Monday, December 27, 2021

Arduin Bloody Arduin

I want to profusely thank Emperors Choice for participating in Tenkar's 12 Days of OSR Christmas event. I was fortunate to win one of their sets of Volumes IV to IX, which completes my trilogy of trilogies.

I've had the first three (in later prints) for more than 25 years, plus The Howling Tower, a much-used copy that Crazy Egor warned -- "How crappy can you get. One of the rarest items ever and it wasn't just used, it was abused inside. Writing all over in pencil, ink cross outs all over. OK, play it but don't destroy it!" Still playable, though... otherwise I would not have been able to afford it!

I also have the Arduin map, bought some years ago at Gen Con; such a gorgeous map!

I have spent the last four days poring over the new acquisitions and going over the first three grimoires and scanning the map.

What a wonderful, fascinating world! A true wacky, wahoo, classic!

I am planning to order World Book of Khaas: Legendary Lands of Arduin and Vaults of the Weaver next week to finish the collection. I plan on adapting the material to Labyrinth Lord (BX/AD&D) and running it after my current 5E Temple of Elemental Evil campaign finishes... or maybe concurrently, if I can get another group together.

I look forward to further developments in the world of Arduin!

Saturday, December 25, 2021

40 Years Ago Today…

40 Years Ago Today…
 
December 25, 1981. Christmas morning in the small northern Indiana town of Chesterton.
 
A Christmas morning like many others, however, there would never again be a Christmas morning like that for me.
 
For that Christmas is the year I received the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, the “Moldvay” magenta edition. 

And my life was never the same again

In fact, that one single gift directed my life pretty much every day since that day.
 
I still remember opening the gift and setting it aside on the pile of other games and toys, then later that afternoon, belly filled and everyone going off to rest and recover in their own way, I sat down in the big chair in our family’s formal living room to check out that new game.
 
I’d seen it before, at several stores; I realized it was a different boxed set than the one I was used to seeing (the “Holmes” set). I’d even expressed interest in it before, but that one little book with the sacrificial victim on the cover (Eldritch Wizardry) put my mom off the idea of my ever playing such a strange game.

Little did my parents realize that this was that self-same game, in a new edition, written and illustrated in a child-friendly manner, and available at that most innocent of stores, Toys ‘R Us. I had read The Hobbit, and most of the Lord of the Rings (that part in Two Towers with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum was just soooo boring to a 12-year old…). I had consumed other fantasy and science-fiction books and movies in large quantities...

And so not recognizing it as “that game,” my parents thought that some game with a dragon on the cover would be a natural fit, and as they had a few dollars left in the budget they set for games and toys for me, they picked it up… on a whim!
 
I tore open the box, opened the book -- and never looked back.
 
I was the first kid in my age group/social cadre to get D&D, and so I of course became the first Dungeon Master of the group. Oh, the spectacular mistakes I made! Worst example – I did not understand monster hit dice at first, and just assumed that their hit dice were their hit points. So orcs had 1 hit point, ogres had 4, and red dragons had 10… monster kills were in the 100s before I figured out THAT mistake.
 
But the game was glorious fun. In January I picked up the D&D Expert Set. In rapid order thereafter I picked up modules B1 and T1, which introduced me to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the books of which I picked up at the Hallmark Books shop in Marquette Mall in Michigan City. I rapidly discovered that there were hobby shops dedicated to Dungeons & Dragons, among other things. I picked up my first issue of Dragon Magazine, #57, at B&A Hobbies, also in Michigan City, around that same time.
 
By April 1982 Dungeons & Dragons had become my life. My first non-D&D game was Gamma World 1st Edition, which I received for my birthday that month. I also decided I wanted to design and write for Dungeons & Dragons, as I sent off a letter complete with hand-written monsters, to TSR; some months later, I received a “thank you, but” reply, my first rejection letter at age 13.
 
Needless to say, it did not stop me.
 
I was known as “That D&D Guy” in school thereafter. If I was not King of the Nerds, I was certainly somewhere on that court. I played D&D in the high school D&D Club (run by the Anatomy & Physiology teacher, Mr. Jim Strange), right up until a priest came in and convinced our principal that D&D was satanic.
 
I continued playing even when I lived in Germany for a year between high school and college; I even introduced gaming to some German friends there. I like to think that I ran some good games there, but between my half-assed German and all the beer, I never quite knew
 
I continued playing in college. I ditched my German for Teaching program for Anthropology and Humanities, thinking that somehow that might A) be more interesting and B) help my be a better game designer, so I might get a job writing for TSR (silly me, what they wanted was designers with English degrees, to save $ on the editorial process). In graduate school I had a dual epiphany – I hated academia and I really, REALLY wanted to work in the Game Industry. Sneaking into my first Game Manufacturer’s Association Trade Show with some faked-up business cards sealed the deal.
 
From 1995 to 2012, most of my adult life was spent (WELL SPENT, so very, very well spent) working in the Game Industry. I never got paid full time to be a game designer – sadly, game designers have never been well paid, so I worked in peripheral support areas. Over the years, I worked for Wizards of the Coast, West End Games, WizKids, Chessex Distribution, Alliance Distribution, ACD Distribution, SCRYE Magazine, Comics & Games Retailer Magazine, and Chimera Hobby Shop, among others. To stay in the business I did anything I could – I worked in publishing, purchasing, marketing, advertising, public relations, sales, and warehousing – in manufacturing, distribution, and retail. I even got to do some design work, initially as a freelancer.
 
That work of which I am most proud, and which also sadly was my Waterloo, was publishing the Wilderlands of High Adventure under license from Judges Guild and working directly with Bob Bledsaw; closely followed by working on Lejendary Earth with Gary Gygax (the fruits of which died on the vine, and would never see print). I got to work with two of my greatest childhood heroes – for Bob and Gary had a stature in my heart and mind much as, say, Joe Namath or Reggie Jackson might have in the hearts of football and baseball fans.
 
It was
amazing.
 
How many can say they lived their dreams?
 
All that was born on that one simple Christmas day 40 years ago. A simple box, a simple game, from which sprang forth a lifetime of amazing adventures, in the world of fantasy and in real life.
 
Life is a game. Roll some dice.
 
Merry Christmas.


Monday, December 20, 2021

Conjure up an Army!

Here are some new spells for conjuring up a quick (but not cheap or even necessarily good) army...


Conjure Goblinoid
Level: Magic-user 1
Duration: Instant
Range: 60’
 
This spell transforms one or more normal animals of animal intelligence into kobolds, goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, gnolls, or bugbears. The magic-user can conjure one “point” worth of goblinoids per caster level; a kobold (1/2 HD) or goblin (1-1 HD) costs 1/2 point; an orc (1 HD) costs 1 point; a hobgoblin (1+1 HD) costs 1 1/2 points; a gnoll (2 HD) costs 2 points; and a bugbear (3+1 HD) costs 3 points; “leader types” can also be conjured for the base cost of the goblinoid type plus 1 point per additional hit die, though goblinoids with class levels cannot be conjured in this way.
 
Multiple kobolds may be conjured from a single canine, including coyotes, dogs, foxes, or jackals; a single canine may be used to conjure as many kobolds as it has hit points. Goblins must be individually conjured from tiny or small lesser creatures, such as badgers, birds, cats, dogs, foxes, frogs, lizards, monkeys, piglets, rats, toads, weasels, etc. Orcs are conjured exclusively from adult swine – wild swine, domesticated pigs, or warthogs. Hobgoblins must be conjured from small to medium-sized carnivores or omnivores, such as black bears, large birds, baboons, chimpanzees, crocodiles, large dogs, goats, panthers, and so forth. Gnolls must be conjured from hyenas. Bugbears must be conjured from medium to large carnivores or omnivores, such as brown bears, polar bears, lions, tigers, wolverines, wolves, and so on.
 
Conjured goblinoids have goblin-level intelligence, fully understand goblin “culture,” can speak their dialect of Goblinish and Common, and are obedient to their creator (+2 Morale). They can reproduce among themselves by type (provided there are males and females), often mixing the characteristics of their founding animals into strange and unusual combinations. They do not have armor or weapons when conjured. Once conjured, the goblinoids are permanent, and cannot be dispelled.

Each individual target gets a saving throw versus Spells; if an animal’s saving throw succeeds, that animal is not transformed, and flees thereafter at maximum speed for one round per caster level.

The material component is gem dust, sprinkled on or toward the target animal(s), requiring 10 gpv per point used, which is expended in the casting of the spell.
 
Conjure Light Panoply
Level: Magic-user 1
Duration: Instant
Range: 60’
 
With this spell the caster creates a suit of armor and weapons out of thin air, up to one additional panoply per level. The spell conjures a suit of studded leather armor, plus one one-handed melee weapon and a shield or a short bow with a quiver of 20 arrows or a light crossbow with a case of 10 quarrels, plus a dagger or hand axe. The panoply appears on a willing target within range. Once conjured, the armor and weapons are permanent, and cannot be dispelled. The material component is 
gem dust, sprinkled on or toward the target, worth no less than 50 gp per panoply conjured, which is expended in the casting of the spell.
 
Conjure Medium Panoply
Level: Magic-user 2
Duration: Instant
Range: 60’
 
With this spell the caster creates a suit of armor and weapons out of thin air, one panoply at 3rd level and up to one additional per level thereafter. The spell conjures a suit of chain mail armor, plus one one-handed melee weapon and a shield or a two-handed melee weapon or a short or long bow with a quiver of 20 arrows, or a light or heavy crossbow with a case of 10 quarrels, plus a dagger or hand axe. The panoply appears on a willing target within range. Once conjured, the armor and weapons are permanent, and cannot be dispelled
The material component is gem dust, sprinkled on or toward the target, worth no less than 100 gp per panoply conjured, which is expended in the casting of the spell.
 
Conjure Heavy Panoply
Level: Magic-user 3
Duration: Instant
Range: 60’
 
With this spell the caster creates a suit of armor and weapons out of thin air, one panoply at 5th level and up to one additional per level thereafter. The spell conjures a suit of plate mail armor, plus one one-handed melee weapon and a shield or a two-handed melee weapon or a short or long bow with a quiver of 20 arrows, or a light or heavy crossbow with a case of 10 quarrels, plus a dagger or hand axe. The panoply appears on a willing target within range. Once conjured, the armor and weapons are permanent, and cannot be dispelled
The material component is gem dust, sprinkled on or toward the target, worth no less than 250 gp per panoply conjured, which is expended in the casting of the spell.
 
Conjure Knight’s Panoply
Level: Magic-user 4
Duration: Instant
Range: 60’
 
With this spell the caster creates a suit of armor, weapons, and a steed out of thin air, one panoply at 7th level and up to one additional per level thereafter. The spell conjures a suit of shining plate mail armor, shield, lance, long sword, and dagger, plus a mace, flail, or pick, and a warhorse complete with barding. The tabard, shield, and great helm have coat of arms, badge, and/or crest as appropriate. The panoply appears on a willing target within range, who is also instantly seated upon the warhorse. Once conjured, the armor and weapons are permanent, and cannot be dispelled
The material component is gem dust, sprinkled on or toward the target, worth no less than 500 gp per panoply conjured, which is expended in the casting of the spell.

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Orcs and XP through the Ages

I have been working on a booklet about humanoids and found some interesting tidbits about XP ratios and humanoids through the editions (and this also touches on treasure). The main simple distillation of what I found can be seen in the ratio of the number of orcs a party must kill/defeat before rising from 0 XP at 1st level to 2nd level.

After almost 40 years, I now understand why I always thought AD&D was more of a grind than B/X, which I think is a major element in my preference for B/X...

Party of four adventurers: Cleric, Fighter, Magic-user, and Thief; XP required to get to 2nd level:

OD&D: 7,200
GH: 7,200
B/X: 7,200
AD&D: 7,254
5E: 1,200

XP Value of One Average Orc (5 hp):

OD&D: 100 xp
GH: 10 xp
B/X: 10 xp
AD&D: 15 xp
5E: 100 xp

Number of Orcs a Party must Kill to rise to 2nd level (not including Treasure XP):

OD&D: 72
GH: 720
B/X: 720
AD&D: 484
5E: 12

Average Treasure per Orc, including Individual & Lair Treasure (except 5E), ASSUMING MAXIMUM COINS in treasure (not counting gems or jewelry) and Orcs per Group:

OD&D: 26 gp (TT D: 8,000 gp/300 orcs)
GH: 26 gp (TT D: 8,000 gp/300 orcs)
B/X: 133 gp (TT D: 8,000 gp/60 orcs)
AD&D: 16 gp (TT C, O & L: 4,860 gp/300 orcs)
5E: N/A

Number of Orcs a Party must Kill to rise to 2nd level (including Treasure XP, except in 5E):

OD&D: 58
GH: 200
B/X: 51
AD&D: 234
5E: 12

Monday, November 29, 2021

What if Mystara were a Dying Earth-style Campaign Setting?

Mystara is in many ways a “kitchen sink” campaign setting – it has something of everything in it, from many different genres and many different styles. But what if the overall style was one much more of the Dying Earth style, as per Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, Clark Ashton Smith’s Zothique, or Lin Carter’s Gondwane stories?

Basic Assumptions
1) Take the basic information as presented in the Gazetteers in the broad though not necessarily in the specific.

2) Countries are not “countries” so much as “cultural regions,” as nations, state, and empires are weak and ineffectual, for the most part, in the Dying Earth stories. “Ylaruam” is a region, and the “Sultan” of Ylaruam is a hollow title; so too the “Emperor” of Thyatis, and so forth. Everything is local.

3) The cultures of the “cultural regions” are the last, age-old remnants of ancient peoples, each of whom once had its great height of imperial power. These remnants are found scattered throughout the Known World. There are remnants of the “Alasiyani Empire” scattered from far western Darokin through to the Northern Reaches, and south to Ierendi.

4) Throw the timeline out the window. Blackmoor was an utterly ancient empire of an unknown age in the forgotten past. Even the order of the empires of the remaining cultures are unknown, save for the Thyatian, which was the last great expansive culture, the last hurrah so to speak of an offshoot of the Alphatian culture which was the height of Wizardry in the recent eons. More high-tech remnants like that of Blackmoor scattered here and there, as each culture delved deep into those technomantic mysteries and sought to rebuild the greatness that was Blackmoor – before the Arcane Inquisitors of Alphatia sought to purge them from the memory of the world.

5) There are no proper large-scale religions; all worship of immortals is local, like everything else, at best regional. There are far more dead and forgotten immortals than there are living ones. There are few region-spanning religious organizations; such are the exception to the rule. Temples of the same immortal in neighboring cities might not even be aware of each other, and if they are, might ignore each other or even be enemies.

6) Life of the commons through to the royals is one of decadence and often debauchery, all to stave off the ennui of the pointlessness of existence – after all, the moon might fall tomorrow, or the sun might fade away, or the stars blow out. The adventurers and others of their ilk are the exceptions to the general rule, trying to do something that makes a difference, that makes a mark, that makes advancement when all is in extreme retrograde at the nadir of history.

7) Populations are drastically different. Cities have no more than half the population listed, living amidst ruins of cities twice the size listed. The same for towns. Villages are mostly the same. But importantly, what is on the maps is all there is, settlement-wise. There are perhaps a handful of hamlets here and there, and homesteads, especially close to the larger settlements, but no more settlements of village size or greater, nor strongholds. What you see is what there is. There are, however, tons of ruins scattered about. Most empty, some occupied by monsters or stragglers.

8) Monsters are even greater in numbers. Realms where they dominate, such as in the Broken Lands and Dwarfgate Mountains, are true holds of the Darkness. Most monsters are outgrowths of the growing darkness – a la William Hope Hodgson’s The Night Land. The Darkness both terrorizes and yet also beckons – join us before it is too late! Become one with the Night before the Final Twilight!

9) Demi-humans are even more caricatured versions of themselves. Dwarves are near mythical – Rockhome is entirely underground, only ruins above, as the dwarves seek sanctuary from the death of the sun in the geothermal depths. Those on the surface are exiles, adventurers, or madmen. Elves live for debauchery – Alfheim is one vast party, for the elves now have nowhere to flee at the end of time itself, and they know their Final Doom is upon them. Halflings are macho barbarians holding their Shires against all comers – if the moon falls into the Shires, they will do their damndest to Shout it back into the sky!

10) Lands outside the Known World are mythical at best; only legends remain. Alphatia sank, or flew off into the sky, or is hidden behind a magical veil – no one knows. The Isle of Dawn is reachable, at great dangers, but the ancient colonies are all returned to savagery, save for the strange and mysterious Thothians. Norwold is a cold, glacier-haunted ruin where big hairy men fight and eat and are eaten by big hairy monsters and dragons. Sind is a name out of the West; only monsters and stranger things come out of the West. And the sea of Dread is truly to be dreaded, for south of Ierendi and Minrothad it has been claimed by the Darkness.
 
Cultural Regions – Some Initial Ideas
1) Karameikos: The Darkness-ridden land of Karameikos is of ancient and mysterious sort; the forests are home to vampires and werewolves and other creatures of the Falling Night. A hundred years ago, in their last spasm of Empire before falling into squabbling city-states, the Empire of Thyatis sought to push back the Darkness, and invaded Ancient Traladara – and were overwhelmed. Stefan and his co-religionists – followers of Vanya, She Who Would Conquer the Night – sought to re-invigorate the invasion 30 years ago. Their little points of light in the Darkness are laughable on the grand stage. The Traladarans continue on as they have since time immemorial, though a few have joined in the madness of these new Karameikans. Their religion is such that it is divided between those who would placate the Darkness, and those who would embrace it…

2) Ylaruam: The vast Alasiyan desert holds inky blots of Darkness at night to rival those of the Sea of Dread. In the howling wastes, one can find ruins ancient beyond memory, uncovered by the stinging sands driven by the Night Winds. There, creatures from the Outer Dark come to be worshipped by madmen and strange cultists. The cities in between are brightly lit to keep out the Night, even by day; and while the men in the bazaar must needs trade with the nomads, they know not who or what is hidden behind the nomad’s veils…

3) Glantri: Here have come the arcane scions of a dozen realms and even outer worlds. Here they find a strange arcane power they hope to keep the Darkness at bay. But each has brought with them the taint of their own fallen, decadent, debauched cultures, each has brought within themselves and their peoples the touch of Night from elsewhere. Lesser men despair, for in this land, to live within the light of a wizard’s tower is as dangerous to the soul as to live outside in the Darkness…

Friday, November 5, 2021

[TOEE] Local Cultures, Elemental Evil Domain, and Minor Map Revisions

Here are the latest updates on the development of my 5E Temple of Elemental Evil Campaign:

I have completed my write-up of the local cultures, human and demi-human:


Dwarves
: Graybeard Mountain Dwarves of the Lortmil Mountains.

Gnomes: Curelneblin Rock Gnomes of the Kron Hills, Neurlneblin Forest Gnomes of the Gnarly Forest.

Elves: Arostorin High Elves of Celene & Verbobonc, Gorgladhrim Sylvan Elves of the Gnarly Forest.

Halflings: Noniz Halflings of the Uleks.

Humans: Flannae (Adohinagi of the Gnarly Forest and Welkwood, Digadushi of the Kron Hills and Lortmil Mountains), Kronfolk of the Kron Hills, and Velvervyn of Verbobonc.

E-mail me at jamesmishler and gmail dot com if you want a copy of the PDF. 

Next I am going to finish the Random Encounters and Geographical Regions sections. Here's a sample of that:
***

I developed an Elemental Evil Domain for use by the clergy of the Temple of Elemental Evil. It is available as a PWYW product on Dungeon Masters Guild. Click here to go there and get it.


Please let me know what you think!

***

Finally, some minor changes on the map:




Sunday, October 24, 2021

[TOEE] New 5E Greyhawk Campaign OAR6 Temple of Elemental Evil

 I have started a new Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign using Goodman Games' Original Adventures Reincarnated #6 -- The Temple of Elemental Evil.

While I very much enjoy most of the conversion, one thing that I felt needed more personalization was the map of the environs of Hommlet and Nulb, the easternmost section of the Kron Hills and westernmost portion of the Gnarly Forest. And so I have made a new map; it is more focused than that of OAR6, covering only the area of the original map included with the TOEE, so it is about 30 miles north-south by 50 miles east-west, or thereabouts.

It is also much more solidly packed with lesser and side adventures than OAR6 or the original. I based the amount of potential adventures on Gary's Random Wilderness Terrain generator (Appendix B, 1E DMG p. 173), which assumes a scale of 1 mile per hex (as I have for this map), and therein 1 in 6 hexes thereof should have some sort of settlement, stronghold, or ruin (in addition to any monstrous lairs). In the case of the region, most settlements and strongholds are ruins, of course, and I also folded monstrous lairs and special locales into the fold; yet even with seeding only one locale in 10 hexes, I still have 138 locations on the map!

I am assuming population density of around 10 per square mile, equivalent to that of the North of England after The Bastard's Harrowing. 

It gives the whole a very Wilderlands-esque feel. Excellent!

As it is getting late, without any further ado, here is the map. Email me at jamesmishler at gmail dot com if you want a larger version.

Environs of Hommlet and Nulb
Right Click and Open in New Tab to Embiggen... 


Saturday, October 23, 2021

[Now Available] 20 Minor Magic Items #01 for use with Fifth Edition

20 Minor Magic Items #01 for use with Fifth Edition
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
Designed for use with Fifth Edition
 
20 Minor Magic Items contains 20 items of lesser or least magical sort, designed to be given to lower-level characters. Most of the Minor Magic Items listed herein are common or very common items of minor, lesser, or petty sort. One common or two very common items from this booklet can be substituted for any one common item from the standard treasure lists.


The 20 items are:
 
Adamantine-Chased Armor
Ammunition of Ready Recovery
Belt Pouch of Plenty
Crown of the Goblin King
Grenade of Wonder
Healing Salve
Holy Crackers
Instant Armor
Locket of Memory
Pastries of Provisioning
Phantasmal Pipe
Ring of Invisibility, Lesser
Ring of Truth
Ring of Warding
Rune Weapon, Lesser
Shielding Shield
Talisman of Resistance
Talisman of Protection
Thieves Tools Nonpareil
Tome of the Master
 
8-page PDF (4 pages of content) – $1 CHEAP!

Friday, October 15, 2021

[Now Available] Monstrous Miscellany #02 for Labyrinth Lord

Monstrous Miscellany #02
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
Compatible with Labyrinth Lord


Monstrous Miscellany #02 is a collection of four new monsters designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, but readily useable with any Old School RPG:

Monstrous Miscellany #02 Cover

Giant Centaur
– A giant creature appropriate for Lost Worlds and Mysterious Islands.

Krum the Smasher – A monstrous godling who does nothing but smash the works of civilization leaving ruin and suffering in his wake.

Brain Moths – One eyed, one tentacled, flying purple brain eaters from another dimension!

Ulfartrolls – Born of the union of lycanthropic witches and trolls, these berserker beasts surpass their ancestors in their wickedness and might!

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!

9-page PDF (4 pages of content) – $1 CHEAP!

Saturday, June 12, 2021

[Now Available] A Myriad of Magic Items for Labyrinth Lord

A Myriad of Magic Items for Labyrinth Lord
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
Compatible with Labyrinth Lord

 
A Myriad of Magic Items is a collection of new and unusual magic items designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, but readily useable with any Old School RPG.
 

A Myriad of Magic Items
contains a total of 80 new magic items, including three of four special items for each of the following classes:
 
Assassins
Barbarians (and Berserkers)
Bards
Clerics
Druids
Dwarves
Elves
Fighters
Gnomes
Halflings
Illusionists
Magic-users
Monks
Necromancers
Paladins
Rangers
Runemasters
Sorcerers
Thieves
 
Plus 14 new general magic items, ranging from Bathory’s Bathtub to the Stench Sack!
 
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!
 
32-page booklet-sized PDF (26 pages of content) – $3 CHEAP!

Monday, May 31, 2021

[Now Available] Berserker Class for Labyrinth Lord

[Now Available] Berserker Class for Labyrinth Lord
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler


Compatible with Labyrinth Lord


The new Berserker Class for Labyrinth Lord includes the following:
Class Details;
The following Berserker abilities and skills:
Berserker State;
   Grants bonuses to hit or additional attacks per round;
   Grants bonuses to unarmored armor class;
   Enables the berserker to fight beyond normal physical capacity or even death!
Fearlessness;
Magical Transformation;
   Human berserkers can transform into animals, including at higher levels man-beasts and giant-sized beasts;
   Dwarf and gnome berserkers can grow to the size and power of ogres and giants, at the highest levels even to the size and power of titans!

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!

12 page booklet-sized PDF (six pages of content) – $1 CHEAP!


Thursday, May 27, 2021

[James Mishler Games] Where is the Tiefling class?

Hi all! I've had some folks ask recently when I would be doing a Tiefling class for Labyrinth Lord

Well, I've kind of already done one, you see... the Demon-Blood Sorcerer class from my Sorcerer Class booklet released back in March is a Tiefling Class.

If you want a straight-up Tiefling just take that class, use human as the base race, and add Infravision 60' radius. You can also use any other race as a base race; Demons and Devils are happy to seduce and corrupt demi-humans as well as humans. If you want a more martial Tiefling, multi-class as a Fighter/Demon-Blood Sorcerer; if you want a stealthy Tiefling, go with a Demon-Blood Sorcerer/Thief. The Sorcerer class multi-classes under the same terms as a Magic-user.

And there you go!

Sorcerer Class
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
Compatible with Labyrinth Lord

The new Sorcerer Class for Labyrinth Lord includes the following:
 
Class Details, including Spellcasting, Sorcerous Origin, and Evoke Magic;
 
The following Sorcerous Origins, each with their own special abilities:
Angel-Blood
Demon-Blood
Djinn-Blood
Dragon-Blood
Efreet-Blood
Fairy-Blood
Vampire-Blood
 
New spells for the Dragon-Blood and Vampire-Blood sorcerers, adapted from spells included in the Dragonborn Race and Necromancer Class booklets.
 
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!
 
20 page booklet-sized PDF (14 pages of content) – $1.49 – CHEAP!

Saturday, March 6, 2021

[Now Available] Sorcerer Class for Labyrinth Lord

Sorcerer Class
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
Compatible with Labyrinth Lord

Well, that hiatus didn't last long, did it? I could not find a sorcerer-style class for Labyrinth Lord, so I decided to design one. Enjoy!


The new Sorcerer Class for Labyrinth Lord includes the following:
 
Class Details, including Spellcasting, Sorcerous Origin, and Evoke Magic;
 
The following Sorcerous Origins, each with their own special abilities:
Angel-Blood
Demon-Blood
Djinn-Blood
Dragon-Blood
Efreet-Blood
Fairy-Blood
Vampire-Blood
 
New spells for the Dragon-Blood and Vampire-Blood sorcerers, adapted from spells included in the Dragonborn Race and Necromancer Class booklets.
 
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!
 
20 page booklet-sized PDF (14 pages of content) – $1.49 – CHEAP!

Thursday, February 18, 2021

[Now Available] Baba Yaga’s Miraculous Transformation for Labyrinth Lord

[Now Available] Baba Yaga’s Miraculous Transformation
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
Compatible with Labyrinth Lord
 
This source booklet for Labyrinth Lord provides the method for magic-users to create a miraculous hut, in the same vein as the infamous crone-witch, Baba Yaga:
 
Baba Yaga's Miraculous Transformation

This source booklet provides the following details:
 
Baba Yaga’s Miraculous Transformation
Stage I Miraculous Hut: Dangerous Chicken
Stage II Miraculous Hut: Vicious Chicken
Stage III Miraculous Hut: Tiny Hut
Stage IV Miraculous Hut: Grand Hut
Extra-Dimensional Rooms, Connections, & Hallways
Stage V+ Miraculous Hut: Palatial Hut
The Heart of the Hut
Embedding Magical Features Through Spells
Magnificent Manor Variant
Stone Tower Variant
 
Note: The creation and improvement of a Miraculous Hut is a Chaotic and Evil Act! Not suitable for most player characters!
 
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!
 
24 page booklet-sized PDF (18 pages of content) – Normally $1.99 – $1.00 for a limited time only!
 

Saturday, February 6, 2021

[James Mishler Games] Now Available -- Bard Class for Labyrinth Lord

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
Compatible with Labyrinth Lord
 
Bard Class Cover

The new Bard Class for Labyrinth Lord includes the following:
 
Class Details;
 
The following Bard abilities and skills:
Bardic Instruments
Bonus Languages
Counter-Song
Influence
Inspire
Lore
Perform
Read Languages
Saving Throw Bonus
Spellsongs
Thieving Abilities
Witticisms
 
A list of spellsongs (normal spells re-interpreted as spellsongs);
 
A list of musical instruments, including cost, weight, availability (City, Town, Village), and special notes;
 
The College of Bards, rules for advancements, and rights and responsibilities of members;
 
Six magna opera, the bardic equivalent of relics, including Diarmuid’s Codex, Firzam’s Pipes of Madness, the Golden Songbird, Howard’s Harp of Heroes, Orpheus’s Lyre, and the infamous Pioban Bais or “Pipes of Death.”
 
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!
 
28 page booklet-sized PDF (22 pages of content) – Normally $2.49 – $1.25 for a limited time only!

 
 

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

[James Mishler Games] Now Available -- Runemaster Class

Runemaster Class
By James Mishler with Jodi Moran-Mishler


Compatible with Labyrinth Lord


The Runemaster Class includes the following new additions to Labyrinth Lord:

Runemaster Class details;
Runemaster Rune List, including 34 new runes;
Rules for Drowning and Fear effects.

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily used with any Old School RPG system!

32 page booklet-sized PDF (25 pages of content) – Normally $2.99 – $1.49 for a limited time only!

Friday, January 15, 2021

Player Typologies... Huh...

Check out Jon Peterson's post on Player Typologies.

Well, ain't that something...

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Nothing new under the sun... just certain points of view...


Addendum: Below is the post that went with it, from May 2009.

It is hardly complete and of course, completely debatable. I never really found the styles of Gygax and Arneson to be incompatible; they were merely along different points on different axes, and really both fall within the broad grouping under "High Adventure." That Gary advocated more along the lines of pure Adventure, while Dave emphasized the Role-Play aspect, does not mean their philosophies were at odds.

A few definitions are in order:

The Adventure element of gaming refers to the Character or party of Characters going forth and making their way through a setting, having adventures, killing monsters, looting and pillaging, and generally doing what adventurers do, regardless of whether the Players are emphasizing the Role-Play or Roll-Play aspect of the game. However, what is certain is that though there is a campaign setting, and the Game Master may even have some over-arching plot points and ideas for what is going on behind the scene, it is the PLAYERS that drive the game by their desire to have Adventure. In essence, Adventure gaming isn't about the destination, it's about the journey there... and there may very well be no "there" toward which one is striving.

The Narrative element of gaming is almost, but not quite, the reverse. While all the same things may occur in a Narrative game, the overarching interest of both Players and Game Master is the telling of a story within the pre-existing milieu created by the Game Master (and quite often, with the assistance of the Players). Often there is a Goal, and specific Antagonists, and all the other bits and pieces that come into play through the nuts-and-bolts concepts of the literary end of things. In essence, Narrative gaming is all about where you are going, and getting there in the most apropos and character-driven method possible.

Role-Playing gaming emphasizes the Player taking on the Role of the Character; at the furthest end of this axis, you are actually dealing with full-immersion into the character, with reams of background and names of allies and enemies, likes and dislikes, and a full list of all goals and dreams, etc. A Role-Playing game at that level might not even use scores or any sort of dice to determine results!

In Roll-Playing gaming, the Character is little more than a collection of scores and derived attributes to be used to chart the "score" a Player has at any one time. In some of these games, names are unimportant, histories are mere flavor text, and the goal is to advance the Characters scores and derived attributes ever onward and upward.

Gygaxian, Arnesonian, and Rein*Hagenian should all be understood; Jacksonian needs a little clarification. Jacksonian refers to both Steve Jackson (the British Jackson, not the American), who wrote the Fighting Fantasy series back in the day; it also refers to Gary Jackson, the fictional creator of the HackMaster game featured in the Knights of the Dinner Table. I should also note that for Dungeons & Dragons purists, you can substitute Hickmanian (Hickmanite?) in place of Rein*Hagenian if you don't want to get vampires mixed in with your dragons...