Alert! Your Opinion is Needed

I'll print the cover  for my Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day offering, Temple of Putrescence, tomorrow, but first I need some opinions. Gamers never run short of those. Just ask them. Which card stock should I use for the cover?

The cream?

The tonal?

Give your vote in the comments below. Certain patrons of mine will get this in a fat envelope this month. But those of you who comment may get a copy also. I'll randomly select a few folks who vote.

Thanks!

Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day Meets the Temple of Putrescence

Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day is one of my favorite events in the gaming community. The sheer output of creativity is incredible. This is the kinda thing that makes our hobby so fantastic, how many create, expand and make our gaming experience extraordinary by allowing us to glimpse at what each of us do at our gaming table.

If you think about it, Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day is like getting to peek behind 100s of GM screens in one day. How many times as a player were you tempted to take a peek behind the screen when the GM had to go to the can? Come on, admit it.

Today the screens are folded and put to the side. We’re invited in to take a look around. To look at the maps and find those secret rooms. To read what special ability that monster had when it killed your favorite character. To check out that random table that always inspires incredible encounters. It’s all there for us today. All of it.

And that’s pretty damn cool.

Here is my offering for the day, Temple of Putrescence. It marks my #64 Micro-Adventure. This one is a wicked, end game kind of adventure/setting. While I am writing this for Swords & Wizardry Light, it'll require a good group of 7th level people to survive it...maybe. 

There is an old Gothridge Manor proverb, "When you piss off a death god, don't bother wasting your time by putting your head between your legs to kiss your ass good-bye, because the death god owns that too."

Enjoy the day folks! If you get a chance, stop over and grab a copy of Temple of Putrescence. It's like a torturer getting a new set of thumb screws. 

Unleash March's Micro-Adventures

I had a minor delay this month, out of town training for my job and an anniversary to celebrate. I took a couple of extra days off to enjoy some time with the wife. Also I need to get March's Micro-Adventures traveling to their destinations. All are printed, laminated and clipped. 

March was a spectacular month for my Patreon, lots of new patrons that pushed us past the goal for NPC cards! The first in the NPC series is Trobor, a purple skinned goblin with prophesy on his side. Or if I know the players, soon to have a sword in his side. Trobor is my featured boss in New World Goblin. You've got a group of goblins with a purpose beyond silver and food. This group intends to awaken a forgotten goblin god. It could happen. 

The third offering of March is Stalker Island. The patron level for original art is at the $200 level and I hope to get there soon, but I couldn't wait. I needed art for this one. And I knew the guy to go to, +Jim Magnusson. I'm hoping to get enough pledges to keep him busy. Stalker Island is part of my Swords & Wizardry Light sandbox I'm working on. I don't think I've ever run an adventure with skulks before. I think this one sets up nicely, organically, which I prefer. 

My patrons have really been a huge support with suggestions and encouragement. I've got a few things already lined up for April! Adding another location into the mix and another NPC card. And of course an adventure or two.

Patrons thank you! You rock!

Born as Two Die as One

Born as Two Die as One is my 61st micro-adventure and my 79th 'thing' on Patreon. Patreon has helped me develop a nice back catalog of material. My current content is going into a sandbox for Swords and Wizardry Light. I'm making progress, but as of now, I have several pieces and need to discover how'll they fit together. Not a bad problem. But one that I'll need to take some time out to solve. 

There is a backstory to this adventure. I shared it on my Patreon. If you're interested, hop over there for a few minutes. This adventure, like some of the other ones I've written recently, have developed the Northmen culture. This adventure addresses one of their customs. Their customs were developed by surviving in hostile territory and avoiding the wraith of the gods. 

For me, these small background touches enhance an adventure even though the players may never learn it. I would never burden a GM with pages of text describing an entire culture. Instead I prefer to give glimpses of what it was like. A quick paragraph to nuance the adventure's atmosphere. While I think two grave sites containing giant, twin brothers is cool on its own, adding the harsh reality of Northmen's customs, adds another layer.

I have to give a shout out to +Andy Action again. He's helped with the edits. I put him to work on this one. His suggestions and corrections were invaluable. 

My Patreon adventures are free on PDF. Born as Two Die as One has the PDF, a map for the GM and the players for download. I always try to include a blank map for on-line play. If you are interested in getting a physical copy please consider joining my Patreon. If you have any question about how it works, let me know. I would be glad to answer your questions.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the adventure. 

Mr. Cruddy's Grave

Some 'villains' are less than threatening. Helpless. Confused. Incompetent. Any of these words describe Cross-Eyed Louie. Despite all this, Louie holds a grudge. His anger for Mr. Cruddy extends past the grave. If you asked Louie why he was so angry at Mr. Cruddy he would look at you like you were the dumbest person in the world, asking the dumbest question in the world. "I hates Mr. Cruddy, cause I hates him. No more explaining than that. Hear?" 

This is one of those encounters that starts off comical, but gets real serious when the little mudmen get involved. Those things are no joke.

This adventure speaks to the kid in my heart. Buried treasure. I always, always loved a good story where the protagonists are scrapping at the earth trying to reveal the mysterious treasure beneath.

The mysterious treasure beneath is a skull that allows a spellcaster on additional spell slot per day. I did not write what spell level that slot could be. 

GM Advice on the Adventure: A GM could easily just allow the spell skull a 1st level spell slot. Myself, I consider it a minor artifact. It's a huge help to the spellcaster without being overpowering. And it has a drawback with the possibility of summoning a skeleton. To put a twist on this, what level of spell cast when using the skull would be the HD of the skeleton summoned. Swords & Wizardry Light is a low-level system meant for players to grind out adventures. I think the spell skull is a good balanced item for the system and its power can grow with the character.

I hope you enjoy Mr. Cruddy's Grave. It was brought about by my attempt at a side view map. I am practicing to improve this view. I love the cutaway maps that Dyson, Forster and Jackson draw. I need to up my game!

And if you are wondering why Cross-Eyed Louie is digging for the skull you just imagine Louie giving you the cross-eyed stink eye and he says, "I digs for treasure, cause I digs for treasure. No more explaining than that. Hear?"

Maps & Goblins

I've had a busy weekend. No playing unfortunately. Working. Good work. Game stuff. Maps. Adventures. Layout. Reading.

I'm continuing work on my Swords & Wizardry Light Sandbox. It keeps morphing on me. I'm not sure what the final look will be. But I thought I'd share some of the things I made over the weekend.

A couple of simple grid maps, because you can never have enough grid maps.

The adventure is going to feature goblins. I decided to make a few goblins the party will encounter and interact with.

I thought I had a map set, but after looking at with fresh eyes today, the trees were too blurry and in general, it was a mess. Not sure what I saw yesterday.

I'm hoping to stay focused this week to get a first draft completed.

I Didn't Know You Could Ship Light in the Mail

+Erik Tenkar and +Zach Glazar were yapping on Tavern Chat with Erik's freaky head floating around in the green screen.  I asked for a physical copy and behold, yes Virginia, you can ship light in the mail.

Outside left.  Adventure packs are always appreciated so as the players are not turning the session into a fricking shopping trip.

Outside right.  Classes and spells.  The brain behind the layout did good.  Players info on the outside facing them.  The GM guys on the inside.  They got smarts.

Inside GM guts stuff.  Everything you need to run the game except dice.  I love it.  And I love having a print copy because I struggled to read the PDF.  Well done Erik and thank you Zach for the copy.  Much appreciated!