Ral Partha AD&D Ogre Mage - Buy it on eBay |
Saturday, 20 June 2020
Vintage Miniatures - Ral Partha AD&D Ogre Mage
Saturday, 13 June 2020
Vintage Mini Ral Partha 3 Stage Illusionist
Left to Right: Low, Mid and High Level Illusionist before repainting |
3 Stage Illusionists Zenithal Highlighted |
Blocking out the colours with glazes |
Ral Partha 3 Stage Illusionists Final (front view) |
Ral Partha 3 Stage Illusionists Final (back view) |
Saturday, 6 June 2020
A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s - Q is for Qadim
Q is for Qadim, Al-Qadim
TSR brought out many different campaign settings during the 80s but the one that really caught my attention was Al-Qadim The Lands of Fate. The premise is simple it's the world of exotic Arabian adventure. Think Aladdin, Sinbad and the 40 thieves or Prince of Persia.
Why Al-Qadim is Worth Your Time
If you are like me and have been running games for the best part of 35 years, I am sometimes weary of the standard quasi medieval fare. Your players know the monster manual like the back of their hand and there is no mystery any more.
Al-Qadim is a rich and spicy setting which is both familiar and completely alien at the same time. The protagonists are often humans hell bent on acquiring power through strange magics and the use of elemental forces. The strange and unfamiliar monsters range from the plethora of Djinn (Genies) to the smelly mishapen Yakmen. All of them will be unknown to your players and therefore genuinely mysterious, intimidating and scary.
Your players are going to have to use their roleplaying skills of guile, cunning and persuasion rather than putting everything to the sword. Trust me they're going to love it.
Need More Inspiration?
- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1953) - A Ray Harryhausen classic with
- The Golden Voyages of Sinbad (1973) - Caroline Munro and Tom Baker star in this epic.
- Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) - My favourite Sinbad movie starring Jane Seymour and Patrick Troughton
- Arabian Adventure (1979) - Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mickey Rooney and John Ratzenberger what more do you need.
- The Thief of Baghdad (1940) - The definitive and classic version
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) - Jake Gylenhall, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley
Unloved and Unwanted
TSR pumped out a huge number of settings during those heady days of 2nd Edition AD&D. Like Birthright, Mystara and Spelljammer it didn't have much staying power and it got shelved like the rest.
I was lucky enough to pick the majority of my collection up at the height of their unpopularity when my FLGS was clearing out. Prices are significantly higher now but investing in Al-Qadim has a solid and fun payback.
My Collection Includes
The Land of Fate | Arabian Adventures | City of Delights | |
Corsairs of the Great Sea | Ruined Kingdoms | Assassin's Mountain | |
Secrets of the Lamp |
Golden Voyages |
Caravans |
Saturday, 18 August 2012
The Super Secret Happy Birthday Gary Gygax Giveaway Bundle Extravapalooza!
WOTC reprint 1st Edition Players Handbook |
The Secret DM is running a great contest with an awesome prize...
A complete set of WOTCs recently reprinted 1st edition AD&D books!!
and
The chance to have your submission published in a professionally produced digital edition!!
All you have to do is to come up with a 10 room dungeon which evokes the feeling of 1st edition and submit your entry to thesecretdm@gmail.com with the subject line Gygax Contest.
The contest runs until 27th September 2012, so get your designing pens out... I know I will.
Monday, 13 February 2012
The Ages of D&D: A Timeline v3
Click on the image to embiggen |
So what's the point? I hear you ask. Well, I just wanted to see where I fitted into this whole D&D universe and I have so far come to the conclusions that:
I am definitely of the 2nd Age of D&D, I cut my teeth on 2nd Edition AD&D and my favourite campaign setting is Al-Quadim (precisely because it is the most alien campaign world to most players). I was a late adopter of 3/3.5 and for me it didn't have the same hold on me as 2nd Edition (for all its failings). I have played a demo of 4e and am unlikely to buy it given that D&D Next is on the horizon.
The lifespans of D&D editions have become shorter, whether or not this is as a result of commercial pressure, is hard to say as there is evidence to suggest that D&D has always had more editions with shorter lifespans than AD&D and that it has only become noticeable since the 3/3.5 reformation. In fact I was mostly ignorant of the "Basic" D&D versions for many of my formative years, as my go-to game was AD&D.
More new campaign settings were published during the Second Age than any other and this may account for the slightly longer timescales between editions but also coincides with the Golden Age of Roleplaying, the 1980s. Dragon and Dungeon Magazine have been my stalwart companions along this journey, more so than any "edition" of D&D, and I have taken ideas from their pages and converted them to work in many systems and genres over the years.
D&D as a brand has been "managed" for a longer period of time than it was by its creators. It is bigger than any one person or team and it will most likely outlive us all (in some form). I wish Mike Mearls, Monte Cooke and all the other people at WotC the best of luck in what is arguably a truly Sisyphean task and I can say I am excited about the future of D&D under their guardianship.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
The Ages of D&D: A Timeline v2
Click on the image to embiggen |
You can also download a really big version from 4shared
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Old Skool Accessory: The Fighting Wheel
Nope it's a circular dial which helps you calculate your favourite weapon's Damage, Space Required, #Attacks, THAC0 and AC target number.
Obverse (Front): Battleaxe to Footman's Pick |
How the heck do you use it? I hear you cry.
You find your weapon of choice around the rim (all the weapons are there, some on the front and some on the back) and then dial in your level using the inner wheel. When your level and weapon are aligned your AC bonuses appear in the middle window. Simples...
Reverse (Back): Horsema's Pick to Voulge and Missile Weapons |