Vote on my Poll!

Only two days left. I think I'm going to go ahead and see if I can make an OSR calendar a reality, but I'd still love more feed-back.

Beats A Fish

New Rush Song

I'm really enjoying this. It feels a lot like Fly by Night's Anthem to me and Alex's solo feels like he decided to just jump right into it and beat the hell out of it. Will definitely pick this up when it's released.

Advanced Adventure #24: The Mouth of the Shadowvein now Available!

The final part of the Shadowvein Trilogy (Pod-Caverns, Down the Shadowvein, Mouth of the Shadowvein) is now up for sale! You can purchase it from the Expeditious Retreat Press website or buy the PDF from Your Games Now or rpgnow.com.

The Mouth of the Shadowvein is an OSRIC(tm) module designed for 6-10 adventures of levels 3-5.

The depths of the underearth weigh heavily upon the party as they delve deeper into the cold, hard stone. Every river has an end, even those that never see the light of day. Many adventures behind, the party continues to find the mouth of the Shadowvein. What lies ahead is surely dangerous, but the lure of the deeps is strong with gold and magic.

I'm very pleased with this module and I think it contains some of my best work, so I hope you decide to check it out. In particular, I think the large underground fungal cavern should be supremely portable into any campaign.

New Computer and Back to Work

I decided on Sunday to purchase a new computer. My old was was 5 years old, had a broken cd drive and was starting to get a little twitchy, so I though it was time for it to gracefully retire. So, I'm posting this from my new computer that I have named Pie. Everyone likes pie.

The transition process only took 8 hours, and I still have some stray fonts and a few stray programs to hunt down and replace. I'm going to wait to do that until they become needed. I think that if I never miss them, I probably didn't really use them much to begin with. So this is the work I've been doing instead of editing, writing, cartography, and promotion. I think I'm not cut out to be a tech guy, as after 35+ updates, I'm still getting the "Hey! I need to update!" message. I'm pretty sure there's a faster way, but oh well, I'm done.

So welcome to Teh Internets, Pie. May you stay around as long as your predecessor!

The Goremont Grim

So I've decided to finally start fleshing out my home-grown megadungeon called The Goremont Grim. Below is a bit of info about it. I don't expect to publish this and am doing it as a hobbyist and not a publisher. Putting the heart before the head, so to speak. I just did the first small map and am quiet pleased so far.

Background

The Goremont Grim is an ancient portal between dimensions, universes, and planes. In the beginning, when the first split in reality occurred, the Grim was created to facilitate travel between the two new realms. When reality split again, the Grim expanded, and at each successive split the Grim grew larger and more complex. After millennia, the Grim became a pocket dimension with links to all of the other dimensions. Much later after that, the Grim gained sentience (of a sorts) and started to learn from those that passed through it. Eventually the Grim gained its freedom from its masters and became fully autonomous.

The goal of the Grim, or even if it has one, is unknown. Some speculate that it seeks dominion over the multi-verse, others that it seeks only death from a senseless and eternal existence.

Holes

Entrances and exits into the Goremont Grim are called Holes. Holes are just that, large excavated cylinders featuring a spiraling staircase on the outside wall leading to a single passageway at the bottom. Holes can be wide and deep or narrow and deep, but they are always at least 100 feet in depth and of distinctive and unique construction. One cannot mistake a Hole for anything but a Hole. The many different types of Holes are described below. Alternate names as used by walkers are in parenthesis.

1. Holes: These are the base variety. They freely allow inward and outward movement of all things. (Maws, Pits, Killer Holes)
2. Living Holes: These Holes allow only living tissue to move inward and outward. All non-living material cannot enter or leave. (Naked Holes)
3. Dead Holes: These Holes allow only non-living tissue and non-organic materials to move inwards and outward. (Worthless Holes)
4. Preservation Holes: These Holes allow only “appropriate” inorganic materials to pass outward from the Grim. Appropriate is determined by the homeworld in question, preventing technologically advanced materials (be that science or magic) from moving from the Grim into the homeworld. (Son-of-a-Bitch Holes)
5. Aligned Holes: These Holes freely allow inward movement, but prevent outward movement of creatures based upon alignment. (Lucky Holes)

Regardless the type, all Holes feature a long passageway (typically of at least a mile’s length) that serves as the physical connector between the Grim and the Hole’s homeworld. These long passages serve as warnings to the weak of heart, allowing them time to turn back, if such is possible based upon the nature of the Hole in question.

Holes do not consistently connect to the same area within the Grim. Instead, they connect to any of several consistent entry points. Generally, the Grim places a walker or group of walkers in an area of the Grim of lesser or commensurate power, but relying up that is probably not an assumption of the wise.

Grumpy Bunny Is Grumpy

Grumpy Bunny Is Grumpy

Anyone Know Japanse Who Can Read This?

Stumbled across this and wondered what the writing said. I think it makes an awesome wererat with giant rat minion illustration.

EDIT: I realized I'd assumed this was Japanese, but since I can't read it, that's a bit hasty.

Tome of Tomes

Another tome in the series. Today, I'm also testing to see if I've set my blog to also post over at G+. *crosses fingers*

The Language of Giants
Author: Culdee Syweill
Race: Human
Dimensions: 8x8x1
Weight: 4lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, stoneboard, parchment
Rarity: Uncommon
Fields of Study: Humanoids & giantkind
Special Knowledge Categories: Languages
Value: 75 gp

Famous for his common dictionary, Culdee also wrote a small treatise on the languages of giants. Culdee was familiar with all the giantish languages and in The Language of Giants he puts forth the theory that at one time all the giants spoke the same language. He backs his assertion with a thorough analysis of language similarities and proto-roots. Included is a small common to giant dictionary, featuring all five of the major giant languages.

Tome of Tomes

The Ethereal Way
Author: Kalbalim Mbulu
Race: Unknown
Dimensions: 16x16x5
Weight: 25 lbs.
Materials: Shedu hide bound, woodboard, vellum, silver corners and clasps
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Supernatural & unusual
Special Knowledge Categories: Planes (astral)
Value: 3,250 gp

The companion work to his The Great Astral Chart, The Ethereal Way is equally  rare and valuable, Those reading and mediating upon The Way can learn to avoid ethereal encounters to a great degree.  Understanding The Way requires at least a Wisdom of 18, a 14 Intelligence, and a month’s time of detailed study. When travelling the Ethereal, a follower of The Way travels one and half times faster than normal, results in only one encounter check per trip (as opposed to the normal three), and also reduces the chance of encountering a ethereal cyclone by half.

Since It Won't Get Out of My Mind...

...I'll put it in yours. Because I'm a jerk.

Calendar Poll Question

I was just thinking that we haven't had an OSR calendar yet, and wondered if people would be interested in such? I was thinking about having new pieces of art from 12 artists who have done color illustrations for various OSR projects. I think it would be pretty cool, but my tastes are not representative of what customers prefer. So, answer my poll! :-)

Tome of Tomes

The Giant Insects
Author: Seilis Kabelow
Race: Human
Dimensions: 8x10x1
Weight: 2 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Uncommon
Fields of Study: Fauna
Special Knowledge Categories: Arachnids, insects
Value: 100 gp

This smartly illustrated work details the habits and life cycles of all major giant insects and arachnids. Debate has long raged about who Kebelow was, as The Giant Insect contains truthful information of the most useful sort. Those conscientiously studying the work gain a +1 to hit and +1 to damage in combat against the enlarged dangers and Kebelow’s information concerning their poisons provides a +1 to all saving throw rolls as well.

Formula Folio

Purify Water
For the ink required to scribe a druidical purify water scroll

1 oz. of giant octopus ink
1 oz. of holly berry juice
2 oz. of spring water

Mix all ingredients in an iron contain and bring to boil. Let boil for 10 minutes. Cool and decant into a silver container. Makes enough ink for 2 scrolls. Use a quill made from an egg-laying hen.

Sunday Un-Seriousness Weird Al Style

As some of you may know, I'm a big Weird Al fan, so here's his White & Nerdy video. Go pick up an album or two of his, he's a musical genius, IMO. Smiles are worth their weight in gold. :-)