First off the official from Arion Game’s license Fighting Fantasy line, Demons of Doom a supplement about playing well Demons.
Then in its last 11 hours at the time of writing is Daniel Sell’s Troika, the short nuts and bolts description (because hey we’ve not got much time here) is FF on acid.
My friends over at All Rolled Up have signed a deal with Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson of Fighting Fantasy fame to do their world-famous game rolls, dice trays and messenger bags in Fighting Fantasy themes. They had them on sale over the weekend while they were at the mighty Dragonmeet, Now they have returned home and they are now offering them through their web store.
So that’s me sorted for Christmas, only got to decide whether to go with the funky Shamaunti Hills Manticore or the Death Trap Dungeon nasty for my new game roll 🙂
Look here’s the All Rolled Up gang with Ian and Steve, manhandling the goods!
Image courtesy of All Rolled Up
Daniel Sell of Melsonian Arts Council (who publishes the Undercroft fanzine and has previously successfully Kickstarted the adventures Crypts of Indormacny and Fever Swamp) is looking for Patreons to help him develop the full edition of Troika.
I’ve got a copy of it, and a very simple appreciation of it is that it is a grown-up version of Fighting Fantasy on LSD. It’s like the Russ Nicholson pictures have come to life!!! 🙂 In fact, if my scrambled brain can remember, you can actually play a Rhino Man (as seen casually guarding the gate in the FF classic Citadel of Chaos).
Interested? go check out the current edition (artless version is free).
Want to see this small seed bloom into something big and malevolent?
Then back David’s Patreon….see his blurb below.
I’m Daniel Sell and I make role-playing books. Troika! is my latest effort, already released in a limited form. It is a game about lost people traipsing across the hump-backed sky, meeting curious folks in curious places and moving ever rimward.
While slim, the current iteration of the game has been met with praise and heralded as something that definitely exists, written and illustrated with good strong hands.
The mechanical aspects of Troika! are robust, reminiscent of the gaming hinterlands of 80s Britain, flexible and self-effacing with nothing to prove. Characters are generated from vast lists of randomly chosen options, thrusting you directly into the world with no time for a haircut. They are very important. Feel free to read them for yourself.
People like these lists, I like these lists, but books are small or expensive. In the first instance of Troika! it was small, the second will be expensive. Beyond writing, I also publish, which means the onus to pay for art and printing falls on me. Since I do not have the double-edged benefit of an external money-man I must ensure the survival of this work myself. Now we turn our faces towards the necessary demon of crowdfunding, as we have done from time to time, in order to do what needs doing.
Dragonmeet, the annual games day held in London this year on Saturday Dec 3rd, is nearly upon us. It’s being co-sponsored by Lamentations of the Flame Princess as well as Chaosium and there are many UK OSR publishers attending as well as us:
Among the guests are old school heroes Ian Livingstone & Steve Jackson of Fighting Fantasy/early Games Workshop fame and Joe Dever author/creator of Lone Wolf.
D101 Games is in attendance and I’ll have a big pile of Crypts and Things with me, as well as OpenQuest and River of Heaven among the pile of D101 goodness
The Design Mechanism continues to surge ahead on the Mythras release front.
First off is the return of Mythic Rome by Pete Nash, originally released as an BRP version which won a Silver Ennies, in a time when the Ennies were dominated by D&D product, updated for Mythras with brand new art as a lovely hardback. It covers Rome from its foundation to the end of the Republic. If you want to run games inspired by Steven Saylor’s Sub Rosa series or HBO Rome this is the book to get.
And because Pete and Loz love you and want you to try out Mythras for the next couple of months they are going to putting out standalone adventures compatible with both Mythras and the free Mythras Imperative. The first one is a Sci-Fi (they’ve already taken Mythras in that direction with their Luther Arkwright book and check out M-Space by Frostbyte Books) called A Gift From Shamash ( in pdf via drivethrurpg.com and in print from Lulu ).
Crypts of Indormancy for Lamentations of the Flame Princess and other OSR games funded recently and everything is on track for November release according the latest backers report. Keep an eye out for its release, it will be a good ‘un 😉
Grogmeet happened in my home city of Manchester….and I completely missed it. My excuse being a I was already signed heavy weekend of family fun, but hoping that this becomes a regular thing 🙂 Here’s a quick highlights movie they made.
Finally not strictly OSR (because its for 5Th Ed) but Cubicle 7’s Adventures in Middle Earth hit the shops this week, and I bagsied a copy. I must confess I usually by C7’s Tolkien stuff for the gorgeous art, and this book keeps up that tradition using the same smooth colourful layout with lashings of fantastic colour illustrations, but from a quick skim its a seamless version of 5ed blended with Tolkien flavour and the unique rules that made the One Ring so special ported over. Looking forward to picking up the companion Loremaster’s Guide when it comes out. This one has a special place in many UK Grognards heart’s because Tolkien was very much part of growing up in the UK, for example many people read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings as part of their English education at school, and even though there wasn’t an official D&D adaptation many people played the game with a strong Tolkien flavour. So 30 years on its very heartwarming to finally see an licensed adaptation for D&D and see it get so right.
Adventures in Middle Earth by Cubicle 7, I has it my precious!!!!
What D101 is up to?
I’m currently busy getting the adventures for the Crypts and Things Kickstarter together. Tombs of the Necromancer is getting some clean up work done, some extra bits by author Paul Mitchener, and Life and Death Zarth Edition is getting new art and layout. Its neck and neck which one will get released first. Blood of the Dragon/The Dark Path (new) and Fort Boneguard (new) are all getting put together along with a new scenario, The Lost City of the God Emperor, into one book called Under Dark Spires. Tournaments of Madness and Death is quietly trundling along.
I’ve got me nose in a good book 🙂
David M.Wright who did the art for the main rule book is signed up to do the art for the adventures. David recently got his rulebook and was dead chuffed with it 🙂
“C&T encapsulates pretty much everything I love about classic 80’s RPG fantasy (which was all around when I was growing up as a lad), but with all the naff stuff removed! It’s a 100% pure Sword & Sorcery game. There are Barbarians, Warriors, Sorcerers and Thieves, all pitted against an ever expanding assortment of monsters, amorphous Hell-Spawed demonic crypt dwelling conglomerations, and the like (none of your wishy-washy elves, gnomes, and sappy fairies here!). There is Blood, there is Fire, there is Magic, Muscle, Mist, and Steel! : )”
Oh and to keep us going until the adventures land I’m putting a C&T fanzine together called “From the Shroud”, a little A5 affair that currently has a couple of articles by me and a small introductory scenario called “The Secret of Skull Hill”, that I’m hoping will be on sale at Dragonmeet. If you are interested in contributing get in touch via newt@d101games.com. The deadline for submissions is tight however, this coming Sunday 20th November.
I’m also starting the playtest of Beyond Dread Portals (the new name of Paul Mitchener’s Empire of Ys ) this week, which will run into early next year with an aim of getting out in the first half of next year.
In non-fantasy-land I’m putting wrapping up the last bits of writing on the River of Heaven Companion, so that should be out early 2017 🙂
Remember my reporting on this UK OSR Update is only as good as my attention span on G+, so if I’ve missed anything just point it out in the comments below.
More stuff coming from the UK OSR out despite distractions of the footy and Wimbledon on the TV…
Out of the Pit the seminal Advanced Fighting Fantasy creature book now available as a pdf via DrivethruRpg.com. The rather sparse description on the product page doesn’t do the book justice. It was originally published in the 1980s during the Fighting Fantasy boom and contains over 250 monsters from the classic FF books.
Stellar Adventures, the Sci-Fi Advanced Fighting Fantasy variant by Arion Games has now funded, with 8 days to go at time of writing.
In Darkest Warrens – a pay what you want rules light game by Trollish Delver Games is now available, from the blurb it’s ” a minimalist fantasy roleplaying game whose rules cover two pages, including a bestiary and introductory adventure. All you need is some six-sided dice, paper, pencils and, of course, a bunch of buddies to play with. ”
The Hex Hack by Dog Eared Games is available for use with the Black Hack and other OSR games. Also they’ve added a supplement for their Jack Hack Black Hack supplement ( keeping up with me at the back there? ) called The Penny Black which adds in elements from a certain dreadful TV show.
Also those cunning chaps over at The Design Mechanism have just given an update about the end of the RuneQuest license and the transition to Mythras…
Missed anything? Just let me know in the comments and I’ll add it here or in the next update 🙂
Well I go away on a family holiday, followed by UK Games Expo and all sorts of nonsense gets released or pops up on G+ in the UK OSR scene. So here’s a quick catch up of recent stuff I’m aware of. If I’ve missed anything mention it in the comments below and I’ll stick it in my next update.
At UK Games Expo my mate Paul Baldowski (Just Crunch Games) was peddling printed and boxset copies of his The Cthulhu Hack which is still going strong and has spawned a supplement From Unformed Realms. Based off the Black Hack this standalone game takes the same stripped down OSR/D20 approach as the Black Hack itself but adds quick rules based for Investigation.
Also John Davis has released The Jack Hack which brings alternate rules, encounter tables and five new classes for the Black Hack so you can play adventures in the grim and gritty Victorian London at the time of Jack the Ripper.
Stellar Adventures Kickstarter – I was thinking that Graham Bottley of Arion Games had gone all quiet on the Advanced Fighting Fantasy front then this Kickstarter for a standalone Science Fiction version of the game pops up from nowhere. Suffice to say I’m going to be backing this one 🙂
Also the Advanced Fighting Fantasy and the Advanced Fighting Fantasy Companion are now available as pdf from Drivethrurpg.com.
Romance of the Perilous Land by Scott Malthouse is a game based on British Folklore in-development and play-testing. From a comment made by Scott on G+ its a “it’s OGL, inspired by Swords & Wizardry, Black Hack, T&T, and 5e. But also its own system “. Here’s the current cover. This is one I’m following with great interest.
England Upturn’d by UK Author Barry Blatt has been released by Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Set in the English Civil War in the Lincolnshire fens, its a fantastic adventure blending the weird history of the time and Barry’s psychedelic sensibilities into one awesome package. I picked a copy up at UK Games Expo and I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
Ian Sturlock Interview Over at UK Roleplayers Ian Sturlock, who runs Serpent King Games and is custodian of the Dragon Warriors RPG is being being Interviewed.
Mythras Imperative. This is UK Exiles Lawrence Whitaker & Pete Nash’s 32 page free taster of their rebranded RQ6 system. They may have lost the name, but damn this feels like RQ of old, since some of the complexity of the full system has been lost in this cut down system. The only downside is there’s no magic system, but seeing as they want this to be a base for third party publishers to use to base products off they’ve chucked in rules for firearms. Anyway that aside, check it out its free!
It seems like everyone is hacking these days and Simon Washbourne has just released his OSR version of Barbarians of Lemuria, the BOL Hack. A stripped down version of Barbarians of Lemuria with all the fluff removed and just a simple OD&D inspired ruleset left behind.
Work continues on Crypts and Things and were on for a July release of the pdf to backers, and opening of pre-orders then if you missed the kickstarter. The latest Kickstarter update has news of this and preview page layouts.
I’ve had a bit of a review of the prices of OpenQuest and River of Heaven and their respective supplements, and I’ve lowered the prices of the print versions on Drivethru and Lulu. For example a hardcover of OpenQuest Deluxe used to be $40 its now $30. So if you were considering getting a print version now is the time to do it 🙂
Also Lulu are doing a 35% off code at the moment LULU35
David M. Wright is a star! He sent me the following four complete pieces of art for Crypts & Things Remastered for the latest monthly backers update, and once again I’m blown away by the detail that he puts into his work. Defintiely getting the early Fighting Fantasy vibe , as seen in Death Trap Dungeon and Island of the Lizard King, in these pieces.
Ok so it’s not actually Friday, but I’ve asked the Sorcerer to bend time and space so we can have another preview of Crypts and Things Remastered, this time of a new ruling: LUCK.
One thing that began to fall flat with me after a while was having a single Saving Throw Number (as per Swords & Wizardry which C&T is based off). When I was doing my ‘literature review’ for C&T remastered I reread some of the early Fighting Fantasy books, I suddenly remembered Testing Your Luck and how it was a very British way of doing Saving Throws. It also fits nicely with the whole Swords and Sorcery genre. So here’s my expanded version which also allows for Class Based Luck Tests, which gives yet another layer of things that the classes can do.
Note this is a prototype that is going through playtesting with external playtesters at the moment. While feedback so far is overwhelmingly positive, it may get tweaked for the final version.
LUCK
This is a measure of the character’s innate quality to avoid trouble, stumble across useful items and have just the right thing happen at the right time. It is tested over the course of the adventure and decreases as the character gets fatigued and tired. Eventually even the most Lucky character will run out of Luck. To generate Luck roll 1D6 and add six (giving starting range of a range of 7-12). Every three levels add one point of Luck.
TESTING LUCK
During an adventure a character may be asked to “Test their Luck” by the Referee by rolling a 2D6 and getting lower or equal than their current Luck score. If they do so they get Lucky, deduct 1 point from their Luck. If they fail their roll they suffer the consequences of being Unlucky, but do not lose any Luck.
Example situations for Testing Luck
Luck can also be tested to avoid the adverse effects of a failed skill roll.
For example a character fails a Skill check while jumping a deep ravine. If they succeed a Luck Test they narrowly catch a nearby ledge. Or a Thief misses their Hide roll and is potentially spotted by a passing guard, but on a successful Luck Test the Guard grunts dismissively and moves on.
CLASS BASED LUCK TESTS
Each class has unique ways of using Luck. Unlike usual Luck tests if the character is Unlucky they do not suffer any consequences.
FIGHTER
Cleave. When a fighter kills an opponent in combat, they can attack an adjacent foe on a successful Luck Test the Fighter has hit the next target. The Fighter can carry on Testing Luck until they fail or run out of adjacent opponents.
Maximum Damage. On a successful hit and the Fighter may Test their Luck. If successful then they do Maximum possible damage with their weapon.
THIEF
Thieves are renowned for their lucky nature and they have a very powerful luck that can almost magically bend reality.
Improve their situation. Luck can be tested to improve the situation that the Thief is currently in. For example a Thief finds himself manacled in a dismal dungeon cell. On a successful Luck test the Thief finds that the jailer has accidentally forgotten to lock the manacles properly. A Thief can continue to test their luck to improve their situation until they fail.
Friends in low places. On a successful Luck test one of the Thieves contacts, either from previous jobs or the communities they work in, appears on the scene to help the Thief out.
SORCERER
Retain Spell. The character may test their Luck immediately after casting a Spell. If they are lucky then the character does not forget the spell.
Lucky Knowledge. Sorcerers are so steeped in learning lore from dusty old books and obscure sources, that on a successful Luck Test they just knows a fact pertinent to the current situation or can speak an unknown language with just enough linguistic phrases to quickly converse with a creature or decode a piece of writing.
BARBARIAN
Blood Rage. When a Barbarian takes damage they may Test their Luck. If succeed gain +1 to hit and damage. This bonus adds to other modifiers and can be taken more than once (I.e. each time the Barbarian gets hit they may Test their Luck and a get an additional +1). This means that if they are consistently Lucky a wounded Barbarian can quickly get a large bonus and become quite deadly when hurt.
One with the Wilderness. Barbarians are most at home when they are in the wilderness. If they successfully test their Luck they find their way (i.e. stop being lost) and find enough food and water to sustain themselves.
REGAINING LUCK
Luck potions/magical effects. Certain magics can restore Luck when activated.
For example: A Potion of Luck (a pale blue liquid in a small glass vial) restores 1D6 Luck when drunk. The Amulet of Skarlos the Slippery (an ancient bronze medallion that only works when worn over a bare chest) can be called to restore 1D4 Luck twice a day.
Through resting. Each full hour fully rested without any interruption restores 1 Luck Point.
After the end of the adventure, all Luck points are restored in time for the next hazardous exploration.
More next Friday…when I preview some of the stretch goal material.
Previous posts about Crypts & Things Remastered
Art Preview – I show off some of the awesome art already done for the new game by David Micheal Wright.
Why Crypts and Things Remastered? – a bit of the history of the game’s intial development and why I’m redoing it, the scope of the redevelopment and what’s going to be in the stretch goals.
Crypts and Things Remastered Kick Starter opens March 1st The cover in all its glory.
The Sorcerer The revised Magician class (because one of the biggest bits of feedback I got was that I should change the name to the Sorcerer). Look close and you’ll see some of the system changes in the class description.
Magicians of Zarth. Other types of magic users in the setting. Note these are non-player character types, and will be written up as monsters.
To commemorate this year’s Fighting Fantasy Fest just gone, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson commissioned those fine producers of old school minis OtherWorld miniatures to do a figure of everyone’s favorite FF personality Zagor the Warlock of Firetop Mountain:
FF01 The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Otherworld miniatures
I got news of this from Andrew Scott’s Realm of Chaos blog, and as well as more figures coming from OtherWorld minis, there’s going to be another range from a company called Pure Evil who apparently will be Kickstarting their range soon.
Pop over to Andrew’s blog for a review of the figure and the full scoop on wants going on with these new FF minis 🙂
So John Dever and Cubicle 7 have teamed up to bring a new version of the Lonewolf RPG to market and they have a Kickstarter to bring it into being. The initial goal, long pasted, was to create a box set suitable for beginning players, with subsquent supplements (already in the pipeline and available in the reward levels or as add ons) building on that for the more mature gamers.
The Lone Wolf game books were a big part of my gaming teens in the 80s, and while more story orientated than Fighting Fantasy they had a unique feel and tone to them which really set them apart.
An here’s one of the jaw dropping gorgeous maps that Cubicle 7 commissioned for the game.
