Norman "Mini-Con" Game Meet Up

March 30, 2012, 7:57 pm

We welcome our friends and fellow gamers to an open house "mini-con" to be held Saturday, April 28th at 4400 W. Main in Norman, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.

This event is being held in the community recreation hall of Canadian Shores Mobile Village which is just west of Sooner Mall on Main St. The Recreation hall is just inside the entrance of the community and has ample parking space. There will be tables with role playing games set up, board games, and general fellowship and recreation. Refreshments will be made available. We hope to connect players, have a great time, and do some serious gaming. You are invited! Whether you are new to gaming or an old hand, you will find a game for you!

Here are the planned games; please e-mail me at j.becker@inbox.com with the game you are interested in playing. Games will be open to late comers, inasmuch as is possible. Characters will be provided by the GM's, so all you have to do is show up, sit down and play!( First come first serve on characters…!)--

Justice Incorporated

Justice Incorporated is being hosted by game referee Steven Rycroft. Steve is a very experienced game master, I can tell you that from having sat in on several of his games. Justice Incorporated is a game based on the pulp fiction of the 20' s and 30's--masked heroes, hard boiled private eyes, ruthless gangsters, and occult horror. I don't know yet what kind of game Steve has up his sleeve--horror, mystery, vigilante or crime noir, but judging from past scenarios, I suspect it will be a very fun session. Steve's games tend to be very story based and fast paced.

Boot Hill (3rd Edition)

Brent Davis will be running a raucous game of 3rd Edition Boot Hill. Boot Hill is a role playing game of the Wild West--gunslingers, damsels in distress, gamblers, lawmen, outlaws and hang-em high judges. Play a character in one of America's early frontier towns when law and order came from the barrel of a gun and the landscape was as savage as the brave men and women who settle on it. Brent's games are also very story based and highly character driven--he is a most engaging GM and player and if a western fantasy is your kick you will get a good game!

Original Dungeons and Dragons

Yours truly will be conducting a good old fashioned game of OD&D--Original Dungeons and Dragons! This will be a medieval fantasy dungeon adventure using the very first set of D&D rules ever published in 1973. This is the game that started them all--even before 1st Edition Advanced D&D, , 3.5 or Pathfinder. Play a warrior, cleric or wizard. Perhaps an elf, dwarf or hobbit is to your liking as a character….brave a misty dungeon of long buried secrets that pits your wits and your sword( or spells)against traps, puzzles, tricks and monsters to win the fabulous treasure…an old school romp through dungeons as they were played by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson! Don't split the party!

Settlers of Catan

If you are more into exciting board games, try the Settlers of Catan, run by John!! Forget what you know about Monopoly or Sorry…Settlers is like no board game you've ever played. It is profoundly simple to play, but highly engaging and strategy based as you compete against other settlers to construct roads, hamlets, and towns on the land of Catan. Points begin to pile up as the settlers build but their secret event and power cards, carefully hidden and wisely used, can shake up the game in unexpected ways. You will trade resources cards with other players to get what you need to build your city, but someone who is your ally during one turn might be your toughest opponent the next! Victory never was so close….but come end of game, only the most determined will win!

So come out, meet new people, and play a game. E-mail me at j.becker@inbox.com for further information or to request a seat at a particular game. If you attend, please do drive carefully within our community as children are often at play. Hope to see you there!

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Article 3

August 23, 2012, 6:34 pm

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The Edgar Rice Burroughs Venus series has some tremendous material.

ERB is, of course, the creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars books, the latter being recently adapted to screen in the Walt Disney film "John Carter". His Venus books feature a swashbuckling hero named Carson Napier, an earth man who builds a rocket ship which crash lands on Venus and exposes Napier to so many adventures that the story makes Indiana Jones seem like a homebody.

While researching the Venus series online I discovered that a 2013 film based on the first book...Pirates of Venus...is supposedly underway via a certain Angelic Pictures.

I read "Pirates of Venus" and "Lost on Venus".

I absoultely loved it--it is cliffhanger page turner stuff with races, monsters and cultures that would inspire any DM. There is even a castle and city of re-animated corpses controlled telepathically by an evil prince on Venus...an undead army! Eat your heart out Romero.

Frankly, it is not as good as the John Carter of Mars series, being slightly less majestic and sweeping in it's panorama of a world. However, this is like saying that gold is not as good as platinum.

Be forewarned that the books have a whiff of ERB's politics here and there which, one can be sure, are not politically correct. There is an overt nod to the KKK in one chapter, and unmistakable praise for racialist scientific theories that were conventions of ERB's day.

This does not bother me in the least--the book was written in the 30's and during that period of American history... before expose journalism became vogue...the Klan enjoyed very widespread popularity and politicians routinely pandered to them if they wanted even a chance of being elected. Take in in the context of it's era and it would not be offensive to anyone in the least.

The chief antagonists of the books I read were "Thorists", Thorism being a very thinly veiled motif of Marxism. You can't read the first book and fail to guess what ERB thought about Marxism/Socialism...he hated it, obviously, and regarded it with all the horror of his American contemporaries.

If none of these things bother you (and they comprise mere sentences of the books) you will love the stuff! I read both books in two days and wished I lived on Amtor!

I think ERB's materials can be interpreted and re-interpreted for many years to come--and I imagine that when you watch a lot of sci fi TV and theater films of the 50's and 60's, you are probably getting treated by people who were heavily inspired by ERB and his counterparts.

All I can say is I hope that another ERB film goes off!

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Article 2

November 22, 2012, 8:04 pm

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This brief update is to keep my blog from being deactivated for inactivity. However, I have been at the designing table and do plan to resume blogging again. Hope everyone is having good times!

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Book Review: A Coffee Table Art Book You can Use For D&D

December 21, 2012, 6:01 pm

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While Christmas shopping in a bookstore yesterday I happened upon a very remarkable book in the young reader's section, a book entitled simply, "Fantasy; An Artist's Realm" written and illustrated by Ben Boos in 2010 and published by Candlewick Press. You can see the very striking image it has on the 9 x 12 embossed hardcover; that caused me to pick it up and flip through it, then read through it with interest. I managed to put it back on the shelf but when by chance my son and I returned to the same store in the evening I couldn't pass on it as it seemed a tool for any DM or the go-to book for any group with younger players or for introducing new players.

According the credits inside, the author did art for best selling video games whose titles are not specified. I am assuming it was conceptual art since every single one of the book's 83 pages are covered with beautiful, top quality fantasy painting illustrations by a highly skilled and trained artist. Monsters, arms and armor, magic items, and character types are all beautifully rendered and explained textually in such a way that if a new player at your game was unfamiliar with, say, the difference between chainmail and scale mail, or, what a hobgoblin looks like, you could just hand them the book.

The jewel of the illustrative collection of the book are the opening pages, which look like two ornate banded wooden doors; when you fold each side outward you are looking at a six-panel map of the world of Perigord. It is not to scale but is instead painted in an illustrative manner, like a mural. The Map conforms perfectly to all the central features of any good D&D campaign map: small world setting, wilderness and ruins areas, several fortresses and villages, and a teeming metropolis called the City of Galliene, complete with a Thieves Quarter, a bay gated by two shining pillars, and an army of Paladins.

Perigord provides a perfect ready start campaign setting, though you would need to flesh it out considerably. Younger players would probably be satisfied with it as is for an adventure environ. The text of the book reads almost like a Marco Polo style account furnished to people who might visit the realms, giving plenty of seed ideas to any DM or players for a campaign, and the beauty of is it that every different campaign would probably grow totally differently, because there's just enough information for a common starting place but enough empty spaces to fill with homebrew material.

It becomes quickly obvious to an old school games reader that the author has played Dungeons and Dragons; the character types depicted and explained in the book are the basic prototype classes from OD&D/AD&D; paladins, fighters, clerics, magic users, druids, and thieves. Think of the old "Gnomes" art books (if you're familiar with them) but about character classes and other fantastic creatures besides gnomes.

Elves and faeries, as well as Dwarves, are mentioned...but no Halflings. There are some beautiful paintings of Dwarven weapon and jewelry craft, as well as of the named magical Relic Swords of the Paladin Orders. There is a Minotaur race that shows the author's video game parentage, as does as a City of the Dead in Perigord named...what else..the Necropolis...and populated by intelligent and semi-civilized Undead.

There are dozens of locales on the Map which could be adventure sites that would entertain a gaming group for months…ruins and labyrinths and such. Hobgoblins are to Perigord what Orcs are to Middle earth and there is some very interesting material detailing Hobgoblin culture, society, arms and armor, and racial variations. Giants feature as a very common dilemma for the realms, either as impetuous and troublesome neighbors to keep pacified by any means possible or else as nearly unbeatable foes to try and defend against when they become angry. There is an entire bestiary of faery and fell races to furnish any curious mind with the basics of such beings and their relationship to the game. The Thieves Guild includes an order of female rogues known as the Shadowmaidens who serve the kings of Galliene as spies and burglars of enemies. There is a city on a hill accessible only by a secret mountain entrance…a city known as Skellig where nearly all magic users go to learn their art or gather lore. There are many such potential campaign nuggets scattered all throughout the text. One neat gem is the depiction of a dark tower outisde the Necropolis called mysteriously the Tower of Seryu....throughout the book there are a few cryptic allusions to the Tower and a growing dark power emanating from it but no hard data--meaning you, the DM can fit the Tower and the name Seryu into your game in a wholly original manner.

In fact, the entire book feels and reads like a role playing game…but without any rules. The setting, with its maps, grimoires, and bestiaries, can be plugged right into any D&D system old or new in about 20 minutes. And I intend to do just that. I know players who enjoy high fantasy will be thrilled... picture sitting in a tavern with a Minotaur on one side of you and an dwarf on the other, nonchalantly drinking together. In Perigord, a Minotaur in a tavern will stand out--he will be noticed and probably inspire some uneasiness in most--but he will not be an entirely strange sight in the cities of men. That fact gives you an idea of the flavor of the setting. The tree palace shown on the cover is of course an Elven architecture.

I just wanted to let D&D players know about this treasure--even with no relation to the game it would be a very great read to give as a gift to a younger reader who likes art and has an imagination. If nothing else, you will pull ideas from it and enjoy the art. One of my favorite illustrations inside is a two page panel of a Paladin dueling a demon armed with a wicked vorpal sword. Some of the art looks like very realistic acrylic or water color painting and other parts look like colored medieval woodcuts, like the demon vs. the Paladin. There is a two panel realistic painting of a sylvan healing woman playing her guitar by a pond or stream that is very reminiscent of the work of John William Waterhouse. . And the detailed border work the artist comes up with looks like the metal works adorning old illuminated manuscripts or carvings bedecking the treasure items of an ancient king. They are painted in a manner that almost looks 3-D, real illusions.

There is even a two panel map with text of a maga-dungeon in the form of an example of the Minotaur subterranean cities!

I scoured the Internet for images of the book's interior and couldn't find any but I did find an old blog apparently published by the author/illustrator. It's here:

http://benjaminboos.blogspot.com/

Hopefully you can find this tome and add it to your gaming shelf--it's a real keepsake.

Thanks for reading!

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June 13, 2013, 4:51 am

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New Dungeon content coming soon...The Overlords of the Sunken Temple!

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Article 0

December 14, 2013, 11:38 am

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Hello again and Happy Holidays friends.

The weblog has not been active for some time and I considered letting it lapse but new creative things are afoot as well as positive life changes and I would like to maintain a gaming blog again.

For one thing, I have been working on new and different material for soon publication. We have play tested several dungeons and campaign settings that may be of interest to other gamers. There is some original art being created as well, both my own and some by my very talented son.

I have not decided whether or not to retool Mazes or to create a new weblog.

If I continue with the Forbidden Mazes, it may undergo a thorough restoration, new paint and body, maybe even a brand new engine.

I have met a wonderful woman whom I admire very much and it happens that she has recently self-published the first novel in a series she is currently working on.

K. Ito released her novel The Prison Blade this past October. Blade is the first installment of a series entitled simply Shadows and Light.

The next update to this weblog will be a review of her novel--I am still reading the very attractive print copy she graciously gave me. I will probably offer to send this copy around to some of you other web journal authors who are interested in reviewing the book. I will also be posting information on how to obtain print copies and PDF's of her story.

Ms. Ito is a very able and busy writer. I am enjoying the book, and as a preview I can tell you it is fine fantasy with definite romantic and operatic themes. I think it would definitely have very good appeal among female readers of the genre who also enjoy historical romances as so far The Prison Blade seems to read very much like a historical piece--with the caveat that is fantasy, not "real" history.

The tale follows the life of a young elvish noble woman...Orielle of Verindii... whose childhood has a somewhat tragic beginning when the curiosity of both herself and her brother towards things magical leads to the handling of a dangerous and forbidden relic of old--the Prison Blade. The Prison Blade is a magic sword containing the soul of a half human, half divine entity named Everie, a dark and mysterious spirit begotten by the dark gods of old who lie imprisoned beneath the great city of Torindii, held fast by ancient spells of the Elf Lords. Everie became trapped in the sword centuries ago and possesses Orielle when she is but a child after she impetuously breaks the wards that bind the sword within it's magic scabbard. Everie possesses Orielle; her only salvation lies in a magic bracelet and rings of her brother Kye's creation. Powerful runes on the ornament allow Orielle to maintain her own spirit and personality in the face of Everie's dominance, albeit at the cost of her people believing her insane. Can she maintain her will against the dark ambitions of Everie, who would see the old gods released from their exile? And can she ever be free from his possession, free to love the man of her dreams, a young prince who believes in Orielle in spite of the dark mystery surrounding her?

I told you chicks will dig it! And I'm digging it too--review to come!

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April 1, 2014, 10:47 am

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Greetings friends, gamers and webtravelers. I always have the best of intentions in getting the Mazes up and going again but life has been busy of late.

I do have some content to upload and will try to do so after tax season.

We have enjoyed a very long campaign with a very eclectic gaming group for the last nine months or so, and I say eclectic because it has a diverse mix of game experience and ages. Our youngest player is nine, we have a preteen boy, a teen aged girl, and several middle aged folks. So it has been very interesting from that vantage.

It has also been loads of fun and I have been working for over a year now on the material in the hopes I can soon offer a simple set of rules and a campaign module.

Now I'm kind of hungry to play some Tekumel!

A keeper for me from this campaign is an innovation I introduced to deliver myself from the headaches DM's face sometimes in mediating party relations, decision making and treasure sharing: The Thane.

The Thane is basically the party Caller for those who know what that is, as well as the official party leader and final arbiter of party decisions and treasure distribution. In the setting, it is a warrior culture and the Thane can be challenged only under four conditions that must all take place:

1. By right of arms in a non-lethal duel, though deaths can occur accidentally.

2.Only if the Challenger has at least half of the party's support.

3. The duel can only be fought at the beginning of each of the four major seasonal festivals.

4. It is nonmagical. Wizards must have a stand in.

With the Thane protocol in place, I am effectively removed from all party squabbles, any people not happy with leadership must contend for it and have some support, and if trouble does arise, it is settled in a game scenario during festival.

Drawbacks are obvious, but this has eliminated disputes over magic items and treasure in our games. It has also eliminated endless dithering over choices and path decisions. Liberty is given at times under certain conditions to not follow the Thane's edicts but you cannot try to sway others.

Give it a try if you are having problems in this area (and all groups see this from time to time, it's only human!)

Peace and good games.

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June 1, 2014, 9:51 am

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Book Review and Author Interview: Sally K. Ito's The Prison Blade

The Mazes have been quiet of late, but there's no better way to get the quill flowing again than for me to introduce the first book in a fantastic swords and swords series that is well underway by an author I feel very privileged to know!

Sally K. Ito is a librarian in Central Oklahoma who self-published her debut book The Prison Blade in October of last year. The Prison Blade is the first tale in a series she is writing entitled Shadows and Light.

I was very pleased to receive a print copy of her novel and I truly enjoyed reading it. I am happy to recommend it to readers of this blog as well as travelers in the various gaming forums I frequent, because while just about anyone who loves swords and sorcery will probably enjoy the Prison Blade, it will resonate especially with the old school gaming community since Ms. Ito is a life long D&D player who has played the game in it's earliest editions and traces of the aura of the gaming table are quite discernible in the Prison Blade.

The Prison Blade opens with a young princess and her brother excusing themselves from wedding festivities in the Palace of Verindii to enter a forbidden reliquary in the vaults where powerful and dangerous magic relics are stored in safekeeping. Orielle and her younger brother Kye, a boy with innate talent as a mage, are captivated by the legendary artifacts they find, but by none so much as the Prison Blade, a mysterious sword sealed by spell craft in an ornate but ominous scabbard. The two know the legend of the Prison Blade; how one of their ancestors saved the realms from devastation by imprisoning within the sword the spirit of a being half mortal, half divine, named Everie. Oreille is compelled irresistibly to draw the sword; having some magical talents herself she overcomes the locking rune on the scabbard and looses the Prison Blade, just to have a look. Curiosity proves perilous indeed as the demi-god attains a measure of freedom and also power over the young princess.

The book moves from this scene into the events of the life of Orielle many years after her fateful choice, laying the foundation for the series of catalysts that will unfold to determine both her destiny and the destiny of her kingdom, and whether the Light can outshine the Shadows or the old, dark gods instead prevail. One of the most fascinating and original elements of the Prison Blade is the unique symbiotic relationship between Everie and Orielle through the magic of the blade, and how Kye's enchantments have created an uneasy balance between the young woman Orielle's will and the greedy and destructive will of Everie. Since this drama and the unfolding nature of those enchantments form a large part of the plot I will not spoil enjoyment of it for the reader and will simply state that it is one of the most intriguing and original concepts for a magic swords that I have ever seen, making matters like the soul and the strength of the human spirit in resisting evil real themes in the Prison Blade.

Ms. Ito has joined us to talk about her book and answer some questions about this great series. Her answers and comments are italicized.

Tell us about your novel. What sort of stories and characters can a reader expect in the
Shadows and Light series?

It's sword and sorcery, full of epic battles and struggles of good and evil, and also some
fun and silliness. It's very character driven while being largely plot-based. I like to
throw challenges in my characters' paths and see what they'll do, so a lot of the story
highlights their personalities, and draws a clearer picture of each character while the
story keeps moving and the plot unfolds.

Tell us about Orielle, the Mad Lady of Verindii, your conflicted protagonist.

I think some people who like strong female leads my be disappointed with her at first.
She does begin the book considering herself powerless. She thinks of herself as Everie's
pawn and expects her brothers to take care of her, not much for girl power beyond
complaining. But that's really what the story's about. Orielle is in a nearly impossible position. She
is outmatched by nearly everyone around her, and it's only when she has to make a choice
that she realizes she can, and she finally finds the strength that is hers.

The book's title comes from the magical sword which is the catalyst of the epic events
that unfold in Orielle's life and provides to the reader an extremely compelling character
in the personality of the soul within the blade. Tell us about the Prison Blade and
Everie, its inhabitant.

Everie is shown to be evil from the beginning of the story. His plan was to steal Orielle's
body and live again, and it wasn't because of any kindness on his part that she was
spared.
Yet it's easy to forget he is a villain. He's Orielle's constant companion, and, in a way,
her only friend. He is elegant, attractive, and even helpful from time to time, and
Orielle struggles to remind herself that he cannot be trusted and that the power he
sometimes uses to protect her could just as easily destroy her.
His goals are unclear and his indifference to the suffering of others obvious, but the
past he hides so carefully may hold more than just the history of a monster.

The Prison Blade imprisons Orielle in a different way than it does Everie, doesn't it?

They are both trapped by the enchantment that binds Everie's soul to Orielle's body.
It is a new life for Everie, a step along the road of immortality. It was not supposed to
be a trap. But he never intended to have the company of the original soul of any body he
posessed. Everie is caught with Orielle in her body and forced to look at the world
through her eyes, an experience he doesn't at all appreciate.

For Orielle the prison is far more extensive. Her thoughts and feelings are all exposed to
him. She knows no peace or privacy. After so much time with him she doesn't even know who
she is alone. She has never had a real life or friendships. Everie is the stronger, and he
makes all the choices for the body they share.

You wrote the Prison Blade over many years--tell us about your writing process.

I actually started it ten years ago. At first I wrote simply for fun. I sent the story
chapter by chapter to a friend just because she enjoyed it, but when I finished I realized
I really had a fun story here and gave it to others to read.

I have changed things extensively due to the commentary of others. I'm not naturally a
writer, just a storyteller, and it took a lot of criticism to get it into a proper
structure.

I am very lucky to have a family that was interested in assisting in the process. I have
had help with all sorts of editing--I think my sister is one of the best editors ever if
you can manage not to be sensitive.

I think I'm pretty good about not taking things personally. I just want to make the story
better. I doubt more than a third of it is actually the original writing.

Your writing style is more narritive and storytelling based than descriptive, isn't it?

It is. And I really feel more like a storyteller than a writer. For me it's not about the
words and the art of writing. I can appreciate beautiful writing and clever word use, but
I write to let my characters live and to get my story told. I have a habit of skipping
through books I've read before, looking for the good parts, the exciting bits and the
entertaining conversations, and that's basically what I've written, a good parts
version--or at least I hope so.

How much of your D&D gaming comes out in your writing?

I've been tempted to call my book gamer fantasy. I really feel like my world could just be
a big RPG. I use the flashy magic everybody loves, and the enchanted weapons, and even the
same sort of epic monsters you might run across gaming.

I love the setting. The city of Torindii and the manner and customs of Orielle's time and space very much evoke the Renaissance cities. And yet the book has such a definite flavor of Japanese mythology in it as well. I was impressed at how neatly you blended these.

Torindii does feel Italian; I'm glad you noticed that. Italy is really the core of the
high renasance for me, and I wanted to have the feeling of that sort of sophistication for
the capital, but I do see what you mean about the Japanese elements as well. The Japanese
wasn't really intentional, except that I lived in Japan and was watching lots of anime
when I wrote the rough draft.

I like the speed of anime and manga and picked that up intentionally, but looking back I
can see that my characters, especially my villains, have a Japanese edge. There're a lot
of pride and loyalty issues that I might have dealt with a little differently if I had
never had that exposure.

I think it makes my book a little more unique, with just a slightly different flavor from
most sword and sorcery fantasy.

You don't spare readers when it comes to showing the dark. Is that why you call your
series Shadows and Light?

Sort of. I was really thinking of Orielle living constantly surrounded by both shadows and
light and also of Everie's sort of fluctuating loyalties.

I think the horror has to be there though because I want the conflict to be real. I want
readers to understand that this is a fight that has to be won because the alternative is
unthinkable. I also want the danger to be clear. There is a very real chance for
failure--and honestly, one of my biggest struggles is giving my heroes a fighting chance.

How much of a part do the gods and goddesses play in the tale?

Well, Everie is the son of a dark god, as is the Nameless One, but their father does not
activly appear in the story.
But there are prophecies and destinies and once I even have Lyaru appeal to and recieve
help from a goddess.
I plan to involve them more, but at the same time, I really think more Greek gods than
all-powerful gods, and in the end the story is a human struggle.

When will your second book be ready for readers and what is the title?

I plan to release the next book this summer. I'm still working on the title--for some
reason, for me, that's one of the hardest parts.
Tell us how to buy your book.

It is available on Amazon as both a paperback and an e-book. It is also available from the
Apple store and Barnes and Noble. I have a website at www.kitostories.com where you can
find some extra content and a few other works I have in progress.

Ms. Ito, thanks so much for taking the time to talk about your novel!

I would like to add as a final note that the printed copies of Ms. Ito's book are very sturdy with a beautiful glossy finish on a cover decorated by a very simple but beautiful original illustration of the Prison Blade. It's book store quality and at very affordable price. I wholeheartedly recommend this great tale!

JB

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R.P.G. Project in the Works: "Secrets of the Mistwater"

June 14, 2014, 2:45 pm

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"Secrets of the Mistwater"

A Complete "Sandbox" Campaign for Levels 1-12

Having It's Own Rule System or Compatible

With Any Fantasy Role Play System

I am currently working upon the manuscript and maps for publication of the campaign which I have Dungeon Mastered for my players for the last year, tentatively entitled "Secrets of the Mistwater".

This will be a complete campaign setting with a large City Map, a Towne map, several villages and settlements, an "Outdoor" Map, and no less than six dungeon locales. It will feature all original art, some of which is complete as I write, and will be a "sandbox adventure" in the truest sense of the word.

It is a challenge but I am attempting to add several design elements to this book which I hope will make it a welcome tool to any seasoned Game Master and his or her players as well as to novice players.

One of these ideas is a complete set of simple rules that allows anyone who purchases the game to play it "as-is" without buying any other rule set. I have the rules system written and will not preview it yet but it is less than ten pages and will decidedly favor "rules light" playing. However, the creatures and treasures will be familiar enough that any system like D&D can be used.

Another feature I am building into the game is that each dungeon locale will have a keyed map that has alternate encounters depending on the level of the player characters when they actually enter that dungeon. I struggled with how to make the map truly open and not railroad players in a certain direction, because I really wanted the party to be able to go anywhere they wanted at any time.

Normally, this would lead to trouble if they decided to explore a ruin that was beyond their level of skill or ability. As a veteran DM, I'm well aware of the methods one can use to discourage a group from entering an area but I did not want the "Mistwater" campaign to use these methods--I wanted the players to feel they could go in any direction fate or choice led them so that it would unfold naturally.

The solution I came up with at this point was to have a dungeon key for each map that provided different monsters and treasure that a DM could choose from dependent upon the power level of the adventuring party at the time they enter the ruin. I call this the "Level Neutral Dungeon Approach." Basically there will be a room description that will be the same for any adventuring party but below this a list of encounters. with treasure, that will match the level of the Party.

The Devil will be, of course, in the details, and I'm still working it out right now. Feedback is therefore much appreciated, reader!

The real challenge as I see it is to not let the dungeon map and encounters become too generic, and to ensure that story flow is kept. As an example, if the players are to visit an ancient barrow that is a reputed haunt of the undead--if they decide to visit it at 1st level, there will of course be skeletons and zombies and similar monsters. But let us say they decide not to go there until much later in the saga--any map I had designed for 1st level players will be useless at that point. With a "Level Neutral Dungeon" key, I have stats for undead monsters much more commensurate with the level of the party when they finally do arrive...mid level parties might encounter wights where a higher level party would meet a vampire.

Now there will still be some areas clearly marked "Don't Come here Till You Can Kick Some Ass", but only two, and part of the mounting tension of the campaign will be players getting to a place where they feel ready to brave the ultimate lair. But for the most part, a DM running this book will have at his or her fingertips at all times the preparation for any course of action the players may choose.

There will also be XP awards for "Quest Objectives", so that sessions that involve mostly role playing can help level up characters as much as dungeoneering.

The campaign is a locale within my larger, private world of Rysanthis--it will include world setting material such as holidays, customs, culture, and calendar, as well as major myths and known legend. However, this will be inserted in such a way as to either be of easy use to the DM or set aside in favor of his or her preferred setting. If the campaign setting is well received, I may begin work on an atlas of Rysanthis as a published setting.

The Rysanthian setting is one I invented about six years ago and have been playing with ever since. I originally created it as a realm to introduce my kids, then 11 and 12, to fantasy gaming. It was also to be the setting for some stories I began to write but did not finish...life and work intervened, alas.

Some Rysanthian differences are race, culture, and magic. In Rysanthis as I envisioned it, I created my own races and did not use any Tolkienish patterns. I was inspired by a little of everything from Tekumel to Sci Fi and sword and sandal flicks, not to mention my own readings in myth, magick, and lore. In Secrets of the Mistwater, since most will be coming from a D&D or LOTR fantasy background, I make exception so that the campaign will be compatible with D&D. I did this with my AD&D campaign that the Miswater locale was originally played by, but added the caveat that in Rysanthis is that magic comes from a source which only the Faery races can use and not be corrupted. All magic use by humans is considered "Dark Arts" and is Dragon Magic. leading to evil alignment. But the Elves have a different psyche and spiritual relationship to Illuvion, the central Deity of the Rysanthian setting, and so can use magic without being turned to the dark side and falling under the "Dragonspell".

So, in this setting, a party would have clerics or warriors/paladins of Illuvion and his Temple but no human magic users. However, I do plan to make this optional and set up the module so that straight D&D can be played to one's content.

And what of the themes of the Mistwater campaign? I can promise lots of adventure, perfected by having run a very skilled group of players through this campaign. There is a deposed King who has gone missing with an heir who lurks somewhere within the environs of the Mistwater, a great fresh water lake with many ancient secrets. There is an ancient elven ruin unashamedly based upon Tolkien's Menegroth with plenty of peril and gold to whet the appetites of any party of adventurers. There is intrigue and betrayal within the Temple of Illuvion, the subterfuge of the Dragon Cultists, the oppression of the people by the tyranny of a despotic Overlord and his evil sorceress Queen. There are many ancient relics whose magic will tip the balance of power. There is a mysterious and forbidden isle where the forgotten past of Rysanthis is revealed. Encounters with angels and avatars, the testing of the moral fiber of any lawful party (the setting is geared towards lawful or neutral groups), visions and stronghold building--I have aimed at this setting having it all!

I have a great deal of material already written and will be finishing it up by the Fall I hope.

And as usual, I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Article 0

June 18, 2014, 4:24 pm

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Movie Watch: Shazam! 2016

F.M.o.t.J. is focused upon old school fantasy gaming but I had to share this in case there were any other old Captain Marvel fans who, like yours truly, look forward to the possibility that this will become more than a rumor and that 2016 will indeed include a premiere of a decent and respectable movie chronicling the origins and exploits of my first favorite Superhero.

http://screenrant.com/warner-bros-dc-movie-schedule-justice-league-shazam-flash-green-lantern/

Though I seldom read comics anymore, and though when I do I tend to go in for miniseries and black and white short runs or graphic novels, I still remember fondly the huge hardcover volume of the early issue reprints of this supremely FUN series that Ma got me for Christmas one year.

It was very zany and fun reading! Captain Marvel was a different sort of superhero--a disabled young newspaper carrier who ekes out a bare survival on the mean city streets by day and sleeps in the train tunnels at night, Billy Batson by name, stumbles upon a forgotten vault under the city that is filled with weird, ancient statues depicting the seven deadly sins and which contains a chamber with a stone seat flanked by braziers. When he lights the braziers to see and get warm, the spirit of an ancient and noble wizard named Shazam is summoned, who confers upon Billy a secret word which when uttered transforms him into a superman.

The word is Shazam, of course, and is an acronym for the names of the Greek gods and other ancient luminaries, each letter of the magic word being the initial of a deity or Wiseman who lends his powers to Billy. Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury respectively.

One of the most amusing things about the magic word was that if Captain Marvel could be tricked into saying it accidentally, he would revert back to Billy Batson again, so his arch nemesis, Dr. Sylvana, a truly creepy and archetypical made scientist was forever trying to get him to say it so that he could bind and gag Billy Batson before the news carrier could utter it again. Of course Billy would get loose and say Shazam and deliver an iconic uppercut to the bald crackpot.

The art style was very cartoonish, although there was a period in the comic's early days that it had an excellent artist at the helm and some fair writing, though I'm hanged if I can remember any names associated with the series. There was, as with Superman, a family of Captain Marvel protégés who came along and their origins are as interesting as his own. There was also an ancient Egyptian magician of the most despotic sort who traveled to our time and set himself up as Black Adam, one of the most interesting super villains of all my comic reading. The whole comic had a tinge of occult seasoning that was harmless but gave it a uniqueness.

I was also an avid watcher of the Saturday morning TV series (along with Isis...) which was great fun.

I hope it does indeed pan out and that it's a good flick. I know the world's messed up, but that's why we need a good story once in awhile.

I won't tell you whether or not as a very little kid I actually tried uttering the magic word, thinking maybe if I believed in it hard enough I would become Captain Marvel...if I did do that, it would have made me one weird little kid....I would have been even weirder if I'd made a white cape to wear with my Captain Marvel pajamas and run around the block pretending to knock out super villains and crooks. So I won't tell you if I did that either.

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Obscure Items on My Shelf Review: Martin Hackett's "Fantasy Gaming"

June 26, 2011, 11:00 pm

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Author: Martin Hackett
Publisher: Sutton Press, 2007
Large Paperback, 266 Pages
No Longer in Print.

Fantasy Gaming as a Book

Fantasy Gaming is an intensely interesting read that combines fantasy role playing rules with miniatures war gaming mechanics, along with a very great beginner's guide to the hobby. There is even advice on painting miniatures and creating scenery.

A medium sized volume with a very durable cover and large print on glossy pages, the book is profusely illustrated with evocative photographs of painted miniatures and terrain. One of the best is a photograph of Hackett's model of the Battle of the Five Armies that is quite remarkable, with it's mock up of the gate of the Dwarf Kings in the Misty Mountain and the river that issues out of it and flows across the plains below with the armies standing around it. Truly awesome, as you can see:

The Armies Assemble Beneath the Misty Mountain (Click for larger View)

Here is a close up of the Five Armies, battling away. Dwarves and Elves fight together against the vicious Wargs as goblins advance:

As you can see, Mr. Hackett is a talented model builder with a great attention to detail.

The Rules

As for the rules themselves, I can't say much regarding the war gaming rules as I as a DM have yet to run a true "war game" on my table, other than skirmishes, and when I do, I will be using my copy of "Chainmail". Hackett's mechanics seem, upon my single reading of them, to be quite sufficient and logical if one wanted to use them and include complete Army Lists to get you started right away.

On to the fantasy role playing rules. If I were to summarize them in a nutshell I would say they are at about the complexity level of Moldvay/Cook Expert D&D Rules but with much closer attention paid to medieval social order and culture.

The rules fit a Tolkien-esque setting fused with real Dark Ages history and Hackett appears to use a setting based on feudal Europe...for example he has a village of Shrewsbury. The non human player character races are Halfling, Dwarf, and Elf. There are no character classes but rather it is skill based, with your skills being partly determined by education which is based on social order. Social status is the result of a random roll.

There are no detailed skill lists, rather simply broad headings such as Flora, Fauna, Craft, Fighting Ability, etc. One flaw of the rules is that no detailed guidelines are provided as to how players gain skills under these categories. The best I can make of it is that you attempt to do a thing in the course of the game, using the base chance that falls under the related skill heading, if you succeed you get better at it. So you would write action down under the appropriate Skill heading and keep track of it from then on.

The mechanics are percentile based only, except for weapon damage and spell effect dice which use the other polyhedral dice. You begin with a base percentage in a set of broad skill areas related to your natural physical and mental abilities and each time you successfully use them, you gain 1 action point. When you reach 50 A.P. in a given field, you go up 1% in your percentage chance. It is a relatively simple system.

Magic is based on a power points system with a list of some 300 spells and many of the spells, while very brief in their descriptions, are interesting variations of standard D&D spells. A very good number are specifically written as to be of use in large scale table top battles by means of the war gaming rules.

What I Don't Like About It

There is little more difference between playing a Dwarf, Elf or halfling character than there is in playing a human character, other than some adjustments to your attributes and skills. They have no listed racial abilities, such as Darksight or Infravision. It would be easy enough for a DM to house-rule these in, though.

If played precisely by the rules, Character Generation is totally random. You have no idea what you are going to be (which I suppose could be interesting but try getting players to go for it) and if you want a spell caster or thief type character, you must get lucky with the dice. Again, the DM could house-rule this part out and let you choose a spell caster, and Hackett even mentions this, but this would negate the use of the very elaborate social class tables which to me, are the most interesting part of the game.

What I Do Like About It

Aside from the rules, it is a beautiful book in it's own right and a great introduction to miniatures for people wanting to get into painting and modeling or just adding minis to their game if they've never done so.

As for the rules, the aforementioned social status tables are the most comprehensive I have ever seen and even if you did not use Hackett's percentage based system, any DM could make use of them in his campaign with any set of rules. There are a number of rolls that gradually narrow it down. It goes into detail with royal and court titles, administrative occupations, craftsmen, and religious, magical and military orders on down to, of course, serfs and criminal types.

This is another notable feature. If an Illegal type character has been determined, there is a fairly comprehensive list of interesting and felonious type skills and tricks. Aside from the usual pick pocketing and stealthy movement and hiding, there are skills like escaping bonds, throwing one's voice, disguise, conceal items on person, and feigning death. Neat stuff.

The magical orders are very interestingly detailed, and there are four such Orders: Natural (Druidic), Necromantic (Evil Wizard), Psychological (Good Wizard), and Religious (Clerical). Out of the very lengthy spell list, there are some spells which can be cast by any spell caster but a large number can be cast only by members a certain Order. The PC is somewhat answerable to his Order to a dgeree to be determiend by the individual DM since this is not detailed and only implied. A non-spell caster can join a magical order but it is very difficult and costly and they will never be as powerful as spells casters who began the game as such.

Another great things about the rules is the exhaustive and minutely detailed equipment, weapons, and items lists, which would fit perfectly into any D&D campaign. Lists can include such things as herb types, gaming cards, mining pans, individuality clothing pieces, lodging and even equestrian gear in additon the usual weapons and armor listings. The monetary system is based on real medieval coinages such as florins, groats pennies, shillings, Sovereigns, etc.

Another thing in the game's favor is that it is highly mutable and you could easily add material to it for customizing it to taste without seriously changing any core rules.

Finally, what I like best about Fantasy Gaming is that it is one stop shopping. You hold in your hands all the rules you will ever need for a campaign that can include ample war gaming if you so desire. The tables are neatly set up for ease of play and you are given a sample adventure (which is rather tepid in my opinion) to show how to construct a scenario. I think a beginning DM would find this set of rules rather easy to use once he digested them.

Summary

Overall Martin Hackett's "Fantasy Gaming" belongs on your shelf, if nothing else then for the good medieval source material. It would give you a lot of good ideas. I'm glad I have my two copies (one was bought for the players to consult), and they are still widely available online and very cheaply at that. I have read reviews of this game in the past where some people have disparaged the rules and Mr. Hackett and made all kinds of fun of the book, which I personally find unreasonable as they are very playable rules from a person who deeply loves the hobby and who seems to have a real desire to introduce new players. Think of it as a professionally produced "Hombrew" system.

I have not ruled out running a game based on these rules. Four Stars!

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Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons; Intitial Thoughts

August 28, 2014, 4:12 pm

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On Saturday nights I catch a D&D game with my fiancé and her family.

I will admit to having joined the game so I can sit at the side of my most favorite beautiful creature and touch her leg under the table, but that doesn't mean I don't thoroughly enjoy the other company and the game itself.

Her brother DM'ed for the longest time and then one of his high school buddies took over and both were running Pathfinder. Both proved excellent DMs and introduced me to great new styles of play.

I took some ribbing about this from a few of my fellow gamers because I had long affected a jaded attitude towards anything but Old School versions of the game, my favorites being Tekumel, Basic D&D (Holmes version) and 1st edition AD&D.

I had long resisted these friends' attempts to enlist me in a Pathfinder campaign, but love conquers all. I did shed some of my prejudices against Pathfinder, although after many months I can state unequivocally that I still prefer the relic systems--like priceless artifacts of ancient magical power, they have the same shine to me they did when I first played them as a gawky 13 year old kid.

Anyway, my love light's game group has now decided to switch to 5th Edition. I've only played in one episode thus far so I have only about four hours play from the basic starter set to base my initial opinions on.

I must say I liked it.

I think it had a very old school feel to it. What stuck out to me most was the abundance of material provided to facilitate role playing--lots of character background info and motivations and quest objectives built into your first level character. I was glad to see that as a focus.

I played a fighter named Felhaus--I don't often play fighters, but wanted something easy and simple.

I came up with the name but the prepared character sheet for Felhaus had noted his places of origins, parentage, life history, weaknesses, motives and a quest objective to revenge himself on a wayward dragon.

This is good. If a person totally new to these kind of games picks up these books, I think they will have a better grasp on the original spirit of the D&D game than fresh players of the latter editions. I don't see the new edition leaning on feats and powers so much as on roleplaying.

Seems a little less like a free shopping spree in a candy store and more like the story based, character driven game I love.

System wise, it played very well and felt somewhat old school. I don't really have much to say about the mechanics as I had almost no time to digest them--it played like Pathfinder but with a lot less formula and factoring, but then, we were first level. Our Pathfinder campaign ended at 20th level and I don't like the endless bookwork and formulation every single player seems to have to engage in every single round.

I hope 5th Edition doesn't end up the same way at upper levels. Still, I did enjoy the game and would not be adverse to playing it again...though I still favor the original game and probably always will.

Kudos to those who worked on the game--this edition does seem to have some thought and care put into what sort of a game experience it will provide and not to simply throw out yet another pile of glossy book covers, endless reams of ink, and garish illustrations to make a quick buck on the unsuspecting masses.

I will say of some games that their producers do with D&D what the hip hop group Atmosphere said some rappers do with that musical genre in their song "Trying to Find a Balance":

"Wait, let's prey on the blind, deaf, dumb, dead
Hustle, maybe a couple will love what you said;
MC's drag their feet across a big naked land
With an empty bag of seeds and a fake shake of hands."

I'm not a rap fan much at all but I know a good lyric when I see it and must admit that if toy companies let marketing and advertising execs mess with D&D, it has kind of the same effect.

5th edition seems to have some true gamer love in it's development and it came through.

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October 7, 2014, 9:06 am

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Night of the Death Cult

Fantasy Horror Scenario

Classic and cult horror films are a lonely pleasure of mine; almost no one among my family or friends appreciates them, and my fiancé doesn't care for horror of any kind (except for yours truly), so I usually watch them alone with a glass of wine and some cheap compilation discs. I have loved these kind of films since childhood, and confess an especial fondness for sixties and seventies Italian and Spanish creep cinema. It was while watching the Night of the Death Cult (properly titled Night of the Seagulls at the Internet Movie Database) that I realized what a great one to three session scenario for a Dungeons and Dragons game that the movie would make.

The above movie still is actually from the Tombs of the Blind Dead (1971), the forerunner to Night of the Death Cult (1975), and apparently there are other loosely related films featuring these same skeletal Knights Templars who, by means of ancient pagan blood rites, prolong their existence from medieval times until the 1970's in the Old World countryside near the ruins of an ancient keep and sleepy nameless villages. Silent, slow moving, shrouded in black hermetic robes and bearing ancient swords, these monsters look every part St. Tolkien's Nazgul.

The films can only be loosely related because there is little real plot in Tombs and there is no story connection between the features...it seems it was more a matter of getting as many movies as possible out of these costumes and the spooky shooting environs. In terms of art (I use the world liberally), the real magic of the films for me is the very surreal and horrifying images of the undead knights venturing forth from crumbling crypts across the misty moors or upon lonely moonlit shores. Usually filmed at night and with slow motion, they do leave an impression on the midnight movie watcher. Both films contain some cheap gore and mild nudity, although Tombs is much more sexually charged and is as much meant to be erotica as horror. Both are the work of Amando de Ossorio. Both are to be valued for their atmospheric dream like palettes rather than any ingenious scripting, acting, or production values, especially since the versions I watched were dubbed very badly.

Why do I want to run a scenario based on Night of the Death Cult? Because, it has everything a good D&D game wants!

A young doctor and his wife travel into the Spanish country side to take over the practice of an elderly village doctor who has abruptly closed shop and wants to get the hell out of town. He is friendly to them as he departs but full of cryptic warnings. Upon arriving, the couple find a sea side village out of time where the people are as mysterious and impregnable as the ruins of the forbidding keep which lies not far from town. No one wishes to talk or have anything to do with the newcomers and the puzzled newlyweds are told frankly to go away...but of course, they don't listen, not least because the idealistic physician feels he has a duty to the backward place to bring medical care. They are befriended by a strange young woman, native to the village, whom they take in as a servant and also by the hapless village idiot, a mentally deranged but harmless and pitiable middle aged man with the demeanor of a young child and who suffers perpetual cruelty from the hard hearted village folk.

The couple is warned that they are restricted by a curfew applying only to them and cautioned not to travel abroad by night for any reason. But being awakened by tolling bells and mysterious choral singing, they look out their window to see a procession of black garbed men and women leading a young girl in a white robe towards the crashing shore of the sea. Compelled to sneak out and watch, they realize the girl is the focus of some pagan rite which they cannot fathom as they witness her being chained to a rocky outcropping at the edge of the shore. Then, the baleful apparitions of the rotting warriors appear galloping from the shores near the old keep who arrive to retrieve the screaming girl and spirit her away to a cryptic fate. Thus begin the chain of events which will lead to the inexorable doom of most in the film...

I think the clever DM is already seeing all of the wonderful material here for a short round of games.

There are literally tons of adventure props and interesting moments for any D&D session. Angry villagers, supplicants beating on the door at night begging refuge, the old keep with it's dungeons below and the grotesque stone image of a terrifying elder god from lands far over the sea. All kinds of little mysteries that grow and branch out of the same underlying pathos of the old settlement and it's ghastly pact with the lords of the ancient keep, who appear to have been the feudal lords of old and who still exact expensive tribute in the coin of tender virgins. Designing the keep as a dungeon would be great fun, as would laying out the village and placing some areas of interest there, such as an old cave. One could even follow the exact plot of the movie--having a cleric hear of a priest of their faith abandoning their parish and traveling there to inquire as to the welfare of its people. Or you could simply have the party become lost and happen upon the village.

You have only to watch the film all the way through to outline the essential elements of the adventure. It is not complex at all and would lend itself well to a brief episode between campaigns of for those game nights when for whatever reason you are not able to run your usual game. Of course the final showdown is with the evil undead order. A good trail into the adventure would be the party being told not to leave their quarters but then hearing and seeing the ritual march--what D&D player will not break the curfew? You don't even have to have a detailed structure--just a series of related episodes and encounters that grow more and more menacing until the adventurers find themselves completely on the outs with the townsfolk, who have no love for their spectral masters but don't wish to suffer their ancient curses and threats of final destruction.

Sounds like a game just in time for Halloween....

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October 7, 2014, 9:09 am

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

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The Highest Level of All! Bruce Galloway's "Fantasy Wargaming" Rules Cyclopedia

November 11, 2014, 4:50 pm

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Ah, the possibilities.

This book has tantalized me since finding it at a B. Dalton bookstore in Oklahoma City, circa 1985 (...maybe?) at the impressionable young age of fourteen.

Bruce Galloway's essays vastly improved my D&D game, though any hope of playing his strange and eccentric system was beyond miniscule since the his taste for the obscure, the esoteric and for absolute realism made his game mechanics cause my brain to melt and run out of my eye sockets in puddles around my wringing hands.

But I am again thinking of giving it a try, and this is a heads up for my prospective players.

I've always wanted to run at least a series of scenarios based on the rules, but I state this with the caveat that it must be the closest facsimile of Galloway's rules that I can possibly manage, since the normal calculations for magic and combats during a round seem, at long study, to require Stephen Hawking as a DM. Oh, yes, I can understand them...can I execute them in a manner expeditious enough for a role playing game session?

Without serious truncating, my guess would be no, and so I will use what parts of the rules are expeditious and leave the rest for Mensa members.

Should you deign to join these sessions, know that this game will be vastly different from D&D for the following reasons:

1. It is historical. You will be a character in a real world medieval or ancient setting in the real world of earth, albeit magic, religion, and monsters will be real.

2. All player characters will be human.

3. At times during the game you may lose control over the actions of your character. These times are when morale is checked before and during physical combat, when going berserk in battle, and when you are required to roll a temptation savings throw. This is based upon your character attributes, and is used when a DM thinks your character's refusal of a proffered temptation is not in alignment with your these scores.

4. Astrological influences are considered paramount to magic. The proper estimation and application of these ethereal influences are integral to your crafting of spells and the outcome of the same. Although a sample spell list is given, you and the DM are required to craft spells as you conceive of them, calculating an array of influences and arriving at a "Degree of Difficulty" which determines your percentage chance of casting. Three rolls are needed--one to establish a "link" with the ethereal plane, one to determine whether a target saves against your spell, and one for the actual casting. Mana points are expended to cast magic spells--these are gathered through rituals and preparations as well as by gaining magical levels.

5. Religion works along the same lines as magic but success is determined by a point system which awards or penalizes a priest or cleric for their daily actions depending on keeping with the Deity's established codes of conduct. Prayer, fasting and penance increase scores as well.

6. You gain a new level of Experience with every 1000 adventuring points. Points are gained through using character skills. Upon attaining a new level you will receive 2 points to spread among your physical and mental attributes as desired.

7. There are only four basic types of characters: clerics, mages, fighters and thieves.

So, these are the features of the game--quite different form D&D as any experienced player can see. Why play, you ask? If D&D is a good meal you enjoy regularly, look upon Fantasy Wargaming as an exotic cuisine to enjoy occasionally and with great appreciation.

Any takers?

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Fantasy Wargaming Player Survey Continued: Myth and Magic!

November 14, 2014, 10:43 am

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≪ Previous: The Highest Level of All! Bruce Galloway's "Fantasy Wargaming" Rules Cyclopedia

This is the second post I have written concerning Bruce Galloway's 1981 tome of essays, history and role playing rules and errata known as Fantasy Wargaming; the Highest Level of All.

The post previous to this one gave a general summary of the differences that one could expect to find regarding FW as compared with D&D.

So, given these differences and the seeming complexity of the rules, I asked the question, why play?

I will cite the fascination we as gamers have with the dark age and medieval cultures as a major reason (who would not enjoy at least occasional gaming sessions set in real world history?), but I think the major selling point in running this game is the magical flavor.

That very feature might drive some away--its a like or hate thing.

The notes that a player will assemble to keep track of their spells could well end up looking and feeling like an actual grimoire. Spell components are to be gathered, and these are all related to a zodiacal table of correspondences.

One example given in the book is a Taurus wand. The Bull sign corresponds to hornbeam, copper and sapphire, so these items are used in the construction of the wand. Astrological lore is key to running the magic system of FW.

Spells cast in the month related to Taurus and the time of day and in areas will have great effect, being diminished by opposite controlling signs.

The spells will necessarily have to be related to the spheres of influence which correspond to Taurus.

Gemini, for example, relates to hidden knowledge, concealed things and mysteries, so divination spells will be most auspicious when cast using physical components that correspond to Gemini.

The GM is actually required to make notes of these ethereal zodiac influences in specific areas of his adventure and relate them to the mage character is needed.

Complicated? Could be? But nice flavor and authenticity, as well, if a mage is your thing.

In my next post I will discuss magic in FW a bit further and also talk about Religion, which works in much the same way except that character conduct and piety continually influence appeals for Divine Aid, whether you are a cleric or a warrior.

Its all a bit to keep up with and very much changes the nature of the game, but if you can craft a scenario out of these subtleties and make them part of the game itself (instead of assumed magic preparations which we find with D&D), you might have a thoroughly enjoyable session.

More to come.

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Article 3

January 8, 2015, 9:42 pm

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Our Second Thursday night AD&D went off pretty well tonight!

Our party consists of a Priestess of Aphrodite, a Druid and Magic User, and a daring Thief.

We are using the Atlantis setting published by Bard games in 1983.

After being entrusted with a quest from the temple of Aphrodite (and given funds to set up), the party hired warrior retainers, a strange Kushite Magician, and a captain and crew to take them from Atlantis to the isle of Mediterranea.

However, a great storm appeared and in the midst of it they could see giant female forms of water elementals who cast them into foamy chaos. The ship was destroyed and many lost, but our heroes and other survivors awoke on strange jungle Isle.

Exploring the jungle, they found ancient ruins and inscriptions to ugly stone gods. At length they found a ruined shrine in the open air which was filled with strange green skinned savages presided over by an Atlantean woman of striking beauty and authority. On the ruins, a sacrifice was underway at the hand sof a green shaman.

The party decided to interrupt, and seven stood against eighteen! A fun and surprising melee ensued and it ended with the Atlantean Priestess dead, her shaman as well, and most of the warriors. Those who survived fled into the jungle--the heroes did well, though the battle was swayed a bit by the Kushite's Fireball spell....morale check, fail, survivors split!

They garnered some neat items and a heavy amount of jewelry, and the game ended with them having won the loyalty of a fourteen year old green skinned girl they saved. Now they are off to explore the rest of the island, having learned from the Priestess that the inhabitants of the Isle are in fact the savage descendants of the Island of Lemuria....so who knows what secrets lie waiting to be discovered in the ruins???

Great game!

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1st Edition AD&D Chronciles of Rysanthis

January 11, 2015, 7:55 pm

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Pics from our now defunct 1st Edition AD&D Rysanthian Chronicles game. These are fun folks to game with!

We ran well over a year with this campaign and attained 9th-10th level.

We had very mixed ages but it went well and we saw it through almost to the end...we halted the game at the precipice of the final climactic battle with the Lich Queen and the siege of Carrohoene, the Great City of the Mistwater.

The fellow at the far left is an old high school buddy I gamed with in the 80's and this guy is a walking encyclopedia of D&D.

I didn't have to open a book if there was ever a rules question, he could quote you chapter and verse. Thanks Milton! Jason, in the hat, is also a DM.

This game got very intense at times and seven hour sessions were not unusual.

Currently trying to write up the campaign to share with the online community....

Fun!

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Our Old Gandlara Game, Using the D100 Narrative Game Rules from Tekumel

January 12, 2015, 2:54 am

≫ Next: Nick and Siri Play D&D

≪ Previous: 1st Edition AD&D Chronciles of Rysanthis

This was another fun game that lasted about seven months back in 2011-2012.

The setting was based upon the Gandalara Cycle series by Randal and Vicki Garret, adapted and modified to port in some D&D flavor.

Excellent reading if you want a new high adventure, low magic fantasy series that will keep you reading expectantly until a very mind blowing end!

Here is the blog link which gives the rules and flavor of this game, which included at various times a dozen or more players:

Gandalara Cycle D100 Narrative Game

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