Complete Arcane
-
From the back cover:
Master Eldritch Secrets
And Formidable Power
Myth and mystery surround those who wield the awe-inspiring might of arcane
magic. Wh...
It's July!
-
I can't believe it is July already. I don't have an overall theme for this
month except to get to some games I have wanted to try out. Not sure if
thos...
PRIMEVAL BASTIONLAND PLAYTEST
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*A land born out of myth. A past that never was, but now is. *
*Petty domains among the wildland. Horrors lurk in story and song.*
*But in our dreams, a ...
June '22 in Review
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Poison Ivy Sucks! This has unfortunately been the main theme of the second
half of the month, and it’s been a busy month too. One of the joys of
having a...
Free GM Resource: The Mines of Khunmar
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[image: Free GM Resource: The Mines of Khunmar]
I've had this saved for a hot minute and just this morning managed to
actually download and give a quick s...
Miskatonic Monday #123: Cat’s Cradle
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Between October 2003 and October 2013, Chaosium, Inc. published a series of
books for *Call of Cthulhu* under the Miskatonic University Library
Associati...
The Athabasca Fold Network
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*Memorize this, but for god's sake don't act like you know it. Play dumb
and ask for directions like everyone else or you'll get flagged and dumped
out a...
Fogheart – The Torso of the Giant King
-
By Lucian Correa Antigona404 OSE Levels 1-3 Once upon a time, long before
the heyday of the plains folk and the inevitable fall of their empire, deep
withi...
Music Monday - New America
-
It's Independence Day here in the states and given recent judicial rulings,
violence against LGBT+ groups, and calls for censorship (some of which I've
bee...
Felltower & the (in)ability to study
-
Thinking about the experience system in Traveller, and Felltower, it occurs
to me that they're two completely different ways to go about it.
In Traveller, ...
Pestilential Painting: Chaos Spawn completed
-
Welcome back to the Vectorium! The summer of Chaos is truly upon us; the
Chaos Space Marine Codex is *finally* here, and I've been poring over the
book....
Gamelog: Finished tombs and against the snake folk
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Our Heroes:
7th Lv Fighter - Barbarian Archer Lord seeking glory and battle, talks to
birds
-Personal Priestess
-Mastif war dog abhumanoid (Mostly guards...
The role of PC Heroes in Star Wars
-
While I am working on my Hyperspace Opera setting, I am frequently getting
out various Star Wars RPG books to look for ideas. And unsurprisingly, it’s
alwa...
Update and Thoughts on Blogging
-
Just a quick update, and an apology for those of you who had a flurry of
blog update notifications today …
Continue reading →
[ZINE] Echoes From Fomalhaut #10 (NOW AVAILABLE!)
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Guests of the Beggar KingI am pleased to announce the publication of the
tenth issue of my fanzine, *Echoes From Fomalhaut*. This is a 52-page zine
dedic...
So You Want to be a Pirate: Spec For
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I got into the how and why of piracy. Let me talk about about space future
pirates!
You are not merely a *pirate*. You are a pirate in space *AND *in th...
Why D&D?
-
Very often - Monday's post is an obvious example - I will post an idea on
the blog for a campaign I'd like to run or a book I'd like to write, and
people...
I Played King of Dragon Pass
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(in response to the comments in this post) and I was not that good at it,
and then did ok. But then got bored. But I learned a lot and now have much
more s...
The Life and Travels of Obmi
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I make no bones about the fact that Lord Obmi the dwarf is one of my
favorite characters in the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Setting. His
combination of cunni...
Finding spells is better than choosing them
-
D&D is probably my favorite RPG nowadays - mostly in the OSR versions, but
even 5e sometimes. But one of the things I dislike the most about it is
picking ...
Reflection and Formation
-
There are many broad functions that rules can have. Here is one:
representing the details of a broader fictional world. The fictional world
might not work ...
Loving the Dungeon Bummers...
-
Something I love about old-school gaming is how character centric
everything is. Dungeons exist because the players need someplace cool to
explore; and m...
Why Dragons Should Never Lose
-
Back in the 'aughts, WotC had a forum set up for folks to discuss D&D. I
yoinked this little tidbit from one of the user profiles on that old (and
eithe...
Helvéczia: Journal de Campagne, 3
-
We resumed play this past week, joining the company still within the
farmstead where those that remain of the seven knaves are restrained or
incapacitate...
The NTRPG Con 2022 Victorious game: Part 1
-
At the beginning of the session we passed out envelopes to each of the
seven players. They were told to open them and look at the 2 playing cards
within. I...
Desert War in 1:150 Scale
-
For no particular reason, except my customary inability to stick to a
project, I thought I'd try printing some desert stuff in 1:150 scale (10mm)
just...
Missing google drive files & reorganization
-
Hey everyone, recently google drive changed the way permissions are done.
Because of this I am continually getting requests for previous files from
post...
Orcs and Beastmen, Part 1
-
*Note: Oddly enough, Bar Chakka was part of my very first draft of
Centerra, back in 2010. Centerra has changed a lot in the last 12 years,
but two mos...
Mega-Dungeon Map Design Sprints with Henry
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*Update - 13 June 2022 at 7:18pm*: Well, just like my lost big posts
during Kellri's Module Challenge, blogger crapped out and I lost this huge
post de...
Text Folding Tool for Referee Notes
-
Organizing campaign notes is frustrating. My preference would be to keep
all my hobby material in an analog format, but it’s not practical. A
campaign is a...
Education, Fleshing out a System
-
A little over I year ago I posted on the value of an education system in
your old school game. What follows is some further exploration of the idea
and...
Wyrdwood Adventures, ep12
-
The following is a solo adventure I am running using White Box FMAG, the
Perilous Wilds, Freebooters on the Frontier and Into the Wyrd and Wild. I
use my o...
On Ecology Completed
-
So that happened.
Bestial Ecosystems created by Monster Inhabitation is out.
I'm getting better at it. There was something off about the softcovers, so...
Plugging Away
-
As of a month ago I'm now working again on a part-time basis (three days a
week). In January I walked away from a position I'd held for over 20 years
bec...
Back in the Day: Playing The Never Used Rules
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As most everyone who finds this obscure blog knows I started playing
OD&D in 1977 and switched to AD&D 1e in 1979 and have been playing 1e ever
since....
E'a, Chronicles of a Dying World
-
David M. Fitzgerald's *E'a: Chronicles of a Dying World *is one of the more
obscure digest-sized unofficial supplements to early D&D, little known even...
Random Research
-
This post was prompted by two players having questions that required NPCs
to do research. One PC is a cleric, the other a paladin. They worship
different...
Ivan Reitman, 1946-2022
-
I didn't want too much more time to pass before posting something here in
tribute to filmmaker Ivan Reitman, who the world lost unexpectedly on
Saturday,...
Vox Machina: Good for a Few Laughs
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TL;DR: it’s ok.
How’s that for brief?
Ok, seriously, it’s got some fun moments, but isn’t nearly as clever as it
thinks it is. Better?
Dig...
Julius Moessel (1871 - 1957)
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[image: Julius Moessel - Symphony in Hell, No. 2, 1940's]Symphony in Hell,
No. 2, 1940's
[image: Julius Moessel - Symphony in Hell (No.3)]Symphony in He...
Growling Mage Tavern
-
The other day I used Frog God Games *Journey Generator*. There was a set of
tables to create an inn or tavern. So I rolled up one because you can never
...
Clean Your Room
-
Looking back at my little blog here. That last post… wow, I was having fun
playing WOW Classic! That was August of 1999 and I was having a blast… it
was ...
People of the World, Spice up Your Life
-
I have seen the *Dune*. It’s good, but, like all “content” now, too long.
The forms of many designs are quite nice (love the costumes of the imperial
de...
What's wrong with megadungeons?
-
I ran across a megadungeon article from last July. I know, I am a little
behind, as I was dealing with my cancer when it came out.
In the blog, DM David ...
My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter!
-
I can't believe I didn't post about it here!
The Dead are Coming, Screams Amongst the Stars and Running Out of Time are
on *Kickstarter right now!* Thes...
Maximum HP 004, one week to go
-
Just one week to go for Maximum HP issue #004, the undead. We are pushing
through stretch goals and wracking up contributions for the best issue yet.
We...
Steve Jackson Interview
-
James Maliszewski recently did an interview with Steve Jackson over on his
Grognardia blog. Steve chats about the beginnings of The Fantasy Trip and
upcomi...
Undermountain Map Origins
-
As documented on the Ruins of Undermountain sales page, "TSR didn't
actually use Ed Greenwood's original maps," at least not in their entirety.
This post d...
A Campaign Begins for Newbies
-
Like many of you, the affects of the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted how
hundreds of millions of us fellow mutants interact and function in our
jobs, co...
WB:FMAG Total Print Sales
-
Hello Folks,
The last time I did a quick sales report was in September 2018.
I pulled reports from Amazon, Lulu and DrivethruRPG from October to current
fo...
The Minotaur for Old-School Essentials
-
*Minotaur*
*Requirements:* Minimum STR 9, Minimum CON 9
*Prime Requisite:* STR and CON
*Hit Dice:* 1d10
*Maximum Level:* 8
*Armor:* Leather, including shield...
WIZARDS OF POHJOLA
-
Init +0
Melee Atk
• sword or dagger +1 (1d5 or 1d3)
Ranged Atk
• hot iron sparks +3 (1d4+2 to two targets within 20' but not closer than
5')
AC 14
HD 12d...
Strange, Dangerous, and Inhuman: The Fey and Fairie
-
When I was a boy I loved fairy tales. Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in
Boots, Rumpelstiltskin - I devoured all of it. My fascination that there
was a strang...
Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule
-
*As you know, I run public classic Dungeons & Dragons games at **The Loaded
Die**/Metro Detroit Game Night's Board Game Nigh at **Dragonmead**, in
Warren...
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets
-
In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one
for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants
and...
James A. Smith, Jr. Memorial Video
-
A beloved father, devoted friend, and D&D Dungeon Master extraordinaire. We
miss you! To view video, click here Memorial Video
Note - The original video...
Let's Talk About Pacing!
-
The idea, I think, is that the RPG is ultimately about the long game. Even
rolling back to the early days of Basic & Expert, the goal of the player
was...
Profane and Profound Prep Part 2
-
This is part 2 of my work to edit my magic items for a DMsGuild release,
along with adding cursed items along the way. Here is part 1. Bone of a
Saint 8000...
SHORT BREAK.
-
I'm going to take a break for a week or so and will start up again in the
New Year. Thanks for reading and we'll start with Level 6 when I get back.
Iain Lovecraft, 3D Sculptor
-
Nope, it's got nothing to do with Cthulhu. I just did a video conversation
with Iain Lovecraft, who designs 3D miniatures and terrain. If you're not
doin...
New website!
-
Slowly but surely, all the content here will make its way — in updated
form! — to my new website: timbannock.com. For fairly obvious reasons, that
site wil...
Please Update Your Link!
-
If you're seeing this, it means your link to the Greyhawk Grognard blog is
out of date.
Please update your link to www.greyhawkgrognard.com (RSS feed is
h...
How can We Destroy this Campaign World?
-
d12
1. You must trick a bard into strumming the *Chords of Fate* on the *Lute
of Annihilation*
2. Legends tell of thermonuclear weapons beneath megadungeo...
Mord Mar - Session 6
-
We weren't able to play Mord Mar last week, due to a family funeral. This
week we played on Monday for the first time, due to kids returning to
school and ...
A Small, Quiet Plea
-
There has been a great deal of discussing political agendas, social
grievances, and personal attacks within the little corner of gaming that is
my hobby....
Don’t Sleep It’s Broken
-
Expanding/editing my comments from What Makes Something Broken G+ thread:
“Broken”, for me, is anything that makes normal character choices, tactics,
or ro...
Swords & Wizardry Light-Themed Birthday Party
-
Last month, my wife and I helped our oldest to celebrate his birthday in
style. Ever since 2013, we have hosted a themed birthday party for our
now-15-ye...