Tome of Tomes

I don't normally do two of these in a row, but my brain is tired and sleepy and told me to rely upon work it has already done.

The Deeper Gardens
Author: Halda Verdenburg
Race: Dwarf
Dimensions: 8x10x2
Weight: 8 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, stoneboard, parchment, iron clasp and lock
Rarity: Rare
Fields of Study: Flora
Special Knowledge Categories: Fungi
Value: 675 gp

This exceedingly rare book was the life’s work of Halda Verdenburg, a dwarf farmer under the Drachen Mountains. Halda was an adventurer in her early life and achieved great success. She took her earnings and focused the rest of her life on dwarfish agrarian purposes— a life that was obviously magically extended, for she died at the age of 721. The knowledge contained within The Deeper Gardens is vast, thorough, accurate, and practical. When the Drachen Mountain dwarfs were defeated and destroyed, the book passed into legend, and the few copies that remain are fearfully guarded.

Tome of Tomes

Togarth’s Guide to Chemical Creations
Author: Almavada Togarth
Race: Human
Dimensions: 16x16x2
Weight: 10 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Uncommon
Fields of Study: Physical universe
Special Knowledge Categories: Chemistry
Value: 75 gp

With workmanlike illustrations, Togarth walks the novice through the basic procedures and methods of isolating chemicals from common natural materials. Togarth’s book is exceedingly clear, but many practitioners of the art find it dull and pedestrian because of such.  It is this opinion that leads to the book being rarer than it should be given its utility for the uninitiated.

Over 200 Followers!

I just noticed that I passed the 200 follower mark recently, so I think I should thank everyone who takes time out of their day to see my latest musing.

Thanks everyone for reading, and I hope that you find at least some of what I do useful in your gaming!

Formula Folio

Feather Fall
For the ink required to scribe an arcane feather fall scroll

1 oz. of giant octopus ink
A handful of feathers from a newly-killed chicken

At midnight on a full moon, pour ink into a silver container and hold overhead for 20 minutes. Then throw the handful of feathers into the air. Makes enough ink for 2 scrolls. Any special quill is suitable.

Advanced Adventure #26: The Witch Mounds now on sale!

Just got in AA#26 and now it's up for sale at our website as well as in PDF form. This one was ran at Gary Con IV. Hope you all enjoy!

The Witch Mounds is an OSRIC(tm) module designed for 6-10 adventures of levels 3-6.

Near the southern verge of the Yoros Forest, rests a series of grass-covered barrows arranged in a horseshoe shape. Ten smaller barrows and one known as the Great Mound sit facing inward at each other. The site is known as the Witch Mounds by the locals, and it is shunned, for evil lurks within, a place of old Maerling evil best left alone.

Will you brave the Haug-eldr, the greenish flame seen in the depths of night around The Witch Mounds to explore the dangers and riches that surely lie below?

If you enjoy this adventure, look for future releases in the Advanced Adventures line from Expeditious Retreat Press.

Vehicle Modifications in Classified

Below are the list of vehicle modifications available in Classified. It's not an exhaustive list, obviously, but I think it's a good one for a core book and should be enough to get people playing.

Armor
Autopilot
Bullet Proof Screen
Drone System
Ejector Seat
Electrical Protection System
EMP Cannon
Explosive Alarm System
Gas Ports and Oxygen Feeds
Gun Ports
Halogen Burst Lamp
Heads-up Display
Hidden Compartment
Ink Cloud Generator
Mine Dispenser
Modified Integrated Computer
Modifiable Running Lights
Mortar System
Oil Slick Sprayer
Performance Modification
Puncture Resistant Tires
Quick-tint Windows
Revolving License Plate
Smoke Screen Generator
Standard Modification Packages
     Law Enforcement Modification Package:
     Agent Modification Package:
     Special Agent Modification Package:
Structural Reinforcement
Tack Strip Dispenser
Tire Slasher
Twin .50 Machineguns
Twin M240B Machineguns
Vehicle Arresting System

Sunday Un-Seriousness

No good deed goes unpunished...

I took a break yesterday from Classified to whip up a few more Tome of Tomes and to shovel snow. Last time we had a significant amount of snow our parking lot wasn't plowed and we ended up with quite the icy morass, so I though I'd at least take care of the small hilly area going down into the main street. It took me about a hour and a half, but I cleared it.

Two hours later the plow came by.

Ah well, I can always use the exercise even if my back is being a whiny brat today...

Tome of Tomes

The Bloody Blade
Author: Unknown
Race: Unknown
Dimensions: 6x5x1
Weight: 1 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Humankind
Special Knowledge Categories: History, psychology
Value: 150 gp

This short work is a chronicle of the 34 murders occurring in Westport during the decade of the rampant lion. The author is unknown, but some scholars believe the insight presented in the book indicates that the Blade himself is the author. Regardless, it is a detailed look at those grisly happenings.

Good Smelling Markers

So I just packaged up another order and I'm growing very tired of my smelly Sharpie marker. I'm thinking about getting some good-smelling markers, but the *cough* frugal *cough* part of me can't really justify that $12 expense as a business expense.

But when my Sharpie runs out, then I'll have scented markers... Muahahahaha!


Yeah, I'm bored with working... sue me.. :-)

Classified Update

As I said earlier, I'm again working on Classified (our retro-clone of the old James Bond 007 rpg). One of the things that's become quite apparant to me as I work on the equipment section is how the internet has change my perceptions (and I'm assuming others') about what is required in an equipment section.

The core rules of the the original game had 34 weapons & vehicles. Classified's upped that number quite a bit to to 177. One of the nice things about the core book was that each weapon/vehicle had an illustration next to in to help the reader visualize the item. In the pre-internet world, such was quite useful. Now, however, there is detailed information on every weapon/vehicle at the fingertips of just about every player. The *need* for an illustration (and the histories that often accompanied them in the text) has simply gone away.

In fact, it would be quite silly to include them, IMO. They would take a huge amount of space (consider that the Q Manual was a separate book and had 161 weapons/vehicles in roughly 80 pages) in a core book. Additionally, they would only be summations of what can be found on the internet anyway, for I am not an expert about weapons nor vehicles. If a GM desires more than just the game statistics for a weapon/vehicle, the internet's going to have the answer to that question.

So, the internet wins again: changing our gaming requirements (for the better, IMO), and although I haven't got to the Intriguing Cities section of Classified, I'm sure the internet is going to radically change what's required for that presentation as well.

Tome of Tomes

A Sailor’s Handbook
Author: Theodram Halfman
Race: Half-elf
Dimensions: 6x5x1
Weight: 1 lbs.
Materials: Leather-bound, woodboard, parchment
Rarity: Common
Fields of Study: Humankind
Special Knowledge Categories: Law & customs
Value: 20 gp

This small work contains a wealth of practical nautical information: detailed drawings of various ships and the names of their parts, a long list of knots, and an explanation of the various nautical customs common to the Central Seas.

The Goremont Grim

A few bits about the Grim...

To Slight the Maze: Sometimes putting different objects in one’s mouth (under the tongue) can “slight the maze” as it’s called, greatly reducing chance of encounters in the Grim.

The Touch of the Grim: Some rare long-time walkers are blessed/cursed by the Grim. These creatures gain double the normal life expectancy of their kind and gain +1hp every year they age. The Grim insures, however, that all of their additional years come at the end of their normal life, resulting in them living a tremendously long time in the venerable age category. Some view this as a blessing, but many consider it a curse. Some long-lived creatures that are touched by the Grim find themselves shunted into strange new worlds where they are worshiped as nigh-invulnerable living gods.

D&D PDFs are Back!

In case you all are unaware, it looks like the PDFs have returned! This makes me very happy. I was disappointed to see them disappear and thought it a bad decision from both fiscal and customer satisfaction perspectives. Glad to have them back.

Complete Advanced Adventures Submission Guidelines

I was asked to sum up the submission guidelines for the Advanced Adventures line. Below is information/guidelines for the modules. These are just guidelines. I'll happily take a good adventure in a different format, but that means I have to do a lot more work to get it into shape for the line's publishing pattern. I'd prefer to avoid that if possible.

1. We pay $0.01 a word for all rights.

2. We pay upon acceptance of the manuscript (preferably in Word format) via USD check or PayPal.

3. It can take 6 months to a year for something to be published. Please be patient, but feel free to send me an e-mail inquirying about the publishing schedule at any time. Hell, send me any e-mail you think important - I forget things just like the next guy and always appreciate a well-timed nudge.

4. Manuscripts should be no longer than 16k words and (preferably) no shorter than 10k. I'm more of a stickler on the high end here than the low end here.

5. Manuscripts should include all needed maps or illustrative devices (to show how a complex trap works or some such).

6. If you don't have a manuscript written, please send a short summary to me at josephbrowning@gmail.com of your idea. We may have already published something similar and there's no need to waste your time.

7. Please look at one of our published Advanced Adventures to get an idea of what the line is. We don't use boxed text and rarely do we have "canned text" that is designed for the GM to read to the players. If we do, it's usually a brief introductory paragraph or two to set the stage.

8. If you don't own one of our adventures, the early modules such as the Giants series or the Drow series are good examples of what we prefer.

9. Magic items are bolded, spells are bolded.

10. Please don't worry about mimicking the tabs that we use. A simple document is easier for me to rip and re-format than one that has been designed to be pleasing to the eye in Word.

11. For formatting of monsters we prefer the following:


Critters & NPCs: From the fairly simple to the more complex - these examples should cover most of the various options.

Ghouls (4) (SZ: M; AC 6; MV 90 ft.; HD 2; HP 8, 9, 12, 13; #AT 3; Dmg 1-3, 1-3, 1-6; SA Paralyzation; AL CE).

Stirges (5) (SZ: S; AC 8; MV 30 ft., flying 180 ft.; HD 1+1; HP 2, 4, 6, 7, 8; #AT 1; Dmg 1-2; SA Blood drain; AL CE).

Galblag, goblin leader: (SZ: S; AC 6; MV 60 ft.; HD 1; HP 8; #AT 1; Dmg 2-7 (pick) or 1-4 (sling); AL LE). Possessions: Footman’s pick, sling, 20 sling stones, two day’s goblin rations, waterskin, 6 gp, 12 sp.

Guardian Statue, hasted stone golem: (SZ: L; AC 5; MV 120 ft.; HD 60 hp; HP 60; #AT 2; Dmg 3-24, 3-24; SA slow; SD damaged only by +2 or better weapons, immune to most spells; AL NG)

Planatars (2): (SZ: L; AC -7; MV 150 ft., flying 480 ft., swimming 240 ft.; HD 144 hp; HP 144 each; #AT 3; Dmg by weapon +7; SA see monster description; SD see monster description; AL CG)

Chryseothrax, ancient red dragon: (SZ L, AC -1; MV 90 ft., 240 ft. flying, HD 11, HP 88, #AT: 3 Dmg 1-8, 1-8, 3-30; SA: Breath weapon and spell use, AL CE)

First: detect invisibility, phantasmal force
Second: blur, mirror image
Third: non-detection, spectral force
Fourth: improved invisibility, phantasmal killer

Drimmal Stonefist, 3rd-level dwarf Fighter: (SZ: S; AC 1; MV 60 ft.; HD 3, HP 26; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 +1; AL LG). He has a +1 to hit and +1 to damage due his strength. Possessions: battle axe +1, plate mail armor +1, potion of healing, shield, light crossbow, 20 quarrels, and 95 gp.

Momoko Yosida, female ogre 3rd-level Shaman (SZ L; AC 6; MV 120 ft.; HD 6; HP 30; #AT 2/1; Dmg ; 1-6; SA spells, ki speed (+3 to initiative for one round), ki maximization (1 spell at maximum effect), kung-fu; S 9, I 17, W 13, D 14, C 12, Ch 14; AL CE). Possessions: greatclub, harp of the white whale (see new magic items), ice cleats, ice ring, keys to area 12, area 15, and area 16, 112 gp. She has been granted the following spells:

First: cure light wounds, protection from good
Second: resist fire

Chief Flemin Ironfoot, 4th-level dwarf Fighter/ 3rd-level Cleric : (SZ: S; AC -2; MV 60 ft.; HD 6/3, HP 31; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 +1; AL LG). He has a +1 to hit to damage due his strength. Possessions: battle axe +1, plate mail armor +3, shield +1, potion of heroism, light crossbow, 20 quarrels, a golden chief necklace worth 450 gp and 65 gp. He has prayed for the following spells:

First: bless, command, cure light wounds, protection from evil
Second: hold person, slow poison, silence 15 ft. radius



New Monsters: This is the format I use - it is the same as that found in Malevolent & Benign.

MONSTER NAME

SIZE: Small (3 ft. wide)
MOVE: 60 ft., flying 240 ft. (AA: level II), climbing 120 ft.
ARMOR CLASS: 7
HIT DICE: 2+2
ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE: 1
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: None
MAGIC RESISTANCE: None
RARITY: Rare
NO. ENCOUNTERED: 2-20
LAIR PROBABILITY: 35%
TREASURE: In Lair: 1-12k cp (20%), 1-6k sp (30%), 1-4k ep (10%), 1-6 gems (25%), 1-3 jewelry (20%), any 2 magic items (10%)
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
LEVEL/X.P.: 4 / 230 + 2/hp

General information:

Languages:

Physical description:

Variants:

Classified Update

Finished off the last of the Advanced Adventures early yesterday and now I'm knee-deep in Classified (our retro-clone of the 80's Bond spy game). I've got all the weapons and vehicles done, and now am working on their descriptions. I'm on Chapter 10 out of an estimated 14 chapters in Classified. I always find it enjoyable to switch gears after focusing on one aspect of publishing for a while.

Advanced Adventures #26-31 are now done pending only artwork and some final pre-printing fiddly bit fiddling.

I'm looking for more manuscripts!

Sunday Seriousness

After 10 years in this industry, I've learned not to talk about certain things in relation to the industry and society as a larger whole.

Instead I choose to create gaming products - things designed to make people happy while having a good time with friends. Making people upset, angry, or sad isn't what I *do* for a living.

I am a craftsman, and my craft is happiness. I believe I have chosen wisely.

A Bit of My Youth...

Ok, ladies and gents, I'm looking for a sealed set of TSR Dragon Dice as in this picture below. Color is unimportant to me. I missed the last *two* auction at Ebay because I'm stupid and forget to look at Ebay very often because there's not much I want to own that I don't already own. If anyone sees one in the future please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it.

I want to buy a set and open it: destroying all it's "value" but reliving one of the happier memories of my gaming youth - buying my first set of dice. It's foolish, but I can afford to be foolish in this small way.

And if you, by some strange chance, *have* a set of unopened Dragon Dice that you wouldn't mind selling knowing I'm going to rip into it and actually use the dice, I'll pay ya $100 for it.

Ha Ha, Suckers!

Since I posted a two days ago about one of the things I don't like about publishing, I thought I should post one of my favorite things - the fact that when I come up with a cool idea, I know that there will be lots of other people who'll get to see it.

I had one of those moments today when working on Advanced Adventures #32: Aerie of the Cloud Giant Strategos. I think the GM's will be amused and the player's confused, so that's a job well done... :-)

Living Encounter Tables

Living Encounter Tables have Secondary and Tertiary Tables that “fill up” the Primary Table once an encounter happens. For example, when Orcs appear, the GM rolls on the Secondary Table for their replacement and gets Ghouls. The GM then rolls on the Tertiary Table to fill in the spot the Ghouls were previously using. The allows the GM to do two main things: change the danger level of encounters or change the "tone" of encounters. In this example, the encounters become progressively more dangerous, but if the GM loaded the Secondary and Tertiary Tables with, say, only ooze/fungi/plant monsters, the tone of the encounters would change as well.

Primary
1d4	Result
1	Hobgoblins
2	Orcs
3	Goblins
4	Kobolds
Secondary
1d4	Result
1	Bugbears
2	Ghouls
3	Ochre Jelly
4	Ogres
Tertiary
1d4	Result
1	Dopplegangers
2	Hydra, 7-heads
3	Minotaurs
4	Slithering Tracker

Up Way To Early

I seem to find myself waking up at 5am more and more frequently. I both like and dislike this trend: it's great for getting work done, but it also means I get a bad case of the sleepies mid-day. Ah well.

Today is all about Advanced Adventures #31: The Lost Lair of Drecallis. Last night I started editing and read about a page or two and I'm again reminded about how clean a manuscript it is. Refreshing! I should be able to turn this one around and get out an art order with haste.

For those who don't know, Suzi passed her nursing test and is now an RN as of last week. We also just received word that she's going to be doing her Nurse Practitioner clinicals in our old town Coshocton. It's been a very good two weeks here at casa XRP.

Well, good morning and off to work!

Wielding the Red Pen

One of the things I hate the most about layout is that I occasionally have to cut out some material that the author has provided. In this case, I'm talking about some "How to get the module started?" ideas at the beginning of an Advanced Adventure. I'd love to leave them in, but doing such would require coming up with 3 more pages of material to make the pagination come out because you have to print in pages divisible by 4. (ie. I can do 12 or 16 pages, but nothing in between).

This means that good, useable material gets cut because I'm even more uncomfortable with expanding the size of a module - both in terms of author vision and customer satisfaction. Now you all know why some modules have advertisements in the back: it's for when I came in a page or two short of an even 4.

Formula Folio

Erase
For the ink required to scribe an arcane erase scroll

1 oz. of giant octopus ink
A pinch of ash mixed with acacia gum

In a glass crucible, heat the ash and the acacia gum until near liquidity. Add the octopus ink and heat until fully liquid. Cool in a silver vial and stopper with a cork and beeswax. Makes enough ink for 2 scrolls. Any special quill is suitable.

The God of Flumphs

Tome of Tomes

Crawlers of the Underdeeps
Author: Argar Ironfist
Race: Dwarf
Dimensions: 16x16x5
Weight: 25 lbs.
Materials: Drowskin-bound, chitinboard, vellum, brass corners and clasps
Rarity: Very rare
Fields of Study: Fauna
Special Knowledge Categories: Arachnids, crustaceans & mollusks, insects
Value: 550 gp

This rare work describes and illustrates the majority of things that crawl and creep in the underdeeps.  Reading the work and digesting its contents requires a month’s time, but afterwards, the reader gains insight into the behavior of said creatures, granting him several abilities when fighting one of the crawling creatures described by Ironfist: the reader can only be surprised on a 1 in 6, gains a +1 to hit and to damage, and gains a +1 to saving throws against poisons.

Advanced Adventure #31: The Lost Lair of Drecallis

Yesterday. I got an e-mail from Rick Maffei about when I had scheduled his module, The Lost Lair of Drecallis for release in the Advanced Adventures line.

The answer, embarrassingly enough, was, "I haven't."

I'd accepted Rick's manuscript and paid for it, but I forgot to do the last step in my process - which is move a file from the "Under Consideration" folder to a new folder in the AA folder with it's own name. This means that I had an paid-for manuscript sitting on my hard drive and I had idiotically forgotten about. *sigh*

Oh well, good news is that there will be another Advanced Adventures module this year!

The Lost Lair of Drecallis is an OSRIC(tm) module designed for 4-6 adventures of levels 5-7.

For a second year in a row, Drecallis has not appeared on the appointed day to collect her tribute from the people of Longridge. Is the terrible beast dead? Or has the great reptile departed for greener pastures? The elders are desperate to discover the truth, and if the dragon is indeed dead, a priceless hoard may be sitting in the dragon's lair, unguarded. A call has been put out for brave souls willing to seek out the remote lair of Drecallis and investigate!

Advanced Adventures by Level

Here's a list of all planned Advanced Adventures by ascending level. I thought some people would find this useful.

1-3	Stonepick Crossing by Mark Morrison
1-3	Redtooth Ridge by Joseph Browning
1-3	To End the Rising by Geoff Gander
2-4	The Pod-Caverns of Sinister Shroom by Matthew Finch
2-4	The Sarcophagus Legion by Andrew Hind
2-4	White Dragon Run by James Boney
2-4	Beneath the Heart of Empire by Benton Wilson
2-4	Bitterroot Briar by Lang Waters
3-5	The Flaming Footprints of Jilanth by Andrew Hind
3-5	The Frozen Wave Satsuma by Joseph Browning & Andrew Hind
3-5	The Secret of the Callair Hills by Geoff Gander
3-5	Down the Shadowvein by Joseph Browning
3-5	The Mouth of the Shadowvein by Joseph Browning
3-6	The Witch Mounds by Keith Sloan
4-7	The Lost Pyramid of Imhotep by Alphonso Warden
4-7	Stonesky Delve by Joseph Browning
4-7	The Obsidian Sands of Syncrates by Joseph Browning
4-7	The Lost Lair of Drecallis by Rick Maffei
5-7	The Barrow Mound of Gravemoor by Andrew Hind
6-10	The Curse of the Witch Head by James Boney
6-10	The Chasm of the Damned by James Boney
6-10	The Lost Keys of Solitude by Joseph Browning & Suzi Yee
6-10	The Riddle of Anadi by James Boney
7-9	The Doom of Red Rauthim by Ray Bailey
8-10	The Prison of Meneptah by Alphonso Warden
8-10	The Verdant Vault of Malakum by Alphonso Warden
8-12	The Seven Shrines of Nav’k-Qar by James Boney
8-12	Aerie of the Cloud Giant Strategos by Joseph Browning
9-12	Under Shattered Mountain by James Boney
10-14	The Conqueror Worm by Alphonso Warden
10-14	The Forsaken Sepulcher by Alphonso Warden
12-15	The Red Mausoleum by James Boney

Advanced Adventures #28: Redtooth Ridge Cover

Below is the cover for AA 28 featuring art by John and Daisy Bingham. I wrote this 1-3rd level adventure for my own group and they had one hell of a fun time exploring the area. It's scheduled for a March 2013 release.

Wererat in the Sewers

In this blog I tend to focus on our old-school products as well as other current products such as Classified, and Worlds Apart, but we have done work on other systems like Pathfinder, D&D3.X, and D&D 4e. Below is a cover illustration from one of our 4e modules. It's got a more cartoony-feel to it than is typical to our old-school stuff, but I think it's a bang-on illustration. I particularly like the colors. Here's to hoping that 5e is better than 4e was.

Hit the Ground Running

I'm about halfway through editing the last Advanced Adventures manuscript I have and would welcome any submissions. After I get done with that, to layout it goes and then art direction. I'm then going to pick up with Classified (my spy retroclone) and start working on the covert items section now that I'm done with weapons and vehicles. After that, I'll jump into the NPC sections and work on creating the enemy agency in the book (which I am calling OSIRIS).

Lots on the plate, time to hit the ground running.... oh, and I need to work on the Goremont Grim some, and on both Tome of Tomes and Formula Folio. I need about another 70 or so tomes for a 2nd PDF product in that line, and about 20 or so formula for the 1st level product in that line.

Busy, busy... plenty to do.

Some Advanced Adventures Submission Guidelines

Below are a the three main templates I use in Advanced Adventures when dealing with monsters, NPCS, and new critters. If you're thinking about submitting a manuscript, I'd really like to have the below guidelines followed, but I'm not a stickler for it - if the module's good, I'll be glad to publish it. The below just helps me speed up the editing process. Let me repeat that part - I'm not *requiring* you to submit in the manner below, I'm requesting. I'd much rather have a good manuscript that I need to completely re-format than no manuscript at all.


Critters & NPCs: From the fairly simple to the more complex - these examples should cover most of the various options.

Ghouls (4) (SZ: M; AC 6; MV 90 ft.; HD 2; HP 8, 9, 12, 13; #AT 3; Dmg 1-3, 1-3, 1-6; SA Paralyzation; AL CE).

Stirges (5) (SZ: S; AC 8; MV 30 ft., flying 180 ft.; HD 1+1; HP 2, 4, 6, 7, 8; #AT 1; Dmg 1-2; SA Blood drain; AL CE).

Galblag, goblin leader: (SZ: S; AC 6; MV 60 ft.; HD 1; HP 8; #AT 1; Dmg 2-7 (pick) or 1-4 (sling); AL LE). Possessions: Footman’s pick, sling, 20 sling stones, two day’s goblin rations, waterskin, 6 gp, 12 sp.

Guardian Statue, hasted stone golem: (SZ: L; AC 5; MV 120 ft.; HD 60 hp; HP 60; #AT 2; Dmg 3-24, 3-24; SA slow; SD damaged only by +2 or better weapons, immune to most spells; AL NG)

Planatars (2): (SZ: L; AC -7; MV 150 ft., flying 480 ft., swimming 240 ft.; HD 144 hp; HP 144 each; #AT 3; Dmg by weapon +7; SA see monster description; SD see monster description; AL CG)

Chryseothrax, ancient red dragon: (SZ L, AC -1; MV 90 ft., 240 ft. flying, HD 11, HP 88, #AT: 3 Dmg 1-8, 1-8, 3-30; SA: Breath weapon and spell use, AL CE)

First: detect invisibility, phantasmal force
Second: blur, mirror image
Third: non-detection, spectral force
Fourth: improved invisibility, phantasmal killer

Drimmal Stonefist, 3rd-level dwarf Fighter: (SZ: S; AC 1; MV 60 ft.; HD 3, HP 26; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 +1; AL LG). He has a +1 to hit and +1 to damage due his strength. Possessions: battle axe +1, plate mail armor +1, potion of healing, shield, light crossbow, 20 quarrels, and 95 gp.

Momoko Yosida, female ogre 3rd-level Shaman (SZ L; AC 6; MV 120 ft.; HD 6; HP 30; #AT 2/1; Dmg ; 1-6; SA spells, ki speed (+3 to initiative for one round), ki maximization (1 spell at maximum effect), kung-fu; S 9, I 17, W 13, D 14, C 12, Ch 14; AL CE). Possessions: greatclub, harp of the white whale (see new magic items), ice cleats, ice ring, keys to area 12, area 15, and area 16, 112 gp. She has been granted the following spells:

First: cure light wounds, protection from good
Second: resist fire

Chief Flemin Ironfoot, 4th-level dwarf Fighter/ 3rd-level Cleric : (SZ: S; AC -2; MV 60 ft.; HD 6/3, HP 31; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 +1; AL LG). He has a +1 to hit to damage due his strength. Possessions: battle axe +1, plate mail armor +3, shield +1, potion of heroism, light crossbow, 20 quarrels, a golden chief necklace worth 450 gp and 65 gp. He has prayed for the following spells:

First: bless, command, cure light wounds, protection from evil
Second: hold person, slow poison, silence 15 ft. radius



New Monsters: This is the format I use - it is the same as that found in Malevolent & Benign.

MONSTER NAME

SIZE: Small (3 ft. wide)
MOVE: 60 ft., flying 240 ft. (AA: level II), climbing 120 ft.
ARMOR CLASS: 7
HIT DICE: 2+2
ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE: 1
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: None
MAGIC RESISTANCE: None
RARITY: Rare
NO. ENCOUNTERED: 2-20
LAIR PROBABILITY: 35%
TREASURE: In Lair: 1-12k cp (20%), 1-6k sp (30%), 1-4k ep (10%), 1-6 gems (25%), 1-3 jewelry (20%), any 2 magic items (10%)
INTELLIGENCE: Animal
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
LEVEL/X.P.: 4 / 230 + 2/hp

General information:

Languages:

Physical description:

Variants:

Sunday Un-Seriousness

Got my Big Book of Graph Paper!

Yeah, I know I made it myself, but I'm still happy to have exactly what I wanted. Now... to fill it in with map after map... Joy in the small things keeps one going.

XRP at North Texas RPG Con 2013

I just registered for NTRPG con. Suzi and I will be there at a table featuring our old-school rpg products. It'll be nice to meet the people we've missed and see all the people we already know. Things finally worked out on the timing issues and I'm looking forward to having fun!

In which a bad situation is illustrated...

Another 12 hours of sleep last night and I think I can say with certainty that I'm trying to fight off an illness. Well, after a breakfast of delicious breakfast tacos, I think I'm ready to face the day...

Below is another b&w by John Bingham... this one I like to humorously title... "Shit just got real, yo!" :-)

A nice B&W illustration by John Bingham

Here's an internal piece from The Riddle of Anadi. I'm a big fan of John's work...

Another non-resolution.... perhaps

I haven't quite decided that this is a good idea, but I've been toying with the idea of setting 1 hour a day away on personal business-related development. This would a dedicated time wherein I'm supposed to think about "game-related" and "business-related" issues and work on skills I use in the publishing biz, such as mapping and lay out.

I haven't yet decided to do this, but I'm leaning in that direction. I know I could end up improving my abilities (which would be a good thing), but I'm not sure I have the stomach to work on such nebulous "work."

I put "work" in quotation marks because if you're ever going to be your own boss for any length of time, you quickly learn to distinguish between real work and "work." Work ends up in a product that makes money - "work" is something done that seems like work, but isn't. It's easy to find yourself spending a lot of time "working" and little time working.

Not really a resolution...

I've been thinking a lot about the role a dungeon or adventure designer assumes in the play experience at the table created by the GM and the players and have come to the humbling conclusion that the designer is a lot like a writing utensil - a tool that exists only to make the GM's job easier. A GM chooses what tool to bring to the table (a pencil, a dry erase marker, a pen, a colored pencil, a grease pencil, The Mouth of the Shadowvein) based upon the needs of the game.

With that in mind, I've decided to try and become the Palomino Blackwing of old-school dungeons design pencils. If my utility is that of a pencil, I want to be a good one.

Not really a resolution, but something that I think should be consciously considered and integrated. A viewpoint to remember, IMO.

A New Year of Adventure!

It's a new year for the blog, so lets start out with a nice illustration done by Peter Mullen. Here's to a good year and to more adventure!