Depths of the Devilmancer now available!

Well, it's finally here. My first solo adventure for Tunnels and Trolls is now available for purchase for £3 or free download from Lulu.

Thanks to all who contributed to the final product that is a bizarre and hopefully funny mini adventure.

Creatures of the tundra for T&T

Ever since I read H.P Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness I've been in awe of the polar regions and research conducted there. Setting an adventure in these inhospitable snowy regions makes for a hell of a game, as not only do the characters have to contend with the strange creatures that live there, but also strive to stay alive in the freezing cold.

Here I have created a selection of creatures to use in Tunnels and Trolls, but feel free to port them to whatever system you see fit. As you'll see, I'm going for a very Lovecraftian feel, as that is what draws me to this setting.

Shivering Crawler
MR 34 (4d6 + 17)
Special damage: spite 1/1
Attributes: Shuns the light - in the daylight the Shivering Crawler halves its MR (17).

Shivering Crawlers are wretched creatures that have lurked beneath the icy mountains for aeons. They live in large civilisations of hundreds of thousands, building great cyclopean cities out of ice and rock. They have bulbous heads similar to that of a frog and several spindly appendages that serve as arms and legs. Their bodies are jelly-like and capable of a-sexual reproduction.

Hoboleth
MR 20 (3d6 + 10)
Special damage: 2/ Snow cloak - the Hoboleth becomes invisible while in the snow. Halve all damage done to it.
Attributes: Many eyes - The Hoboleth is able to see in all directions and therefore cannot be surprised.

Hoboleths are 7ft tall gangly creatures with eyes all about their naked bodies. They inhabit vast mountain ranges, often serving as hunters for Shivering Crawlers. Hoboleths are fairly frail but have the ability to camouflage against a snowy backdrop so they can get the jump on their prey.

Bashannonoth
MR 160 (17d6 + 80)
Special damage: 3/ Tentacle bash - The Bashannonoth does an extra 2d6 CON damage to every player in sight.
4/ Maddening scream - Every player must take a L4SR on INT or be driven mad for 1d6 rounds. During those rounds they will drop to the floor in a gibbering wreck, unable to attack or defend themselves.
7/ Swallow whole - 1d6 players in melee combat with the Bashannonoth are immediately swallowed whole. They must pass a L7SR on STR or be eaten alive.
Attributes: Fire resistant - Fire magic or physical fire will not harm Bashannonoth.

Bashannonoth roam the wastes devouring whatever they can find. They are often called the Hounds of the Tundra, as their baying resembles that of a dog.

Stylish blogger award

We'll here's a nice surprise. Bard over at the awesome The Clash of Spear on Shield has seen fit to award me the Stylish Blogger Award, which is awful nice of the chap. So thanks, Bard - everyone should go visit his site.

The award comes along with a few fun rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person giving you the award.
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award
4. Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award


I've covered the first one in the first paragraph, but many thanks again, Bard.


Seven things about myself


1. I'm quite a keen fencer. I find swordfighting on a Monday takes the stress out of the beginning of the week.     Stabby stabby.


2. I'm an amateur poet, though I haven't written for a while. If you're curious you can check out my full collection


3. I bloody hate tuna. Ick!


4. I'm a guitar-playing metal head and my favourite band of all time is Iron Maiden.


5. My favourite TV series of all times is Blackadder II, III and Goes Forth


6. Away from the blog I'm an SEO and freelance videogame journalist. I play lots of videogames.


7. The first movie my girlfriend and I watched together was the highly romantic Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Cheer Kevin Smith!


Blogs deserving of the award


1. T&T Liasha World - Always a great commenter and a wonderful Tunnels and Trolls blogger with some nifty campaign ideas.


2. The Lone Delver - In depth analysis of Tunnels and Trolls and a joy to read. Also a writer of fantastic T&T solos.


3. Trollhammer Press - Writer of fantastic solos, creator of interesting creatures and fellow metal head.


4. Lloyd of Gamebooks - One of the best gamebook bloggers around and a really nice guy to boot.


5. Atroll's Entertainment - Ken St Andre's blog which is chock full of cool things, both gaming related and not.


6. Turn to 400 - This is hands down the funniest blog on my blogroll. Murray's Fighting Fantasy reviews are detailed and hilarious and well worth a read.


7. The Omnipotent Eye - Andreas is a lovely guy and an asset to T&T. His blog is awesome and so are his solos. 


8. Adventures and Shopping - Excellent gaming/ accessories reviews and where to buy them. A great resource for all roleplayers.




I can't really think of any others that I follow regularly, so I'll leave it at that. Now to inform them. 

Do you run multiple campaigns simultaneously?

Every Thursday me and the boys get together to roll some polyhedrons in our weekly 4e game. This is all well and good - I like the system although it definitely has its drawbacks, but at least one player has been wanting to play some Pathfinder. I'm really up for this, as I'd probably prefer Pathfinder to 4e to be honest, but we have a year and a half invested in the current D&D campaign. I have a dilemma. 

However, every last Thursday of the month we play a new game just to mix things up, so I've been thinking about running a monthly mini Pathfinder campaign. Since the two games are fairly similar it should be easy enough for the players to pick up, but since it's a fantasy game I don't want to be giving them more of the same.

So I ask you, friends. Do you play multiple simultaneous campaigns? Would you play two versions of the same game at the same time? Please let me know.

4 reasons you should be playing retroclones

The OSR (old school renaissance) is a behemoth. This movement to revitalise classic roleplaying has stretched far and wide and it seems like every week a new OSR blogger is added to the ranks. Those who choose to stick by modern games are really missing a trick by not being part of this burgeoning community, and here's why.

1. Tonnes of fan-generated content

Although all the old TSR stuff is out of print and yellowing on the bookshelf, the OSR has a dedicated fanbase that is churning out quality material left, right and centre. From guides to adventures, OSR content is generally pretty cheap and well worth the money. Hell, even the games themselves can be counted as fan-generated content. As well as blogs and websites, retroclones have an array of great high-quality publications such as Knockspell and Oubliette filled with high quality articles. 

2. Returning to roleplaying roots

While I love a lot of modern roleplaying games it's great just to go back to where it all started by cracking open a good retroclone. If you cut your teeth on the venerable 1st edition AD&D then you might like OSRIC, whilst Holmes/Moldvay fans would probably gravitate towards Labyrinth Lord. Even if you were brought up on 4th edition, it's a good learning experience to have a go at the older editions to see just how the game has changed over the years. 

3. Inexpensiveness  

Retroclones are cheap. You can get most of the PDFs for free providing you don't mind forgoing artwork or the paid-for downloads aren't exactly wallet-busting. In a world where the economy's in the toilet it's good to know that you can get together with friends and play a game completely gratis. Also, since there are old-school games, there is no emphasis on minis, so there's a big money sink right out of the window.

4. No corporate shenanigans

Wizards of the Coast has come under fire in recent years for some of the decisions they made with D&D and as a result has lost some support from the fans. Since retroclone creators aren't completely profit-oriented they are more likely to listen to fan suggestions and implement them. Not only that, under the OGL you can create all the content you desire for your favourite retroclone without the impending hand of a lawsuit on your shoulder.

Listen to Conan's symphonic orgy

Conan the Barbarian is not only a testosterone-filled hack fest, but it also has one of the greatest musical scores in film history. One of the best tracks is The Orgy, which comes on when Conan enters Thulsa Doom's hideout where he finds a bizarre cannibalistic orgy going on. It's a great score, so give it a listen.