Review: The Teratic Tome - A Book of Horrors

(This review is also posted at RPG.net.)

Rafael Chandler hooked me up with a copy of his new monster book, the Teratic Tome (TT) and asked me to take a gander. In short: it’s excellent.

You can pick it up the PDF at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow for $6.66 (nice price) or as hardback at Lulu for $20.99. I have the PDF, but the hardback looks fantastic (more about that below).

Listed as an “OSRIC-compatible bestiary,” it is useable with any old-school D&D edit or D&D variant.

TT appears to be part of a product line called Evolved Grottoes & Griffins. At least I hope it’s going to turn into a product line, because TT is great.

There are several things that set this book apart from the sea of monster books out there.

The Cover

TT’s cover stands out. It screams old-school, but its voice sets it apart from the rest of the OSR choir. TT looks like it came out in the late 80s, during the time of the Monster Manual II, the Manual of the Planes, and the Unearthed Arcana. It reminds me of the Manual of the Planes’ astral juggernaut in particular.

The Tone

TT is horrific. This is a book full of monsters. These aren’t hit point bags meant to be mowed down by the party. These baddies will make your players say, “Ewww.” Its R-rated (at the least), but not in a cheap shock kind of way. These monsters are meant to disturb.

The interior artwork isn’t censored, so don’t leave this book out where kids can reach.

Here are a couple of examples:

The remnant “looks like a humanoid scuttling about on all fours, except that it has four arms and no legs. Stranger still, each of its four arms ends in a bloody stump.”

The nethasq is a humanoid female that “sports a glistening mass of foot-long tentacles that end in barbs and hooks” where its genitals should be. It “haunts places where women have been defiled” and “[w]hen a man enters a place that the monster has claimed for its own, he begins to seep blood from his mouth, anus, and urethra.”

Implied Setting

The monster entries hint at a setting or world or whatever you want to call it. This is like the original Monster Manual and Monster Manual II. Remember how the MM told you about how Orcus and Demogorgon hated each other? Well, in TT, you have the Demon Queen Abyzou plotting against Beleth, the Locust Perfect. Or, we learn that the agonists were “[c]reated in a rare moment of collaboration between High Devil Ahriman and the Demon Queen Abyzou” and that the “demons of Ghorom (216th layer of the Abyss) are chaotic evil monstrosities who feed on weakness and decency.”

The details are not distracting or over the top. They provide just enough to give the reader a sense of depth and motivation.

Monsters with Motivation

The monsters in the TT have motivations that are unique to say the least.

The altar beast, a “towering, wormlike entity with rubbery mauve skin that scrapes off as it undulates across the ground,” was created by a forgotten god of matrimony. What does that mean? That means it “preys upon those who dissolve sacred bonds of marriage. This can include spouses, clerics, priests, nobles, and anyone who participates in the annulment of marriage.”

As one can see, these are specific motivations. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Would I want a monster like that?

But, the more I read, the more adventure ideas came to me. Why are all these priests dying in the city? Because there is an altar beast on the loose. These details might inspire a whole adventure.

Someone on Google+ called TT “the missing monster book for Lamentations of the Flame Princess” and I’d say that is a damn good summary. A lot of the monsters seem like they would be terrorizing a village or secretly being worshiped by the villagers.

And one could still easily ignore these motivations and use the monster without if need be.

Personal Favorites

Here are some of my favorite aspects of the TT.

The Venerable Dragons: These ten dragons aren’t your old “it's red, it breathes fire; it's blue, it breathes lightning, etc.” Rather, these dragons are each one-of-a-kind and on the level of deities.

When Ke-Sectat Hatath the purple dragon awakens, the sun “burns reds.” He “soars into the city, accompanied by giant insects and flying vermin.” Then there is Makkas-Nephata, who is “preceded by unnatural rains,” such as blood, frogs, snake venom, and bile.

I can see making an epic adventure to stop the awakening on these dragons or working them into the background of a setting to explain why a region was laid to waste.

Owlbear Variants: TT includes the Kodiak hooter and tufted grizzly. It’s fun to seem new takes on old standards.

Various Oddities

There are a few things that are, well, just odd about TT. I dug them, but they’re worth pointing out.

Halflings are Crazy SOBs. The halfling culture alluded to in TT is just nutty evil. For example the Tenebrous Halflings created creatures known as “audiences.” “When several of the Tenebrous Halflings neared death, they would perform a necromantic ritual that transferred their souls into a monstrous body that had been stitched together by their chirurgeons. Within this new body, a floating sack of flesh adorned with tentacles, each audience was a collection of diverse personalities.”

Not sure there are too many “floating sacks of flesh” floating around your standard halfling shire.

I dig the different take, but your mileage may vary.

Lots of Tentacles. I like me some Cthulhu-esque monsters as much as the next guy, but, boy howdy, you are going to find a lot of tentacles in this book.

Lots of Tentacles Where Genitals Should Be. Self-explanatory.

Monsters Have Smells. When I took writing classes many moons ago, I was told that one of the most under-described senses was smell. This seems to have been taken to heart here, as just about every entry mentions how the monster smells. And this isn’t the same ol’ “smells like rotting death and/or feces” you usually get. For example, the infiltrator “is a pink-skinned humanoid with lavender tentacles and a red-lipped circular maw in its chest” that “smells of fresh-peeled orange rind.”

I like this touch, even if it came across as a bit forced at times.

Bonus Feature

TT includes its own treasure system which is simpler than most I’ve seen and, therefore (in my opinion) better. Coin treasure categories include categories like “cache (3d20 cp, 3d20 sp, 2d10 ep, d10 gp)” or “fortune (d100 ep, d100 gp, d20 pp).” Categories for jewels, gems, scrolls, potions, and magic items include categories like “few (d4-1)” or “several (2d10-2).”

Conclusion

If you want traditional humanoids, dragons, ogres, etc., you probably won’t care for TT.
If you’re looking for horror-inspired, demonic monstrosities to make your players gag, this is the book for you.

A Day Trip to Origins 2010: Part 4 – Demoing WEGS 101: Old Skool and Elfball

I demoed two more games at Origins 2010.  Next up was WEGS (Wickedly Errant Game System) 101: Old Skool by GameWick Games.  I was intrigued by the flyer they had set out near registration (I’m a sucker for Old School marketing), so I made a point of trying it.  Per their web site, “WEGS is the action-packed, dice-rolling, casino-crazed, sword-n-sorcery system that you and your dice have been waiting for!” 

Was it that?  Well, it was a decent system but, honestly, I’m having trouble remembering its inner workings.  I remember that it only involved d6s and d10s and used various cards to keep track of player abilities. For example, I played a wizard, so all my spells were on individual cards.  I think that the cards were an extra player aid (they were selling a special starter pack at the con which had the rulebook and the cards together).  The game had some interesting mechanics, such as allowing me to pay spell points to keep various spells in play while casting new spells (which also required the use of more spell points).  Every time I cast a spell I had to roll under a certain percentage for it to go off and I could spend spell points to increase my chances of success.  But the game just didn’t grab me.  There is nothing wrong with WEGS, but nothing made me want to pick it up. 

Perhaps it’s more me than this game.  I’ve played D&D so much that it’s hard for me to get excited about another fantasy RPG.  If I want a fantasy RPG, I turn to D&D.  Sure, I like Castles & Crusades, but that is an unabashed derivative of D&D.  I have a newfound love of Savage Worlds and one can surely play it as a fantasy RPG (and it has several fantasy supplements), but I can’t imagine myself doing so. Savage Worlds appeals to me because it isn’t inherently a fantasy game.  For what it’s worth, I’d be more likely to sign up for a game of WEGS than HackMaster Basic as it certainly plays quicker.

On a side note, regardless of the game system, the term “old school” (or “old skool,” as the case may be), has been beaten to death.  What qualifies something as old school?  Does it have to be a derivative of a classic RPG, be it D&D, Gamma World, Traveler, etc., as the OSR blogs seem to indicate?  Or is it simply a style of play? I’m guessing WEGS is claiming “old school” credentials based on its hack ‘n’ slash play style.  I do not have anything against the OSR blogs (far from it, I read a ton of them) or WEGS, but I guess my point is the term has started to lose meaning in the RPG world.

I demoed Elfball by Impact Miniatures last.  I had passed by this booth a couple times and finally figured I’d give it a go.  Obviously, it looked like a Blood Bowl knock-off (see also Battleball, which apparently is going for nearly $50, whereas it was going for $10-we-can’t-give-it-away” pricing at Toys R Us a few years back).  I’ve never played Blood Bowl, but its look and concept have always appealed to me so, thinking this was something akin to it, I gave it a whirl.

So, let me get this off my chest right out of the gate: I hate the name. I like me some elves in my D&D and, sure, their graceful badasses, but, come on, elf football?  I liked the name worse after playing because it’s a misnomer.  There are several different types of teams made up of all kinds of fantasy creatures (which serve as the basis to differentiate team stats), so it's not an elf exclusive game.

Ok, so while I don’t like the name, I did enjoy the game.  It’s really more of rugby game than American football (although I must confess little knowledge of rugby).  The rules explicitly prohibit long bombs (there is an imaginary force field in the center of the field to prevent this) and, the small size of the board forces immediate player contact.  I’d say the game felt like Necromunda football.  It wasn’t overly complex, but each move (e.g., tackle, shove, etc.) involved a die roll on a particular table for that move, with the roll adjusted by various factors (e.g., bonuses for hitting from the rear, etc.).  The demo guy knew his stuff though, so this was pretty painless.

The Momentum tracker was the most interesting mechanic.  During your turn, you can chain together several moves and the more successes you receive, the more your Momentum increases.  Once you have enough Momentum, you can spend these points to perform special maneuvers. For example, the demo guy would repeatedly shove my player, gathering momentum, then execute some special move at the end to cap it off.  I really liked this mechanic because it simulated the momentum you experience with just about any sport (whether playing it or watching it). Sure, it’s intangible, but few would argue that it doesn’t exist. 

The game played a bit slow (and I was a bit antsy, so I didn’t even play a full game), so I can see why the first to score wins (although apparently it’s typical to play 2 out of 3, etc.)  It was fun though, so if you’re into this type of board game, it’s worth checking out (not to mention you can check out the rules for free here: link)

A Day Trip to Origins 2010: Part 3 – Demoing HackMaster Basic and Savage Worlds

I made good use of my day pass and played quite a few games in the Exhibit Hall.  The first  game I tried was HackMaster Basic by Kenzer and Company.  I’m a sucker for Dwarven Forge setups, and their demo caught my attention right a way (ha, well that and it was right by the door). 

HackMaster Basic made quite a stir with classic gaming fans when it hit the shelves and I was eager to try it.  First off, I quickly learned that James over at Grognardia was right in that there is little “basic” about it. I’ve since learned that it’s called “Basic” because a more complete “Advanced” version is forthcoming. 

Despite the classic look and obvious homage to classic D&D, it’s definitely its own game.  For example, combat is counted off in seconds, not rounds.  That is, player turns happen by the second rather than by the round.  This is kind of cool because it can resolve certain questions rather easily.  For example, how far can I climb in a second? The GM and the player should be able to agree on that pretty easily.  “Sure, you can get on the table, but not climb that wall.”

So your initiative roll indicates at which second you start. The GM counts up and you act when the count gets to your roll result.  The interesting spin thereafter is that you can act any second after that. So if you start at the 5th second, you can act on the 6th second, the 7th and so on, even if that second is someone else’s turn. If I recall correctly, ties are resolved by some kind of initiative score.  I can’t recall exactly.  Weapon speed determines how quickly you can attack again and you can’t necessarily attack on each turn.  For example, if your initiative is 7 and your weapon speed is 5, you can first attack on the 7th second, but can’t attack again with that weapon until 5 seconds later (i.e., the 12th turn). 

There were other intricacies too, such as how one’s shield comes into play, etc.  In general, it was a very detailed system and it seemed to involve a lot of book-keeping.  It was a neat system, but easily as complex as D&D 3.5.  The combat rules made a lot sense, but seemed to aim at being so realistic that they would result in a very slow game. Kenzer has free quick-start rules, so you can decide for yourself (although they seem more about character creation than actual play).  I have come to believe that less is more (hence the appeal of Castles & Crusades), so I can’t imagine playing this game regularly, or buying the rule book for that matter. I certainly would be up for giving it another whirl at a convention again, though.  

Next up was Savage Worlds by Pinnacle Entertainment Group.  I’ve been curious about this game for a while. Their booth was in the dead center of the hall and had two very spiffy demo tables.  I saddled up to one and asked if I could play.

The guy running the demo did a great job (I wish I could remember his name) and I was quickly knee-deep in a Savage Worlds: Deadlands scenario, my gunslinger rushing up a cliff face to save his lady love from evil cultists.

I skimmed the free Test Drive rules a year or so ago, so I had a basic understanding of the system.  Instead of attribute scores, characters assign a die to each attribute (from a d4 to the d12), with the larger the die, the better score.  You have to love that the forlorn d12 gets its due and is sort of the “18” of the game.   Combat and task resolution are straight forward: you roll the appropriate skill, which is based on an attribute die, and if you beat the target number, you succeed. Typically a 4 or better is a success (naturally, various modifiers apply). 

What makes the game mechanic fun is that major players in the game, that is player characters and heavy duty NPCs, are “Wild Cards” and therefore get to roll an extra d6 for just about any roll (except damage, I think).  The player can pick the better of the two dice (they don’t add up).  Also, there is an “exploding die” mechanic, so if you roll the highest number on a die, you get to keep rolling it, adding the rolls together. If you beat a target number by 4, you get a “raise,” and extra cool stuff can occur (depending on the purpose of the die roll). 

All of this adds up to a damn fun mechanic.  I guess that is what sets it apart.  The Savage Worlds’ dice mechanic is simply fun.  There is something about the wild die, the raises and the exploding dice that gives Savage Worlds an extra oomph that makes you eager to see what you roll.

I enjoyed the demo so much that I bought the Savage Worlds: Explorer Edition book (hell, it is only $10).  I’ve been giving it a good read-through. In some ways, Savage Worlds feels a bit like a d20 game without the d20.  For a game that is known for being simple, it has just as many modifiers and such as d20.  I was particularly surprised that the rulebook repeatedly emphasizes that miniatures and a battle-mat should be used.  That being said, there are no attacks of opportunities and nothing really seems to slow down combat to the extreme that d20 mechanics can. 

Savage Worlds has garnered a strong following and I can see why. [Christina Stiles is working on “savaging” her SpirosBlaak d20 setting into a Savage World one.]  I would love to run a campaign that would really put this RPG through its paces.  Since it’s a universal system, I would love to run some kind of time traveling campaign in which the each PC is from whatever time period the players wish and then run them through scenarios in the past, present, and future.  Anyhow, I highly recommend it. 

Divide and Conquer – The Board Game

For those of you attending GenCon this year and looking for some board game action, I suggest checking out Divide and Conquer. My friend Hans is the game designer and it’s a hell of a game.  It takes about 5 minutes to learn the rules, but involves plenty of strategy.  Here is how he explains it:

Divide and Conquer is an abstract strategy board game for 3-4 players. As the Commander of a battalion of troops, you plan out and execute troop movements to secure objective regions around the game board. Your opponent’s competing troops will cause you to tangle and engage in conflict taking on causalities and slowing your pace to victory. You must anticipate the other players’ strategies by moving with precision and seizing the initiative. Sometimes your position is defensive to block an opponent from an objective and other times you are invading occupied regions to weaken the offensive of another player.

The game mechanics are based in mathematics and game theory, which provides an additional opponent. If you plan optimally, you will not only defeat the other players, but you will also solve the game with a minimal number of movements.

Give it a shot; you won’t be disappointed.  Tell him, “Frost sent me.”

GenCon Dates and Times:

• Event ID: BGM1010503 - (8/6 10am - Indiana Convention Center)
• Event ID: BGM1010597 - (8/7 10am - Indiana Convention Center)

Chaos Turns 6

May has been a very busy month and I have tons to post about.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to do so.

My eldest daughter, Chaos, turning 6 was the biggest event.  Six is the big leagues.  Six means she is knee-deep in kid-dom. 

She received tons of loot, but here are the gifts ol’ Dad added to the present pile:

- Black Knight Foam Sword and Shield kit.  I couldn’t pass this up when I saw it at Toys R Us.  It came with two swords and two shields.  Chaos wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, but by the end of cake time, she was slaying balloon “dragons.”  I knew I had done well when a few days later she and Mayhem were playing with the swords and Chaos turned to me and said, “You know, I really like this, Daddy.”  It was funny. It was almost as if she was surprised she was admitting it.  Mayhem likes her weaponry as well and the two spend more time slaying imaginary creatures than bashing each other.  I think I’ll pick up one or two of those bopper punching bags for them to slay when I get a chance. 

Also, I think I will get this axe so I can walk around the house saying, "By This Axe I Rule!"

- Mouse Guard Volume 1.  A friend of mine recommended this.  We’ve read a few chapters at bed time and she seems to like it, but has more trouble following the plot than I thought. The lack of words hinders her understanding at points, but she seems interested in it and I think she’ll grow into it a bit more in the upcoming year.



-  The A-Maze-ing Labyrinth board game.  I saw this board game at Toys R Us and picked it up even though I hadn’t heard of it.  I’m always on the lookout for games that are different from the various Candyland-clones out there (i.e., the mindless games).  We’ve played once and Chaos seems to like it.  Players shift the maze layout on their turns in order to move their pawn to specific treasures.  Despite the cartoony look, it isn’t just a kids’ game.  I could easily see playing it with adults.



- Pokemon booster packs.  I’m not a big Pokemon fan but Chaos and the boy down the street are.  She loves animals, so a game with cute little critters is right up her alley.  She and the boy have their own house rules, which seem like some sort of version of War.  The gamer in me has the urge to teach her the “right way” to play, but that same gamer is rather proud she has her own rules and is completely happy playing that way.

Two Last Tidbits about Clash of the Titans

I know, I know.  Clash of the Titans has been out for over a month now.  I’ve talked about it twice already (here and here).  Two final things here, folks, and I’ll shut up about it.

Item 1: I saved this review back when I was planning on writing my own: Clash of the Titans Crashes and Burns.  Why did I save it?  Because it’s laughable regardless of whether you liked the remake or not.  Why is it laughable?  Because homeboy thinks that the new Clash of the Titans is based on a book: “Based on the 1981 Alan Foster novel of the same name, Clash of the Titans….”  What book would that be?  Uhm… the novelization of the first Clash of the Titans: link.

Here is another choice quote:
"Some novels' shortcomings can be overcome by brilliant screenwriters and an all-star cast. Titans has neither. Instead of avoiding the vices present in the novel, Titans manages to condense them into a 90 minute movie."

Yep, too bad those screenwriters couldn't overcome the shortcomings of a novel based on a screenplay written by other screenwriters.

Sadly, this review comes from The Chronicle Online which is the “Official Website of the Weekly Student Newspaper of the College of Saint Rose.”  

Note to self: My daughters will not attend the College of Saint Rose.


Item 2: I want a pair of these: link  Is that wrong?

Fantasy Forest Books – Welcoming Kids to the Dungeon One Choice at a Time

In my box of adventure, I found four Fantasy Forest books:

#1 The Ring, the Sword, and the Unicorn by Jim “Gamma World” Ward

#2 Ruins of Rangar by Michael Carr

#5 Dungeon of Darkness by John Kendall

#6 Star Rangers and the Spy and the Spy by Jean Blashfield and Beverly Charette

So far, my wife and I have read #1 and #2 to Chaos, with #1 being her clear favorite. It’s pretty hard to beat a unicorn for little girl appeal. Although Ruins of Rangar has a pegasus on the cover, it more or less has a cameo appearance and Chaos wasn't too impressed.  I’m guessing the cover of Dungeons of Darkness is a bit too creepy for her and Star Rangers might be too sci-fi (she has never shown much interest in spaceships and such).


There has been much hullabaloo about WotC's new D&D for kids venture, Monster Slayers.  They have a free adventure, Heroes of Hesoid,  here: link and a Monster Slayers story book here: link.   Troll Lord Games is onto this as well with their Harvesters RPG (as well as the eternally delayed Castles & Crusades Basic).

I think this is great. Like the cigarette industry, we need to hook 'em while they're young!  Seriously, though, it is great to see people realizing there is a market for kid-friendly RPGs.  When I started this blog, I thought I was in a minority, but I've realized there are tons of gaming parents out there.  A lot of them, myself included, want a way to share our hobby with our kids.

I think WotC, and any other gaming company, would do well to revisit Choose Your Own Adventure-style books.  They really are a great gateway to the fun of role playing.  My daughter can't get enough of them.  What is really cool is that these books use the monsters and the artistic styles from the game.  The dragon art in The Ring, the Sword... is done in the same style as the 1st edition Monster Manual and stirges attack the the heroes in the Ruins of Rangar.  (I'll put up some pictures of the art in a bit.)

I keep thinking of this quote:
Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed. - G. K. Chesterton

My daughter is kind of a scaredy cat, much like I was at that age (hell, I would literally run out of the room when David Banner hulked out on the old "Incredible Hulk" TV show).  But these books have the kid as the hero (or at least as a brave side-kick).  In The Ring..., the kid is riding a unicorn and battling orcs and dragons.  In Ruins..., the kid is wielding a dagger and kicking skeletons to bits (notice how the hero is smart enough to not even attempt a piercing weapon. ha!).  This sort of crystallizes an un-hearlded benefit of gaming for kids.  Sure, there are monsters in it.  But the players' goal is to slay those monsters, overcome traps, and save the day.  More importantly, they have the means and powers to do so.

To this day, my wife is amazed that I, as a kid, didn't have nightmares about all those pictures in the Monster Manual.  Like I said, I was a chicken-shit.  So why didn't I?  Because the monsters were there to be slain.  That goblin only had 1 hit die and I knew my 3rd level fighter could bash its brains in with his morningstar.

These Fantasy Forest books are great way to show kids the fun of gaming.  The kid gets to be the hero and, really, who doesn't want that?

Someone Already Wrote my "Clash of the Titans" Review

A while back I promised to provide a more in-depth review of "Clash of the Titans."

Now there is no need. Troll and Flame already did it for me. Check out his "Dudes, New Clash of the Titans Kicks Ass" post. 

Well said.

A Quick Note Regarding the “Clash of the Titans” Remake

So, not surprisingly many gamers ran out to see the “Clash of the Titans” remake.  By and large, given by the posts at my Internet hangouts, the movie was not well received by the gaming community.  Actually, the movie seems nigh-universally loathed.  Well, to such critics, here is my response:

Seriously, did anyone who saw the trailers expect a blow-by-blow recreation of the Perseus myth?  The trailers were one step away from this:

I really enjoyed “Clash of the Titans” and I’m eager to see it again.  I hope to post a more in-depth review, but pesky work is eating up my time this week.

The Skeletor Show

If you're not watching this YouTube series, you should be...

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.

Gaming Deal - Forbidden Kingdoms

Half Price Books is one of my favorite stores.  I love Borders as well, but they don't sell used books.  Since I have no interest in the current embodiment of D&D, Borders doesn't have much to offer me, gaming-wise, apart from WotC miniatures (which, notably, Half Price Books does not sell).  Half Price, on the other hand, has a decent selection of used RPG stuff and I've found some real gems there.

The latest deal I found there was actually for a book in new condition (I believe it would qualify as a remaindered book).  Forbidden Kingdoms by OtherWorld Creations, in the Pittsburgh area at least, was on sale for $3.00 (original price: $40.00). It's a neat little book (literally, it's 9.5 in. x 7.5 in) that details a cool system for Pulp Adventures.  It's based on the 3.0 rule set, as it was made before the release of d20 Modern.  As such, it has more in common with D&D than those rules. For my simple-mind, that is a good thing. In other words, you could play some Indiana Jones-style games based on the D&D rule set.  As another bonus, its psionics system is well-regarded, so I might use it as a resource if I'm ever crazy enough to put psionics in my D&D campaign.

Half Price has another remaindered d20 book on sale: the Bestiary of Loerem for the Sovereign Stone campaign setting.  This book was $3.00 when I bought it, but I later saw it for $2.00.  I believe this originally retailed for $40 or so as well (I'm not certain as the original price isn't published on the book cover).  Quite frankly, this book is barely worth the $3.00 I paid for it.  The art and product values are great (although barely any of the interior art is by Larry Elmore, despite the Sovereign Stone books being labeled as "Elmore's Sovereign Stone"), but the monsters are just plain boring.

Half Price had quite a lot a copies of both of these books. If you live near a store, pick up Forbidden Kingdoms if you can.  Take a gander at the Bestiary of Loerem and judge for yourself.  Oh, just a heads up, both of these books were not in the gaming section, but were stacked out on the middle tables with the other remaindered books.

SKULLS - Web Comic

Black Gate magazine has been posting a web comic called "SKULLS" by John R. Fultz on its blog.  Check it out: link

On a side note, Black Gate magazine is excellent and you should check it out if you haven't.

A Warning to the DMs of Rappan Athuk

The Thrice Damned Tome

The Spell Compendium (SC) is seeing more and more use in my Rappan Athuk campaign.  Sam, the wizard player, first introduced it a while back and has had fun with defenestrating sphere, but once the cleric player, Rob, picked up a copy, boy, did it start to shine. He has found plenty of useful anti-undead spells and the anti-incorporeal undead spells haven been particularly handy.  Quite frankly, with the help of those spells, the party worked over the big, bad wizard spectre, Nadroj, like a kobold punk.  Ghost touch armor and ghost touch weapon, with a dash of life's grace, and Mr. I'm Going to Drain Your Levels Dry became Mr. Oh My Lord They Can Smack Me at Will and I Can't Do Shite."



DMs, be warned.

Anyhow, I really don't a real beef with the SC.  It has a great book and I haven't seen any really unbalancing stuff.  RA is plenty hard, so I really don't worry about the players having an advantage.  They were expecting the spectre battle, so Rob had picked his spells appropriately.  He might not have that kind of insight the next time.  Still, methinks it's time for this DM to adjust a few evil clerics spell choices.  The players aren't the only ones with a copy of the book.

On a side note, I always find the addition of new cleric or druid spells odd, role-playing-wise.  A wizard or sorcerer doesn't learn new spells unless they level up or, in the case of a wizard, find a scroll.  It flows sort of normally to see new spells introduced that way.  In the case of a cleric, the player gets a new book and suddenly, since he can choose any class-appropriate spell at rest time, the character knows new spells literally overnight. 

An incorporeal undead gets schooled thanks to the SC

Child-sized AD&D Books

Mayhem and Chaos learn the Gygaxian ways.

My friend Rob gave me these neat tiny, 1st edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons books for Christmas.  An Italian company called Twenty First Century Games put these out.  According to this site, the mini books were produced to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the game.  I find that kind of odd given that when D&D hit its 25th year mark, it was well into the 2nd Edition.  Why didn't they make miniature versions of the current edition? Also, if this is true, I'm also kind of surprised they didn't use the original 1st edition art, but opted for the Easley art used in the latter days of 1st edition.  Don't get me wrong, I love the Easley covers, but it just seems you'd go for the original art if you were celebrating the anniversary.



Regardless, they are very cool.   Yes, they do have the actual text inside, although you need a magnifying glass to read it, and a strong one at that.

Here is a size comparison:

(notice the old Toys R Us price tag on the large Monster Manual II.  Ah, remember when that store sold D&D?)

As you can see, Chaos approves.

All in all, I received:
- Players Handbook
- Dungeon Masters Guide
- Monster Manual
- Monster Manual II
- Unearthed Arcana