The OSR News - Monday, December 5, 2011

$1.35 will buy you some Awesome LotFP Stuff!

The LotFP sale is on through the 10th! Each PDF, including the Grindhouse Edition, Vornheim, Death Frost Doom and many more, can be had for $1.35 Each!

Happy Birthday James Raggi! Happy Anniversary to both you and your spouse! And Happy Independence Day to everyone in Finland!

While We're Visiting Mr. Raggi

PDF previews for Carcosa and Isle of the Unknown are up. If you've neglected the LotFP blog, you'll find several posts, detailing the contents of these two publications, along with various pics and other info. We are now, patiently waiting for Mr. Raggi and his printer to clear up a snag.

This provides a few more days, for the Dollar to gain a few pennies against the Euro.

I can dream, right?

And I've been quoted, in the PDF preview for Carcosa:

Whatever one may think of Carcosa, 

there’s no denying that it has proven itself 

to be a seminal work of the burgeoning 

Old School Renaissance.

—The Underdark Gazette

While some of my thoughts about Carcosa have changed, since that old essay was written, the sentence above remains as true now as it was then! Carcosa continues to prove its relevance. Continues to inspire and influence designers.  It is indeed, a seminal work of the OSR.

And it gave me occasion to use the word seminal.

Special Deal for Gardening Society Members

A quote from Mr. Raggi:

Oh, my store software won't let me apply the Gardening Society discount to the extras, so Gardening Society members will get 2€ off Carcosa and Isle of the Unknown, even if not ordering the extras. After the extras sell out, the discount will go back to the usual 1€ off.

That means if intend to buy both, you could sign up for the Gardening Society today for 10€ and be saving 4€ next week - and membership gives you 1€ off every print product in the store, always, so you could theoretically turn around and save more money than the cost of membership right away. And you get a kickass membership card!

Sounds like a good time to buy the hell out of some LotFP stuff!

$1! That's Legendary!

What? You want more cheap PDF's? Mongoose has put out their successor game to their Runequest II line.

Legend by Lawrence Whitaker and Pete Nash. Mongoose Pub. Available in PDF for $1.00. 242 pages.

Using the core rules from RuneQuest II, Legend is a new fantasy roleplaying game that serves as the basis for a multitude of settings and worlds. 100% compatible with all previous RuneQuest II books, including Elric of Melnibone, Deus Vult and Wraith Recon, Legend repackages the rules into a new digest-sized format.

I checked Mongoose's site and they list the book for £9.99  which I think is for a print copy, given the ISBN given. Amazon's page for that ISBN show's the book, but says it's out of print. (shrug.)

$1 Will Get You Started

Tim Shorts of GM Games and Gothridge Manor has put his module, Knowledge Illuminates on sale for the holidays. $1.

Grab your dice and hire some henchmen, you're going to need them. Knowledge Illuminates is a campaign starter adventure full of possibilities. Explore a dark fantasy world in search of an unending treasure. But within this adventure lurks a horror that will haunt the players for years. So buckle up that helmet, sharpen that sword, and bring an extra pair of iron spikes, this adventure is for the big boys.

The Labyrinth Lord Screen Kick-Starter

Is on for 6 more days! The goal has been met and $15 will get you a copy, while $21 will get you a signed copy!

With the Labyrinth Lord fantasy RPG having been available since 2007, the need for a referee screen has never been greater. Hunker down behind your Labyrinth Lord screen, rolling dice secretively and plotting the fate of your players!

Steve Zieser, artist for the covers of Labyrinth Lord and the Advanced Edition Companion returns to illustrate the cover of this three-panel portrait screen. The same old-school black and white style is used, so that the screen will look great with your copies of the rule books.

Each panel is approximately 8.5" x 11", with an outer illustration spanning all three panels. The screen is 14 pt card stock, with a UV gloss coating on the outside and an aqueous coating on the inside. The inside is filled with useful tables for reference during play, and the screen is equally usable whether you play with the core Labyrinth Lord rules alone or use the Advanced Edition Companion along with it.

A New Release from Mythmere

Demonspore: The Secret of the Shrooms by Matthew Finch. Mythmere Games. Available in Print for $16.99 and in PDF for $6.99. 84 pages.

Establishing themselves in the cyst left by their dead god, a zealot band of Shrooms, a race known for bizarre projects and subtle objectives, have now been working for decades on the strangest task in their strange history. They are growing themselves a new god. A Swords & Wizardry adventure (levels 3-6) also usable with OSRIC, 1e, Labyrinth Lord, and other old-school RPG rules.

More Cheap Gaming Stuff!

Trouble at Karam's Claim by Bill Logan. DwD Studios. Available in PDF for .50 cents. 3 pages.

When the miners at Karam's Claim depleted the hills, they set their sights on deeper wares. They dug too deep, and uncovered an unusual orc clan lead by an exiled ogre lord. The characters are in the right place at the right time, and must rescue the miners from the clutches of evil.

Trouble at Karam's Claim is a 1-sheet adventure designed for a party of four to six low-level Labyrinth LordTM characters, though it can be easily adapted to any old-school fantasy role-playing game. This adventure is combat-heavy. If the players lack sufficient front-line fighters, consider having miners they rescue take up swords from fallen orcs and fall in line with them.

What? You want more Cheap, Awesome Deals? Expeditious Retreat Press, Delivers!

Expeditious Retreat Press has just announced a 50% off sale, at Steve Jackson Games' e23 store!  Go snag some Advanced Adventures, or some other cool PDF's!

I'll recommend The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom by Matthew Finch!

Because it Rocks!

Because I wanted to include a picture, so Joseph's sale doesn't get lost in all the News Items and I needed to make some room to do so. I still need some room.

Because Matt Finch is my favorite living designer and boosting his profile might translate into him making me more cool gaming stuff!

This is Terrifically Gruesome!

Devestation Drive-In by Justin S. Davis. 57 page PDF available for Free Download at A Field Guide to Doomsday. 

A Spooky Celluloid Supplement for the Mutant Future Role-Playing Game.

If you look in the right-hand column of Justin's blog, you'll not only see the download link, but a few other Mutant PDF's, for your perusal.

Any supplement that stats up the baby from It's Alive, is worth checking out!

There's this Con. It's Constantly Going On!

Check out the Constantcon Blog, for a list of upcoming Google+ games and to add yours to the list! There's 17 entries for the month of December, so far. We can do much better than that!

LOVIATAR

LOVIATAR #5 December 2011 by Christian Walker. Available in print for $3.00.

Hex 001, an article for Basic D&D, gets things started. If you want to run a hex crawl/ sandbox style campaign you're going to need a place to start. Hex 001 provides that beginning. The article offers maps, illustrations, adventure hooks, planned encounters and suggestions for future play. With this article you will be able to get your campaign off to a great start.

Next up is a GURPS article that continues a series describing the bizarre world that the passengers of a colony ship now find themselves trapped on. In this installment, the enigmatic aliens referred to as the Masters have taken a bold step in controlling human reproduction. They have rendered their test subjects sterile and have begun placing genetically engineered babies with selected families. Adding to the horror is the fact that the aliens have experimented with gender, creating a third sex to live among the colonists.

Finally, zombies invade the pages of Loviatar! Inspired by AMC's hit show "The Walking Dead", a zombie for the World of Darkness is presented. It can be used as part of an encounter or as the feature enemy in a chronicle dealing with an undead outbreak.

Greyhawk Goodness!

Check out this interview with Joseph Bloch, from Mortellan's Greyhawkery!

Constantcon Utilities

Jez over at Giblet Blizzard has made the DungeonFu 1.0 Mapmaker for G+. It's cool! Check it out!

Bundle Price on BRW Games' Darker Paths

$8.00 for both The Necromancer and The Witch. And if you purchased the former, before the latter was released, Joe Bloch has you covered. He's also got a Cafe Press store, which you can get more info about, here. 

I Missed This

The Book of Elder Magic by D. H. Boggs. Available in Print for $10.00 and in PDF for $5.25. 77 pages.

The Book of Elder Magic is a handy reference designed for use at the gaming table. It contains all the spells found in the Original Edition of the worlds most popular fantasy adventure Role Playing Game, and all compatible spells developed for the Dragons at Dawn retro-tribute. A select number of spells from Dave Arneson's Open Game sources have also been adapted and added along with adaptations of other spells developed by members of the original Twin Cities gaming group. In all, there are 57 pages of spells for use with Classic, Original, and Retroclone rulesets of the worlds most popular RPG, including our own Champions of ZED. As if that is not enough, there is also another 10+ pages detailing the effects of magic addiction, a new magic wand, the Alchemist character class, the relationship of iron and magic, more comprehensive rules for the cost and time of creating magic items, and J. E. Holmes inspired rules for spell books.

Oubliette #7!!!

Oubliette #7 by Peter Regan. Art by The Marg. Available in PDF for Free, for a limited time only! 43 pages.

OUBLIETTE - A magazine for old school fantasy roleplayers.

FREE for a limited time only!

40 jam-packed pages!

Written for Labyrinth Lord, but also ideal for use with any Basic/Expert/Advanced original or clone, with little or no adjustment required.

Full Contents:

• Editorial
• Tales from Hell Cartoon
• Monster Club #11: The Naughty Step
• Miniatures Special: An Interview with Richard Scott of Otherworld Miniatures
• Monster Club #12: Dungeon Random Encounter Tables: Levels 4-6
• Newland Campaign Setting Part II: Raiders
• Monster Club #13: Newland Bestiary Part I
• Tomb of the Snake King: A Labyrinth Lord Adventure for 3rd to 5th Level Characters
• The 10-Foot Pole
• Found Familiar: The Toad
• Goblin Quest Cartoon
• What's in the Oubliette? Reviews
• Mouse Watch Cartoon
• The Song of Sithakk Part 7: A Dream of Blossoms

Warning! Oubliette may contain content that is suitable for adult audiences only. Persons 18+ only.

Oublieditor also put out a special issue, # 6.5, which you can find out about, here.  

Some More Freebies

Matthew of Rended Press and Greg of Gorgonmilk brings us Stuff You Might Find at a Goblin Market. A 34 page PDF available for Free Download.

Matt has also teamed up with the Old School Heretic, to bring you Old School Heretics Motivational Dysfunctions. A 7 page PDF available for Free Download.

the venemous pao and G-man Do it Again.

Bring you another Barbarians of Lemuria adventure, that is. The Homecoming of Count Inchiostro. A 16 page PDF available for Free Download. Set in the Hyborian Age!

In addition to the usual adventure-y goodness, G-Man has once again given us all some excellent new spells and some optional rules for a slightly crunchier approach to BoL combat. So really, why are you still reading my words when you should be downloading?

There May be Some Legal Wrangling...

But, you can get the first six pages of Bludgeons & Flagons, here. As Brad puts it:

As a teaser of great things to come, I am making the first six pages of BLUDGEONS & FLAGONS available to download and read FOR FREE! TODAY! Once you see these rules you will plead with me to preorder the published copy. Your gaming life has been made much brighter today, by me, for I provide the FUTURE IN FANTASY WARGAMING!

In fairness, the words of the alleged co-author will be of interest.

Hex Gear

Jed McClure of Albatross Press has a line of Hex & Graph & Dungeon Notebooks for all you harried DM's, in need of organization! Available in a variety of sizes, he's got ten different ones loaded up on Lulu, so follow the link above for more info!

News from Tekumel

Head over to Skein of Destiny, for some updated Tekumel News.


Time for Another Freebie!

Old School Hack by Kirin Robinson is now available on RPGNOW as a Free PDF Download.

A table-top roleplaying system that's a hack of a hack of the original Red Box version of a certain popular hack-and-slash fantasy game.

That's a lot of hacking.

Something for that Newfangled Kindle Thing

Paul Fini of The Warlock's Home Brew has put out a Kindle version of his pulp digest, Tales of High Adventure. Available at Amazon for $2.99.

Thrilling pulp adventure fantasy returns with Tales of High Adventure, a quarterly book of prose stories and illustrated tales as published in the pulp magazines of the 1930's and 1940's such as Weird Tales, Astounding Stories, Spicy Mystery Stories, Amazing Stories and Startling Stories!

 Akrasia Keeps us Up To Date

On the new Runequest 6! He posted the cover art for the upcoming release, from The Design Mechanism along with a blurb:

We're delighted to share with you the stunning cover art for RuneQuest Sixth Edition.

By Pascal Quidalt, the picture is, of course, an updated version of the iconic original RQ cover (originally painted by Luise Perrin). Pascal, who has done some outstanding covers for roleplaying games, has taken that original and created a beautiful and unique take on the imagery.

The artwork depicts Anathaym, a Meerish warrior of the Cult of Theera, under ambush by a cunning, predatory, Slargr (pronounced SLAR-guh) when she mistakenly wanders into its hunting territories. The hulking creature tears away her shield - a typical slargr tactic - leaving the shocked Anathaym to rely on her spear and its Bladesharp matrix.

Will she survive? The RuneQuest rules, using Anathaym as our example heroine, will give you the answer...

And Finally, The Advanced Adventures Compendiums

Advanced Adventures Compendium 1 and Advanced Adventures Compendium 2. Expeditious Retreat Press. 186 and 158 pages, respectively. $50. Each. Hardcover.

Compendium One contains (levels):

The Pod-Caverns of Sinister Shroom by Matthew Finch 2-4

The Red Mausoleum by James Boney 12-15

The Curse of the Witch Head by James Boney 6-10

The Prison of Meneptah by Alphonso Warden 8-10

The Flaming Footprints of Jilanth by Andrew Hind 3-5

The Chasm of the Damned by James Boney 6-10

The Sarcophagus Legion by Andrew Hind 2-4

The Seven Shrines of Nav’k-Qar by James Boney 8-12

The Lost Pyramid of Imhotep by Alphonso Warden 4-7

The Lost Keys of Solitude by Joseph Browning & Suzi Yee 6-10

Compendium Two contains (levels):

The Conqueror Worm by Alphonso Warden 10-14

The Barrow Mound of Gravemoor by Andrew Hind 5-7

White Dragon Run by James Boney 2-4

The Verdant Vault of Malakum by Alphonso Warden 8-10  

Stonesky Delve by Joseph Browning 4-7

Under Shattered Mountain by James Boney 9-12

The Frozen Wave Satsuma by Joseph Browning & Andrew Hind 3-5

The Forsaken Sepulcher by Alphonso Warden 10-14

The Secret of the Callair Hills by Geoff Gander 3-5

The Riddle of Anadi by James Boney 6-10

What I'm Pimping Right Now

Tome of Adventure Design by Matt Finch. Frog God Games. I'm not sure if pre-orders have been cut-off. There's reports of some folks receiving their copies. I still await patiently for my own hardcopy, but have the PDF in hand. Or hard drive.

Here's some words from Matt on the subject (follow this link for directions to a free preview PDF:

At long last, my Tome of Adventure Design (originally the Adventure Design Deskbooks) is up and ready for sale at Frog God Games. It's a quarter century worth of tables and a couple of places where I fleshed out some "Notes to Self" that were in the 3-ring binders along with the tables. People who have seen Deskbooks 1 and 2 know how it's presented -- the Tome of Adventure Design (ToAD) contains books 3 and 4 as well. The tables are what I think of as "deep design" rather than being short and weighted toward normal results as you have to do in a book of tables designed for rapid use during an adventure. This book is for when you're working ahead of time. There are a couple of exceptions - the first internal "book" can be used to generate the general concept of an adventure pretty quickly, either based on location, mission, or a villain's objective.

It's system neutral (for the D&D family, anyway, some of it uses concepts that were abandoned in 4e). So it's totally usable with AD&D, OSRIC, Original D&D, 2e, all the retro-clones, etc., etc.

The pdf is available immediately, and if you are pre-ordering the book you get the pdf right away.

It's 300 pages of tables and 7 pages of index (I worked hard to get a really good index).

About the News

Unless otherwise noted, all links to products and files are to the individual authors sites, pertinent posts, or sales pages. I don’t link directly to files, unless that is the only link available. The OSR News is produced as a service to the community and is entirely a non-commercial endeavor on my part. I have received no remuneration for advertising or reporting on any of the items appearing herein. Occasionally, the News might feature an item, which the author has sent me a complimentary copy of, for purposes of writing a review.

As always, the What I’m Pimping This Week section of the OSR News and its accompanying blog widget, feature products which I have purchased (or items which are available for free download) and wish to support. At times, the item I'm pimping may be one which I received a complimentary review copy of, from the author or publisher. No one has asked me to spotlight their material in this section and I have received no payment of any kind for doing so.

Please feel free to send me information on any new releases, events, or other items of interest, which you would like to see mentioned.