The Outlook is Grim

Mythrus Tower Maps - NTRPGCON 2011

2011-04-22T08:43:00.002-05:00

Mythmere gave me permission to share this little artifact from the Mythrus Tower sessions last year, enjoy.

You can download the file to access the sticky note comments.

If you have notes you'd like to add to the map for events or locations you remember from last years game, contact me and we can try to get those added.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0ENvQ09Kp6mM2E5ZjNkY2MtOTIyMy00MjUxLTkyOTktNzZmMzU4MGI3M2U1&hl=en

Hey, I'm Still Here

2011-02-23T22:21:00.001-06:00

Stuff is coming, just slower than I expected.

Roobiks Redux

2010-04-22T09:01:00.003-05:00

Take a look at what Norm over at Troll and Flame has done with my roobiks geomorphing dungeon idea. I love it! http://friendorfoe.com/code/geomorphcube/ Great work, Norm.

New Generator - Magical Weapons

2010-04-16T13:51:00.003-05:00

I've got yet another "All the Dice" generator for Swords and Wizardry in the newest issue of Knockspell (#Four). This one generates magical weapons and I think it's pretty nifty. Run and go get yourself a copy.

Roobiks Geomorphing Dungeon

2010-03-18T08:29:00.006-05:00

I was looking at my Sudoku Rubix Cube and realized I could use it as a template for interlocking geomorphs. The orientation of each tile relating to a geomorph numbered 1 through 9. I'm going to have to experiment with this idea. Obviously 9 tiles is not enough so perhaps theres 6 sets of 9 since it is a cube. (9-a through 9-f). By manipulating the cube an endless city or dungeon could be generated.

Edit* I was fixing the link above when I came across THIS! Oh hell yes!

The mind boggles.

Uh-oh. Boggle Dungeon? Scrabble Dungeon? I better stop while I'm ahead.

Homemade Miniatures

2009-08-09T14:21:00.002-05:00

I created this pair of tentacles out of sculpy. woohoo!

More adventuring in Cromlech Tor

2009-08-09T11:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday saw an 8 hour game in Philotomy's Megadungeon. Actually, we spent a great deal of the session above ground. The updated campaign thread is here http://swordsandwizardry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=537&start=50

This was the first time we've gotten together since before sometime in late spring and it was one of the best yet. We learned a great deal more about PJ's dungeon, and mapped out some new territory. Everybody was making good rolls and the new guy fit in well also. Hopefully we can meet up again soon. PJ was full of surprises this time with lots of interesting encounters. Even letting us draw our own map of an ideal ambush site at one point since we spent time scouting one out. I managed to drop a huge albino ape with a little help from our fighter. A pretty good feat for my puny 4hp Cleric considering it took 21 pts to drop the ape (14 from me on two lucky hits). Mythmere escaped one situation by the skin of his teeth as well, I really thought he was about to bite the farm when nearly the entire party fled some kind of undead thing that he managed to take out single handedly.

Fresh Paint

2009-08-09T09:17:00.002-05:00

Been grabbing a few mini's here and there for a while now. Here's some Reaper skeletons and barrow rats along with a couple older mini's, "Fat Cleric" and and old school Gandalfy Wizard, I think they are Grenadier). These are the first mini's I've painted since I was about 13 years old, it was a lot of fun and I've done a few more since these but I don't have pics yet. These got an ink wash after this.

Game Report: HackMaster Basic: Basement of Zenopus

2009-08-08T12:20:00.002-05:00

SPOILERS AHEAD!

So, last night I ran HackHamster's hacked old-school module "Basement of Zenopus" for some freinds. I had drawn up an oversize map to use for Salthaven. A bit of obligatory roleplay around the tavern got our party into the clues they needed to get into frame of mind for the dungeon crawl that was to come.

The group was composed of Dwar and Human Fighters, an Elf Mage, and a Halfling Thief.

Upon investigating the entrance chamber and it's exits they quickly deduced the nature of the illusionary rubble that blocked one of the passageways. Feeling that it must be hiding something, they continued beyond the mirage.

The sleeping goblin in the next room was a bit more trouble. The Dwarf almost bought the farm when the goblin awoke and fired of the booby trap. It escaped into the next area and the party gave chase. A good melee resulted with the goblins therein being slaughtered handily by the party.

After looting the area thoroughly they headed to the next area. Again, not heeding my clues of a spiked door with cobwebs and cold air blowing from underneath it, they pressed on.

The gigantic spiders trap lured them right in... "what's in the bucket?". Only one party member got bitten, the poison was quite lethal.

We ended the game here, agreeing to meet again and continue the adventure.

Main impressions of the system as a DM. The countdown initiative isn't too hard to keep track of, i found myself utilizing a grid and checking off boxes as each second went by. I could see where this would be a good job for a dry erase board, perhaps. Weapon speed took a few go-rounds for the group to get a handle on but they were soon into the groove, "Hacking!", "Jabbing!", "Firing!". Everyone enjoyed the penetration dice and the gritty realistic feel of the combat and felt that it seemed to make more sense than abstract rounds and hitpoints. We're going to keep trying it a couple more sessions but we did discuss possibly switching to swords and wizardy to cut down on math. The good thing is, I could still continue the campaign without really changing anything. :)

Big Gaming Weekend

2009-08-07T08:53:00.002-05:00

I'm quite excited to report that I have three games in three days this weekend. Kicking off a new campaign tonight, it will either be S&W:Core + Skathro's Companion or HackMaster Basic. Either is fine with me, I'm letting the players pick, my notes will work either way since we are starting with Basement of Zenopus.

Tomorrow is Philotomy Jurament's game, he runs OD&D and knows the system inside and out. This will be our fifth or sixth session in his MegaDungeon and we have a new player at the table as well.

Sunday is the third session of a HackMaster Basic game that I have joined over at Midnight Comics in Katy. That game has been a hoot so far. We are still learning HM:B but it feels like D&D to me, even with its funky opposed roll system and countdown initiative.

All in all it looks to be a fun weekend of gaming. Hope I don't drive the wife crazy!

The Old Story Teller

2009-08-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

A chartless "All the Dice"

For a few coppers, and old timer will spin you a yarn.

Use d6A if your d20 is Even. Use d6B if it is Odd.

d4 Listen to my tale...

A forgotten secret ...

A dark mystery ...

An ancient prophecy ...

A family legend ...

d6 (A) about ...

A Hero's death ...

A Hero's true love ...

A Hero's great feat ...

A Hero's greatest battle ...

A Hero's legendary weapon ...

A Hero's final resting place ...

d6 (B) about ...

Treasure in a monster's hoard ..

Treasure bestowed by the gods ...

Treasure lost at sea ...

Treasure across the ocean ...

Treasure hidden by time ...

Treasure guarded by great danger ...

d8 Where it occured...

Deep in a forest

On a battlefield

In a Castle

In a dungeon

In a tower

Buried in ruins

Atop a mountain

Inside a cave

d10 Our hero/the treausure's owner ...

was poisoned by a rival...

was slain in battle by an enemy ...

was double crossed by a friend ...

was framed by a family member ...

was murdered by a rival ...

vanished without a trace ...

was devoured by a monster ...

was trapped forever ...

was struck by a curse ...

was blackmailed by a confidant ...

d12 The results of which were ...

A riot in the capital lasting d20 days

a clan war lasting d20 weeks

a manhunt lasting d20 days

a prolonged war lasting d20 years

a family feud lasting d20 generations

a string of murders d20 deaths

a witch hunt resulting in d20 deaths

a quarantine lasting d20 months

the wrath of the gods destroying d20 people

military intervention lasting d20 weeks

a plague of monsters lasting d20 days

appearance of d20 unusual creatures

2009-07-31T22:46:00.002-05:00

A drawing of a plastic toy dragon I have made by Schliech. You can find them at Michael's. I added the whiskers...

Dungeon Survivor

2009-07-31T00:11:00.002-05:00

Troll

2009-07-30T19:23:00.003-05:00

Got the paints out and whipped up this old-school favorite.

Lineage Generator

2009-07-29T09:03:00.003-05:00

A new generator has been released in the wild. This one is for Ruins & Ronin, Mike D's S&W: White Box spin-off of asian flavored old school gaming. Of course it will work for just about any fantasy game as well. Find it here http://swordplusone.blogspot.com/2009/07/grims-roll-all-dice-lineage-generator.html

Charge!

2009-07-27T20:51:00.003-05:00

An after dinner scribble.

Drawing Again

2009-07-09T18:37:00.003-05:00

Lately I've been trying to start drawing again, it's been awhile. I doodle alot but it has been a few years since I made any "finished" art. Swords & Wizardry in particular has inspired me to go back and revisit a lot of the old RPG art that I enjoyed in my youth. I've also been scouring the web for new inspiration at sites like trollboy's . I feel like I'm starting to get my chops back a bit. Here's a few recent sketches that I thought were getting me pointed in the right direction.

Potion Miscibility

2009-06-14T18:04:00.004-05:00

I've added a page for Potion Miscibility to my potion generator. If anyone would like to critique it, let me know. I'm not sure it's too harsh or not. The majority of the effects are negative or open to interpretation.

Treasure Map Generator redux

2009-06-10T18:50:00.004-05:00

I've been tinkering with my treasure map generator a bit and I plan on scanning a few things and showing how I think it can be used. I was a little disappointed that it did not receive much attention in comparison to the generators that were its predecessors and I beleive that this is due to the fact that it is not as obvious in its usefulness as the generators I created before it. Hopefully I can rekindle some interest in it and that will lead to some people sharing their own creations made with it.

If you have been using, I'd love to hear from you and see what it led you to create.

Back to the Grindstone

2009-05-31T12:35:00.003-05:00

After a brief hiaitus centered around the birth and welcoming of my second daughter to the world, I have once again begun work on things related to gaming. The illystrious Mythmere has handed me the keys to the Megadungeon Slam and I expect to attempt to revitalize that effort in the coming weeks. In addition I have started to flesh out maritime desitination for my homebrew campaign which will doubtless be geared for integration into any fantasy S&W campaign since that's what I run (and you should too). I must say I'm quite anxious to get back into the swing of things now that my normal schedule is being resumed. I do expect a generous amount of work to be waiting for me at my day job but it should not take too long to get caught up with that and find myself some free time for gaming.

Published!

2009-05-19T18:46:00.003-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that a few things I wrote made it into Knockspell #2.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see that my "All the dice" method has attracted a few adopters.

If you haven't procured a copy yet, now is the time to do so! Not for my meager contributions but for the other wonderful contributions withing. I'm particularly smitten with the second installment of "Isles on an Emerald Sea".

Swords and Wizardry ... and Wizardry

2009-04-29T21:39:00.003-05:00

Chgowiz's Ultima project http://oldguyrpg.blogspot.com/search/label/ultima has got me thinking about one of my old favorites; Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord.

As a kid I spent many hours completely enraptured by this game. My Uncle gave my family an Apple 2+ one year and it eventually found itself in my sole possession. There were a few games to be had among the disks it came with among them was Wizardry and its strange little booklet.

I had no idea of the implications of its digest format and box. The spell lists and the magic words that cast them bore no resemblance to any game I had played before. The artwork was humorous, in stark contrast to the brutality of the game it adorned.

I wish I knew how many thousands of characters I sent to their doom in that dungeon. For years I was toiled on the first two levels before ever finding the elevator. I knew nothing of "Identify Item 9" and other such easter eggs.

Toiling in those dungeons became a science. Eventually I had memorized all the spells, just as my characters had. Rescue expeditions had extracted numerous slain heroes from the depths. I struggled to map the depths of the place yet never succeeded in any great degree.

How could a game so sparse in options be so captivating?

There was an inn, for recruiting and equipping your party. A trading post for the buying and selling of goods and a temple for curing and raising the dead. Those locations were inside the castle and at the edge of town was the maze. There was no overland adventuring. You were either in town or in the dungeon. You were either dead or your were alive.

Identifying items was tantamount to success as was having a thief - you could forget about opening a chest without one in your party.

Friendly factions were also in the dungeon. Surprise could tip the scales in a single round.

Flavor text was rare. Few places in the dungeon held a description of any kind.

There was no plot other than to reach the bottom and kill the badguy.

Werdna, you son of a bitch.

I never got him. Not once.

Not yet.

Beer Barbarian

2009-04-09T18:04:00.004-05:00

I was highly amused when I saw this over at critical ankle bites.

Truly hilarious! Very detailed work as well. I'm not sure it would hold up in a fight, though.

Treasure Map Generator

2009-04-06T11:43:00.001-05:00

The Treasure Map generator is finally available. Roll all the dice and find out the location where the treasure is buried. This one is sure to spark to the imagination and lead on to new adventures.

http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/grimtreasuremapgenerator.pdf

Music and Modules

2009-04-03T16:47:00.004-05:00

Here's the lyrics to the song "Jambi" by Tool.

I think I'm going to have to use it as inspiration to write an adventure. I may even take some cues from the real story of Jambi, which was an Indonesian kingdom colonized by the Dutch in the 1700's.

Here from a kings mountain view

Here from the wild dream come true

Feast like a sultan, I do

On treasures and flesh never few

But I would wish it all, away

If I thought I'd lose you just one day

The devil and his had me down

In love with the dark side I'd found

Dabblin' all the way down

Up to my neck, soon to drown.

But you changed that all for me

Lifted me up, turned me round

So I, I would wish this all away

Prayed like a martyr dusk to dawn

Begged like a hooker all night long

Tempted the devil with my song

And got what I wanted all along

But I I would

If I could

I would

Wish it away

Wish it all away

Wanna wish it all away

No prize that could hold sway

Or justify my giving away my center

So if I could I'd wish it all away

If I thought tomorrow would take you away.

You, my piece of mind,

my all, my center,

just trying to hold on one more day.

Damn my eyes!

If they should compromise the fulcrum:

(If) wants and needs divide me

Then I might as well be gone...

Shine on forever

Shine on benevolent sun

Shine down upon the broken

Shine until the two become one

Shine on forever

Shine on benevolent sun

Shine down upon the severed

Shine until the two become one

Divided, I'll wither away

Shine down upon the many.

Light our way, benevolent sun.

Breathe in union

So, as one, survive

Another day and season

Silence, legion. Save your poison.

Silence, legion. Stay out of my way.

Project Progress

2009-03-24T10:36:00.004-05:00

I think I'm about 75% done with the graveyard module/setting that I'm working on. It's my own attempt at making a location that is not a one-shot location for a specific adventure. Instead, its a location that DM's can add into their own setting and use to facilitate adventures of their own design. The locale is detailed and there are maps for the major areas but the rest is left open-ended so it can be tailored for individual use. I'm currently torn between using my actual maps from the campaign I desgned them for or using the new ones I've created since the latter are much nicer looking. Once I make a decision about that aspect of the project and finish adding the statblocks needed for Swords & Wizardry I believe the undertaking will be complete and I can begin on the next one. Hopefully, fans of Judges Guild type settings will enjoy what I've put together even though this is less epic than anythign JG ever made. I'm anxioius to hear what people think so I can use those observations to improve future material. I intend to submit this to a future edition of KnockSpell magazine. Regardless of its acceptance there, it will eventually be a free download.

The next "All the Dice" generators are also coming along nicely. I think the next one I make available will be the random terrain/treasure map/adventure idea generator. Also in the works are a potion creator and a generator for merchants and wares in a bazaar type environment.

More Gonzos

2009-03-19T18:29:00.003-05:00

Double-Elf

Rex McBlasterson

Triple Double Threat

Gonzo Warriors

2009-03-18T20:48:00.005-05:00

Giant Mace

Ultra Wizard

Triple Giant

Quad Sword

Sword-Chuks

Preview

2009-03-15T09:40:00.003-05:00

Here's a little teaser from one of the projects I'm working on that I mentioned below.

Grim Desktop

2009-03-13T21:16:00.003-05:00

Generators meet Technology!

2009-03-13T14:14:00.004-05:00

My NPC Generator has gotten some love recently at http://rollon.tiddlyspot.com/ and at http://www.hackslash.net/.

I'm glad to see people finding them useful and even making them easier to use.

Upcoming Content

2009-03-11T08:48:00.004-05:00

Started gathering ideas for a new "All the Dice" generator a couple days ago. So far it looks like it is going to create places of interest that can be used as a springboard for adventure ideas or to randomly fill in locations on a wilderness map. It should be ready in the next week or so.

I've also started writing up some of the environs surrounding my City of Far-Vale. This is a much bigger project and I have no idea how soon it will be completed. I will probably release it in pieces that each section can stand alone or be combined with the others.

The Cave of the Majick Chair

2009-03-10T23:55:00.003-05:00

This first appeared over at K&KA in this thread i've edited this version slightly

Deep in some forgotten cave is the Majick Chair. If you can climb down the rushing waterfall without being impaled on the stalagmites below you can climb the steps to the shelf of rock where the Majick Chair waits for someone to rest their laurels upon it.

The effects of the chair are as follows if the chair

If someone sits in the chair, roll a d6;
1. A bunch of spiders come out (GM to determine HD and #Appearing)
2. The subject is ejected from the chair (save vs Stalagmite _2)
3. A monster appears and attacks (GM to determine).
4. Subjects is transformed into a stalagmite or stalagtite

5. The stairs turn into mud (Save vs Stalagmite +3)
6. The Majick Door opens.

Notes regarding the properties of The Chair and its Environs

The chair only works when there is one person in the room.

The door is locked and cannot be lock picked or broken and is 100% magic resistant. What's beyond it and the location of its key are up to the referee.

If the PC's figure out that the stalagmites and stalagtites are victims of the chair, they can attempt to dispel the effects one at a time.

The magic of the chair is too powerful for more than one to be freed at a time.

The stairs turning to mud won't be evident until they are tread upon. They will return to normal in 12 hours.

The chair will only function once every 24 hours.

Stalagmites do 3d6 piercing damage if anyone falls on them (Save for 1/2 damage).

The personalities imprisoned in the cave are up to the GM as are the random monsters.