Tales From the Magician's Skull #2

Tales From the Magician's Skull #2 was written by John Hocking, James Stoddard, James Enge, Nathan Long, Sets Uzume, Violette Malan, Dave Gross, and Terry Olson (DCC game statistics). Art is by Samuel Dillon, Jennell Jaquays, Doug Kovacs, Cliff Kurowski, William McAusland, Brad McDevitt, Russ Nicholson, Stefan Poag, Chuck Whelon, and Diesel LaForce (cover). The publisher is Goodman Games.

The Martian Vizier talked about this issue here. If you are interested in Tales From the Magician's Skull primarily as a conduit for fiction, the Vizier's Views will supply that information. As happy as I am that an outlet for new sword & sorcery fiction in exists, in this blog post I am focusing on the issue's gaming material.

Disclosure: I backed the successful kickstarter for a four-issue subscription beginning with this issue. I am also the writer of the afore-linked Vizier's Views article.

At with the first issue, it should be noted that statting out materials from fiction is as much an art as it is a science. Sometimes the game material is inspired by the source material more than it is a faithful reproduction thereof. The same is the case here.

Trial by Scarab: Stats are provided for the great mud scarab, knock-out powder, and the magical message vial.

Day of the Shark: Stats are provided for the tegula (a nasty marine lifeform like a cross between a manta ray and an octopus, with a paralyzing sting). The Dread Ones, which can be bonded with via patron bond, live in the Abyssal depths of the ocean. Invoke patron results are provided, but the enterprising judge is left to develop the rest.

Stolen Witness: Described is the Witness Stone. Imbued with the powers of Law, it compels you to tell the truth. If you are a wizard, it might do more....

Blood of the Forest-Born: To the courses in Appendix C of the core rulebook, you can now add the Curse of Frenzy. You also get potion information for Atseska’s Kiss to envenom your blade.

Break Them on the Drowning Stones: Terry Olson provides the 3rd level ritual spell, create arcane  twins. "This ritual spell requires three arcane casters: the moderator and the two to be twinned. Because it permanently alters two willing subjects, the casting time is a grueling 24 hours during which there can be no interruptions for any of the participants."

A Soul’s Second Skin: Here, Terry Olson provides the 2nd level spell, soul transference. It does pretty much what you would expect, with the added bonus that a soul can be transferred to (and animate) a recently dead body.

Shuhalla’s Sword: Heaven’s Tears are spore-releasing pink meteors that can create spore singers. Statistics for spore singers and sport corpses are also provided. Infection is likely. If you live near the impact of one of these meteors, your village is a DCC funnel adventure waiting to happen, and the wait will not be long. Terry Olson also supplies DCC stats for the flying sword, which has "the intelligence and personality of the soul willfully given to it."

Tales From the Magician’s Skull is a fantasy magazine dedicated to presenting all-new sword-and-sorcery fiction by the finest modern crafters in the genre. These stories are the real thing, crammed with sword-swinging action, dark sorceries, dread, and ferocious monsters — and they hurtle forward at a headlong pace.

Issue #2 features fiction by John Hocking, James Stoddard, James Enge, Nathan Long, Sets Uzume, Violette Malan, and Dave Gross. The magazine is edited by Howard Andrew Jones and published by Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games, with layout by Lester B. Portly.

Each story is lovingly illustrated by industry stalwarts, and issue #2 continues the amazing high standards of art from the first issue.

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Tales From the Magician's Skull #1

Tales From the Magician's Skull #1 was written by James Enge, John C. Hocking, Howard Andrew Jones, Aeryn Rudel, Bill Ward, C. L. Werner, Chris Willrich, and Terry Olson (DCC stats). Art is by Jim Pavelec (cover), Jennell Jaquays, Doug Kovacs, Willam McAusland, Brad McDevitt, Ian Miller, Russ Nicholson, Stefan Poag, and Chuck Whelon (cartoons). The publisher is Goodman Games.

The Martian Vizier talked about this issue here. If you are interested in Tales From the Magician's Skull primarily as a conduit for fiction, the Vizier's Views will supply that information. As happy as I am that an outlet for new sword & sorcery fiction in exists, in this blog post I am focusing on the issue's gaming material.

Disclosure: I backed the successful kickstarter for this issue, and am included in the Chapters of the Skull on page 4 (Order of the Crowking) and am listed in The Legion of the Skull. I am also the writer of the afore-linked Vizier's Views article.

A long time ago, I came across Translating  Skitterbuggers Into Traveller by Steve Winter in Dragon Magazine #59. That was May 1982, and I was 15 years old. I had statted out a lot of creatures from books I had read, from TV, and from movies, but this was the first time I had seen the format: Here is a story; here are the stats. In Tales From the Magician's Skull, you have to flip a few more pages, but the idea is the same.

It should be noted that statting out materials from fiction is as much an art as it is a science. Sometimes the game material is inspired by the source material more than it is a faithful reproduction thereof. The same is the case here.

Beneath the Bay of Black Waters: For this story we have the dragon's egg (magic item: a sort of light source and grenade) and the guai (a creature reminiscent of the Deep Ones).

Beyond the Block: Terry Olson provides us with the potion of un-death, a sort of last resort for vengeance.

Crypt of Stars: Statistics for the gatzi (dangerous flying creatures who become frenzied by the smell of blood and leave rotting wounds), divine familiars, and Palhecoc, which serves as a sample divine familiar.

The Crystal Sickle’s Harvest: Statistics are given for the crystal-sickle wraith (armed with a crystal sickle) and a class of magic wands known as Nobleman’s Comforts (3 examples are given).

The Guild of Silent Men: The coldlight (which may, or may not, be magical, but which is another non-torch/lantern light source, the talisman against illusions, and a 3rd level spell (illusion) are described. With this spell, the caster creates the illusion that his body has another form. Unlike the phantasm spell, this illusion has aural and tactile elements in addition to its visual deception....

There Was an Old Fat Spider: Naturally, the spider itself is described. Also the spiderling swarm, the magical sylvan cloak that makes its wearer invisible, and the level 1 wizard spell, witchfyre. Witchfyre is a fusion of raw phlogiston and glowing elemental energy. Casting it is unpredictable, as it can have both offensive and defensive results....

What Lies In Ice: Stats are given for the hands of the sea (a swarm), the imperishable hand with the gemmed phylactery, the colossal brain-poxed squid, the monstrous iron head, and the mutomorphic flyer (complete with a "Muto-Attack Table" with 12 results). In addition, you get the gyrekin race/class:

You are a creature birthed between the planes of elemental water and prime material. Your natural form is that of a shining liquid vortex (see below), though you can transform into a form similar to a human’s to walk on land and breathe the air. However, there is always some not-so-human feature, such as gills, webbed fingers, second pair of eyelids, a dorsal fin, etc., that betrays your true origins. While the less adventurous of your kind stay in the water, teasing mariners with visions of fish-tailed women, unattainable gold in the shallows, land on the horizon that never gets any closer, and other such illusions, you prefer the company of the land-based races. Consequently, you divide your time between land and water, changing from your humanoid to vortex form as needed. Water is your element; you can manipulate it, summon creatures from it, and outperform any other class within it. Indeed, you can even cast spells completely submerged!  On land, however, you have a limited time to perform your best. Eventually you must return to water, or perish.

Tales From the Magician’s Skull is a fantasy magazine dedicated to presenting all-new sword-and-sorcery fiction by the finest modern crafters in the genre. These stories are the real thing, crammed with sword-swinging action, dark sorceries, dread, and ferocious monsters — and they hurtle forward at a headlong pace.

Issue #1 features fiction by James Enge, John C. Hocking, Howard Andrew Jones, Aeryn Rudel, Bill Ward, C. L. Werner, and Chris Willrich. The magazine is edited by Howard Andrew Jones and published by Joseph Goodman of Goodman Games, with layout by Lester B. Portly.

Each story is lovingly illustrated by industry stalwarts, and issue #1 features art by Jennell Jaquays, Doug Kovacs, Willam McAusland, Brad McDevitt, Ian Miller, Russ Nicholson, and Stefan Poag.

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Tales From the Fallen Empire Judge's Screen

 

The Tales From the Fallen Empire Judge's Screen was written by James Carpio with art by Eric Quigley and Ben Morgan. The publisher is Chapter 13 Press.

This product is a zip file containing 5 different files: the cover, and multiple versions of the Judge's Screen, include a deluxe screen in both landscape and portrait format. I own several Judge's Screens for Dungeon Crawl Classics, and I am still sad that this is not available in print on heavy cardstock. I would buy it for the artwork alone. 

While most of the artwork on other Judge's Screens focuses on the gonzo, or the varied nature of Appendix N-type gaming, this one drips solid sword & sorcery. These are not just screens that would be useful as a judge - the Ready Reference Booklet has me covered there - but simply to sit across from while someone else judged. It would certainly set the tone.

Obviously, this product ties in directly with Tales From the Fallen Empire.

Tired of popping open your DCC Core rulebook to consult the Crit tables? The Tales from the Fallen Empire Judges Screen contains useful combat tables for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by Goodman Games and the Tales From the Fallen Empire Campaign Setting.  The screens feature the beautiful art of Eric Quigley depicting the fallen City-State of Y'Mataar on one side and useful tables on the inside. The download includes the original three panel screens in landscape and portrait and two new screens with more information for both DCC and tales.

Get It Here!

Tales From the Fallen Empire

Tales From the Fallen Empire is a setting book written by James Carpio, with Michael Curtis, Chris Lites, Colin Chapman, Mary Lindholm, Michael R. Smith, and Walter Adam Rinehart with additional contributions by Matthew Millman. Art is by Eric Quigley, Doug Kovacs, Michael Lavoie, Scott Ackerman, Alyssa Faden, Ben Morgan, Bradley K McDevitt, Darkzel, Gary Dupuis, Lenka Simeckova, Veysel Kara, and Tsolmon.  Some artwork is copyright William McAusland and used with permission. Some artwork  is copyright Skirmisher Publishing, LLC and used with permission. The publisher is Chapter 13 Press.

This is the first setting book, to my knowledge, which was produced for Dungeon Crawl Classics, and as such it is a combination of brilliance and banality in a way that is in turns frustrating and glorious.  The Endzeitgeist review was particularly focused on where the product fell short, and it is worth reading as a counterbalance to this entry.

The review is not wrong in imagining that the concepts of the setting book are more ambitious than the actual implementation is.  This came out in the early days of Dungeon Crawl Classics. and that does show. The setting is intended to be gritty, but is a bit more Lin Carter than Robert E. Howard. Some of the mechanics and ideas may have clear d20 System lineage. But there are also some good ideas, and a lot of material worth stealing and/or reworking into your home campaign.

Tales From the Fallen Empire introduces seven character classes: the Barbarian, Man-Ape (Ooruk), Marauder, Sentinel, Draki, Sorcerer, and Witch. For my money, the Sorcerer and Witch classes are the best of the lot. Sadly, there is no occupation table to create 0-level Man-Apes or Draki...again, early days. The Draki is a kind of sentient dragon/velociraptor. 

The book also includes rules for sanity and the lack thereof (Lore and Lucidity) , sea faring and naval combat (which will require a great deal of judge ruling to work, but this is DCC, right?), ritual magic, and creating magic items. You may wish to take inspiration from the examples of magic item creation, but the system itself is a lot more d20 System and a lot less Appendix N than it could be. There is a lot of meat here for ideas, even if you do not want to take the material exactly as presented.

Tales From the Fallen Empire includes five patrons, but all are given very minimal write-ups. These are Naaz-Ibhax (The Elder Eye and the Shapeless One, Chaos Lord), Tsernobog (The Tongue of Hod), A'goth-Amon (Abyssal Prince), Aakaanksha (The Granter of Pleasures), and the Horse Goddess of Shesh. At the time the book came out, any new patron information was desireable. Now, however, there are many patrons available and these beings will take a lot of work to fully flesh out. Still, they are valuable for their flavor.

The Bestiary does include useful creatures like djinn, golems, and sidhe. There is advice (and statistics!) for dogs and falcons, which are useful. There is also an optional rule, Advancing Animal Companions, which seems somewhat familiar.

The book also contains two adventures, The Slave Pens of Maxus and The Horrors of Hod, which Endzeitgeist has covered in his review. Overall, this is a book that I am glad that I have in my collection, but it is not one that I refer to often. I have never actually run a game set in this milieu, or run either adventure from the book.

1OO years have passed since Mankind revolted and slew the Sorcerer Kings of old… Now, the survivors of seven kingdoms begin to start new lives and hopes on the ashes of old. However, even as life continues, an ancient and forgotten evil stirs awaiting its moment to strike against mankind.

 Join the struggle for survival in a war-torn land where new empires arise to impose their will upon the masses. Vicious warlords fight to control territories carved out of fallen kingdoms. Imposing magicians emerge claiming the legacy of the Sorcerer Kings. High Priests of long forgotten gods and goddesses amass wealth in the name of divine right while Warrior-priests, devoted to a banished god, patrol the lands bringing justice to people abandoned by their rulers.

Within these pages is a detailed post-apocalyptic fantasy setting taking you through an ancient realm that is fighting for its survival and its humanity. Seek your fortune or meet your fate in the burning deserts of the once lush and vibrant land of Vuul, or travel to the humid jungles of Najambi to face the tribes of the Man-Apes and their brutal sacrificial rituals.

Tales From the Fallen Empire is a post apocalyptic swords & sorcery setting created for use with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by Goodman Games.  It introduces new classes, setting inspired spells, new optional rules for swords & sorcery play and more.  Tighten the straps on your sandals, grab your weapon, and head forth into a land of trouble and turmoil. Adventure  awaits those foolhardy to enter the wastelands or for those who fear not the unknown. 

Setting Features

Within the campaign setting you will find:  6 new classes: Barbarian, Witch, Draki, Sentinel, Man-Ape, & Maurader.  Adding more choices for play in the setting and within the DCC RPG.

A revised Wizard Class (The Sorcerer) - A fiendish master of the arcane who draws energy from the living to perform powerful magics.

New Spells - Magic inspired by ancient Babylonian & Egyptian folklore and mythology

New Creatures - Monster befitting to classic swords and sorcery.  Battle savage dinosaurs,  ride into the unknown on a war trained moa, or match wits with the tribal man-apes of the southern jungles.

A detailed setting inspired by the works of Fritz Lieber, Robert E. Howard, Lynn Carter, H. P. Lovecraft, Roger Corman, and Michael Moorcock

Get It Here.

DCC Conversion Lost Tomb of the Bitchin' Chimera

DCC Conversion: Lost Tomb of the Bitchin' Chimera is a DCC conversion by George Holland of an OSR adventure (level 3 to 5) by Andrew Ervin. Art is by Justin Sirois in both products, with cartography by Niklas Wistedt/Paths Peculiar in the original product. The publisher in both cases is Severed Books.

This entry jumped the queue because the DCC Conversion (which is Pay What You Want) does not contain the actual adventure. You will need to buy the OSR version to make good use of the conversion. So, if you are thinking "A new DCC adventure is worth at least X dollars!" you will want to take into account the price of the original work.

The adventure itself is officially licensed by the Dead Milkmen, No DCC level range is given, but somewhere around 1-3 is probably appropriate. This was intended as a one-shot adventure. As with adventures like Rock God Death Fugue, Null Singularity, and Black Sun Deathcrawl, it is fun to imagine ways in which the product could be worked into a larger campaign. Really, this one is strange even by DCC standards, and your PCs will feel more like victims of a bad trip than protagonists of a sword & sorcery novel. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is something you should be aware of.

The adventure could easily be set in Narcosa by way of the Sandsea. There is even a Drug User class in The Class Alphabet which you could use. You might also be able to throw this one into an Umerica game without too much trouble. It will still seem like some sort of drug trip for the characters. If you read the description of the adventure, which is included below, you will understand what I mean. 

There is a Crystalline Tree that a clever judge could link to The Palace of Unquiet Repose in a rather nasty way. The contrast between the very serious and the very silly could be interesting, but the Lost Tomb of the Bitchin' Chimera dares you to even try to take it seriously.

This is also, let's face it, a pretty bare-bones conversion. If the adventure took itself seriously, I would be bringing up all sorts of problems the judge is likely to face based on the NPCs alone. Let alone the adventure's use of Charisma and Comeliness in a way that is not going to map perfectly (or even, in some cases, well) to DCC's Personality. But the adventure does not take itself seriously, and the odds are that, if you are running it, you will not be taking it seriously enough for the conversion problems to matter.

Severed Books is thrilled to announce Lost Tomb of the Bitchin' Chimera, an officially licensed Dead Milkmen roleplaying game module set in the weird world of Tiny Town. Written by Andrew Ervin and illustrated by Justin Sirois, this one-shot adventure blends fantasy and punk into a hilarious story your players will never forget. 

A monstrous seabird is terrorizing the hamlet of Tiny Town. The distraught Mistress Brownnose calls for aid. If our adventurers hope to placate the beast, they must cross the Swampland of Desire and find the Life-Is-Shit Boneyard. There, if they’re brave enough—or dumb enough—to enter the lair of the Burrow Owlbear, they might just find the Tomb of the Bitchin’ Chimera.

The adventure is ultimately system-agnostic, and can also be enjoyed using the rules of the world’s greatest roleplaying game. It has been designed for player characters of levels 3 to 5 and you can play it as a stand-alone game or easily fit it into your ongoing campaign.

Remember, the DCC Conversion is not sufficient alone. 

You can get the conversion here and the OSR version here.

Pamphlet Crawl Classics #1: The Black Wastes (Honorary)

Pamphlet Crawl Classics #1: The Black Wastes is a simplified version of the Dungeon Crawl Classics rules and a small adventure by James Smith and Jarrett Crader. No publisher is listed.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this in pdf form from James Smith.

This is a single page, double-sided, which would presumably be printed using a C-Fold or Z-Fold. It was, to my understanding, designed for quick pick-up games at Wayne Con. As such, it offers a greatly simplified system, which might be considered a cousin of Dungeon Crawl Classics. Mechanics, and even statistics, are different. As a result, I am giving this an Honorary listing. It is clearly based off of DCC, but it is its own animal.

The adventure itself is, quite literally, smaller than a one-page dungeon, being confined to less than a half panel of one of the three panels created by folding the page. Stats, plot, and information are minimal, befitting its use for pick-up games. 

I am not sure where you can get this, apart from asking one of the authors for a copy. If you have the ability to attend Wayne Con, you might even be lucky enough to have a chance to play it!

DCC Lankhmar

DCC Lankhmar is a boxed campaign setting which includes three books, two maps, a judge's screen, and an adventure. Primary writing is by Michael Curtis with additional writing by Daniel J. Bishop, Bob Brinkman, Edgar Johnson, Brendan LaSalle, Terry Olson, and Harley Stroh. Art is by Doug Kovacs (including cover art and cartography), Stefan Poag (including adventure cover art), Brad McDevitt, Chris Arneson, Cliff Kurowski, Jennell Jaquays, Tom Galambos, and Chad Sergesketter. The publisher is Goodman Games. This product was officially licensed from the estate of Fritz Leiber.

Disclosure: I did additional writing for this project.

This boxed set is packed. When additional materials came out for Peril on the Purple Planet and The Chained Coffin, I was able to keep those materials together in the box. That is not the case with DCC Lankhmar - the adventures will not easily fit at all! This is not a criticism; it as an observation of just how much material the prospective judge and players are getting here.

The two maps provided are by Doug Kovacs, and represent the lands of Nehwon and city of Lankhmar. The city map, in particular, is massive and detailed. Michael Curtis was able to travel to the Fritz Leiber Archive at the University of Houston (because the Kickstarter was a massive success), resulting in the most accurate map of Lankhmar (in terms of Leiber's vision) that has appeared in a role-playing game product to date.

The three booklets are The Judge’s Guide to Nehwon, the Compendium of Secret Knowledge, and Lankhmar: City of the Black Toga. Between them, they supply all the information judges and players need to bring their own vision of Lankhmar to life. This includes new rules (including fleeting Luck, new ways to use patrons, new patrons, and more), descriptions of the lands of Nehwon, advice for running urban campaigns, and so on. The adventure, Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar #0: No Small Crimes in Lankhmar, was written by Michael Curtis, and will have its own entry in the DCC Trove of Treasures. You can find a preview pdf of these boxed set materials here.

Full patron write-ups are provided for Issek of the Jug, Kos (or Kos of the Dooms), Mog the Spider God, Ningauble of the Seven Eyes, and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face. Incomplete patron entries (consisting of invoke patron and agent assistant effects) are provided for the Gods of Trouble, the Hates, and Winged Tyaa. Statistics are provided for Fafrhd and the Gray Mouser at various points of their careers as well as other important characters appearing in the original stories. Over 20 monsters are also supplied, which covers the majority of creatures mentioned by Fritz Leiber in the Nehwon stories.

For me, personally, the chance to contribute to this project was a fantastic opportunity. I became aware of the Lankhmar stories due to the "Nehwon Mythos" section of the original AD&D Deities & Demigods Cyclopedia. I was in high school when I found a few of the stories of the Twain in the school library. It was not until I started seriously delving into Appendix N following adopting Dungeon Crawl Classics that I read all of the Fritz Leiber stories of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Being able to become an actual part of this set, no matter how small a part, was almost like being able to contribute to the works that had helped to shape me as a game master so many years ago.

DCC Lankhmar has come up on Spellburn a few times. It is discussed on the Sanctum Secorum podcast here. The source material is discussed on the Appendix N podcast here. Lankhmar comes up elsewhere in the DCC Trove of Treasures as well.

The boxed set officially licensed from the estate of Fritz Leiber!

Enter the thrilling world of Fritz Leiber’s Nehwon, home to the legendary city of Lankhmar and the infamous heroes Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser! Prepare yourself to battle members of the city’s nefarious Thieves’ Guild in fog- shrouded alleys, to barter for cursed curios in the Plaza of Dark Delights, and to seek the wisdom of Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face! All this and more is possible with DCC Lankhmar.

This boxed set contains comprehensive rules options and new material for the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG explicitly designed to capture the unique setting of Nehwon and Lankhmar, the City of the Black Toga. Inside, you’ll find new spells, monsters, magical items, patrons, and rules to make your DCC RPG campaign more like Leiber’s exiting stories—including the popular “Fleeting Luck” mechanic where good fortune blesses your characters one minute, only to dash their hopes the next.

This set also includes a detailed look at Lankhmar and provides the judge with an assortment of descriptions, tables, and adventure ideas to get their DCC Lankhmar campaign up and running with a minimum of effort, including the adventure No Small Crimes in Lankhmar and a beautiful city map illustrated by Doug Kovacs. A copy of the Dungeon Crawl Classics rulebook is required to use this boxed set.

Get It Here!