New OSR Products at RPGNow/DTRPG — February 28th, 2017

Relatively slow week in the world of RPGs, with only a few pages of new stuff. A fair amount of OSR stuff though, most notably, Creation's Edge is back with some of their mini-adventures this week, and there is a first issue of a Crypts & Things fanzine (I really should finish by review of C&T 2e).

Official

Castle Spulzeer -  This is one of the last TSR adventures, delayed because of the infamous "printer problems" that TSR reps claimed were going on (which I guess were true, they didn't have money to pay them0. It's a Forgotten Realms/Ravenloft cross over. 64 pages, $4.99

Doors to the Unknown - Planescape adventure. $4.99 and 64 pages.

Hellgate Keep -  Somehwere in the mid-late 90s, TSR realized that some people actually liked dungeon adventures. So they started a "Dungeon Crawl" line of adventures that dealt with those. This is the 4th entry.  32 pages, $4.99

Servants of Darkness -  Ravenloft adventure. $4.99 and 64 pages.

The Vortex of Madness and other Planara Adventures - One of the last 2e adventures, published after WOTC took over TSR, though apparently started off as the last of the ____ Sites series (Planar Sites). 96 pages and $4.95.

Adventures

Curse of the Web-Witch -  Not Peter Parker's aunt, apparently.  For levels 6-8 and $1.500 for 11 pages.

The Crystal Coffins - Defeat a ghost of a necromancer by destroying some crystal coffins. For levels 5-7, 10 pages and $1.50

TG3 Shadow out of Sapphire Lake - 3rd (or 4th, actually counting the mini-prequel) module in the Toad God series and apparently the wrap up. for levels 4-6. 32 pages, $4.99 and includes VTT files.

Rules

Zip

Misc

Friday Freebie Enhanced Map 2-24-17 - This week's map looks like an underground temple. $1 for enhanced version.

From the Shroud #1 - First issue of an irregularly scheduled fanzine for the excellent OSR game Crypts & Things. Includes a couple of adventures and other material likely useful for any sword & sorcery themed game. $4 and 38 pages.

New OSR Products at DTRPG/RPGNow — February 21st, 2017

A little of everything this week.

Official

FMQ1 -  Details the capital of Maztica in the Forgotten Realms, basically Mexico City. 96 pages, $4.99

IM1 The Immortal Storm -  Did anyone ever have Immortal characters? I didn't. But if you did, they produced a few modules for them, including this one by Frank Mentzer. 40 pages, $4.99

Kidnapped -  Apparently a RPGA module for 2e. 32 pages, $4.99

LC3 Night Watch in the Living City -  Originally for their organized play set in a shared world, this module apparently involves PC joining the cops.  $4.99, 32 pages

Adventures

Project Oasis -  Strictly speaking, more of an adventure setting, supposedly like the old Greyhawk book, only for Mutant Future. As it's from Joe Bloch, it's pricey at $9.99 and 36 pages, but likely high enough quality to justify the price tag.

The Ghost Woods Adventure -  Set in the magical kingdom of uh, Richard (sadly, probably not Simmons), comes this module for S&W and some other game. 24 pages, $3.45

Rules

Beyond the Wall - Hearths & Homes -  If this hadn't come out today, I would have made a separate post for it. Basically more stuff for Beyond the Wall, new rules, new character playbook, some scenarios. Free! 30 pages.

Cross Crass Subterfuge - Because some people just can't stand the thief class, here is PWYW pamphlet on getting rid of it. 5 pages.

Return of the Woodland Warriors -  Remember that animated Robin Hood movie from Disney where everyone was a woodland critter? Well, this is a game based on that idea, back when antrowhatzit animals weren't creepy. 64 pages, $5

Misc

Friday Freebie Enhanced Map  2=17-17 - This week's map seems to be a two story keep. $1 for the enhanced version.

New OSR Products at RPGNow/DTRPG — February 14th, 2016

Nice mix of everything this week.

Official

College of Wizardry -  Because you can't have enough splatbooks about wizards. 96 pages, $4.99

FRQ1 Haunted Halls of Eveningstar -  Wasn't this already released? Anyway, it's Ed Greenwoods original FR adventure, a starter dungeon. 32 pages, $4.99

WGS2 Howl from the North -  2e Greyhawk module from TSR's worst writer. $4.99, 64 pages.

Rules

Stranges Stars Rule Book -  Sourcebook for transhumans for Stars Without Number. 35 pages $5.55

Survive This - Oops, came out last week. Zombie based OSR game. PWYW

Adventures

The Vanilla Adventure -  Intended to be a starter adventure for those new to roleplaying.  52 pages, PWYW

Witches of Hagswallow - While it sounds like grandmother porn, apparently it's a low level adventure where the PCs must rescue townsfolk from witches in a bog.  $2.99 and 45 pages

Misc

Friday Freebie Enhanced Map 2-10-2017 -  Looks like two small maps, one of cavern and one what looks to be a Stonehengle complex. $1 for enhanced version.

OSR Character Sheet -  PWYW character sheet. Seems more suited for B/X games or those with a single modifier for ability scores

Need an Elder Sign? Artists releases one into the public domain

Strictly speaking, the Elder Sign as envisioned by HPL was more of a tree branch rune. But August Derleth's idea of a burning eye  in a 5 pointed star seems to been the more popular one.

David LaRocca recently created a new version and placed it in the public domain for people to use. Pretty snazzy.

Comprehensive TSR era Dungeon Magazine Index at RPG.net

I pretty much missed Dungeon magazine as when it came out as I was mostly playing non TSR games and/or working on my car instead of gaming.

I returned to it later and I was generally astonished firstly by how few dungeon adventures there were in Dungeon (since by that time TSR felt that there passe, I guess) and how awful the adventures were, mostly churned out by the same handful of terrible authors.

(What's especially annoying is in later issues is how they spread out each adventure between the front and back of the magazine.)

Still for all it's faults, Dungeon still is a huge source of adventures and encounters. If you can find them.

UnknownCorrespondant has compiled a very comprehensive index of TSR era adventures sorted by level over at RPG.Net including a brief synopsis of each adventure.

New OSR Titles at RPGNow/DTRPG — February 7th, 2017

Blagh

Also worth mentioning, new versions of Mazes & Minotaurs which is vaguely OSR-ish but not directly compatible with old D&D

Official

A Paladin in Hell -  I started playing D&D in 1978, when the PHB had just come out. My first GM was my friend's older brother in college who had the OD&D books and used them to GM.  I was mesmerized by the PHB, in particular the picture of A Paladin in Hell and my first character was a paladin .

Apparently running out of ideas, TSR decided to turn that picture into a module. It's not terrible, but not what I pictured either. $4.99, 64 pages.

AC9: Creature Catalog - As a kid, Basic D&D always reminded me of when we'd go over into Illinois. Everything was slightly different, but almost the same. This is even more true in the monsters, which are often familiar but not quite the same. And many that are just completely new. $4.99, 96 pages.

I9 Day of Al-Akkbar - Desert themed module, more Arabian than Egyptian. 40 pages, $4.99

RR2 Book of Crypts - Bunch of Ravenloft adventures. 96 pages, $4.99

Adventures

None

Rules

The Witch: Aiseilgh Tradition for S&W -  New class and new spells for S&W complte. PWYW, 22 pages.

Misc

Friday Freebie Enhanced Map 2-03-2017 - Lots of 45 degree rooms and corridors, which you saw in the very early dungeons (especially Dave Arneson's in Blackmoor from JG) but not much since. $1 for enhanced version.

Nod 31 - Some people can write well and some people can write fast. John Stater can do both. Here's another issue of his 'zine complete with hex crawl with a Roman flavor, new classes, new monsters and probably a lot more. 151 pages and $3.99

New OSR Titles at DTPRG/RPGNow — January 31st, 2017

Blargh, my flu has turned into pneumonia.  On the bright side, the end of Winter is in sight.

Not really OSR to my mind, but there is new issue of Frontier Explorer Magazine, celebrating Star Frontiers 35th Anniversary.

Official

AC2 Combat Shield and Mini-Adventure -  Not exactly TSR's most creative title, it's actually a decent little adventure included, The Treasure of the Hideous One, a very small swamp crawl.  $1.99 and 14 pages, 8 of which is the adventure.

Player's Secret: Hogunmark -  One of the ideas of Birthright was to sell sourcebooks to players, representing the country their character rules. Apparently the catch was, they were priced too low to actually make much of a profit. This one is a country in Birthright's Denmark, I think. 32 pagse, $4.99

The Haunted Tower - Last "adventure pack" for the last incarnation of the D&D Basic set, featuring 3 16 page adventures. 50 pages total, $4.99

Adventures

At the Mountains of Madness -  This seems to be a rather unusual module where the players are members of a Antarctic sightseeing tour whose plane crashes. It apparently uses the Labyrinth Lord/Mutant Future rules. Interesting premise, but $7 for only 23 pages kept me from getting it. 

Rules

Directory of Denizens -  Small-ish Monster Manual for the original Metamorphosis Alpha by Jim Ward. 16 pages with full color art and $3.99

Misc

Castle Oldskull- The Pegana Mythos -  248 pages of Gods and such inspired by the works of Lord Dunsany  $3.99

Friday Freebie Enhanced Map 1-27-17 -  Enhanced version of Paratime Designs weekly freebie, which seems to be a underground river and cavern with a small temple area. $1.