The first adventure module for Crypts and Things, intended as an introduction to the game. Compatible with other Old School Class/Level based games based on the Worlds Favourite Fantasy Role playing Game in its 70s/80s incarnation. The module can be bought at
Chad Bowser (co-author of Cthulhu Invictus ) ran a play by post game of Crypts and Things using the short adventure in the book “the Halls of Nizun Thun” over at RPGGeek.com. As usual I’ve only just noticed it DOH!
Here’s the link
Update from the Old School arm of D101.
OpenQuest 2 is about to go into IndieGoGo preorder mode by the end of this month. You the gaming public will decide if I release OpenQuest 2 proper, and what form it takes, or if I simply do OpenQuest Deluxe( tidy up of the last mistooks, replace the clip art with new pieces by Simon Bray, available in Soft and HARD COVER). If we surpass the goal there’s a hole load of stretch goals to see how content filled OQ 2, along with promises of an OQ 2 online SRD, a low art compact version of the rules called OQ Basic which will be available free as a pdf. Either way a new version of OQ will be with us by my birthday on October 26th of this year 🙂
Here Be Dragons – Simon Bray’s & Paul Mitchener’s OpenQuest adventure/setting. Think Ray Harryhausen meets Clark Ashton Smith on an island where the main city is ruled by a great Golden Dragon. Going for Nov/Dec 2012.
Moar OQ. I seriously want to ramp up the amount of OQ out there, so as well as upping my own output, I’ll be opening the hallowed doors of d101 submissions. Watch this space (or email me at newt@d101games.com if you can’t contain yourself ).
Crypts and Things
Starting tomorrow every Friday is “Fiendish Friday”. New magic items, new spells, creatures and other mini-articles for Crypts and Things. Submissions welcome (newt@d101games.com).
Blood of the Dragon goes into layout tonight and should be available in a couple of weeks 🙂
The next module “Fort Boneguard” goes into play test next week at Continuum as part of Our line up of games,more about that soon. All in all I reckon I’ve got three or so modules on the go, which should be out before the end of the year 🙂
Like OQ I’ll be throwing open the doors for sumissions soon ( again contact me at newt@d101games.com if you can’t contain yourself 😉 )
Finally the I’ve got a new C&T book in mind that should blow minds in the pipeline. I’m going to keep it under wraps for the time being but just I’d tease you with that 🙂
Bill de Franza reviews Crypts and Things and rather likes it, on his blog
Finally its all come together and the first draft is done 🙂
Girls, Boys and wild things of all ages I proudly present….
“Under a land shrouded in volcanic ash punctuated by rocky spires that tear at the sky they say the Great Dragon sleeps. Tyanos the Black, Trickster god of the long dead Hu-Pi people stole their blood and bottled it for his insane delight. As drink of the gods it confers immortality to mortal man, but at what terrible price?
The very quest for this elixir is insane. A trip into a harsh and unforgiving land of the Spires, a poor and bandit ridden weird land, inhabited by the likes of Black Joop, Nigus the Headless and the Mother of Hydra. Names that should send a shiver down your spine. So pick up your sword, down the last of your ale to steady any nerves and stride off towards a great adventure amongst the rocks that defy the sky.”
Blood of the Dragon is a short introductory adventure set in the ancient and ruined lands of The Spires.
Off to proof and a small amount of art commission, tentacles xed for a May/June release 🙂
Finally here’s the cover
So here I sit in the rosy glow of a not-quite-yet-spring-but-definitely-not-winter day.
C&T has now been out about three weeks, and has been selling quite nicely. Its definitely joining the ranks of the likes of OpenQuest as one of D101’s steady sellers.
Critical response to the game, especially in the light of it being released alongside Adventure Conqueror King and joining the similar (but not the same) Genre space as Lamentations of the Flame Princess, has been a good mix. From the frothy “OMG I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH”, to the nicely balanced “There’s bits I don’t like, but there’s bits I do like”. I’ve also had a nice stream of complementary emails and comments, which warms my jaded Game Designer heart 🙂
I’m very glad I gave C&T a very definite BRAND and a different vibe to regular D&D, especially looking at the long list of OSRIC modules which all seem to tribute AD&D of yore.
One of the most gladdening things to happen post C&T release is that Rik Kershaw Moore, author of The Company and a long time Call of Cthulhu keeper (member of the Kult of Keepers who ran the UK Cthulhu Nationals) has picked up on the game , loves it and is writing a scenario to run at Continuum 2012. I’m sure with a bit of arm twisting I should be able to get him to write it up 🙂
Blood of the Dragon is literally down to the last couple of adventure locations. Its a short, around 20 pages, but sick little module – with a short gazeeter (for those of you that want a bit more setting detail) and an adventure featuring a short weird lands trek and a mini-dungeon, which is weird and quite deadly. While short the whole thing is meant to act as an intro adventure for new players and Crypt Keepers. Also its 100% compatible with other OSR games, so if you just want to grab a butt-kicking S&S adventure to run with your favourite RetroClone go fer it.
Finally I’m immensely humbled by the positive reaction that the game has gotten. Especially some of the ongoing blog posts and mentions. There’s a lot of material on my Hard Drive that could become C&T product, and the obvious love the game is already getting pushes to make sure that becomes a reality 🙂
Here’s a couple of reviews that have popped up post release
Swords & Stitchery – Old Time Sewing & Table Top Rpg Blog
DriveThruRPG.com buyer review – a very nicely balanced review in that the reviewer doesn’t like some mechanical aspects of the game (specifically the old school To Hit Tables, although C&T also has Ascending AC) but doesn’t let this get in the way of recommending the game overall 🙂
Thanks to all of you have taken the time to write these reviews.
OK here’s that beginning of year statement that frankly I should have put out at the beginning of the year…but hey this is the man who is doing the not so synchronized 12 Days of the UK OSR (which I’ve not forgotten about) 😉
So here’s how D101 stands with the Old School Renaissance (which ever form you are following);
Pretty fuckin’ Tall
OpenQuest is still my biggest seller, despite being something you can download for free, and Crypts and Things completely blew me out of the water when I ran the pre-order. From recent discussions where various folk have basically poked me repeatedly about the General Release date, I kinda get the feeling I’m sitting on a volcano here. Nice feeling that 🙂
In fact the Old school stuff is definitely half my income, the other half being Glorantha + my more indie games ( Monkey + Wordplay ). Part of me thinks it would be fun to go OSR all the way, but practicality + the fact I still like my Glorantha and story telling games so this ain’t going to happen. But saying that from coming in as a curious outsider, attracted because a couple of folk like Akrasia ( Akratic Wizardry ) and Shange Magnus ( Swords against the Outer Dark ) from the OSR blog sphere said nice things about OpenQuest, I’m now fully a champion of this style of play.
OpenQuest
OpenQuest 2nd Edition
This is going to be a 2nd edition in the same way that Chaosium does new editions for Call of Cthulhu. i.e. the underlying rules stay the same, with some clarifications and fixes, but with some additional content. So far we’ve made good progress towards achiving milestone number 1: Clean up, which is where I can put out a nice version in 8″ x 11″ ( which means hardcovers ) with tidied up rules and all the clip art replaced. Simon Bray has done a Stirling job on the art, touching up the existing art (his choice not mine) & illustrating the monsters that currently are presented by clip art. John Holmes is applying his laser eye to the rule book.
Milestone 2 “Additional Content” requires a bit more work. There’s going to be additional advice from me, because it became clear that I wrote a lot of OQ from the point of view that people would already be familiar with over 30 years of Game development history. The Otherworlds in the game are a good example. If you have been following Glorantha’s chequered history you’ll know exactly what I mean by Spirit World. If not you’ll need it explaining, which is what I aim to do. Other articles already lined up are “The Life Cycle of a Character” which explains the levels of play that an OpenQuest character goes through, so that players and Games Masters can create appropriately exciting adventures. There’s also some additional Optional rules by Simon Bray for “Relationships”. The big draw for additional content is a selection of new spells. I’ve got about 30 to add from the newly OGLed Legend, which will ensure compatibilty for GMS running adventures from that line and hopefully RQ6 to, + another 30+ of my own devising. Once we’ve reached Milestone 2 2nd Ed will be most accurately described as “OpenQuest Deluxe Edition” 🙂
Depending on the amount of work I generate aiming for a Summer release by the very latest 🙂
Here Be Dragons
Simon Bray’s and Paul Mitcheners weird and wonderful Swords and Sorcery island is currently in Editorial, so you’ll be getting a brand new Sandbox to play in. Release to coincide with OQ2 (so Summer/Autumn).
Crypts & Things
Main rule book
I’m fulfilling this as I type, so pre-orders should start landing in people’s post end of this or next week. General release very soon…watch this blog.
Blood of the Dragon and other adventures
The first module, is nearly finished writing wise, so that should be with pre-order people in March, with a general release a week after pre-orders have had theirs sent out. Look at ref number “UKS-01”, what could that mean? Well it means that its the start of a three module series set in “The Spires” (that’s where the S comes from ) 🙂 Next module “UKS-02 Fort Boneguard” is kinda my take on Keep of the Boarderlands with scads of undead. Finally things end with a bang with “UKS-03 Tower of the Hydra” a Sorcerer’s tower for you and your chums to take control of , or not if you don’t understand its twists and turns.
I’ve also got a couple of half-finished pieces, such as the 5th Level adventure I ran at Furnace 2010 here by known as “The Sky is Falling”, that will get written up at some point hopefully this year.
More stuff in the pipeline as well, but since its more nebulous I won’t mention it yet.
