New Release - Adventures Dark & Deep Lite (AD&D Clone)

So, a little history. I first met Joe Bloch in person at the release party for Gygax Magazine Issue #1 at the Brooklyn Strat in January of 2013. Sure, I had known Joe via our respective blogs prior to that, but safe to say Joe has been a friend for over a decade.

Adventures Dark and Deep™ Lite is Joe's latest release. Essentially a streamlined version of Adventures Dark and Deep™ Core, which is a clone and expansion of AD&D 1e. Adventures Dark and Deep™ Lite is $9.95 in PDF.

As an aside, I was a guest on Joe's launch party livestream earlier today (link below)

Adventures Dark and Deep™ started off as an attempt to make the game Gary wanted to make, but couldn't because he left TSR in the mid-1980's. Based on the first edition of the world's most popular RPG, it added all sorts of new material, reorganized things, and streamlined some places where the rules needed it. Since it was originally published, Adventures Dark and Deep has grown, and had supplements and additions to add to the variety of options available to the players.

The current book, Adventures Dark and Deep™ Lite, goes in a different direction, paring down all of the material into a sleek 175 page book. There are only the five core character classes (bard, cleric, fighter, magic-user, and thief), only five character races (dwarf, elf, half-elf, halfling, and human), and characters can only go as high as 8th level. There are around 200 monsters in the book, and enough magic items to excite the greed of your players!

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Kickstarter - Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rules 2nd Printing (OSR)

I'm a huge fan of everything Joe Bloch / BRW Games publishes. Joe simply knows OSR gaming like a pro, and his Greyhawk knowledge is second to none. I can't wait to get my copies of Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rules 2nd Printing. If you still need to snag AD&D2P, you only have three days left to back the Kickstarter.

Consider this your official Last Call! ')

Adventures Dark and Deep™ is an expansion of the first Advanced version of the world's most popular roleplaying game. Originally designed to include all of the classes and other material that the original designer couldn't include in the 1980's, the game is even more expanded to include a skill system, more new classes, and much more. 

Adventures Dark and Deep™ is a comprehensive rules system, designed to allow play in a variety of different styles; dungeon crawling, exploration, epic storytelling, and more.

Adventures Dark and Deep™ is my attempt to show what would AD&D would have looked like if Gary Gygax had stayed at TSR. It starts with the AD&D 1E rules, includes all the new character classes he mentioned in Dragon magazine in the 1980's (bards, jesters, mountebanks, etc.), plus other changes and additions he mentioned over the years in online fora.

In recent years, the game has grown beyond that basic concept to include more things, and also includes expansions on things Gygax had pioneered (like the skill system, which is based on the concept he had for a skill system for C&C). This new version brings everything together, reorganizes it, and re-edits everything to make it clearer.

This second printing incorporates numerous errata, expands the material with new classes like the blackguard and skald, and centaurs as a player race, and makes many other improvements to the original three books. In addition, the original three books have been consolidated into two; the Core Rulebook and the Core Bestiary. Everything is being comprehensively re-edited and re-organized to make it much easier to use. 

The Core Rulebook has all the rules you need to play the game: ability scores, character races, character classes, secondary skills, creating characters, cost of equipment/services/etc., combat, magic, treasure, the game environment, creating the setting, and game master advice. See the FAQ for the complete table of contents (subject to change).

The Core Bestiary is a complete collection of monsters, including all of the classic monsters, plus many more, for a total of nearly 900 creatures both old and new. See the FAQ for the complete table of contents (subject to change).   

The books are written, and are estimated to be over 500 pages each once editing and art is complete (all details are subject to change as the editing and layout process progresses). The money raised will be used to pay for new art and editing. The retail price for the books will be around $65 each.

 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar   

Kickstarter - Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rules 2nd Printing

An enhanced and expanded version of the 1st Advanced edition of the world's most popular tabletop roleplaying game.

Interested in the best "what if" version of AD&D 2e? Look no further, as Joe "Greyhawk Grognard" Bloch has you covered with the Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rules 2nd Printing Kickstarter. (Joe will be a Special Guest on the April 24th Talking Crit Live! @ 8 PM Eastern)

Adventures Dark and Deep™ is an expansion of the first Advanced version of the world's most popular roleplaying game. Originally designed to include all of the classes and other material that the original designer couldn't include in the 1980's, the game is even more expanded to include a skill system, more new classes, and much more. 

Adventures Dark and Deep™ is a comprehensive rules system, designed to allow play in a variety of different styles; dungeon crawling, exploration, epic storytelling, and more.

Adventures Dark and Deep™ is my attempt to show what would AD&D would have looked like if Gary Gygax had stayed at TSR. It starts with the AD&D 1E rules, includes all the new character classes he mentioned in Dragon magazine in the 1980's (bards, jesters, mountebanks, etc.), plus other changes and additions he mentioned over the years in online fora.

In recent years, the game has grown beyond that basic concept to include more things, and also includes expansions on things Gygax had pioneered (like the skill system, which is based on the concept he had for a skill system for C&C). This new version brings everything together, reorganizes it, and re-edits everything to make it clearer.

This second printing incorporates numerous errata, expands the material with new classes like the blackguard and skald, and centaurs as a player race, and makes many other improvements to the original three books. In addition, the original three books have been consolidated into two; the Core Rulebook and the Core Bestiary. Everything is being comprehensively re-edited and re-organized to make it much easier to use. 

The Core Rulebook has all the rules you need to play the game: ability scores, character races, character classes, secondary skills, creating characters, cost of equipment/services/etc., combat, magic, treasure, the game environment, creating the setting, and game master advice. See the FAQ for the complete table of contents (subject to change).

The Core Bestiary is a complete collection of monsters, including all of the classic monsters, plus many more, for a total of nearly 900 creatures both old and new. See the FAQ for the complete table of contents (subject to change).   

The books are written, and are estimated to be over 500 pages each once editing and art is complete (all details are subject to change as the editing and layout process progresses). The money raised will be used to pay for new art and editing. The retail price for the books will be around $65 each.

The project will be fulfilled using DriveThruRPG's digital delivery and print on demand services. When the POD versions are available to order, you will receive links to purchase these versions of the books from DriveThruRPG. You will be expected to pay the cost of printing as well as postage and any taxes or fees.

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. The Tavern DOES NOT do "Paid For" Articles and discloses personal connections to products and creators written about when applicable.

DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat cast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar 

Deal of the Day - Adventures Great and Glorious (OSR)

Just for a little perspective, I've known Joe Bloch for a number of years - probably a decade or more. The first time I met Joe in person, it was at the Gygax Magazine Launch Party, where we both remarked on the long line and the cold weather, if I recall correctly ;)

Joe is THE most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to the World of Greyhawk setting,  and he's shown his game designer abilities with the release of the AD&D 2e "What If?" game system, Adventures Dark and Deep.

Joe has the current DTRPG Deal of the Day, Adventures Great and Glorious, a sourcebook for higher-level play using the OSR ruleset of your choice. Normally 9.99 in PDF, Adventures Great, and Glorious is on sale for 4.97 until 11 AM Eastern, 2/21/22. I know this is a late notification of the deal, but its the best I could do with the day I had :)

What if there was something for high level characters to doother than kill bigger monsters? Now there is.

A continuation of the possibilities set forth in ADVENTURES DARK AND DEEP™and other fantasy role-playing games, ADVENTURES GREAT ANDGLORIOUS™ lets you take your game to the next level, letting your playersbecome lords of their own territories, courtiers at the royal court, scions oftheir own families, and even creators of their own demiplanes of existence.

Fully compatible with most old-school role-playing games, this book includessections on:

• Clearing territory and attracting followers and settlers in the wilderness

• Becoming functionaries and courtiers and sharing in the intrigues of a

royal court

• Governing territories, collecting taxes, creating mines, and dealing with

the unexpected events of rulership

• The Long Game, with campaign turns, events, and growing families

• Mass combat, with simple rules that let the players take center stage at

the critical moment and help decide the outcome of the battle

• New secondary skills, treasure, magic items, and spells

Please note this is a rules supplement, and is designed to be used with other rule systems. It is not a complete game unto itself. While it is written with the Adventures Dark and Deep game in particular, the references have equivalents in most other popular OSR games, with the exception of the new character classes in Adventures Dark and Deep. Unfortunately, due to limitations of the OGL regarding indications of compatibility, we cannot provide precise cross-references for other games. 

 

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New Release - Adventure Module V2 - Red in Tooth and Claw (OSR from BRW Games)

I've been attempting to make a special effort to reveal any connections I may have to the various products I highlight here at The Tavern. This post is no different. 

I've known Joe Bloch for a number of years (and got to meet him face to face for the first time at the Gygax Magazine launch in Brooklyn back in January of 2013 - my God, 8 years ago!)

When Joe put out his AD&D 2e "What If Gary had Written 2e Clone" Adventures Dark & Deep, it showed me that Joe really knows the OSR and game design. I ran his Castle of the Mad Arch Mage for well over a year. Joe's knowledge of Greyhawk is second to none. 

Joe's latest release is Red in Tooth and Claw, an adventure written for Adventures Dark & Deep but usable with an OSR ruleset. It's 2.95 in PDF and 5.95 in Print plus PDF. 

The southern verge of the Sesve Forest is beset by evil. Woodsmen are slain, villagers’ flocks and herds are rended asunder, and no one seems able to stem the tide of evil. But this is no ordinary pack of wolves threatening the forest precincts; they strike with supernatural cunning, behave with human-like strategy, and show a pure evil unknown to nature.

You and your companions must explore the southern edge of the forest and root out this pack of evil beasts before they strike again, and bring peace once more to the region. This adventure is the second in a trilogy of adventure modules, but can easily be played as a stand-alone module.

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The Tavern.  

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Kickstarter - Book of Lost Lore & Book of Lost Beasts (OSR)

Two books with optional rules, character classes and races, magic, and monsters for old-school tabletop fantasy role-playing games.

I'm a big fan of BRW Games / AKA Joe Bloch / AKA The Greyhawk Grognard. Joe has been putting out quality OSR releases for years, not the least of which is his Adventures Dark and Deep, a what-if AD&D 2e retro-clone. Seriously good stuff.

Joe's latest project is a pair of books: Book of Lost Lore & Book of Lost Beasts.

Book of Lost Lore looks to be Joe's version of AD&Dc 1e's Unearthed Arcana. Book of Lost Beasts sounds like a Monster Manual II. Good stuff.

The idea of these two new books is to give people who are already happy with their 1st Edition, C&C, S&W, LL, or similar games to be able to pick and choose from a wide variety of options and plug them in to their existing game as they want. There are new classes like the bard, jester, skald, blackguard, savant, mystic, and mountebank. Tons of new spells and magic items. An alternative combat system, and two alternative treasure systems. A skill system that's amazingly versatile and so much better than "Non-Weapon Proficiencies", and a system for social encounters. Rules for weather and much, much more. Everything is modular, so you can pick and choose which elements you want to include in your game.

If this sounds familiar, the very first RPG book I did nine years ago was A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore, which had a lot of the "new stuff" that is now included in my game Adventures Dark and Deep; new classes, races, spells, etc. All of that was based on Gary Gygax's announced plans for his own expansion of AD&D in the mid-1980's. But over the years Adventures Dark and Deep has grown beyond the original scope, much more material has been added in various other places, errata have been made, and I've gotten a much better feel for what folks think will be useful. These new books have all that and more.

My intention is to include enough brand-new material to make it worthwhile for people who already have the original book to add these to their collection; each of the two books is as long as the original was, so we're literally talking double the amount of stuff in the original. But it's also intended to be incredibly useful and valuable to people who have never heard of Adventures Dark and Deep, and just want to have a bunch of alternatives at their fingertips to add to their old-school fantasy games.

 The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Deal of the Day - Random Terrain and Encounter Generator

Joseph Bloch has a solid library of OSR releases in his catalogue, but probably the most universally useful release of Joe's is the Random Terrain and Encounter Generator. 

Although the Random Terrain and Encounter Generator is written for Joe's What If 2e Ruleset, Adventures Dark & Deep, it is not only compatible with any OSR ruleset but should work equally as well with Pathfinder or D&D 5e.

Normally 9.95 in PDF, until tomorrow morning the Random Terrain and Encounter Generator is on sale for 4.97.

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. 

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Deal of the Day - Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual

I used to love the What If? Comic book series from Marvel Comics. It gave alternated futures for events that may have happened. I see Adventures Dark & Deep as the “What if Gary Gygax hadn’t been forced out from TSR, and AD&D 2e had followed Gary’s previews as shown in Dragon Magazine at the time?”

Joe Bloch does a great job following the hints that Gary left us.

The Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual is normally 9.95, but until tomorrow morning it is 4.97 in PDF.

The Adventures Dark and Deep™ Players Manual contains all the rules you need to create and run a character; character classes, races, spells, rules for combat, equipment, social class, skills, and much more.

The Players Manual is the first core rulebook for the Adventures Dark and Deep™ game, an expansion and revision of the original 1st Edition rules that defined the role-playing hobby for a decade. Based on the original plans for expanding the game, Adventures Dark and Deep™ gives you new character classes like the jester, savant, mystic, and mountebank; new spells; a new combat system; new monsters; rules for weather and natural hazards; new magic items, and tons more. And it's all compatible with most old-school games, so you can use it with all your old and new adventures, settings, and supplements.

If you liked 1st Edition, you'll love Adventures Dark and Deep™.

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Deal of the Day - Musicland (OSR Adventure / BRW Games)

Today's DriveThruRPG Deal of the Day is Joe Bloch's / BRW's Musicland.

You’re trapped in a land where musical instruments are alive, and music itself is created. 

But beware – there are dangers aplenty beyond the living instruments who serve the King of All Instruments.

Criminals, demons, monsters, and even weird creatures to whom music itself is anathema all stand in your way.

Can you find your way home from this bizarre and fascinating place? 

Musicland can be used as a stand-alone adventure or as an expansion to the Castle of the Mad Archmage™ megadungeon campaign. 

Musicland is written using the Adventures Dark and Deep™ rules, and is compatible with most Old School type rules with little or no conversion neede

Normally 4.95 in PDF, until tomorrow morning at 11 am Eastern, Musicland is on sale for 2.97

Yep, that's an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep the beer cold and the lights on here at The Tavern.

Deal of the Day - Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual

Today's RPGNow Deal of the Day is the Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual by Joseph Bloch. Do you remember the classic Marvel Comics series "What If?" Well, Adventures Dark & Deep is a "What if Gary Gygax's vision of an AD&D 2e had come to be?"

You want takes on some of the classes mentioned in Dragon Magazine that never saw the light of day.? You'll find them in the Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual along with other old school goodness.

Normally 9.95 in PDF, from now until tomorrow morning at 11 AM Eastern, you can snag the  Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual for $4.97

The Adventures Dark and Deep™ Players Manual contains all the rules you need to create and run a character; character classes, races, spells, rules for combat, equipment, social class, skills, and much more. 

The Players Manual is the first core rulebook for the Adventures Dark and Deep™ game, an expansion and revision of the original 1st Edition rules that defined the role-playing hobby for a decade. Based on the original plans for expanding the game, Adventures Dark and Deep™ gives you new character classes like the jester, savant, mystic, and mountebank; new spells; a new combat system; new monsters; rules for weather and natural hazards; new magic items, and tons more. And it's all compatible with most old-school games, so you can use it with all your old and new adventures, settings, and supplements. 

If you liked 1st Edition, you'll love Adventures Dark and Deep™

The above includes an affiliate link. Get a great deal and support The Tavern at the same time. 

Kickstarter - Castle of the Mad Archmage: Musicland (OSR)

Its time to catch up on some Kickstarters, both old and new (or a bit of both)

Castle of the Mad Archmage: Musicland is the latest Kickstarter by +Joseph Bloch . Technically an add on or expansion to CotMA it should be playable as a stand alone adventure, simply because its a parallel dimension. Makes me think of some classic Gygax adventures. Imagine that...

Already at 4 times its funding goal in just over a week, all physical copies are accounted for. Yep, you read that right. There were 99 limited print copies and they've all been pledged for.

5 bucks gets you Musicland in PDF. 30 bucks gets you the PDF bundle that includes all of the Castle of the Mad Archmage releases - including this one.

I had a blast running the original CotMA megadungeon with my "B-Team". We never finished it but that seems par for the course with my gaming groups, but thats okay. Its the journey, not the destination that matters most.

This is the third expansion to the Castle of the Mad Archmage megadungeon adventure. In this adventure, the characters are catapulted to a parallel dimension called Musicland where musical instruments are alive, people speak in musical notes, and the King of Instruments produces melodies that embody the Platonic ideal of music itself.  

Not only will the adventurers need to navigate this strange and deadly place, but they will need to figure out a way home, as well. But where there is great peril, there is always promise of great reward, and treasures both mundane and magical await those who enter Musicland. 

Written for Adventures Dark & Deep, Musicland should play well with most any OSR ruleset. We used Swords & Wizardry Complete with CotMA and it was seamless.

Alright, expect some Folio when I awake in the morning...

OSR Deep Tracks - A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore (Greyhawk Grognard)

I've been meaning to do this for a while - start an irregular series of posts about influential yet often overlooked releases in the OSR. This is THAT first post for OSR Deep Tracks.

Joe Bloch, often known as the Greyhawk Grognard (and man behind the Greyhawk Grognard blog) is probably best known for his OSR megadungeon release: Castle of the Mad Archmage. In many ways, CotMA is Joe's imagining of what Gary Gygax's megadungeon would have looked like, assuming he hadn't been forced out of TSR back in the day. Its very much an Old School dungeon and I ran it for over a year with one of my groups to great success.

Therein lie's Joe's strength, the "What if Gary had...?" I was never a huge Marvel comics fan as a kid but I picked up every issue of What If? I could get my hands on. I enjoyed the alternate takes. They made me think.

Joe's other major project is Adventures Dark & Deep, very much a "What if Gary had gotten to do AD&D 2e as he had planned?" So, Joe dug deep with the hints Gary had published and later spoke about and he designed and published AD&D - The What If Edition ;) If I weren't neck deep in Swords & Wizardry Light its probably the OSR edition I'd pull out for my next campaign - it really does hit the notes that Gary hinted at back in Dragon Magazine.

Often overlooked is A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore. The precursor to Adventures Dark & Deep, I often see it as an unofficial Unearthed Arcana II. These are the classes Gary hinted at. This is the book that led to Adventures Dark & Deep.

New and revised classes - the bard, jester, mystic, savant, and mountebank. I remember reading about plans for these in Dragon, but alas, it never would be until A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore.

The book is modular too, so you can take parts that you want - classes, and maybe only one or two, and leave the spells. Pick and choose among the monsters. Want to use the alternative combat presented? Do so. If not, don't. Looking for seaborne adventuring rules? Got you covered. Whatever you need to do. Its a supplement, not a system, and its easy enough to use with the OSR system of your choice with minor conversions (and often not even that).

There you have it. Tenkar's Tavern's first OSR Deep Track Pick - A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore. An OSR What If...

Remember, purchases made via The Tavern's affiliate links keep your bartender drinking beer. No beer and he get's ornery. Seriously, your support is appreciated. As is the beer...

BRW Games (Adventures Dark & Deep / Castle of the Mad Archmage) 20% PDF Sale and Random Drawing

+Joseph Bloch 's BRW Games is running a 20% off PDF sale as well as a drawing for print prizes for those who purchase PDFs (from Joe's blog)

As we head slowly into the summer months, I thought I'd do an impromptu sale, with a contest to boot! 

From Saturday May 6, 2017 through Sunday May 14, 2017, all print-possible pdf titles will be 20% off. 

In addition, anyone purchasing a pdf version of a title (that has a print version) will be included in a special drawing. Two lucky winners will win a free upgrade to a softcover version of the title, and one lucky winner will get a free upgrade to hardcover (if available)! 

Shipping to the United States is included. Outside of the U.S. you will be asked to make up the difference in shipping costs. But the books themselves are still free! 

Purchases of titles that do not have a print version will not be included in the drawing. But if you get a print title, and want to try for a second copy, more power to you! The following titles have print options available:

A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary 

Adventures Dark and Deep Game Masters ToolkitAdventures Dark and Deep Players Manual 

Castle of the Mad Archmage Adventure Book Castle of the Mad Archmage Adventure Book (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Edition)Castle of the Mad Archmage Illustration Book 

Castle of the Mad Archmage Map Book Castle of the Mad Archmage Expansion - Level Three East 

The Golden Scroll of Justice

This offer does not apply to the Adventures Dark and Deep bundle, but does apply to both the Castle of the Mad Archmage bundles (OSR and Pathfinder). 

Remember, purchases made using The Tavern's Affiliate links goes to support The Tavern. Tip your barman! ;)

RPGNow Deal of the Day - Adventures Dark and Deep Players Manual - $5.97

The other night I had a dream with EGG himself in it. We were having lunch at some restaurant, drinking wine and eating grilled cheese of all things.

Gary turns to me and says: "I'm making you the Director of the AD&D line."

I was stunned. Thrilled. Finally, I was confused.

"Gary" I said. "Isn't the AD&D line dead?"

His response was priceless: "Exactly."

At which point I woke up and wrote this shit down. I don't often get visited by the dead in my dreams, even if its my own subconscious playing games with me.

Which brings us to the Adventures Dark and Deep Player's Manual . +Joseph Bloch wrote it with the idea of "what would AD&D 2e have been if EGG had been allowed to write it?" It's a what if. It's also an excellent game unto itself with classes that can easily be placed in the OSR rule set of your choice.

All that for $5.97

Grab a copy for yourself if you haven't already (I have the hard copy on my gaming shelf)

Castle of the Mad Archmage - Adventures Dark & Deep - 30% off PDF and Print - Thru June 22!

Forgive me if there are any glaring typos in this post - my son just took my wife and I out to the local pub for her birthday - five rounds of beer and shots in less than two hours will leave you feeling it. I'll admit to getting old ;)

+Joseph Bloch is putting his BRW catalogue of releases on sale for 30% off through June 22 - basically through the end of the weekend. This applies to PDF AND Print versions, so if you've been holding off on getting the Adventures Dark & Deep RPG or Castle of the Mad Archmage now is the time to pull the trigger.

I think I'm going to bed now...

Mini Review - Swords of the Damned (Adventures Dark & Deep Licensed Fiction)

The Swords of the Damned by Richard Tongue is a licensed fantasy fiction book published under the Adventures Dark & Deep banner. I have the Kindle version, and 90% of my reading of the novel happened in one bathroom or another. What can I say, it made for decent bathroom reading.

The Good - it mostly keeps to the usual "D&D" tropes, including vancian style magic. As for the story itself, the pacing is decent, the plot was good, most of the main characters are likable and it's better fantasy fiction than most of the crap put out by TSR when it treated fiction like shovelware. Yes, it was an enjoyable read and probably the first novel I've read straight through in over a year. If you have Amazon Prime, you can read it for free with your Kindle or Kindle app - wish I had realized that prior ;)

The Bad - I am not the grammar police, but there were more than a few instances where the writing was just plain awkward, and the use of pronouns got me confused with more than one "he" or"she" being referred to in the same part of narrative.

The Plain Old Ugly - if I make a spelling mistake on this here blog, it's no big deal - you aren't paying for my shit ;)  Not that I like the mistakes, but sometimes the built in spell checker doesn't catch it all, or it changes words and the like. If that happens in a novel I'm reading every minute or two, it fucking sucks. I understand that this book is basically self published, but use more than a built in spell checker to fix your spelling and typos. Use your mother, your sibling, your girlfriend. Pay someone 20 bucks. Little sucks more then getting into a story and seeing "stares" for "stairs" and "threw" for "through" and "sand" for "said" and a crapload more where they came from.

Overall, decent read, needs a shit ton of editing. If you have Amazon Prime, nothing lost by checking it out.

Some of the Excellent Art From the Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary

The art in the Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary was funded by those that supported the Kickstarter, and it's damn good.

Here's some examples:

There are literally hundreds more pieces of art in here, and for the first time in a long time I plan on using art from a "monster book" in game, even if my game is Swords & Wizardry these days. All I need to do is swap the ACs (as we are using ascending) and we're good to go.

+Joseph Bloch , let me say it again - well done!

Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary - In Hand 5 Months Early!

The Adventures Dark and Deep Bestiary was due to ship in March of 2014 - Today is October 16th, 2013 and I have it in my grubby hands.

+Joseph Bloch knows how to run a Kickstarter. For all of the failures, folks like Joe and Sine Nomine Publishing show what can happen when you put your trust in capable hands.

Hey, wasn't there another AD&D 2e "clone" Kickstarter that supposedly shipped over 2 weeks ago? One that was due in August of 2012? Hey Tom! What's your latest excuse?

+Joseph Bloch I'll be putting a few brews back tonight to salute you ;)

Huzzah! Adventures Dark & Deep Bestiary Kickstarter Releases in Record Time

Huge props to +Joseph Bloch for releasing the Adventures Dark & Deep Bestiary MONTHS earlier then the Kickstarter estimated.

When I get home from work, I'll be kicking back with a cold one as I peek at the PDF and imagine the trouble for my players when the hardcover arrives ;)

Review - Adventures Dark and Deep - Part the First - New Classes and Old (AD&D "What If?")

If Champions of Zed is OD&D as it may have been if it wasn't rushed out the door without proper editing and consultation between the two diverse playtest groups being run by Gygax and Arneson, the Adventures Dark and Deep is a possible AD&D 2e if it retained the Gygaxian flavor that was lost in the actual 2e release.

ADD is, if nothing else, a clone of AD&D 1e with lots of new options and classes. It reads much like 1e to me just more user friendly, which is a compliment. ADD cleans up much of what was broken in Unearthed Arcana (sometimes known as AD&D 1.5) and fixes it.

Much of the draw of Adventures Dark and Deep are the new character classes, which can be easily dropped into any AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign with little effort. I've always felt an affinity to Bards, and +Joseph Bloch has an excellent version included. The Jester subclass reminds me of the old NPC class from Dragon Magazine - I remember my sister playing one.

Cavaliers and Paladins are again class / subclass. Not the way I would run it, but the precedence is there from UA.

Mystic is a new subclass of Cleric. An unarmored cleric (but not of the fighting Monk type) this is the mystic of legend. "The mystic must live a life of self-denial and poverty". At best an NPC class with my group - as none will ever be able to keep this vow ;)

Savants are a new subclass of Magic-user Mage. Their spell list is a bit of a cross over of mage and cleric geared around information finding and the like.

Thief-Acrobats are back as a split from the regular thief class at 6th level. I didn't like the class split in UA and my opinion hasn't changed. I still feel it should start as it's own class at level 1, but Joseph is following Gary's probable intentions. I just happen to think Gary was wrong on this account.

Mountebanks are another subclass of thief trained as con men with some minor magic casting ability. I like it. I like it a lot.

Of course you have the normal list of classes from AD&D - less Assassins and Monks. No real loss losing the assassin class, but I do feel the absence of the classic monk. Sure, it wasn't really a European flavored class in the classic sense, but it helped define AD&D for me.

Joe introduces a skill system, which I'll get to with my next post in the series. I think the next review post will be the next part of the Five Ancient Kingdoms series of posts.