Creature Companion: Shadowdark Edition!

Coming to Kickstarter this January. Creature Companion, with art by Evlyn Moreau and the imaginings of R.J. Thompson. Translated from Old-School Essentials to Shadowdark by Taylor Seely-Wright! Watch for it this January.

Wobblies & Wizards "Gateway to Adventure" Interview

 We have been interviewed on Wobblies & Wizards again! This time we were on discussing our latest Kickstarter Gateway To Adventure Trilogy! Go ahead and give it a listen!

Gateway to Adventure interview on Wobblies & Wizards

Wobblies & Wizards Zine Quest 4 Interview!

We were interviewed by our friends over at Wobblies & Wizards again! This time we talk about what Appendix N Entertainment has in store for Zine Quest 4!

You can listen to the episode here!

You can bookmark the Kickstarter for "Zines With Class for OSE" here!

So go give it a listen and if you like what you hear, get a reminder for the Kickstarter, launching the first week of August 2022!

Last Week For Our Current Kickstarter, Creature Collection I

Hello all!

In case you have not been following along, we are currently in the last week for our current Kickstarter campaign to produce "Creature Catalog I"! This is a bestiary for Old-School Essentials featuring and inspired by the art of the talented Evlyn Moreau. At the time of this posting the book will feature at least 46 new monsters, 12 petty gods, clerical orders for those gods AND will be our first hardcover publication. You can check it out here on Kickstarter!

Wobblies & Wizards: Appendix N Entertainment Inverview

 We were recently interviewed on Wobblies & Wizards! The interview cover an array for subjects from gaming and game development to records to the influence of David Lynch on our work and a spot light on our current Kickstarter for Creature Collection I Bestiary!  You can listen to the interview right here!

As always, thank you for supporting us! 

Appendix N Entertainment: Open Submissions For Modules

Appendix N Entertainment is currently accepting submissions from authors and hopeful authors of adventure modules written for Old-School Essentials Retro Adventure Game. Contracts will vary by individual but will generally follow these guidlines:

1. Pay and contract to be negotiable dependent upon word/page count, ownership of material, and rights for reprinting. 

2. Payment made in USD by check, PayPal or Payoneer.

3. Manuscripts length may vary from the original submission due to layout needs and will be discussed with the author.

4. Manuscripts should include all needed maps or illustrative devices and rough handouts. These can be rough drawings maps and will be reproduced by a professional illustrator or cartographer. If the author wishes to produce their own professional quality maps/handouts/illustrations these will have their own contracts drawn separate from the writing contract.

5. If you don't have a manuscript written, please send a short summary, contact info below.

6. Please look at one of our published adventures to understand the Gateway To Adventure line. We don't use boxed text or text that is designed for the referee to read aloud. 

7. Formatting of monsters stat blocks, spells etc. to follow OSE standards. Guidlines can be found right here.

8. Our mission statement of inclusivity in old-school gaming will be discussed upon contact.

9. The rights of unaccepted, rejected or otherwise unused manuscripts will be maintained by the original author.

You can contact us and submit to appendixnentertainment@gmail.com. Please title the submission "Gateway To Adventure Submission".

We look forward to your submissions!

Solar Sanctuary of the Cannibal Corpse: REMASTERED!

 Hello all! This is just a brief post to let everyone know that we are are currently remastering Solar Sanctuary of the Cannibal Corpse. This will be done in our current format, as we have recently done with The Child Thieves and the remasters of Octhorrorfest! and Hidden Hand of the Horla. Solar Sanctuary will be re-written and feature a new layout for ease of use a the table, along with some additional material and new cover art! 

You can back the Kickstarter here: Solar Sanctuary of the Cannibal Corpse: Remastered Kickstarter

New cover with new art from Clayton Williams!

St. Patrick's Day Release - The Leprechaun

I would like to take a moment to direct you to special St. Patrick's Day release, and latest release in the Gateway To Adventure line! Today we release "The Leprechaun" for Old-School Essentials and B/X D&D! In this little booklet you get a new Advanced Race, new class and a new magic item, all for $2.00! If there is interest, I will do a small print run of these.

"The enigmatic leprechaun has long been a staple of folklore and fairy stories, yet they are hardly represented fantasy role playing games. This work corrects that oversight! Here we present a leprechaun class and Advanced race for use with Old-School Essentials, Labyrinth Lord and B/X!"

You can get "The Leprechaun" here!

 

Why Appendix N Entertainment?

Some out there might be wondering about the name of our company, even if you are aware of the origin of Appendix N. First I'll give a little insight into what "Appendix N" is for those reading that may not know. "Appendix N" was a literal (Ha!) appendix in the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide, in which E. Gary Gygax posted most of the things that influenced him in the creation and early stages of his contribution to D&D.  It was placed in the DMG to help to educate players as to what it was the D&D was meant to emulate and represent, as well as give inspiration. This is the original Appendix N: 

"Appendix N:

Inspirational and Educational Reading

Inspiration for all of the fantasy work I have done stems directly from the love my father showed when I was a tad, for he spent many hours telling me stories he made up as he went along, tales of cloaked old men who could grant wishes, of magic rings and enchanted swords, or wicked sorcerers and dauntless swordsmen. Then too, countless hundreds of comic books went down, and the long-gone EC ones certainly had their effect. Science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies were a big influence. In fact, all of us tend to get ample helpings of fantasy when we are very young, from fairy tales such as those written by the Brothers Grimm and Andrew Lang. This often leads to reading books of mythology, paging through bestiaries, and consultation of compilations of the myths of various lands and peoples. Upon such a base I built my interest in fantasy, being an avid reader of all science fiction and fantasy literature since 1950. The following authors were of particular inspiration to me. In some cases I cite specific works, in others, I simply recommend all their fantasy writing to you. From such sources, as well as just about any other imaginative writing or screenplay you will be able to pluck kernels from which grow the fruits of exciting campaigns. Good reading!

Inspirational Reading:

• Anderson, Poul. Three Hearts and Three Lions; The High Crusade; The Broken Sword
• Bellairs, John. The Face in the Frost
• Brackett, Leigh.
• Brown, Fredric.
• Burroughs, Edgar Rice, Pellucidar series; Mars series; Venus series
• Carter, Lin. "World's End" series
• de Camp, L. Sprague. Lest Darkness Fall; Fallible Fiend; et al.
• de Camp & Pratt. "Harold Shea" series; Carnelian Cube
• Derleth, August.
• Dunsany, Lord.
• Farmer, P. J. "The World of the Tiers" series; et al.
• Fox, Gardner. "Kothar" series; "Kyrik" series; et al.
• Howard, R. E. "Conan" series
• Lanier, Sterling. Hiero’s Journey
• Leiber, Fritz. "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" series; et al.
• Lovecraft, H. P.
• Merritt, A. Creep, Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Dwellers in the Mirage; et al.
• Moorcock, Michael. Stormbringer; Stealer of Souls; "Hawkmoon" series (esp. the first three books)
• Norton, Andre.
• Offutt, Andrew J., editor. Swords Against Darkness III.
• Pratt, Fletcher. Blue Star; et al.
• St. Clair, Margaret. The Shadow People; Sign of the Labrys
• Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit; "Ring Trilogy"
• Vance, Jack. The Eyes of the Overworld; The Dying Earth; et al.
• Weinbaum, Stanley.
• Wellman, Manly Wade.
• Williamson, Jack.
• Zelazny, Roger. Jack of Shadows; "Amber" series; et al.

The most immediate influences upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form of the game. For this reason, and for the hours of reading enjoyment, I heartily recommend the works of these fine authors to you." - Gary Gygax

Since learning about Appendix N and reading it's offerings, I have loved the idea of presenting an inspirational appendix in every work that I publish. I believe that it may help referees and players to better understand the work they are reading/playing and what the intent was. Additionally, fiction and works of art tend to be welcome where most gamers are concerned. I had often wondered at what films influenced the game as I am certain that choice science fiction, horror and fantasy pieces influenced the creation of D&D. In fact there are a few choice films that we KNOW influenced the creation of the rules. So it was that I decided to include a full "Appendix N" in every offering that my publishing house would produce. Not only would I include literature but films and television as well. I decided not to stop there, but to also include albums that were listened to during the period of the creation of any given work. In this way, the reader/player can better get into the head of the creator and create an ambiance in the game that fits the mood of the work. With an Appendix N, full of inspiration, in every work I was to produce/publish the name of the company came fairly readily.

- Ryan J. Thompson

Gear, Wear,Tear & Repair

Any post from me has been a long time coming. It's been a pretty busy month.

You all know from previous posts that I like my games to have a simple simulationist quality. As of late I find myself thinking about adventuring gear and the wear and tear that it takes. This, of course, includes weapons and armor. I believe that I've come up with a very basic rule that will help to keep things simple while still making them "feel" like they are real and happening. My objective is to bring a simulationist immersion to this part of play, while keeping the rule simple to use. Without further ado, here is a rough sampling of the rules.

The Rules

 

1. All adventuring gear can be in one of four conditions:

 

Good, Worn, Damaged and Ruined

 

This is called the condition track

 

These conditions are self explanatory.

 

2. All types of materials have a base saving throw:

 

Cloth - 15

Wood - 13

Soft Metal (Gold, silver etc) - 10

Durable Metal (Steel) - 7
Stone - 5

Extraordinarily Durable Materials (Mithril, Adamant etc.) - 2

Magic Items (case by case at Referee's discretion - not damaged under normal circumstances)

Referees may give bonuses or penalties depending upon situations or damage caused by specific hazards (i.e. wooden items catching fire) as they see fit.
 

3. To keep gear in good condition, PCs must perform maintenance or upkeep in between adventures/on the road etc. If it is deemed that the PCs possess the skill to upkeep their gear, they can (with proper tools) do so themselves. As a note, if a PC can use a given weapon, they know how to perform basic maintenance of that weapon. The same goes for armor. This include oiling and sharpening blades, oiling and cleaning armor, etc. If whetstone and oil are owned, this can easily be done while camping and on watch. If it is deemed that a PC knows how to upkeep other gear and has the proper implements to do so, that is fine as well, however, this must be kept track of by the Referee for time keeping purposes. It takes a great deal of time to take care of equipment.

Alternatively, players can also have items professionally repaired, replaced etc. while in town for 20% of the value of the PCs total adventuring gear, more at the Referee's discretion if any gear is in Damaged condition. Ruined items cannot be repaired.

4. Normal wear to gear: Gear will naturally deteriorate to lesser conditions if it is not upkept, per point three. Outside of this, all gear that is used during a session must make a saving throw at the end of the session. If the saving throw fails, that piece of gear moves down the condition track by one step.

Gear that specifically takes damage must make a saving throw or move down one or more conditions along the track as well. This is based upon a variety of conditions, catching fire, items specifically targeted or damaged by foes etc.

5. Weapons and armor are subject to the same rules as adventuring gear, but may also be subject to wear and tear from especially hard hits (giving or taking maximum damage etc.) at the Referee's discretion.
 

Octhorrorfest: Possession and Obssession For Your Old School Fantasy and Horror Campaign

Let's get right to it and get into the nitty gritty of these things. The idea of possession has been fairly well understood since the release of The Exorcist in 1973. Possession, of course, is the act of a spirit (demon, ghost, etc.) dominating and controlling an individuals body. Obsession is an attack by a spiritual entity or magical creature from without the individuals body. This is often a form of mind control in which the entity holds sway over the victim. Often the obsessed will become literally "obsessed" with it's attacker, often falling into to cultus of said entity doing the entities bidding by accomplishing tasks that the obssessor cannot accomplish by itself.. This features prominently in many of the Hammer Horror Dracula films. In literature the character R. M. Renfield, from Bram Stoker's Dracula,  is an obsessed follower of Dracula.

Klove, an obsessed servant of Dracula - from Hammer Films Dracula, Prince of Darkness

It has always struck me as odd that these things are so often either neglected in D&D and it's simulacra, or simply cast aside by the use of similar spells (obsession, in the vampiric sense, being typically attributed to a charm person spell.) Here I present you with my house rules for possession and obsession.

 

Possession

Any spirit, demon or devil may attempt to possess a victim. To do so the spirit must first make a saving throw with a penalty of the charisma bonus (if any) of the victim. If the roll is a success the victim is allowed a saving throw to avoid the possession with a penalty equal to the spirit/demon's hit dice. Protection spells already in place may modify these rolls at the referee's discretion. If the possessor succeeds and the victim fails his save, the possession is successful and the spirit has full control of the victim's body. Once per hit die per day the possessed may attempt to stop his body from taking an action attempted by the possessor spirit. This attempt suffers are cumulative penalty of -2 for each week that passes. This does not break the possession. Only an action denoted as an exorcism by the referee may break the possession. The spirit may relinquish control as it sees fit, but after gaining control, may always take control again at any time, presuming that a successful exorcism is not performed.

Obsession

An obsessed vampire cultist helps a new vampire rise - from Hammer Films The Brides of Dracula

Many creatures, from demons to greater vampires and any other entities that the referee deems may cause an individual to become obsessed. Obsession may be attempted in various ways dependent upon the individual entity. In some cases obsession is caused by a gaze, in others telepathic communication (powerful vampires and demon princes have this ability) or something as simple as a touch. An entity attempting for cause obsession in a victim  must first make a saving throw with a penalty of the charisma bonus (if any) of the victim. If the roll is a success the victim is allowed a saving throw to avoid the obsession with a penalty equal to the entities hit dice. Protection spells already in place may modify these rolls at the referee's discretion, just as in the case of possession. If successful the creature causing the obsession gains a telepathic link to the obsessed by which it's suggestions can be made, even over a great distance. In the early stages the obsessed can attempt to fight the suggestions. This is done by making a saving throw, modified by a penalty of the obsessors hit dice. This may be done once per day per hit die of the obsessed. An attempt to break the obsession may be made a number of times per week per hit die of the obsessed. Success is determined in the same manner as attempts to fight suggestions Each failed attempt adds an additional penalty of -1 to the next attempt. If the total penalty reaches the hit dice of the obsessed character, they become an utter thrall of the obsessing entity, unless exorcised.