Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.
Just picked up The Nocturnal Table, Castle Xyntillan, and Khosura: King of the Wastelands from the post:
Gabor Lux is running is site-wide sale on everything he has published under EMDT imprint until July 20. Things are moving quickly so act fast. :)
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| Character | Race | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thorm | Dwarf | Fighter level 4 / thief level 5 | Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble. |
| Drokh | Human | Monk level 1 | A tall, lean human monk with piercing eyes, weathered skin, and a warrior’s poise—calm and charismatic, he speaks with purpose and strikes with precision, wielding spear, bow, and blade. |
| Ignaeus | Elf | Fighter level 5 / magic-user level 4 | A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge. |
| Foxglove | Human | Thief level 6 | A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time. |
Party of four adventurers—Thorm, Drokh, Ignaeus, and Foxglove—descended down the crooked, weathered stone stairs. Bright sun disappeared behind their backs, replaced by feeble torchlight. Young March, their freshly hired torchbearer, bravely followed them. Ignaeus took the lead and stepped into dank chamber filled with three inches of stale water.
Ignaeus and Thorm went to check corridor leading eastward, Drokh and Foxglove went to listen at doors on the west side, and March was ordered to stand in the center of the room.
Slithering, barely visible mass of goo assaulted the elven-dwarf alliance. It failed to surprise the duo. Dwarf hurled his axe at it, and then the elf finished the mass by driving Volmorin's Blade, his magical sword, into it. Ignaeus was wracked with pain as blade screamed in anguish. As ooze melted so did the sword rot and corrode.
The party came here to find young warrior that went missing a week or so ago. He supposedly came here with an adventuring party, seeking golden goblet filled with blood red rubies. Bounty for his body, dead or alive, was mere ten gold pieces. The party accepted nonetheless, for they wished to try out some of their new tactics before going for bigger, stronger opponents. Thus far they only managed to lose a magical weapon.
Dispirited, but not defeated, they opted to break through the west doors. That led them to a four-way junction, with doors to the west, and corridors to north and south. After failing to break through the doors, they decided to head south. This led them to another four-way junction, but this one led to doors in all three directions: west, south, and east.
Sticking to their pattern, they went for west doors once more.
“Wait! Listen!”
“Sploosh! Sploosh! Sploosh!”
Splashing sounds could be heard from behind the party—same route they came from—as if a dozen little steps were made on the water. Lo and behold, five ugly goblins came from around the corner, wielding crude war-hammers. Goblinoid fools overestimated themselves, and were promptly massacred.
“Oh!” March gasped as doors swung open behind him. Ten small creatures, bipedal midgets with dog heads, were arranged in a marching order. Five in front held short swords, while five in back held spears. They stared down the party, ready to drive them through.
March pulled his big-boy pants up, and held a torch like a boss. Ignaeus, still in the sour mood over losing his powerful magical sword, charged the kobold gang with righteous fury. He trampled them like little kids, slashing and beheading with ease. Thorm followed behind, slaying pathetic monsters with ease. Nine out of ten kobolds were killed in a single round. The remaining critter surrendered. He traded his gang's possession—five hundred and eighty seven electrum pieces—for his life. Thorm sparred him.
Kobold chamber looped back to the chamber adventurers couldn't break into. This was foul place where goblins had dwelt. Three hundred fifty seven electrum pieces were hidden among the wet rubble. The party then backtracked to the entry chamber and explored the eastern corridor. There they found a t-shaped junction splintering north and south.
North doors led into a rectangular chamber in which giant ferrets peacefully swam around. Mistaking them for giant weasels the party promptly slammed the doors shut and went for southern doors instead. There they heard buzzing, opened the doors, seen four giant bees, and then slammed these doors shut too.
Annoyed, they returned to the first four-way junction they had encountered, and followed the passageway north. They burst into a chamber. There they ran into two chimeric creatures—bare breasted females with vulture-like legs and long, leathery wings. Alarmed, they readied their weapons. Alas! Drokh and Foxglove were too slow—monsters unleashed their wonderful song, mesmerizing both of them.
“Freeze!” Ignaeus roared, pointing his corroded Volmorin's Blade at the harpies. Sword's presences was barely detectable, but it obliged its master. One of the foul beasts froze in place. Other resisted, but failed to do so the second time Ignaeus had used his blade. Adventurers made short work of the beasts, hacking them without second thoughts.
Forcing the west doors open revealed what the party was looking for. A young man, naked and bruised, chained to the wall. Before him a gold chalice rested on a rotting wooden crate.
“This looks like a trap.” Foxglove cautioned. He carefully approached the crate and investigated it. Nothing was off. Next he sneaked up to the chained man and broke the manacles. Young man was still breathing, but was unconscious. His wounds were showing signs of festering.
“This is no gold!”
Indeed, dwarven eyes were not fooled. This chalice was nothing but worthless pyrite. The party hauled young man out of the dungeon. They visited another chamber before leaving, but gave up after seeing a bunch of giant rats taking a bath. They returned to Hara by nightfall.
“Where is my chalice? Where is it! It was all for nothing! All for nothing!” young man cried, exasperated.
“Fool's gold indeed.” Ignaeus concluded grimly.
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In April this year Alarums & Excursions APA (Amateur Press Association) stopped publishing after 50 years of running. Several long-time contributors, including myself, organised and launched a successor APA named Ever & Anon.
APA is in essence a collection of fanzines distributed as a single volume. In other words, one APA issue contains multiple zines from different authors. Ever & Anon, like its predecessor, is focused on roleplaying games.
Zines mostly cover session reports, convention experiences, reviews, back and forth between the contributors, and discussion about games, among other things. This lively, but slow and long-form, dialogue creates a distinct type of community.
We published the first issue this July. It is freely available on our website, DriveThruRPG, archive.org, and Scribd.
Fun tidbit: cover, illustrated by IdleDoodler, is homage to the very first Alarums & Excursions cover.
Anyone can submit a zine for publication, as long as they follow the contributor guidelines. If in doubt I recommend reading the first issue, and if you still have questions then reach out. Looking forward to reading your contributions!
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A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.
This issue details sessions 76, 77, and 78.
Adventurers get to know the Den intimately.
You can download the issue here.
Overlord's Annals zine is available as part of the Ever & Anon APA, issue 1:
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Onyx Path Publishing is having an anniversay sale on DriveThruRPG, with everything discounted for 50% off. I used to opportunity to pick up some of Scarred Lands and Sword & Sorcery products I had on my wishlist for long time:
All of the above are 3E/3.5E products, but I am primarily interested in ideas, concepts, and maps that I can cannibalise and repurpose. I also got beastiaries because I was advised that many monsters in Slumbering Tsar were from Creature Collection books. Perhaps they will be of use one day, when I get to converting the 800 page tome. Who knows.
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Thorm | Dwarf level 4 | Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble. |
| Ambros | Cleric level 6 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Ignaeus | Elf level 5 | A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge. |
| Foxglove | Thief level 6 | A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time. |
| Dalkanarion | Fighter level 4 | A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself. |
Dalkanarion had his hands full. Ambitious Dragonslayer rapidly built his reputation in the region. That he was member of the same adventuring company Ambros Ap Mortain, the Justice Supreme of Hara, certainly did him no harm.
Intent on positioning himself as Hero of the people, Dalkanarion decided to marry the daughter of a local innkeeper. His future godfather stuck a good deal, offering the hand of his youngest daughter in exchange for his Dragon's Lair inn.
The ceremony was to be on Dewsnap 20th, Spiritday. Last day of Winter. All adventurers were invited. Further, Dalkanarion employed a dozen of bards and agitators to drum up his wedding as the event to attend. Wine, bread, and cake would be freely given out to all those who show up.
He sent his trumpet boy to the Namelin villa, asking for a meeting. His first letter was ignored. Then he sent a follow-up letter. Apparently him mentioning “mutual satisfaction” and “wealth” was sufficient the get him a visit by Abek Namelin, the youngest son of Aseti Namelin. His family was the second most influential in the region. “Soldiers” assigned to Dalkanarion were Namelin's hired thugs.
Abek met with Dalkanarion at the Dragon's Lair inn. They had conversation in private; details known only to them. Later adventurers learned that their friend promised Namelins to train their thugs, invited them to set up “entertainment” close to Cedarwade keep so soldiers have a place to spend their hard earned money on, and assured them their estates and caravans will have “preferential” treatment by the border patrols. Finally, he agreed to ask Ambros to dispense two of his squads to guard the Namelin villa.
With that out of the way, Dalkanarion visited Zenon Coke and paid off his assassination contract. He was thoroughly unhappy with such arrangement. Unfair! Uncivilised! He would fight for a better future.
The plaza in front of the Dragon's Lair inn was bustling with people. Ambros's crusaders lined the north side of the small square, while Namelin's thugs were on the opposite side. Adventurers had seats of importance, so they were visible to the crowd.
“You have to be careful,” Abek arrived earlier “Imrael will try to cause a commotion during the wedding.” Namelin's accepted Dalkanarion's invitation to the wedding. Abek was their representative. Audience was divided on that.
“Dalkanarion! Here I am!” Tsamar, Hara's current Castellan, formerly a Pirate Queen, arrived just in time “You are so special I even washed for you!” She was dressed the same as the last time he met her. Which was two weeks ago now. He seated her close to him. After all, she is now his superior. He is to bow to her every command. And whim.
Once all persons of renown had arrived, Dalkanarion stood up and gave a speech. Dalkanarion is one of those individuals who always stands out. Not merely due to his height and muscular frame, but due to his demeanor and how he fills the space. Today he was even more impressive. Dressed in ceremonial plate mail, recovered from the tomb of Traitor King, with massive Oathkeeper by his side, he looked like a War-Prince of an ancient empire.
His speech was long and impassionate. He often paused, so crowd can cheer and clap, or boo and whistle, as appropriate. His agitators worked the crowd, ensuring exact reactions he wished to incite. Crowd was well fed and well watered too, with Kyle's finest wine. Dalkanarion spoke of a different future; a brighter future. More just. More generous. More prosperous. He made promises. And the crowd cheered. How could they not? Who amongst them would dare say anything against a huge man with a huge sword?
“May his line be long, and his enemies buried deep.” Thorm drunk to words of his comrade. The atmosphere was jovial and celebration lasted well into the night. Other adventurers congratulated Dalkanarion on his bold speech.
On the morning of next day Dalkanarion found his newly acquired inn defaced. Eastern wall was covered in a graffiti depicting a buff stick figure copulating with a dragon.
“I guess it could have been worse.” Dalkanarion exhaled.
“It sure could have.” Ambros confirmed.
Would it get worse or better?
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tarkus the Promising | Cleric level 4 | Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom. |
| Beorg the Gravedigger | Fighter level 3 | Inspired to adventure after burying several adventurers. |
| Thorm | Dwarf level 3 | Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble. |
| Ambros | Cleric level 6 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Ignaeus | Elf level 4 | A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge. |
| Foxglove | Thief level 5 | A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time. |
| Dalkanarion | Fighter level 4 | A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself. |
“Tu-tu-ruuu-tuuuuu” the trumpet blared as mounted adventurers triumphantly returned to Hara. Ambros and Dalkanarion led the victorious march, followed by other adventurers, Arlon, and four lances of mounted warriors.
Their arrival and presence was so awesome the guards even forgot to ask them to dismount and disarm. Who, in their sane mind, would dare to oppose the Justice Supreme himself?
The company of thirty trotted through Hara, to cheers and gasps of the crowds. They made their way to the citadel, where they were finally stopped by a stupendously brave guard. He soon melted away under duress, and let the company enter the courtyard.
Tsamar, Hara's current castellan and, allegedly, formerly a pirate queen, soon arrived and greeted the ambitious band.
Their plan was simple. Two weeks ago they liberated Cedarwade Keep, a key point for preventing Altanian incursions into the fertile valley of Hara. They did so on behalf of Lord Kyle, a young man who inherited a large estate from his father. Despite his best efforts, all went to ruin, since the young man was squeezed and abused on all fronts. Ambros ordered his men to remain at the keep, for now, to safeguard it. But in order to station it properly, it needs to be repaired. Thorm, an experienced dwarf, assessed there is at least 100 000 gold pieces worth of repairs to restore the keep to its former glory. Kyle family has been brought to financial ruin—their vineyards raided, their wine trade disrupted, their iron mines dysfunctional, and their reputation tarnished. Hence Ambros and company forged a simple plan—convince the Red Queen to invest into the keep due to its strategic importance. After all, Lord Kyle is her subject, and his lands are Hers.
“We are here to report to the Queen.” Ambros announced to Tsamar.
“Are you now?” Tsamar asked sardonically, sizing up everyone. She was dressed in tight leather jerkin and loose bright yellow linen pants, tightened with a simple leather belt. Numerous chunky rings adorned her hands. Heavy gold necklace with eye-sized emeralds clanged around her neck, accentuating her bronze tan. She moved like a panther, with strength and vitality much greater than her five foot frame would suggest. “Why don't you enter and share the news with me?”
“We would prefer to share it directly with the Queen.”
“Fine then, Ambros, if you insist on being so dramatic.” Tsamar waved to one of her mariners. The man prepared the rowboat, for the palace sits on a small isle just across Hara. It is a fortified isle which also houses the prison, royal vault, garrison of its own, and several servants' houses.
“No, I mean all of us.”
“What, all thirty of you?!”
“No, myself, Dalkanarion, Ignaeus, Thorm, and Tarkus.” Beorg and Tarkus had been brought back to life by Ambros. Beorg opted to head straight for the adventurers' townhouse so he can rest and recover, while Tarkus decide to join Ambros and others instead. He was in great pain, but spreading the word of Bachontoi was more important.
“Are you joking?! I though you were wiser than this.” Tsamar erupted, lambasting Chief Justice of Hara. She point at every individual Ambros called out and demanded they answer if they had met the Red Queen.
“None of you met the Queen, and yet you know demand to meet her? The audacity? She choose who she meets, not you. Ambros, you and I can go, others can stay here. Or you can all report to me. Or you can get out and go on your way.”
“Ambros, go without us. We'll wait.” other adventurers beckoned the cleric. He agreed and joined Tsamar. It was noon. It was bright and warm. Winter was nearly over. Days were getting longer.
⁂
“So, what do we do now?” Thorm decided to go drinking. Others decided to stay in the citadel until Ambros returns. They waiting well until the evening, until the spotted the rowboat carrying their friend. He was alone.
Ambros waved warily, and reported no significant progress. “The Queen has her mind on something else. But she did name Dalkanarion castellan of Cedarwade Keep. She also said he must report to Tsamar and obey her orders.” She also gave a cryptic warning that “the Altanians will come, but not as you expect.” Further, her position is that Merchant families need to agree amongst themselves who funds the repair of Cedarwade Keep.
Later same day Dalkanarion returned to the citadel once more. He was granted audience with Tsamar and reported on the status of Cedarwade Keep. Then he asked for soldiers to man the keep.
“How many do you need?” she asked. She was not happy with the non-answer she received in return. “Tell me, how many do you need, and then let me figure out where I get the men. Don't you worry your pretty big head with it. Let me do the thinking.” Tsamar's tongue struck worse than manticore's tail. “I will gather fifty soldiers for you. Best of the best. Come here in three days and they will be ready.”
“Castellan, would you do me the honour, and attend my wedding as an esteemed guest?” Dalkanarion inquired. At the end of the month he will take the hand of young, fertile lady, daughter of the Dragon's Lair inn proprietor.
“Of course! I would love to!”
⁂
“That bitch!” Dalkanarion fumed. “I'll give her the worst seat! At the end of the bench!”
Thorm tried to calm his friend. Ambros was too tired for political bullshittery. Others weren't too enthused about it.
“Listen. They might be rubble, the worst of the worst. But we bring them with us and drill some discipline into them. They get to follow you! We can make it work!”
Dalkanarion's “soldiers” were nothing but a bunch of run down thugs. They were not even equipped properly—soiled rags, clubs, and poor hygiene was all they had. These were in fact several gangs hired by Namelin.
“What is this?!” Dalkanarion demanded.
“Your men!” Tsamar replied “Best of the best! Now take them to the keep and make sure you don't lose it! Go on strong boy. See you at the wedding!”
Ambros's clerics informed him that Akasi and Anhemu Namelin are making a great commotion at Forsetti's Temple. “Injustice! We are being robbed by the castellan herself! Our men are taken and sent to the other side of the valley! What for! Whom for! Nonsense! We demand justice!” Their case was summarily dismissed by Ambros. “You are having your justice. Leave me alone.”
Since Dalkanarion was having such a great time, he also received a letter. It read as follows:
Dear Dalkanarion the Dragonslayer,
I heartily congratulate your most recent accomplishment and promotion! It is my strong belief that you will take good care of our southern border, restore peace, and break any Altanian horde that might come your way.
With that being said, I have to inform you with great regret and sadness that we have received a contract to assassinate you. Rest assured that we will kill you in accordance to your status. We take great pride in our professionalism so I promise we will not interrupt your happy day, nor injure your future bride.
As mandated by the Queen, everyone is given an opportunity to purchase their right to live. Therefore, I am delighted to invite you to bid for your life no later than ten days after delivery of this letter. Should you fail to appear, we will consider that as refusal of our offer.
With love, Zenon Coke Headmaster of the Assassins' Guild
“Welcome to the club.” Ambros sighed.
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A friend most generous has sent me his Judges Guild collection of Pegasus magazines as well as Fantastic Personalities supplement:
I also received the original art piece by FSF-INK that we commissioned for the Wilderlands Hall of Fame 2023:
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After five decades of continuous publication, the legendary Alarums & Excursions APA has come to an end. Lee Gold shared so with us, regular contributors, in late March, and then officially in the April issue of A&E (no. 593).
A&E begun its incredible run in June 1975, and continued all until April 2025. Lee's incredible tenacity and dedication is laudable, and I am forever grateful that she—with the help of other long-time contributors—was also able to make the back-issues available for as long as she was publishing new issues. I had an honour of contributing to A&E since August 2022, publishing a total of 33 issues of the Overlord's Annals zine.
Wikipedia and Fanlore entries provide a good summary of A&E APA for anyone interested. Grossly oversimplified, it was a bundle of individual fanzines focused on role-playing games. Each contributor would send in their zine, and then Lee would edit, collate, and distribute. Contributors would often address each other in their contributions, thus creating a community. At the time when there were no blogs nor forums, this was huge.
Lee was incredibly prolific. Fight On! issue dedicated to her includes a nice little essay “World Creating as a Hobby” as well as short interview. I also recommend Meet the Woman Who by 1976 Was the Most Important Gamer in Roleplaying After Gary article and Game Design History with Lee Gold video interview.
Thank you for everything Lee!
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Wilderlands Hall of Fame represents the most legendary gaming situation of the year, as voted by the players in our Conquering the Barbarian Altanis campaign.
Illustrated by FSF-INK. Read more about the creation process here.
Adventurers most troublesome, from right to left:
Trial by The Pit adventure is covered in session reports 44, 45, and 46.
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