Zine Tools: Affinity Publisher

I don't normally do these type of posts, but I think this one is called for. Anyone who knows me can attest to my ability to FUBAR programs/electronics/computers is nearly godlike. After my battle with Microsoft Publisher with my Hunters in Death Kickstarter, I jumped over to Affinity Publisher.

Ivy took over the printing process and used Affinity Publisher I was amazed at how much better it printed. It was a significant difference. Not to mention my frustration with MS Publisher dropping last sentences in table cells or randomly deleting artwork from my layout. I couldn't keep track of what it would do next to fuck up my zine. With Affinity, I...Ivy had none of those issues. 

As part of my initiation into Affinity Publisher I needed to do one of my micro-adventures. So I did. I found plenty of YouTube videos to assist me on my journey. And I finished my first one tonight. I'll do a read through tomorrow then release it.

One of the things I loved about the program is you can seamlessly go between Affinity Publisher to Affinity Photo to make adjustments. They have a third program called Affinity Designer which I have no idea what it does, but I'm sure it's great.

Price point? $50. Yup. You own it at $50. The other two are $50 each also. They have sales from time to time. So you could possibly get them cheaper. Here is a link to the site. I am not affiliated with Affinity in any way. Unless I have some long lost relative working there, but I probably wouldn't like them any way. Oh, the link...Affinity and Beyond!

Kickstarter Alert!! Phylactery 2

During this year's Zinequest Levi Combs of Planet X Games, Kickstarted The Phylactery. He kicked ass. He promised an Old School Heroic Zine and that's exactly what he delivered. Now he's doing a second issue, Phylactery 2, and this time he promising...

OSR-inspired material that is unavailable anywhere else, giving you an entire cover-to-cover zine devoted strictly to cool new adventures, quirky NPCs, wondrous magical items, marauding  monsters, fell locations, relics from beyond the mists of time and all sorts of heroic fantasy resources for your tabletop games.

This Kickstarter has four days left of this writing. Head over there and read about it for yourself. There is a lot of tantalizing details about its content and the amazing art.

And just to tempt you more, here's a sample from the first issue. Prepare to get pissed off if you didn't get a copy. Don't make the same mistake twice!

Joethelawyer interview Rob Conley and myself today. He's been wanting to do this for about a year ever since he figured out Rob and I have been friends for about 40 years.

Here's the Anchor link to Joe's podcast, No-So-Wondrous Imaginings. If you have a podcatcher I suggest listening to it on that. Anchor tends to suck.

Rob and I discuss our gaming history together. There is a lot of back pats and appreciation going on, but it's honest. Rob is good people and a good friend. And so is Joe. It was a fun interview. I learned a couple of things I didn't know.

I hope you give it a listen. And consider listening to Joe's other podcasts with his brother. They're hilarious. These two sit around a fire, drinking and smoking pot talking about D&D like excited 11 year-olds.

Hunters in Death is Done!

I put the final touches on Hunters in Death this morning. A final look through with fresh eyes. I can easily say this is the most work I've ever put into a writing project. Without my editors Joe and my wife Ivy and their persistence of wanting to go through it again, it wouldn't have turned out so damn good. They wanted it to be the best I could do. I'm glad I listened to them. 

The PDFs were sent to all those who pledged.

I've already begun the printing process. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to print from home. I'm printing 500 copies. I timed my printer, it takes 5 minutes and 15 seconds to print one copy. So after 43 hours and 45 minutes of printing, that's without mistakes, jams, or other creative things my printer likes to do, all the copies will be done. So guess what I'm doing this weekend?

I have about 450 copies spoken for. Once I get everyone's shipped I'll put the remaining copies up for sale. 

That's all for now. My printer needs my attention.

One of my favorite creators in the DYI/OSR community Glynn Seal has a Kickstater, Chewer of Fingers, with a few days left. It already blew past its funding goal and creeping up on the final stretch goal. I want to give another shout out to Glynn, I've backed him in many of his Kickstarters and every time he has exceeded my expectations. Glynn just does fun and interest projects.

His maps are fantastic. I study Glynn's maps to see what techniques I can steal. He didn't win his Goldn ENnie for nothing. 

The guy can draw also. Just look at this lineup of NPCs. Each mug has a distinctive look. And he has fun, pronounceable names! It's nice to run an adventure when you don't need a phonetic guide to pronounce the names correct. 

Let's talk about the buy in. I'm talking in dollars not pounds. PDFs run $8. Print copy is $24 plus shipping costs. This is sent directly to you, not a coupon through RPG Drivethru which costs you more. 

I need to mention his editor, they don't get enough love, Matthew Pook. He's edited many other offerings from Glynn. He does a top-notch job and a huge asset. 

Consider joining Glynn's campaign, Chewer of Fingers. Grab yourself a quality adventure. 

Transforming Black Hack's Usage Die Into a Quality Die for Equipment

At lunch I was listening to the Purple Worms podcast. The specific episode was titled Spicing up Combat. They mentioned Black Hack and its usage die and the idea of changing the usage die into a simple quality die for equipment banged into my head. I've heard since there are variable versions of this already, but I thought I would explain my version.

Before I get too far into this, the quality die I am considering is just a rough idea and I haven't put into play yet. I understand that it adds extra dice throws, but shame on you if you complain about that. And I thought about it, in my game the extra dice throws might happen once to three times in game. So the intrusion is minimal.

What Items Would it Work On
For this post's purposes I am focusing on combat items. Weapons and armor.

When to Roll
After a combat I'd have the players make a single roll for each  weapon used. Even if the PC missed all three attempts. Combat considers all the dodging, parrying, and so on. Also missile weapons would need to roll. While a bow or crossbow isn't used as a contact weapon, it does wear. Wood cracks, strings snap. Armor and shields would need to roll also. I'm guess a fighter might need to make three rolls after combat, most classes two, and possibly none for a magic-user. 

How it Would Work
I would use the Black Hack version where an object is designated a die of quality and if a 1 or 2 is rolled the item's quality is reduced. A d8 quality die would reduce to a d6. A d6 would reduce to a d4. If a failure occurs on a d4 the item breaks.

Repairs
Example, if you had a d8 quality sword and during your adventure of murder hoboing you fail and your sword drops to a d6. Then in the final fight against the big bad thingy you failed and now the sword is a d4 quality. When you return to town and want to get your sword repaired. Repairing it only improves the quality die by one. So that d8 quality sword is now only a d6 at its best.

Repairing a magic item is difficult due to the quality level it needs to be before hand. I'd say a crafter of exceptional skill would have the ability to repair a magic item. Again, I am writing about combat items.

What Happens on a Critical Failure/Success
The item loses a quality die automatically. No roll. And I would say if the PC was critically struck the armor quality die is decreased automatically. I considered a chance of catastrophic failure but decided against it. The item automatically declines a die, the player then makes a roll using the new usage die and if a 1 or 2 were rolls the items breaks on the spot no matter the quality die.

Example of Standard Quality Dice
If the party is buying things straight out of the book I would assign those pieces a d8 quality die. If they are buying used items on the cheap, a d6 quality die. Say they find an item made by some sort of quality craftsman I'd bump the quality die to a d10 or d12. This gives a little range for craftsman ability. Then the d20 would most likely be assigned to magic items. But not necessarily. Some of the magic items may decrease in quality due to use or age.

Conclusion
I like the idea. I really do, but until I put it into play I'm not sure how it'll work and if the players will find it annoying. But I like the fact that a found sword wears out after usage and a new one would need to found after a time. I run a tight resource game, so sometime the store in town may not have a sword, but if you have a game where resources are plentiful it won't have much impact.

And don't be this guy. Cannon balls are not your friends.

Going Through the Spells: Resist Cold

Wow, Am I tired. Getting back into swing of having other people around, opening the doors to the crowds, and the general chaos that is a constant of my job. But we are not here to speak about such nonsense. I have one more spell in the 1st level cleric spells in OSE to cover. The all important Resist Cold! A it anti-climatic, but here we are. Grab a coat and a hat.

Old School Essentials Mechanics
Duration: 6 turns

Range: 30'

All creatures within this range are protected from cold, as follows:

Normal Cold: Unharmed by non-magical freezing temperatures. 

Save Bonus: Gain a +2 to all saving throws vs. cold-based magical or breath attacks.

Cold-based damaged: Is reduced by 1 point per die damage rolled. (Each die inflicts a minimum of 1 hit point of damage.)

So there it is. One of the first things that popped out at me is I didn't realize it was a radius spell. So everybody who huddles around the cast, within 30', gains the bonuses of the spell. That makes the spell more interesting. More useful. While the cold-based attacks, I did a quick search through OSE Monster book, only a white dragon, frost giant, and frost salamander do that kind of damage. Magic items include Wand of Cold, Staff of Wizardry, and the spell of Cone of Cold. 

But I think of it more as an environmental spell to help survive arctic-like conditions. And 6 turns won't get you too far so it could add some urgency to the game. "The next village is an hour away so we've got to move fast." Then the dread GM rolls a random encounter, giant flying frost worms with laser eyes! This is going to slow down the party. While they may hide to let the giant flying frost worms with laser eyes pass, they've used valuable time as the spell is now going to end one or two turns before they reach the village. That's good stuff right there. 

AD&D Mechanics
Duration: 1 turn/level
Range: Touch
When this spell is placed on a creature by a cleric, the creature's body is inured to cold. The repentant can stand can stand zero degrees Fahrenheit without discomfort, even totally nude. Greater cold such as that produced by a sword of cold, ice storm, cold wand, or white dragon's breath, must be saved against. All saving throws made against cold are made with a bonus of +3, and damage sustained is one-half (if the saving throw is not made) or one-quarter (if saving throw is made) of damage from that attack form. The resistance lasts for 1 turn per level of experience of the caster. A pinch of sulphur is necessary to complete this spell. 

Whew. Got to love those AD&D spell descriptions. The simplicity of OSE version shines when sitting next to this version. 

Let's take a look at what I think works in the spell. 

• I'm always a fan to have a spell increase in use/power as a mage gains levels, so the duration advancement is a welcome option. 
• While it's not going to be much good for exploration it'll have more use in combat in AD&D. More opponents, magic items, and spells use cold based damage. 
• And I always enjoyed the addition of specific spell components even though I never used them in game. I have adopted the components to enhance a spell's performance.

What I'm not a fan of is...

• The overly complicated way the saving throw works. Too much math. 
• I'm not sure why the spell description was so specific about working at zero degrees. Gary lived in Wisconsin, I'm sure he know zero degrees wouldn't do in most location especially if you have some wind. 
• And while I like spell components I don't feel sulphur is the correct one. While I understand is associates with flame and warmth I would lean more toward something like a vial of ice from a glacier. I dunno, just throwing it out there.

Normally I would do another version of the spell to compare it to, but not this time.

This concludes the going through the 1st level cleric spells in Old School Essentials. I haven't decided to move onto the 2nd level of clerical spells or do the 1st level magic-user spells. 

Let's Get Weird

And let's face it, those of you reading my blog have already passed getting weird. However, I wanted to spotlight Weird Adventures by Trey Causey. He's the maestro behind From the Sorcerer's Skull blog and long time member of the dubious and infamous group of RPG Publishers known as The Hydra Cooperative.  

I've had the absolute pleasure to be in a game where Trey ran Weird Adventures. If you're looking for a pulp setting with lots of crazy stuff worked in seamlessly, this is it. It reads like entries in Atlas Obscura. A road map through this weird setting. Make no mistake, this is a setting all on its own. And it is a blast.

Normally the PDF runs $10, but today it's only $4. But I'm telling you just go for a physical copy. This is one of those gaming books that's a great read. 

I bought Weird Adventures nine years ago. It still sits on my prime shelf next to me when I game. It's that good.

And if you don't believe me I wrote a review about Weird Adventures in 2012 give it a read. 

One Page Dungeon Contest 2020

I received an email from Aaron to let me know the deadline for the One Page Dungeon Contest deadline for 2020 has been extended to July 15th. This is great news!

I absolutely love the OPDC. I have for years. To me, it's what gaming is all about. People getting together and throwing in their efforts into a creative pool. While there are winners, everyone appreciates and cheers on everyone else. It's a great thing.

While I have other pressing matters consuming my time I really want to participate. I was digging a little into my map folder to find something that sparked my interest. Here's what I found.

Something I drew for another project, but it didn't fit. There is a crypt that goes with it. Those stairs go there. I don't know. Gonna play around with it and see what happens. 

Consider joining in. The rules for submission are easy, but read the submission guide first. 

Besides creating something cool, who knows, you might win a few fun prizes. Go forth and kick some ass. 

Tales from the Darkside

The other day I was talking with my co-workers about old television shows. Somewhere in the conversation Tales from the Darkside came up. I love that show. It came on randomly on a Saturday night after the news. A time when the television had 3 good stations you could watch and at night you could get 4 or 5. I remember getting excited when I'd hear that sweeping synthesizer music during the intro. 

The one episode I remember best was the creepy little monster behind the tiny door in the room. And he's the one featured on the DVD collection.Yeah, I grabbed the Complete Series of Tales from the Darkside for $24. 

I didn't realize the show went 4 seasons and 90 episodes. And the show was created by George A. Romero. Lots of big time writers contributed such as Stephen King, Frederik Pohl, Harlan Ellison, Clive Barker and so many others. 

And one of the cool things about watching a show that's 35 years old is seeing the actors when they were young. Or you see an actor you know, but just can't quite place them and then have to pause on the credits to Google them. Did it twice last night. 

Ivy and I are absolutely loving the episodes. And I wanted to give them a shout out and let you know about the DVDs. They are affiliate links because who doesn't like a little Amazon credit?

Tales from the Darkside The Complete Series at $24 is so worth it!

Requiem of a Hag...Sometimes I Suck

Requiem of a Hag was an adventure I wrote for the One-Page Dungeon contest back in 2018...I think. I drew the map a few weeks before I submitted. I liked how the map came out. I use a few new coloring and drawing techniques and while not perfect, I liked the look of it. Then the title slammed into my brain, Requiem of a Hag.

Loved it!

So I have a map and title I really like. I thought the layout, fonts, and colors I used were solid and popped off the screen.  All I needed to do was write the adventure.

That's where things went to shit.

Here is a link to the adventure Requiem for a Hag. Who says I don't give you anything? A crappy adventure for you. A crappy adventure for you. Everyone gets a crappy adventure. Here's a few highlights to look forward to.

• Room numbers are are missing. 
• Others rooms have the wrong number. 
• And I forgot to detail a room.

The adventure reads clunky and uninspired. "Oh I drew a rug. I'll make it a trapper." Makes no sense in the adventure. I didn't even mention where the protagonist was located. Oh, I drew a big crossbow so I'll put an unnecessary trap there. 

It's awful. No other way to put it. 

Things I did like. Even in shit some good things come out of it.

• Quintin the barbed devil who likes to poop on altars.  
• The image of Song of the Children and how it works. 
• The name Agatha Manor. I may be a little bias. 

I plan on salvaging the map. Rip it away from this scab of an adventure and repurposed it another time. 

Sometimes I suck. I got the proof.

Kickstarter: Folk Magic of the Haven Isles

I wanted to give a shout out to one of the best producers of gaming material, Glynn Seal. This time around he is doing the artwork, the writing duties have fallen upon Richard Marpole. And editors don't get enough credit for the work they do, in this case Matthew Pook (Pookie). So what are all these fine chaps up to? They've come together to create Folk Magic of the Haven Isles. 

It's hard for me to resist anything with 'folk magic' in the title. It just appeals to me. A crude, primal form of magic that seems simple, but has the power to devastate a person, family, or an entire community. 

We're looking at zine-sized, 60 pages, a ton of amazing artwork by Glynn. From what he's shared, it's a no-brainer. You pledge. The content looks interesting with 14 magic-user sub-classes, 16 magic-user backgrounds, 7 tomes (spellbooks), 16 magical spells, and 4 oddities.  

I went in at the $16 pledge level to get the on-demand, at-cost print level and the PDF. But I'm thinking of schooching into the $26 pledge level to get a hard cover.

Alright. Stop reading. Go get a copy of Folk Magic of the Haven Isles. Then we can talk about it. 

What's In the Chest?

 All Art by Dean Spencer

After thirteen hours in the old Swerwill Sewers we're bloodied from battles with goblins and human raiders. Even the thief fell into a pit as he checked the corridor for traps. "I found it." He yelled up from the pit.

The elf caught the merest difference in the surface of the wall. He search the wall as the rest of us watched. He had a habit of doing this even when there was nothing there. This time there was. He asked for a pry bar. He worked the section of wall opened enough the fighter could grip his fingers on the edge and pull the heavy secret door open. 

An alcove hid behind the door. Within was a battered chest. The elf and fighter brought it into the light as we gathered around it. We hadn't gotten much treasure for our efforts. The thing was covered in dust. This wasn't the goblins' or raiders' chest. They didn't know it was here. The thief rubbed his hands together and smiled. 

The chest was simple, made of a thin wood and reinforced with iron straps. It looked cheap. Something an old woman would keep her gowns and shoes in. My excitement faded, but it was hidden for some reason.

The thief worked his picks into the lock and a moment later, click. He grinned. He stepped to the side and used to small fishing hooks attached to string and stabbed them into the wood and slowly open the lid from behind. Nothing exploded. No darts. No mouth formed to eat anyone. 

Treasure time boys, the thief said. I stepped around half expecting it to have ordinary stuff it in. But to my surprise there was nothing ordinary inside.

Sitting atop of everything was a candle stub. It's flame flickered. For some reason this simple magic caused a chill to go down my back. The thief reached in and grabbed the candle. He blew on the flame, it flickered and bent, but did not go out. Magic, he said. The elf and myself, a magic-user, appreciated his obvious statement.

A metal flask with small teeth worked into the metal for a gruesome detail. I'd seen one of these before. Flasks of the Divine Mother and Destroyer. Her children would drink fresh blood from these flasks during rites. A nasty artifact. The interest I had now turned to dread.

What the hell, the thief reached in and grabbed the handle of a glass container. Once he saw some horrible looking thing swishing around in the dark liquid he dropped it to the floor and scooted on his ass away from it. I was just relieved that the glass didn't break letting whatever is inside, out. I didn't want to know what it was. I saw a tentacle. I'm out.

The elf slipped his thin hand in and brought out a small pouch. By all the gods, let it be coins. I'm poor as shit and I need new boots. The distinct sound of coins sliding over one another made us all take notice. The elf dumped the contents into his hand. I counted forty-one silver coins. But these were weird. Each coin had a crude face on one side and blank on the other. One coin had a name scratched on the back.

The thief shook his head, fucking death coins. I never saw them before, but I heard of them. Those crazy assholes that worship The Mother, scratch the name of someone they want dead on the back  then throw it into the font in their temples to make it happen. 

Are they worth anything, I asked. I really needed boots. Thief shook his head, I'm not touching them. The elf shrugged, we could get something for the metal.

The last thing in the chest was a cluster of crystals. Purple in color at the base that darkened to black at the top. I could feel the magic emanating from these crystals. It made me sick to my stomach and dizzy. The elf put them down quick. He seemed to suffer the same side effects. I didn't know what the crystals were. The elf shook his head as I looked at him. He didn't know either.

A spark jumped off the tip of one of the crystals. Then another. I didn't have time to warn anyone as a thin, jagged stream of energy shot from the cluster and hit the elf in the chest. The elf flew back into the wall. A black hole in his armor smoldered where he'd been struck. It sparked again. This time I could smell the energy building. 

I shouted run. I didn't wait to see who listened. 

Mail Call!

Yesterday was a giant smelly turd of a day. This week is turning into a pile of them. Readjusting to the third version of normal in 6 months. Maybe I'm suffering from normal fatigue. The floodgates have been opened and wow, now I want to go on a three month lockdown. However, my mail saved my day. Let me show you what I got. Be prepared to be jealous and cry. 

I'm starting off with Titan Dice. Over-sized, 25mm, dice that come in a cool wooden box. Here's the weird thing, they were sent to me in January and I got them today. Someone must have selected the expedited 6 month shipping option. The other weird thing is I already have the exact same set. I'm cool with that though. Dice are dice and I'll make my 1's larger. You can grab a set if these smoke colored with gold numbering Titan Dice on Amazon for $19.99. 

***ALERT ALERT AFFILIATE LINK***

I got these great coins from a site called Dice Dungeons. I hadn't heard of them before. I think I found them when I was scrolling through Intagram one night. They have a bunch of different coins. I grabbed the horde and zombie packs. There were five in each. The horde pack came with 3 goblin and orc coins and the zombie horde came with 5 coins. I love weird fantasy style coins. Especially when you're playing a face-to-face came and some NPC offers a 100sp to help save Timmy because he fell down the well, and then throw a pouch with a 100 coins on the table. You get a much better reaction than saying it. The weight of them hitting the table and the sound of the coins sliding over one another has a visceral effect. 

Oh yeah, I love me everything about Thieves World. This is one of the biggest holes in my gaming collection is the FASA books. They've been elusive because I forget about them or when I do look for them they are very expensive. I fell into these two on eBay for $25. They are just a fun read. I get flashbacks to the books pouring over the details of the S'danzo or strolling through the Maze or hearing about the Hell Hounds. This is my gaming gold. Have two of them now. Traitor and The Blue Camel are still missing. The latter maybe difficult to land because it was a promo item. Just checked eBay for a copy, $175 and $56.46. A bit too rich for me. 

So now you see how my day was saved by a good mail day.