Tome of Horrors Returns with a Vengence

Bill Webb of Frog God Games just announced that they are re-releasing their famous (well, Necromancer Games' famous) Tome of Horrors I, II, and III in one major tome to be called Tome of Horrors Complete: link  Perhaps the most interesting bit is that FGG is continuing its double-barrelled approach and releasing both a Pathfinder and a Swords & Wizardry version.

As a Castles & Crusades fan who owns the original 3.0/3.5 books, I'm not sure I'll have much need for these (I can as easily convert the 3.x stats as I could the S&W stats).  However, this is cool nonetheless.

Frog God Games, the OSR, and a big ol' "Huh?"

Ok, so first off, I'm a hardcore Necromancer Games fanboy.  Without a doubt, they have

made some of my favorite RPG products.  So when Bill Webb (a.k.a. Tsathogga), an NG co-founder, announced its resurrection as Frog God Games, I was stoked.  I still am.  Bill had been more of the silent partner at NG (Clark Peterson, a.k.a. Orcus, being the more vocal spokesman), so it was interesting to see Bill grab the wheel.

Recently, FGG made some big news by announcing they'd be producing a new edition of OSR favorite, Swords & Wizardry. The OSR community rejoiced.

Then folks found some interesting text on FGG's About Us page and there has not been much rejoicing.  I have put the entire text so you, Gentle Reader, can see the whole context. I have underlined the shit-storm causing text, though:
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 "Who We Are

We consist of old grognard gamers, including a brilliant layout guy, and a cartographer who was not even a gamer when we recruited him. We have more than a few writing credits to our name, and have decided after dealing with publishers, printers and middlemen to head off on our own and make some books. We have developed friendships with, and worked with the best and most famous writers in the industry. We are the real deal.

Who We Aren't

We are not the guys who are going to offer bargain basement junk for a quick buck. We won't sell you hand drawn maps and clip art laid out by amateurs and posted up on Lulu.com as a cheap book that you look at and discard.

We won't fill your players coffers with millions of gold pieces and powerful magic items either, at least not without great efforts. Our encounters won't be "balanced" to make sure no one dies, and a 3rd level monster may or may not have 50.2 gp (like its supposed to in certain rule books). Death will be frequent, but fair, and players who fail to use their heads will surely lose them.

After all, Tsathogga's special attack is "eats 1d6 adventurers per round". Adventurers taste like chicken....errrr, flies."
---

That text has been on the FGG site from day one. I know that because I read it then and thought it was odd. No one took notice in the OSR-o-sphere until the recent FGG/S&W announcement (understandably so, since FGG had only talked about Pathfinder products up to that point).

So what do I think of this? That text had me scratching my head when I first read it and does so now.  Bill Webb has stated on the NG forums that he plays 0e D&D via Swords & Wizardry (available, uhm, on Lulu: link). He has stated he has committed to articles for Knockspell, a well-known OSR magazine. 

I think the words were very poorly chosen, to say the least.  But Bill seems to have inadvertently lumped in the very game he plays.  That tells me this isn't simply "the OSR was crap until now!"  It will be interesting to hear his explanation. I get why fans are upset, but I want to hear his response.

If nothing else, I think James Raggi's response kicks ass: link

Frog God Games Awakens

Bill "Tsathogga" Webb just announced on the Necromancer Games forums that Frog God Games is live.  You can't buy Slumbering Tsar yet, but they have a place-holder page up.

Ha, and I love this from the About Us page:

"We won't fill your players coffers with millions of gold and powerful magic items either, at least not without great efforts. Our encounters won't be "balanced" to make sure no one dies, and a 3rd level monster may or may not have 50.2 gp (like its supposed to in certain rule books). Death will be frequent, but fair, and players who fail to use their heads will surely lose them."

Necromancer Games is Back ... in Frog Form

It is official, Necromancer Games is back in the game, but now in Demon Frog God form.  Bill “Tsathogga” Webb has announced that the long delayed Slumber Tsar series will be released! The module will be released under the Pathfinder RPG rule set via a subscription basis.  Of the various Necro modules that were frozen in carbonite after the announcement of D&D 4th Edition, this is the one I've really wanted.  The author, Greg A. Vaughan, based it on the original Rappan Athuk back story.

What I find very interesting is that the release is being handled by a new entity, Frog God Games, rather than Necromancer Games itself.


Here is Bill's post on ENWorld:
OK guys--website will be live in a few days froggodgames.com. Greg and I are a go. A few details to still work out---but here is the plan. I have to make it a non-Necro release for various reasons..but Clark has passed me his infernal blessings, so here we go.

The Sleeper Awakes!
At last, after languishing in its crypt for an age, the secrets of the slumbering city of Tsar burst forth in all their macabre glory. Poured forth from the eldritch furnaces and crucibles of the Necromancer and Orcus himself comes Frog God Games bringing you at long last The Slumbering Tsar Saga™.

Something Stirs in the City of Evil
Over the distant northern hills, beyond The Camp, and past the Desolation stand the pitted walls of Tsar. A hundred armies have crushed themselves against this bulwark in futile attempts to breach the city. Even the combined might of the Heavens and Earth were unable to break through in the final battle of Tsar. So why was the city suddenly abandoned on the verge of victory, and what waits for those foolish enough to enter the Temple-City of Orcus?

The Black Gates Await
Only the bravest and most powerful of heroes dare the depths of the Desolation and live to tell of it. But what happens when they penetrate that blasted landscape and look upon the gates of the very center of evil on the earth. Can even heroes of such renown breach the Walls of Death and live?

The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ began its journey years ago as a single mega-adventure for the masters of Third Edition rules and First Edition feel, then became a trilogy of adventures, then a trilogy of mega-adventures, and now finally comes to you as a monthly series culminating in a massive book with over a half million words of pure First Edition-style adventure. Updated to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game to accommodate today’s audience of the classic fantasy roleplaying game, The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ brings you 14 chapters, released monthly in electronic format, each chapter the size of a full adventure in its own right (30-50 pages) . Then when the final chapter has been released, the whole will be available in a classic edition, hardcover adventure book.

The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ will begin its run with the release of its first chapter, Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 1 —The Edge of Oblivion. Then each month will follow a new chapter in the saga:
Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 2 —The Ghosts of Victory
Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 3—The Western Front
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 1 —The Tower of Weeping Sores
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 2 —The Lower City
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 3 —The Harrow Lanes
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 4 —The Crooked Tower
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 5 —Foundations of Infamy
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 1 —At the Feet of Orcus
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 2 —Echoes of Despair
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 3 —The Throne of the Demon Prince
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 4 —In the Belly of the Beast
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 5 —The Mind of Chaos
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 6 —Caverns of the Barrier


COMING SOON
Coming May 15th to Frog God Games Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 1 —The Edge of Oblivion in pdf format for the introductory price of $2.00.


Each month following, the next chapter of The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ will be released for the low price of $9.99. A subscription option is available to ensure that you don’t miss a single installment. Upon the release of the final chapter, the whole will be available as a hardcover print adventure and is included as part of the purchase price for those how purchase all 14 installments of the series or for a one-time purchase price of $120.00 (includes hardcover). Non subscription hardcover books will be available for $150.00 (when we are all done) at Drive Through RPG (DriveThruRPG.com - The Largest RPG Download Store!) . As soon as Slumbering Tsar Saga™ is complete, look for our next release!


Don’t miss out

You have waited long enough for The Slumbering Tsar Saga™. Now it is waiting for you.

Troll Lord Games Annual Sale

  The annual $10 Sale (link) is going on now at Troll Lord Games.  The name is sort of a misnomer since not everything really is for $10 (some prices are higher and lower), but, regardless there are some good deals.  If you’re curious about Castles & Crusades, this a good time to pick up some books on the cheap.  I bought the majority of my C&C stuff via this sale in the past.  The 4th printings of the C&C Players Handbook & Monsters & Treasure (part of what TLG is calling “The 4th Crusade”) are included in the sale. 

A few items are really tempting me:

• Issues 5 and 6 of The Crusader magazine (these issues contain adventures by Bill Webb of Necromancer Games)
• The C&C Players Handbook/Monsters & Treasure flip book (one side of the book is the PH the other side is the M&T).  That seems like a handy tome and I don’t have the latest version of the M&T.
• The Harvesters RPG.  It is geared towards kids and players take on the role of anthropomorphic heroes defending their homeland.  It might be a great birthday gift for Chaos (she turns 6 soon).

What I would advise against would be the “leather” versions of the PH and M&T.  For one, they don’t have the latest version of the rules (i.e., they lack the revisions, expansions, and errata in the 4th printing books).  I also really wasn’t wowed by their overall appearance.  They are meant to look like leather and have gold embossed covers, but they look more like rebound library books to me.  Other C&C fans seem to love them, but I was disappointed in them (especially since I bought them as gifts). 

Anyhow, if you’ve been sitting on the fence about C&C, now is the time to pull the trigger.