Attronarch's Athenaeum

Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.

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OSRIC 3.0 Player Guide PDF has just been released for free on DriveThruRPG. Offset print and print-on-demand will be available next year, as well as GM Guide, adventures, and a host of other material.

OSRIC, Old School Reference and Index Compilation, was the first retroclone of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Released almost 20 years ago, it led the charge during early days of OSR, providing means to legally publish content compatible with AD&D.

OSRIC 3.0 brings a host of improvements, focusing on providing more explanations and examples of play, replacing dense blocks of text with more accessible layout, discards OGL, and brings the rules even closer to AD&D, just to name a few.

Learn more about OSRIC 3.0 on BackerKit.

#News #OSRIC #OSR

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Pilots' Almanac: Maritime & Piloting Rules is currently DriveThruRPG deal of the day for 50% off. Although for Hârn, I found it to be a great resource in my OD&D game, especially the sections on crews, ships, and maritime trade. An expensive book that rarely goes on sale.

Frog God Games is also running a 50% off sale. From what I can see some of the products are 75% off. Good sale to pick up some of the more expensive tomes and bundles like Razor Coast, Northlands, and Necromancer Games supplements.

#Sale #FGG #NG #Harn #OSR

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Heinrik Human Magic-user level 1 Muscular mage with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
Ambros Human Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 5 / magic-user level 4 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Foxglove Human Thief level 6 A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time.
Tikatu Human Druid level 3 A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Amari Human Ranger level 1 Black hair that shines blue. Scarred like a gladiator.
Kho Rimbo Human Magic-user level 3 A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.

Sunstrong 5th, Spiritday

Sun beat down on Ghinarian Hills with no mercy. Not a trace of clouds to offer some shade or protection. Seven adventurers—Alaric, Ambros, Andvar, Heinrik, Ignaeus, Seren, and Tikatu—spent a week hiding away in a smelly ogre lair they had cleaned up.

During that time Alaric and Seren scouted Midway, confirming that it too was conquered by Racoba's forces. Tikatu was still recoiling from his wounds. A decision was made. The party would travel close to Ahyf. Then all but Heinrik would find a spot by the coast to hide.

Heinrik would go alone, with nothing but staff and few well hidden gold pieces, to the village, check in on Amari, Somniel, and Mepheus, and finally, hire a sailing ship to take them to Ironburg.

That was the plan.

Here is how it went.

Enroute to the village Heinrik was stopped by a dozen brigands. They were cheerful and offered him to “escort” him to Ahyf in exchange for some coin. Heinrik was delighted to pay them seven gold pieces. They indeed delivered on their promise, which was easy since the village was literally within sight, less than half an hour of walking away.

Magic-User had no problem with the guards at the entrance. “We already took care of him!” patrol leader winked to the guards. The latter just waved them away, cart half-full of weapons and trinkets behind them.

After confirming that Mepheus, Somniel, and Amari were fine, he negotiated with three fishermen with sizeable coaster to take him to Ironburg, forty leagues upriver. He agreed to pay them thirty gold pieces if they set out tomorrow morning.

Sunstrong 6th, Airday

Amari, now fully recovered, and Mepheus, joined Heinrik on the boat. They set out before dawn, rowing along the coast to pick up Ambros, Ignaeus, and Seren whom were hiding an hour or so away from Ahyf.

Then they sailed west, to the confluence of mighty rivers Cedarwade and Farhills. These are wide rivers, and clear day provided good visibility. Thus, they sailed north, towards Ironburg.

As they approached Hara they could see a man waving a flag at them, pointing to the harbour.

“What shall we do?” asked the fisherman “They want us to enter.”

“Just sail around them. As close to the east bank as possible.” instructed Ambros.

The coaster was soon peppered with arrows, kill two out of the three fishermen. The surviving one cursed the adventurers all the way to Ironburg. Navigating a coast with one third of the crew was an insane undertaking, but through sheer luck they made it in one piece.

“Where will I find seamen in this godforsaken place?!” the fisherman lamented as he wiped away the tears with a purse filled with gold pieces.

Ambros went straight to the Hog's Head Inn and rented out all the rooms. This will be the adventurers base of operations for the time being. Or,at least, so they planned.

Sunstrong 7th, Waterday

Adventurers caught up with Kho Rimbo, Foxglove, and Thorm, whom were each on their own mission in Ironburg for some time now.

“Heinrik, I am telling you, you need to meet Old Crus. He is old and slow, but great mentor. Amazing library too!”

Heinrik had lost his spellbook, and he wanted to write himself a new one. But that was nigh impossible without source material and appropriate supplies. Prospect of Old Crus sounded great.

And so, whilst others shopped and explored the hamlet, Kho Rimbo, Heinrik, and Ignaeus went to visit the Old Crus's tower.

As it goes, they had to wait nearly half an hour before the grumpy wizard opened the doors. He looked at Kho Rimbo. Then at Ignaeus. Then at Heinrik. Then at Kho Rimbo again. Then elf. Then muscle mage.

Kho Rimbo talked, but old Crus did not listen. Instead he asked:

“Am I Lysander?”

Kho Rimbo was dumbfound.

“Sorry, what?”

Old Crus leaned in and enunciated:

“Am-I-Lysander?”

“Sorry, I do not understand!”

Old Crus widened his eyes and spelled it out:

“A-m I L-y-s-a-n-d-e-r?”

Kho Rimbo cried out:

“I am sorry, is that a-”

Old Crus slammed the doors shut, almost hitting the scarred man in the face.

“Well, that went great.”

“I'll knock again!”

“What did you do to him to piss him off so much?” Heinrik inquired.

The doors swung open once more.

Kho Rimbo talked about Klekess Racoba, and how he is out to get all the wizards, and how he needs help so he can get monster parts from Woelands, and he begged and begged and begged until Old Crus relented.

Old wizard leaned on his gnarly staff and squinted at Heinrik, sizing him up. “Well, I never mentored an imbecile. I guess I could try it as a fun pastime.” He motioned the muscle mage to come in. Then he turned to Kho Rimbo, eyes of attack. “Enough groveling! Do you take me for a fool! You evaded and dodged your geas for long enough. This elf next to you knows how to enter Woelands! Do not come back empty handed!”

“No, really, Kho Rimbo, I must know what you did to the old man? Why does he hate you so much?” Heinrik whispered to Kho Rimbo as he entered Crus's tower.

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Last year I rolled 70 magical weapons as part of the RPG Blog Carnival: Wondrous Weapons and Damning Dweomers. Since then several people asked me for a print-friendly PDF versions.

Here they are:

Enjoy!

Illustration by Grey Gnome Games.

#Resource #OSR #ODnD #SW #Arduin #LL

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Deigos Human Thief level 3 Oily dark hair, slightly mustached, youthful expression, feels the call of revolution.
Alaric Human Paladin level 3 Big, doe eyed country boy with wavy blond hair and willingness to do the right thing. Paladin of Tyr.
Ambros Human Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 5 / magic-user level 4 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Tikatu Human Druid level 3 A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Andvar Dwarf Fighter level 2 / thief level 2 A standout amongst dwarves with clean shaven chin and two large braids hangings from the sides. A scruffy looking redhead.

Warmshade 16th, Airday

Adventurers spent the day asking around in Ketche. They hadn't learned much, for this is a secluded fishing village which is rarely visited by civilised folk from Hara. Queen was nowhere to be seen, and Ambros did not feel compelled to follow her command anymore. Deigos, a thief full of dreams joined the party. Tikatu convinced a team of fishermen to transport them to Ahyf.

Warmshade 17th, Waterday

Adventurers sailed out of the Vigil Sound bay and towards Ahyf. The fishermen dropped them off some two leagues west of the village, per adventurers' request.

Seren and Tikatu found a nice wooded gully where the party could sequester to and rest. It was evening and adventurers decided it'd be best to stay out of Ahyf before less known adventurers scout it out. Tikatu and Deigos volunteered to do so.

They reached Ahyf in two hours of brisk walk.

“No weapons in Ahyf. King's orders.” They were stopped by three armed brigands. Nearby cart had a small pile of weapons in it. Duo gave up theirs. As they walked towards the village they could see brigands take Deigos's knife.

They quickly learned that a throng of brigands led by a man named Bandles marched into Ahyf just three days ago. Bandles seized control as the new Sheriff appointed by the Wizard-King Klekless Racoba. At that time a manacled man dressed in a wizardy robe, with a bruised face and scab-covered palms, was forced to read the proclamation:

“Peoples of Hara, rejoice! The reign of tyrannical Red Bitch has come to an end! His Regal Magnificence, Majestic Munificence, Wizard-King Racoba, has liberated Hara and all of its lands! A new era of prosperity is about to begin!

People of Ahyf, rejoice! You too shall enjoy protection from Hara, effective immediately! You shall fear no more! You shall suffer no more! You too shall prosper!

His Regal Magnificence, Majestic Munificence, Wizard-King Racoba, has great plans for Our Kingdom. Therefore, all men of talent, foresight, and gumption are invited to Hara and seek employment at the Court.

Gifted and loyal men will be greatly rewarded, for few are as generous as His Regal Magnificence, Majestic Munificence, Wizard-King Racoba!

What greater evidence of his generosity than Royal Pardons for Chief Crook Ambros, Incompetent Castellan Marlon, Selfish Mavis, and number of others who have actively worked against the wellbeing of peoples?!

Peoples of Hara, rejoice! People of Ahyf, rejoice!”

All Altanians residing in Ahyf were captured, enslaved, and sent to Hara. Bounties for Earani Cor, alive Altanian men, dead Altanian men, and dead Altanian women, were hammered by the docks and on the gates of Elders' house. They are 18 000 gold pieces, 20 gold pieces, 10 gold pieces, and 50 gold pieces respectively.

Tikatu and Deigos also learned that everyone residing at the Belching Vicar tavern and Swordsman's Citadel were kicked out so Sheriff's men can stay there. This was where their injured friends Somniel, Amari, and Drokh were recovering.

Camus, cleric of Thoth, and a friend of Ambros, took the injured adventurers in. They are currently resting at his temple, while Mepheus is helping the cleric with daily tasks. Two brigands charged Tikatu and Deigos an “entry donation.”

“Are you happy with this turn of events?” Tikatu asked the cleric.

“Tyrants come and go. People are forever.” the man shrugged.

The duo snuck out and sought shelter in one of the stables at the edge of the village. They met Ivan the Slow, who happily welcomed new friends. They slept in hay with few of the horses. Ivan was happy.

Warmshade 18th, Earthday

Deigos and Tikatu left with first rays of sun. That made Ivan sad, and he waved them away with a tear in his eye. People are rarely kind to Ivan, so these two made an impression on him.

“Can we have our weapons back now?”

“What weapons?”

Tikatu looked at the cart behind the brigands. His spear was on top of the pile.

“That weapon, right over there.”

“I don't remember taking any weapons away from you. Do you?” one brigand asked the other.

“No, I don't. You must be confused little man!”

“I rolled that spear between my ass cheeks. It is rolled in my shit.”

“Bugger off, or we will drive something up yer ass!”

Tikatu and Deigos sulked off.

“Next time hide that dagger of yours better.”

They reached the wooded gully in some two hours of walking. There the party discussed what to do next. Ambros would surely be recognised wherever he appears. They wondered where the Queen went and what is she up to. There were fierce discussions about loyalty. Finally, the adventurers decided to appropriate an ogres' lair midway between Midway and Ahyf, on the northern side of Ghinarian Hills.

Adventurers travelled through the woods, avoiding the trail, fearing they might run into one of Racoba's patrols. Deigos daydreamed about revolution that is to befall this usurper Racoba. His dreams were shattered as he was shredded to death by fourteen forearm-sized iron spikes.

Other adventurers looked in horror as four huge, lion-bodied monstrosities with grinning man-like faces, horns, dragon wings, and tails full of iron spikes hovered above them. Two of them descended on Deigos, slurping his remains. Other two gave chase to fleeing adventurers. Tikatu ran into some brambles and buried himself like a little shit-stained bunny he is.

Everybody fled in their own direction, panting and sprinting as fast as they could. They eventually lost sight of the pursing beasts. After catching a breath, they proceeded with their plan.

“Brigands can't be worse than these beasts! Let's follow the trail!”

Indeed, they reached the ogres' lair by evening. There they met a serious looking dwarf called Andvar. He was delighted to join this band of adventurers. What a good day it was to delve into a lair!

Ignaeus cast Mirror Image, and the party descended. They confirmed that all the chambers were still empty. Then they explored west side of the cave, where they found owlbear faeces last time. They rushed on, waking up one owlbear. The beast, although not taken by surprise, was savaged by Ignaeus and Andvar. The latter killed the monster by driving his spear right through the owlbear's skull.

Owlbears' nest was a domed natural cave. Animal and humanoid remains were neatly tucked in the southern portion of the cave. Searching them revealed silver anklet adorned with jade fragments and a copper chain necklace with topaz gem.

An assortment of soiled furs, rugs, and carpets, covered with several thousand copper pieces, dominated center of the cave. Area indicated that at least three owlbears could fit on it.

The party spent hours arguing what to do next. Ignaeus decided to walk back to the entrance and watch guard. This paid off, for he had seen an absolutely massive owlbear slumber into the tunnel. Elf ran back to the nest and informed others of the sighting. They covered their light sources and prepared an ambush.

Owlbear cried out in pain as it sniffed the smaller, dead of its kind. Adventurers flashed it by uncovering the light source. The beast barreled at them, and vicious fight broke out. Andvar hit the beast, while the beast savaged Ignaeus. Elf retreated out of combat to take a sip of healing juice.

Beast turned its attention to the little bunny. It clawed him brutally, and then almost snapped him in half with its powerful beak. Ambros hit the beast as it threw Tikatu to the other side of the cave. Ignaeus rejoined the fight, and struck true, only to be struck in return.

Ambros made himself a bigger target, allowing Ignaeus to flee once again. He was rewarded by two mighty slaps. Andvar used the opportunity to hop on the beast, grabbing its fur with his right hand. Once on top he held on with his legs, whilst holding the spear with both hands. Then he drove the spear down with all his might, penetrating the owlbear's left eye.

The beast roared, and tumbled over. It twitched thrice, and then exhaled its last breath. Ambros rushed over to check on Tikatu. He flipped the shredded pygmy over. Druid was still alive!

Tikatu watched Ambros in the eyes and uttered painfully:

“A few weeks ago we had a keep, a townhouse, and a pile of cash. Now we have a cave that smells of ogres armpits and owlbear shit. But it is our cave.”

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

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Fight On! issue 17 now available on DTRPG and Lulu (POD and PDF)!

Massive issue counting 164 pages (!)—twelve pages more than the titanic third issue—featuring adventures, monsters, classes, artwork, and essays from over thirty contributors. Scroll down for full table of contents.

I contributed 7 Contrarian Practices for Running Online Games essay, outlining practices from our long-running sandbox game. This is a continuation of the 21 Lessons Learned After Running 100 Sessions essay published in the previous issue, which resonated with many readers. Several wrote to me and asked if I could write more about how we play online.

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Bigger than a bull baluchitherium barreling through Bucklebury, Fight On! is BACK! Writers and artists old and new proudly present a whopping 166 PAGES of men, magic, monsters, treasures, underworlds, and wilderness adventures for your dreamworld delectation! It’s never been a better day to Fight On!

Discerning dungeoneers and daring dilettantes alike will be DAZZLED with articles, adventures, and art by Toren Atkinson, Attronarch, Zhu Baijee, Rick Base, J. Blasso-Gieseke, Calithena, Paul Carrick, Dr. John Cichowski, Jasmine Collins, Geoffrey O. Dale, Patrick Farley, Graphite Prime, Idle Doodler, Kelvin Green, Allan Grohe, Philipp H., Dave Hargrave, Cameron Hawkey, Kesher, Gabor Lux, Ripley Matthews, James Maliszewski, James Mishler, Michael Mornard, Peter Mullen, Prince of Nothing, Steve Queen, Glenn Robinson, DeWayne Rogers, Frank Scacalossi, Daniel Scherrey, Robert Scudder, Settembrini, Dan Sousa, Oakes Spalding, Anthony Stiller, Paul Swanlund, Del Teigeler, Andrew Walter, Bill Webb, Jennifer Weigel, Alex Zisch, and many more! Don’t delay – score your copy today!

Here is the table of contents:

Article Author(s) Page
Reptiles and Samurai Calithena 5
Martial Stances Jeff Hollifield 12
Grognard’s Grimoire: Codex of Droon Matt the Bastard DM 14
Knights & Knaves: Stumble Paul Swanlund 18
New Kindred for Tunnels & Trolls! Kesher 20
Return of the Ancients Prince of Nothing 22
Creepies & Crawlies: The Thoul Allan Grohe 42
Spiders, Spiders, Spiders! James Mishler 50
Lobogolem “Laster” Del L. Beaudry 61
Gems of Zylarthen, Part II Oakes Spalding 62
Black Powder Firearms Jack Griffis 68
Artifacts, Adjuncts, & Oddments Various 72
The Eshkom District James Maliszewski 75
Under Samora: Al’Murtok’s Refuge Philipp H. 85
Contrarian Practices Online Attronarch 101
Running for Large Groups Bill Web 103
Portal Fantasy Protagonists Will Mistretta 105
Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne H. Kazantzakis 108
The Charioteer’s Shrine Gabor Lux 111
Tables for Fables Reilly, Koed & Blasso-Gieseke 116
Lady Omen’s Island Glenn Robinson 122
Memories of Dave Sutherland Michael Mornard 143
Demonweb Savanna Alex Zisch 145
Rose Bush Hedge Maze Geoffrey O. Dale 151
Chainmail / Sarissa: Fomalhaut Settembrini / Gabor Lux 155
Doxy, Urgent Care Cleric Linneman / Green 162
Humor & Art J. B-G, Cal, Queen, and Scherrey 163

Back issues are available via DTRPG and Lulu.

#News #OSR #FightOn

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Heinrik Human Magic-User level 1 Muscular mage with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
Ambros Human Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 5 / magic-user level 4 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Drokh Human Monk level 2 A tall, lean human monk with piercing eyes, weathered skin, and a warrior’s poise—calm and charismatic, he speaks with purpose and strikes with precision, wielding spear, bow, and blade.
Tikatu Human Druid level 3 A dirty little ma with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Amari Human Ranger level 1 Black hair that shines blue. Scarred like a gladiator.
Seren Human Ranger level 1 Beardless and blinkless ranger.
Alaric Human Paladin level 3 Big, doe eyed country boy with wavy blond hair and willingness to do the right thing. Paladin of Tyr.

Warmshade 8th, Earthday

After two days of panicked retreat from Ghinarian Hills, Ambros, Tikatu, Decarili, Heinrik, Seren, Drokh, and Amari reached Ahyf, a fishing village just north of the hills. There Somniel was recovering from his injuries, while Ignaeus and Mepheus were waiting for the adventurers. Decarili bid his farewell and left for Hara.

Messenger sent by Marlon informed Ambros of latest grim developments. Klekless Racobas and his army have conquered all the settlements surrounding Hara. Mounted scouts led by Jace discovered their advance and reported a force of approximately two hundred beastmen and three hundred brigands.

Racoba's split his vasthrong into five throngs and attacked from three directions. Marlon led a squadron of heavy horsemen in a preemptive attack alongside River Farhills. He successfully stopped two throngs approaching from the north-west, but lost a third of his squadron. He was also wounded in duel with Racoba's Chaos Champion.

“Marlon sent me to Ahyf to wait for your return and inform you about these developments. I left Hara as Racoba's vasthrong approached Hara.”

Ambros and adventurers spent a day planning and preparing for their return to Hara. They hired three fishermen to take them to Hara via river. This, they theorised, would allow them to move faster.

Warmshade 10th, Spiritday

Ambros, Ignaeus, Alaric, Seren, Heinrik, and Tikatu set out by boat with first rays of sun. They sailed from Ahyf until the reached an estuary where mighty rivers Farhills and Cedarwade converge and flow into the sea. Fishermen then dropped sail and began rowing upriver, towards Hara. It was a bright sunny day, hot and windless.

Around morning they could see a large dark cloud in the distance. It was obvious to Tikatu, a druid, that this was no natural phenomenon. Cloud was roughly above the area where Hara is. They reached Hara by evening.

Towers and walls were unmanned. A throng of beastmen—gnolls, orcs, hobgoblins, ogres—were pilling the dead outside the walls on little mounds. Bestmen and brigands argued and yelled, but no significant fighting transpired.

Nobody cared about a fishing boat rowing into Hara. Passing between two towers flanking the river bank and Queen's Isle, revealed a sad sight. Brigands in Hara were rounding up peasants and survivors in what once was the main square.

Most of Hara had burned down to the ground just weeks ago. There was little but walls and few foundations of stone buildings. A ten foot tall pile of armoured corpses was in front of Temple of Forseti. Arlon's severed head was on top of it.

Adventurers commanded the fishermen to take the boat around, and row to the east side of the river. There they disembarked and allowed fishermen to return to Ahyf.

Hara had fallen.

Warmshade 11th, Airday

Victor's drunken singing and debauchery kept the adventurers awake. In the morning Ambros communed with Forseti, asking him three questions.

“Is the Queen still alive and free?”

“Yes.”

“Is Klekless Racoba in the city?”

“No, he fears Earani Cor.”

“Is there a secret tunnel leading into Hara?”

“Yes, there is a long passage through Woelands, connecting Castle of the Wode with Hara.”

Adventurers discussed what to do next throughout the morning. They heard rusted trumpets blare around noon. Around that time men began appearing on the Hara's towers and walls. They put up flags depicting bull head with two thunders on its forehead. Very similar to the usual flags and banners that adorned Hara's walls.

There was unenthusiastic cheering and chanting around evening. That was followed by some sudden yelling and roaring. As a result, cheering and chanting sounded much more enthusiastic. As far as the adventurers could see, the beastmen were not allowed into the city, only brigands.

Chanting sounded like “RA! KOH! BAH! RA! KOH! BAH!” but it was difficult to make out from the drums and trumpets.

“This is it.” Tikatu said “The Queen was captured and executed. Racoba came into the city. There is nothing for us here left. Let's go.”

“Forseti said she is still alive and free.”

“But that was in the morning. Now is evening.”

“I see.”

Party decided to go to the Castle of the Wode and assess the situation there.

Warmshade 12th, Waterday

“Father Ambros!” a dozen of survivors from Hara were rejoiced to see Ambros alive. They were all wounded and exhausted. They briefly informed Ambros about what happened.

“We were holding the walls and resisting the siege. Racoba did not have any siege equipment so we were confident in our defenses. Then sky got dark, and powerful lightning struck the Temple of Poseidon.”

“We” and he motioned to survivors “were in the inner citadel, assigned to be the last line of defense. After the lightning struck we saw a mass of men spill into the north side of the city. The gates were not breached! Everything went downhill from there. Marlon led his last surviving knights to meet the enemy. His last order to us was to escort the Queen out of Hara.”

“We took two rowboats and sunk the rest. Queen and her retinue took two more. Then we rowed upstream, and followed her to here. She is in the tower right now, planning with Tagoler and Jace.”

Ambros went to the tower alone. Earani Cor, even without her kingdom, was a feared woman. There he was assaulted by revolted Jace. She spit the cleric into the face. Ambros wiped the spit and told her to go fuck herself.

Decarili and Ambros updated the Queen on the Ghinarian Hills expedition.

“Is it true” she asked Decarili “that this ray of Umannah had killed the Mother?”

“It is possible. But I did not see her corpse. There was great chaos and confusion in the wake of the destruction.”

“Then we go there.” and she looked into Ambros's eyes. He felt a bit woozy and shaky. “You will go there too.”

“I will go there too.” Ambros repeated.

Plans were made to march all the way north to Ketche, sail to Ahyf from there, and then march to the Lair of Bull God. Other adventurers were not too keen on the plan, but they decided to follow and support Ambros.

“We will move ahead since we are much faster. See you in Ketche. Or not. We will wait for three days before moving on.” Decarili informed adventurers.

Party reached Ketche on the evening of Warmshade 15th, Spiritday.

Queen and her men were nowhere to be seen.

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A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.

This issue does not feature any session reports. Instead, I catch up with questions from other Ever & Anon APA contributors.

You can download the issue here.

Overlord's Annals zine is available as part of the Ever & Anon APA, issue 6:

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#Zine

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Blogger elmcat has created an interactive map of TTRPG blogs, showing relationships between hundreds of blogs. It is quite cool, and I recommend both the blog post and interactive map itself (takes a few seconds to load).

I was positively surprised to see Attronarch's Athenaeum is in the top 5%!

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#Blogging

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DriveThruRPG is running a massive site-wide sale for Black Friday. I spent three days making a list of adventures, bestiaries, and supplements that I am happy to recommend and that are going for a good discount. I tried to stay away from super-popular recommendations, and focus instead on forgotten and overlooked publications I found useful.

Adventures are broken into three brackets: levels 1–4, levels 4–9, and levels 9 and higher. Bestiaries and supplements are a separate list. For the latter I focused on sandbox and world-building material. For little fun, each list has an assigned die that you can roll to determine what to look into first. :)

As always, spend responsibly!

Low-level adventures (levels 1–4) — 1d12

  1. Gatehouse on Cormac’s Crag (4–6 adventurers of levels 1–3)
  2. Advanced Adventures #22: Stonepick Crossing (6–10 adventurers of levels 1–3)
  3. The Oneiric Hinterlands (4–6 adventurers of levels 1–6)
  4. Advanced Adventures #1: The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom (6–8 adventurers of levels 2–4)
  5. Advanced Adventures #27: Bitteroot Briar (4–8 adventurers of levels 2–4)
  6. Bonepicker's Tower (4–8 adventurers of levels 2–4)
  7. The Lost City of Barakus (4–8 adventurers of levels 2–6)
  8. Bottomless Pit of Zorth (4–8 adventurers of levels 3–5)
  9. Advanced Adventures #17: The Frozen Wave Satsuma (6–8 adventurers of levels 3–5)
  10. Peril in Olden Wood (4–6 adventurers of levels 3–5)
  11. Original Adventures Reincarnated #9: Caverns of Thracia (includes reprint of the original; 6–10 adventurers of levels 2–6)
  12. The Halls of Arden Vul Complete (4–8 adventurers of levels 1–12)

Mid-level adventures (levels 4–9) — 1d12

  1. The Tomb of Abysthor (6–10 adventurers of levels 2–8)
  2. Advanced Adventures #31: The Lost Lair of Drecallis (4–8 adventurers levels 4–7)
  3. Advanced Adventures #21: The Obsidian Sands of Syncrates (6–10 adventurers of levels 4–7)
  4. Advanced Adventures #12: The Barrow Mound of Gravemoor (4–6 adventurers of levels 5–7)
  5. A Shadow Over the Greatwood (4–8 adventurers of levels 5–7)
  6. Advanced Adventures #46: The Dismal Glade of the Spider Goddess (6–10 adventurers of levels 5–7)
  7. Advanced Adventures #41: The Forgotten Grottoes of the Sea Lords (6–10 adventurers of levels 6–8)
  8. S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (6–8 adventurers of levels 6–8)
  9. The Black Monastery (5–7 adventurers of levels 7–10)
  10. Original Adventures Reincarnated #7: Dark Tower (3 books, first reprints the original; 6–10 adventurers of levels 7–11)
  11. WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun (4–8 adventurers of levels 8–10)
  12. Dawn of the Overmind (4–6 adventurers of levels 8–10)

High-level adventures (levels 9 and above) — 1d10

  1. Tomb of the Twice-Crowned King (6–10 adventurers of levels 8–10)
  2. EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror (5–8 adventurers of levels 9–12)
  3. G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (9 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  4. G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl (9 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  5. G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King (9 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  6. D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (7–9 adventurers of level 10 or higher)
  7. D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa (at least 6 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  8. D3 Vault of the Drow (6–9 adventurers of of level 10 or higher)
  9. Cyclopean Deeps Volume and Volume II (4–8 adventurers of levels 10–12)
  10. S1 Tomb of Horrors (6–8 adventurers of levels 10–14)

Bestiaries — 1d8

  1. All the Worlds' Monsters Vol. 1, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3. One of the earliest published bestiaries. Has that true vintage typewriter look and nonsensical monsters.
  2. Book of Lost Beasts. A collection of AD&D 1e monsters to supplement the Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Monster Manual II.
  3. Dwellers in Dark Places. Awesome collection of more than 300 original OSRIC monsters.
  4. Malevolent & Benign and Malevolent & Benign II. Collects all monsters published in the Expeditions Retreat Press OSRIC modules. Each book contains 150 monsters, so 300 new monsters in total.
  5. Monstrosities. Nearly 500 monsters. Each monster comes with an example encounter/nano-adventure. Includes tables with monsters by challenge level, guidance on creating new monsters, tables of monsters by terrain, and tables of random encounters (3d6, so normal distribution curve).
  6. Tome of Horrors Complete. More than 700 monsters (no duplicates from Monstrosities). Again, each comes with a small encounter. Includes mundane animals as well. See Swords & Wizardry bestiary analysis here.
  7. Hacklopedia of Beasts. Detailed bestiary with a lot of reusable details like size comparison charts, combat tactics, habitat & society, ecology, and yield.
  8. The Monster Overhaul. Inteded to be a generic monster manual for a generic OSR system. Includes a little bit over 200 monsters, many with associated random tables.

Supplements — 1d6

  1. How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox. Practical step-by step guide on how to create your own sandbox. Written by Robert Conley, a Wilderlands legend. (Watch out for his Majestic Fantasy Realms as well, forthcoming.)
  2. Tomes by Mythmere Games Tome of Adventure Design, Tome of Worldbuilding, and The Nomicon. A great set of books to create infinite worlds and adventures.
  3. Book of Lost Tables. Includes 348 random tables for generating random wilderness terrain, random wilderness encounters, random dungeon terrain, random dungeon encounters, random urban terrain, random urban encounters, character parties, and more. Very much in the styled of AD&D 1e tables.
  4. Seven Years Of Fantasy Weather Volume 1: Medieval England, Volume 2: The Iceland of the Sagas, and Volume 3: Indea. Awesome series of weather supplements covering, as it says on the tin, seven years.
  5. Realms of Crawling Chaos and Swords of Cthulhu. Two great source-books to add Cthulhu mythos to your D&D game.
  6. HârnManor and Medieval Manager. Detailed procedures and guidance on creating and managing a manor, including simulating economy. The latter includes conversion to gp for ease of use.

Even more recommendations

Here are previous sales recommendations: 2024, 2023, 2022. Don't hesitate to reach out should you have a great recommendation yourself.

#BlackFriday2025 #Sale #OSR #SW #OSRIC #OSE

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