Friday, October 5, 2018

Octhorrorfest, Ghost Stories: 1D12 Hauntings Tables For OD&D and other RPGs

Octhorror is here again! That means, of course, several supernatural posts and game aids for your help get your game in the spirit of the season! You should be able to tell from the title that, this year, will be focused on dealing with the spirit world!

I typically give stats for a creature, or a specific rule to use in play. The first post of the year is going to be a little more generic. This post is intended to help those Referees that want to add a bit of the supernatural to the game, or run a Halloween session, without having to do a ton of prep. To this end I give you tables to create a sandbox ghost story for your players to deal with. The intent here is that the players will discover the haunting and have to deal with putting the spirit to rest. This post assumes that D&D or another fantasy game is being played. Enjoy!

D12: What Is Being Haunted?
  1. A castle/manor
  2. The local inn/tavern
  3. Someone's home
  4. An old abandoned house
  5. A cemetery or barrow
  6. A magic item the PCs have discovered
  7. Mundane treasure (gold, jewelry etc.)
  8. A common item (used adventuring gear, a farmer's plow etc.)
  9. A holy site (temple, grove, cemetery etc.)
  10. An item owned by an NPC
  11. An NPC (see rules for possession and obsession)
  12. One of the PCs (see rules for possession and obsession)
D12: Why Is the Spirit Earthbound?
  1. The spirit does not realize it has died
  2. The spirit was murdered and must be avenged/murderer brought to justice
  3. They died while on a quest. The quest must be completed for the spirit to move on.
  4. An item was stolen from the home or resting place of the spirit and must be returned
  5. The spirit was bound to the haunted (see table above) by means of a spell.
  6. The deceased deliberately became a ghost, specter etc, hoping to gain power as an undead spirit
  7. A curse separates this spirit from the spirit of it's one true love, who has passed on to the other side.
  8. A part of the spirits corporeal body is missing/stolen and must be returned to it's place of rest.
  9. The spirit broke an oath before dying and is now cursed until it proves it's worth.
  10. The body of this spirit is alive, but the current possessor of it's body severed it's ties to get rid of the proper owner.
  11. The spirit is a loved one visiting from the otherside. It is not truly earthbound but may not be able to find it's way back.
  12. The spirit was a being resurrected, but the attempt failed and now is stuck between two worlds.
Halloween Ghost by Tom Shropshire

Speaking of Ghost Stories, if you haven't done so already, head on over to the Appendix N Entertainment Store at DriveThruRPG to pick up my first adventure, "Hidden Hand of the Horla" PWYW for a limited time!


Monday, July 23, 2018

U-Con Event Submission Is Open! Now With Deadlines

It's event submission time for U-Con!



As the OSR Track and Tekumel Track event coordinator I am looking for Referees, Judges and Dungeon Masters to come run old school games! U-Con will be held November 9-11, 2018 at the Marriott Ann Arbor Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest.

DEADLINES: IF YOU WANT YOUR EVENT AVAILABLE DURING PRE-REGISTRATION THE DEADLINE IS AUGUST 24th!!
THE FINAL DEADLINE FOR EVENT SUBMISSION IS SEPTEMBER 24th!!

Did you also know that U-Con has a Tekumel Track? If you are a fan of Tekumel and want a platform to run at, U-Con is the place! Our Tekumel Track allows for any game system so long as you are running a Tekumel game! Submit your Tekumel events today!
 
What qualifies as an OSR event this year?
 
Official D&D:
All TSR Era D&D qualifies,
OD&D
AD&D
B/X
BECMI
AD&D 2nd Edition
Rules Cyclopedia
 
Other TSR Era Stuff:
Gamma World (TSR editions)
Boot Hill
Metamorphosis Alpha
Star Frontiers
Gangbusters
Top Secret
Alternity etc.
 
Other Early Era RPGs/Supplements:
Arduin
Early Chaosium products (RuneQuest 2nd Edition, Elfquest, Sandy Petersen era Call of Cthulhu etc)
RuneQuest (yes I know I mentioned it before)
Tunnels & Trolls (all editions)
Dragonquest (all editions)
Traveller (early editions)
Chivalry & Sorcery
Pacesetter System Games (Chill, Time Master, Crypt World etc.)
Middle Earth Role Playing (I.C.E.)
Rolemaster
Spacemaster
The Complete Warlock
Rapier & Dagger
Cyborg Commando (Did he really just say Cyborg Commando AGAIN?)
WEG D6 Star Wars
WEG D6 Ghostbusters
The Fantasy Trip
007
Pre 2000s Palladium Games (TMNT, Palladium RPG, early RIFTS etc)
 
If I missed your favorite, contact me and make sure, but it will likely be fine to run.
 
Retro-Clones:
Swords & Wizardry
OSRIC
Cryptworld
Labyrinth Lord
Mutant Future
Dark Dungeons
Delving Deeper
Blueholme
For Gold & Glory
Spellcraft & Swordplay etc.
 
Near Clones:
Dungeon Crawl Classics
Mutant Crawl Classics
Adventurer Conqueror King
Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
Castles & Crusades
White Star
The Hero's Journey
The Black Hack
Adventures Dark & Deep
Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy Roleplaying Game etc.
 
As always, this list is hardly exhaustive regarding all of the great Old School RPGs in the world. If you have one you want to run and it isn't here, just let me know. Let's make this thing huge. I want to give your favorite Old School game a place to live and breathe.  When you register and OSR game, be sure to note that it is an OSR game in the comment so that we get it registered properly!
 
What Qualifies for the Tekumel Track?
 
The Tekumel Track can accommodate ANY game system you choose to run in the Tekumel setting! If you register a Tekumel game, make sure you state it is a Tekumel game in the comments section, to assure it is tagged properly!
 
HOW TO SUBMIT:
 
 
Greetings GameMasters! Event submissions are now being accepted for U-Con 2018, Nov 9-11! As always, in exchange for your commitment, you’ll receive a GM badge that will allow you access to the convention all weekend, while All-Star GMs (who run 16+ event hours) will earn a Play Games All Weekend Ribbon!


Are you planning on running a game at U-Con 2018? Read on! If you’re just coming to play, you can skip this one and just appreciate how far in advance folks prepare to make this a fun event for you.

 
We are working to improve our registration process.  As of this year, you’ll be able to log in to see your submitted events and eventually your schedule.  Just head over to create your login, then submit your events!


You can find more info about being a GM or if you have any questions, please send us a message.

Thanks, and good gaming!
Your U-Con Team
 

Thursday, May 10, 2018

SALE - Dolemwood Bundle on OBS - $70 Off the Full Line!

If you have been eyeing the Dolemwood materials from Necrotic Gnome Productions, there is no time better than now to buy in. Put out by the same publisher that brought us B/X Essentials and Theorems  & Thaumaturgy, Dolemwood brings Weird Fantasy to the table. Made for B/X games, the weirdness of the setting makes it perfect for running Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role Playing campaigns. Currently, Necrotic Gnome is having a huge sale on the entire line! You can currently get over $123 worth of product for under $55! More information on the setting and a link to the sale can be found below.
 
 
 
Dolmenwood is a weird folklore campaign setting — creepy, whimsical, and psychedelic in equal measure — for B/X and other vintage fantasy games. This document, formatted for ease of home-printing, is an introductory guide for players taking their first footsteps under the eaves of this mythic forest and discusses the major locales, the sentient races which inhabit them, and the factions which vie for power.
 
In-depth detail on the setting, suitable for referees, is furnished in the seasonal Wormskin zine. Each issue uncovers various elements of this eldritch realm situated on the leafy verges of Fairy, where austere Drunes rub elbows with weird elf-lords and talking beasts, where witches wander skyclad and armed with sinister magicks to bind the spirits of hapless adventurers.

 
Everything Dolemwood Bundle - $53.91 for all titles! Print and PDF - Savings of $69.51!
 
 
A percentage of all liked sales go to support Gamers & Grognards.