Saturday, February 2, 2019

The OSR News: February 2, 2019

DriveThruRPG comes back online, some new modules from The Vaults of Pandius and the Cepheus Engine seems to have taken over The Black Hack's crown as the latest OSR darling. All this and much, much more in this week's News.

New Releases


Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells by Diogo Nogueira. Published by Gallant Knight Games. 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!
 
The Oracle's Temple by Keith Salamunia. Published by pinupsbyindi. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 2 pages.
The Oracle's Temple is a one page adventure in which the party can either search for answers or treasure, but maybe a bit of both. The oracle offers prophecy in exchange for a tribute to her powers as a medusa.

This title is "pay what you like" so if you don't pay, that's cool. I do ask though, that instead you leave me some feedback so I can improve future work. However tips are always appretiated.

Thanks for your interest,

indi
The Flame From Space by Paul Ward. Published by Matakishi's Tea House. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $7.91. 62 pages.
The Flame From Space is an adventure written for The Cthulhu Hack but easily convertible to any other Mythos themed game.

The Flame From Space is suitable for experienced investigators although new 
investigators will find much to interest them.
The setting is 1980s Britain but, again, this can easily be changed.

A mysterious comet enters the Solar System and people begin to die in horrible fiery conflagrations. The investigators are drawn into a nightmare world of monsters, ghosts, cultists and alien menaces with the fate of the Earth in the balance.

The Flame From Space is a full colour, fully illustrated adventure with portraits of all the NPCs, player and gamemaster maps, player handouts and tables and charts of major plot points and people so the gamemaster can run things with the minimum of effort.
A printer friendly version is included.

The adventure also contains a link to a fully illustrated playthrough to give the prospective gamemaster an idea of the flow of actual play.
Vile Vengeance of the Bees by Michael Palacios. Published by Three Swords and Three Ravens. Available form DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 8 pages.
A colony of super-intellegent bees have discovered metallurgy!

A low-level, high-lethality adenture for BX or LL.
Dirtside by Paul Elliott. Published by Zozer Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $3.99. 65 pages.
A wilderness survival supplement for Cepheus Engine and the Hostile setting.
Whether your Cepheus Engine game is set in the super-jungle of Tau Ceti II, the swamps of Africa’s Congo or the burning deserts of LV207, you will need comprehensive wilderness survival and travel rules. DIRTSIDE turns a trek across a world’s surface into an immersive battle for survival. Pit your wits against the elements, negotiate dangerous terrains and guard your resources against thirst, hunger and exposure.

Or dip into the DIRTSIDE rules to add a little detail and danger to any planetary surface excursion. Cleverly designed encounter tables provide scores of realistic obstacles and situations to be overcome and cover every terrain type, from sand seas to mangrove swamps, mountains to nitrogen ice fields, and volcanic wastelands to the unstable surfaces of comets and asteroids.

Remember – science fiction adventure only really begins when you get dirtside …

DIRTSIDE includes:
  • Event tables for all terrain and climate types.
  • Easy-to-use rules for surviving in the toughest environments.
  • The effects of hostile atmospheres, radiation, poison gasses, hunger and extreme temperatures.
  • Travel rules, factoring in speeds and problems - and ways to overcome them.
  • Many random events, such as strong winds, thunderstorms, rock-falls and caves.
  • Foraging and hunting.
  • Abbreviated animal encounters, able to be created ‘on-the-fly’.
Breaking the Habit: Mythras Combat Module by Dan True, Pete Nash, Lawrence Whitaker. Published by The Design Mechanism. Available from the Publisher in PDF for $2.99 and from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.99. 12 pages.
Trapped in a narrow alley, four fugitives must break the shield wall of the highly trained city militia to escape. Their opponents are well armed and well armoured. To get to the city gate and freedom, they need to focus on bypassing the shields and swords, which means breaking old habits...
Mythras Combat Modules provide a self-contained encounter designed to highlight and explore different parts of the Mythras combat system. The module suggests how new tactics and certain Special Effects can be used together to achieve a specific result. The modules aim to encourage creative use of the combat rules that will translate into standard game play. Breaking the Habit focuses on situations where Choose Location>Head may not be the best default choice, and where the use of weapon length, height, and other Special Effects will be of much more use. The module is ideal for introducing new players to the nuances of the Mythras combat engine.

The module contains full advice on combat tactics, guidance on how each side fights during the melee, specially designed NPCs (with full stat cards), and full colour floor plans and character tokens that can be printed out for personal use, or imported to the Roll20 engine.
Girl Gone (Cepheus) by Adrian Kennelly. Published by Azukail Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.99. 10 pages.
Girl Gone is an adventure for Cepheus Engine and other role playing games using a 2d6 mechanic, including the Original Science Fiction Role Playing Game.

An expansion of an adventure hook from A Baker's Dozen of Inhabited Worlds, the PCs
 are asked by a comparatively wealthy merchant to find his missing daughter. The adventure is set in Warren, as asteroid with a dubious reputation, variable legality and a place where anything and everything can be purchased, if you know who to ask.

The daughter, Jessica, was abducted after she left a club with a member of a local gang, the White Masks. The Masks are into organ-legging and slaving, with a sideline in selling their victim's possessions. Jessica is a high value item for them, and she is going to be sold in a private auction. The PCs will need to track Jessica to the White Masks' base and save her.

The adventure includes a black and white map of the White Masks' lair in two versions, one for players and one for Referees.
The Rusted Tomb by WR Beatty. Published by Rosethrone Publishing. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $1.99. 12 pages.
A short adventure location - a shrine and a tomb for a nearly forgotten godling. Rumors suggest this is the resting place of He Who Forged Heaven and Hell. Craftsmen and Smiths pay their respects at the Rusted Tomb, but few others care, though some say there's ancient magic behind those rust-streaked walls.
An adventure for a variety of levels:
  • A heist at levels 1-3
  • A mystery at levels 4-7
  • A mission to seek and destroy at 8 and higher levels. 
The Rusted Tomb uses Swords & Wizards in the Highlands rules variant, though it is completely compatible with all Old School and Original rules.
The Between by Michael Brown. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.75. 2 pages.
The heroes are caught between a rock and a hard place when they’re falsely accused of smuggling banned drugs to the authoritarian planet Moravi. Allowed out of their cells in order to find those responsible, they encounter a web of deceit as they track down the one person who knows the truth. Meanwhile, the true author of the treachery has taken steps to make sure that neither they nor their elusive quarry live to discover what’s actually going on.

The Between is a short adventure for 2D6 science fiction RPGs such as Cepheus Engine and the Original Science Fiction Roleplaying Game
Ice by Michael Brown. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.75. 2 pages.
A mission to help natives of an arctic planet drill down to life-giving liquid water turns into a fight for survival as the operation unleashes a deadly danger from the icy depths. The PCs find their weapons useless as the citizens are cut down, and they must turn to other means to prevent the massacre. But the enemy has an unexpected advantage that might render the heroes’ actions moot and make them victims as well.

Ice is a short adventure for 2D6 science fiction RPGs such as Cepheus Engine and the Original Science Fiction Roleplaying Game.
Low Fantasy Gaming Deluxe Edition by Stephen J Grodzicki. Published by Pickpocket Press. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $15.00. 287 pages. (ed. note: see the author's comments below before purchasing.)
NOTE: These two PDF files (Colour and B&W Line Art versions) are DRAFT only. They contain the final text but incomplete artwork (the remainder of which is being created, subsequent to the Jan 2019 Kickstarter). Final PDFs are expected 31 Mar 2019, and print hardcovers 30 June 2019 (or earlier). When the hardcover options become available, there will be a bundle with the PDF for free.
Low Fantasy Gaming is a tabletop RPG built for gritty adventures in low or moderate magic settings. It has simple rules, dangerous combat, flexible PC customisation, and mysterious, unpredictable magic. Designed for short, episodic adventures in sandbox worlds, LFG provides the mechanics and tables needed for easy GM improvisation. It’s a heady mix of the best old school, modern, and new game design, wrapped around a familiar d20 core.

Main Features
 
  • 9 Classes: Artificer, Barbarian, Bard, Cultist, Fighter, Monk, Ranger, Rogue & Magic User; only two of which involve magic.
  • 12th Level Max eliminates the most powerful spells, and keeps the mightiest monsters scary.
  • Unique Features: every 3rd level design your own PC ability in conjunction with your GM. Don't want to make your own? Choose from 36 examples instead.
  • Roll Equal or Under for attribute checks (inc degrees of success), making every stat point matter.
  • Skills provide access to a level based Reroll Pool, smoothing the fickleness of d20 probability distribution.
  • Willpower & Perception attributes replace Wisdom.
  • Luck attribute replaces saving throws and powers some Martial Exploits.
  • Minor, Major & Rescue Exploits on top of damage, not in lieu, promote improvised stunts and moments of greatness.
  • Dangerous Combat: Dropping to zero hp requires a roll on the Injuries & Setbacks table and healing is delayed by 1d3 minutes (magical or otherwise). Players don't roll to find out if their PC is All Dead or Mostly Dead until the battle ends and someone checks the body.
  • Party Retreat & Chase rules allow the GM to throw whatever makes sense at the party, unshackling them from balanced encounters and quarantined zones.
  • 5 minute Short Rests allow PCs to attempt Willpower checks to recover hit points and class abilities, encouraging the party to push on rather than camp.
  • Long Rests take 1d6 days (or 1d4 in a safe, comfortable environment), mitigating the nova, rest, repeat problem for adventures with long periods between battles (eg: wilderness treks).
  • Dark & Dangerous Magic tests and Divine Rebuke tests make all spell casting inherently uncertain. No at-will, teleport, mind reading or resurrection magic. Magic Users are less reliant on spells, proficient in one handed weapons and light armour.
  • Evocative Spells: Spells have been tweaked and renamed, eg: Silent Image, Invisibility, Magic Missile and Hold Monster are instead Shadows & Dust, A Wisp Unseen, Lash of Unerring Pain and Crush of the Warp.
  • Rare Magic Items, with obvious and discreet attunements, that unlock as their owners level up.
  • GM Tables for Weather, Exploration Events, Random Encounters, Traps, Treasure, Disease, Madness, Tavern Brawls, Hirelings, Mass Battle, Naval Combat, NPC Quirks, Rival Adventurers, Blackpowder, and more.
  • 130+ Monsters including effective Boss Monster options (eg: Off Turn Attacks match the party's action economy, and Stronger Luck grants saves even when a save is not normally permitted), plus Custom Monsters guide.
  • Online Play Support: an LFG character sheet is available for online play via Roll20, and we're exploring options for Fantasy Grounds.
  • Open Game Content: 99% of LFG text is "Open Game Content" under the Open Game Licence. Want to make your own adventures or expansions for LFG and sell them? Go right ahead!
  • Rules as Guidelines. The GM is the final authority on all LFG rules, which are expected to be tweaked to fit table preferences. 
Five Cataclysms Core Rules Beta Edition by Christopher Kyle Audette, Nickolas Zachary Brown. Published by Five Cataclysms. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 128 pages.
A set of rules that should be at least vaguely familiar to anyone who's played The World's Original Fantasy Role-Playing Game, this is the set of tweaks, extra systems, and rulings that have made up the authors' home games for the past five years.

Product includes:
  • Lightweight core rules
  • Fighters that don't suck
  • Extra Classes for people who like options
  • The three core classes for people who want a purer experience
  • An optional skill system that will make you say "Hey, it's an okay skill system" (for once)
  • System for improving the backwater frontier starting town
  • Hallow and Corruption as an alternate to alignment
  • Summoning rules for Angels, Demons, and more
  • Unique Magic Item creation rules, proven to create statues of pie-loving celebrities that kill everyone in a 120 foot radius
  • A Fey Demense Generator that creates fantastical realms to travel through, such as: The realm of one elf fighting a dwarf over three eggs
  • The much beloved spell "Might"
  • The less beloved spell "Mystical Flan"
  • Trust in you; the Player/Referee
  • Printable Handouts for Classes, Core Rules, Spellbooks, and Character Sheets
And:
  • A Request, no, Demand that you share your troubles with the system with us so we can tell you that you're wrong
Ice Kingdoms Bestiary Compilation by CS Barnhart, Caleb Congrove, Chris Lites, Ryan Lynn, James Ward, and Moses Wildermuth. Published by Mad Martian Games. 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 Mournwood 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.
Cyber Crawl Classics Issue 2 edited by Brent Ault. Available from the Author in PDF for Free. 36
pages.
<< logged in as: anonymous

You’re no hero.

You’re a Runner: a rigger, an infiltrator, a street samurai, a cool-headed hacker executing programs in the metaverse. You seek corruption and creds, winning it with console and chrome, bathed in the blood and filth of the oppresive, the megacorps, the police, and the artificial. There are payloads to be won deep in the Sprawl, and you shall have them.

Return to the glory days of cyberpunk with Cyber Sprawl Classics.
Adventure as 1984 intended you to
The Judgement of Rad by Emanuele Betti. Published by The Vaults of Pandius. Available from the Publisher in PDF for Free. 18 pages.
Things not always go the way they are supposed to. It's not uncommon that an adventure, especially in a long campaign, can be greatly derailed due to a player who has got no experience, does not think an action enough or just screws things up for the fun of it. Whenever this kind of things happen, the Master must find a way to fix the situation and give the characters a way out of their trouble, and a second chance to succeed. 
This adventure is designed to take characters out of trouble if they get
arrested for murdering some guards or other citizens. For this kind of crimes, the guilty characters are punished with death by green slime in Glantri.
 
The adventure can be set in any bigger settlement in the Principalities. The characters must be held captive in a prison in that town or nearby.
Order of the Griffon by Eric Stoneburner. Published by The Vaults of Pandius. Available from the Publisher in PDF for Free. 21 pages.
Lord Korrigan (seneschal of the ducal estate), while inspecting Radlebb Keep, commissions a party of adventurers to investigate strange rumors of vampires, lycanthropes, and undead roaming the lands. Shortly thereafter the party uncovers assassination plots against Karameikan leaders, a conspiracy between various factions to turn innocent people into undead, and the foretelling of the return of an ancient vampire.
SO13 Shrine of Sacrifice by Louis "sirlou" Kahn. Published by Starry Knight Press. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $7.50. 24 pages.
SHRINE OF SACRIFICE

A One-Shot Adventure
Compatible with Most Fantasy RPG systems
Recommended for 4 -6 player characters of levels 4 to 6

While following an old forest trail you stumble upon an ancient shrine.
Built by elves long ago, what forgotten treasures await discovery in its halls?
Will you tempt the fates by entering the shrine and uncovering its dark secrets?

Hello and welcome, adventurers and Game Masters!

In this one-shot adventure, your players will stumble upon an ancient elven shrine while traveling on a mission through the vast, wild and uncharted DlĂștha Forest in the Red Eagle Barony. Your players will have an opportunity to explore this ancient place and discover its secrets. It may provide them with answers to questions about the earlier ages of their realm, and clues as to the current power struggles among the deities and demons that hold sway there.
 
Through the Gate of Flesh by Carl Niblaeus. 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.
Beneath Kra'adumek by Venger As'Nas Satanis. Published by Kort'thalis Publishing. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for Free. 14 pages.
Beneath Kra'adumek is a one-shot dungeoncrawl that will give people a taste of Cha'alt. As you may have heard, Cha'alt is my latest kickstarter (with only a couple days to go). In order to make it happen, we need more backers, so please enjoy this O5R module and consider supporting Cha'alt!
Important update: The kickstarter funded early this morning!

For years you've been mind-controlled by the Purple Demon-Worm and suddenly freed from psionic slavery - you and maybe a hundred others in a city of 100,000. The surrounding desert waste is not an easy trek - especially without supplies.

Whereabouts of the priesthood's dungeon complex below the city is common knowledge. So, that's your first stop... food, water, and revenge!

Cha'alt is a post-apocalyptic, eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy world... and Beneath Kra'adumek is your introduction.
Off Track: The Uncharted Swamp by Brian Cooper. Published by Off Track. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 40 pages.
One of the hallmarks of old-school-style role-playing games is a preference for player-driven rather than referee-dominated plots. The reasons for this opposition are that role-playing requires active player participants and an honest game cannot have a foregone conclusion. But creating a true sandbox in which the players characters are free to explore in any direction, their actions seemingly limited only by those actions’ consequences, is really dang hard.
For instance, let’s say there’s a path that leads from a village to a dungeon. Or several paths. Each path is dark, twisty, and overgrown— and has its own set of preplanned challenges. The players have chosen to travel from the village to the dungeon. But they don’t want to use any of the paths. They don’t even want to creep along in the undergrowth while staying near the path. They want to traipse through miles of uncharted wilderness and approach the dungeon from the opposite side.

Good for them—they outsmarted the enemy. But they’ve also outsmarted you. (If you’re
thinking, “my players love it when I just wing it!” stop reading now, this product is not for you.)

This adventure aims to solve the problem of dealing with random overland movement through a swamp by offering the referee a really really good random encounter table that doesn’t feel random, but instead hangs together in a meaningful way. In addition to true "wanderers," it also describes a few lairs whose location is not pre-determined, but fixed in the course of play.

This adventure is "pay what you want" because it's an unproven concept delivered by an untested designer. Go ahead, take a look. If you love it as much as I hope you will, you can pay me later or, better yet, tell your friends.

Best for levels 1 - 5.
 

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


Phantasmagoria #01 by Chance Phillips. Art by Jim Magnusson, Stefan Poag, Jeremy Hart, Penny Melgarejo, Luka Rejec. Published by Apollyon Press. Available from Appolyon Press in Print for $10.00 and in PDF for $5.00. Available from Goodman Games in Print for $10.00. Available from  DriveThruRPG in PDF for $5.00. 38 pages. There is also a Mathew Adams variant cover.
Explore the ruins of lost alien civilizations or sail through space in a massive freighter, weighed down with all manners of gold, jewels, and relics.
Play as a Jovian, a lithe yet strong alien native to a gas giant, a Captain, a brilliant tactician and duelist, or a Gremlin, an alien skilled with magic and technology. Build any type of ship from a tiny fighter to a massive dreadnaught, bristling with cannons.

This issue of Phantasmagoria introduces five new classes, new pieces of equipment and 0-level occupations, and rules for creating custom spaceships.
This product is compatible with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game.

Featuring interior artwork by Jim Magnusson, Stefan Poag, Jeremy Hart, and Penny Melgarejo, with cover artwork by Luka Rejec, layout by Glynn Seal, writing by Chance Phillips, and editing by Jarrett Crader.
Advanced Fighting Fantasy Deluxe by Graham Bottley, Marc Gascoigne, Pete Tamlyn. Art by Russ Nicholson, John Sibbick. Published by Arion Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in HC Print/PDF for $60.00. Available in PDF for 30.00. 440 pages. (ed. note. This title is sold out from the publisher, but they just activated POD for DTRPG. If you search the DTRPG publisher link, they've also recently uploaded POD Print only copies for several other AFF titles.)
A complete Roleplaying Game in the classic Fighting Fantasy World. Let your imagination take you to Firetop Mountain or the Forest of Doom, and have new and exciting adventures.

This HARDBACK book contains all you need to play, including:

Full rules for Hero creation, Comprehensive but fast game rules
More than 160 Spells and magical Powers, Monsters, Dungeons and Adventure creation.

This fantastic volume also contains Out of the Pit, the classic collection of 250 loathsome creatures from the wild and dangerous worlds of Advanced Fighting Fantasy to challenge (and occasionally) help any Hero.

In addition, this volume also crams in Titan, a complete guide to the Fighting Fantasy world, and widely regarded as one of the best setting guides ever written!
Polyhedron Newszine V4 #3 Issue 18 published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 34 pages.
Included in this issue: 
  • Encounters — by Jeff Grubb. Spider-ManTM meets ScorpionTM in the New York subway in this MARVEL SUPER HEROESTM game scenario.
  • Llywelyn's Tomb — by Bob Blake. Part 7 in the Prophecy of Brie.
  • Cryptic Alliance of the Bi-Month — by James M Ward. The Iron Society is expanded upon in this Gamma World feature.
  • Remarkable, incredible, amazing — by Steve Winter. A Marvel Super Heroes game preview for Marvelites only.
  • Kobolds and robots and mutants with wings — by Roger E Moore. Converting characters from one game system to another.
  • The Magic-User — by James M Ward. he archetypical magic-user character.
  • Two Cents — by Joseph Wichman.
  • Layover at Lossend — by Russ Horn. A Star Frontiers game scenario.
  • Money makes the world go round — by Art Dutra. DMs, there's more than one way to get money out of your characters.
  • Dispel Confusion — by Penny Petticord, James M Ward, and Carl Smith
Polyhedron Newszine V4 #4 Issue 19 published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 34 pages.
Included in this issue: 
  • Encounters — by Douglas Niles. The Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors, a solitaire scenario for the The Adventures of Indiana JonesTM game.
  • ... And the Gods will have their way — Bob Blake. The Prophecy of Brie ends with Scenario Eight. Pregenerated characters are listed again on the inside of the back mailing cover.
  • Two Cents — by Christopher Gandy
  • Lost ships, Madmen, and Pirate Gold — by Antonio O'Malley. Notes for the Dungeon Master.
  • If adventure has a game, er name, it must be Indiana Jones — by Tim Kilpin. Find out more about TSR's newest role-playing game.
  • Cryptic Alliance of the Bi-Month — by James M Ward. The Created.
  • The Laser Pod — by Jon Pickens. A new Knight Hawks weapon system.
  • Dispel Confusion — by Penny Petticord, James M Ward, and Frank Mentzer.
Polyhedron Newszine V4 #5 Issue 20 published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 34 pages.
Included in this issue: 
  • Encounters — by James M. Ward. The Gamma World game Aquabot destroys the crystal city of the Radioactivists.
  • The 384th Incarnation of Bigby's Tomb — by Frank Mentzer. A "new" module, created for the AD&D game tournament at the 1984 Winter Fantasy mini-convention.
  • Cryptic Alliance of the Bi-month — by James M. Ward. The Healers.
  • The Proton Weapon — by Kim Eastland. A new Star Frontiers game technological item.
  • The Druid — by James M. Ward. The archetypical AD&D game druid character.
  • Women in Role-Playing — by Roger E. Moore. Notes for the Dungeon Master.
  • Now that it's over — by Roger E. Moore. Looking back at the GenCon17 Game Convention.
  • Dispel Confusion — by Jim Ward, Penny Petticord, and Frank Mentzer. 

More Free Gaming Stuff from the Blogosphere and Environs


The inimitable Konsumterra of Elfmaids & Octopi posted How did you find us in the dungeon?

Michael Raston of The Lizard Man Diaries posted A Suburb of Infinigrad: The Angel's Burial Ground. Part 2: Stocked Buildings.

D. G. Chapman of The Graverobber's Guide takes you to Calliope.

David Baymiller of The OSR Library posted A quick OSR Alient/Mutant Class builder....



Frank Reding posted this piece of Gygaxian Democracy on his website: d100 Interesting Outdoor Encounter Features. 8 page PDF or also available on the site. 


Claytonian posted this game thing to google docs: How Hard Do You Hit. 4 pages direct link.




Anthony of The Blue Bard made this Planar Poster for everyone. 

Scott Anderson of Treasure Hunters HQ posted Fallen Empire Campaign Elements Part 14: Superior Magic Swords and Fallen Empire Campaign Elements Part Twelve: The Rumor Mill.

James V. West of Doomslakers! posted a B/X and Labyrinth Lord Sheet.

Notes from Pavis posted Major announcement – new kind of tools for GM’s from Notes From Pavis.

James Mishler of Adventures in Gaming v2 continues his Legendaria series.

Dungeon Musings posted a 9 page PDF of the PC's in his ongoing AS&SH streaming campaing (link to drive file.)

Chris Kutalik of Hill Cantons posted The World of the Hill Cantons Revisited.

Maptime

Image result for the warlock of firetop mountain
Dyson Logos of Dyson's Dodecahedron Releases the Kraken with Cliffstable on Kerstal. And posts Mayer's Fort. As well as Dry River Caves. Finally, here's The Warlock of Firetop Mountain Combined.

Jez Gordon of Giblet Blizzard re-posted this map of Thaumatria for his Flintlock Fantasy series. 

Norbert G. Matausch of Darkworm Colt found Roger Zelazny's map of Castle Amber and surroundings.

Gavin Norman of Necrotic Gnome posted Dolmenwood: Blackeswell Village Map.

Thomas Denmark of Old School DND posted Tower of the Moon.

Goblin's Henchman posted Interesting maps of underwater cave systems.

Reviews & Play Reports


Bryce of tenfootpole.org reviews The Keep of the Broken Saint and Dungeon of Crows 2 – Avatar of Yog Sutekhis.

ivanmike1968 of YouTube fame uploaded Woodfall ~ Unboxing & Review.



R.E. Davis of The Chaos Grenade posted RAMBLING ON: IN THE LIGHT OF A GHOST STAR.


Michael Boyle of Play to See What Happens posted Gaming in Glorantha, Part 1--The World of Glorantha.

Anne of DIY & Dragons posted Play Report - DCC Sanctum of the Snail.

Dungeons & Possums posted some Thoughts On Talislanta.

Joseph Manola  of Against the Wicked City posted Echoes and Reverberations 4: Lamentations of the Flame Princess. 

Doug at Smoldering Wizard posted A Quick Look at White Box Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game.

John Large uploaded Thousand Lands S01E02. A B/X Essentials hexcrawl playstream.

Alegis Downport posted Cepheus Light – Traits Review.

Chaosium uploaded Call of Cthulhu Liveplay Part 2.

Bud's RPG review Uploaded - Harlem Unbound for Gumshoe and CoC 7th ed by Darker Hue Studios.

And in Other News...


From The Guardian: Merlin tale fragments discovered in Bristol archives.

From Tor.com - A Lean, Mean, Writing Machine: Jack Vance Was Science Fiction’s Tightest Worldbuilder by Hector DeJean.

Thomas Denmark of Old School DND issued a Call for Articles!

The Happy Whisk posted a three part series on her Podcast addressing concerns many in the creative community share.

Kickstarters, etc.










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.

Saturday, January 26, 2019

The OSR News: January 26, 2019

Gabor Lux returns with more Fomalhaut, the Cepheus Engine continues its campaign for OSR domination and there's a new release from D101. All this and more awaits in this week's News!

New Releases


Image of Echoes From Fomalhaut #04: Revenge of the FrogsEchoes From Fomalhaut #04: Revenge of the Frogs by Gabor Lux. Published by First Hungarian d20 Society. Available from the Publisher in Print/PDF combo for $8.00. (PDF forthcoming and will be available on DTRPG.) 40 pages.
 A 40-page fanzine featuring adventures and GM-friendly campaign materials for Advanced old-school RPG rules, with cover art by Matthew Ray, and illustrations by Denis McCarthy, Stefan Poag, and Andrew Walter. This issue contains...  
* The Technological Table: Destructive futuristic weapons and sinister technological artifacts from Fomalhaut’s fallen utopias and underworld realms.  
* Revenge of the Frogs: A wilderness adventure module for 3rd to 5th level PCs. Certain doom awaits the dying port town of Silvash, and its only chance of survival lies in the marshlands, a place of bizarre inhabitants, labyrinthine waterways, and lots and lots of… well, let’s not spoil it.  
* Arfel: City State of the Charnel God: Dominated by a great temple-complex that forms a vast necropolis, death looms over Arfel like a funereal shroud. Yet beyond the haunts of the veiled priests and the silent palaces of a reclusive aristocracy, the alleyways are busy both day and night, and adventure awaits those who would explore the city’s mysteries.
* Erillion, West: an article describing the western half of the Isle of Erillion, from lost places of pilgrimage to brooding manor houses, and lowly bandits’ nests to sites of high wizardry. 
 
* Also... a detailed fold-out players’ map of the City State of Arfel!
The Ubix #1 by Jon Davis. Published by Bano Books. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 13 pages.
Over windswept moors and dusty trails, The Ubix signals your path to adventure! This is an OSR zine of 4 RPG elements underscored by simple black and white artwork. Within these 13 pages you'll find gun-toting wanderers, murderous swamp cats, lock-picking talismans, and a spell that could save that severed limb, or create a reanimated nightmare! 
Contents: 
The Gunslinger 
The Boro Beast 
The Hand of Glory 
The Graft Spell.
Phantasmagoria #01 by Chance Phillips. Art by Jim Magnusson, Stefan Poag, Jeremy Hart, Penny Melgarejo, Luka Rejec. Published by Apollyon Press. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $5.00. 38 pages.
Explore the ruins of lost alien civilizations or sail through space in a massive freighter, weighed down with all manners of gold, jewels, and relics. 
Play as a Jovian, a lithe yet strong alien native to a gas giant, a Captain, a brilliant tactician and duelist, or a Gremlin, an alien skilled with magic and technology. Build any type of ship from a tiny fighter to a massive dreadnaught, bristling with cannons. 
This issue of Phantasmagoria introduces five new classes, new pieces of equipment and 0-level occupations, and rules for creating custom spaceships.
This product is compatible with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game. 
Featuring interior artwork by Jim Magnusson, Stefan Poag, Jeremy Hart, and Penny Melgarejo, with cover artwork by Luka Rejec, layout by Glynn Seal, writing by Chance Phillips, and editing by Jarrett Crader.
Shadows over Stillwater - Front CoverShadows over Stillwater by Kevin Ross, C. L. Werner, Mike Mason. Published by Chaosium. Available from the Publisher in PDF for $17.99 and from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $17.99. 176 pages.

Print is forthcoming and per the publisher:
So you want to purchase the hardcover version, but really want to get your hands on Shadows over Stillwater - PDF so you don't have to wait. We have you covered! When you buy Shadows over Stillwater - PDF now, we will send you a discount coupon just before the physical book goes on sale that will offset the PDF purchase price once the hardcover version is available.
Against the Mythos in the Down Darker Trails Setting 
Shadows Over Stillwater is a collection of scenarios and locales for Down Darker Trails—the Wild West setting for Call of Cthulhu and Pulp Cthulhu. Contained within are further insights and challenges for those seeking bold adventure in the American Old West. 
Featured is a three-part campaign—The Shadow Over Stillwater—set in the mountains of the New Mexico Territory. A hunt for a fugitive murderer leads the investigators into a mystery involving odd townsfolk, strange lights in the sky, walking corpses, and the machinations of a once-powerful and ancient race seeking to reclaim their lost glory. 
The campaign is suitable for groups of any size, as the Keeper can easily scale the opposition to reflect the number of investigators. An apparently simple task, bringing a wanted man to justice, brings the investigators to a town suffering an epidemic of bizarre events, from crazed residents to the dead rising from their graves. 
Contents
Shadows Over Stillwater opens with a three-part campaign called The Shadow Over Stillwater:
Part 1: Lazarus, in Spades, the first scenario in the campaign, sends the investigators to Stillwater, New Mexico. Stillwater’s sheriff has alerted the authorities that a wanted man, Hank Hanratty, has been spotted in the town. The investigators are hired to the outlaw but, on arrival in Stillwater, they are faced with a situation that threatens to plunge them into chaos and death. 
Part 2: Trouble on Knife Cut Mesa immediately follows with the investigators heading to the mesa north of Stillwater to seek the source of recent strange events where a band of Mescalero Apache may aid or confuse their investigation. Tracing their quarry into mountains, the investigators come face to face with an ancient evil. 
Part 3: Shattered Earth, Poisoned Sky brings the campaign to a potentially explosive finale. Santa Rosita has been wracked with earthquakes—the residents fear that their town will soon be destroyed. The investigators’ efforts to uncover the secret behind the situation may be hampered by the growing paranoia among the townsfolk. The investigators must delve deeply to thwart a plan designed to remake the Earth. 
Following the campaign is another adventure, Beneath the Burning Sun, that can be played as a standalone adventure or as a continuation of The Shadow Over Stillwater. The investigators arrive in the town of Shade in Silverhole County, New Mexico where they become embroiled in a desperate bank robbery and join a posse to track down a gang of ferocious outlaws led by a crazed preacher. A bloody trail leads to an abandoned Spanish fort high in the Cebolletas where death awaits. 
A new locale for the Down Darker Trails setting follows: Stonegarden expands upon the Down Darker Trails setting. A booming mining town in Arizona, tucked away in the Coyote Mountains, this locale provides a new and fully realized town in which to base adventures. The history of the region, its locations, and people are detailed, as well as its secrets, threats, and Mythos connections. Whether venturing forth to unlock the riddles of Stone Garden Mesa or enjoying the hospitality of the Ralston family, this new campaign setting presents a community with one of the most violent reputations in the entire West. A place of danger, wild adventure, and dark secrets. 
Finally, The Devil’s Round-Up provides an extended adventure seed set in a location that may be familiar to long-time Call of Cthulhu fans. A roster of detailed characters, along with their foul agendas are described, ready to darken the day of any investigators who venture into doom-haunted Castronegro.

That’s plenty of adventure to keep your gaming group immersed in the horrors and terrors of the Old West.
 
According to your preferred style of play, Shadows Over Stillwater can be played using classic Call of Cthulhu, but can also be enjoyed with the Pulp Cthulhu supplement. This book requires the Call of Cthulhu Keeper’s Rulebook (7th edition) to play. Having access to the Down Darker Trails core setting book is highly recommended.
Empire of Time by Paul Drye. Published by Baggage Books. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $4.99. 86 pages.
The 21st century has cracked open the past and future–not historical periods, true, but really deep time. Dinosaurs are a day trip away on a fast ship and your potential stomping grounds range over billions of years. Pit yourself against a future slave-running Empire, trade between human colonies, or just explore a nearly infinite progression of Earths that get ever-more alien as you get farther away from home. 
Empire of Time is an OSR SF RPG using the free Cepheus Engine core rules (available via DriveThruRPG) or other similar game systems. Play as humans from the 21st century, or from the future, or even one of four different races evolved to intelligence long after we are gone. Includes maps and descriptions of Earth throughout geological time (past and future) based on current scientific discoveries, adventure seeds, organizations to use as patrons and villains, a bestiary of creatures from the most ancient times to hundreds of millions of years from now, and much more.
The Bottle by Michael Brown. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.75. 2 pages.
The chance find of a robot probe from an primitive extrastellar civilization promises more than just the opportunity to make a new find and the PCs a few quick credits; it also unwittingly serves as a cry for help from an entire planet. The heroes, arriving at the previously-uncontacted world, find it in danger. Will they act to save it, or bear silent witness to its destruction? 
The Bottle is a short adventure for 2D6 science fiction RPGs such as Cepheus Engine and the Original Science Fiction Roleplaying Game (OSFRPG.)
Magic Items: Assorted Magic Items Disgorged From My Mind by Larry Hamilton. Published by Follow Me, And Die! Entertainment LLC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW. 25 pages.
This is a collection of magic items from my blog, campaign, and convention games. They are not the usual wand and rings. I've included a couple of items from Library Generation Tables and the Jewelry Tables from Caravans & Trade.
OS191 - Mine Mayhem by Frank Schmidt. Published by Adventures in Filbar. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.00. 14 pages.
You and your close friends have decided to become adventurers and seek out your destiny. As you head to a Pacifica, a port city, you cross the mining territories and hear a cry for help. It turns out a nearby mining colony has been overrun by humanoids. Looks like your legendary exploits start today!
This scenario was designed for a group of 4-6 PCs at 1st level. While it was set for 1st/2nd edition rules, it is easily altered to fit most rulesets campaigns. Remember to follow @FilbarRPG on Twitter for special sales notices and other tidbits about our products.
Tournaments of Madness and Death by Newt Newport. Published by D101 Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $13.00 and in PDF for $7.00. The Publisher site is still listing this as a Print + PDF Pre-order for £8.00.  38 pages.
This book contains two self-contained adventures that can either be played as one-shots or dropped into a campaign game, for characters of Level 5 and a guide to running one-shot games as played at conventions.

If this adventure module was an old school metal release from the 80s on some creaky little independent label, it would be one of those quirky split singles, where two bands would each have a side of the vinyl record.

On Side A is The Furnace. The Furnace was the first old school D&D adventure I ran at a convention., I initially ran the game using Labyrinth Lord, and the adventure is named after the convention it was run at, namely, Furnace which is held every October in Sheffield, UK. I ran it on Saturday night, which is now my annual slot for running OSR games, and despite the naysayers at the bar beforehand, who seemed threatened by my decision to run a game using a system they had left behind years ago, and my own almost paralysing bout of stage fright, we had a fantastic time. The precise details of the scenario have changed with time, and the current more polished Crypts and Things write-up is presented here.

Tearing up side B is The Tomb of the Evil Emperor. This was an outing of Crypts and Things as a convention game, just after the release of the first edition in 2012. I first run this adventure as a slightly boozy game at Continuum, a summer affair held bi-annually at Leicester University, which saw the bold adventurers race across the ruins of the Grand Debris, through the buried Imperial Complex, to a final confrontation with the shocking surprise of the true form of the Evil Emperor.

Two sides of the Crypts & Things convention experience. Madness both in the sense that the locations that make up the adventures aren’t your typical dungeon. The Furnace takes place on an artificial iron moon held up in the sky by magic, while Tomb is in a city crushed by a vengeful god using a meteor. Death because it was what faced the doomed world of Zarth if the adventurers failed in their mission to stop the Ultimate Evil that threatened the world, and because it was a genuine possibility given the cast of horrors they faced. All “good friendly violent fun in store for all” as the thrash metal band Exodus once sang on their song Toxic Waltz.

Finally, Dark, Delicious and Deadly is an insert, cunningly placed between the two adventures, that explains the method behind the madness of how I run convention games of Crypts and Things.

Although written specifically for Crypts and Things, an OSR game focused on the Swords and Sorcery genre, it can be used with any class/level based fantasy game.

US Letter format, 38 pages, black and white art by Daniel Barker (Monkey, Tales of the Reaching Moon), maps by Glynn Seal (2018 Golden EnNie award winner for Cartography) with a cover by David M.Wright.
Black Maw 2 - The Chambers of the Wraith King 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. Past the religious heretics to deeper chamber. Clouded in smoke and dark, the Wraith King haunts these halls, despising all life

The second level of the Black Maw megadungeon, for character levels 2-3. A classic dungeon, with the preview showing you exactly what you get!

Thanks for your support!
Diesel Punks: Patrol Posted by Robert Garitta. Published by Surreal Estate Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $1.99. 21 pages.
"This planet will do nicely, after modification!!"

Diesel Punks: Aliens 1 gave stats and background capsules for 8 enigmatiuc races. 
Aliens 2.0 gave you 11 more! Now with Patrol Posted see the worst examples each species has to offer. Thirteen creatures to menace, outrage, compete, employ (whatever ) your characters. Bring out epic or not so epic villains.

Gnoolt -maker of men, or modfier.

Dr. Marsten, the Fluidic Man -crimelord, superhuman and brilliant scientist.

Strain Z Prime -redacted.

This product requires The Black Hack Second Edition to use.

Not responsible for any characters lost inill advised bounty hunting missions.
A Bright Future Ahead of Her - Adventure for #ZweihanderRPG by John Russell. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.61. 16 pages.
Divocinaburg, an urban stronghold of the Demiurge, where adherence to the laws of nature is stronger than anywhere else in the duchy of New Mahal, a province where otherwise worship of the God-Emperor holds sway.
If you have property to protect then the Watch will help you, if your property has been stolen and you know who did it a Bounty Hunter is what you need, but if you want your property back and you don’t know who’s taken it a private investigation company is the answer.

The Crossed Staves Investigation Company is possibly the finest in Divocinaburg, but certainly in Vychodnipole, offering excellent results for a reasonable price (plus expenses).

If I’m not much mistaken that is another client coming through the door now.
Dirtside by Paul Elliot. Published by Zozer Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $3.99. 65 pages.
A wilderness survival supplement for Cepheus Engine and the Hostile setting.

Whether your Cepheus Engine game is set in the super-jungle of Tau Ceti II, the swamps
 of Africa’s Congo or the burning deserts of LV207, you will need comprehensive wilderness survival and travel rules. DIRTSIDE turns a trek across a world’s surface into an immersive battle for survival. Pit your wits against the elements, negotiate dangerous terrains and guard your resources against thirst, hunger and exposure.
Or dip into the DIRTSIDE rules to add a little detail and danger to any planetary surface excursion. Cleverly designed encounter tables provide scores of realistic obstacles and situations to be overcome and cover every terrain type, from sand seas to mangrove swamps, mountains to nitrogen ice fields, and volcanic wastelands to the unstable surfaces of comets and asteroids.

Remember – science fiction adventure only really begins when you get dirtside …

DIRTSIDE includes:
  • Event tables for all terrain and climate types.
  • Easy-to-use rules for surviving in the toughest environments.
  • The effects of hostile atmospheres, radiation, poison gasses, hunger and extreme temperatures.
  • Travel rules, factoring in speeds and problems - and ways to overcome them.
  • Many random events, such as strong winds, thunderstorms, rock-falls and caves.
  • Foraging and hunting.
  • Abbreviated animal encounters, able to be created ‘on-the-fly’.

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


Random Terrain and Encounter Generator by Joseph Bloch. Published by BRW Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $19.95 and in PDF for $9.95. 131 pages.
A comprehensive system for creating and stocking wilderness and dungeon environments.

Within these pages you’ll find rules for randomly generating terrain in wilderness, including settlements and ruins, as well as random encounter tables you can either use as-is or use as inspiration for your own encounter tables.

Encounter tables are provided for every combination of eight different terrain types, three different climates, and two options for civilization or wilderness are given, as well as tables for prehistoric and water-born encounters. All in all, that's 83 encounter tables for wilderness, dungeon, and the Ethereal and Astral planes. All use the monsters described in the ADVENTURES DARK AND DEEP™ Bestiary, but are quite suitable for any old-school RPG.

In addition, a complete system for generating a random dungeon is presented, as well as ten comprehensive encounter tables for encounters from kobolds to demon princes. Three new monsters are also included to round out both dragon and human encounters.

Plus you will also find a complete system for creating a random urban landscape, with 24 different city district types, special features, and random encounters designed for districts in both day and night.

All are suitable for the game master who wants to run a game using random rules or to use the tables for quick inspiration, or can also be used for solo play without the need for a game master at all.
Ford's Faeries: A Bestiary Inspired by Henry Justice Ford by The G+ OSR Community. Published by  Studio Kortex. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $5.93. Available in PDF for Free. 116 pages.
A bestiary inspired by the masterful work of Henry Justice Ford.

Meet the Moon-Headed Giant, the Leechlich, and the Fencer Familiar, and more than 50 other weird creatures fit for campaigns of every level. The full-page illustrations, often taken from fairytale books, have led our 15 authors to create original monsters that will give a quirky twist to your game. They all come with enough material to become the centerpiece of the session.

Contributors: Dan D., Daniel Lofton, 
Dat Epic Fish, 
Emmy Allen, Eric Diaz, Eric Nieudan, Goblin’s Henchman, Guillaume Jentey
, HD Atkinson, James V. West, Jean-Marc "Tolkraft" Choserot, 
Ktrey Parker, Magimax, 
Roger SG Sorolla, 
SĂ©bastien d’Abrigeon, 
and Vance Atkins.

Stats are compatible with most early editions of Dave and Gary's game and their retroclones.
In The Light Of A Ghost Star by Nate Treme. Published by Highland Paranormal Society. Now Available in Print from the Publisher for $5.00. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for PWYW and from ITCH.IO for PWYW. 14 pages.
ghoststarcover.pngEarth was abandoned ages ago during the red giant expansion. Now, dimly lit by the ghost light of a dead white dwarf, it lies layered with eons of forgotten civilizations. From the warmth of Martian reactor cities, scavengers hire illegal transportation to earth to delve into its depths, looking for ancient treasures. There they must deal with ghosts, machines, and the strange life that has evolved on humankind’s abandoned home planet. 
In The Light Of A Ghost Star is a rules-lite system and setting for science fiction roleplaying. It comes with a hex crawl adventure and random tables that can also be used with other RPG systems.   
Ghost Star was designed to be quick and easy to play. It’s perfect for one shot games and short campaigns. Characters can be created quickly and can die even quicker! 
Clever Title Using Hack & Class: The Second Edition by Mark L. Chance. Published by Spes Magna Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $2.25. 38 pages.
The second edition of Clever Title Using Hack & Class requires David Black's The Black Hack for use. 
In this updated book, you'll find eight character classes, from the Astrologer to the Singerie. There're also 16 new Creatures, two based on each of the eight character classes. Can your players defeat an Undead Jester or convince the Judicial Champion to not smite anyone? 
Once your players have their characters ready, send them into Froderick's Protean Puzzle, a magical maze of monsters, hidden traps, and dangerous puppet shows. If you're looking for something less daunting, there's also The Damsel and the Wizard, a short scenario within a map by Matt Jackson.
Polyhedron Newszine V4 #2 Issue 17 published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in PDF for $0.99. 34 pages.

Included in this issue: 
  • Encounters — by Kim Eastland. Your party discovers the unmarked ruins of a template—with no doorways.
  • The Incants of Ishcabeble — by Bob Blake. The epic Prophecy of Brie series continues with Part 6.
  • Cryptic Alliance of the Bi-Month — James M. Ward. Gamma World game's Knight of Genetic Purity.
  • Variants, House Rules, and Hybrids — by Roger E. Moore. Notes for the Dungen Master.
  • The Fighter — by James M Ward. The archetypical fighter character.
  • Two new NPCs — Find out how your favorite characters can be published in Polyhedron Newszine
  • Disguised Weapons — by Nicholas Moschovakis. This RPGA Network member and his friends have developed some new disguised weapons for the Top Secret game.
  • Wishes have their limits — by Kim Mohan. The Wish spell may not so all that you want it to.
  • DM Talk — by Carl Smith. Advice from one DM to others of the species.
  • Dispel Confusion — by Penny Petticord, James M Ward, and Carl Smith
Eye of Pain by Thomas M. Reid. Published by WotC. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $11.99, in Print for $9.99 and in PDF for $4.99. 32 pages.
 Inside the woods near Burke's Crossing lurks a very real danger. It began as a sense of unease, a feeling of being watched, but now people are disappearing. The lumberjacks who have stayed in the little village talk of ghosts and other superstitions. Or at least they did - until a mysterious statue appeared in a clearing near the logging camp.  
As if matters weren't strange enough, two mages have arrived and begun hiring armed guards to escort them into these very same woods. Is there a connection, or is it just coincidence? Either way, be prepared! You never know what's out there waiting... and watching.  
"Eye of Pain" is the first of three Monstrous Arcana adventures featuring the cunning and deadly beholder. If can be played as an individual adventure or as part of the series which continue in "Eye of Doom" and concludes in "Eye to Eye."
For four to six characters of levels 4-8.
Book of Sires - Front CoverBook of Sires by Robert G. Schroeder. Published by Chaosium. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $34.99, in Print for $29.99 and in PDF for $14.99. Available from the Publisher in PDF for $14.99. 288 pages.
Honor thy forefathers … 
The Book of Sires  radically expands the Family History system first presented in the King Arthur Pendragon core rulebook to encompass knights from any of the nine realms: from Auitaine to Cornwall to Cumbria, and many points in between!
Use this book to generate a rich year-by-year history of your character's parent and grandparent (beginning as early as the year 439), with additional material to cover campaigns starting as late as the year 509. 
The Book of Sires explores events ranging from the humdrum years of garrison duty to some of the most famous historical battles seen in the years before the Great Pendragon Campaign. Before, players had only the county of Salisbury to draw upon.; now, the player knights can come from any area that is friendly to a King Arthur campaign set in Logres. Thus, Aquitanian knights can hobnob with fellow European Brittonians, as well as knights from Cornwall, Cambria, and Cumbria: all have a reason to be where the campaign begins.  
The Book of Sires provides a yearly description, with attendant Glory, for over nine lands. An assortment of appendices provide new Passions and Directed Traits, an overall cumulative history, an expansion of the family for Player-knights, how to handle “foreign knights,” and an update to the Salisbury chapter contained in King Arthur Pendragon. Since this book covers the years 439 to 509, you will find a wealth of information for creating a background for a campaign starting in 480 (Uther), 485 (GPC), Anarchy (496), and Arthur, the Boy King (510). 
Grab some dice, and find out what type of family your Player-knight came from. Will you rise above their exploits, or were their deeds the high-water mark of your family?
Deviant Database by Tim Snider. Published by SavageAfterworld. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $9.99 and in PDF for $1.99. Available from Lulu in Print for $11.95. 82 pages.
APOCALYGEDDON ABBERATIONS! 
From the harmless to the harmful, from the weak to the wicked, this Deviant Database collects over 90 monstrous mutants that have inhabited The Savage AfterWorld! 
  • Challenge your players with flying fiends like the flaming Dragonfire or the rampaging Flynocerous!
  • Oceanic adventures await with aquatic adversaries such as the Flamewhale, Oceanbrood, and Crabhemoth!
  • Mutant menaces like the Pumpking and Brain Lord lurk in the hidden shadows and manipulate their eager minions! 
The Deviant Database is fully compatible with Goblinoid Games' Mutant Future and Labyrinth Lord RPGs as well as other Original Edition Fantasy RPGs.
Deviant Database 2.0 by Tim Snider. Published by SavageAfterworld. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF for $9.99 and in PDF for $1.99. Available from Lulu in Print for $9.95. 47 pages.
ADDITIONAL ABOMINATIONS! 
In this fiendish follow-up to the original Deviant Database, your players will meet 44 new twisted abominations lurking within The Savage AfterWorld! 
  • Gargantuan grotesqueries like the Bro’ding and Pangaea wander the ruined world like walking mountains and living islands!
  • Analog assailants like the Computer Bug and Mechanobane are driven to rend and consume your robotic player characters!
  • Hybrid humanoids like the Mako, Pwnees, and Clotted Ones welcome all visitors! (But will they allow them to ever leave?) 
Deviant Database 2.0 is fully compatible with Goblinoid Games' Mutant Future and Labyrinth Lord RPGs as well as other Original Edition Fantasy RPGs.
Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing by Joseph D. Salvador. Published by Raven God Games. Available from DriveThruRPG in Print/PDF Hardcover for $47.99, Hardcover alone for $44.99, Print/PDF Softcover for $32.99, Softcover alone for $29.99, and in PDF alone for $9.99. 221 pages.
Aeons before man arose from the primordial mire, ancient creatures descended from the stars or stepped through dimensional passages to inhabit the Earth. Whilst many of these Old Ones have since passed into inactivity, the secrets they carried with them have been shared with man and now terrible cults haunt the fringes of modern society. These ancient terrors thus still menace mankind and, if the prophecies are to be believed, the Old Ones shall return to reign again over the Earth! 
Eldritch Tales: Lovecraftian White Box Role-Playing in an OSR rule set with its roots in the Original version of the world's favorite RPG, but instead of exploring musty dungeons, characters in Eldritch Tales investigate Mythos horrors in the 1920s! The setting and background are based on the cosmic horror tales of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other members of his writing circle.

Within the pages of Eldritch Tales you will find four character classes representing many classic pulp archetypes, occupations, rules for insanity, spells, monsters, esoteric tomes, artifacts, a starting scenario, and setting material, as well as advice on using Eldritch Tales with other White Box games. This game is compatible with Swords & Wizardry White Box and other OSR games.

To accomodate all devices, the PDF purchase includes versions in both high resolution and low resolution. PDF has a bookmarked Table of Contents, as well as linked terms throughout the book.

Eldritch Tales offers a Compatibility License to third-party publishers interested in creating material to support the game, find it here on RPGNow or DriveThruRPG!
Cepheus: Faster Than Light, Editable Version by Omer Golan-Joel. Published by Stellagama Publishing. Available from DriveThruRPG in docx for PWYW. 35 pages.
Whether exchanging laser fire with aliens across a cratered moonscape or pushing the speed of light in a shining spaceship, interstellar adventurers lead exciting lives. These minimalist rules allow you to experience these wondrous adventures without fuss or complication. They are perfect for convention play, pick-up games, or a beer-and-pretzels night when you roll dice and blow stuff up. They include everything you need to play: character generation, task checks, personal, vehicle, and starship combat, as well as the basic rules for interstellar travel.
You can find the PDF version of Cepheus: Faster Than Light, with full layout and art, HERE.

This is a Microsoft Word (docx) format of Cepheus: Faster Than Light, to allow fans and publishers to easily access and modify the rules for their own campaigns and settings.

More Free Gaming Stuff from the Blogosphere and Environs



Malcolm Svensson of Tales of Scheherazade posted Town Name Generators, for Pseudo-Britain, Pseudo-Germany, and Pseudo-France. As well as Instant Renaissance Cities.


Goblin's Henchman adapted Michael Prescott’s The Sky-Blind Spire into a spreadsheet format. 

Maptime




Reviews & Play Reports


Glen Hallstrom posted a YouTube review: Ol' Man Gorgnard Reviews 95 - Vieja Escuela.




Jeremy “frothsof” Smith posted Frothcast #9: Night Below Session Recap. 


James Maliszewski stops by Wrathofzombie's Blog to review Hubris. 




And in Other News...




Kickstarters, etc.


TEYLEN'S RPG CORNER posted Crowdfunding Collection #93.

And That's It for This Week...


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About The OSR News

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