Tuesday, June 26, 2012

3d6 in Order: A Review

So many of you out there are wondering about the game 3d6 in Order by Richard Tongue of the ODDities fame?

Well for the price it's one great game.

Based loosely on S&W Whitebox it has the standards of an ODD clone in attributes left in the OLD order. Attributes do very little in this game other that qualify you for a class.

There are a few races as well all with restrictions and level limits. Even humans are level limited at 12th level as that is max level for all the classes.

There are ten classes all with level titles! I love level titles! Most classes take up just one page though the spell casters take up a bit more.

You can see the contents in the link below in the preview.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/richard-tongue/3d6-in-order/paperback/product-18954562.html

A generous list of monsters and treasures. Altogether a tight and neat little game. You could just use this book only and replace an entire game library.

Hopefully I can actually get some players to try it but everyone around me just wants to play with all the bells and whistles.

Their problem is I don't want to run what they want to play.

Ask me questions about the game as I am spent for the day busy being an unemployed bum out of bourbon.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Is the Friendly Local Gaming Store Dying? A Possible Paradigm to Solve the Problem

Yes there are game shops doing great and will continue to do so as niche markets in the right location and time so we are not talking about them.

Is the Friendly Local Gaming Store Dying?

Yes it is if it continues on the way it is for the most of them. If it does not diversify and get other collectibles it will.

If it does not have the floor space and have tables and events to support local gaming groups and players.

What about another paradigm? What if the game store changed how it did business? What if they moved their operations into a more club like structure?

Here is ONLY a suggestion of what could be done if people would step up.

Imagine if you would instead of a small store the gaming shop moved to entire building such as an old large house, warehouse, old store, or whatever.

Yes there would be the shop just like any other game and hobby shop but beyond the back of the game shop would be a member's only club.

Why member's only?

It is just the cruel world that money is needed to pay bills. People just coming to hang out at your game shop may buy things but many don't. The club structure will allow the game shop that is dying to charge for people just coming to hang out and game.

Whoa! that sounds cruel and elitist but hear me out.

With the club structure's nominal fee you could have something that cannot be done in a normal store. Gaming 24 hours a day in a private, safe, and secure environment.

What to charge for such a thing? How could it be done? DO you know how cool that would be IF it was done?

Strict but fair codes of conduct would be initiated to not let the place be taken over by the animals. Don't pretend to be ignorant of how stupid people get without rules to make them behave. LOL! There would have to be officers and security from the membership to ensure a fantastic playing environment.

The club would also serve as an eatery for the club members as well as different people would show their skills at cooking. Like with most gaming group the leeches that always come and eat but bring nothing would be required to bring food to share .

There would be a huge library of games and books. AV rooms full of video games and movies.

This could also be a family place and have a kids area as well. I know one thing it's always difficult to game with smaller kids so a babysitting service could be provided to help out parents for a nominal fee.

A nerd mecca!

While not gaming the club could hold raffles and charity events to raise money to keep the clubhouse going.

So are there any old buildings with lots of floorspace or rooms that you could make this happen?

IS it a feasible idea?

IS it a good idea?

Eldrad...

Page 72 & 73 of the Rythlondar document.

Page 72 & 73 of the Rythlondar document.

Most of Rythlondar is kinda primitive but occasionally it really comes out as a time of life where it was really special. Too bad that we have not heard from any of the players.

What an awesome documentary it would be to have these people come back together and play a huge weekend/week of gaming as well as get in interviews with them.


God I come up with good ideas that I could never do. Would people want to watch such a movie?

It is so very sad that eras and times of our life have to end and somewhere in some other dimension a forgotten character waits to be played in a forgotten land.

What I hope one day is to form a gaming community under one game system (such as LL/AEC)and have and run adventures like these.

A community of multiple GMs and many different groups of players.

IMHO many types of games are impossible under modern rule systems. I love to try and throw a wrench into modern games by trying to hire a huge amount of NPCs.

It is amazing how someone claims that the modern gaming rules can do more than the old school rules but then they can't come up with an entire party on the fly.

Well most GMs can't. I did meet a young whippersnapper GM with a photographic memory that could do that with Pathfinder.

Even if they did the prep work, try and run a modern game with five players, 20 NPCs fighting 30 monsters the combat would slow down to a confusing mess.

Old School Rules facilitate huge combats that can be ran at ease. One of my older friends told of a college game back in the 80s that had 30 players.

Once my work situation turns around and IF I am working in town I will try and organize this idea using Raven's Keep and the Black Stairs.

HOPEFULLY I get some other referees to join as well.

Well this is an almost drunk post but I am not that far along LOL!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Who is Lord Grey?

As a moderator on the very ancient Shade's LARPlist I rediscovered this guy who posted there. I really hope he is healthy and well and I can get a correspondence with him. There I was in contact with an Old School Master and didn't even realize! Does anyone know who Lord Grey is? I emailed him minutes ago and await a response.
His last post on Shade's was in 2008.

I am Lord Grey. I have been since before the beginning. I was there at the creation. I belonged to the "Castle & Crusade Society" of the International Federation of Wargaming lo these many, many years ago. It was through the auspices of the C&C Society that the two Charismatic leaders of Mid-west USA wargaming, David Lance Arneson and Gary Gygax began to cross-pollinate the ideas for the original Dungeons & Dragons. I knew both fellows, and they both knew me.

I was playing RPG before the publication of D&D back in 1973. I have a first edition, first-printing of the original rules. I was playing back when the rules were new or the rules did not exist and we had to think for our selves And if you search the printed scenarios by David Lance Arneson himself, you may, if your eyes are sharp and your wits are keen, find me as an NPC, but as I know where the bodies are burried, the description may not be deemed as flattering.

Along the way of life I also met the inventors of Ars Magica, one of the pair was Mark Rein Hagen -- inventor of the Vampire universe. The pair enjoyed what I was able to bring to Ars Magica, and took my own invented character into their pack of pre-generated NPC for use at conventions, et cetera. By the way, Jonathan Tweed, the other of the Ars Magica duo, is now the chief editor for AD&D.

There was the time as I stood in line for a major war game convention near San Fransico, when I outlined for some fellows from the Seattle area
an idea for a game based upon decks of collectable trading cards. I wonder what ever happend to those guys?

Much have I studied as to the varieties of cultures, their folkways and their ken. But I feel as if I know nothing. There is so much out there.

I have studied Physics and Metaphysics, the Psychological and the Parapsychological. I have loved playing Call of Cthulu, though I think I am one of the few players who could actualy quality, in real life, to represent themselves as a Detective, a Journalist, a Soldier, a Diliatante, a Novelist, or a Parapsychologist. I once played a Novelist who ... well, that is a tale for another time.

I was trained by the US Army in aspects of Military Intelligence and Psychological Warfare. When I served the policy was to NOT torture, but to use other methods to ellicite information form our sources. In a sense it was LARPing for real.

A wise philosopher once said that a man must now his own limitations. I know I am not a good game master. I have done some, and the reports in feedback say that the innovaitons introduced by this writer, tha care to details and description of scene, rendered that which I presented as the acme of the RPG experience. But such effort is taxing.

My health now fails. Said but true. I fear the shadow of death approaches and life now grows slow and painful. But as the abilities of the body diminish, some aspects of the mind stay lucid, as long as I can remain focused.

My ill-health keeps me isolated, apart, and thus I do not LARP hardly at all any more. And the LARP I do is of the sort of limited actual combat, more of the sort where the mind is the tool of choice.

I would love to play, if asked, but can not promise to be able to get my self to your location. But if you can transport me, this Soul is willing even if the Body threatens to fail.

Forgive me if I remain semi-obscured. Let me go back to the healling slumber -- may sleep refesh you. Keep FIGHTING as long as you can. We will meet in Vahalla.

Is that the sound of battle in the distance? I think I hear the horns calling me. Help me to stand and hand me a sword!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

So like YEAH!

Well life has been hard here lately! I have had time for gaming but it has just started to suck too much in life.




Had an employee fall/slide on my job some 40 feet and break both ankles plus a few minor injuries. He decided to take his harness off once inside of the confined space. Dumbass!

Said company decided to ambush interrogate me after a week on not involving my in the incident investigation (which I suspected something was up!)in which I am very proficient in doing and things did not go well. They let me go.

I hope they burn in hell. No support or safety manuals or training material and when I offered to write the material or use my own I was forbidden to do so. I worked with what I had and the nothing they gave me. Work me over every day over 14 hours a day and then I only get 3 hours of sleep when they call me for the ambush!.

All the cases and situations I manged and kept the company and the people out of trouble. Spineless bastards.

Then my computer craps out after malfunctioning and power supply melts. I have no money to fix this.

Thought I had lost it but I can fix stuff. Put in old power supply and old video card and now it's humming along.

But anyway running out of cash in around 10 days or so.



BUT anyway I cleaned up my Mead Hall gaming building. Will soon sort out all the games in an organized fashion with a bit of bourbon. The last bit of bourbon.

Going to work on the LL/AEC dungeon "Into the Pits of the MEAT GRINDER" because the world need a gruesome demented bloody killer dungeon unlike none before it.

The great Diadem worth thousands of Gold Pieces in in it's depths!

Make at least three characters and prepare to gain much gold!

I am mentally in that place to make something this demented.




Thursday, June 7, 2012

Back to the Dungeon Role Playing Game Player's Guide

Back to the Dungeon Role Playing Game Player's Guide

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzYaSvmA-OpUaVk5eHJKU1RSaDA



Here is the link. I try and make it "click on the link" but that has been a feature that has never worked on blogspot for me.

Just five classes and four races. If you read the older releases then you know I got more.

This is the last document that I did on Open Office then it screwed my entire document to hell. Oh well time to redo.

Enjoy this document. It is to be made in Zine form as a fold over booklet.

Open Office SUCKS!

I just spent hours editing and putting clip art in my formerly Classic Fantasy Role Playing Game and made it into a PDF. Noticed a few small mistakes so I reopened the Open Office File that I just had closed and the whole goddamn layout is totally f%^&&%ed.

Ever since Open Office has started doing updates, their product has gotten worse. NEVER had trouble with MS Word so looks like I am going to buy that when I get back to work.

I put a small surface graphic and it took an entire section of the page into a vertical column about two words wide. Why the F&^&*#$YJHR is it doing that shit? I can't seem to undo it either WTF is wrong with this stupid demon possessed program?

The last few years it tends to NOT do spell check on ODT format so I just use RTF. I have tried all the fixes they suggest. The dictionary is loaded. It's all good. Nothing there to make it happen. Program is just being a dick. Ever since the "upgrade" a few years ago Open Office has SUCKED.

No matter what every time I reopen a file half of my bullets are unbulleted. Many of my indentions and spacings have to be redone every time.

Now there is this new dumb shit. At least I made an incorrect PDF of the GD thing. PISSED!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Sorry Monte Cook and CFRPG Monsters by Hit Dice and Other Topics.

First of all sorry to Monte Cook. I got my information wrong and posted a misleading story. I was wrong and retract the story. Egg on my face sorry.

I can't find where I found the story...

Next! OR is that a bad word?

Well here is my list of monsters for CFRPG or better know as Classic Fantasy Role Playing Game. Much more AFTER the Monster list which I must say is impressive! What a huge list! Any suggestions for more monsters? Send them to me!

Monster By Hit Dice

Less than 1HD
Bat, Cat, Dogmen, Goblin

1HD
Centipede, Common Dog, Dark Dwarves, Dark Elf, Dark One, Deep Elf, Deep Men, Dwarf, Eagle, Elf, Ferret, Fey, Fly , Ghost, Giant Bat, Giant Bee, Giant Rat, Gnome, Halfling, Hawk, Human, Mermaid, Orc, Ratmen, Skeleton

2HD
Baboon, Badger, Blue Beetle, Large cat, Cavemen, Small Carnivorous Dinosaur, War Dog, Dolphin, Dryad, Fallen, Scaler Fish, Flame Dead, Frogman, Ghoul, Gren Slime, Hobgoblin, Pony Horse, Screamer Lizard, Brown Ooze, Dire Rat, Saurians, Serpent, Vampire Spawn, Wolf, Zombie, Giant Ant: Worker Ant,

3HD
Black Wolf, Bugbear, Camel, Choker, Cow heifer, Giant Ant: Warrior, Glow Beetle, Donkey, Rat, Riding Horse, Spitting Lizard, Small Herbivorous Dinosaur, Wererat, Wight, Wolf

4HD
Ape, Bear, Blink Dog, Centaur, Cow Bull, Crab, Dire Wolf, Doppleganger, Ethereal, Fiend, Gargoyle, Gorgon, Great Cat, Giant Hawk, Harpy, Hell Hound, Medium Carnivorous Dinosaur, Hunting Lizard, Hunter Spider, Mule, Nymph, Ogre, Pegasus, Reaper Fish, Scorpions, Tentacle, Unicorn, War Horse, Werewolf, Wraith

5HD
Dire Weasel, Boar, Cockatrice, Crocodile, Elemental(s), Ettercap, Giant Eagle, Giant Ferret, Lesser Vampire, Stag Beetle, Work Horse, Yellow Ooze
6HD
Bargheist, Basilisk, Grizzly Bear, Sabertooth Cat, Cloaker, Cyclops, Reaver Demon, Medium Herbivorous Dinosaur, Displacer, Drider, Elephant, Formorian, Frog, Manticore, Minatout, Mummy, Rhinoceros, Slug, Specter, Widow Spider, Stalker, Troll

7HD
Avenger Angel, Blade Death, Clockwork Horror, Color Creep, Death Knight, Death Lurker, Destroyer Demon, Swamp Dragon, Garron Beast, Gore Giant, Godling, Griffin, Black Ooze, Pincer, Red Slime

8HD
Hunter Bear, Bloodletter, Dire Cat, Chimera, Forest Dragon, Gore Fiend, Hill Giant, Large Carnivorous Dinosaur, Malevolent, Masher, Shambler, Snakemen

9HD
Bulette, Desert Dragon, Keils Fire/Storm, Orbs, Other Weird, Roc, Stone Fiend, Treeman

10HD
Bull of Chaos, Dire Bear, Demon Lord, Devil, Dire Rhinoceros, Ettin, Fire Dragon, Forest Giant, Genie, Giant Ant:Queen, Giant Worm, Hydra, Mastodon, Mountain Giant,Toad, Vampire

11HD
Chaos Caller, Dark Horde, Doom Spider, Dragon Queen, Fire Weird, Huge Carnivorous Dinosaur, Lurking Building, Stone Snake, Thunder Bird,

12HD
Aeon(s), Dark Lord, Devourer, Huge Herbivorous Dinosaur, Killer of Cities Demon, Primordial, Titan, Unshackled Demon

15HD
Delver

20HD
Immortal


Should I change the name to "Back to the Dungeon RPG"? Is the name and small fame of this Blog enough to Name an RPG after it?

ALSO

I am getting rid of the ROLL 20 and something great happens for most of the classes. Although a cool idea it would get kinda bland after you rolled a few 20s and made it happen. NOT to say it will be taken from all classes just most of them as they can do neat stuff with out that feature.

I still plan to make the game where you can print it out in booklet/zine form yourself.

If you want to send me some free artwork I will try and use it. I can't pay you but if you put your name on it it might be free advertisement.

I will soon be posting the PDFs and links to a complete game. To those who say Eldrad has never finished a game project (after helping you finish yours long ago) screw you! Suck on buck!

TO REAL WORLD OF PAIN AND SUFFERING!

I actually got spare time to do this project but it is a sad tale.

I have had a run of really bad luck. I had a an employee fall to his near death a few weeks ago, I was betrayed and "terminated" for "other" reasons from the job A.K.A. made the scape goat due to this employee's decision to allow himself to fall, my professional reputation has been put into question and insulted, my wife is getting surgery on her gall bladder but there might be worse stuff wrong, money is getting tight.



Monday, June 4, 2012

RETRACTION: Not Monte Cook's: Dungeon World: A Game with Modern Rules & Old-School Style

Sorry this article is WRONG! This is not Monte Cook's game. He is just a fan. Got the wrong info. I am man enough to admit I made a mistake. Not surprising to me at all as everything is going to hell. Worst of all I can spell interest.

Well Well Monte Cook is working on something. An RPG with a Kickstarter. I thought this would interest MANY of you so HERE you GO!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sage-kobold/dungeon-world-a-game-with-modern-rules-and-old-sch-0

What Is Dungeon World?

Dungeon World is a fantasy roleplaying game about exploring dungeons, fighting monsters and looting treasure. In Dungeon World you and your friends take up the role of classic character classes and undertake exciting adventures together. Through your triumphs and travails the world changes around you.

The Dungeon World rules are simple and elegant. They exist to help you create unpredictable adventures and fluid action - to move from battles to exploration to moments of magic and mystery with ease. Dungeon World's rules all tell you when to use them: every rule comes into effect just when it's needed and stays out of the way the rest of the time.

Dungeon World emerged from our love of two things—modern game design and old-school RPG action. We wanted to create a game with the wide-eyed excitement and wonder of your first time playing a fantasy RPG and rules that draw on a long history of innovation and creativity. The best of both worlds!

The text of the game is complete and we're working with an editor to polish and perfect it right now. The text of Dungeon World is available under a creative commons license and will remain that way whether we meet our Kickstarter goal or not (we wanted to make sure that everyone got a chance to play Dungeon World).

If the game is done and the rules are ready to go, what do we need your help with? We want to make Dungeon World the best game it can be, and to do that, we need your support. We'll offer the game to our contributors as a fully-featured PDF (with art, professional layout, hyperlinks and indexing) and, if you contribute at any level above the first, a softcover or hardcover version of the rules. As well, we've got a whole bunch of fun rewards at various tiers including t-shirts, pins, custom dice, and one-of-a-kind art from our artists.


Here are the rules!
https://github.com/Sagelt/Dungeon-World

Hero's Mag: Earth Prime Part I

The current Earth that is inhabited by my Super Heroes is called Earth Prime.

Unlike most worlds with Supers these characters age, so many of the supers are "past their prime". Like most establishment types they are not willing to give up their positions, don't retire, and keep out the competition. This causes alot of friction between the Old Guard and the New Powers as they have been dubbed by the media.

The government is currently cracking down on Supers of any great power due to the recent collateral damage cause by the escalating criminal violence as well as hero on hero battles due to egos. More on that story in a future post.

There are three major teams on the Earth. The Sentinels, The Guardians, and the Knights. There are many other teams that are smaller and with a lesser budget out there.

On the East Coast there are the Sentinels based in New York City.
This group was unfortunately killed by the first of three airplanes on 911. This group contained some of the mightiest heroes on earth and the explosive that hit the Sentential Tower was some kind of Anti-Matter bomb that disintegrated the entire block and complex. The following heroes were killed.

The Arachnoid - A hero with the abilities of a spider. He was around 40. Identity Classified.

Battlesuit - Just a super rich playboy genius inventor with the most advanced battlesuit in the world. Steven Sentinel was 47.

Samson - A Perfect who could fly, was invulnerable, and had super strength. Age and Identity Classified.

Bulldog - A Beastman of great ferocity. He had claws and teeth and he was quite hairy. A mutant of 60 years of age.Identity Classified.

The Archer - A skilled bowman and swordsman as well as devices. Jack Beniyble was 63.

Johnny Titan - A huge brute of a mutant who looked like a monster but was the most human of all. He was 30.

The Wraith - Also know as the Dark Avenger he stalked criminals for many years before joining with the Sentinels. He was one of the greatest martial artist and acrobats in the world as well as the most skilled detective in history. He is estimated to be around 70. Identity Classified.

Loch - An elemental from the ancient world with a body made of water and the ability to control water. Age unknown.

Butterfly - A fey from the Fey kingdom. She was also an ancient treasure lost to the world. Age unknown.

Witch Girl - She had the power of the Hex. Loraine Jackson was 65.

White Knight - He was a true knight transferred here from the past. He was 55 years of age. Sir Thad Rosemonde

Ace - The luckiest guy in the world could manipulate luck and fate to his whims. He was 46. Identity Classified.

Son of the Republic - He was the true American hero with powers that came from the patriotism of the American People. He was one of the first documented Supers. Jack Johnson was 85.

Thunder - An ancient Celtic god's son. He was immortal.

Saint Karen - She was a living saint with divine powers and miracles. Karen Stutters was 35.

These heroes were killed to strike fear into our hearts but the senseless act of evil did the opposite. The attack on 911 unified us like we have never been before. At least for a short time. Then the parties started back to their old ways.

The criminal element know simply as The Syndicate, The Mob, and The United Gang Front has responded in kind and New York is now a war zone. Will there be any heroes to save the people?

The Guardians (West Coast L.A.) and the Knights (Houston) will be discussed in an upcoming future post! Stay tuned!

There are a few major Criminal Organizations of note but this is not all inclusive and is ever changing.
The Defilers - A group of very dangerous super villains.
The Cartel - A huge and powerful South American Drug Gang.
The Syndicate - The Asian Criminal Empire.
The Mob - The European Organized Criminal Element.
The Primordial Threat - Ancient beings that want to rule the world.
The United Gang Front - A huge gathering of gangs for one purpose: to rule the major cities and take over the USA.

More on this world later. More to come.