The OSR News: February 9, 2019

The Merciless Merchants return and someone turned me onto a free Tolkien RPG zine. And speaking of zines, the little buggers are taking over Kickstarter! Dyson Logos takes on the Neoclassical Geek Revival and the revitalization of the OSR blogosphere continues! All this and more in this weeks news!

New Releases

Trollback Keep by Jon Bertani, Aaron Fairbrook. Published by The Merciless Merchants. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF Combo for $12.00, in Print for $10.00 and in PDF for $5.00. Available from Lulu in Print for $10.00 and in PDF for $5.00. 32 pages.

The Crimson Legion has gained a foothold in the Dragonback Mountains. Having taken over Trollback Keep, they've gathered wealth, power and now seek to expand their territory. Villages of man and gnome have been sacked or enslaved. And now the Crimson Legion may be close to discovering the lost Shrine of Deralugos. Lord Brie and his men are busy fighting the raiding bands that are ravaging the area. He's offering gold and glory to those who can find the source of this incursion and help put a stop to it!

This adventure is designed for 4th-7th level characters and is compatible with the For Gold and Glory rule set or any OSR or D20 system.

This adventure could be considered a Part 2 of The Willowmere Vagabonds but both can be played separately.

Beasties 2 by Thomas Denmark. Available from Lulu in Print for $9.00. Available from the author in PDF for $4.00. 90 pages.

Beasties II is a fantasy bestiary supplement compatible with the original fantasy roleplaying game and subsequent editions, and other “OSR” games that follow in the mold of the original like Colonial Troopers, Guardians, and Warriors of the Red Planet. More than just a manual of monsters this book includes ready made NPC’s, traps & tricks, an adventure location and random encounter tables.
This is a handy reference book to bring to your gaming table, or use for inspiration in creating adventures.

A collection of monsters, creatures, strange beings, traps, and encounters compatible with the Original Fantasy RPG and similar systems.

Other Minds Magazine Issue #20 ed. by Thomas Morwinsky, Hawke Robinson. Available from the

Publisher in PDF for Free. 81 pages.

(ed. Previous issues also available for download.)

The purpose of this publication is to provide Tolkien-related content of interest to Tolkien enthusiasts of all kinds and more specifically, information usable by those who love to use role playing games to enjoy the many facets of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginary universe containing Middle-earth, Numenor, Endor, Arda and all of Eä, using whatever game system they desire. 

This is a community created and focused publication. The Tolkien gaming community runs this series,  geared initially for quarterly releases. Eventually we are hoping to have a monthly release cycle.

The zine is revised online, and released as downloads in PDF (or other Formats).  This is  a NON-COMMERCIAL endeavor, provided by many volunteers world-wide with professional, academic and amateur backgrounds.

Absolutely NO fees will be collected, nor paid for content or publication, however full recognition will be given. (ed. from the publisher's site.)

The Compleat Beastman Kickstarter Preview by Jacob DC Ross. Published by Thunderegg Productions.  Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for Free. 14 pages.

Here's a preview of the first issue of The Compleat Beastman, now funding on Kickstarter as part of the Zine Challenge. This first issue of the zine is all about centaurs. Play as centaurs, adventure with them, fight them, whatever.

Future issues are going to focus on other beastmen, chimerae and "-taurs".

Every issue contains a complete OSR character class (for James Spahn's White Star OSR rules), species stats for 5E PCs, and Assets for Shawn Tomkins' Ironsworn!

There's a lot more to come. Check out this preview of about a third of the first issue, then back us on Kickstarter!. We can't put the link here, but if you search for "The Compleat Beastman", you'll find it!

Neoclassical Geek Revival Dyson Logos Edition by Zzarchov Kowolski. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print HC/PDF for $24.97, in HC for $19.97 and in PDF for $10.50. 151 pages.

Neoclassical Geek Revival (NGR) is a take on classic RPGs to the extent that none of the original mechanics survive. This version is illustrated by Dyson Logos. Other versions by select artists will soon be available.

Fighting Foolishness 2: Fighting Ideas For OSR Games. Published by Unbalanced Dice Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.50. 51 pages.

Fighting Foolishness continues! A 2nd book of ideas for the Fighter to fool around with.

As before, you the Fighter or Game Master decides how to integrate them into your character or game. Don't fool yourself with the plain fighter.

Some of the foolishness inside:

Burning: unleash the fire in your body by fighting your foes. The more you hit the more fire is released. Burn evil foe burn!

Against Myself: You fight yourself in a dream and if you win you gain some nice bonuses. Your sword vs your sword.

Queen Judgment: she looks at what you have done, have you fought a strong enough foe? If so then you will be allowed to level up and maybe you will gain a boon from her. Cut you in two and put you back together with the black and white strings. Is there a boon inside?

Shield Box: Turn your shield into a box, a defensive structure that foes must smash through to get to you. 6 sides of defense and plenty of space for you to stick your spear out of.

Upwards: Surrounded by enemies? Go upwards and grab an enemy you want to strike. Keeps the others weapons away while you get a fair fight. One on one is the way it should be, right?

Dneragoom Trip: the mushrooms take you to Dneragoom, the monsters come and the dungeon denizens get Dneragoomed! Pools of purple cream, doorways to nuttiness.

Fighting Foolishness 2, 30 ideas for you to use and think about.

FUN, fun, fun, Dneragoom fun,
fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun,

Dneragoom fun, fun, fun, fun,
fun, fun, Dnera fun, fun goom,
fun, fun, fun, fun, Dneragoom FUN!

Rats in the Walls and Other Perils by Jeffrey Talanian (author), David Prata (editor). Published by North Wind Adventures. Available from the Publisher for Pre-Order in Print for $20.00 and from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $10.00. 44 pages.

Rats in the Walls and Other Perils features the classic Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea adventure, “Rats in the Walls”, by Jeffrey P. Talanian. This adventure, originally published in 2014 as a special “swag bag” giveaway at Gary Con VI, was inspired by the eponymous story by H.P. Lovecraft. This revised and lightly expanded version brings that title up to date with our current catalogue of adventure modules.

Rats in the Walls and Other Perils also includes two more short adventures: Chainsaw’s “The Brazen Bull”, and “The Lamia’s Heart”, by Jeffrey P. Talanian. (An early draft of the latter was published in the AFS fanzine.) Edited by David Prata, all three adventures are set in the dismal City-State of Khromarium and designed for from four to six characters of 1st or 2nd level. Like our popular adventure module The Anthropophagi of Xambaala™, we think you will find this to be a great AS&SH campaign starter. It contains just enough mystery and danger to whet the appetites of your players, introducing them to the weird world of sword-and-sorcery role-playing in the City-State of Khromarium.

“Rats in the Walls”: A dockside tavern in Khromarium is plagued by rats of a most unusual breed. These abominable rodents have ruined the tavern keeper’s business and his life. The man is desperate, and he offers a substantial reward for the elimination of his horrific problem.

“The Brazen Bull”: Whilst traversing one of the seedier neighbourhoods of Khromarium, your party are solicited by a greasy-haired Pict. He offers to sell you a sheaf of magical lotus that allows one to see the future or to brew potions that empower the imbiber with sorcery. He beckons you to follow him into a dilapidated building.... 

“The Lamia’s Heart”: Your party are contracted by the nascent master of an unsanctioned thieves’ guild. To earn his favour, you must steal a singular gem from the mansion of a prominent merchant. Purloining this gem, however, may raise the ire of the city’s official thieves’ guild; notwithstanding, the reward is significant.

AS&SH Referee's Screen by Jeffrey Talanian. Published by North Wind Adventures. Available from the Publisher for Pre-Order in Print for $19.99 and from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $10.00. 8 pages.

The AS&SH Referee’s Screen is a fantastic resource for novice and advanced referees alike, facilitating smoother game play and improved game immersion. Spend less time leafing through rule books, and game on!

This PDF is divided presented in eight landscape-oriented pages. The first four pages are the outside cover art, and the last four pages contain 32 tables of great information. 

Black Maw 3 - Manor Home of the Cannibals by Craig Pike. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.00. 6 pages.

Built on the site where dawns light first touched the world, and occupied time and again by civilizations both acient and recent. Any number of stories are trye, from dwarves to elves to mages to empires to private manor; all have been true at one point or another back to the literal dawn of time. But none survive for long, and wanderers keep coming to see what others have left behind. All pass through the Black Maw.

Deeper into the Black Maw you journey. Down, past the Wraith King, to the fetid stench of the third level. The true masters of the Black Maw being to reveal themselves in the Manor Home of the Cannibals!

The third level of the Black Maw megadungeon, for character levels 3-4. A classic dungeon, with the preview showing you exactly what you get!

Thanks for your support!

Random Encounters Map Collection Vol 2, Issue 1 (Jan 2019) REMC006 by Justin David Russell. Published by Epic Werkes Studio. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $10.00. Low Res version available for PWYW. 70 pages.

Want help finding inspiration for your next adventure? Are you a busy GM looking for a quick map? Do you want unique locations to spice up your random encounter tables? Then you’ve come to the right place! Random Encounters provides creative solutions for gamers. It specifically caters to the Old School Renaissance, but the maps, hooks, and descriptions found in this book can be used for any fantasy role playing system.

Please enjoy this offering. Have fun and, as always, GAME ON! 

Songbird Issue 2 by John Battle. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF Combo for $9.99 and in PDF for $5.99. 43 pages.

Songbirds Issue #2

• 9 unique and strange locations
• A field of demonic burgers
• D20 encounter table of new monsters with original art and stats, like the Melancholy Clouds, or Coldyes.
• Treasure table for when your party goes to loot it
• An old trailer teetering on a hill where an overweight man makes you drinks
• A dragon made of yarn that tethers you up and makes you feel bad for not calling your mother as often as you should... 

If you adventure, you are a Songbird, and this zine is for you. It details the strange planes and locales of the world of the Cage.

Good luck, don't die.

Cantrips: OSR Magic Supplement by Jeff George. Published by Print and Play Gamer. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $1.99. 32 pages.

One first level spell... 

That's all you get as a first-level Magic-User on an old-school dungeon run. Fire your one Magic Missile, and you're done for the adventuring day. At least it frees you up to make the pizza run...

Cantrips give you options! 

Cantrips are lesser magical invocations mages practice to hone their skills and master new spells. A wizardling casts his cantrips dozens of times every day as he trains. The Cantrips supplement from Print and Play Gamer lets you leverage that practice as you adventure, making even a rookie mage a valuable member of the dungeon party!

What are cantrips? 

Cantrips aren't splashy spells, but they're cheap and versatile. Clever young casters will find infinite uses for these little tricks out in the field. Facing down a pack of goblins? Cast a quick Glow on the Fighter's battered longsword to make the little green ones believe it's ancient relic of great power. Need to disrupt an evil priest's dark ritual? Use a Spark to set his infernal prayer book on fire! Want to distract a roomful of revelers while your buddy the Thief empties their pockets? Perform a Parlor Trick to pull a rabbit out of your pointy wizard hat!

Cantrips contains: 

This 32-page magical supplement is compatible with Basic/Expert D&D, Swords and Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, and most other OSR systems, and includes:

• Rules for making cantrips a key part of mastering new Magic-User spells
• Rules for casting cantrips on adventures
• Advice to gamemasters on incorporating cantrips into the campaign
• Complete spell data and rules for 16 original cantrips
• A separate, one-page Cantrips reference sheet for use at the game table

The Will of Rot by Olobosk. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. Also available from itch.io for PWYW. 3 pages. (itch site shows three pages plus the cover.)

The Will of Rot is a 3-page hexcrawl adventure set in the Forests of Mohln.

The woodlands are in crisis. On the southern border, the human town of Timberwick is suffering from a blight on its crops, and mysterious creatures killing its livestock. To the east, the Vash are becoming addicted to a new local delicacy populating the forest, and within, Mother Mohln and her children are falling victim to an infestation of fungus.

The Will of Rot is about an ecosystem being disrupted by an alien force. Throw it into your campaign world with ease, or run it as a standalone mystery!

In just three pages are:

• 3 distinct terrain types to explore; The Deepwood, the Rottwood and the Watered Weald.
• A mystery to unravel as your players explore the woodlands and encounter its residence.
• The town of Timberwick - A simple human settlement struggling against forces beyond its control.
• The Mohln - A race of sentient plant people, suffering from a mysterious blight.
• The Vash - Toad people addicted to the mutant insects emerging from the Rottwood.
• The Fetid Temple - A one page dungeon, hiding the alien secret within.
• Tables for generating encounters, townspeople and Mohln Wardens.
• Includes player facing maps to print or for your VTT. 

This adventure is stat-less and designed to be used with any roleplaying system, but assumes an OSR (Old School D&D) type game.

ZA9: Throne of the Gods by Joseph A. Mohr. Published by Dragonsfoot. Available from the publisher in PDF for Free. 34 pages.

Rumors have reached the adventurers about the recent discovery of the legendary Throne of the Gods. This epic level journey will take the adventurers to places of unimaginable danger. But the adventurers may not be the only ones seeking this artifact. This adventure is for six characters of 15th level and up.

Gregorius21778: The Crypt of Baron Vraszek by Kai Pütz a.k.a Gregorius21778. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $4.00. 17 pages.

The Crypt of Baron Vraszek: is a little dungeon crawl in which the characters unearth the entrance to the crypts of Baron Vraszek. They may be in it for plunder, to fight an old evil or retrieve knowledge on the behalf of somebody else.

This is a place were a bitter vampire has holed up. He prepared for these crypts to be his lair and had the help of an accomplished warlock to secure the place. Many undead minions do his biding, and he is himself a force to be reckoned with.

2 to 5 characters of 2nd to 4th level should be fine. More characters, and the place becomes crowded. Higher levels, and it may become a piece of cake. Characters of 1st level may consider themselves lucky when they escaped with their lives. Groups with a cleric will have an easier time than those without, groups without fighters will have a harder time, a group that neither has a fighter nor a cleric is in for a tough ride.

PC17 - The OSR Enchantress by Jeremy Reaban. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 11 pages.

In the early days of the game, the Illusionist was introduced to provide a slightly different take on the magic-user, even before spells had categories (Charm, Illusion, Evocation, etc). Second edition created specialists of each magic type, but did away with the uniqueness of the Illusionist by letting a general mage have access to all spells.

This is an attempt to duplicate the uniqueness of Illusionist, but with a different sort of magic, that of Enchantment (and Charm). The Enchantress casts spells that manipulate people, either through charm, inducing emotions, or putting them to sleep, including 30 new ones (at least to OSR, they are culled from later sources).

Although primarily intended for the 1st advanced edition of the worlds first fantasy role-playing game, tables are included for the original and expert editions.

Rolemaster Fanzine Issue 22 by Peter Rudin-Burgess. Published by PPM. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 28 pages.

Welcome to Issue 22, February 2019 

This is the second issue of 2019.

So it is February (actually it is 27th of Jan but it will be Feb by the time you get to read this) and there is no sign of RMu making an appearance.

Part of my desire to see the new edition of Rolemaster hit the shelves is to start calling it RMu rather than RMU as it is most commonly referred to on the forums. When the game hits DriveThruRPG there will be no mention of the Unified suffix. The game will be Rolemaster, not Rolemaster Unified. So the lowercase u is in honour of the fact that there is no u at all.

This issue is mostly taken up with another starting adventure. This will be triple statted for RM2/RMC, RMFRP/RMSS and RMu. I hope that every issue will be an improvement on the previous one and that I will improve the layout and presentation of these adventures. Maybe by the end of the year these will be truly professional quality adventure modules.

In addition, this month I want to talk a bit about Rolemaster and Against the Darkmaster and how they relate to Rolemaster. They must have a relationship as all three occupy the same space on peoples gaming bookshelves as simulationist D100 games.

In December I asked for inspiration for these starter adventures. The first thing that came back was the Caravan Guard opening adventure. This is my take on a Caravan Guard Duty opening adventure. It has the working title of “The Open Fist”

The Tomb of Ajax published by The Chimerae Hobby Group. Available from the Publisher for Free. 20 page PDF.

This adventure is designed for the Blackmoor Living World campaign and is suitable for three to five low experience adventurers, i.e. adventurers with 1-300 XPs.

In Blackmoor’s long and troubled history, many young adventurers have quested to find the power and riches long rumoured buried in the harsh, cold north, to become eventually true heroes. Many of them failed, but innumerable stories tell of the bravery and skill of the few that made their heroic dreams come true, putting the name of Blackmoor on the world map. Despite their best efforts, however, Blackmoor remains a troubled land. Monsters roam unchecked, terrorizing the innocent, internal enemies carry on scheming and hostile armies advance on all borders. In the meanwhile, the generation of heroes that forged and defended Blackmoor for decades is aging and they won’t be able to wield their weapons for much longer. More young adventurers must become strong enough to protect their homeland as soon as possible.

The Folio of Fiendish Monsters (1E & 5E) by Scott Taylor. Published by Art of the Genre. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $24.99. 128 pages. (ed. I could not find this on the publisher's site, so I don't know if there may be a print edition forthcoming, or not.)

Inpired by the classic TSR 'orange spine' hardcovers of the 1980s, this 128 page tome contains 115 new monsters that are playable in both AD&D and 5th Edition formats as well as treasure tables, climate encounter tables, monster level encounter tables, and a regional treasure table.

The Complete White Ship Campaign by Scott Taylor. Published by Art of the Genre. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $24.99. 128 pages. (ed. I could not find this on the publisher's site, so I don't know if there may be a print edition forthcoming, or not.)

Come join the adventure with this comprehensive 128 page mega-adventure! Compiling the full White Ship Campaign adventures series from Folio 14-19, as well as over half a dozen supplemental mini-adventures and the Ports of the Nameless Realms supplement, this is a true monster of a sea-based dungeon and lost island crawl. Written in both 1E AD&D and 5E D&D mechanics, this huge adventure has been designed to mimic the essence of the classic 1980s 'Orange Spine' hardcovers by TSR and has an incredible cover by iconic artist Jeff Easley. With both 2D & 3D maps, Iconic Characters, new monsters, and more, this isn't something to miss out on if you are a true hard cover gamer.

Grim & Perilous Bloody Combat #ZweihanderRPG by Peter Rudin-Burgess. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.50. 11 pages.

This is an alternative wound resolution system for ZWEIHANDER.
The basic mechanic is that the normal attack roll and parry/dodge checks are made but these rules replace the Fury Dice, Chaos Dice and Wound checks with a single D100 roll. The GM then looks up the result on the correct table. There are separate tables for Bladed, Brawling, Crushing, Gunpowder and Missile attacks. The tables combine the combat conditions resulting from the wound as well as graphic descriptions and of each attack.

Speed is one of the most sort after aspects of combat in role playing games. A voyage that takes the characters three months by ship we can hand wave away in a couple of minutes using Narrative Time but a fight between gangs that lasts thirty seconds can take all evening to play in Structured Time. These tables are designed to be faster at the game table by combining three or more actions into a single d100 roll and therefore make your combats fast, bloody and violent.

Inspiration for this system cones from a classic 1980s ‘drop in’ set of house rules for D&D that eventually became a game in its own right. That game went on to inspire many Critical Hit systems for the biggest games in role playing. Now you get the chance to add violent and bloody combat to ZWEIHANDER. What is unique about this critical hit system is that it does not simply presume that all foes are humanoid. The tables are customized for different body shapes to account for arms, legs, shields, wings and tails.

The King in Yellow: Annotated Edition by Robert W. Chambers, Kenneth Hite, John Scott Tynes. Published by Arc Dream Publishing. Available from the Pubisher in HC for $89.99 (pre-order.) Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $24.99. 220 pages.

Have You Found the Yellow Sign? 

"I was turning to go into the dining-room when my eye fell upon a book bound in serpent skin, standing in a corner of the top shelf of the last bookcase." —Robert W. Chambers, "The Yellow Sign"

The King in Yellow. Robert W. Chambers’ unearthly book has inspired millions of shivering readers since the death of the Gilded Age. This beautiful, deluxe edition brings new potency to its stories of madness and romance.

Acclaimed artist Samuel Araya graces this edition of The King in Yellow with his finest work. Full-page paintings and unnerving sketches evoke the weird romance of Robert Chambers’ finest tales.

Author Kenneth Hite annotates every tale with his uniquely macabre erudition. His insights bring ever-deeper understanding of truths that only the mad or the hopeless would seek.

Designer Simeon Cogswell and publishers Dennis Detwiller and Shane Ivey present a tome that will stand with pride on any shelf. Readers will be drawn again and again to the Sign engraved in gold...to the twin suns strangely setting...to the tattered robes of the King in Yellow. 

Contents 

• "The Repairer of Reputations"
• "The Mask"
• "In the Court of the Dragon"
• "The Yellow Sign"
• "The Demoiselle d'Ys"
• "The Prophets' Paradise"
• "The Street of the Four Winds"
• "The Street of the First Shell"
• "The Street of Our Lady of the Fields"
• "Rue Barrée"

Re-Releases, New Editions, Now in Print, etc.

OD&D Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes (0e) by Rob Kuntz, James M. Ward. Published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF Combo for $11.99. I Print for $9.99 and in PDF for $4.99. Page count not given.

Well, here it is: the last D&D supplement. It is with a strange mixture of sadness and relief that I tell you this. My first assignment, fresh out of college, was BLACKMOOR. I came to regard it with a mixture of love and loathing, that has gradually seen the love win out. The loathing grew out of the educational trip that it was for me. They don't teach you in college what to do when the press breaks down, or your manuscript gets mysteriously misplaced; you just have to wing it.

Well, the same applies to D&D'ers everywhere: we've told you just about everything we can. From now on, when the circumstances aren't covered somewhere in the books, wing it as best you can. As we've said time and time again, the 'rules' were never meant to be more than guidelines; not even true 'rules.'

What the authors have done in this volume is to attempt to set down guidelines that will enable you to incorporate a number of various mythologies into your game/campaign.

They make no claims that any of this material presented is exhaustive, or even infallible. Mythology is defined as 'a body of myths, especially: the myths dealing with the gods, demi-gods and heroes of a particular people, usually involving the supernatural.' Myth is defined as a legend. Obviously, when dealing with material of this sort, there is a lot of latitude in interpretation. This is what the authors have presented: their interpretations. These interpretations are the result of months of painstaking, arduous research. As earlier defined, mythology is legend, and hundreds of volumes have been printed, each with its own interpretation. Further research and reading is recommended into all of the mythos presented herein. This is the merest of outlines, presented in D&D terms.

This volume is something else, also: our last attempt to reach the "Monty Hall" DM's. Perhaps now some of the 'giveaway' campaigns will look as foolish as they truly are. This is our last attempt to delineate the absurdity of 40+ level characters. When Odin, the All-Father has only(?) 300 hit points, who can take a 44th level Lord seriously?

This volume does not herald the end of new D&D material. There will always be new material; 'tis the nature of the beastie. There were many myths that couldn't be squeezed into this. Keep looking for new stuff in the future in the pages of our periodicals, those that didn't fit, as well as those aborning at this very moment. Just don't wait with baited breath for another supplement after this one. May you always make your saving throw.

This PDF is drawn from the Original Edition Premium Reprint, which included new cover art, an updated layout, and a slightly smaller set of deities.

Night Below: An Underdark Campaign (2e) by Carl Sargent. Published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in HC Print/PDF Combo for $26.99, in SC Print/PDF Combo for $21.99, in HC Print for $24.99, in SC Print for $19.99 and in PDF for $9.99. 192 pages.

A missing mage...

A ruthless band of kidnappers...

A sinister conspiracy...

Night Below, the first epic campaign adventure for the AD&D game, is designed to take the player characters from 1st level to 10th level and beyond. The PCs start as beginning adventures on a routine courier mission who soon become drawn into combating a sinister plot that menaces the pleasant land of Haranshire.

By the end of Book I, The Evils of Haranshire, the player characters should have worked their way up to 5th level. Book II, Perils of the Underdark, shifts the scene underground as the characters search the seemingly endless realm of the underdark to discover the fate of the kidnappers' victims. By the time they reach the dark cavern of The Sunless Sea in Book III, they should each be 10th level or above, ready at last to confront the ultimate evil behind the far-reaching conspiracy.

Inside this box are

• Three 64-page books compromising a single grand-scale adventure, which can be placed in any AD&D world.
• 16 Player Handout sheets featuring art, maps, charts, and letters.
• 8 two-sided DUNGEON MASTER Reference Cards providing cutouts, monster rosters, and two new evil deities.
• An eight-page booklet of new MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM entries, detailing three new races and two new monsters.
• 6 full-color poster maps detailing all the important locations in the entire campaign setting. 

Note on the print edition: All booklets, handouts, and maps have been merged into a single collected book (the maps have been split into individual pages). If you intend to use the handouts and maps at your table it is recommended that you purchase the PDF+Print combo deal and print those out using the PDF.

Eilean Dubh: The Black Isle Gazetteer by the Tenkar's Tavern G+ community. Wraparound Cover by  Rejec. Now Available in PDF for Free. Still Available from Lulu in Print for $25.66. 442 pages.

Eilean Dubh: The Black Isle is a fantasy setting created through the Tenkar's Tavern G+ community. The island is described via articles each by different authors, focusing on a single Hex microsetting. This is a fan RPG project, and is offered at cost. All content is the property of the individual authors.

ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG: Core Rulebook Errata PDF by Daniel D. Fox. Published by Grim & Perilous Studios. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for Free. 10 pages.

Grim & Perilous Fans!

For those who previously purchased a print-on-demand version of ZWEIHÄNDER Grim & Perilous RPG here on DriveThruRPG or bought the first edition print copy from the 2016 Kickstarter/CrowdOx, we have released a printer-friendly errata document. This document covers every major change between the 2016 first edition print and the Revised Core Rulebook pending release in 2019.

Simply print it out, and stuff it into the back of your first edition book.

Happy gaming!

City State of the Invincible Overlord, Color Map by Robert Conley. Published by Bat in the Attic Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $9.98 in Print for $9.99 and in PDF for $7.99.

(Some word on the updated file from the author's blog:)

Since the fall of 2018 Steve Wachs of Red Pub Games has been working on a new version of the City State of the Invincible Overlord PDF. This version has the text of original entries formatted as notes on the map. Just hover or click over a named location and the text will appear. This will be useful a quick reference if you use a laptop, tablet, or mobile device as a referee aid during a session. 

Steve put a lot of work into this. The original CSIO has several hundred entries of different location. In addition Steve spearheaded a community project to come up with description of previously undescribed locations. 

Everybody who has gotten a copy of the PDF of the CSIO map will have their file download updated.

Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells by Diogo Nogueira. Published by Gallant Knight Games. Now available from Lulu in a HC with DJ for $49.99. Still available from DriveThruRPG in HC Print/PDF for $34.99, SC Print/PDF for $24.99 and in PDF for $14.99. Variant Cover HC available in Print for $44.99. 456 pages.

Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells 

The universe is in collapse, as planets and systems struggle for freedom 

under the rule of sinister despots. Against the malevolent sorcery of the Overlords stand the few remaining bearers of the legendary Solar Blades.
What will you do when the forces of the Void close in? 

Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells is a rules light, Star & Sorcery Role Playing Game with an Old School spirit. This is a complete Role Playing Game, inspired by the Old School Renaissance, the Pulp Literature and the many Science Fantasy stories brought to us by movies, comics and games. Based on the Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells RPG, this game system provides players and Overlords (that's how we call the GM in this game) a set of flexible and streamlined rules, as well as an array of tools to make gameplay fast and fun, allowing them to have exciting adventures with solar blades and cosmic spells! 

What is in the book? 

Although the book has more than 450 pages, it’s filled with hundreds and hundreds of illustrations, tables to generate all sorts of game elementos (from items, NPCs, monsters to an entire galaxy). The rules themselves occupy less than 150 pages (including examples and lots of other helpful things). The game also comes with a ready to play adventure, full os possible endings and with great hooks for future game play!

So grab a few dice, call your friends and get ready for a life of adventure with Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells!

Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation by CS Barnhart, Caleb Congrove, Chris Lites, Ryan Lynn, James Ward, and Moses Wildermuth. Published by Mad Martian Games. Now available from Lulu in Print for $9.00 and in PDF for $5.50. Still available from DriveThruRPG in PDF or $8.00. 72 pages.

Welcome travelers of the Thanelands.

The Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation collects together the monsters and menaces that have terrorized the Frozen North so far.

It is a collection of fiends familiar and strange that stretch from the cold shores of Drawoh Rock to the peaks of Mount Surtur and into the depths of the dark heart of the  and beyond.

Monsters, Animals, Beasts, Men, and more lie in wait to challenge heroes and villains, wizards and warriors, those destined for greatness and those bound for doom.

This tome collects monsters from the Ice Kingdoms line of books, including The Ice Kingdoms Campaign Setting, Into the Mournwood, The Girl with the Demon Tattoos, The Lair of the White Wyvern, The Temple of Drawoh Rock, Ice Kingdoms Expansion: Expanded Bestiary, and The Fires of Mount Surtur.

The Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation is compatible with most Old School Games, especially

Labyrinth Lord, OSRIC, and For Gold & Glory and is easily converted to many other games.

Through the Gate of Flesh by Carl Niblaeus. Now available from Lulu in Print for $4.80. Still available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 20 pages.

»And one day, when the stars align and great powers older than our Cosmos gaze onto our swirling galaxy, then, the great Astrodea will again rule our empire in splendid magnificence!«
–The Chronicle of Astrodea the Great

Something stirs within a mountain on a forgotten planet somewhere in the Cosmos. Legends talk of a God living in the mountain, a God that has recently woken up again. Some of the inhabitants of the abandoned planet instead whisper of a mad wizard who has returned to the area. And among the elders there are still some who remember the disappearances and abductions many, many years ago.

In the dark woods on the mountain there is a strange clearing surrounded by ancient statues, that only bold adventurers dare investigate. What will they find?

Through the Gate of Flesh is a science fantasy adventure for old school roleplaying games, intended to be used with low-level characters. It details a wizard's biomechanical laboratory filled with odd objects, peculiar creatures and weird monstrosities to interact with.

Polyhedron Newszine V4 #6 Issue 21. Published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 32 pages.

Included in this issue:

• Encounters — by James M. Ward. Ren Grakkan searches for the white cloak of enchanting.
• Witchstone — by Carl Smith. The RPGA Network AD&D tournament module used at GenCon South 1983 Game Fair makes it to the pages of Polyhedron Newszine.
• Why gargoyles don't have wings, but should — by E. Gary Gygax.
• Take command of a Titan! — by Roger E. Moore. "Big Ship" campaigns in the Star Frontiers game.
• More of your NPCs — A mixed bag of NPCs provided by RPGA Network members.
• Module Building from A to Z — by Roger E. Moore. Creating adventures for your campaigns (and for publication).
• Dispel Confusion — by Penny Petticord and Frank Mentzer.

Polyhedron Newszine V5 #1 Issue 22. Published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 32 pages.

Included in this issue:

• Of Great Ships and Captains - by Roger E. Moore. Now that you have your Big Ship, what do you do with it?
• In the Black Hours - by David Cook. A unique AD&D® module exclusively for RPGATM members. Used as a sponsored tournament at GEN CON® South 1984 Game Fair and at CONTACT 1984 convention.
• Marlgoyles and Monster Manual II - by E. Gary Gygax. More about the monster, plus an exclusive!
• The RPGA Network Player and judge Ranking System - by Penny Petticord. What happens after the tournament? The official new ranking system for RPGA Network sanctioned events; plus the 1984 player and judge rankings.
• Away With Words - by Frank Mentzer. Tired of the same old encounter descriptions? Try this outlandish vocabulary!
• Unofficial New Cleric Spells - by Jon Pickens. Looking for the right spell to recharge your wand? One of these might fill the bill. First of a new series.
• The Treasure Chest - a special mini-catalog featuring merchandise for RPGATM members only.

Polyhedron Newszine V5 #2 Issue 23. Published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 32 pages.

Included in this issue:

• In the Black Hours - by David Cook. Part 2 of the AD&D® module begun last issue. ("In the Black Hours" was used as a sponsored tournament at GEN CON® South 1984 Game Fair and at CONTACT 1984 convention.)
• Ultimists - by E. Gary Gygax. A new character class for those who want to have it all!
• Why Gargoyles Don't Have Wings (But Should) - by David Collins. An alternate viewpoint on this controversial topic.
• The Lighter Side of Encounters - by Skip Williams. Has your campaign grown too predictable? These encounters will put some life back into it!
• Punishments to Fit the Crime - by Knarf Reztnem. More foolishness for April.
• New Magic Items - by Frank Mentzer. An appendix to this month's "Lighter Side" (by the DM from whose campaign the encounters were taken), explaining the new items introduced.
• Dungeonsongs - by David Collins and Steve Schaeffer. Music to adventure by.
• Excerpts from the Book of Mischievous Magic - by Frank Mentzer. If you thought some of the items in "The Book of Marvelous Magic" were bad puns, wait until you sec the ones they took out!
• "Zee CheP' - by Bruce Heard. A delicious new NPC for your campaign.
• The Male of the Species - by Frank Mentzer. The elusive emezon described at last.

More Free Gaming Stuff from the Blogosphere and Environs

Malcolm Svensson  of Tales of Scheherazade posted D100 Magic Items.

Dungeons and Possums posted Gygaxian Democracy: The Sorcerer of the Sinful Caves.

David Baymiller of The OSR Library has a page collecting his continuing series of Star Wars for Classic D&D/OSR posts.

Scott Anderson of Treasure Hunters HQ posted Fallen Empires Campaign Elements 16: Character Classes. 9 page Google doc. 

Michael Shorten of CHICAGOWIZ'S GAMES continues his Three Hexes series with [THREE HEXES] FINDING THE LOST QUEEN.

Pete Jones of the Dragons Are Real podcast posted a free zine in PDF as well as a podcast on Making a Zine. (see ep. 004 for links to both.)

Michael Kennedy of Sheep and Sorcery posted INTO THE WEIRD BLUE YONDER: CAROUSING MISHAPS BOTH STRANGE AND MACABRE.

Jürgen Mayer  of Dead Cyclops posted Prisoners of the Gelatinous Dome DCC Conversion. 1 page PDF.

James V. West of Doomslakers! posted Void Panther. 

Jensan Thuresson of The Acorn Afloat posted Saving stupid ideas I had on Google+ on this blog so that Google may delete them again in the future.

Velexiraptor of A Blasted, Cratered Land posted Stress, Trauma, Summoning, and the Occultist.

Michael Bacon of Buildings Are People posted Class: Random Specialist.

Timothy Brannan of The Other Side posted Monstrous Monday: The Shattered Knights.

Handy Haversack posted Empty Hands and Fingers of the Void an expansion for Graphite Prime's Praise the Fallen. 

V. A. of Leicester's Ramble posted Uthur's Tomb, an Interpretation of Jackson's Barrowmound 10. 3 page PDF. And Sneaking into Dyson's Sapphire Vault... 3 page PDF. 

Yami Bakura of Remixes and Revelations posted OSR: Handsome Wizards. As well as The One-Eyed Man and the Forsaken Ones (part 3).

James Mishler of Adventures in Gaming v2 posted [LEGENDARIA] Southern Regions of Legendaria. 

Maptime

Dyson Logos of Dyson's Dodecahedron posted Vault of the Blue Golem, Strange Ruins at Karst Ford and Release the Kraken on Izzel’s Folly.

DHBoggs of Hidden in Shadows posted A Great World map for Blackmoor.

Chuck of They Might Be Gazebos! posted RETURN TO ZOONG. AT FASTER THAN I THOUGHT.

Jay Robinson of CryptoCartographer.net posted Dundarrow Village.

Reviews & Play Reports

Bryce of tenfootpole.org reviews The Judgement of Rad and Secrets of the Black Marsh. 

I'm not forgetting this week! Here's the Matt Finch RPG Studio with Swords of Jordoba (OD&D Actual play) 2-5-19.

Fred Daniel of White Box and Beyond posted Chivalry & Sorcery: The Quest For Medieval Realism, Chivalry & Sorcery 2e, and Chivalry & Sorcery 3rd Edition.

Dungeons and Possums posted Review: Fever-Dreaming Marlinko by Hydra Cooperative.

Jeremy of OSR News and Reviews posted Ruined City of Cyfandir Review — Low Level Adventure with High Level Boss.

Ben of Questing Beast fame on YouTube uploaded Woodfall: OSR DnD Setting Review. 

Jeremy “frothsof” Smith posted Frothcast #13: Humpday Blog-O-Rama 2.6.19.  

Courtney Campbell of Hack & Slash posted On The Best Books Released for Dungeons & Dragons Part I and Part II.

Wr3cking8a11 of A Swamp in Space turns to The Tome of Adventure Design for Let's make an Adventure I guess: Tome of Adventure Design.

Ambnz of Ravenous Ambience also breaks out The Tome of Adventure Design for I Guess I'll Make An Adventure Too.

Dungeons and Possums posted Review: Slumbering Ursine Dunes by Hydra Cooperative. 

Dungeon Musings of YouTube uploaded Actual Play - Scarlet Heroes - B/X D&D: Barrowmaze Beckons - Session 31. 

GREGORIUS21778 posted  EFAG TEST: A JEWEL AND NAKED FLESH and EFAG TEST: A MAGIC CARPET and

EFAG: A SPEAR TO SEEK THEM.

Chaosium uploaded An advance look at the RQG Slipcase! to their YouTube channel. 

C. Thorin of the Playing it Wrong podcast uploaded Episode 5 Season 2: Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells.

Spike Pit uploaded a podcast episode: 096 Dungeons and Dragons Companion Set Overview.

Pookie UK of Reviews from R'lyeh reviews Mutant Crawl Classics #2: A Fallen Star for All.

And in Other News...

Dungeons and Possums picks breaks down the DriveThruRPG OSR Good Ol' Games Sale.

Tenkar has a few choice picks from the sale as well, posting OSR Good Ol' Gaming Sale - Select Titles 75% Off - Hundreds at 15% Off or more. 

Dungeons and Possums posted this Interview: Chris Kutalik Talks Hill Cantons, Hydra Cooperative, and More! And this: Interview: Trey Causey Talks What Ho, Frog Demons!, Armchair Planet, and More!

Matt Finch of Matt Finch RPG Studio YouTube channel uploaded Top 5 DM Tips with Courtney Campbell.

Kickstarters, etc.

TEYLEN'S RPG CORNER posted Crowdfunding Collection #95.

And That's It for This Week...

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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. One Bookshelf site links are affiliate links and may provide some compensation from that retail 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.