Dungeon Lord Zine "The First Issue"

Free stuff is awesome. +Taylor Frank is quite the magnanimous character, sending me a copy of his Dungeon Lord Zine.

This thing is pretty awesome. I enjoy an abundance of colour; something you may have witnessed in my own offerings. The interior of this zine is printed on bright green paper, bearing an equally colourful (and pleasingly violent) cover. Although presented as being "compatible with DCC RPG", it is an ideal candidate for general idea-thievery. Okay yes, it's also suitable for DCC players too. The First Issue begins strongly — the interior cover has a one-page adventure.

The adventure is penned by Ron Yonks and is entitled Calcified Caves of the Slime Yeti. Mechanically it is very minimal — the sort of minimalism that endears me to the immediate possibilities. I'm totally going to throw this into my upcoming OD&D campaign as a side-jaunt. I'll change some things of course, but I could almost run it as written. 

The next page is the credits page. Mine came with a temporary tattoo (yes, you read correctly. I have some real ones, but the idea is still fun), and a hand-written note from Taylor. My copy is "damaged" and was thus free. It has some ink stains and a few rough edges. Taylor explains this, but elaborates that it is still a "good example of the issue". Yes it is Taylor, it's a very good example. I received a bunch of stuff from Stormlord Publishing this week, and comparatively they are very fastidious with their workmanship. However, I really appreciated the from-me-to-you aesthetic of Taylor's zine. It's homely, and I think that makes it inviting. If I spill coffee on it I won't really care, but that's how game materials should be used. I have a lot of stuff on my bookshelf that I'm overly careful with because it's effectively too "nice" to use. Dungeon Lord begs you to use it. I will.

The bulk of the zine is comprised of an adventure: "The Caves of the Sacred Seven". I can't be bothered explaining the plot, but it was a nice balance between "ecological" (or sensical) and gonzo. Again, I'll probably use some/all/bits of this in my OD&D campaign. It makes an interesting locale for adventure, with the possibility of finding some nice magic items. It has cavemen, reptilians, dinosaurs, transmuting corridors, "wild men", psychedelic spores, and a "hovel". My kind of adventure. Some bits are slightly silly or not quite my bent, but the basic structure is definitely pleasing. The Caves of the Sacred Seven is fairly basic in execution, providing enough detail to run, but not too much. The reader does not become bogged down when attempting to run it "correctly". It isn't long, and it isn't short. The remainder of the zine varies in usefulness: I didn't like The Tomb of Zarfulgar the Lost (another adventure), but I appreciated the simple (if slightly bland) blank dungeon on the back cover, the historical account of this zine's inception, and the "Random Dungeons Elevation" generator. One page of the zine was a poem, which I was decidedly ambivalent about. It wasn't horrible, more of a page filler. 

Conceptually, I want to discuss two things that particularly impressed me about this issue/zine. The first is the artwork. No one could accuse this zine of an enormous budget for commissioned art, but that is the beauty of it. It reminds me of Gygax and Arneson's earliest D&D efforts, and I mean that as a huge compliment. It is effortless, and is not pretentious. What you see is what you get. There are no gimmicks; nothing to hide behind. The content is either good, or it's shit. And like Gygax and Arneson's first efforts, it invites you to take part. This idea segues nicely into my second point, which is that Taylor actually explicitly asks you to take part. The zine's introduction attributes inspiration to "everyone who ever experienced the joy of fantasy role-playing in such a profound way that the urge to create overcame them." It asks the reader to, in turn, become inspired and "make something of your own."

The cynical reader may be laughing at me for my sentimentality (that's actually a word), but I like it. The DIY scene needs more inclusiveness and encouragement.Taylor seems to champion this idea. Most days, when I scroll down my G+ feed, there will be some kind of negativity about certain subcultural factions of the wider OSR community. That's a normal part of being human, but I find the positivity of this zine (and its creator) extremely refreshing.

Anyway, this thing has my vote. Seriously, in terms of page count and cost, Dungeon Lord punches far above its weight. I've paid $40 for supplements I've liked less, and with much larger budgets. Maybe the best things in life are free. 

OD&D Warlock

One of my players requested a warlock class for my upcoming OD&D campaign. For anyone interested, it can be downloaded from HERE

Tombstone Print

Some photos of the Tombstone Alpha Print version. Annoyingly during printing the top of the cover has been cut a little low (based on the proof this should not have happened). Hopefully this is a one-off, but to be sure I have edited the cover for a higher clearance. If you have purchased a copy and yours has done the same thing email me and we can sort something out. Otherwise I'm really pleased with how the playtest print copy looks! It makes a great low cost version for at the table. 

Back cover.

Interior with map of Silverton.

More Interior.

What the Shelf?

My RPG collection is not particularly large. My wife and I have very limited space. For the past three years we've lived in a one-bedroom apartment, necessitating some conscious choices about what stays on my gaming shelf. My collection is not particularly unique; I have no "collectible" items. As much as I'd like a Woodgrain OD&D box set, I don't see that happening any time soon. Regardless, I am really grateful for my collection. What follows is my top 5 list of indispensable products. In other words, my stranded-on-a-deserted-island list.

5. Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 
For about six months I scrimped and saved to afford the box set (and the equally expensive shipping costs to the bottomless void at the end of the world). It was the cover artwork and the interesting name that initially attracted me. It was very evocative of an importantly divergent D&D setting. This game pushed me to finally read H.P Lovecraft, R.E Howard, and C.A Smith's literature. Sure, it had been on the reading list for awhile, but it came at the right time. I love the Hyperborean setting, and the medley of dark sword & sorcery inspirations. It's a great game, and I have nothing but respect for Jeff Talanian. If you do not own this game, at least grab the PDFs.

4. Basic Set (Moldvay)
This one has to be included here. When introducing new players, I find this is my go-to edition. It's essentially OD&D but with tighter/more coherent rules. I love it. You can play it with a d20 and a handful of d6s, or throw in alternate weapon damage. It's readily adaptable, and I love the Erol Otus cover artwork. Plus, it doesn't get much better than a 30-odd page rulebook!

3. T1 - The Village of Hommlet (Gygax)
This adventure is iconic not only for me personally, but for a lot of people. I first played through this module with 3rd edition rules, but it was still distinctively old school. It has giant frogs that WILL kill half the party, bandits, cults, a dungeon, Gygax's signature "friendly" NPC who is really going to murder you in your sleep. What's not to like? 

2. AD&D (1st Edition)
This was my very first D&D experience. Although it was not the "current" edition of the day (3rd edition was), there was something about the lo-fi vibe that had me both terrified and tantalised. I had about 3 characters die in the space of as many hours. But rolling those weird dice, being absolutely confused by all the odd mathematics, and never knowing whether death was around the corner had me instantly addicted. I've kind of cheated here because I've included all three core books, but you need them all, right?

1. OD&D (Wizards Reprint)
Up until a year ago I had never played this edition of D&D. I read some shitty scan off the internet before I bought this, and was impressed with how you really can boil D&D down to some very simple elements. I wrote The Black Ruins in an afternoon, using bullet points for all the encounters, and ran it the same day. It worked, and it worked well. The system gets out of the way, and the play takes over. This is the quintessential DIY edition. Play a vampire if you like, just as long as it begins "relatively weak" and works its way "up to the top". Unlike some of the more complex editions of D&D I find this edition so esoteric you cannot help but begin tweaking with it. Making new classes/races/spells/items/monsters is a breeze. I liked that the Wizards reprints threw in most of the additional supplements, but I really appreciate the 3 little brown booklets. 

Bonus Contenders!
Here are 5 extras that fit outside my strict top 5, but are among my favourites:


5. A Red & Pleasant Land (Smith)
If you have any inkling of OSR stuff you probably know about this one already. Great artwork, great ideas. From my own experiences it's not hugely functional (I've only used the random items table within a game), but it's an exceptional blueprint for how malleable D&D can be. This book is "art" in the sense that it challenges the reader beyond their assumptions of creating and running a game. It is indirectly an instruction manual of how to take your games further. My first encounter with it had me going: "Huh...I never thought of that." Ever since, I've been telling myself to think outside the box more. 

4. Yoon-Suin (McGrogan)
This, along with A Red & Pleasant Land is inspirational reading. This setting is laden with tables, and in this sense it is very functional, but again, it challenges me to push the creative envelope with my own endeavours. I doubt I'll ever run a Yoon-Suin campaign, but I may plug it into a game somewhere, or use the adventure generators. More than anything, I just love reading the thing. I'm a huge sucker for Matthew Adams' artwork. Plus slug men. 

3. Fever-Dreaming Marlinko (Kutalik)
I play in Chris' G+ campaign so I am a bit biased. But before I knew Chris, I was a fan of the Hill Cantons material. The Hill Cantons Compendium and Slumbering Ursine Dunes are good, but this is Chris' current masterpiece in my opinion. It's short, sweet, and is accurately reflective of how hilarious playing in a Hill Cantons game is. The Slavic influences in his work, as well as his (warped*) imagination/sense of humour are the strong points of this booklet, making it something pretty unique.

2. Gary Gygax's Necropolis
Okay. I ran this badboy around 2003/2004. We played it every weekend for a good six months. There was character death aplenty, horrible traps, terrifying monsters, tricks, traps, the works. This is one of my all time favourite adventures. It's about time I ran it again. 

1. Judges Guild Ready Ref Sheets
A very useful set of tools to use with OD&D. Full of vintage vibes, and typewritten amateurism. I like random tables.

So there you go. That's my list. What's yours?

*Describing someone as "warped" in this context is a huge compliment. 

OD&D Conversion

We wrapped up my Astonishing Swordsman & Sorcerers of Hyperborea campaign last night. Perhaps fittingly it was a TPK. A horde of undead overbore the party, and after a cleric-less battle of valorous proportions everyone was dead. Being aware it was the final session, the players decided to fight to the death (though I think they could have escaped if they wished).

After the session I asked the players their thoughts on the system. We've had a total of 14 sessions by my count, which I think is a decent amount to get a handle on a system. People were generally positive with the experience. The two phase combat has been difficult for me to get my head around (practically speaking) and I think this translated in the sessions. Also the descending armour class was different from the games we grew up on (but something I am personally very familiar with). Unsurprisingly, these were the things which were mentioned as downsides. The upsides were the deadliness of combat and the general mood. Let it be noted that the group played excellently throughout this campaign.

I am currently scheming an OD&D sandbox concept. The goal is open-ended exploration, rife with dungeons, cults, interesting wilderness spaces, odd races, spacemen, and everything else that makes a game of D&D fun. My approach is beginning with the White box. Over time I may add some details from the Greyhawk supplement, but for now I'll keep it super simple. Classes will be custom for the most part, though Fighting-Man, Cleric, and Magic-User will be defaults. Given the player feedback regarding descending armour class, I converted the Men & Magic tables to an ascending system. I haven't fully decided whether I'll keep it traditional, or use ascending armour class. Part of me thinks it may be easier (for both me and the players) to use my conversion.

If you're interested check out my downloads page or click HERE. 

Print friendly version can be found HERE.

Example Page

I've attempted to keep the representations faithful to the originals - a literal translation. You'll notice I've created a table which extrapolates the attack bonuses for each level (and class). These are not "raw" because I have had to fill in progressions between say +1 and +3, making an executive decision on how those progressions are made. If you do not like the way I have interpreted this, simply use the preceding tables. In the interest of clarity I have also added the Saving Throws in a more readable format. Hope this is helpful!

Praise for Tombstone

Writing can be a largely solitary (and at times, isolated) activity. My initial motivation for formally creating Tombstone was to produce a fun, simple Wild West I could play with my friends, and a rulebook with art I liked. Most of the time I create products which are received with little feedback. Here and there people may comment that they enjoy something, or that they'd like to try it, or compliment some aspect of what I have done.

I was feeling a little jaded last night, but I got this lovely email out of the blue:

"Hi Corey,

I just wanted to let you know that I downloaded your Tombstone alpha rules and printed out the book and read through it. I really like what you've done.  I've tried several of the wild west games out there (Coyote Trail, Shotguns and Saddles, Blood & Bullets, Boot Hill, Wild West Cinema, and others I am likely forgetting) but your game really works for me. I love the simplicity and how easy it is to add house rules to. I'm greatly looking forward to the finished product. I really like the game and can't wait to see it in the finished form. I liked it enough that I ordered the actual print book from lulu after we played. I think we are going to give it another go on Sunday.I'm even considering running this for my regular face to face group a week from Sunday. Keep up the great work!"

These little moments keep me motivated and inspired. Thank you!

OD&D + 0-Level Characters

A present to myself arrived on the doorstep today: the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I will probably do a review of it at some point (what I've read so far is awesome), but one aspect that inspired me is the handling of 0-level characters. I like the idea of a dozen or so peasant mates banding together to explore a dungeon: 

*Hiccup!* "Barry, ai heard therz sum treshurez in this here dungin!" 

A few hours/days/weeks later most are dead. Shit, that escalated quickly.

Anyway, my Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers mini-campaign is winding down. I'm running a published adventure at the moment, and my Xamboola adventure has been successfully playtested. I'm kind of itching for something different. Earlier this year I ran an OD&D one-shot which turned into The Black Ruins. I'm a huge fan of OD&D. Although I was born over a decade after its release, I adore the ruleset. It's simple, malleable, and includes all the bits of D&D that I like. The other day I drew a map of an imagined city called Styro which is basically...I don't know...it's weird. But the idea of a classless game - or at least a looser definition of class - has been sitting with me recently, and DCC's 0-level characters has got the juices going a bit further. I've been considering running an OD&D hexcrawl/megadungeon game, where characters start off as worthless peons, and through adventure begin to hone their skills further. Each character would begin at 0 level, and...

• I'd probably use my Sandboxing tables to generate a prior profession, or use the DCC tables for ideas.
• Begin with1d3 hit points. 
• Gain a level at the conclusion of the first adventure and choose a class. Classes will be assumed to be fighting-man, cleric, or magic-user (probably human only). Additional class options are my OD&D Thief and Berserker (see my downloads section). Also, players can describe what sort of character they want, and I can create a template from that (I'm working on a Mentalist at the moment).
• Instead of gaining another hit die, 1st level characters would then roll 1d6 for hit points. If the total exceeded their 0-level total, they keep the higher. Otherwise they gain 1 extra hit point. Thus, a 1st level character could have anywhere between 2-6 hit points.

Oh, and I'd get players to roll at least 2-4 characters. I've been mapping out the first level of the Styro underworld too. I'm kind of excited for where this eventuates. More to come. 

Mini Review: 18 "Unusual Dice Set" Impact Miniatures

For a long, long, long, long time (as in a month max), I had determined to pick up a set of eclectic dice. I was considering buying the Goodman Games DCC dice, but ended up purchasing the "Unusual Dice Set" by Impact Miniatures. They were available from Amazon for $26 USD. Shipping rates were more affordable for those of us residing at the bottom of the world too. 

The included dice are d3, d4, d5, d6, d7, d8, d10, d%, d11, d12, d14, d16, d18, d20, d24, and d30. Quite the variety. They came very speedily (a week?). Impressive service.

Overall Thoughts:
I'm happy with my purchase, although straight out of the bag I did notice the d5 and d20 in particular had blurred/running ink marks on them. The quality is equitable or slightly inferior to Chessex and definitely not up to par with Game Science. I have a sneaky intuition the d5 favours the 5 a little too much, though without rigorous testing, my predilection will remain indefinitely in the realms of suspicion. In sum, it meets my needs: a big faakking range of dice.

If you need a set of "unusual" dice, go ahead and grab one. I'm looking forward to my next game just so I can have an excuse to roll something weird. I can see why everyone is making d30 tables. 

Tombstone (Alpha Playtest)

I am proud to announce the Alpha Playtest of Tombstone! Tombstone: Role-Playing In The Wild West, is a rules-lite system, inspired by a combination of TSR's Boot Hill, and B/X D&D. I have attempted at all times to keep the rules as simple as possible, while providing multiple options for the Judge (Game Master).

You can download a FREE PDF from HERE
You can download a physical copy from HERE

Please note the physical booklet is not a refined product, but is designed for playtesting purposes. Purchase at your own risk. 

The "full" version of Tombstone will (hopefully) be appearing later this year. Besides additional content, it will include all of Erik Wilson's fabulous artwork, as well as +Joe Salvador's beautiful maps.

In the meantime, I really hope you enjoy the Alpha version of Tombstone. My gaming group and I have been putting this game through its paces for close to a year, so I can attest that it's easy to play and very easy to run. 

Have fun!

P.S: If you have any suggestions, feedback, critiques, whatever, great! Please hit me up on G+ or email me at coreyrwalden@gmail.com. The purpose of this initial release is to refine the current rules. Don't be shy.

Styro City Map (FREE DOWNLOAD).

Today, I've been thinking about cities, and doing them slightly differently in a fantasy game. I doodled the above map today. I like the idea of sci-fi meeting fantasy. The premise being a melding of ancient pyramidical and domed architecture, meeting modern conventions. Think elevator shafts, electronic "magic" equipment, etc. Clearly, there is a visible level above ground, and an undercity rife for exploration.

DOWNLOAD MAP

Points of Interest

Styro can be either an inhabited city, or a seemingly deserted locale. A large building can be located in the wilderness. Leading away from this building, and towards Styro are tall, stone-like creatures (of at least 20 feet in height). These creatures stand erect with arms straight against their sides. Fused to their either side of their heads are two silky cords which act to connect them all in a line extending miles, into the tip of Shaft II's antenna. The creatures do not speak, and may even appear as statues.

In actuality the creatures are psychic conductors. The two cords are known as psychic silk, which can be used to power buildings and technologies. Those endowed with psionic ability can tap into the "silk" and communicate with the connected buildings. 

Styro has a few large buildings, and the rest are fairly humble domiciles. Of note is the Ramid, Babel, the Silo, and the dual shafts.

The lower levels and monsters are not detailed. I may run my group through this adventure site (if they find it!), and do not wish to ruin any surprises. Depending on my ongoing enthusiasm I may release this as a proper adventure. Enjoy. 


1. Shaft I

• 120 feet deep, 6 feet wide.
• After 60 feet an entry into Gamma (Level 3) may be visible.
• A winch-wound shaft and basket enables descent.
• Service entries can be found on either side of shaft, for maintenance or surprising foes.
• The building housing the shaft has strange blinking lights within, and a perpetual rumbling noise.
• Opening the rumbling cages reveals sluggish creatures sitting in pits of putrid goo. The goo glows with a phosphorescence, and seems to power the infrastructure. 

2. Silo

• 40 feet high.
• Appears as an administration office — various abacus', merchants' scales, astronomical tools, and so forth can be found within.

3. Ramid (Temple)

• 80 feet high. Can be ascended by climbing its stepped sides.
• Has an unusual pole atop. 
• Inside is a catacomb of worship avenues, shrines, sacrificial altars, mission quarters, and channels of cut recesses within the floors. 
• The temple interior is divided into 3 levels, each 20 feet high.
• A crypt of monkey-sarcophagi.
• A shaft descends into Alpha (Level 1).

4. Shaft II

• 120 feet deep, 6 feet wide.
• At the bottom an entry into Zeta (Level 6) can be discovered, though the portal is locked. 
• Alternatively another descent into Shaft III can be discovered. Though descending this requires manipulation of an ensorcelled device. 

5. Babel

• A tower — 60 feet high at its pinnacle, 20 feet wide.
• Murals on most walls depicting a slave-people toiling to erect this structure. The exterior resembles the Empire State building somewhat. 
• The appointments within suggest a matriarchy society, led by Queen lineage. 

6. Domiciles

• Simple structures of varying sizes and shapes. Most are single or double-roomed, while others are rather palatial.
• Squarish or domed.
• A few will have treasure. 

7. Shaft III

• 70 feet deep, 6 feet wide.
• Getting up or down requires manipulation of an ensorcelled device (powered by the slugs or the Giant Rockdweller psychic silks). 

8. Alpha (Level 1)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

9. Beta (Level 2)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

10. Gamma (Level 3)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

11. Delta (Level 4)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

12. Epsilon (Level 5)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

13. Zeta (Level 6)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

14. Eta (Level 7)

• Vaulted ceilings 20 feet high. 

15. Theta (Level 8)

• This level is 60 feet high.

16. Iota (Level 9)

• This level is 40 feet high.

On "Character Builds"

Disclaimer: I don't give a monkey's banana how you play your game. I mean that sincerely. However...

The two words "Character Build" makes me cringe every time I hear them. This process of character creation has been described in both "official" and "unofficial" capacities, and it honestly perplexes me. Despite the fact I was weaned on 3rd edition (mainly), and I became well acquainted with poring over tables, dense paragraphs, and rules and options galore, I can't help but feel this term is misplaced. In a game in which death lingers around every darkened corner, it is preemptive to plan so far ahead to predict a character's distant fate. Is this not the role of the game itself to determine? 

The idea of "character build" makes way more sense in a video (or digital) game. Usually, death is as inconvenient as reloading from your last save, or as involved as retrieving your items from whence you were slain. By this mode of play, the idea of a "character build" is logical. By and large, the autonomy of a character's destiny is in the hands of the player. If they don't like how the computer...err computed...that last battle, just reload the game. Someone will invariably argue that video gamers are destroying the hobby and blah blah blah, but I would suggest the prevalence of min-maxing has been around since day one. This is evidenced in Gygax's distaste for some of the hobbyist hacks of the day, where umpteenth levels were not uncommon. Munchkinism right?

If you are a munchkin/min-maxer, all power to you. Then again, in a tabletop role-playing game — especially if you're playing a relatively high lethality system (like most OSR games) — I feel the idea of a character build puts an unfair burden on the DM. Why? Because when a player says "I'm going to have a 20th level x, who has taken x feat, and adds x amount to attacks and damage" the DM, in their role of "facilitating fun", is more likely to take this player predilection on board. A bias (and arguably a detractive one) occurs. The game becomes less free. 

I'm a huge fan of letting the dice fall in whatever random pattern they may. If this benefits the players, so be it. If it destroys my careful preparation, so be it. If a character dies, so be it. Even if I am a player, and my character dies because of a shitty die roll, I honestly couldn't care less. The merciless randomness of "chance" is more fair and exciting to me than any hyper-effort towards true game balance. One of my biggest attractions to D&D is the fact that real-life intelligence can be helpful. Yes, there is an arbitrariness to the whole thing. DM decision-making and the whims of the dice can be a cold fate to swallow, but a system that facilitates the immediate creation of a superhero is tediously boring. The game purposely involves dice. Surely, the game is meant to contain some level of randomness. If a purpose of a role-playing game is a (rather loose) simulation of reality, why would everything work in a player's favour? Characters will and should die. 

As a DM, I just want to run my game, and for it to be enjoyable. I don't want the nagging thought in the back of my mind that a player is expecting their character's inevitable specialness to shine through every session. If they're invested in the game, I believe that will happen by itself. I see that specialness every session when my players blow me away with their awesome ideas. For me, part of the fun of the game, is the notion that death could be around the corner, and if I want a level, or more gold, or an awesome sword, I need to legitimately "earn it". I can distinctly remember my least enjoyable games. They have usually involved a predetermined or unavoidable narrative path I (as the player) must follow, or the complete absence of real danger to my character. Let me know death is not only possible, it's probable.

For the record, I'm not going to pretend slaughtering a whole village of orcs is not fun, it is. But I like that powerful feeling to be interspersed with moments of terror and the imminent realisation that my character kind of sucks!

Sandboxing (A Work In Progress)

I've decided to compile a growing collection of tables into one booklet. The purpose: to assist with an upcoming hexcrawl/megadungeon/sandbox campaign I'm working on. Maybe other people will enjoy them too. I've already published three of these to my blog, but I've attempted to tidy them up somewhat in a slightly more professional manner. 

The booklet is aptly entitled "Sandboxing". I will continue to add new tables to the booklet, as I create them. It will be available exclusively (for the moment) from my downloads page. If it grows to a publishable size, I may look at making a print-on-demand version available. If you like it, keep checking back. This is a long-term project, and I have two other projects of much higher priority, but I do hope to keep plugging away at it over the next year or two. 

Get it directly from HERE or check out my downloads page.