A Blast from the TLG Past (Gygax and d20)

Here's a news article from June 10, 2001, announcing our first product with the esteemed Gary Gygax (friend of the Troll Lords). We had just signed the contracts and the news was out. Gary was extraordinarily generous and we bundled it all up in Aihrde, Gaxmoor and all manner of goodies. 

It is hard to describe those early d20 days. The energy was through the roof, people were coming out of everywhere wit ideas and concepts, amateur and professional. We met at every convention, gathering in bars and around tables in restaurants talking biz and game design. It was wild.

Read the original article here in ICV2! Or click the link. 

New Players Handbook Art!

 Joining the fray at the last minute is Joel Chaim Holtzman! Some wonderful pieces of his art have been set in the Castles & Crusades Playershandbook, 8th printing. Here is one of the two. This piece captures the heart of a magic user, be they sorcerer, wizard, illusionist or one's mind's eye sees!

Beyond the Waves

Beyond the tumultuous waves and rocks like razors lies the land of Baratine Coast. A wild and inhospitable land where the ruins of the old world like undisturbed. ~ The Codex of Aihrde

Brilliant - the five room dungeon

 This is a must read article. Seriously its like 1000 words and brilliant.

The five room Dungeon

Helmets, a visual history

 So came across a lot of these types of visual histories. We used to do them in  archeology all the time.

How you use this  otherwise pointless knowledge is up to you. 

To Guard Against Dragons

The dwarves set their homes deep in the mountains, in valleys sheer and steep so no dragon or armed host could come at them easily. And their hid their doors with clever artifices, such that they were all but lost to the world.

Word of the Day -- Reprobate

This was a word that was often hurled around in my family, brother to brother, mother to son, brother to father, etc. etc... Not in the strictest meaning of it, mind you, we were joking.  I think.  I hope.  Not sure anymore, might have to call my brother, that:

Reprobate -- a morally corrupt or depraved person

Reprobate comes from the Latin reprobare, meaning "to disapprove" or "to condemn." It came about in the late 16th century.  It's also a pretty good word to call your brother when he once again takes your book without asking.

Also, these guys...

Dwarven Warrior

Fighters come from every geographic region and occupy all social strata. They are born with a strength of will and spirit that leads them to seek the field of battle. From the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook, 8th printing. Coming Soon. Art by Peter Bradley.

Astounding Video Game Visuals

 I stumbled on this gem while looking at zombie game play. What caught my eye immediately were the little figures attempting their escape. They just looked haunting. This game has such amazing visuals that it held me for quite awhile. This is a rich vein of inspiration right here! 

I think I'm going to have to play this one...

This second one was just as cool, different setting. Put a whole new spin on Another Brick in the Wall for me... "Hey teachers! Leave those kids alone..."

Stab me in the Eyes

 You know, looking at that, I imagine the rest of the armor is just as tight fitting. 

So, the only way to die is by being stabbed in the eyes.... repeatedly.

Not so sure I like that. 

The Druid, C&C PHB 8

They find the myriad artificial creations of civilized peoples abhorrent, for they believe that reliance upon the unnatural creates people who are weak and dependent upon a material culture. They are fiercely individualistic...

From the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook, 8th printing. Coming this Autumn. Art by Zoe DeVos.

Autumn's Meadow A Road to Adventure

 I have come to realize that my two favorite words in the English language are meadow and autumn. For me, meadow captures a still stand of grass and wild flowers bordered by darker, more brooding forests, where the morning dew proliferates, clinging to grass and tattered web. And the sun dapples the whole scene in iridescent colors . . .. Come autumn, the heat has broken and the cool air's not too cold, making it a good time for travel and beginning the road to adventure. 

Bergman Map.... hahaha that was fun

 

Return of the King - Lord of the Rings: A Master Class in Campaign Planning Part 3

So here we are in part three of our epic fantasy campaign based on Lord of the Rings. When we last left our heroes, the Fellowship had fractured, with our hobbits Sam and Frodo in desperate peril, Sam following the captured and incapacitated Frodo into Cirith Ungol, and the rest of the crew, including new character Faramir, split between marshalling the forces of Rohan and riding to warn Minas Tirith of a coming attack.

Our intrepid GM now faces a further challenge; not only have his gaming groups split in twain, his Saturday group is now facing a potentially long-term party split. He briefly considers branching off into a third gaming group but decides even for him, that's untenable, and besides, the Saturday group are all still pursuing the same goal. He'll deal with the split party by switching back and forth at dramatic moments. He's also got a grand plan, if he can pull it off, for the end battle.

This final section of the series on Lord of the Rings as a class in campaign planning brings it all together, looking at some of the major problems a GM faces when they are many months into an epic game and nearing the end: player drift, party split, character death or incapacitation late in the game, the need to bring everyone back together, and what happens when, after the campaign ends, some of your players aren't ready to let it go just yet...

And so we begin.

Image source: Wikipedia

http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2018/01/return-of-king-lord-of-rings-and.html

View Part One

View Part Two

The Two Towers - Lord of the Rings: A Master Class in Campaing Planning part 2

Check out Part One, here!

The Two Towers: Setting up the Next Stage

Welcome to part two of our look at how Lord of the Rings offers us a master class in creating and running an epic campaign in the old-school style for your home game. In part one we looked at how the campaign starts simple and grows through side adventures and the addition of new players, and how it deals with divergent character levels by allowing for foes of different abilities and giving all players a chance to shine despite their relative level of power. It also deals with what happens when people's schedules change and the game needs to divide.

It also touched upon the commitment that a GM puts into their campaign, how there's a ton of planning and time put into it, and admittedly it faces issues that some people have difficulty facing: those of simple time. You may not have the time to deal with the issues that come up in your life as they appear in this series, and if that's the case, there's nothing wrong with that. Not everyone has the kind of time to create new gaming groups and play several times a week.

When we last left our heroes, the Fellowship had fractured, largely due to life and scheduling reasons. Merry and Pippin's players had to drop out of weekly play, but agreed to keep in touch in hopes they could jump back in eventually. Frodo and Sam's players had moved to Monday, and had left alone with the Ring, heading for Mount Doom. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli's players had sworn to track down Merry and Pippin, and run interference for Sam and Frodo in the process by making some noise to draw the attention of the Enemy. Boromir had died.

What had begun as a straightforward quest has now, of necessity, turned into a very nuanced game with multiple storylines and multiple adventuring parties. No longer is the GM planning a straight quest to Mordor; now he's dealing with two major story paths.

In this blog we'll move on to part 2 of our Master Class in running an epic home campaign: The Two Towers. The theme here is running variant groups of gamers in the same campaign world, roughly simultaneously in time, and how one group's actions could affect the others. 

http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-two-towers-lord-of-rings-and.html

Image Source: Wikipedia

Lord of the Rings: a Master Class in Campaign Planning

Every GM dreams of that magnum opus campaign, the one that's so epic it's unlike anything they've done before, which people will talk about for years, and which they'll never top again. That campaign that's epic in scope, that's rich in the world you've built, with fully-realized characters and deep, instense storylines that your players will never forget.

In short, every GM dreams of running their own Lord of the Rings.

And yet, a lot of people have discussed over the years how Lord of the Rings doesn't work as a proper fantasy role playing campaign. It's too divided in its stories. The goal is too big. It doesn't allow proper dressing of in-game party dynamics. The characters are too level-diverse. Gandalf is only 5th level (a claim dating back to the old Dragon Magazine, and entirely ludicrous and unsustainable if you have a tiny bit of brain cells).

Here's the truth: Lord of the Rings is a master class in a role playing game campaign, both in its novel and its film versions. Indeed, it's particularly salient to an old school style of play, where "game balance" meant "everyone's having fun," as opposed to, "everyone's of the exact same power level." Take a look at how Lord of the Rings as a master class in home RPG campaign design begins and comes together with The Fellowship of the Ring.

http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2018/01/fellowship-of-ring-lord-of-rings-and.html

Photo Source: Wikipedia