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The first collection of the Doctor Who Adventures comic strips arrives with Save the Humans!

It’s finally happening. For fans of a certain age, the Doctor Who Adventures magazine holds a special, very nostalgic, place in their hearts. Aimed at younger readers than DWM, it ran for almost 400 issues between 2006 and 2017, not counting the odd special here and there since. At the heart of each issue, packed with puzzles, character guides, and fun, was the DWA comic strip. Those comic book adventures have never been reprinted… until now. Save the Humans! will collect the first fifteen issues worth of adventures for the Tenth Doctor and Rose.

The DWA comic strip is famous for using the format to create wild, imaginative visuals. It created its own vision of the Whoniverse beyond even the biggest TV show budget. Its short, largely self-contained, stories also helped create the frenetic energy which defined the strip.

Save the Humans! arrives on the 18th of August and will be available in two editions. The mass market version features a cover by series artist John Ross, which captures the joyful chaos of the strips, as the Doctor and Rose bound happily into danger, surrounded by a collage of villains from these stories. You can also order an exclusive variant directly from Panini. This has an alternative cover by fellow strip artist Adrian Salmon, featuring our heroes facing off against the theme park dinosaurs from the title comic.

 

 

Doctor Who: Save the Humans! Panini Exclusive cover by Ardrian Salmon (c) Panini Doctor Who: Save the Humans!

Step back into one of the most beloved eras of Doctor Who as the Doctor and Rose dash across time and space, facing a host of brilliantly bonkers monsters – from the diabolical Mirrorlings to malfunctioning Disinfectoroids, and even giant vampire bats stalking the streets of Victorian London! Packed with action, humour and heart, this all-ages collection is a certified classic – and the perfect nostalgia hit for fans who grew up with the Tenth Doctor!

Collecting comic strips from Doctor Who Adventures #1-15. 

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 Integrating Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II) with the legendary, chaotic, and maximum-gonzo DNA of Dave Hargrave’s Arduin Grimoires is a brilliant, if volatile, design space.On paper, they look like oil and water: ACKS II is a masterpiece of rigorous, simulationist, micro-economically sound world-building. Arduin is a Technicolor fever dream of multi-classed Elven Cyber-Monks, Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

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Sometimes a crochet project needs a little surgery! Previously, I covered how to remove the beginning rows of crochet, but that led to the next question - how do we remove the ends of rows, or the side of our work? When your piece is just too wide, and for whatever reason (we don't judge!), […]

The post How to Cut the Sides of Crochet Rows appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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By Dale Houston
Duck & Crow Press
OSR
Levels: Low/"Rookies"

Under a raging river of turbulent, caustic water that melts organic material in moments lies the decrepit remains of a nefarious wizard’s lair. Opening a passage under the river would mean commerce and prosperity, and every brave adventurer worth their salt knows that a wizard’s den is guaranteed to have some reality-bending magical loot! Get ready for some liquefactive necrosis.

This 32 page adventure uses about eight pages to describe seventeen rooms in a wizard lair/passage under a river. Great specificity. Good challenges. Good formatting. A good and solid basic adventure that, white not exactly the most memorable, is setting everything up for success.

This is the first adventure in Dale’s Undying Expanse series. It’s not Thundarr, or even gonzo, but there are absolutely hints of it, at least in this adventure. The premise here is that there was once this fortress spanning a river. The river is caustic, like, full on acid. Up and down the river for ten miles along both banks is a prismatic wall. One of the former fortress dwellers was a wizard who hated the locals, it seems. Anyway, time passes, wizard dies, fortress collapses, and now there are just some crumbling remains, a passage UNDER the river. Trade routes anyone? And, as usual, there are some bandits hole up and some wizard leftovers. 

The rumors here are interesting. You get about a page of them, sixty, arrayed in ten tables of six each, by topic. So, each village, the bandits, the river, etc. That’s a nice way to zero in on various topics the party may be asking about. The villages in the surrounding area map are tied in to the hooks and half about a column each; a couple of notable businesses that an adventurer might visit and a couple of people, all don in a manner that’s easy to follow, terse, and full of flavor. “Big Hierome: Always laughing, compulsively eats sweets; this brute manages the bulls when they get a bit too feisty” The hooks, likewise, are short but have that specificity to them that helps a DM bring them alive. “Magistrate Yeldo of Flont will pay the crew six month’s wage to open the passage.” or “Jane Blood, local crime boss in Rockton, will forgive your incredible debt if you open the passage. She wants it to be a toll road.” One of these is exactly a “pay the party” thing, but its founded in something realistic, wanting to open a trade road. This helps elevate it beyond the normal old “someone hires you” hook that people toss out. And the crime boss one is grounded in her entry in the village, “Unassuming and simply dressed local business woman; rumored to be a heartless psychopath in charge of a criminal gang, has a large number of ‘cousins’ always nearby. “ There is MORE than enough there to make Jane a mainstay of the adventurers life, both in this adventure and in future ones. You can really riff on that and yet it’s terse. That’s good writing. It’s specific. Cousins. The rumor. Dale hits these very well and is certainly in the top tier of folks when it comes to that part of the adventure. 

Each room entry is offset in a little light green box with an entry that could be read-aloud or room details to summarize to the players, and then some well formatted bullets, starting with a bolded keyword, to help focus the DMs attention in on the things of import in the room. There are little embedded tables or “tracker boxes” present as well, where appropriate. Nothing goes on for more than a couple of sentences, making it easy to scan and parse information at the table during play. A little “modern” in terms of generous whitespace, with rooms taking between a third of a page or a full page to describe, but it’s all easy to use. 

The text does a decent job of being evocative as well. “Low oily fires giving little light” or “Cauldron: A mess of “villager stew” is thickening in the cauldron. “ or “Tarp: Made of human skin leather, faces and hair still intact. It is recently made and still a bit damp. “ Still intact. A bit damp. It’s a tarp. Good word choices to really bring these things to life. 

Interactivity is decent as well, both in terms of individual rooms and in the larger context. One room has a trapped demon in it. Pulling a lever in an earlier room releases the demon and he starts to move throughout the dungeon. Peepholes show you other places. An initial room has a bunch of skeletons on stakes in it … it’s full of crude traps (think jugs of river water and sharp sticks) … but the skeletons face the individual traps, so you can use them to help navigate across the room. Of course that’s how the bandits inside navigate it. There are consequences for your actions. It’s not world ending, but you can feel them. You could do enough damage to collapse the ceiling and flood the place. Oops. No trade route. And if the demon gets loose then there are some notes on what happens in the game world; not the end of the world but trouble for a while. Coming out of the dungeon on the other side of the river “This is where some of the “bad” kids from Rockton come to smoke, drink, and make out.” and you freak the kids out. Drunk bandits. Stripping magic inlaid circles of their inlaid silver. The rooms have consequences, many of which are telegraphed in subtle ways for those paying attention. A rubble filled room with gold braziers stuck in the rubble. Dig em out? What about those crumbling walls, signs of impending collapse? Prisoners of the bandits to free, connected to the town (and, potentially, hooks.) You’ve got the dungeon environment to interact with, the walls and rubble and leaks and such. You’ve got the bandits and their ogre boss at the beginning. You’ve got old wizard shit. Lots to do.

Things are also supported well. There are a couple of art handouts, one of which cleverly conceals some imps hiding that negates surprise if you notice them in the drawing. Handwritten notes. A good hex map, new monsters, notes on the dungeon map about “always on” things like the leaking walls, so the DM can emphasize them

The dungeon map, proper, is a little busy and not the easiest to read. While the use of color to highlight text is done well through the rest of the adventure, the dark maroon keying blends in a bit much, and the “art” use of shading on the map, with rubble, makes things a little less clear then I would prefer. It’s not a disaster in any sense, just not as clear as I would prefer. And, we get a little sloppy with the use of the word “turns.” That skeleton/trap room “Following the paths takes 3 Turns to get to any other wall, 4 turns if moving cautiously” Thirty to forty minutes, or three to four actions, you think? 

These are just nits. This is a solid adventure. Easy to use, evocative, interactive, with lots of fun specificity. There’s a 4HD ogre and an 8HD demon, so, challenging for a level one group, but it does a solid job. 

This is $12.50 at DriveThru. The preview is fourteen pages, showing you the intro, hooks, rumors, villages, and numerous dungeon rooms. Great preview.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/540645/under-the-caustic-river-ahnd?1892600

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I read the comics on sale on May 23, 1985.

Batman and the Outsiders #23: Barr and Davis send most of the Outsiders to the Gotham Zoo where Rex and Sapphire have a tense meeting with Simon Stagg over their wedding plans. A group of armed men attack, and the Outsiders have to deal with the chaos they cause. In the aftermath, it's revealed the attack was cover for the attempted assassination of Stagg orchestrated by his assistant. After Rex saves his life, Stagg warms on the idea of the hero marrying his daughter.
Meanwhile, Halo is in the city by herself and encounters a friendly hippie guy in a van who calls himself Brother Abraham. Meanwhile, he offers her a place stay and drives her to a secluded commune called Eden.

Blue Devil #15: Truly the DCU most be overrun with geniuses because an inventor on the level of Cassidy just winds up doing special effects and theme park animatronics. In this issue, as Blue Devil contends with Verner's Vanquisher (Verner's chaffeur that he had empower by scientists as a superhero), the two fight a King Kong-esque robot running amuck that Cassidy made for the studio tour. The process that created the Vanquisher seems to have made him mentally unstable, and he kidnaps Marla with whom he's infatuated.

Green Lantern #191: Engelhart and Staton/Patterson reveal the Predators identity at last, and it is certainly unexpected. After Hal's discover of Carol's perfume lingering in the Predator's hideout, he also finds the reporter's videotape showing the meeting between Green Arrow, Black Canary, Carol, and himself, that on one else involved with seems to remember. Hal calls Ollie, Dinah, and John Stewart, but no one's home, so he heads to Carol's place and shows her. Even with the reveal, I'm still not sure why the Predator doesn't want them to remember this, but luckily, I don't have to think about that long, because the Predator shows up and kidnaps Carol. He takes her to his old theater hide out. Powerless Hal suits up for battle and confronts the villain. He gives a good showing, but he can't stop the Predator from playing the old organ (something Carol thinks is important). When he does, Carol declares her love for the Predator, as he does for her. Then they merge into one being: Star Sapphire!

Infinity, Inc. #17: The Thomases and McFarlane/DeZuniga introduce the rest of Mr. Bones crew, and they are an odd bunch. I don't know quite what to think about Thomas and DeZuniga creating Arak as a historical S&S hero then doing a modern, minor villain that bears his name but is unrelated presumably other than being Native American. Does him calling himself (or someone else naming him) Arak suggest that the original Arak is a well-known historical figure in the DC Universe? 
Anyway, Fury finds herself prisoner of this team who call themselves Helix. They want to ransom her for millions from Carter Hall. Hector tries to rescue her but gets defeated.

New Teen Titans #11: Wolfman and García-López/Tanghal continue the story from last issue. After sleeping on it, Joe is still weirded out by the mutated bug people, and I mean, who wouldn't be? He and Kole get the other Titans and they head out to the mansion where we follow the familiar pattern to this title of our heroes getting captured so they can talk with the villain while he puts them in one trap, then they escape and end up in another, then they escape and the bad guy is neutralized in some way. In this case, Weathers and his mutant followers (including his own grasshopper mutant wife) expose themselves to a gas that turns them completely into bugs so they can survive the nuclear devastation he's sure is coming, and they let the Titans go. Other than following the typical Titans formula, this story is just weird. With its Hellstrom Chronicle vibe and schlocky mutants, it feels like something from a 70s Marvel comic, or done a different way, one of DC's now-defunct horror/sci-fi anthologies.

Sgt. Rock #403: The main story by Kanigher/Catan involves Rock and an Italian resistance fighter pursuing a German officer guilty of war crimes to a church in Terza, Italy, where the officer has asked for sanctuary--and Pope Pius XII. This story is another one that has that weird story beat that comes up on occasion where Rock seems to really want to capture a German officer (it's always an officer) to make him stand trial instead of killing him. And this is after the guy just shot the Pope. Rock's hesitancy leads to the resistance fighter getting shot. Rock then pursues the Nazi into the church's bell tower where in the scuffle, the German gets knocked out of the tower by the bell and falls to his death.
The second story is the first publication of Tom McWeeney, who will go on to do a lot of work in the 90s, particularly at Wildstorm. This goofy story is not a career high point, though, and would have made more sense in Weird War Tales, if anywhere. Soldiers die and are burnt to a crisp on a deserted battlefield. Is it nuclear war or at least are they caught in a nuclear test? No, it's a pizza in the oven and they're...anchovies? 

Saga of Swamp Thing #39: Moore and Bissette/Totleben continue the story with Swamp Thing walking into the reservoir covering Rosewood to deal with the vampires. The vampires aren't a threat to him, that is until the next generation is born. The survivor of the brood is an inhuman monster that rends Swamp Things body apart. That doesn't stop Swamp Thing, though. He just moves through the Green and becomes a whole hillside of vegetation. He moves and diverts the water of the reservoir into the river again (likely flooding places downstream, but anyway...) and the vampires die in moving water. Before all that, the parents of the boys who went missing come to Rosewood, and one of them is killed by their own vampire son, but the rest escape. Constantine tells Swamp Thing he didn't take care of things quick enough. Now word will get out, and people will believe in vampires. That's what the enemy he's trying to defeat needs. Constantine tells Swampie to meet him in Maine.

Warlord #95: I reviewed this issue here.

Talent Showcase #18: The editorial reiterates the reason for the name change and tells us that the next issue will be the last. This issue is a weird mix of sci-fi stories done by established pros (Bruce Jones, Shawn McManus, and Dan Adkins) sometimes with the assistance of relative newcomers that could have been anthology book inventor stories from a few years ago. Then there are several short, humor cartoons, and even a text piece by John Constanza. The only complete newcomer story is a superhero humor piece with everything but the lettering done by Kerry Callen, who will go on mostly to work for Mad.

Who's Who #6: We're into the D's and we get Darkseid, the Demon, DeSaad, Doctor Bedlam, and the Deep Six courtesy of their creator, Jack Kirby. Atari Force is well represented with Dark Destroyer and Dart by José Luis García-López. García-López also does Deadman, perhaps because he's the artist on the limited series that will be published at the end of '85. Amethyst's Dark Opal also shows up with art by his original artists, Colon. Marshall Rogers renders Deadshot who will become more prominent in the next few years. Deimos shows up from Warlord, courtesy of Grell. The then-recent Demolition Team is here, courtesy of their co-creator, Dave Gibbons. There are, of course, a lot of "Doctors." Giffen and Mahlstedt give us Doctor Fate instead of whoever's drawing All-Star Squadron this month.

 Gary Gygax’s 1979 module B2: The Keep on the Borderlands is the foundational text of the sandbox campaign. Ostensibly written as an introductory adventure for the D&D Basic Set, it functions under the hood as a masterclass in dynamic world-building, spatial economics, and emergent play. This is going to pick right up from OSR Commentary - Adapting AX2: Secrets of the Nethercity ForNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

The post Video of the Day – Doctor Who: The Clockwork Droids, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

So Lar and I were talking, while he’s still with us, and the topic of LFG Books came up. More specifically, the lack of books in recent years. And the more we chatted, the more we both came to the
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 The Brotherhood of William St. John is a central organization and meta-campaign setting supplement created by Jason Vey for Troll Lord Games' multi-genre roleplaying game, Amazing Adventures (available in both the original SIEGE Engine and 5th Edition-compatible rulesets).Instead of locking players into a single, restrictive world, theNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Looking for free crochet letter patterns? The Moogly Crochet Uppercase Alphabet Letters are a fun and easy way to personalize blankets, hats, bags, nursery decor, gifts, signage, yarn bombs, and so much more! This collection includes all 26 uppercase crochet letters in a simple applique style that is beginner-friendly, quick to make, and easy to […]

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The post Video of the Day – The Whoniverse Show, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

 Here is a random D100 table designed for a post-apocalyptic setting using the SIEGE Engine by Troll Lord Games. This blog entry picks right up from d100 Random Sword & Sorcery Barbarian Hordes For Castles & Crusades rpg CampaignTo keep this perfectly tailored to the system, each entry includes essential mechanical anchors: Hit Dice (HD), Armor Class (AC), Primary Attributes (Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Yesterday saw Doctor Who return to NFT1 at the BFI Southbank for another special screening. But this one was particularly special. Not only was the one night only 1996 TV Movie screened but as part of a completely unique experience.

Thanks to agreement from Universal in the US, the original film prints from the filming were shipped to the UK. Here, all 219 reels were painstakingly scanned, twice, to deliver the stunning 4k experience attendees at the BFI enjoyed yesterday and soon fans will be able to enjoy at home. It was also shown at 24 frames per second, as it was originally shot, and specific sound mix for NFT1, offering a unique experience. Alongside the screening there was the usual quiz for prizes and guest panels aplenty, delivering another excellent event.

Doctor Who TV Movie in 4k at BFI Southbank – Justin Johnson, Dick Fiddy and Al Dewar (c) Bedwyr Gullidge Introductions

Regular hosts Justin Johnson and Dick Fiddy welcomed attendees who had survived the 11am Sunday start time post Eurovision. Multiple contributors donated items to win during the customary quiz including BBC Studios, The Who Shop and John McClay, who donated some very nice digital prints featuring the Eighth Doctor. Perhaps most exciting was what Al Dewar from Character toys brough along. Fresh in the office this week were the new Vortex edition ‘Nightmare in Silver’ Cybermen figures, not due out until July. Three lucky winners certainly got something cool in advance. Dewar also said that they would get round to doing a ‘Wheel in Space’ Cyberman variant eventually.

Doctor Who TV Movie in 4k at BFI Southbank – Justin Johnson, Dick Fiddy and Reecy Pontiff (c) Bedwyr Gullidge

Also invited onto stage was Reecy Pontiff who has written a history of the ongoing adventures of the Eighth Doctor. Frustratingly, I wasn’t able to purchase a copy because the lengthy autograph queue could not be skipped and limited transportation options on a Sunday required an earlier than usual departure. This also meant missing out on seeing the TARDIS toolkit from the movie, along with McGann’s costume which were on display courtesy of James Sutton. But, at least the book is available now direct through the publisher; Telos. Writer Matthew Jacobs had sent a video introduction which was shown, still proud of the movie 30 years on.

Doctor Who TV Movie in 4k at BFI Southbank – Justin Johnson, Dick Fiddy, David Palfreyman, Darren Mostyn, Mark Ayres and Paul Vanezis (c) Bedwyr Gullidge Restoration

Watching Doctor Who on a big screen has become less of a novelty in recent years with multiple screenings at the BFI and Riverside Studios. However, there was something particularly special about this particular screening. That special ingredient was without question the opportunity to see the work of a dedicated restoration team in spectacular glory. The story behind the restoration is itself an epic tale. Vanezis confirmed that, despite not being out of the cans in 30 years, the film reels are suffering from vinegar syndrome so sadly they only have a limited lifetime remaining. Thank goodness they were scanned but that’s another story…

David Palfreyman scanned all 219 reels. Twice. The second pass took much longer, about 7 to 10fps, to pick out the details. Ten boxes were delivered by the BBC every Monday at 11am but trying to get those boxes scanned in a week eventually led to 16-17 hour days, with Palfreyman getting up at 3am! Paul Vanezis then conformed the scans to order the edit and colourist Darren Mostyn worked his magic to get the pictures looking better than ever. There is a lovely brightness and colour to this version for sure. Of course audio supremo Mark Ayres did his thing to get it sounding as good as the picture looks. The results spoke for themselves and it is a fantastic achievement, a shining example of the dedication involved in the original production but also of this new restoration.

Doctor Who TV Movie in 4k at BFI Southbank – Justin Johnson, Dick Fiddy, Geoffrey Sax and Paul McGann (c) Bedwyr Gullidge He’s back! And it’s about time…

Paul McGann returned to the BFI Southbank for another screening of the TV Movie after previously attending in 2013 during 50th anniversary celebrations. This time however the BFI could also show ‘The Night of the Doctor‘, the special minisode which saw the Eighth Doctor return and regenerate into John Hurt’s War Doctor. Also returning was director Geoffrey Sax who firstly acknowledged the fantastic restoration work by Paul Vanezis and the team. McGann compared watching the film back to like watching a holiday movie, remembering being in the location or the filming day. The prospect of a series continuing beyond the pilot was part of the atmosphere on set, with an expectation that they would be returning for more. Sadly they did not.

Other highlights from the interview and Q&A included Sax recalling his Dalek voice, cuts to the shooting of guns after Dunblane, shifting the “Who Am I?” sequence to a disused area of the hospital rather than a rooftop and the final battle between the Doctor and the Master being referred to in the script as ‘They fight in a cool and interesting way!’ McGann described being less than enamoured with his wig, thinking of having to potentially relocate to Vancouver and praised Steven Moffat‘s writing of the 2013 minisode (“I think Moffat possibly has never written anything better“), although he couldn’t tell the other doctors when filming ‘The Fiveish Doctors‘. Both also admitted they would’ve signed up for the project even without the bigger US budget.

Doctor Who: The TV Movie on Blu-ray and 4K. Cover by Lee Binding (c) BBC Studios

Overall, it was another excellent screening with engaging guests and stories. The centrepiece was the restored version of the film which is well worth investing in when released next Monday.

BlogtorWho wishes to thank the team at the BFI Southbank for their continued hospitality and for another great event.

The post REPORT: Doctor Who: The TV Movie in 4K @ BFI Southbank appeared first on Blogtor Who.

By Jason Youngdale
Youngdale Productions
DCC/OSR
Levels 1-2

Long ago, beneath the fertile valleys south of Castle Dragonwater, a minor baron swore fealty to the Starved King, a demonic entity of hunger. In exchange, the baron’s land flourished with endless crops and fattened livestock. When the baron died, his descendants sealed the King’s shrine in terror—but the hunger below never ended. Now, farmers near Horndale report crops rotting overnight and livestock turning feral. Strange lights flicker in the old Granary Hill Mound, and the smell of roasted meat fills the night air. The locals beg the adventurers to descend into the forgotten vault and end the demonic banquet once and for all.

This twenty page adventure uses about four pages to describe twelve boring rooms of boringness using single-column formatting. Here are words that should be a contradiction: it’s a boring DCC adventure.

The turn of the millennia was an exciting time in RPG’s.the 3.0 explosion, indie RPG’s everywhere. I remember Polaris. Or, rather Polaris: Chivalric Tragedy at Utmost North. Conflict can be ended by someone saying “Thou are but a warrior …” Yeah, that’s tragedy all right. Your force of arms can do nothing here to resolve things. Noice! You know ol Brycy Bryce loves some human relatability and complexity in his game. Not to punish the party for wrong choices but to muddle the affairs of the way the word REALLY works in to an RPG and still have it be fun. Let us imaging, though, after saying this the party then stabs the NPC. And then they go all Lancelot-at-the-wedding and stab the king, queen, prince, half-brother, wedding guests, and everyone else in a ten mile radius. Ha! Damn skippy I’m a warrior biatch! I’m not sure that one is playing Polaris then, even though you might be using the Polaris rules. Blah blah blah its art is the creator calls it art blah blah blah. Whatever. It’s lost the point of Polaris. 

And thusly this adventure and DCC. Let us imagine a DCC adventure with three 30×30 rooms in a row. No doors. 4 orcs in each room. Each room is otherwise empty. Is this DCC? It’s stat’d for DCC. Does that make it DCC? Sure. But it has lost the point of what a DCC game is. What is it, Mighty Deeds or something, where you can describe using what’s in the room to do cool shit? That’s the point of DCC. It makes cool shit happen. The halfling, the thief, the mage, the fighter, they are all built around making cool shit happen ORGANICALLY. The person has an ability, but the environment and set up is there for the party to riff on. The designer takes us to the McDonalds PlayPlace and the fighter drowns someone in the ball pit. Except. What if there is no ball pit? Or slide. Or anything else. It’s just an empty room. I’ve played in DCC games like this at cons and the difference is marked. 

Examining this adventure, room 1 save or vomit. Room 2 save or eat dirt. Room 3 is a ghost kitchen with nothing to use to fight in. Room 4 has a banquet table to fight in. Room 5, finally, is larder is hanging hooks to fight in. Room 6, pantry of jars to fight in. Room 7 had a bed to fight in. Rooms 8 and 9 have nothing but saves. You get it. There’s is little to build on here. What the fuck am I supposed to Might Deed in a ghost kitchen in which nothing is real? The banquet table isnt fucking stupendious but at least it has a table, and the same goes for the larder, at least there are hooks with shit hanging on them. Not exactly a complex environment but at least its SOMETHING. 

And the save rooms. Ug. Save or vomit. Save or eat some dirt. These have no meaningful impact on the game. It’s window dressing. Just a reason to roll dice. It’s fucking lame. 

The locals are starving, crops withering, livestock fading away. “The locals beg the adventurers to descend into the forgotten vault and end the demonic …” WHat about them? DId they try and fail? No? We don’t care about them? Because we don’t care about the adventure? It’s just a flimsy pretext for a VERY lightly themed “hunger” dungeon? Yeah, I know, because it comes off like that. There’s no immersion here. All these pages. Nothing.

“Giant rats could also be in this room, waiting to attack any intruders.” Wonderful. “Four ghouls here jerk their heads sharply as you approach.” Great, embedded tenses in the summaries. “This appears to be a” Padded out wording. It’s only four fucking pages rooms and it’s still padded out. 

Nothing to see. Move along. Move along.

This is $10 at DriveThru. The preview is the first three pages and shows you nothing but the credit and table of contents. You can’t make a purchasing decision based on that, so it fails at being a preview.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/555500/the-banquet-of-the-starved-king?1892600

There are a lot of opinions about setting in rpgs and how much is the right amount or too much. Consequently, a lot has been written about it by a lot of people, me included. As readers of this blog likely know, I am pro-setting, in the sense that I personally like thinking of and writing about them, but one might also have intuited that I enjoy them as a player or GM. They are a major part of what gets me into a game, a fundamental part of supporting imagining the game world. I realize there are people who like their settings merely implied or at the least as light as possible, and that's their right, but to me that would reduce an rpg to the same sorts of pleasure I might get from a board or arcade game, and that would not have been enough to sustain my longterm interest.

As I have been working on the setting for my new campaign, I've talked with my players for the first time about how I feel about GM creation vs. player creation of setting material. It's not that it was a secret before, but it never game up in an explicit way. My personal observation is that while most players don't want to be given a lot of homework to play a game, they also don't tend to be told impromptu to imagine things for a world. A framework to inspire their character creation tends to be what most of my players are looking for, though how much they intend to flesh things out varies.

Encouraging this sort of engagement, though, means that the world is a bit out of focus until we get into the playing of it. I can have thought of a lot of things, but a lot of details I have in mind stay flexible on until the players get their hands on them. In the end, the worlds winds up being a collaborative process even if it mostly starts in my mind.

Here's an example. In creating Azurth, I clearly called out that despite a number of animal people in the setting, there were no cat people. Now, the fact that I noted that and didn't mention a whole list of other animal people that would never appeared in Azurth was meant to suggest "something's going on here." And it was. 

However, my friend Jim, in creating his bard Kully missed that. Jim did a very flavorful, brief character write-up, nailing the Ozian sort of vibe. The only problem was he mentioned Kully encountering a Cat Man at a pivotal moment.

I could have suggest a change to that detail and in some circumstances, I might have. Here though, because I had already intended something to be going on with that point, I used what Jim came up with. I told him that Kully had had that encounter, which was odd because there aren't supposed to be Cat-folk in Azurth, and so no one believes him. Jim was creating a little mystery in his characters backstory, which wound up tying into a minor mystery of the entire setting. Kully's backstory became setting material supporting a future reveal that at least one player was going to care out.

Not all instances of a player's view of the world and my own having a discrepency turn out so serendipitously, but I think it's worth looking for those opportunities and leaving things just a little fuzzy to facilitate those clarifications.

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 In Robert E. Howard’s original stories—specifically "The Tower of the Elephant" and "Rogues in the House"—Conan’s time as a thief in the cities of Zamora and Corinthia features a distinct version of the character. He isn't yet the seasoned general or king; he is a raw, hot-blooded, powerful teenager (around 17–18 years old) navigating the decadent, civilized "Maul" of Arenjun.He lacks the Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

2026 Doctor Who multimedia event Circuit Breaker will include a Blu-ray collection of classic episodes

This year’s multimedia Doctor Who event, Circuit Breaker, involves books, audios, comics, games, and more. There’s even a Blu-ray set out on the 31st of August – The Black Archive Files. Full details of the set are now available, revealing the collection of Doctor Who stories included. Each one if a classic tale which relates to the storylines of the rest of the series.

In the depths of UNIT’s most secure facility, the Black Archive, familiar objects have been pulled through time and space surrounded with a dangerous energy signature threatening to tear reality apart. With time running out, newly appointed Head of the Black Archive, Osgood and her assistant Andrew turn to the only person who can help… the Doctor.

This is no ordinary crisis, and not the Time Lord they are familiar with. As the Fugitive Doctor confronts her most infamous enemies such as the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and a rogue Weeping Angel, she is forced to complete a mission with an insidious presence lurking in the shadows.

Secrets begin to surface, and trust between UNIT and the Fugitive Doctor begins to erode as those who idolise her start to question if she really is the Time Lord they thought they knew…

Osgood has pulled together top-secret accounts from UNIT’s records of the Doctor’s adventures to help the Fugitive Doctor return these objects and complete the mission. Each file is listed below:

 

The full list of stories in The Black Archive Files

• Fugitive of the Judoon
• Dalek
• The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky
• Time Heist
• Genesis of the Daleks
• War of the Sontarans
• Blink
• The Shakespeare Code
• The Girl in the Fireplace
• The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon

This Blu-ray includes 10 beloved stories from Doctor Who and also includes an interview with The Fugitive Doctor, Jo Martin, and bonus booklet – both exclusive to this Blu-ray release.

 

Your guide to the different elements of Doctor Who: Circuit Break (c) BBC Studios How to Follow the Story

• 25 June: Calling the Doctor – UNIT website written by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson
• 8 July: Adversary of the Daleks – Titan Comics, written by Dulce M. Montoya and Dan Watters, with stunning art from Roberta Ingranata and Sami Kivelä
• 23 July: The Honourable Society – Doctor Who Magazine issue 632, written by Jason Quinn and illustrated by Anthony Williams
• 30 July: The Deadliest Weapon – BBC Audiobooks Audio Original written by Steve Lyons, narrated by Jo Martin with David Banks as the Cyber-Leader
• 4 August: Dawn of the Daleks –Titan Comics, written by Dulce M. Montoya and Dan Watters, with stunning art from Roberta Ingranata and Sami Kivelä
• 6 August: Castling – East Side Games written by Mario Mentasti. (The icon for this game in the official guide suggests this will feature the Sontarans.)
• 17 August: Don’t Blink! – UNIT website written by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson. (As if the title wasn’t a big enough clue, the guide icon also suggests this features the Weeping Angels.)
• 20 August: The Doctor and the Three Witches – Puffin book written by Janelle McCurdy. (With the icon for this being the crystal ball from The Shakespeare Code, this novel likely involves the Carrionites.)
• 27 August: Moment Mori – East Side Games written by Mario Mentasti. Based on the game icon, this appears to bring back the Clockwork Droids from The Girl in the Fireplace.)
• 31 August: The Black Archive Files – Circuit Breaker DVD release
• 3 September: The Kaleidoscope – Penguin Random House book written by Jo Martin. The icon for Martin’s debut novel indicates an appearance by the Silence. ​
• 22 September: Full Circuit – Big Finish audio story written by Robert Valentine
• 24 September: Short Circuits – Big Finish audio story written by Robert Valentine

 

Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker, the new multimedia event for 2026 (c) BBC Studios Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker begins with Calling the Doctor, free on the UNIT website on the 25th of June

The post Doctor Who: Circuit Breaker Blu-ray – Full Details appeared first on Blogtor Who.

I wrote this little B/X D&D hack recently to emulate a gritty, scummy, city style sword and sorcery experience using the classic game rules.

You can download a zine PDF of it here.

B/X TOMB ROBBER HACK

IN THE DIRTY CITY OF HOGBONE, or Tombsburk, or Sluckbucket, or whatever filthy name you give it, the tomb-robbers, treasure-hunters, and murderous criminals thrive. There are no safe shires here.

This B/X sword & sorcery hack is inspired by Conan (the barbarian), Thieves’ World, Lankhmar, The Black Company, and a bit of Ankh-Morpork.

PC RULES

1. Everyone is human. If the GM allows elves or something, they’re inhuman aliens from another dimension or space or Hell and everyone hates, fears, and/or distrusts them. Your campaign is now defined by this fact.

2. There are no clerics. High priests might be sorcerers, but they’re not healing anyone.

3. Good and evil are not linked to alignment. Alignment is related to powers of Law and Chaos. A Lawful monster might be evil as a devil. PCs are most likely neutral, but it’s up to you.

4. Every player character is a 7th level Thief because those are the skills needed to be a crypt-raider. No levels are gained or lost. Level drain drains Ability scores instead.

5. This is your stuff: 3d6 x 100 gold. Roll 2 magic items using the General Magic table (page X44). Re-roll consumable items (like potions) if you prefer.

6. You get these perks based on your highest or second highest Ability.

•Str: Additional +2 to hit, +7 HP.

•Int: +3 (or +1d6) languages, 2 (or 1d4) 1st level Magic-User spells.

•Wis: Re-roll failed initiative; glean 1 useful fact about anything (once per encounter); good ventriloquist.

•Dex: All your Thief Skills are as level 10; climb upside down.

•Con: Save as level 10 Thief, +5 HP.

•Cha: +1 Morale of retainers; 1 devoted follower per Cha score above 10 (as 3 HD bandits); good at mimicking voices.

7. Rest to regain your strength. Heal up to 7d4 HP per day, rolling up to a total of 7 dice at any intervals you prefer. Taking a breather after that alley fight? Roll a couple of d4s to get your spirits up.

8. You know fear. When faced with undead, cosmic entities, or dark sorcery, save vs. spells or be gripped with fear for 1d6 rounds, unable to do anything but run and hide or stand there wetting your pants. Only for the first encounter, per occasion.

9. Gain 1 Hit Point after every adventure.

10. Spell-casting PCs can learn more spells, but it ain’t easy. Make a hard Int check (-4 to the Ability for the check) to learn a new spell from a book or scroll. Only 1 spell can be learned from any discovery of books of magic.

11. They will tell stories of your exploits. When you’ve played enough adventures that it feels like a proper hip-pocket paperback’s worth of short stories, everyone gains +1 to attack and saving rolls. At this time, you can retire a character, making them a level 9 NPC.

GM SUGGESTIONS

1. Monsters. Make them as unique as possible and never say “it’s a goblin”. Instead, “the locals say there’s a bog beast lurking about” or “the old temple is haunted by the angry spirits of the dead” and that’s that. There are no tribes of goblins, but there might be bandit gangs in masks.

2. Make monsters weirder. You can use monsters from the book as templates, but mix them up. Take abilities from three different creatures and hammer them together. That’s not a hill giant, that’s an abomination of human flesh stitched together by sorcery and leaking poison gas… with a big club.

3. Creatures of the night. Monsters of this world hate the sun and mostly only come out at night… mostly.

4. No clerics, but the dead rise. And they are afraid of the gods. PCs using relics of the gods may force morale checks on the walking dead.

5. Nothing is free. If you can waltz into a broken ruin and find a hoard of gold… it’s almost certainly cursed. Either cursed directly and each PC now has a death warrant, or it’s sacred to some ancient guardian who is now awakened and will not relent until everyone is dead. Watch a mummy movie for ideas.

6. Get to the action. Don’t let the players waste time debating their next moves. Keep the pace up. Assume a real time clock is ticking. They’ve been discussing how to or if they should open that crypt door for five minutes straight? Angry spirits show up to run them off. Other tomb raiders ambush them. Etc.

7. NPCs can be based on PC classes from the monster list, such as Acolytes and Bandits. More important ones can also be 7th level of their class. Boss NPCs should be treated as 9th level or better of their class: Fighter, Magic-User, or Thief.

8. Start local, don’t lore-nuke. Do NOT let yourself get caught up in too much pre-game world-building. Make up the dirty city, some NPCs, and nearby locations as needed. Let the adventurers guide your next move. Let the world grow from this local seed into whatever it will be, even if that means the PCs never really leave town. Cities have crypts, sewers, and assassins aplenty.

9. Luck of heroes. Taking a note from the classic 1e Conan modules, PCs have Luck Points. Only you, the GM, knows how much Luck they have. Players can spend Luck to accomplish feats of adventure that would be very risky if they relied on the luck of the dice. Like leaping roof-to-roof in the rain without dropping a fragile glass egg or putting an arrow through the tiny hole in the dread warlord’s demon scale armor.

Players cannot spend Luck to affect dice rolls and Luck must be announced before actions are taken. Luck doesn’t replenish, but you can secretly give a point here and there for incredible moments of gaming or for completing a book of adventures.

Ask each player to roll 4d6. Now secretly determine which result goes with which PC. That’s their Luck… until it runs out.

Happy sword & sorcery gaming!