Swords & Stitchery

"Desolate and abandoned, the evil alchemist's mansion stands alone on the cliff, looking out towards the sea. Mysterious lights and ghostly hauntings have kept away the people of Saltmarsh, despite rumors of fabulous forgotten treasure. What is its sinister secret?"So I'm looking ahead to putting down the PC's in a turn of the of the century alternative Earth  old school OSR hybrid Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

In tonight's game the PC's got themselves in way over their collective heads, the royal family they were staying with were kidnapped! The high rise that the PC's were staying in was invaded tonight after a new weird science dimensional portal device was unveiled! The party's bard went to check on Samantha Turck after her almost death & poisoning. A sky ship landed on the roof pad Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

"Dazed and frightened, yet not without a certain thrill of the scientist’s or archaeologist’s delight, I examined my surroundings more closely. The moon, now near the zenith, shone weirdly and vividly above the towering steeps that hemmed in the chasm, and revealed the fact that a far-flung body of water flowed at the bottom, winding out of sight in both directions, and almost lapping myNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

So this might be Venger Satanis's last run down the old space brothel ways of the Alpha Blue rpg according to the intro into Battle Star Trilogy: Trek Wars. I'm really sorry to see this development. The OSR needs more independent designers. But what is   Battle Star Trilogy: Trek Wars?"Three sleazy scenarios for the Alpha Blue RPG. Plus, a huge, color map of the Ta'andor Galaxy with die-drop Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

I was asked to do a Pulp era make over for N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God By Douglas Niles so let's dive right in. " Terror by night! The village of Orlane is dying. Once a small and thriving community, Orlane has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered. Rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Are hidden agents of Chaos manipulating the crown heads of Pan America? Are far more going on in the hidden alleys of New York & can it be traced back to back water areas of Europe?! What does this have to do with the blood lines of King Arthur & a TSR classic? Quite a bit actually. The upper strata of  European & American society has for centuries been the play ground of the Le Fay line ofNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

So last night I got the party gated into what appeared to be a darkened crypt someplace in a dungeon. In actuality it was a giant roach farm being used by a husband & wife team of NPCs in an abandoned family crypt in New York City 1904. The party was caught by the NPC's & immediately taken to meet the Gecko men family's royal masters.   High above the hi rise building a mysterious air ship Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

"The laser rapier sang in the air burning  the molecules as it slice through the air on its way to cut off the head of the Count. It was countered by an expert block of someone whom had countless times had taken the life of younger opponents & rivals. In the shadows of Blackwood park the duelists continued their dance of plasma enhanced violence.  The night was lit by the multi colored Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Monster mail call on Friday the Thirteenth, so while I've had to change up my plans from a Golden era game Supers to a slightly more conventional early pre WWI ACK's pulp campaign. I got a lovely piece of OSR mail from Mark Taormino over at Dark Wizard Games. Their latest title is Monsters of Mayhem #1 book which they sent me about two days ago. Here's the unboxing & there isn't a title ofNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

How does marry the resources of great OSR material with one's old school campaigns?! For months now I've been marrying Arthurian literature, the Thirty Year War, & Dark Albion's product line by Rpg Pundit.So then I got the bright idea of marrying super heroes into a TSR classic era adventure but then got shot down because of scheduling conflicts. But then I was also told that it wasn't Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Over the course of a couple of days I've been doing a lot of hard thinking about old school systems & Pulp Era campaigns. I've also been doing revamps & rewrites on much of the current Pulp Era campaign. To that end I began to look into Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu . This book is right in my wheel house leaning close to the edge of both Sword & Planet with a huge foot hold in the Sword & Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

One of the most important things I've told dungeon masters in forty years of doing this hobby  is to have a back up plan. I wanted to run an Amazing Adventures campaign with some friends from Litchfield Connecticut. I got the go ahead from these friends. Well I worked on a beginning adventure, new pulp villain, etc. And then I wanted a schedule commitment for a Saturday evening & no one could Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

So today I got off the phone with one of my players & we've been discussing the pros & cons of  Amazing Adventures Manual of  Monsters by Jason Vey. Now I'm no stranger to Pulp & Golden Age superhero games I've run everything from Mercenaries, Spies, & Private Eyes to Call of Cthulhu along with Justice Inc. I've even done the run of White Wolf's Aberrant line straight down through TSR Marvel Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Earlier today  wasn't around on the inter webs instead I got a chance to steal away to a nearby town & speak with some friends about classic pulp magazines & comic books. We spoke at length over beers & game of Old Hammer Romans vs Saxons on the coast of Britain. My buddy Steve & I commanded the Roman scum against the Saxon dogs who were being run by Paul & his buddy Trevor. We were using a sixNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

The world upheld their pillars for awhile: Now, where imperial On and Carthage stood, The hot wind sifts across the solitude The sand that once was wall and peristyle; Or furrows like the main each tawny mile Where, ocean-deep above its ancient food Of cities fame-forgot, the waste is nude, Traceless as billows of each sunken pile. Lo! for that wrong shall vengeance come at last, When the Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

"Look upon this moment. Savor it! Rejoice with great gladness! Great gladness! Remember it always, for you are joined by it. You are One, under the stars. Remember it well, then... this night, this great victory. So that in the years ahead, you can say, "I was there that night, with Arthur, the King!" For it is the doom of men that they forget." Merlin, following the decisive British Victory Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

"Then down the wide lane betwixt the two columns a lone figure strode; a tall, slim figure with the young face of an antique Pharaoh, gay with prismatic robes and crowned with a golden pshent that glowed with inherent light. Close up to Carter strode that regal figure; whose proud carriage and swart features had in them the fascination of a dark god or fallen archangel, and around Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Monster placement is essential in Dungeons & Dragons adventures but what happens when the monsters bring the dungeon with them?! Last night I got a chance to sit in on one of my favorite Atomic sci fi films Them from 1954. I was thinking about the film's influence on me when it comes to running adventures. The pacing, investigative aspect of the monster movie, and even the lay out of the lairNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Movies, mayhem, & a bit of that old Seventies & Eighties cosmicism to the tune of original Dungeons & Dragons. Yesterday I covered part I & today we're climbing into the urban jungle.  So last night once again I cracked my copies of original Dungeons & Dragons & began thumbing through volume one of Men & Magic. Playing in the background was I like to refer to John Carpenter's 'Death of Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

So over the long Easter weekend I got a chance to get my cosmicism on with original Dungeons & Dragons & the apocalypse trilogy of John Carpenter. John Carpenter gave birth to three films that link into what he has calls  his "Apocalypse Trilogy:" The Thing (1982), Prince of Darkness (1987), and In the Mouth of Madness (1995). All of these films draw from the older tradition of Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0