Tim Strikes Again!

Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor has put up another great post for the aspiring GM, this time focusing on building a small campaign.

Having never actually run a game that's ever lasted beyond a one-shot, Tim's advice both in his new post and the one before it have given me plenty of ideas to work with, helping me bring form to ideas I already had and, all being well, allowing me to put together a campaign of my very own.

Now if I can only get beyond the root of all my GMing based headaches, mapping.

R.I.P: Ray Harryhausen

Taking a lead from Tim Shorts over at Gothridge Manor and his idea of a
blogfest in honor of the late, great Ray Harryhausen, I felt I would be amiss not contributing when his work has not only brought such great joy to the masses but, also touched me on a personal level.


What can you say about such a great man in death though that has not already been said in life?

The sad truth is not a lot. Unlike many artists, he was greatly appreciated in his lifetime, and he influenced a great number of people who followed in his footsteps. So I can state with no level of uncertainty that he will not be forgotten and that he was one of the great pioneers within his field. On a personal note, I can say that Ray's interpretation of  The Children of the Hydra's Teeth and, the battle that ensued with them was iconic for me. It's why I nearly always include animated skeletons in my adventures, and why only recently I bought a big box of plastic ones with every intention of modeling them in the Ray Harryhausen style.

You will be missed but never forgotten.

R.I.P: Ray Harryhausen

June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013

Good Reads: One For The GM's

It's was only just over a week ago, at the beginning of this month that I found myself posting up links to articles on other blogs that had caught my eye, and here I am, doing it again! Keep this up and we may well have another regular feature on our hands. :0).

I digress though. Today's posts come with a theme, which is food for thought for the GM. Not that your average GM doesn't already have more than enough to think about. ;0). The first article by Tim Shorts over at Gothridge Manor however goes a long way towards relieving the harrowed GM, showing you how it's easily possible to create a quality nights entertainment in the space of an hour. Not only does this article really hammer home the points that you need to consider, but it is also quite inspirational. I highly recommend it.

The second article over at the Trollish Delver explores the ethics and morality of adventuring, and does it very well indeed. It is a subject that I have touched upon here before, and I do think it's very important. Not so much for the ethical implications it can throw up at the table but because as Scott rightly point out, it opens up a lot of avenues for adventure. Choices can come back to help or hinder players, and players can effectively give you the seeds to shape future adventures. It's sandbox thinking at it's best and again, I highly recommend giving it a read.

Sources Of Power

Almost forgot to mention. In my ongoing, massive re-write of the Tunnels and Trolls spell book, I'm drawing upon all of these resources:

• Tunnels and Trolls 7.5 Rulebook
• Codex Incantatem
• Codex Incantatem II
• Tunnels and Trolls HQ
• Dungeons & Dragons: Complete Arcane
• Sword & Sorcery: Advanced Players Guide
• GURPS: Magic (thanks to Tim Shorts for the heads up on this one)
• Dragon Warriors
• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

If there's a good one I've missed, I'd sure appreciate a point in the right direction. :0).

+1 Follower: Welcoming Gothridge Manor.

Following on from the example set by Pulp Citizen, over at his blog, I would like to give a big shout out to our latest follower, Gothridge Manor.

Welcome on-board the mad ship Alchemy. Also, I'd like to take the chance to thank all of our other followers and readership. Without you guys, this blog would just be me barking at the dark. :0).

Review: The Manor - Issue #1

Cover art by Jason Sholtis.

Trying my luck after my previous win over at Tenkar's Tavern, I decided to give Erik's latest contest a crack.

The name of the game was to design a mercurial magical effect (a magical effect triggered by the casting of a spell) for DCC. Now, whilst I have no actual experience of the DCC system there was no actual mechanical requirements within your entry, just creativity, so I certainly fancied my chances and, found that once I'd conjured up one idea, the creative juices just kept on flowing.

A long story short, I won! And, for my prize I had the choice of either The Manor - Issue #1 or, The Manor - Issue #2.

Possessing neither, I decided best to start at the start and, I chose Issue #1. I am not disappointed! In fact, I'm quite enthused!

Let me just start my actual review by saying that this zine is amazing! It arrived this morning and already I have read it cover-to-cover, twice! It was that good, I just had to read it again and, I'm not what you would call a big reader (normally a book a year, if that). Something tells me I'll be reading it again before the day's through too.

But what's got me hooked?

For a start, I'm really digging the format. The book is a sweet A5 size with card stock covers (reminiscent of great products such as Buffalo Castle and lending a real sense of overall quality) and, extremely well laid out. The art is beautiful throughout and, each article is written in a narrative style that is both easy to follow and also complimentary to the subject matter.

Then there is what you actually get wrapped up in these 24 pages. A short GM adventure, a random treasure table, poetry, adventure hooks, NPC's and, some excellent wilderness encounters. That's a lot of bang for $3.50.

I know I say it quite often but, this is a must own for almost any gamer. Even if you have no plan of running retro-clone anytime soon, it's a great read and, extremely entertaining.

Pick up your copy of Issue #1 and, Issue #2 here ($3.50 each) or, as a PDF here ($2.50 each).