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It’s almost time for Torchwood’s curtain call as Bilis Manger returns with one final terrifying plot

The latest Torchwood audio adventure is the 99th and penultimate release in the Doctor Who spin-off’s regular range. Curtain focuses on a mysterious character who has loomed large over Torchwood’s history: Bilis Manger.

Three actors receive invitations to reunite at a theatre where they once shared a terrible experience. There’s hasbeen Dermot Lacey (Cyril Nri, Class, Sarah Jane Adventures), and former grand dame Mathilde Balfour (Sarah Douglas, Superman II). Then there’s the massively successful Roger Cartney (Robert Bathurst, Flux).

Here, they find themselves tormented by a figure calling himself Bilis Manger (Colin Ryan, Knock Knock). But how does he connect to the Bilis, previously encountered by Torchwood? And is he angel, demon, or something else entirely?

Murray Melvin originated the character of Bilis Manger on television, before returning to the role numerous times for Big Finish. Curtain’s development began before his death in 2023. The production team subsequently reworked the story to act as a tribute to both Murray and Bilis.

 

Curtain is about performances and the masks people wear

Director Scott Handcock said: “The influence of Bilis Manger stretches far and wide throughout Torchwood – and Curtain is no exception. It’s a play about performances and the masks people wear, consciously and subconsciously, and it was a delight to work with such a talented band of actors on a script about acting!

“We had the best of times with Murray Melvin, and I know the idea of one more story with Bilis after he’d gone always tickled him. We all miss him a very great deal.”

 

“Bilis Manger truly deserves one last ovation”

Writer and producer James Goss added: “Curtain’s the release you listen to if you want a slice of horror – three people trapped in a haunted theatre with the devil playing deadly tricks on them.

“It’s a release that we’d have absolutely loved Murray Melvin to be around for; indeed, he suggested the notion of Bilis Manger in a theatre, as he loved lighting up a green room with theatrical anecdotes. Actors adored Murray, and it seemed irresistible to do a story in which Bilis sunk his teeth into three actors – a success, a has-been and a never-quite-was, all broken in their own ways.

“Sadly, of course, Murray died before we could get a script ready, and we were left with a corking idea and the burning need to give Bilis a soaring send-off. Bilis was such a great part of the Big Finish Torchwood range, he couldn’t just go out without a big bang. And so we came up with the notion of Curtain – there is a character called Bilis Manger in it, but who is he?

“The recording was a blast – there’s nothing actors love so much as taking the mick out of themselves and each other. Honestly, it’s a great curtain call for Bilis Manger, and he truly deserves this one last ovation.”

 

Torchwood: Curtain. Cover by Grant Kempster (c) Big Finish Torchwood: Curtain

Many years ago, the Palace Theatre burnt down during a performance that accidentally summoned the devil.

Now the cast have been invited back to the grand reopening by a mysterious figure. Who is Bilis Manger?

 

Torchwood: Curtain, scripted by James Goss from a story by David Llewellyn, is now available to own for just £8.99 (download to own) or £13.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be re-pressed. 

The post Torchwood: Curtain – OUT NOW! appeared first on Blogtor Who.

It's the Ides of April, and it’s the perfect time to pause, pick up our hooks, and enjoy some creative time together with another Crochet and Catch Up with Moogly! Join me for a relaxed break of crochet conversation, behind-the-scenes peeks, and live Q&A. Join in live, or watch the recording at your convenience - […]

The post Crochet and Catch Up with Moogly - April 15, 2026 appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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By Taron Pounds
Land of the Blind
OSR/Vagabond
Levels 6-10

An explosion rocks a nearby mountain range. Once the dust clears, two twisted and screaming towers remain: one black and one white. Ominous seals appear on the moon and stars. A wicked smile spreads across the eye-spotted black tower’s upper story, capped by a witch hat-like roof. Its upper and lower floors appear to be separated, with arcs of blue lightning emanating from its center. The white tower is a bastille of pale stone, with an otherworldly blue fire burning at its top. Windows of stained glass bend without breaking along the white tower’s exterior, and eyes of madness follow those who approach the black. A flock of winged serpents fly around these profanities of architecture. No one knows where these towers came from, and what has corrupted the celestial bodies. It is up to the heroes to uncover the mystery to stop a cataclysm that has been unfolding for centuries in secret.

This 44 page dungeon presents two towers with about nineteen rooms between them. It’s a funhouse dungeon in which the world ends. That’s fun! Also, you don’t actually need to do anything here but go to the top floor and pull a lever. That’s fun! I don’t see a reason to go inside.

The gods have trapped one of their own in a magic prison. Dude wants out and finally is about to break free, thanks to his two followers, each of whom built a tower. You don’t know any of this. You’ve just got some generic rando hooks that come down to “you see these two weird towers.” I hope you go inside, because if you don’t then the world ends. That’s rough. Anyway, you go inside and find a funhouse dungeon, the two towers connected to each other with some magic pathways and normal stairs and so on. Turns out that if “the steamworks” is functioning inside the tower, and someone has had their soul aged in the aging room, then if you pull the level at the top of one of the towers then the trapped god will go back to jail. There’s a friendly phoenix, powering the steamworks through a portal to the elemental plane of water, that will tell you all of this who is at the top of the other tower. Anyway, so, the steamworks already works. And someone has already given their soul to the aging room. So, just pull the level in the other tower. 

To get there you will need to … ignore everything. Basically. Whatever is in the room, just ignore it and go up the stairs or through a door. Yeah! You’ve overcome that challenge. I’m not sure anything really attacks you in this unless you go fucking with shit. Oh, wait, hang on, there’s a death knight. “Motionless at first, but disappears if vision on him breaks and he then stalks the party.” I don’t know what the whole “disappears and then stalks” thing is about. I guess that’s for the DM to handle. So, I guess you gotta fight him? I THINK that’s the only required combat. Also, “required” is a loose word; I think you can make your way through the tower without having to go in to the throne room where he sits. 

Let’s double check my theory. Room one, walk backwards down a mirror hall. No consequences for not doing that. Room two, touch nothing and go up the stairs. No consequences for not doing that. Room three, go up the stairs and don’t touch the floating books. Room four, ignore the tree and go through one of the doors. Room five ignore everything. Room six, go through a door. Room seven, go up the stairs. Room eight, go up the stairs. Room nine, go up the stairs. Room ten, meet the phoenix. That’s one full tower and half the rooms. Congrats. The second tower, to my recollection, is more of the same. 

But, hey, you can still make the world end. Every time you use a spell or a magic item or go through a magic portal in the tower then the DM rolls a die. The third time they roll a one the dude breaks free and immediately destroys the universe. You get a warning though, you hear an owl screeching, which, obviously, means the universe is going to end if you cast another spell. This mechanic also ties in to a fun “weird things happen!” table, with entries like “Unluckiest PC must save or their limbs become accordions for 1 Minute.” or some blobs teleport in, loudly fart, and then teleport out again. Fun! … Humor, gentle readers, is highly subjective and doesn’t translate well.

We lead off with three paragraphs of italics read-aloud. We get read-aloud like “This room appears to have been built to keep a phoenix in a consecrated prison.” Appears to be. And how the fuck do we know it’s a prison? Or that it’s consecrated? It’s just garbage. In one room you find some masks. “Each is Cursed and Sentient, but only speaks while worn.” We’re referred to a table telling us what they do. “The wearer fails Checks against surprise.” Dazzling. Sublime. You didn’t even bother to give the mask a name or a personality or anything else. 

I’m not a fan of the zany funhouse, but this isn’t that. I’m also not a fan of the museum trip, and this is more in that vein. Just don’t touch anything and look at the scenery and you’ll be fine. But, also, the whole “lets nerf the party” and “oops! The world ended! Guess you didn’t figure out that was going on!” is VERY time. You need to communicate that the party is racing against time or else it’s not a race against time. It just ends up being the wandering damage table and rocks fall, everyone dies. Weird that’s not fun. And if you need to nerf the party then you wrote the adventure for the wrong level range.

This is $5 at DriveThru. The preview is seven pages and shows you nothing of import. Poor preview.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/561060/the-rook-the-crook?1892600

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to Crisis! This week, I'm looking at comics that were published on April 18, 1985.

Batman and the Outsiders #23: The story continues from last issue: the Outsiders are trying to rescue Halo from the Aurakles. First, they travel to Japan to retrieve the ritual necessary to call forth the Aurakle whose soul is captive in Katana's sword. They compel the being to take them to its dimension. There they defeat the Aurackles in a surprise attack leading up to a threat to destroy them all via Black Lightning's power and Metamorpho turned into a conductive line. The Aurackles give in and let Halo go. Halo is conflicted over the fact that she stole Violet Harper's body, possibly even inadvertently killing the young woman, but Katana tries to assure her that Violet was a terrible person who didn't deserve life, making Violet (like Terra) one of the "utterly evil young women" of the era. Halo isn't completely convinced, though, so maybe Barr isn't either. Davis' art is perhaps not as polished as what will come from him in a few years, but it's already great.

Blue Devil #14: Mishkin/Cohn and Kupperberg/Maygar introduce Kid Devil, whose Marla's nephew, Gopher, in a devil suit he built from stuff in Dan's workshop. Smart kid! Dan is, at first, annoyed, but when the plane Gopher's parents are arriving in is hijacked, Kid Devil is helpful in saving them.

G.I. Combat #278: The first Haunted Tank story by Kanigher/Glanzman is sort of weird (which has been happening a lot lately). The Elder Craig is having nightmares and survivor's guilt about his former tank crew from WW I that were never recovered. When trying to defend a bridge at Riviere Du Diable, the crew finds a tank and bodies from the previous war, then slip into some liminal realm (time travel maybe?) where they are unable to act in their defense, but the ghosts of Craig's old crew come to their rescue.
There are 3 short World War II stories. One is brief Haunted Tank piece about the younger Craig, but the other two feature non-series characters: a G.I. in love with a French girl trying to save her village and a klutzy apiarist G.I. who uses his bee-knowledge to save the day.
Finally, there's a Mercenaries story, but it is one of the weakest some far, I think. After foiling a kidnapping attempt against some guy in San Francisco, they agree to be his bodyguards and go with him to his secret research vessel, Pandora, in Antarctic waters where he's developed a ship-based satellite-killer missile. All of this makes him seem like a super-villain, but before we can explore any of this they are attacked by a Soviet ship. The Mercenaries sink Pandora rather than let it fall into Soviet hands.

Green Lantern #190: This Predator arc takes a weird turn. As Stewart tries to get his ring to tell him his predecessor's secret ID, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the reporter Tawny show up with video tapes that record Stewart visiting with the two heroes at Carol's house in Coast City, something that none of them remember. Suddenly, everyone is paralyzed, and Predator swoops in and pops the tape out of the player. Katma is unaffected and tries to stop him but can't. The others have no memory of these events.
Meanwhile, Hal is on a stakeout, trying to figure out who the Predator is. He follows him, but the Predator alludes him. In the abandoned theater where the Predator had apparently been holed up, Hal catches the distinct smell of Carol's new perfume. 
Also, Guy Gardner starts to come out of his coma.

Infinity, Inc. #16: The Thomases and McFarlane/DeZuniga introduce Mr. Bones, who has a design that sort of anticipates McFarlane's Spawn. Before this though, the issue has a beach volleyball match to get in some gratuitous swimsuit shots not unlike a lot of stuff we'll be seeing in X-Men in the latter eighties. Among the bikini beauties is the newly introduced Yolanda Montez, who we aren't told much about yet, but she arrives with Wildcat. Anyway, after all this, Bones catches Fury alone and kidnaps her. To be continued!

New Teen Titans #10: Having finished the previous storyline, this issue is mostly setup for things to come. Lilith is made an Olympian god, and the other Teen Titans are sent back to Earth. Everybody is happy, except for Azrael who's really broken up, and the Titans are perhaps realistically but amusingly not terribly sympathetic to him. Cyborg kind of makes fun of him, and Azrael flies off. Meanwhile, a Tamaranian ship heads toward Earth to retrieve Koriand'r now that the Citadel is defeated.
Most of the issue is devoted to Joe and Kole. He helps her go looking for her father. In a sequence like something out of one of DC's bygone horror titles, her scientist Dad rants and tries to force them away. Joe possesses his body and they go into his laboratory, which they find full of monstrous human mutants created to find some form that could survive a nuclear war. freaked out, Joe and Kole flee. I'm sure that's not the last we've seen of Dr. Weathers, though.

Sgt. Rock #402: The main story by Kanigher/Redondo tells something of Wildman's background as the seemingly neurologically locked-in G.I. is about to receive a metal for bravery. Wildman manages to wake up and move to declare he doesn't deserve the award as the real act of heroism was performed by a former student of his who had just joined Easy.
In the second story, a reprint from 1974, an Indian survivor of a U.S. Cavalry attack on his village gets revenge on the soldiers by stealing their horses in a mountain trap. When a blizzard descends, the warrior pragmatically uses the horses to survive while the soldiers freeze to death.

Saga of Swamp Thing #38: Moore and Woch/Totleben get "American Gothic" underway with the Swamp Thing returning to Rosewood, Illinois, which he last visited about 3 years ago to the day in issue 3. Flooding Rosewood didn't get read of the vampires, but instead caused them to evolve into an aquatic, eusocial form, even more dangerous. Before telling Swampie anything more of the secrets he wants, Constantine wants him to deal with those vampires, so Swamp Thing wades in to do that.

Warlord #94: I reviewed this issue here.

Who's Who #4: More C's! Looking at characters particularly related to the period I've been reading here, we have Circe from Wonder Woman who re-appeared not too long ago, Computo showed up in Legion, and the Construct who just turned up last week in Red Tornado #1. Color Kid is also fresh off an appearance in the Legion of Substitute Heroes Special #1. There are also several entries for characters/organizations that had their first appearance in this period: The Creature Commandos soldiered through Weird War Tales for a period close to its ending; Colonel Future from introduced in Superman #378 and had at least 1 appearance since, and then there's Croc who got a whole arc in the Bat-titles. Two of these represent dangling mysteries: The identity of Colonel Computron was left unrevealed, though maybe it has been post-Crisis, as the character has had a few appearances. The generic, shadowy villainy of the Council from Supergirl is likewise noted here, though it never got fully exposed or dealt with. In the "Obscure Characters that Trey likes" column, we have Claw the Unconquered with art by Giffen.

 Codex Infernum for Castles & Crusades is a comprehensive infernal bestiary and sourcebook released by Troll Lord Games. It serves as a dark companion to Codex Exaltum (which focuses on celestial beings) and provides Castle Keepers (GMs) with the tools to integrate demons, devils, and the metaphysics of evil into their campaigns.Key Features & ContentThe Bestiary: The book contains Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

For someone who posts primarily about tabletop role-playing games, I certainly have been talking a lot about comics lately. Indulge me again, because this one is directly related to the hobby. Today, I want to look at a comic book based specifically on a TTRPG—Malibu Comics’ 1992 Torg mini-series, published under their Adventure Comics imprint.

It was 1992. Torg: Roleplaying the Possibility Wars had been out for two years, and I was completely obsessed with it. I had read the first tie-in novel (because it seemed like every major TTRPG released in that era had to have one!), and as much as I liked it, I was still trying to wrap my head around what a Torg campaign should actually look like at the table.

This comic finally gave me that answer.

It was thrilling to see an alternate-world reality invading Earth on the page. Specifically, the Tharkoldu invasion of LA! The book perfectly illustrated the dynamics of heroes from wildly different realities teaming up to face these massive challenges. I don’t have the physical issues in front of me right now—they are packed away in storage—but at the time, I was a massive fan. I managed to get my hands on issues 1, 2, and 4 right away, though it took me years to finally track down issue number 3. When someone asked me what Torg was like back then, I didn’t point them to the heavy rulebook; I referred them to these comics.

It helps that the book was written by legendary game designer Greg Gorden, who was actually part of Torg‘s original design team. His resume is incredible. He was part of the team that designed the James Bond 007 RPG, served as the main designer on Mayfair’s DC Heroes, worked on West End’s Star Wars D6, and was the main author of the Imperial Sourcebook—setting a high bar for game design that influenced the entire Star Wars franchise. He also worked on the original Deadlands, which ties my early love of Torg directly to my current predilection for Savage Worlds.

If you want a deep dive into his game design and influence on the hobby in general, check out this excellent interview and analysis over at Geekerati Media.

The art was handled by Sergio Cariello. He went on to work for more mainstream titles, but here he captured the setting’s cinematic feel perfectly. The comic looked like a gritty action movie—more grounded and realistic, and not four-color at all. It was black and white, after all!

There might be some rose-colored-glasses reminiscing about what I just wrote. But in 1992, and for a few years afterward, this four-issue run was hugely influential in shaping my conception of what Torg was and could be. I reread the original novel trilogy and these comics to prep for a Torg prequel campaign I ran in the early 2000s.

I really wish more TTRPG comic crossovers would use the medium to show what playing the game feels like, rather than just telling a generic story with the game’s branding slapped on the cover.

Have you ever read a tie-in novel or comic that completely changed how you ran a specific RPG?

The post Video of the Day – Doctor Who: The Toymaker-The God of Games, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

What’s the matter? Haven’t you ever seen a Whoover before?

The Whoovers fan group’s Whooverville convention returns in September for a seventeenth year. The popular East Midlands convention for fans of the BBC’s Doctor Who is now in its seventeenth year will once more take place at the Derby QUAD. And they’ve just revealed that they’ll be joined by the fairest, if most wicked, Time Lady of them all: the Rani, as played by Anita Dobson. Her character first appeared in The Church on Ruby Road as ‘Mrs Flood,’ Ruby Sunday’s slightly spiky, but generally good natured neighbour. However, she became one of the great mysteries of the Ncuti Gatwa era, ultimately revealed as the Doctor’s old enemy the Rani.

Dobson has proven to be just as witty, but significantly less evil, in her public appearances and quickly become a fan favourite at conventions.

She joins the previously announced Sophie Aldred, who was the Seventh Doctor’s companion Ace, and Janet Fielding, who was Tegan Jovanka, companion to the Fourth and Fifth. Both Aldred and Fielding have returned to the Whoniverse in recent years, most notably in the Thirteenth Doctor’s final story The Power of the Doctor.

You can also meet David Banks, who played the Cyberleader throughout the 1980s in stories such as Earthshock, Attack of the Cybermen, and Silver Nemesis.

The Whoovers tell fans to expect a day jam-packed with activities, including celebrity guest panels, autograph and photo sessions, displays and dealers, and above all a chance to meet fellow fans in a relaxed and fun environment.

Tickets for the event, which takes place on Saturday the 5th of September, are on sale now. Standard tickets cost £60, while concessions are £50, and tickets for accompanied children 12 and under are £20.

You can book your tickets on the Derby Quad website here.

 

The post Doctor Who Convention Whooverville 17 Adds Anita Dobson appeared first on Blogtor Who.

The joy of crafting isn’t just in what we make - it’s the connections we build along the way. From stitching with friends to discovering new techniques at events, being part of a creative community makes our craft even more meaningful. That’s why I’m so excited to share something new with you today: Craft Event […]

The post Find Your People with the Craft Event Hub – GoSadi Giveaway appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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Hello, friends and neighbors. Long time no see, right? Well, I was undecided how to move on from blogger. It's just that ... well, the algorithm is an unkind mistress, so we are moving tents to greener pastures. I'll show you the way.

Looky here, a Substack ...

Blogger was good the first couple of years I used it, but when g+ got the boot, it all fizzled away. And the OSR community (of yore) with it. I stayed. I tried. And I never stopped working on the stuff I started. But this isn't the place for it anymore. I barely get traffic from other blogs anyway (AND haven't been doing much here as well).

So I have to move on.

But I'd be happy to take you! So here's where it's at, with a couple of words about what it will be about:
 

Go there, if you will 

You see? I shift focus a bit. Not so much about the culture and more about me being a publisher and talking about my projects, about the tools of the trade, all that good stuff, and with clear dedication to give this a proper pulse.

I'll update here when I update there until I feel like this blog can rest now.

See you on the other side!
 

 

The post Video of the Day – Patient Zero, 2018 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

 The road in a Sword & Sorcery setting is rarely just a means of travel; it is a gauntlet of ancient grudges, desperate survivors, and cosmic indifference.Here is a D100 Random Encounters Table designed for grit, atmosphere, and high stakes. This table picks right up from D100 Sword & Sorcery Random Urban Encounters Table for Castles & Crusades rpgThe Trail Encounters Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

Billie Piper is currently filming Elsinore, telling the true story of the behind the scenes drama of the National Theatre’s 1989 production of Hamlet

Filming has begun on Elsinore, a new drama film co-starring Billie Piper. When Doctor Who returned to screens in 2005, Piper was a key part of its success as the Doctor’s companion Rose Tyler. She recently returned to the series in the shock reveal at the end of The Reality War, though her role in this year’s Christmas Special is still unclear. In Elsinore she joins a cast led by Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Fleabag) in the true story of Ian Charleson’s run as Hamlet at the Olivier Theatre in 1990.

When the play’s star Daniel Day-Lewis leaves the stage mid-performance, and refuses to return, it throws the National Theatre production of Hamlet into high drama of its own. They find a replacement for the remainder of the run in Ian Charleson, who accepts the challenge despite being seriously ill with AIDS. The result is a performance many critics regards as one of the greatest Hamlets of all time, tinged with tragedy as Charleson dies only weeks after finishing the run.

The actor was one of the first high profile figures in the UK to be open about their battle against the disease, and the news coverage of his final role and death helped change public attitude to HIV and AIDS.

Andrew Scott stars as Charleson, while Olivia Colman (The Eleventh Hour) plays his doctor. The roles of the rest of the cast are still unannounced. One possibility is that Billie Piper will be portraying Stella Gonet, who played Ophelia opposite Charleson in the production of Shakespeare’s most iconic work.

Other members of the cast of Elsinore include Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, Monica Dolan, Juliet Stevenson, Joe Locke, Adeel Akhtar, Matthew Beard, David Dawson, Kadiff Kirwan, Dickie Beau and Peter Mullan.

The post Doctor Who’s Billie Piper Heads to Elsinore appeared first on Blogtor Who.

By Shanklimb
Self Published
OSR
Levels 4-6

In recent months, strange mushrooms have erupted across a corner just outside the Mulchgrove. Local foragers reported vivid, peculiar dreams after extracting them – visions of mosslings sharing tea with mammoths, a boulder tucked in for naptime, and other odd sights. Now the dreams are coming uninvited, in daylight, to people who never touched the mushrooms at all.  The mosslings of Mulchgrove are divided. Most believe the fungi are a divine offering – though no two can agree which god sent them, or why. But it’s to be sure: someone, or something, is broadcasting.

This eleven page adventure describes fifteen rooms, mostly linear, in some caves. Low on interesting, you get some sub-standard descriptions of slime mold rooms. Nothing to see here, move along, move along. 

The locals have discovered a new type of mushroom. You’re hired to check it out. You find some caves with some friendly trolls in them. They grow moss. In beds fertilized with corpses. Looks like slime molds have attacked their caves. You go kill the slime molds.

Aimless, perhaps, is how I would describe this. There just isn’t much motivating going on in any sense. The situation in the local village is “oh, look, new mushrooms!” with no real sense of urgency behind it. The hooks are all Hiring in one sense or another, usually with a “I’d some of that new mushroom variety …” There’s little personal motivation in any of that, just a blatant appeal to your desire to play D&D tonight or go to a bar instead. There’s not much of a hunt for an entrance, I guess all of the locals are blind or something, just “here’s the hole in the ground!” and then, once inside it’s more of the same. You enter a room with moss in it. This room has trolls and moss. The trolls are friendly. They don’t care. Well, one room has some sleeping trolls in it who are not pleased at being woken up, if you hang around. I wouldn’t be either. Anyway, they don’t care. Yeah, they are fertilizing their ground with corpses, but there’s no indication they are KILLING people. The descriptions are entirely neutral on that point. “Investigating the corpses: Human commonfolk, arranged with almost ceremonial care. Their hands are folded, mouths held agape with sticks. No possessions of any value.” Sure thing man. No one cares. Well, the trolls are not happy that their moss tunnels have now been invaded by slime molds. Pretty please? This puts us, I don’t know, halfway through the encounters? So you wander around looking at moss and trolls until you reach the barricades that block off the other half of the rooms. Once there things change. You kill gelatinous hulks and other mindless blob things. Yeah! You did it! ‘ 

The last half of the room, eight rooms, are handled in two pages. So, two pages of content here. Two pages of things to do. You enjoy yourself here.

Room descriptions are in the old OSE style and meh. “The Threshold Black walls (thicker roots). Translucent threads (hang from ceiling, like a curtain).” This is ok, but not great. It’s just not very evocative, but, at least, it’s not overly long, thank god. 

There’s just not much here. Stab the blob things. Maybe don’t touch the pools that are obviously acidic. It’s like The Adventure Of Getting Inzto My Condo! Avoid the church people in the drive and hit the open gate button on the app. Don’t yell at the old person driving slowly in front of you. Open the garage door with the opener. Park in the garage being careful not to hit the concrete post on one side. Roll 1d6, if you get a 1-3 then the car on the other side is present also and you should not hit it. Push the elevator button. Wait forever. 1-3:d6 other people get off on floor one, slowing your ascent. Yeah. Ok. I guess things happen. I guess? Do they matter? No. 

Also, I’m annoyed that the numbers on the map are in a black font in purple background blobs. This is my usual Hard To Read rant. And, then, the dungeon proper, “This dungeon is made up of an expanding fungal root-system, the roots of which form mid-sized tunnels and rooms.” I guess the roots are hollow?

Nothing here. Move along. Move along. 

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/560343/corpse-husbandry-an-adventure-in-dolmenwood?1892600

My vacant in Hawaii last week got me thinking about the subgenre of pulp adventure fiction that dealt with tales of freighter captains or sailors making having adventures in various ports of the South Pacific. The radio show Voyage of the Scarlet Queen is in this genre as are Howard's adventures of Sailor Steve Costigan. Aviators get into similar sort of adventures in the same locales as well, as seen in the 80s TV Tales of the Gold Monkey and the comic strip Terry & the Pirates.

I think the same basic setup of these stories could be transported to a science fiction setting. Imagine a group of relatively closely spaced, small worlds (to be "realistic" about it, they would likely have been placed there by an Arbitrarily Advanced Civilization). It could be a Dyson Swarm or its remnant like in Reynolds's Revenger series, or it could just something like the Vega System as presented in DC's Omega Men (which could be a kind of modular ringworld, I guess). Why small worlds? Well, I think it better reflects the island or city focus of the source material and makes it easier to place them relatively close together.

Whatever the setup, this system is on the hinterlands of "galactic civilization," a place where outlaws, adventurers, and malcontents would drift to from the more controlled, "safe" worlds. Within the source material, of course, this is the unexamined Western-centric view of South Pacific, but in a science fiction setting this could more genuinely be the case. Similarly, the elements of colonialism and exploitation of native peoples is probably something to avoid (unless one wanted to make that a central conflict of the setting), but like in Vance's Demon Prince series, a lot of unique or eccentric societies may have grown up there as generations of nonconformists fled the core. Perhaps among the ruins of an alien Precursor race, ideas about whom may be part of the eccentricity of some of the societies.

The vibe could be very retro pulp, but you could just as easily do it with inspiration from Cowboy Bebop or with an Alien/Outland aesthetic.

 The House of the Rising Sun is the sixth volume of the Arduin Grimoire series, released in 1980. Authored by David A. Hargrave, it is a seminal piece of the "Old School Renaissance" (OSR) DNA, known for its kitchen-sink fantasy style, high lethality, and unapologetic weirdness. This picks up from Diving into the Arduin Underworld - OSR Commentary On Winds of Chance (Arduin Grimoire Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

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 Adapting Travis Morgan, the iconic Vietnam-era pilot turned barbarian king, requires balancing his modern military background with the high-adventure tropes of a "Dying Earth" or "Lost World" setting.In Sword of Cepheus (2nd Edition), Morgan is a high-ranking character, likely having completed 5–6 terms before being "stranded" in Skartaris.Travis Morgan: The WarlordSocial Class: 9 (Officer/Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

 The sprawling, soot-stained alleys and marble-clad plazas of a Sword & Sorcery city are often more dangerous than any dungeon. This table is designed for Castles & Crusades, leaning into the gritty, "Long 90s" gritty-industrial aesthetic and the pulp tradition of Howard and Leiber. This picks right up from d100 Random Wilderness Swords & Sorcery Encounters table for CastlesNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

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