http://odd74.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fanzine&action=display&thread=5755
&
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/fight-on-compiled-compilation-+4/15671664
Use coupon code MAYBOOK for a 20% discount.
Hopefully the issues 5-8 compilation becomes available again; I'm still hating myself for missing out on these compilations when they were available last year!
EDIT: Another AWESOME detail is that there's now a $4.99 shipping option for Canadians, which is preferable to paying $8 per book!
Showing posts with label Awesome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Awesome. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
[A-Z Blogging Challenge] A is for The Sword is AWESOME!
I'm going to have to eat a bit of crow with this blog post. My family has a long history of "worthless Christmas gifts" from the year of multiple copies of "Dragons of Autumn Twilight," to the early nineties when I got one of those Lollapaloser flimsy sleeveless flannel shirts with an attached flimsy hood (because I liked punk rock...) and the "$25 worth of Costco gift certificates" debacle (great, a present that means I have to wait in line forever to buy a giant box of granola bars). Oh well, it's not like one should expect their parents to get them Sodom vinyl LPs and early OOP TSR products.
So this year my sister, bless her square heart, got me a copy of The Sword's "Warp Riders" for Christmas as "Blair likes metal." Yeah Blair likes metal... the same way Jamie Mal likes Dungeons & Dragons. Blair likes primitive, bestial low-fi thrash, doom, sludge, grindcore, black metal, power violence...you get the picture.
So, of course, I was less than enthused with that gift, although my making lemonade out of lemons reaction was "Well a fair amount of my friends are hipster-ish so I can just re-gift it whenever I hear of a birthday..."
Today I had to take the day off work due to a strained back; after my 11 am wake-n-bake I was restless, bored and lookign for something to entertain me. I spotted my copy of "Warp Riders" gathering dust and thought "Why don't I put this on and laugh my ass off at how slick and false it is!", the metal-nerd version of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
Well, although the production was slicker than what I was used to, after a few minutes I was sucked in! I really let my "underground nuclear goat chaos punk hessian" stance interfere with enjoying some awesome music, as this album really kicks ass!
This band really has it all: awesome riffs & hooks, psychedelic space fantasy lyrics, and lush production that propels you on nebulae of pot smoke through the cosmos!
I really learned my lesson about being judgmental about "bands not being underground enough," and I have already discovered a bunch of awesome new bands on youtube like Priestess, Queens of the Stone Age, Muse and Probot just from looking at music with an open mind, and I encourage you to do the same.
I know that when I resume DMing Planet Algol games that The Sword "Warp Riders" will be the official album of the Planet Algol campaign, and I encourage all of you to check out this kickass band.
Now here's a little random table of "The Sword Inspired Plot Hooks"
1 - Tres Brujas - The party encounters three witches, are they potential allies or adversaries?
2 - Warp Riders - The party finds a downed starcraft, do they dare to ride the warp?
3 - Night City - The party arrives at a city ...where it is always night!
4 - Arrows in the Dark - Out of the darkness arrows fly at the party ...what is this ambush?!?!
5 - The Chronomancer, Pt. 1: Hubris - The party encounters a sorcerer with unusual time-manipulating magic, however he/she suffers from hubris!
6 - Lawless Lands - In their travels the party has to cross a land without any lawful authority...danger and crime abounds!
7 - Acheron/Unearthing the Orb - The party comes across a party of archaeologists studying ancient Acheronian ruins ...and they have just discovered a mysterious orb!
8 - Astraea's Dream - An NPC, names Astraea, just had a mysterious dream that bodes of adventure for the party!
9 - The Chronomancer, Pt. 2: Nemesis - The party encounters a time-manipulating sorcerer who is being hunted by another time-manipulating adversary who seeks to punish them for their hubris!
10 - (The Night The Sky) Cried Tears of Fire - After sunset storm clouds gather; the clouds...they look like embers...why is the lightning flaming? Oh gods no...the rain..it burns!
So this year my sister, bless her square heart, got me a copy of The Sword's "Warp Riders" for Christmas as "Blair likes metal." Yeah Blair likes metal... the same way Jamie Mal likes Dungeons & Dragons. Blair likes primitive, bestial low-fi thrash, doom, sludge, grindcore, black metal, power violence...you get the picture.
So, of course, I was less than enthused with that gift, although my making lemonade out of lemons reaction was "Well a fair amount of my friends are hipster-ish so I can just re-gift it whenever I hear of a birthday..."
Today I had to take the day off work due to a strained back; after my 11 am wake-n-bake I was restless, bored and lookign for something to entertain me. I spotted my copy of "Warp Riders" gathering dust and thought "Why don't I put this on and laugh my ass off at how slick and false it is!", the metal-nerd version of Mystery Science Theatre 3000.
Well, although the production was slicker than what I was used to, after a few minutes I was sucked in! I really let my "underground nuclear goat chaos punk hessian" stance interfere with enjoying some awesome music, as this album really kicks ass!
This band really has it all: awesome riffs & hooks, psychedelic space fantasy lyrics, and lush production that propels you on nebulae of pot smoke through the cosmos!
I really learned my lesson about being judgmental about "bands not being underground enough," and I have already discovered a bunch of awesome new bands on youtube like Priestess, Queens of the Stone Age, Muse and Probot just from looking at music with an open mind, and I encourage you to do the same.
I know that when I resume DMing Planet Algol games that The Sword "Warp Riders" will be the official album of the Planet Algol campaign, and I encourage all of you to check out this kickass band.
Now here's a little random table of "The Sword Inspired Plot Hooks"
1 - Tres Brujas - The party encounters three witches, are they potential allies or adversaries?
2 - Warp Riders - The party finds a downed starcraft, do they dare to ride the warp?
3 - Night City - The party arrives at a city ...where it is always night!
4 - Arrows in the Dark - Out of the darkness arrows fly at the party ...what is this ambush?!?!
5 - The Chronomancer, Pt. 1: Hubris - The party encounters a sorcerer with unusual time-manipulating magic, however he/she suffers from hubris!
6 - Lawless Lands - In their travels the party has to cross a land without any lawful authority...danger and crime abounds!
7 - Acheron/Unearthing the Orb - The party comes across a party of archaeologists studying ancient Acheronian ruins ...and they have just discovered a mysterious orb!
8 - Astraea's Dream - An NPC, names Astraea, just had a mysterious dream that bodes of adventure for the party!
9 - The Chronomancer, Pt. 2: Nemesis - The party encounters a time-manipulating sorcerer who is being hunted by another time-manipulating adversary who seeks to punish them for their hubris!
10 - (The Night The Sky) Cried Tears of Fire - After sunset storm clouds gather; the clouds...they look like embers...why is the lightning flaming? Oh gods no...the rain..it burns!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Fat Cotton Knocks Another One Out Of The Park & AD&D Spell Analysis Request
Also, does anyone know of any online analysis of AD&D spells and their casting times? With all the hobbyist Gygaxian research floating around on the net, someone must have done the number crunching regarding AD&D spells and how many segments it takes to cast them? The discussion regarding The Black Lasher made me realize that I need to include AD&D/OSRIC information with the Gramaree spells in order for full-universal-oldschool D&D utility.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Stoned Dinosaurs and Mountaintop Prehuman Cities
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Post # 401: The Return
I've got a good feeling about things.
Lamentations Of The Flame Princess Weird Fantasy RPG appears to have been a runaway success (Raggi's running out of boxes...).
The Necromancer has reanimated and Frog God Games is going to be publishing and promoting Swords & Wizardry.
Labyrinth Lord has released the means to run a simplified version of AD&D that's pretty much in line with the way a lot of folks played it.
We've got lots of great adventures and multiple magazines supporting old-school versions of D&D, as well of all sorts of wonderful supplemental material.
The "Public Red Box" meme is spreading and seems to be working.
My prediction? 2011 is going to be the year that things really blow up!
Sure, it'll never be like the glory days of the 70s & 80s, but wheels are in motion; folks are getting fired up; things are definitely happening.
As far as I'm concerned, this may be the best era so far for old-tymey D&D.
And I'm all about keeping the momentum rolling.
Now what I'm saying here is nothing nobody else hasn't said more eloquently before, but, if you have any interest in the return and growth of this aspect of the hobby, we gotta:
Keep finding new players. We've got to provide them with a supportive yet challenging experience. Lapsed D&D players; non-gamers with "genre" interests; computer/console RPG players (and there's millions of those out there!); friends; co-workers; kids. We've got to keep on pushing a pulling. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I believe that we have a great, fulfilling, social activity that'll turn a lot of folks on.
And we've to not only cultivate another generation of players, we also have to cultivate a fresh, new crop of bright-eyed, enthusiastic Dungeon Masters.
Do you know a players with an interest in DMing? We have to encourage and support them, turn them on to the great resources and wisdom available. Get them a copy of Swords & Wizardry and show them how easy it can be to Dungeon Master; turn them on to all the free retro-clones and online resources available.
That's one advantage old-school versions have over the "modern editions"; you don't have to be an accountant-cum-lawyer to run an early version of the game, as long as your somewhat creative and organized, it can be a snap.
That's something we need to communicate, how simple it can be to run or play these games.
If we want this movement to flourish we've got to lose any tendencies to be insular; to be cryptic; to be fussy.
So, if you want, I heartily encourage you all to keep finding new players; participate in your local "open/public old-school game movement" or help start one up in your locale; and encourage and cultivate a new generation of DMs.
This is something good we have going, something real, something vital. Keep the fire alive and game on!
Lamentations Of The Flame Princess Weird Fantasy RPG appears to have been a runaway success (Raggi's running out of boxes...).
The Necromancer has reanimated and Frog God Games is going to be publishing and promoting Swords & Wizardry.
Labyrinth Lord has released the means to run a simplified version of AD&D that's pretty much in line with the way a lot of folks played it.
We've got lots of great adventures and multiple magazines supporting old-school versions of D&D, as well of all sorts of wonderful supplemental material.
The "Public Red Box" meme is spreading and seems to be working.
My prediction? 2011 is going to be the year that things really blow up!
Sure, it'll never be like the glory days of the 70s & 80s, but wheels are in motion; folks are getting fired up; things are definitely happening.
As far as I'm concerned, this may be the best era so far for old-tymey D&D.
And I'm all about keeping the momentum rolling.
Now what I'm saying here is nothing nobody else hasn't said more eloquently before, but, if you have any interest in the return and growth of this aspect of the hobby, we gotta:
Keep finding new players. We've got to provide them with a supportive yet challenging experience. Lapsed D&D players; non-gamers with "genre" interests; computer/console RPG players (and there's millions of those out there!); friends; co-workers; kids. We've got to keep on pushing a pulling. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I believe that we have a great, fulfilling, social activity that'll turn a lot of folks on.
And we've to not only cultivate another generation of players, we also have to cultivate a fresh, new crop of bright-eyed, enthusiastic Dungeon Masters.
Do you know a players with an interest in DMing? We have to encourage and support them, turn them on to the great resources and wisdom available. Get them a copy of Swords & Wizardry and show them how easy it can be to Dungeon Master; turn them on to all the free retro-clones and online resources available.
That's one advantage old-school versions have over the "modern editions"; you don't have to be an accountant-cum-lawyer to run an early version of the game, as long as your somewhat creative and organized, it can be a snap.
That's something we need to communicate, how simple it can be to run or play these games.
If we want this movement to flourish we've got to lose any tendencies to be insular; to be cryptic; to be fussy.
So, if you want, I heartily encourage you all to keep finding new players; participate in your local "open/public old-school game movement" or help start one up in your locale; and encourage and cultivate a new generation of DMs.
This is something good we have going, something real, something vital. Keep the fire alive and game on!
Monday, August 2, 2010
R. Ruddock's Depiction of a Talos
Friday, July 30, 2010
Someone Needs to Stat These Guys Up For Encounter Critical...
PS. Apologies for the lack of activities on the blog, I attribute it to several factors: summer vibes; being busy with my other hobby, playing "Kill Your Mother Music"; and smoking waaaay less pot, the last of which has the counter-intuitive effect of making me lazy/under-motivated! I'm still working on the Planet Algol booklet (as well as waiting on a stack of awesome artwork!) as well as another very cool, "Cthonic" project...
Monday, June 14, 2010
Algolian Artwork - a Dinosaur-Harvesting Tripod, a Draala and The Maggot People
Just a little preview/sample of the artwork from the upcoming Planet Algol booklet:
Fat Cotton
Chris Huth
The Draala (courtesy of the Scroll of Gnom-Bientus)
Fat Cotton
Chris Huth
The Draala (courtesy of the Scroll of Gnom-Bientus)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Mulg, the Malvevolent Inscutable Fungus Beings of Planet Algol, by Chris Huth
A illustration by Chris Huth of the Mulg, one of several pieces by him for the the forthcoming Planet Algol booklet.
Friday, May 28, 2010
[NSFW] An Erotically Charged Scene From The Algol Adventures...
Another awesome R. Ruddock masterwork, this one illustrating a scene from The Planet Algol Playtest Campaign, Chapter 14, Part II. (I'm not letting JamesLOTFP be the only one posting boob artwork this week!)
"...As Buzz is sneaking through passages of red stone, cunningly avoiding the guards, he spots Radar and beckons the youth to join him. They come to a door of red metal and after listening at it and hearing nothing but a gentle burbling of water they cautiously open it.
Inside is a luxurious bath-chamber with several pools of different kinds of perfumed and heated water as well as a rack of expensive liquors. The two Earth Men hoot and holler in joy before stripping down and plunging into the baths. Buzz jumps into a tub of hot, swirling water while Radar dives into a pool of scented bubbles.
As the two begin vigourously scrubbing the adventuring filth off of their bodies they hear a husky female voice exclaim "Who is this in my bathing chamber?..."
"They look up and see a tall, stunning female, completely nude and Scarlet everywhere aside for her black pupils, standing in a doorway. Radar blushes and begins trying to sneak to his clothing while Buzz saunters up and says "Do not worry my lady, I am no threat...unless you'd like it that way"
Dripping soapy suds, Radar the Earth Boy grabs his clothing and dashes out the door he entered. As the embarrassed, naive youth dressed himself he hears moans of passion emanating from the bath chamber while he feels a strange stirring in his heart. He realizes that in the brief seconds he saw her that he has fallen in love with the Scarlet Lady..."
Please check out R. Ruddock's artwork blog "Fantasy Obscure" and let him know what you think about his excellent artwork!
"...As Buzz is sneaking through passages of red stone, cunningly avoiding the guards, he spots Radar and beckons the youth to join him. They come to a door of red metal and after listening at it and hearing nothing but a gentle burbling of water they cautiously open it.
Inside is a luxurious bath-chamber with several pools of different kinds of perfumed and heated water as well as a rack of expensive liquors. The two Earth Men hoot and holler in joy before stripping down and plunging into the baths. Buzz jumps into a tub of hot, swirling water while Radar dives into a pool of scented bubbles.
As the two begin vigourously scrubbing the adventuring filth off of their bodies they hear a husky female voice exclaim "Who is this in my bathing chamber?..."
Dripping soapy suds, Radar the Earth Boy grabs his clothing and dashes out the door he entered. As the embarrassed, naive youth dressed himself he hears moans of passion emanating from the bath chamber while he feels a strange stirring in his heart. He realizes that in the brief seconds he saw her that he has fallen in love with the Scarlet Lady..."
Please check out R. Ruddock's artwork blog "Fantasy Obscure" and let him know what you think about his excellent artwork!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
R. Ruddock's Art Blog & A Boat-Load of Algol Artwork
Presented below are several illustrations by the talented R. Ruddock for the forthcoming Planet Algol booklet; please check out his blog Fantasy Obscure for higher resolution versions as well as more artwork. As an aside, I'm very pleased to be close to finalizing an arrangement with another very talented and appropriate artist for Planet Algol 1.
The Planet Algol playtest team approaches The Fane of St. Toad
A Khoolvi Fighting-Woman with her quident.
A Mhoght Fighting-Man.
Fighting-Woman wearing a Destier.
Agogi Man couple, perhaps a husband-and-wife adventuring team?
A Vlesh Man couple. They definitely would not be down with punk rock.
The albino bird-things of the Bornite Mountains. I particularly dig the old-tymey vibe of this illo!
Wasplingier Mercenaries wasplinging.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Awesome Sci-Fi OD&D Supplement - Terminal Space!
The Polish gentleman necro_cyber dropped me a line to let me know that his science fiction/science fantasy supplement for OD&D, Terminal Space, was available for download (the sidebar-widget pdf thing on the right-hand side).
Just a quick first-impression review. It unabashedly proclaims itself a "...supplement for Dungeons & Dragon Original Edition."; it contains lots of genuinely cool/good original art (Spaceman vs. Beholders!); it was originally in Polish, the translation is charmingly clunky but completely clear; it has a d% Deep Space Encounter Table!; solar system, Moon! and planet generation tables; spacecraft rules; pilot, technician and scientist character class; tables for the pilot%, repair% and science% skills for OD&D classes!; a tech level Ability Score!; and a bunch of other wacky, sci-fi OD&D goodness.
I will definitely be printing this out in digest-format and using it in my campaign, and I strongly recommend this to those of like (weird/sci-fi/sci-fantasy) interests!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Further Sightings of the Black Ziggurat!
Under the Dying Sun (and a very meta- manifestation as well!)The Ebon Zikkuract (a very literal tesseract manifestation and now we have the word "zikkuract!")
The Black Ziggurat of Riskail (You know Riskail? That hot, new weird fantasy setting with all the talented writing and artwork...plus their Black Ziggurat has a Shoggoth!)
And what's This? Only the Black Ziggurat of GREYHAWK! (Which also contains an imprisoned Satan-figure and a lightsabre...)
EDIT: I'm hating myself for forgetting The Black Ziggurat of the Mutant Future!
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