Exit Stage Left - TLOD S07 E02

The 500 strong mob bayed for blood, and Jan the Sell Sword complied by slashing the magically restrained Murdoch cleanly across the face.  The spell wore off and clasping at his ragged throat in an attempt to stem the flow of blood, Murdoch slumped face down in the dirt gurgling "Mercy Sir, Mercy!"

An Aarakocra

On the stage, Bernhardt the Chosen of The Temple, screamed at his two acolytes "For the Gods sake help him you idiots".  Sir Tarigoz closed in on the nearest cleric, Grunb, and at sword point told him to stop.  Grunb responded swiftly, casting a sound blast spell right in Tarigoz's face.  The Knight of the 5th Legion was not phased by this but the sheer intensity of the spell made him step backwards, lose his footing on the edge of the stage and tumble off.  The other acolyte Penryk hurried across to the stairs at the right hand side of the stage to get to Murdoch. 

Having released the winged Deamon from the cross, Nyx, Styx, Laurel and the creature hid behind the stage contemplating their next move.  Escape.

Watching the trial by combat from the edge of the circle, Wulf Brundson, seethed with fury at this clerical interference in a lawful trial by combat.  The Euborean Barbarian could not let this religious interloper change the outcome of the battle with a healing spell and so proceeded to block Penryk's progress down the stairs.  The mob shoved him into the circle and screamed "another challenger".   As Grunb leered over the edge of the stage laughing at the fallen Knight, Sir Tarigoz jumped to his feet and plunged his bastard sword into the clerics belly.  Grunb tumbled off the stage impaling himself up to the hilt on Tarigoz's outstretched sword.  It took all of the Knight's strength not to crumble under the weight of the cleric and he briefly held him aloft before unceremoniously dumping him to the dirt.  The crowd recoiled in shock and horror at the sight of one of the God's chosen being righteously put down by the Kingsman.  This day would go down in village history and the God's would surely wreak a vengeance upon the Kingsman for such a bold act.

The spell holding Ssinkar wore off and he immediately moved towards the fallen Murdoch.  The Salamankari was a cleric not a fighter and he had no intention of letting the poor man die at his hand.  Grasping at this throat with his scaly hands, he stopped the flow of blood with a healing spell.  Murdoch immediately cried out in pain as the opportunist Jan the Sell Sword stabbed him in the arm.  Murdoch scrabbled through the dirt towards the foot of the stage.


Hoping that they could find bandages and supplies in one of the empty village buildings, the Phylus sisters Nyx and Styx and Laurel, carried the winged daemon to the nearest one.  Once inside the Absent Badger tavern, they found that it was was empty save for one odd looking old man face down in his own puddle of mead.

Trying not to disturb the fellow, the sisters hauled the daemon onto one of the tables at the back of the bar and tended to his wounds.  The old man immediately awoke from his slumber and asked "Has he finished torturing that poor Aarakocra yet?"  The near sighted old man introduced himself as Asdos and with a wave of his hands and a mumbling of words cast a spell.  Laurel went to the bar to fetch a bottle of strong spirits to staunch the Aarakocra's many small cuts and bruises.  When looking at the rest of the party she noticed that they had disappeared, she could still hear them but could not hear them.  Moving over to the table she passed through some form of illusory barrier which hid that end of the room from view.


Tarigoz mounted the stage and as he passed the now empty cross he confronted Bernhardt telling him that he had lost a fair fight and he should stop this travesty.  Bernhardt, unaware of the deamon's escape, addressed the crowd and flamboyantly pointing at the empty cross screamed "The kingsman is in league with the demon"


The crowd, enthralled by the red faced cleric noticed the empty cross and retorted in unison

"The Deamon has fucked off!"

Bernhardt's face dropped as the realisation that he had lost dawned on him.  He screamed at the crowd "Halt the combat! Halt the combat! Return to your homes and defend your babies! The Deamon is loose!.
As the mob disbursed in all directions, Bernhard gathered his injured men and taunted the Knight of Wulfschlossen defiantly cursing

"This isn't the last you've heard of this Kingsman.  I will be writing a report of your treasonous conduct to your superiors."

They clambered into a cart and drove off in the direction of the Temple.
Some of the villagers decided to quench their thirst in the tavern before they went home to their farms.  Inside The Absent Badger, the mage Asdos declared that it was "Time to go" and opened the window behind him and ushered everyone out.  They headed across the fields to the hovel in the woods he called home.
Jan, Ssinkar, Wulf and Sir Tarigoz found themselves alone in the village square, they decided to band together to search for the Deamon and get to the bottom of what it was and why it was here.  Wulf's tracking skills soon revealed that a party of three had dragged the creature in the direction of the village tavern.  On entering the bar the locals immediately stopped their raucous conversations and glared at the strangers.  Ssinkar plonked 10 gold on the bar and declared "A drink for all".  The barkeep bit into one of the coins and exclaimed "The red devil's money is good".  This immediately broke the awkward impasse with shouts of "he has  scales on the outside but a kind heart on the inside".  As the illusory wall spell wore off, Jan noticed the suddenly gaping window with blood and feathers coating the window ledge. 

The posse of PCs swiftly downed their drinks and began following the tracks from the window, which had now become 5, across the fields towards the woods which Tarigoz knew was the home of the mage Asdos.  He contemplated that Fate was a strange mistress and was hard at work weaving together a strange band of folk to do her mysterious bidding.

In the mage's hovel, the assembled group crowded around his small stove, the Aarakocra told them that he was a messenger sent to find help.  His people were being systematically wiped out by an angry vicious Cloud Giant.  He was moving his cloud castle around the mountains destroying the AaraKocran nests and slaughtering their chicks.  The shaman of his tribe had consulted the Sky Gods who had flatly  refused to aid them, but for one renegade who said that he would send his daughter, Laurel.  The Sky Gods promptly moved their crystal castle higher into the sky than any Aarakocra could fly.

Sensing that the group were not entirely convinced that preventing the genocide of his people was a worthy and heroic enough deed he declared "I have money!!"

<-- Prev Episode

Next Episode -->

Why Who Plays Who? Doesn't Matter

So Peter Capaldi has thrown in the towel, been fired, resigned (delete as applicable) and will regenerate at the end of series.  The search for the 11th doctor will inevitably consume the nation (if you listen to the pundits), but not this little corner of geekdom. 

To be honest, I don't care.

I have every faith that whichever actor gets the job, be they young, old, black, white, male or female, dog or cat, they will do a bang up job.  IMHO it is not the actor which makes a great Doctor, rather it tends to be the other way around.  The role maketh the actor.

What concerns me more is that the BBC gives whoever takes on the mantle the proper tools for the job.

Falling Ratings?

Some of the gutterpress have accused the BBC of ditching Capaldi, claiming he is unpopular and that ratings have suffered.  I disagree. 

Nu Who By The Numbers

Looking at the ratings of each Doctor across their time in office, their relative popularity doesn't hint at anything terribly wrong with Capaldi's stewardship of the TARDIS.

In fact he has racked up a creditable episode count over his 855 days and still has season 10 yet to air.

 
However, the big fat elephant in the room is the increase in "Days Without Who".

Put simply there has been too much time between seasons/episodes.

In a Newsweek interview back in March 2016, Capaldi himself criticised the BBC's "erratic scheduling".  Helmsman Stephen Moffat also moves on at the end of the year which signals a sea change at the BBC.  Perhaps they are scaling back on expensive shows such as Who and replacing them with cheap as chips reality TV which they can regurgitate out at pennies on the dollar.  Who knows?

What I know is that I'm fed up with mid season breaks and long hiatuses.

No More Love interests... Please

Whilst I enjoyed the Rose, Amy and Clara characters I found their on/off relationships with the Doctor nauseating.

Can we not go back to the condescending alien superiority of old Who?.  It's not a feminist backlash, I don't care if the companion is male or female.  Let's face it everyone is a complete idiot compared to the Doctor's supragenius mind.  One of my favourite male companions was Harry Sullivan who on many levels was a complete berk, but he knew his place, acting as both a plot device or a plot explainer whenever the story needed it.

My favourite female Doctor / Companion relationship was that of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) and Leela (Louise Jameson).  The Doctor's frequent frustration and anger at her savage common sense, naivete and independent nature were a joy to behold.  She held her own on many occasions and even reversed the damsel in distress trope a few times saving the Doctor from his own curiosity.

How Do You Fix Who?

I don't want to sound like an old fogey, but the golden years of Who had a plot template and it's one which I have used in my own storytelling.  It goes like this:

1.  Episode begins with a short segment to show the episodes location and shows two factions violently trying to co-exist with each other.  The two antagonistic factions have been in impasse for many years / decades / centuries / millenia.

2.  The TARDIS crashlands in a new location and is somehow trapped or disabled (removing its use as a powerful Deus Ex Machina from the plot solution).  The Doctor and companion narrowly escape with their lives and must now use their wits and ingenuity to survive.

3.  The Doctor and Companion are soon seperated, one each to each faction.  The story of each faction emerges (as told from their perspective) through their interactions with the Doctor and the companion respectively.

4.  An Attack is launched by one faction against the other.  There is much running around and confusion during which the Doctor and companion are reunited and seperated again.  They swap sides and, armed with the facts about the other faction, a true picture emerges of which faction is Good and which is Evil.

5.  The Doctor and companion are finally reunited and the Doctor saves the day by either resolving their differences, helping one side defeat the other or fails to save the Evil faction from their own demise.  

Simples.

Let's hope that the BBC take the opportunity to go back to basics and give us some good old fashioned scarey thought provoking tense sci-fi like they used to be able to make.

Oh and if Toby Jones or Rory Kinnear get the job I will be a happy man. 

 

A Public Examination of the Deamon - TLOD S07 E01

As promised, I have begun DMing a new adventure in my campaign world The Lands of Dual and will be making regular session reports from now on.

Introducing the Heroes 

• Ai-Nyx - (Tara) - Female Phylus (demi-human cat) Thief from Xix
• Ai-Styx - (Zoe) - Female Phylus Rogue from Xix
• Jan the Sell Sword - (Craig Tanner) - Human Fighter from Newhon
• Laurel - (Carol Cunningham) - A female Half-Elf (Aeroimm) Ranger from the Great Desert of Sankahar. 
• Sir Tarigoz Purplenderise - (Mark Cunningham) - A Human Knight of the 5th legion of the Wulfschlossen Army
• Ssinkar - (Steve Tasso) - A male Salamankari Cleric from the deserts of Sankahar.

Lurneslye in Wulfschlossen

Our heroes find themselves in the farming village of Lurneslye in the foothills of the mountains which form the spine of the great nation of Wulfschlossen.

A public meeting has been called to examine a creature which was caught skulking around the outskirts of the village by Bernhardt the Chosen of the Temple of Lurneslye.  The villagers, a mob of some 500 or so folk have assembled around the large wooden stage in the centre of the village.  They bear makeshift arms, in order to defend themselves from the abomination and to ensure that it receives the appropriate justice should it be convicted or try to escape. 

The creature, a winged bird like humaoid, is being torturtured, plucked and interrogated on the stage by Bernhardt and his two acolytes whilst the imposing figure of Murdoch, their Bodyguard, stands beside them preventing anyone from mounting the stage.

Laurel, deciding that she has had enough of this cruel treatment of what is clearly not a daemon, attempts to mount the stage.  After casting a Detect Evil spell, Ssinkhar determines that no-one on the stage is Evil and proceeds to addresses Bernhardt directly claiming that as a fellow cleric he has the power to do the same.  Bernhardt dismisses the Salamankari as a foreign devil in league with the deamon. 

Sir Tarigoz, tasked with upholding law in this frontier village, storms the stage demanding that Bernhardt hear Laurel's evidence as it is written in the law.  A war of words ensues between Bernhardt and Sir Tarigoz which ends when the villagers call for a trial by combat.  Ssinkhar accepts the trial on behalf of the creature and Bernhardt orders Murdoch to fight on behalf of the temple.

The villagers immediately step back to create a circle of combat and the two acolytes cast detect magic spells to ensure that Ssinkar does not cheat by using a magic weapon.  Murdoch and Sinkar engage in a battle to the death.

Meanwhile under the stage the two Phylus, Ai-Nyx and Ai-Styx, are hiding in fear.  They have been living in the village for a few months and have witnessed Bernhardt addressing the crowd every holyday.  He has never been this zealous and the crowd have never been so animated, they decide to wait out the events until they can make a break for it.

On the edge of the combat circle, Jan the sellsword is eating an apple and watching the events in anticipation of learning a few things about Murdoch's fighting style.

After a good dealing of pacing around Murdoch closes the gap by lunging at Ssinkar but misses with his broadsword.  The wily Salamankar takes advantage of the closesness of the encounter and surreptisiously casts a command spell on Murdoch but fails.

Ai-Styx slinks out from below the stage to get a better look at the creature followed by her sister.  They both feel great pity for it and decide to release it by picking the manacles whilst the mob are pre-occupied by the fight.  Laurel spots the pair and stands between the clerics and the creature to block anyone's view of their actions.

Murdoch stabs Ssinkhar.  The crowd cheer and the Salamankari responds by casting a hold person on his opponent.  Murdoch is frozen in place, but the obvious use of magic angers the two acolytes and they both cast hold person on Ssinkar.  Bernhardt demands that Sir Tarigoz arrest the now paralysed Ssinkar as he has clearly broken the rule of law and must face the same punishment as the creature, death by fire.  The enraged mob demand immediate satisfaction in blood and someone shoves Jan into the circle. 

As it is written in the law if another enters the circle he must take up the challenge.  Jan, an opportunistic sort of fellow, knows that he cannot possibly beat Murdoch in a fair fight.  He takes immediate advantage of the fact he is currently paralysed by Ssinkar's spell and slashes the unfortunate man's throat.

The two Phylus successfully release the creature and, aided by Laurel, lower it down out of sight behind the stage.

Next Episode -->

The Tarot and its use in RPGs

As soon as I read the title of the Jan 2016 RPG Blog Carnival I knew I had to write something about my use of Tarot cards in my Fantasy RPGs over the years.

The Deck of Many Things (aka RPG History 101)

As many of you will know playing cards have been used as physical representations of the cards in the classic deck of many things since its inception.  The first published reference of the use of tarot dates back to 1983 where Michael J. Lowrey codified its use in AD&D in his article published in Dragon #77.  It's also in the D&D SRD so as far as I'm concerned it's cannon!!

Presenting your players with a tattered tarot deck lends an air of theatricality and mystique to your game which will not go unnoticed by your players.

Tarot as a Character Generation Tool

Surprisingly there was a time before the 5e Background Generator and some players always seem to have difficulty coming up with interesting motivations for their PCs.  I have often used a much simplified version of the Celtic Cross Spread to help them to generate their own ideas for their characters background and motivations.

A typical shortened "Celtic Cross" spread using only the 22 Major Arcana "Picture" cards

The first card laid is the "Significator" and describes the PCs current state.  In Tarot terms this is often described as the question that the appellant is asking of the cards.  For example a Fool in this position may indicate that the PC is a happy go lucky type of person blissfully ignorant of their place in the world or it could mean that they are quite literally the village idiot. 

The second card (The crossing) covers the first and identifies that which currently opposes the PC.  In other words the thing which must be overcome if the PC is to realise their goal.  This can often suggest some sort of personality or circumstance change which the PC must achieve.  For example a Tower in this position may mean that only by experiencing a disaster or tumultuous event will the PC be able to achieve their goal.  A devil on the other hand may signify the acquisition of power and wealth or the casting off of material possessions in order to fulfil ones potential.    

The third card represents the factors which are the foundation for the PCs current state these are considered to be the the things upon which the PC can rely upon such as their family or their own skills and strengths.  A "good" card such as The Emperor may mean that the PC has strength of focus or that they have an imposing father figure which they can rely upon.  A "bad" card such as the hanged man may signify that the PC holds an outdated opinion or principle or that they have had the strength to make a significant change in their life such as letting go of a previous life or relationship.   

The fourth card represents the PCs immediate past, events which may have happened very recently which have influenced the PCs current position.  A Tower in this position may signify a disaster from which the PC has fled with their life.  A Moon may signify that the PC has recently had an emotionally charged romantic relationship, also which they are fleeing or perhaps they are being chased by a lover (or more likely the lover's father).   

The fifth card signifies the PCs immediate future, that which may come to pass irrespective of the PCs actions within the next few days.  This is something of a gift for the DM and I often use it as a mechanism to gift the player a plot hook or some sort of advance knowledge which they can use in an upcoming encounter.  Of course to be really effective it should also be intentionally vague and mean little or nothing to the player initially.  Consider this to be the "you will meet a dark stranger" moment of the reading.

The sixth card represents the best possible outcome or as I like to think, the PCs ultimate goal or desire.  This card is probably the most important in the spread as it directly influences the PCs motivations.  A Judgement card in this position may well signify that the PC is mindful of their mortality and wishes to do good deeds to prepare for their own accounting before their chosen deity.  A Hermit in this position may mean that the PC seeks isolation, retrospection in the pursuit of the search for truth. 

As you can see from the example interpretations of the cards, they offer an almost infinite number (53,721,360 to be exact) of permutations and potential ideas for even the most jaded old school player who bears the scars of a thousand personalities.

Insta-Deck of Fate

There are those times in a game when the party are on their last legs and hope is something which has long since put on it skedaddle trousers and exited stage right.  This is when you ask one of their number to draw a card from the fate deck.

Use this as an opportunity to introduce a new game saving factor relevant to the card.  For example a prone hero about to be beheaded by a nefarious bad guy draws the Heirophant and the bad guy suddenly has a pang of conscience and decides to do the right thing and pauses… leaving them wide open for a killing blow.

My advice is to use this sparingly and only in dire circumstances to avoid a meaningless and game altering character death, otherwise the players may begin to consider their characters as somewhat immortal.

The Dream Sequence

I have also used tarot cards to project PC dreams, visions or hallucinations.  How the players interpret the cards is up to them, but at least it gives an player something to reflect on as the blood slowly drains from their PCs unconscious body.  Perhaps it includes some insight into their current predicament or some final sage advice about mending their ways should they be restored to health by their comrades, you choose what it really means.

The Story Generator

In much the same way as in the character generation above, the Tarot can be used during the plot generation process.  Draw a few cards to generate a handful of significant NPCs around which the plot revolves and then do Celtic Cross spreads for each of these.  The goals and obstacles that they must overcome will often suggest some sort of contested relationship in much the same way as players generate relationships, needs, objects and locations between each other during setup in a game of FIASCO.

For those readers who feel uncomfortable with using a Tarot, I can heartily recommend the use of Inkwell Ideas Encounter Decks which contain a wide variety of story ideas.  Vintage accessories such as the "Whimsy" or Story Path Cards also have potential for storyboarding your games.

Indie RPG fans may also be familiar with the innovative storytelling map drawing game, The Quiet Year, which uses a standard playing card deck to generate weekly events which shape a world and its inhabitants.  Many of these events can be lifted directly from the game to create world shaping events for your own campaign.

Interpreting the Cards

I recommend only using the 22 major arcana cards mostly because these are the pretty ones but also because it's a lot easier to just reference the 44 different meanings (each card has 2 orientations Upright and Reversed) rather than the 156 of a full deck.

The tarot card meanings are intentionally vague and are supposed to inspire associations in the mind of the appellant (the player) and the reader (the GM) is merely using it as a device to stimulate creativity.  Many of the meanings are allegorical based on the significance of the objects found in the images.  

For example the Fool is often depicted being followed by a dog which signifies unconditional love.  The hanged man is usually depicted tied by one leg which harks back to medieval punishment for traitors.  These symbols may of course mean something else to the appellant and cause them to imagine some other significance for their PC.  There are a plethora of resources for Tarot meanings including handy reference apps for the mobile gamer.

A Final Word about Death, Devils and Towers

The appearance of the Death card is often followed swiftly by a sharp intake of breath.  In tarot terms the Death card actually signifies the end of a phase of life and a transition to something new.  Interpreting this card as PC death, particularly if it appears in the fifth position of the spread described above should be avoided.

This should also be the case with the Devil and Tower cards which also signify disturbance or change rather than a career ending catastrophe.

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Thanks of course go to Of Dice and Dragons for continuing to promote the RPG Blog Carnival.  This is my 5th entry and you can read the rest by clicking the RPG Blog Carnival tag below. 

Reaper Bones #10 - Horace "Action" Jackson

Although my progress on the bones minis has been painfully slow, at least some has been made in the last year or so.

Horace "Action" Jackson (Bobby Jackson SKU: 80023)

Horace "Action" Jackson is one of those rare minis which does exactly what it says on the tin.  He's your archetypal badass disco dude.

Horace "Action" Jackson

Amazingly I had never seen the Reaper Miniatures Figure Finder page for him before I set about painting him and lo and behold if I didn't choose exactly the same colour scheme for him.

He's already seen some action on the table and despatched some jive ass turkeys (aka the undead)

Bones Progress 

Reaper Bones: 245 - Painted: 36

Related Posts:

Reaper Bones #1: The Marathon Begins - Where I paint a dozen Giant Rats

Reaper Bones #2: Kobolds, Are They Dogs or Dragons? - Where I paint a dozen kobolds. 

Reaper Bones #3: A Carcase of Skeletons - Where I paint a half dozen skeletons

Reaper Bones #4: A Shuffle of Zombies - Where I paint five zombies.

Reaper Bones #5: Introducing Shaina Coppervein, Dwarven Orc Hunter - First PC mini

Reaper Bones #6: Mimic, Treasure Chest and How I re-base my Bones - Where I paint furniture

Reaper Bones #7: Fire Elemental Meets Novelty Lamp - Where I hack a mini with LEDs

Reaper Bones #8: Flaming Sphere LED Tealight Hack - Another mini LED lighting project 

Reaper Bones #9: Elliwyn Heatherlark, Gnome Bard - Another PC mini

Back on the Horse

Well tonight sees me writing my first blog entry since July 2016 and a lot of water has passed under the life bridge.  A new job in the private sector was kicking my arse for a while but I now seem to have it all under control (foolish words?).

A return to DMing

In recent weeks I have also returned to DMing after a long hiatus.

When the opportunity arose (a nice way of saying that a game collapsed and I stepped into the breach) I have to say I was filled with doubt.  Could I still do it?, would I be able to juggle the balls of work/life balance to give time to prep? would I be able to physically last for a 3 hour session after a hectic day at work?

Technically not a horse, but this is how I felt about DMing after an 1,800 day detox

  Well I did manage to survive and I can't believe how much I enjoyed it.  Sure it was not my finest hour and I was a little rusty, but I made it through to the other side and I think my players really enjoyed it.

Most likely the two go hand in hand, without the catalyst of an ongoing campaign I did not have the creative juices flowing through my mind in order to create content and to share those ideas with you the RPG community.

Old Skool Shits and Giggles

The scenario I ran was an epilogue to the NSFW module Liberation of the Demon Slayer by +Venger Satanis, and Bryan Winter's decidedly Old Skool scenario Baron Mikrut's Tomb from Pulp Dungeons #5: Uninvited Guests published by Corsair Publishing back in 1997.  The latter posed a few problems when it came to monster stats because it was one of those systemless scenario which used to get published back in the day by Independent Publishers who didn't want to sign up to OGL or pay system royalties.

by Gary Gygax (it must be old skool)

They always require a bit more DM effort than "Official Modules" but they often have a much bigger payback in terms of not suffering from the usual tropes or baggage which come with trying to fit into an established milleu.   

I'll do a proper synopsis on My Campaign Blog but suffice to say the PCs handled the nuclear winter, mutated wildlife, a demon invasion and a dungeon crawl with aplomb.  Thanks to all those who took part it was a lot of fun.  

So my mind is made up and I will now start to...

Plan My Next Game

The question is where do I set my next game.  The library is fully stocked with plenty of dungeon magazines and some old skool scenarios and I have 3 months to put something together to astound and amaze.  Will I be proactive? Will I labour furiously to craft a campaign so cunning that it will be the talk of my game group for years?

Probably not, but I'm going to do it anyway.    

Dungeonmorph Dice gets an Ennies Nomination

The 2015 Ennie Award Nominees are out and I don't normally get excited about these sorts of things as Gen Con is so far away and I'm unlikely to get the chance to go myself.  However, this year is different and I will be rooting for Inkwell Ideas Dungeonmorph Explorers Dice in the "Best Aid / Accessory" category.

What sets Dungeonmorph Dice apart from the other products in the category is one word... 

Community.

This nomination is more than just a reward for Joe, it's a reward for all the geomorphing contributors that have been part of our odd little cartographic community for the past 4 or 5 years. 

I know how difficult it is to come up with unique cartography and, through my involvement with the Dungeonmorphs 2 Kickstarter, how much work goes into making this idea into a real product.  The hours pouring over designs, selecting the best ones and making subtle changes here and there, not to mention the wrangling of manufacturers and shipping out orders. 


Congratulations to all the mappers out there that made this possible and lets spread the word and turn this nomination into something bigger.

A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s: M is for Mayfair Games

M is for Mayfair Games founded by Lawyer Darwin Bromley in 1980.  This small games publisher branched out into RPGs with the help of veteran Bill Fawcet and began publishing their "Unofficial" AD&D / D&D / T&T compatible adventure modules like 1982s Question of Gravity under the Role Aids banner.  Their attempt to steer through the copyright minefield by using the coverline "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of TSR Hobbies, Inc. Use of the trademark NOT sanctioned by the holder." they eventually fell foul of the changing attitudes to product licensing at TSR.

Role Aids - A Question of Gravity

Looking at these modules through OSR spectacles they are refreshingly light, yet ambitious and Question of Gravity in particular has a quite unique take on the traditional dungeon.

The cover art (by Fantasy author Janny Wurtz) does not allude in any way to this singularly impressive locale which is the focii for this scenario... 

... a dungeon on the inside of a 1000ft wide cube.

The interior maps are an impressive feat considering the lack of digital artistry back then.  I saw something similar nearly 20 years later in Issue #86 of Dungeon Magazine which was a Tracey Hickman Dragonlance scenario called "The Anvil of Time" but this was only one room not a whole dungeon.

Grids are notable absent from the maps, this was the 80s after all, where play was freer and not concerned with tactical movement, flanking or god forbid Attacks of Opportunity!!  The room (or should I say platform) descriptions oddly don't have the tried and tested "read aloud to the players" boxed text that we have all come to know and love in our pre-written dungeon crawl modules, but in this case I can understand.  Enemies can come from any direction and the mind boggles at trying to replicate this on a tabletop grid.  The descriptions are brief and designed to give a flavour of what you may encounter, the salient points rather than detailing the minutia.

original hand illustrated map (click to embiggen)

Sketchup Render (click to embiggen)

Whilst these modules are rare, they are still available in all the usual places, and they may well prove to be an unexpected and inspirational distraction for your players.  I know that I've got plans for using the cube in my own campaign world.

My Collection Includes:

705 Question of Gravity	706 Tower of Magicks	710 FezII The Contract
715 Swordthrust	716 Deadly Power	719 Fantastic Treasures
720 FezIII Angry Wizard	725 FezIV Wizard's Revenge	728 Clockwork Mage
732 Elven Banner	741 Crystal Barrier	742 Beneath Two Suns

These books are not terribly rare and many listings come up when I search for Role Aids on eBay.

The Tale of Tynka Azolla - The Isle of Dread - Episode 1

As I mentioned in an earlier post I am embarking on my first adventure using D&D 5th Edition and I'm going to chronicle my journey (and that of my character) as a series of blog posts.  The format will be character journal entry and then my take on the rules.

This being the true and reasonably accurate account of the misadventures of Forest Gnome Barbarian Hermit Tynka Azolla.

The tribe have left me to look after the old hermit Klandgnor and the egg of Khan Arge in the ruins of Montnorad

He's insane but harmless and cries out in his sleep when troubled by the dreams of the 52 black birds and the missing Iles of Cruise, visions of the war between the hawk men of the Capitol and their enemies the Coh Mees of Uesesah.  He rambles prophetically about The End of Days when the high priest of Potus spoke to the the amureeckans and told them to go forth and shelter from the fall.

I was out picking berries to make a poultice to calm his dream time when a great black shadow passed over the forest, followed by a raucous cawing.  When I got back to the ruin it was a shattered mess.  There was no sign of the old man or the egg, but in the sky I could see a great bird travelling South.

I grabbed my travelling pack, glad that my father had trained me well to always be ready to move at a moments notice and headed South.  On the third day I found the hermits body among the flat rocks at the bottom of the waterfall.  He had been split open and his insides torn out, great claw scratches littered the rocks among the blood, feathers and viscera.  Whatever swooped down and snatched him up had decided to eat him.  The egg was nowhere to be seen, so I blessed the old man's corpse and continued South.  The hermit had taught me that a great evil resided in the egg and should it be released it would consume the world in destruction, my mission to find the giant bird and retrieve the egg.

Eventually coming to a great coastal settlement I found many people who had seen the great bird always heading south.  Some said that it must be headed to the Isle of dread.  I found a merchant who was assembling a trade ship bound for the Isle.  I lied to him about my past but he believed me and I am now one of his bodyguards. 

We set sail on board a ramshackle ship bound for the Isle.  10 days later we approached the archipelago when an ungodly storm came out of nowhere smashing our ship to pieces and I jumped overboard to save myself.  We woke up in the beach battered but alive, a heavy mist obscured the horizon so I went inland in search of fresh water, food and foliage.  It was then that the giant crabs attacked, I killed one with my javelin and almost killed two others who were attacking Kendrick the merchant and some of the other survivors and sailors.

Giant Crabs attack the PCs (yes the pencil sharpener is a PC) and survivors on the sample file beach.

When the mist cleared it was clear that we were on a sandbar and the ship had hit a reef a sort distance away.  It was heavily damaged but intact if we are to survive we must construct a raft from the flotsam washed up on the sandbar and make our way back to the ship to gather supplies.

My Thoughts on Character Generation

My character is a truly random creation.  Race & Class were randomly rolled and Attribute scores were determined from a best of three sets  (using 4D6 drop lowest method) then placed appropriately and Race/Class modifiers applied.  This resulted in above average STR, INT and DEX scores but a truly awful WIS.

The use of predefined "packs" is an excellent answer to long complex equipment lists and gets you up and running in no time.  Similarly, I really liked the background aspects of the new character gen system (Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, Flaws) which will be of immense help to new players and create some really interesting combinations.

I'm a big fan of the way Castles & Crusades / SIEGE system resolves Skill/Attribute checks so I feel quite at home with the new slimmed down skills list and proficiency modifier system.  Gone are all those horrible 4e Powers which made even a low level game sound like you were in an 80s anime and drove you nuts tracking Class Feature / Race Power / At Will / Encounter / Daily usage.

In play

Coming around after the shipwreck encounter, I received my first Disadvantage token, which was a real shock.  Although it only applied to skill checks it really had an adverse effect on my play.  I could not catch a break and I failed all subsequent skill rolls.  I'll reserve judgement on this until I've benefitted from Advantage but I'm leaning towards favouring a static positive/negative modifier as I feel it's effects might be too random.

Combat seemed way more streamlined and faster than 3.5/4e with a return to the simpler bash/bash mechanics of earlier editions.  It may not be terribly realistic, but it gets the job done with the minimum of delay.