Possible Future Elric pictures from Jeff Dee
Some of you might remember Jeff Dee’s illustrations for the ‘Melniboneán Mythos’ included in the original printing of the Deities and Demigods book for AD&D. This chapter and the one devoted to the ‘Cthulhu[...]Read on >>
Stygian Depths – Moon Pulses, Titanic Towers and Reg
Three more previews of Stygia. I'm writing Dis now and I'm starting to get into the material. Still working on Blood & Treasure, as well, and it's coming along pretty nicely. I'll probably do a couple art previews so[...]Read on >>
Dragonsfoot & the Retro-Clones
Dragonsfoot just opened a new section for Simulacrum Games like OSRIC, Labyrinth Lords, Swords & Wizardry. So if you have anything you want to share contact Steve Yates (steve@dragonsfoot.org). [...]Read on >>
Of Fembots and Bikini Machines [Mystery Men!]
During the 1960’s, beach movies by AIP (American International Pictures) briefly ruled the earth. As unfortunately as they might have been (honestly – I like most of them for exactly the reasons movie critics would t[...]Read on >>
Every Fool Has His Day!
While watching a Stooges marathon on Antenna TV today, I was kissed by the muse (or maybe bonked by the muse, considering the source). Enjoy a class in a class of it own.The StoogeStooges seem to coast through life, blis[...]Read on >>
Eldritch Enterprises releases
Eldritch Enterprises is a gaming company that partners Frank Mentzer, Jim Ward, Tim Kask, and Christopher Clark. They formed last year and been relatively quiet. Now they have finished their first four product and have r[...]Read on >>
Stabbing You With Their Minds
The last of the three "lost classes" of Blood & Treasure is the soulknife. The soulknife is certainly more gonzo than the classic fantasy archetypes, but they have some cool precedents in sci-fi entertainment, specif[...]Read on >>
MW Character Sheets Updated
Through the various campaigns I ran I found the original sheets I created for the Majestic Wilderlands needed some improvements. I separated the to hit box into Melee To Hit and Missile to Hit. I added a box where you ca[...]Read on >>
Magic Item Creation
I been working on a project I call the Lost Book of Magic. In the three years since I released Majestic Wilderlands I ran several campaigns using Swords & Wizardry. Along the way I further developed the rules and bac[...]Read on >>
Deviant Friday – Pot-Pori
Today's Deviant Friday post is just a bunch of little items I've favorited over the last couple of months ... no connection other than, for one reason or another, I dig' em. Enjoy and check out all of these folk's portfo[...]Read on >>
Happy Blog-O-Versary to Me! + FLAILSNAILs comes to NOD
Image is property of Wizards of the Coast, the darlingsFour very simple items today.First - it's my second blog-o-versary! I've had a ball with this blog and, I think, created something useful to the RPG community at lar[...]Read on >>
Thoughts on the City of Dis [Hellcrawl]
Dis presents a unique challenge for the Hellcrawl, as it is a city that dwarfs anything mankind has ever known. Mapping it would be impossible, and producing enough unique encounters to fill its streets would take more t[...]Read on >>
Stygian Depths – Dark Diplomats, a Fierce Tomb and Macrosian of the Long Shadow!
Illustration by Sidney Sime, because you never need a reason to post a Sime piece!A few more from Stygia! NOD 14 is pretty much on schedule. I'm 95% finished writing the Stygia hellcrawl, and am ready to tackle the city [...]Read on >>
Tournament Time for Sir Basil of Lyonesse!
Mike Davison has started a FlailSnails Jousting Tournament on Google+ that my brand new knight, Sir Basil of Lyonesse, has entered. The jousting started today and, glory be to God, Sir Basil managed to squeek out a win, [...]Read on >>
The Polyhedroids [New Monster]
Two of the creatures that proved popular in my best.monster.ever poll were the modrons and the slaad. Since neither is open content, I've had to create my own versions for inclusion in Blood & Treasure. The polyhedro[...]Read on >>
Antikytheres [New Clockwork Monster]
During the best.monster.ever discussion there was a request for clockwork horrors. Here's my version of the, sort of the fantasy version of self-replicating machines that just don't know when to stop. ANTIKYTHERESAntikyt[...]Read on >>
Deviant Friday – Metal Snail Edition
The mysterious artiste known as MetalSnail and/or Vindaloovian draws what Carcosa looks like in my admittedly more whimsical/less Lovecraftian horror mind's eye. Love his stuff - check it out and throw out some possible [...]Read on >>
Stygian Depths – Hellcrawl Preview III
Gustave Dore - Satan talks to his children, Sin and Death37.41 Ossuary: A muddy little island here is topped by a stone building about 30 feet wide and 100 feet long, with a peaked roof that is also made of stone. The bu[...]Read on >>
Explaining Hit Points
How’s this for a draft for how I’m explaining hit points in Blood & Treasure …"Hit points don’t represent anything solid or real or concrete in and of themselves. Rather, they are part of a complex calculatio[...]Read on >>
Mystery Men! Google+ Play Report … the Conspiracy Revealed!
Google+ has been something of a renaissance for me in terms of actually playing games. At the moment, I'm running two games and playing in two games (and a third game not on Google+). Good times! I thought I'd give reade[...]Read on >>
Smilodars [New Monster]
The first response I got when I asked about awesome monsters from the old D&D line (B/X or BECMI or RC) referenced the aranea, which made it into the SRD, and the rakasta. I wanted to slap myself in the forehead. The[...]Read on >>
Weretigress Temple
Setup: In an uninhabited locale, far from the protection of a city or keep, sits an unassuming temple to [insert an adventure appropriate deity from your setting]. The inhabitants of the temple are kind and inviting. The[...]Read on >>
The Wizard’s Brain …
The Dead Wizard’s Brain …… has unraveled and now looks like a squishy pink snake; it casts what spells it has left as auras and vibration fields such that all spells have an area of effect of 10-ft. per magic-user [...]Read on >>
AD&D’s Dual Classing doesn’t suck (much)
Recently in an AD&D campaign a player lost his character and the DM decided to allow him to make a new character with the same amount of XP. After looking at the PHB he decides to go for Bard (which involves Dual Cla[...]Read on >>
Results of Best. Monster. Ever!
No love for the RC?The results are in (I'm always amazed at how few people who view these posts actually chime in - I've never known a gamer who didn't have an opinion or couldn't form one at the drop of a hat) and the m[...]Read on >>
Bionic Warriors and Space Hippies [Space Princess]
It could take up to 6 million quatloos to get a body like this!Two new classes for the wonderful worlds of Space PrincessBIONIC WARRIOR Bionic warriors are usually space warriors or astronauts who have been rebuilt due t[...]Read on >>
Best. Monster. Ever. [A Poll]
Image found at flumph.com. No, seriously.My work on Blood & Treasure is rapidly coming to a close. Only a couple small sections are left to be written and I'm now embarking on editing the sizable tome. I've managed t[...]Read on >>
Cover of the Day
So tell me, dear readers. Is this fantasy or science-fantasy? Or science-fiction? I don't know, but I do know that I love everything about this cover. Let's break it down, along with some quick stats for Space Princess a[...]Read on >>
Stygian Depths – Hellcrawl Preview II
Writing has begun in earnest on the Stygia portion of the Hellcrawl. Here are some samples of what I've written so far.33.50 Tree Temple: The mangroves here grow to a truly enormous size. A city of 500 frog men is built [...]Read on >>
Big, Green and Plenty Mean [Monster]
In honor of the new John Carter movie (no, I haven't seen it), and the fact that this kick ass illustration is in the public domain, I present everyone's favorite green, four armed aliens for a variety of systems with th[...]Read on >>
Into the Dwimmermount
This Friday I was able to join the Dwimmermount campaign run by James Maliszewski of Grognardia. I was originally exposed to the dungeons several years ago in a short play by post game run over on the OD&D Discussion[...]Read on >>
I Dream of Uranians [Space Princess]
Uranians have been known, from time to time, to fall in love with handsome astronauts.The Uranians, also known as space genies or radiation genies, are powerful entities of energy who have learned the secret of transform[...]Read on >>
A Fantasy Cosmos
While writing (or, to some degree, copy/pasting from the SRD) Blood & Treasure the other day, I finally came to the section on the planes. I decided, for a sample cosmos (and I do mean sample - there is no official c[...]Read on >>
B&T Lost Classes: The Shadowdancer
The shadowdancer is an interesting little class. While I don't think of it being an archetype of fantasy fiction (at least not the old stuff I read), one can imagine it fitting in well with Gygax's concept of a "shadow p[...]Read on >>
Beware the Genomes! [Space Princess]
Can stats for Spaceman Spiff be far behind?Genomes are small humanoid aliens with highly variable features (highly variable!) because of their penchant for body modification. I’m not talking about tattoos and piercings[...]Read on >>
Into Stygia … Preview 1 Again!
Is it me, or is that demon photo-bombing those fighting naked dudes?Well, you've seen the sketch of Stygia a bit earlier ... now the finished product.STYGIA As one passes from hot, dry Gehenna into cool, damp Stygia, the[...]Read on >>
Into Stygia … Preview 1
I'm just beginning the process of writing the Stygia portion of my Hellcrawl - the fifth circle of Hell, to be precise, wherein dwell the wrathful and the sullen. What follows is my initial sketch of the overview. Some p[...]Read on >>
Blood & Treasure: An Idea and a Problem
Before I begin this post ... The NOD 13 E-Book is back up for sale. I had forgotten to credit an artist, so I needed to bring it down until I could fix the PDF this morning. So - back up for sale, $3.50. Buy it HERE if y[...]Read on >>
B&T Lost Classes: The Dragon Disciple
I love classes. Since I picked up my first Dragon ages ago and discovered the concept of the "NPC class" (like we weren't going to try to play them), I've loved classes. I've posted quite a few on this blog. When it came[...]Read on >>
NOD 13 Lives!
UPDATE - I FOUND A CORRECTION THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE TO THE BOOK, SO DON'T TRY BUYING IT JUST YET - SORRY!Finally finished NOD 13 and got the e-book uploaded at Lulu.com. NOD enters its third year of existence with this i[...]Read on >>
Deviant Friday – M Breitweiser Edition
Breitweiser brings a classic style to super heroes that is not derivative, or if it is derivative draws on many different illustrators and draftsmen. He is also one of those modern artists who don't feel driven to "moder[...]Read on >>
Atom Age Tech for Space Princess
A couple devices from Atomic Annihilation for the Space Princess adventurer.AEROCYCLE (DC 30)If you need a super science vehicle to move you through the air while still leaving you vulnerable to ray guns, bullets and roc[...]Read on >>
After London, the RPG Campaign Book That Wasn’t
Having recently stuck my toe in the concept of a Victorian post-apocalyptic game (Apocalypse 1898, to be precise), several folks pointed me towards a few 19th century tomes about such a world. One was called After London[...]Read on >>
Blogger Appreciation Day & Lulu Sale
Apparently, it is Blogger Appreciation Day. So, just wanted to say thanks to all the various bloggers I read and enjoy, from old school (and sometimes new school) RPGs to economics to art and design. We live in an age of[...]Read on >>
Origin of the name Majestic Wilderlands
When I first started working on Judges Guild project with Bob Bledsaw around 2000 I kept calling the Wilderlands, the Majestic Wilderlands. Bob didn't know what I was talking about even tho I was 100% sure that was the o[...]Read on >>
Nomes – New Race [Pars Fortuna]
Illustration by John R. Neil, 1921The nomes are akin to the fey oumphs, and dwell underground with them, sometimes cooperatively, but just as often in opposition. They are natural miners, with eyes that can pierce the bl[...]Read on >>
AD&D Monster Manual Part 39
Quasit: Quasits make their first appearance here. Quasits are small demons that are often used as familiars by chaotic evil magic-users or clerics. In addition to their magic resistance they get a whole raft of special[...]Read on >>
Twenty Questions
There are twenty questions going around about different ways DMs run games. I decided to add my 2 cents. I answered them for my D&D (2e) game. Maybe I should answer them for my WarHammer game next...1. Ability score[...]Read on >>
Undead: I Don’t Like Level Drain
I don't like level draining attacks from Undead.I have never liked them. I also don't like 3.x "Negative" levels solution either, although it is getting closer.See "Level" to me has always been an abstraction, a sh[...]Read on >>
Monster Matinee – Attack of the Crab Monsters
I'm working my way through the public domain sci-fi/horror movies on Pub-D-Hub, and last night I took in Roger Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957).Spoilers are a comin', so be warned.The combination of "Corman" a[...]Read on >>
