Monday, December 15, 2008

A Grognard Christmas

Christmas is less than two weeks away. Here are some gift suggestions for the grognards on your list:

  1. Adventure Games Journal: If you're a fan of Judges Guild's Wilderlands setting, James Mishler has got what you need. Published irregularly, the AGJ, like all of Adventure Games Publishing's products, is chock of great ideas and palpable entusiasm for one of the hobby's oldest sandbox campaign settings.
  2. Castle Zagyg: The final product of the late, great Gary Gygax (and his stalwart protégé, Jeff Talanian), Castle Zagyg is probably the closest we'll ever come to the long-hoped for Castle Greyhawk dungeons. Grab a copy while it's still available!
  3. Encounter Critical: The wackiest game that never was, EC is a loving homage to the wild and woolly early days of the hobby and the gloriously nonsensical games they produced.
  4. Fight On! With three issues already available and more on the way, Fight On! is a terrific 'zine that reminds me of the early days of Dragon. It's packed to the gills with great old school gaming goodness.
  5. Gamescience Dice: You can't go wrong with Lou Zocchi's famous dice. Granted, even these dice include the un-Platonic D10, but I think we can overlook such shortcomings in the spirit of the season.
  6. Goblinoid Games: Whether you prefer the straight fantasy of Labyrinth Lord or the science fantasy of Mutant Future, Goblinoid Games has got you covered with great products.
  7. Goodman Games System-Neutral Products: My hat's off to Goodman Games for publishing both Points of Light or The Random Esoteric Creature Generator, two excellent products filled with old school sensibilities that are of use to all gamers, regardless of the system they use.
  8. Monsters of Myth: Certainly the best old school monster book put out in many years, Monsters of Myth is a testimony to the fact that the old school movement is more than just wallowing in the past but is in fact creating new and exciting material. While you're at it, grab the free PDF of OSRIC.
  9. Planet Stories: Without a doubt one of the most exciting publishing ventures in years is Paizo's Planet Stories line, which makes available for the first time in decades the classics of pulp fantasy and science fiction. It's the perfect antidote to the banality of modern genre writing and a reminder of the literary roots of our hobby.
  10. Swords & Wizardry: Matt Finch's excellent creation is my personal favorite retro-clone and it's now available in a variety of formats.
Have any additional suggestions? Post in the comments below.

8 comments:

  1. Otherworld miniatures are sure to make any 1979-era D&Der happy:

    http://www.otherworld.me.uk/

    The new type I demon miniature looks fantastic, and I can personally vouch for the sculpt and casting quality of the hobgoblins and pig-faced orcs.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't believe I left them off my list -- especially since I have their slime minis sitting here beside me on my desk!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Granted, even these dice include the un-Platonic D10, but I think we can overlook such shortcomings in the spirit of the season.
    The way I heard it from Col Zocchi, he tried to patent pentagonal trapezohedron-shaped dice, and is responsible for bringing the shape to the hobby. But do buy 'em anyway, in the spirit of the season ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. There are two things I don't understand in the "grognard" community: the bizarre and downright ridiculous opposition to thieves, and the bizarre and downright ridiculous opposition to ten-sided dice.

    Wuh.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bless your heart to mention Planet Stories. I'm always so pleased to see that you're reading one of our books.

    Grognardia is one of my absolute favorite blogs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. the bizarre and downright ridiculous opposition to thieves, and the bizarre and downright ridiculous opposition to ten-sided dice.

    Speaking only for myself, I don't actually hate 10-sided dice; I just find it amusing to pretend that I do. I suspect very few grognards actually hate D10s. On the other hand, the opposition to thieves is principled and rational. I'm not so doctrinaire as to think everyone shares it, but I also think it's unfair to call it "bizarre and downright ridiculous."

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bless your heart to mention Planet Stories. I'm always so pleased to see that you're reading one of our books.

    You keep publishing them and I'll keep reading and recommending them to my readers. It's an amazing line you've assembled over the last year and I'm very proud to be a subscriber.

    Grognardia is one of my absolute favorite blogs.

    Now you're the one being too kind.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Planet Stories series is great and I'm happy to say that my wife got me the subscription for Christmas. Now, once I get the extra cash saved up, I can go back and complete my collection without worrying about the new releases.

    ReplyDelete