectacle
91: Treasure-Trap-Secret Way
92: Treasure-Trap-Obstacle
93: Treasure-Creature-Predecessor
94: Treasure-Obstacle-Dilemma
95: Find-Trap-Spectacle
96: Find-Creature-Incredible
97: Trap-Obstacle-Predecessor
98: Secret Way-Predecessor-Dilemma
99: Treasure-Trap-Predecessor-Incredible
100: Find-Trap-Creature-Dilemma

Examples of Finds: Calendar Stone, Stone Tablet, Scroll, Codex, Monument, Plaque, Map, Clay Tablet, Tapestry, Figurine, Grave, Skeleton, Skull, Burial Cloth, Ashes, Mummy, Hand, Raiment, Bust, Death Mask, Idol, Signet Ring, Seal, Scepter, Crown, Helm, Robe, Medallion, Horn, Banner/Flag, Gem, Platter, Necklace, Bracelet/Bracer, Ring, Coins, Goblet, Sculpture, Belt/Girdle, Masks, Throne, Chariot, Ark/Shrine, Boat, Wheel, Vase, Totem, Pottery, Chest, Table, Spear, Sword, Axe, Breastplate, Shield, Staff, Flail, Throwing Stick, Net, War Club, Rare Plant, Rare Animal, Dinosaur, Giant, Sea Serpent, Fabled Creature, Vanished Race, Evolved Race, Intelligent Animal, Prehistoric Man, or Secret of (Mysterious Ruins, Lost Civilization, Fabled Lands, Relic, Catastrophe Site, Wheel of Time, Fountain of Youth, Philosopher’s Stone, Unicorn Horn, or Shape shifters).

Examples of Obstacles: Lava, Stairs, Ramp, Slide, Shifting Ground, Brambles/Thorns, Balcony, Rushing River, Geyser, Narrow Space, Chocking Vapors, Cliff Face, Windy Ledge, Stinging/Clinging vines, Chasm/Broken Bridge, Hot Springs/Lime Terraces, Blockade/Dead End, or Marsh

Examples of Predecessors: Opened Doors/Chests, Bloodstains/Campfires, Footprints, Scratched/Scrawled Messages on Walls, Dropped Gear/Map, Broken Down Wall/Door, Dead Creature, Defaced Furnishings/Stolen Treasure, Triggered Trap (with or without corpses), or Corpse Shot/Stabbed in Back.

Examples of Spectacles: Balancing Rock, Moaning/Howling Wind, Area Glows With Eerie Light, Eerie Feeling/Dread, Lifelike Sculpture/Painting, Clinking and Chiming, Feeling of Peace, Network of Lightbeams, Mirage/Reflection, Swirling Lave, Beating/Pulsing Sound, Statically Charged Air, Clanking Sound, Feeling of Nausea/Dizziness, Bottomless Pit/Darkness, Gonging, Gilded Walls/Dancing Light, Panoramic View, Looming Monument/Idol/Tower, or High Vaulted Ceiling (60’).

Examples of Incredible: Mammoth Solar Calendar, Huge Natural Magnet, Natural Laser, Wind Tunnel, Natural Magnifying Glass, Huge Windmill/Turbine, Glowing Crystal, Echo Room, Giant Lightning Rod, 60’ Tall Gong, Giant’s Room, Midget’s Room, Non-Human Room, Giant Insect Colony/Rat Den, Crystalline Chamber, Immense Waterwheel, Dancing Swarm in Hive, Amplification Room, Heavenly Voices/Natural Radio, or Crude Electrostatic Generator.

Examples of Dilemmas: Nerve to Pass, Climb, Balance, Jump Across, Jump/Dive Down, Swim, Swing, Dodge, Care, or Endure.