The OSR News - Oct. 26, 2018

New Releases

Threshold # 21 Specularum edited by Allan Palmer, Giampaolo Agosta, John Calvin, Francesco Defferrari. Art by Justin Pfeil, Damon Brown, Giampaolo Agosta, William McAusland. Cartography by Thorfinn Tait, Allan Palmer, Giampaolo Agosta. Available in PDF for Free. 260 pages.

The twenty-first issue of the Mystara Magazine, featuring the bustling capital city of the Grand Duchy of Karameikos - Specularum!

World of Jordoba Player Guide by Matt Finch. Published by Uncle Matt's RPG Studio. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $6.99. 50 pages.

The World of Jordoba is the masterpiece swords & sorcery campaign setting written by ENNIE award-winning author Matt Finch. Jordoba is an ancient world populated by strange peoples and stranger monsters, physically fraying into the depths of the oceanic multiverse. Ruination has spread across the world, and the civilizations of the Sea of Khoramandu are pushed back to the very coasts. And yet, humankind has risen from worse threats in the past eons of its existence. Scattered villages remain in the wildlands, and new barons carve out freeholds in the wilderness, their names scribed upon new maps. Great wizards make sorties into the very shadows beyond reality, seeking forgotten lore and undiscovered frontiers of arcane scholarship. It is a world where unnatural things survive from ancient times, where nameless gods have turned their unfathomable intentions, and where even civilized regions must literally be re-explored. This is … the Weirdling world of Jordoba!

Shards of Urfklin by Peter C. Spahn. Art by Luigi Castellani. Published by Small Niche Games. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $2.99. 12 pages.

WhiteBox One-Shots SciFi is a line of short planetary missions, space operations, and other science fiction encounters designed for compatibility with White Star: Galaxy Edition™.
Someone is hiding aboard your ship. It’s probably the fugitive the Galactic Consortium was searching for back on Cala Lo’taris. Can you find him before you reach the next starport and avoid being implicated in his crimes? Or will you try to profit from the sale of his stolen crystal shards?

Shards of Urfklin is a short, event-based White Star: Galaxy Edition™ adventure designed for three to six characters of 1st-3rd level. The adventure begins aboard a luxury starcruiser named the Cala Lo’taris, but the action quickly moves to the characters’ own starship.

Shards of Urfklin includes one (1) new alien race and two (2) new alien creatures for use in your White Star setting.

Shards of Urfklin also offers a plot hook for the Heart of Varrul setting sourcebook due out in the last quarter of 2018. 

Witchburner by Luka Rejec. Published by The Hydra Cooperative. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $13.00. 68 pages. A 34 page free edition is also available here.

Witchburner is a novella-length rpg adventure. It's an intimate, tragic adventure of witch hunting in a town huddled between rivers and mountains and forests one wet and cold October. 

Over 64 pages it delivers a mostly system-neutral adventure with: 

• A brief description of the town with an ill-labelled map. Scrawl on it.
• A detailed breakdown of how to run the social investigation adventure.
• Simple rules for time, alcohol, love, fear, the mob, and, yes, torture (I mean, it's witchburner, after all).
• A breakdown on how to adapt OSR stats for play on the fly.
• A few random encounters.
• Some "inexplicable witchcraft related phenoma".
• A tracker for 30 key NPCs.
• A massive, watch-by-watch breakdown of a whole 30-day month (October, if you're asking. The 31st is not included).
• An even more massive breakdown of the aforementioned 30 townspeople (NPCs), their houses, treasures, secret lore, and household, giving you about 100 different NPCs.
• An appendix with some stuff, including suggested music.
• And a little art. 

What people have said: 

"Everything has this sense of horror ... these are people who survived [war] and can easily wind up burned to death by the party." —an editor. 

"This is amazing. I started to read it over my morning coffee and couldn't put it down. I've never been so immersed by an RPG module before. The detail of the villagers, the town, the history, the weird, all awesome ... I would totally read a novel in this setting." —a patron.

This work was made possible with the gracious support of the Heroes of the Stratometaship, Luka's Patreon (WizardThiefFighter).

What Ho, Frog Demons by Chris Kutalik, Luka Rejec. Art by Luka Rejec. Published by The Hydra Cooperative. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $12.00. 112 pages. (ed. I think this will be available in Print as well, sometime in the near future.)

Weighing in at 112 pages of pure Slavic/Vancian/Moorcockian acid fantasy, What Ho, Frog Demons is the fourth stand-alone, mini-sandbox adventure in the Slumbering Ursine Dunes series. Fever-Dreaming Marlinko was an experiment in reforming the city setting book: sloughing off the tedious bits and cranking up the most adventurable qualities. What Ho, Frog Demons is a similar experiment: what happens when you rev up a regional setting book really high for pure play at the table.

What's inside its novella-length pages: 

Two "Saturday Night Special" Dungeons. Experience the two-bit Tomb of Horrors of the deadly trapped hell of the Frog Demon Temple or the escalating schlock-horror of the Manor of the Beet God. Both designed to be easily slottable for a few sessions of manic play in your home mangled campaign.

Full Hexcrawl. Want to run your players through the Weird-infested environs between the Dunes, Marlinko, the Misty Isles and this product? Well here's a full hexcrawl of all of Marlinko Canton, the most feverish of the Hill Cantons. 

An “Infection Index.” Much like the Chaos Index of previous adventures which brought an ever changing and escalating sandbox, the Beet God Manor will crank up over and between sessions.

A slew of new monsters and a random frog demon generation system. 

A whole rural carousing system.

An entire Bucolic Slavic Village generation system.

D.A.M.N. Magazine -- Spring/Summer 2018 published by Mystic Bull Games. Available from DriveThru RPG in Print/PDF combo for $15.00 and in PDF for $10.00. This is the Fisher Cover as shown. An alternative Poag cover is also available, here. 116 pages.

This issue of D.A.M.N. Magazine features the following DCC RPG goodness:

• The Balmorphos Dungeon: The Demon Snake of Balmorphos: First part of a multi-part mega-dungeon by Daniel Bishop!
• Portal to the Plane of Probability: First published adventure by Cory Gahsman!
• Cannibal Tiger-Women of Tsaru: The spiritual successor to the God-Seed Awakens! by Paul Wolfe. Why am I using so many exclamation points?!
• Badass gaming articles by Eric Hoffman, Lee Murphy, Ari-Matti Piippo, and Daniel Vance.
• The very first DCC RPG comic, The DAMNed, by Jason Sholtis!
• Artist Spotlight: Feliks RK Pyron
• Third Party Spotlight: Thick Skull Adventures and Divinities and Cults by Dan Osarchuk!
• And all the regular features. 

Hearts in Glorantha 7 published by D101 Games. Available from DriveThru RPG in Print/PDF for $13.11 and in PDF for $6.50. 48 pages.

Our 10th Anniversary Issue, featuring 48 pages of Myths, Articles, and Scenarios (13th Age Glorantha and for RuneQuest 2) in softcover A4 format. 

This issue: 

• Pavis Boxing Association A RQ3 Hero Cult by Leon Kirshtein.
• How A Rubble Runner Destroyed the Crimson Bat at The Battle of Iceland. A short tale by Lev Lafayette and Erica Hoehn.
• Strange Broos. A very strange RuneQuest Classic encounter with scenario seeds by Scott Crowder.
• Boatduck’s Lunch. Stewart Stansfield details what’s on the Duck menu.
• Snipbeak. A Duck with Lunar sympathies for RuneQuest Glorantha by Stewart Stansfield.
• Who Gets to Speak. Ian Cooper, Line Editor for HeroQuest, talks about what makes HeroQuest so unique among role-playing games.
• Orlanth, Heler and the Dragon. An Orlanthi Myth told by Stuart Mousir-Harrison.
• The Beard of Lhankor Mhy. An adventure for 13th Age Glorantha by Guy Milner.
• Heroic Tales. Two scenario seeds, each with three possibilities, by Newt Newport.
• The Temple of the Golden Gorp. A Short Adventure for RuneQuest Classic by Newt Newport.

Scorchfire by Malrex. Published by The Merciless Merchants. Available from DriveThru RPG in Print for $10.00, in PDF for $5.00 and in a combo for $12.00. 18 pages.

This adventure is dedicated to my county--Sonoma County, CA and all the families that lost their homes, family, friends, and pets to the Tubbs Fire of 2017. #SonomaStrong!! From the ashes, we shall rebuild! 

Your party successfully emerges from whatever dark hole you were conquering (or fleeing from) to be greeted by fire-swept terrain; a burning hell! A wildfire leaves a blackened and charred landscape. Ash storms blanket the smoldering remnants of charred trees and smoke blurs vision. Is the nearby town unscathed? Any survivors? Is there safe passage through the raging inferno? The adventure isn’t over….it just begun.
An OSR adventure for Levels 7-9.

The Complete Vigilante Hack - Kickstarter Edition by Eric Bloat, Jodie Brandt, Kickstarter Community. Art by Bradley K. MCDevitt, JESHIELDS, Tamas Baranya, Peter Saga, Jacob Blackmon. Published by Bloat Games. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $9.99. 36 pages.

Thanks to the enourmous generosity of my Kickstarter Backers, I can now offer you what was once a one-time Kickstarter Exclusive: The Complete Vigilante Hack! 

The Complete Vigilante Hack collects: The Vigilante Hack, A City Full of Sinners, Sanctuary Asylum, Hacking The Hack and Community content. 

The Complete Vigilante Hack is based off of The Black Hack by David Black

Note: This is a PDF only product.

The Tricks of Treachery Isle by Kingtycoon Methuselah. Published by Game of the North. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $7.30. 73 pages.

Nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted on Cormorant Isle! And yet you find that you must rely on dangerous strangers if you hope to leave the Isle alive. Who are these tricksters and what is the secret that they will kill to keep hidden?

An Old-School style adventure module with a Halloween theme.

Fighting Foolishness: Fighting Ideas for OSR Games - Published by Unbalanced Dice Games. Available from DriveThru RPG in Print for $9.99, PDF for $2.50 and in combo for $12.49. 33 pages.

The first of a new series, Fighting Foolishness, follows in the steps of the Magic Madness series. Inside are 30 ideas: abilities, skills, etc... . What they are to you is how you classify them. Add a couple to an individual Fighter(not just the vanilla Fighter, any Fighter) and you have something new to play with. Combine a bunch of them and make a new fighting class. Award them to the good player... or bad. Choices, choices for you to make. 

Summon your ancestors with Ancestors Appear to heal you before for mano vs who knows what combat. 

Reach for something you do not want to with Blade Of Ignoble Existence. A new low may have been reached but you may win the fight! 

Prepare to smack the right enemies with Damage Of Death. Blows against many, just hit them and they will fall. But, they must be ready. 

A good jump makes the Leap Blow what you've always wanted. Let your weight make the hit that much more powerful. 

No One Shall Fall, a speech must be made but our fighting will be so much better as long as no one falls. 

At last your fighter can become stronger with Strengthening Blows. I will not cut you but when my biceps bulge bigger you will feel a greater blow. 

Finally, will my god listen to me when I use War God Strengthen Me? My foe seems so much stronger then me, let my power be equal to his! 

All this inside and more, Fighting Foolishness... fight the fools today!

Bogey of Brindle by Lloyd Metcalf. Art by Lloyd Metcalf and Raven Metcalf. Published by Fail Squad Games. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $6.00. 38 pages.

The celebration of Firstfeast is upon the good folk of Westwego, and just as the smell of cakes and pies are warming up, you find yourselves among the bootlegging goblins of Brindle.

Can you save Westwego? 

What about the celebration? 

What about the hooch!?

WitchPig the Midderlands Card Game by Glynn Seal. Published by Monkeyblood Design. Available in Print/PDF combo from DriveThru RPG for $14.00 and in PDF for Free. 72 cards.

WitchPig - The Midderlands Card Game.

Designed as a fictitious card-based gambling game in the roleplaying setting for The Midderlands, also available from monkeyBlood Design & Publishing. 

WitchPig Craze Sweeping The Haven Isles
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The card game of WitchPig is sweeping across the Haven Isles. The gambling game, which is said to be esoteric and shrouded in hidden mysticism, is frowned upon by those of a theological persuasion, and it is deemed a ritual device of devils, witches, and warlocks. 

The Witchfinder General, Lord Tolbein Moorcock of the Grand Malefizhaus in Great Lunden, has issued an order to all witchfinders that anyone found playing the game should be arrested and investigated for their possible allegiances to devilry. 

For use as a game prop or actual card game.

Hidden Hand of the Horla by R. J. Thompson. Art by Dyson Logos, et. al. Published by Appendix N Entertainment. Available from DriveThru RPG for PWYW (limited time.) 22 pages.

A 1st - 3rd level adventure for use with Gateway To Adventure and other Original Edition Fantasy Role Playing Games. 

Legends tell of the Hand Mage's Tower that once stood at the edge of the realm. Within the Hand Mage experimented and hoarded his magical treasures. The tower stood for many years until one day it mysteriously vanished. Rumors spread that the mage had offended the gods and had been eradicated from existence, or else had made a pact with a demon prince and was now paying his due. Whatever the case, the tales became legend and all but the oldest elves were unsure if the tower had ever existed at all. Now the tower has reappeared where it once stood. Will you dare to enter the ancient tower in search of riches and magical secrets?

Star Crawl by Jonathan Snodgrass. Published by Tuesday Night Fiend Club. Available in Print from Goodman Games for $15.00 and in PDF from DriveThru RPG for $10.00. 112 pages.

Ready to escape the shackles of terrestrial campaigns? Star Crawl is here to take your games across the cosmos! This book is packed to the gills with useful rules and tools for sci-fi gaming in the DCC style!

Star Crawl's 112 black & white pages include: 

• Six new classes and guidance on taking DCC & MCC characters into space
• All new Race Template rules, including twelve character races
• New weapons, armor, and equipment with rules for customization
• Bestiary of aliens & monsters
• Quick tables to help create new worlds and stellar encounters
• A full 0-level funnel: The Promethean Adventure! 

While features of this book can be applied to any game system, Star Crawl is designed for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics and Mutant Crawl Classics RPGs.

The Peasants' Fell Bargain by Martin Buinicki. Published by Gaming Honors. Available from the publisher in Print for $10.99 ($19.99 with the battle map and extras, a separate battle map for $4.99.) and in PDF for $7.99 ($9.99 with a PDF of the battle map and extras, the PDF of the battle map is $2.99.) 28 pages.

Lord Stenorian needs your help! He offers you a deal too good to be true: find his son, hiding somewhere in his ransacked house, and he will make your wildest dreams come true.

But the Stenorian manor holds terrors and secrets kept for centuries. When you learn the truth, will you keep your half of the fell bargain? 

New Editions & Re-Releases

The Black Bestiary for The Black Hack Second Edition by Mark Craddock. Art by James Shields. Published by Cross Planes Game Studio. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $2.99. 16 pages.

Do you enjoy THE BLACK HACK SECOND EDITION but wish you had more Monsters to add to it?

THE BLACK BESTIARY includes 53 additional Monsters such as Aliens, Apemen, Beastmen, Creeps like evil clowns and slashers, Cryptids like sasquatch, Dinosaurs, Equines like nightmares, Experiments like chimera, Ogres, Ratmen, Weirdos like skull-faced sorcerers and turtle martial artists, and Winged Warriors like gargoyles.

Tomb of the Iron God by Matt Finch. Published by Uncle Matt's RPG Studio. Available from DriveThru RPG in PDF for $5.99. 52 pages. A 5e version is available in PDF for $6.99.

A temple destroyed by divine wrath... An ancient, imprisoned evil and a powerful idol. Mysteries abound in the tombs below the temple of the Iron God, protector of the dead. Discover the dreadful fate of the Iron God's priesthood and the reasons behind their downfall in this intriguing adventure designed for low-level characters. Tomb of the Iron God covers a large catacomb area on two levels, with 58 keyed locations and six new monsters. This is a Swords & Wizardry (0e) dungeon crawl for four to five characters of 1st or 2nd level, by ENNIE-award winning author Matt Finch.

Reviews

Dan Domme of I Failed My Save has a review of Neoclassical Geek Revival.

Frederick Foulds of Arcana Obscura has a review of She Bleeds and Obscene Serpent Religion 2.

Tenkar of Tenkar's Tavern has a review of Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana.

The Mixed GM has a review of Liberation of the Demon Slayer.

Jacob Aphenaeus of Sheep and Sorcery has a review of Through Ultan's Door.

Ben from Questing Beast has a YouTube review of Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana.

Bryce from tenfootpole.org reviews Murderknights of Corvendark and The Sunken Fort.

Anthony from The Blue Bard reviews Through Ultan's Door.

Needles at Swords & Stitchery reviews Through Ultan's Door.

Pookie from Reviews from R'lyeh reviews Operation Unfathomable.

ENDZEITGEIST at Nerd Trek reviews The God That Crawls. 

Needles at Swords & Stitchery has some things to say about the World of Jordoba Players Guide.

Follow Me and Die! has a review of Hidden Hand of the Horla. 

Some Other Things of Interest...

Aos of Metal Earth has been posting previews of his work on BX Mars.

I recently became aware of Heimat Der Katastrophe. If you're interested in the idea of having some retro style, ambient music for your games, this will be right up your alley. Each of their releases has the tracks available for listening and you can buy the digital albums
(the one pictured is €3) or their complete catalog for €51.10. It looks like they offer physical copies as well, on cassette, but those look to sell out quickly. I was impressed with the samples I listened to. Definitely worth checking out.


And check out Tim Shorts' Patreon for some Micro-Adventures. 

Timothy Brannon discusses his S&W coven of Witches.

Here's an LotFP Cheat Sheet from Red Dice Diaries and a site to generate your own Cheat Sheets!

TitoRPG has some info about witches. Raggi or one of his writer's could do something truly weird and horrific with this.

Konsumterra of Elfmaids & Octopimade a table - d100 Dungeon Sex Shop Stock.

Blue Sword Games has some pretty maps!



About The OSR 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. 

I have received no remuneration from any publisher for reporting on their releases, nor is such a requirement for a product to be included in these posts. At times, an author or publisher may send me a complimentary copy of an item, for purposes of review. This is not a requirement for a product's inclusion in these posts. Some of the links, such as to One Bookshelf sites, are affiliate links and may provide some compensation from the pertinent site. 

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