Thud & Blunder - CLASH Done Right!

So, long-time readers might remember I was working on CLASH - The Generic Fantasy Skirmish Game, built on the engine used in In The Emperor's Name. I had planned on making a game that could be played with any sort of miniatures you had lying around, from old armies to a DM's collection of pre-painted minis. Almost anything could be quickly and easily statted up, and the core of the game was to be simple, quick to learn and fast enough to fit a couple of games in a night, or even a quick one while you waited for your gaming group to finally get together.

Well, turns out I got one-upped by the guys at The Ministry of Gentlemanly Warfare, the original writers of In The Emperor's Name. Over the course of a few games (In Her Majesty's Name, Daisho, and Blood Eagle), they tweaked the system (they need a name for their house system!), and finally turned their attention to the fantasy genre full-force (both Daisho and Blood Eagle are closer to "mythic" than truly fantastical).

Thud & Blunder is slightly more in-depth than your standard skirmish game (the combat feels like a stripped-down RPG, with options for disarming, mounted combat, and an interesting campaign system). However, it flows fairly well, with a phased you-go-I-go system reminiscent of GW's classic skirmish games. The extra complexity is mostly optional - you can run it stripped-down, or as complex as you like.

As far as my goals for the game go, it hits every note - not only is it easy to stat up any mini in your collection, with formula for new weapons, a bunch of pre-made warband lists to crib from and tweak to your hearts content, it's also easy to pick up and play with minimal fuss.

Even if you don't plan on using the system as-is, I would heartily recommend picking this up for the Scenarios, Complications and Landscapes- a massive list of plot hooks, weather conditions, alternate win conditions and changes you can add to any skirmish game to completely change the game! There are thousands of combinations you can create, meaning every game plays that little bit different. And it's incredibly easy to add your own, so you could never play the same game twice!

All in, it's an amazing little game! Well worth a tenner, even if just for the Scenarios / Complications / Landscapes section.

Hopefully, I should be able to get a few games in over the next few months, so keep your eyes peeled for more T&B content!

Big Update!

So, regular followers will know that I've done a lot of Microlite20 content - it's my preferred no-prep system, and I use it with any new group to gauge what kind of game they might be interested in.

Well apparently, that work didn't go unnoticed - Seth Drebitko decided to take me on as a partner, so now I'll be sharing my time between here and working on the next generation of M20 content!

We have a few really cool things in the pipeline, so keep your eyes peeled for new content coming from us!

I Got My Name In A Thing!

I just wanted to share the joys of Expanded Petty Gods, a crowd sourced project of at Save vs Dragon, which takes the original Petty Gods book and adds divine servants, new spells and other stuff to help you run any of these lesser deities in a campaign.

I submitted a few spells, and it looks like they all got published!

Go check it out!

Free Stuff Giveaway at Laughing Ferret!

So, I've been following Laughing Ferret for a while now, and his minis have been pretty mind-blowing. His Blood Bowl teams make me want to look past the fact I think the game is fiddly and not as great as everyone thinks (this is My Opinion, please don't get offended!) and try the game again. He adds character and detail int minis that you rarely see in the current time of Army Painting and dipping.

These guys in particular show off his skill at adding character to a mini beyond a good paint job...

Make me hanker for an all-Dwarf dungeon crawling campaign...

Go check him out, become a follower, and try and win some awesome prizes!

Datafortress 2020: An Awesome Cyberpunk 2020 Resource

So, Datafortress 2020 has been floating around for years on the net, and I kept seeing the link in Wisdom000's signature on RPG.net for ages, but as I've been looking through the old Cyberpunk 2020  Chromebooks for inspiration for gaming and modelling, I thought I'd swing by and see if there were any new updates.

Luckily enough, Wisdom000 has just put up a massive update, collecting loads of older PDFs together, rearranging various items, and adding new stuff.

One thing I never realised - not only has Wisdom000 added new content, they've went back and totally rehauled the Interlock system to make it the universal system it was always touted as. One of the reasons I had been avoiding running Cyberpunk 2020 was that the system looked a little dense for my tastes - but the Interlock Unlimited update he's done is simply astonishing, rebalancing the rules, adding new ones, and stripping out the chaff the system has accumulated. He's even included tons of optional rules, new ideas, and all manner of cool stuff - but, in a flash of awesome, kept the all separated out. The basics are simple, then you pick and choose which extra books you use. It's like GURPS, only it doesn't make my head hurt (as much. It's still a pretty complicated system in parts, but I am getting it a lot easier that reading through the original books).

It also has one of the most comprehensive armouries I've ever seen. The volume of gun porn somehow manages to be even greater than usual in the Cyberpunk genre. I drool a the thought of unleashing a few of these beauties. Same with the cyberware - there's a ridiculous amount of cool toys for every occasion, from the cheapest, clunkiest Soviet Block roboarms, to the sleekest Raptor legs in town. It's all there, and it's all awesome.

It's actually leaving me itching to run the game. Rarely does a set of house rules do that for me, when I find the source material too much to swallow.

Touche, good sir.

The Triumphant Return! With Artwork By Tony DiTerlizzi!

So, I've been a little waylaid with illness, work, and hospital trips, so I've fell behind on the blog.

This will not stand!

So, to start us off - some Tony DiTerlizzi artwork, and some art-critique from a man who couldn't get into art school, and so became a scientist.

"Yess, my good gentledwarf, finest Salarian Mind-Wyrms. I ssqueezzed them mysself jusst thiss afternoon. Ffive jink. Or perhhapss the Yithhian crystal is more to Ssirs liking, eh? Only 20 sstingers."

Did you ever need a truly pimpin' Mind Flayer for your Planescape game? Simply add fez. Seriously though, this Ulithard looks like the most perfect trader in the more unusual of magical artifacts in any Planescape/Spelljammer game. DiTerrlizi adds little touches and artifacts of a character who does stuff outside their image (the fez, the useful-looking pouches), that creates a real sense of character - not just some unrealistically-proportioned model in barely-there armour sneering menacingly and swinging the most impractical-looking sword you ever laid eyes on (Wayne Reynolds, I am looking at you so fucking hard right now)... I mean, compare the above with this:

I smoulder with generic rage.

I mean, just fucking look at it. It shares more than a few things with the DiTerlizzi piece, things I applauded not but a few lines ago. For example, those "little touches" that spruce up a piece of artwork, and add character - this guy here has a billion of them. The little rings on his clothes, the weird "many-belts" wrist guards, the dagger and potion on his belt, and the wands at his hip, and his little fire-bird-bat-thing, and his awesome, cool, impractical-looking sword, and...

There's just way too much stuff going on. It distracts from any one of thee elements, making a mish-mash of half-formed ideas about what this character does.

Also, his right hand. Look at it. Look real hard. Hands do not work that way. Like... is that a pinky or a thumb at the right-hand side there? The artist certainly doesn't know. And, for that matter, do pecs or chests ever look like that, barring shit like Marfan's Syndrome? Also, why does he have little clip-clop cloven feet? Dude's ostensibly human, but look how tiny his little feet are!

Now what would a Halfling want with a massive, hungry-looking cobra? I have no idea, but I can think of a ton of suggestions. Firstly, he's clearly in discourse with it - not the feared expression of someone trying to convince it not to eat him. He seems open, relaxed, even - like he's attempting to barter with it. What would a sentient cobra want to buy? Or what could it be selling?
The main reason that I like this is that I plan on introducing a Stygia-equivalent into the next old-school game I run, with full rules for snake-clerics and weird magics based off human sacrifice. Part of that would be the massive snakes rumoured to lurk in the depths of the land - ancient, intelligent creatures, favoured as pets to dark sorcerers. The idea of a race of intelligent snakes has always been pretty cool to me, especially filling the role of creepy conduits to the dark Gods of a forbidding continent. This pic just gives me ideas about how to make them more "humanised".

Apparently, this is a Tasked Genie from the Al-Quadim setting, but to me she looks far too human. Not a bad thing - she demonstrates DiTerlizzi's fantastic fashion sense. Each element of the outfit flows with the rest, and makes for a great Thief-type, "street smart" character. The style fits surprisingly well with the artwork DiTerlizzi would produce for Planescape, one of the most fantastically-illustrated fantasy settings of all time. The mix of neo-Victorian, Renaissance, and a more modern eye towards composition make the DiTerlizzi fashion choices a little dated, but in a charmingly retro way.

 When DiTerlizzi was pulled to illustrate the 2e Monster Manual, it was a breath of fresh air from the somewhat lacking quality of 1st Ed/AD&D's artwork. While they got across more character than later artists, the less than professional quality of the art made the whole game feel a little... gonzo. 
DiTerlizzi, however, brought both character and great technical talent together, to create an almost fairytale feeling to the game. Take, for example, this Helmed Horror - a classic D&D "trap" monster.

"The room is bare, aside from several suits of armour, all alike."
"I try and see if the suit of armour will fit me, or if I can scavenge some parts of it for myself."
"As you lay hands on it, it turns and takes a swing at you. Roll initiative!"

Now, modern artists will go down the root of an obviously evil suit of ridiculously spiky armour with evil fire pouring out the eyeholes and a gnarly-looking weapon. But DiTerlizzi's take on it has a whole lot of charm. It looks like a suit of armour you might find lying around - and that's the point of the monster. It's not something that looks obviously evil, because then it would be entirely pointless. It's designed to catch you out. A nicely understated piece. It does, however, highlight one of the issues I do have with DiTerlizzi's style - all his weapons are so thin. That sword looks like a rapier/foil, and not a particularly sturdy one at that. Go check more of his art, and count how many of the weapons look like they'll break at a strong breeze.

 This guy is a Sandman. He's a man, made of sand. Yeah. However, Al-Quadim being the weird, Arabian Nights-type place it is, he's also an evil slaver who puts people to sleep before kidnapping them. It saddens me to say that Ive seen weirder monsters, but there you go.
What I like about this guy is that he's pretty much a perfect fit for the Dust Genasi race - from the awkward angles of his head, down to his dour expression and slightly "gritty" texture (DiTerlizzi love him some good linework), he looks pretty awesome.

Now we get to one of my favourite pieces - a linnorm (a massive, dragon-like wyrm from Norse mythology). Where other artists have made them just look like big, ratty, extra-evil dragons, DiTerlizzi's linnorm looks positively ancient, a true ancestor to the great Dragons - something different, yet recognisable. The shaggy hair and almost root-like tail help to add to the sense of age, and the mottled skin looks really good in DiTerlizzi's ink-and-wash style.While they are not as intelligent as dragons, this specimen seems to at least hold a sense of cunning - the hint of a smile and the extended finger make it look like it's just caught some unwary adventurers in a lie, or perhaps is about to reveal some less-than-wanted news. All in, a pretty cool piece.

So yeah - I advise you go check out Tony DiTerlizzi's website, or, if you can get a hold of them, dig out some of his 2nd Ed work. It's awesome and you won't regret it!

Have You Heard The Blessings Of The Plaguefather?

So, another bout of the Dread Lurgy as laid me low this weekend. But have no fear - I am currently working, in between illnesses and sleeping.

I'm preparing my entry for the Grand Original Map Contest over at Tenkar's Tavern. I don't want to give away too many details, but a conversation with my girlfriend about Mellified Man and insect worship will play a very strong part in the adventure...

Stay tuned for more details!

Dredd: How To Game It

Pictured: THE LAW

So, because I was ill as fuck over the weekend, the girlfriend's flatmate picked me up a copy of Dredd on DVD to cheer me up.

I loved the movie. It managed to perfectly recreate the look of the comics - I wasn't all that convinced by the choice of South Africa, at first, but it turns out that Cape Town pretty much looks exactly like Mega-City One. It mixes ultra-modern, sleek aesthetics with junker vans and slums, and even has those wonderful mixes (like the futuristic flyover built from concrete, cutting through a regular "Americanised" street, with shanty houses on one side). It's awesome!

The casting was good - Olivia Thirlby makes a slightly younger-than-usual Psi-Judge Anderson, but pulls off the "badass rookie" pretty well, and Urban nails it. Lena Heady was a little take-it-or-leave-it as Ma-Ma - I can think of a lot of female actresses out there who could have brought more to the role. But, she wasn't terrible. Plus, movie-geek rage happened when her scar make-up couldn't stay consistent between shots.

The SFX were well-realised - they added to the scenes, rather than dominating them (a common problem in bigger-budget movies). Practical effects are used for most of the movie, with the real exceptions being the scenes powered by the perception-altering drug Slo-Mo - thus adding to the feeling of unreality (and, in theatres, most of the 3D elements were Slo-Mo scenes as well!).

But, the thing that stuck in my head was how much fun it might be to run a game in the setting.

The first thought was a skirmish-style game, as I've been wanting to try a little bit more wargaming recently. Necromunda is pretty much already a hab-riot on the tabletop, but the rules for playing as a smaller, elite force (like the Arbites) as versus a larger gang are a bit wonky. Plus, the Arbites in a campaign game have a few issues (like the system of replacements and hiring).

Inquisitor28 could be a good fit, particularly inspired by this post. A small group of Judges/Arbites, controlled by one player, and the inhabitants by another player (or multiple players). You could have simple survival as the goal, but it's always more fun to have a clear objective in Inquisitor (perhaps, similar to the movie, the Arbites have to protect a witness/perp, and the other gangs need to make sure they don't get out alive/they're the ones who kill the witness/they steal the witness away for their own nefarious purposes). I'd maybe consider modifying the rules to reflect ammo (even just price up clips, etc), and track wounds a little more "realistically" for the Arbites. Building a multi-level environment might pose a problem, but it surely can be done!

There is also a new Judge Dredd miniatures line and Skirmish Game from Mongoose Publishing, which are both pretty top-notch. The rules are a free download, for one thing, and the miniatures are sculpted suspiciously similar to the Wargames Foundry 2000AD Miniatures, and their Street Violence Range as well - meaning that you have a lot of options for this one.

I'll pop up a quick review of the rules soon.

I also thought about full-on roleplay in the setting. While there is a Judge Dredd system out there, I was never a fan. So, searching about, I thought MiniSix could make a good starting point. But, then I thought - really, the Warhammer 40k setting has borrowed so much from the Dredd setting, that it's time to give something back...

I'll pop up some conversion ideas for running Dredd in the WH40kRPG system this week - stay tuned!

What I Want To Run

I'm getting a hankering for GMing once again, so I'll post up what I fancy running in case I can direct a few people here to choose what they want to play.

Also, should anyone in the Glasgow area fancy one of these games... well, leave a comment and we'll see what we can do!

The Sacred Art of Stealing
This city is rotten. The Noble Families have wrought nothing but nepotism and corruption here - how often do the streets run red with the blood of innocents due to their personal, petty struggles?

The Guard has either fallen or joined their cause. They become more brash - practically criminals themselves, bar a dedicated few. There's no guilds, unions, or organisations left that haven't had the taint of their hand in their ranks.

Well, there is one... The Thieves Guild.

Players take the role of members of the Valerian's Reach Thieves Guild, the only organisation not infiltrated by the local Noble Families to be used in their wars over territory and personal squabbles. It's time they learned their lesson - the hard way.

• Mission-based, with sandbox elements (so, the players will receive specific orders from their superiors, but are free to pursue them as they see fit, as well as "downtime" between missions where they can follow personal plots and side-quests).
• Gritty, low-powered game - players should be able to think their way out of trouble, rather than rely on their combat abilities.
• Low Magic - magic items are rare (as in unpurchasable, for the most part), and access to spellcasting will be limited. There might be simple firearms (black powder weapons), depending on interest.
• Either 3.5 or Pathfinder, using the E6 variant and a few other tweaks.

What You Are In The Dark
Let me tell you something. The world isn't what it seems. Behind closed doors, under the cover of night... things stir and toil against humanity. Witches who cloud the minds of men. Beasts who take human form, to better prey on us. Creatures of the night who survive by killing us, devouring our souls to reproduce. Ancient entities that walked the Earth before life was truly born.

And we won't stand for it. Each of us... a candle against the unending night. We won't ever "win" - no one candle can light up the darkness. But enough of us together, we can push it back, even just a little.

And if we're lucky... well, it only takes one candle to start a wildfire.

Tool up. We're going hunting.

Players take the role of Hunters in the World of Darkness version of Glasgow - a bright, striving city by day, which hides a seedy underbelly of corruption, death, and the occult. Can you defend your homes, your families, the innocents of the city, with little more than your bare hands, your wits, and sheer determination?

• Hunter: The Vigil Chronicle (nWoD system) with a few of the Hacks from various sources.
• Somewhat more "heroic" than normal, but still deadly and grim.
• Sandbox - choose how and where you wish to protect, and be prepared for assaults from all sides.
• Players should expect a lot of investment in the setting - they'll be setting up relationships, creating NPCs and locales, maybe even helping to dictate the enemies they face.

The Fall of House VanDemarr
It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.

To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. Fortunately, you are not just a man - you're one of the richest men that humanity has ever seen. You are a Rogue Trader, and the uncharted depths of the galaxy are your playground. You and your closest advisors plumb the darkness, find lost human civilisations, dread xenos, The Witch, The Mutant, and The Heretic. And, most importantly, profit.

There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods. 

Strap on your most expensive hat, and wolf down this white truffle and caviar sandwich, Lord-Captain - we're going to Hell and back.

Players take the role of a Rogue Trader and his crew, plundering the stars for fame and profit. You'll face problems, enemies old and new, invasions, and the results of your own

• Total sandbox - I'll throw out a few plot hooks, but this is a game driven by the crew's thirst for profit.
• The tone will be skewed towards "grimdark" - an incredibly serious game, so serious it's totally ridiculous. Mainly though, it's pulpy action and adventure/investigation/whatever you get up to.
• I have a few systems in mind for this one. First, Risus - I laid the groundwork for such a game here. And, again, MiniSix40k has passed through my mind, too.
• There's an awesome Apocalypse World Hack here which is the most likely system.

200th Post!

Well, I meant to get this up over the weekend, but due to an awesome time of noisy neighbours, unexpected guests, helping with moving, crippling migranes and the cat taking a massive adventure (hiding in the noisy neighbour's flat for 24 hours), I was a little busy.

So, another milestone achieved. I think I've got quite a bit of useful stuff up here, and I'm hoing to continue that for the next 200 posts.

The Dungeon Generation posts are coming along swimmingly, assuming I can find the time to get them finished up and posted.

The Unnamed Generic Fantasy Skirmish Game is still in the planning stages - I'm reading through both In The Emperor's Name and Mordheim for inspiration. I'm currently draftin rules for the following warbands/factions:

• Dwarves - slow, tough, maybe with a bit of steam-punk machinery and rune magic
• Elves - quick, weak, powerful magic-users and stealth options
• Humans - the perfect average, but needs an extra "incentive"
• Orcs - tough, brutal, but shoddy equipment and not much magic
• Goblins - stealth and numbers are key!
• Hobgoblins - militaristic, coordinated, maybe an "elite" faction (i.e. models are better but more expensive, so fewer total models than average)
• Lizardmen - a mix of stealth and hard-hitting

And maybe a few more, as they come to me.

And, once again, thanks to everyone for following me for so long!

Necromunda or Bust...

Well, mainly bust.

We never got around to the Necromunda game this weekend, due to fatigue, illness, and a fateful Saturday morning delivery from LoveFilm:

Skyrim.

I should settle my affairs now, to prevent the shame of dieing in front of the screen with no will ready...

Chaos of The Warp Podcast

As you know, I like to support my friends and fellow Scotsmen. I find that friendship and helping each other out is the basis of forming a strong gaming community - and also gives me the chance to get a free promotion.

*nudge nudge*

Chaos of The Warp is a general wargaming podcast, with an obvious focus on Warhammer 40k. Reviews, upcoming events in Scotland, rumours, and GW announcements all fall under their radar. It helps that one of my close friends and DMs, Brian of Lead Legion, is a contributor.

Check them out!

Happy Ava Lovelace Day!

Today is Ava Lovelace Day, which celebrates the achievements of women in scientific and technological fields.

To celebrate, I'm going to write about one of my favourites: Hedy Lamarr.

One of the most beautiful Hollywood actresses of her generation, Lamarr shot to fame with some pretty risque roles (including being one of the first women to portray the female orgasm in a "serious" Hollywood movie), and one of the few famous stars to do full-frontal nudity (something normally reserved for "stag" movies). She was a symbol of proud womanhood for all of the film industry, a powerful, sensual woman who wasn't afraid of the socially conservative attitudes of her time.

She also invented Wi-Fi.

Yep, you read that right - she created spread-spectrum technology, which would allow data to be transmitted via waves through the air instead of on wires. Bear in mind, at this point, people still used vacuum tubes; this technology was so advanced, it would be 1962 before people could start to produce it in any serious and reliable way. To cut down on interference that might cause issues with the transmission, she also came up with the idea "frequency hopping" - presumably casually, over lunch and a cigarette. Her and George Antheil (who helped her figure out a way to implement this frequency hop) laid the foundation for all the wireless networking we have today (including mobile phones!), despite being an early softcore-starlet and a famous musical composer respectively.

Bra-fucking-vo, my dear.

Good News - The Return of Dyson Logos!

Yep, Dyson's back with another geomorph, and apparently 60 more waiting to be scanned and uploaded!

The only problem is, the poor guy doesn't have any internet...

I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of these - Veratheth's Retreat looks pretty swish, so swish in fact I'm currently planning on running a little Risus Dungeon Crawl with it soon...

He's also inspired me to try my hand at some mapping - watch this space!

These Look Awesome! Otherworld Miniatures Dungeon Adventurers on IndieGoGo

Wow. Just... Wow.

These look amazing!

"Since 2006, Otherworld Miniatures has been producing 28mm fantasy miniatures for gamers, painters and collectors, inspired by the iconic imagery of the early roleplaying games. So far, we have just made the monsters, and with a range of nearly 400 creatures in our catalogue, we think that the time has come to introduce some player character models.
We could grow the range slowly, making a couple of figures a month for a few years, but we’d really like to be able to release a substantial range into the marketplace from the start. Unfortunately, the costs of such a project are significant, so we’re asking for your help. With the aid of our backers, we plan to release this range, initially with a boxed set of 12 Human adventurers, quickly followed by sets of demi-humans, female adventurers and hirelings and henchmen, over the course of the next few months. The range of boxed sets will be complemented by individual blister-packs featuring variant models with different armour, weapon and equipment options.
The figures will be sculpted by a variety of talented sculptors, including Kevin Adams and Patrick Keith, with others joining the project later. The miniatures will depict archetypal fantasy adventurers, human and demi-human, male and female, wearing practical clothing and armour and carrying realistic weapons and equipment. They will be posed for exploration, not combat. And these characters won’t be muscle-bound superheroes waving Vorpal Swords in the air - they’ll be grim-faced dungeoneers, a little bit down on their luck, and ready for action on your table-top!"

Now how awesome does that sound? I'm really looking forward to the Female Adventurers - the female Dwarf Fighter should be pretty sweet!

Those are the only greens available at the moment, but looking at how closely they hew to the concept art:

I'd say we're in for a treat.

TSR 2019 - The Dungeoneer's Survival Guide: A Review

While searching for some good OSR references, specifically for writing a dungeon, I stumbled across TSR2019 - Dungeoneers Survival Guide. This book is a veritable treasure trove (no pun intended) of info for writing a dungeon, or indeed any type of game with a focus on being underground.

The first couple of chapters talk about the book, including introductions by the two main writers - who show a lot of enthusiasm for the project. Not just the "Hey, isn't this a great idea?" kind of self-aggrandising enthusiasm, but a love of what they're writing and a clear joy at getting to write it. It's something that's not seen to often in big-company games now, which is a real shame.

The next chapter is pretty awesome - "Overview of the Underdark". Here, you'll find a brief (yet surprisingly full) description of the processes that occur underground, and the various ways these form into dungeon features, and ways to use them. Form the simple stalagmites and stalactites, through underground lakes and lava pockets, deadly gas build-up, and cave-ins, these descriptions paint a vivid picture of the dangers one might face from the environment alone, never mind monsters! A lot of these features will be going into the next dungeon I write...

Next is a couple of chapters dedicated to new rules covering the ins and outs of dungeoneering, from movement rates for various conditions, fighting in enclosed spaces, using ropes as levers and walkways, and a whole host of Non-Weapon Proficiencies to round things out. These are great, ranging from hunting and creating weapons, to things like Fungus Identification and Blind-Fighting. To me, these add an extra layer of specialisation for characters who intend to spend most of their time underground - sure, not too useful in a city-based campaign, say, but if you're about to head through a full-campaign megadungeon, these little tricks could save your life.

(Interesting Trivia Time: Did you know that non-weapon proficiencies were only introduced to the game by Oriental Adventures? I didn't.)

The new rules also help to add a little layer of vermilisitude to quite a few common dungeon-crawl activities - so much so, I'm already thinking of ways to implement some of them in other games (like Microlite20). They do suffer the usual AD&D problem of varying from elegantly simple to byzantine (sometimes, within the same ruling!), but they make for a pretty thorough groundwork to make your own rules from, or to act as examples and guidelines rather than proper rules. It also has a lot of information about non-Thieves performing actions normally covered by Thief Skills, and info on how to adjust those skills up or down depending on the circumstances. Again, very in-depth, with enough info to allow you to make an educated guess whenever you may need to. A personal favourite of mine are new rules for Hirelings and "cabin fever" - while one might expect PCs to be fine with spending months underground, crawling through ancient catacombs and deadly traps with the only emergence to go and spend their hard-earned cash, the average Henchman just wants to go home. The rules cover everything from them becoming suicidal/homicidal, to charming them into staying, to how much extra cash you might need to convince them!

The equipment section is where this book really stands out. It has everything you could think of taking into a dungeon with you, and quite a few more that I wouldn't have expected (who expects to need a fold-away canoe in a given adventure?!). Each piece of equipment adds some extra rulings, or adds to existing ones in interesting ways. While these are mainly useful to dungeon crawlers, most of the equipment could easily find another use to clever PCs (especially Thieves, as a lot of the stuff here covers stealth, mobility, and bypassing problematic obstacles).

The section covering monsters is interesting - it's got some information about the various humanoid races that live under the earth, from the classic Drow, to the little-used Duegar and Derro, the aquatic Kuo-Toa, and the abominable Illithids and Aboleths. Each of these only gets a bout half a page, but they make a great overview of the objectives of each of these races, and a great resource for new GMs.

Finally, the book contains a whole setting, a nice mapped-out chunk of the Underdark for the taking.

(Again, interesting fact time - this book is the first official use of the phrase "Underdark" in D&D literature. Neat! Next, to the Shadowdark!)

The maps are fabulously detailed, but still leave a lot of areas relatively free to interpretation. Some of the set-ups (like the massive "drain", controlled by Kuo-Toa who can change the flow of water into the lower levels) are fantastic, and even without set encounters, can provide a wealth of cool things to do in the setting.

The maps are done in a strong, isometric style - it take some getting used to, but the effect is great for conveying a truly multilevel area, rather than a "staircase down to the next level" type deal. They can, however, be a little bit cluttered, and the isometric view doesn't help any there.

As a final point, I should note the artwork - it's fantastic. Yes, it's all black-and-white, and not of the finest Photoshopped-half-to-death-with-titties-and-lens-flare-everywhere quality that modern D&D artwork is - but it's some of the most inspiring artwork I've seen in a long time. It really captures some of the feel of the classic dungeon crawl, even the faintly ridiculous Valkyrie-esque helmets the women wear (and, for a game frequently lamented as sexist, there's a lot of women here, being active, contributing to the group dynamic in each photo - not too bad!), the classic Fighter with the handlebar moustache and an outfit straight out of Golden Axe (see above illustration). The artwork presents a less-heroic feeling, that death and disaster could be right around the corner, but perversely, that the rewards could be so much greater... it really tickles a desire to write up a mega-dungeon, run it in OSRIC, and let my players taste some old-school beatdown - none of this "storygame" bullshit...
 
All in all, a very strong book, even to modern eyes. There are one or two little niggles with the rules, however... but I'm still planning to use it when I finally get around to writing that mega-dungeon...

20,000 Views!

Another milestone reached!

Thank you to everyone who follows, and to those who just "pop in" of occasion.

Without your support, well, I'd probably still be doing this, it just makes it feel a bit more awesome as that little ticker keeps going up day by day.

I KNEW IT - Cursed Dice Exist!

Well, according to the guys over at Awesome Dice Blog, at least.

They claim, in their independent test, that Chessex D20s don't roll as "true" as Gamescience D20s, although those can't roll 14s.

Read it, and have your paranoid fears confirmed!

Supporting a Good Friend

Yes, it has nothing to do with gaming, but here's a shout-out for my friend's blog, Edd's Surf Shack - a repository of ideas and musings.

If you ever need advertising, friendly advice, or what have you, go see Ed.

Tell him I sent you - he'll either give you mate's rates, or a punch in the dick.

It'll be a surprise!

STOP THE PRESSES: IT'S BACK

DiesIrae's legendary tale, Into The Maw: or, How I Became Incredibly Wealthy, has restarted over on RPG.net!

This, ladies and gents, is made me want to play Rogue Trader. It's writtn as the memoirs of one Laertes Geneso Olivares, Rogue Trader, Captain of the Imperial Cruiser His Invincible Will, Admiral of the First Conquering Fleet, Saviour of Idumea, Krakenslayer, Plunderer of Heaven, Untemptable, Commander of the Conventicle of the Expanse, God-Slayer, Bane of the Necrontyr, Tomb-Killer.

The name alone should give you an idea of the heroics involved! If you have a spare while, go an read it, and be enlightened.

IT'S FUCKING AWESOME.