REVIEW: Tales of Peril

J. Eric Holmes has deservedly received a great deal of attention within the old school renaissance for his role as editor of the 1977 Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set. For many gamers of a certain age, myself included, that Basic Set was our introduction to both D&D and to the larger hobby of roleplaying. I feel I owe Dr Holmes a great debt, which is why I have regularly drawn attention to him and his large body of work (though not to the same extent as Zach Howard, whose excellent blog is a veritable shrine to all things Holmesian). 

In addition to roleplaying games, Holmes was a great fan of pulp fantasy, particularly the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. In fact, he wrote an authorized continuation of the Pellucidar series, which was published just a year before the release of the Basic Set. A few years later, he would also pen a Buck Rogers novel from an outline by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. He was also contracted to write a Conan novel – Conan on the River of Doom – that unfortunately was never published. For our present purposes, though, it is Holmes's game-related fiction that's of most interest, since Black Blade Publishing has collected it all, along with many additional pieces of Holmesiana, in a single hardcover volume entitled Tales of Peril. 

Published in 2017, I have only now gotten around to reading it and I am very glad that I did. Capably edited by Allan T. Grohe Jr, Tales of Peril is subtitled "The Complete Boinger and Zereth Stories," after the two characters – a hobbit and an elf, respectively – who appear in most of them. As Chris Holmes recounted in my recent interview with him, the pair were his first D&D characters and the stories recount slightly fictionalized retellings of some of their adventures, the earliest of which appeared in Alarums & Excursions throughout 1976 and '77. Additional depictions of their exploits were published in the pages of Dragon, beginning in 1979. Eventually, Holmes wrote a short novel of Boinger and Zereth, which he called The Maze of Peril and that he hoped would be the first in a series of novels. That dream was never realized, making Maze the final appearance of this intrepid duo.

Until now, that is. Tales of Peril includes a "new" short story of Boinger and Zereth. I use scare quotes here because the story, while never published prior to its appearance in this volume, was written sometime after the publication of The Maze of Peril and represents a collaboration between Chris Holmes and his father. This story, "The Witch Doctor," is very much in the vein of the others that came before – a rambling fantasy romp that readers very much like a transcript of a fun D&D adventure played with a bunch of friends. To my mind, that's the real value of these collected stories: they're a written record of the fun, funny, and slightly incoherent "stories" that arose out of actual play in the early days of the hobby (and still do, if you're lucky). 

As I mentioned above, however, Tales of Peril, despite its subtitle, contains more than just Holmes's fiction. There is also the full text of the 1980 Psychology Today article, "Confessions of a Dungeon Master," in which Dr Holmes talks about his experiences refereeing the then-new game of Dungeons & Dragons. There are prefaces and an afterword by Chris Holmes, in which he talks about his father and provides context for the book's contents. Likewise, Eric Frasier, a childhood friend of Chris Holmes, reminisces about his time as Murray the Magic-User in Holmes's campaign. Reproductions of the character sheets for Boinger, Zereth, and Murray are likewise included, in addition to artwork by Chris Holmes, Ian Baggley, and Jim Roslof. Capping it all off is an extensive, annotated bibliography of Holmes's works, compiled by Zach Howard.

All in all, it's a terrific volume, especially if, like me, you started your journey into the hobby with the 1977 Basic Set. The fiction, both the short stories and The Maze of Peril, are charming evocations of the wild and woolly period in the history of D&D before the game had begun to solidify into the house style that would inform AD&D and, by extension, all subsequent editions of the game. The supplementary materials and anecdotes from Chris Holmes and Eric Frasier are just as valuable in this respect. They're valuable reminders of those days from the perspective of people who were there, rolling dice together, and enjoying the wide-open vistas of the imagination that this new form of entertainment was offering. I had a blast reading this book and I think others will too. 

Mail Call

Mail service having resumed this week after a two-week strike, I've been receiving a number of packages that had been trapped in limbo. One of them was the Black Blade edition of OSRIC, which, so far as I know, is nearly identical, content-wise, to its predecessor, but is much more sturdily bound and contains more artwork.

Here's a shot of the cover.

Looking at its spine, you can see this one is one thick (386 pages) and solid tome.

And here's just one of the new pieces of art included in the book (by Brian "Glad" Thomas).

All in all, it's an impressive package, all the moreso because it sells for a mere $26.00. I'm not much of an AD&D guy these days, but I can't deny that, reading through this today, I felt some of the same electricity I feel when I first opened up my Players Handbook way back when. I'll be talking more about this edition of OSRIC in the days to come; it really is a remarkable piece of work.

Black Blade to Publish Castle of the Mad Archmage

Looks like Black Blade Publishing is undertaking the most ambitious megadungeon project to date by publishing Joe Bloch's Castle of the Mad Archmage, including two new levels (which brings the total levels to 14). While there have been other megadungeon projects prior to this point, what makes this one especially interesting to me is the format Black Blade has chosen to adopt for its publication:

• A 220-240 page hardcover containing the encounter keys and level by level detail for all 14 levels
• Full-color poster maps on heavyweight stock for all 14 levels
• A folio or folder to organize and store the poster maps when they're not in use
• A deluxe box or slipcase for storing both the level key hardcover and the map folio with all of the poster maps

I can't recall a megadungeon product that ever gave so much thought to its physical presentation, which, I think, combined with the terrific creativity of Joe's megadungeon (especially the maps, which are just awesome), will make this one of the stand-out products of the old school renaissance. I honestly can't wait till it's released.

Black Blade News

Yesterday, Black Blade Publishing made the following announcement:

Black Blade Publishing is proud to announce an agreement with Robert J. Kuntz to publish his Lake Geneva Castle & Campaign™ (LGCC) dungeon levels. Jon Hershberger, President of Black Blade, said, “It is a privilege to publish these Lake Geneva Castle and Campaign™ dungeon levels in partnership with Rob Kuntz. Their historical value dating back to the origins of the RPG hobby is significant. Rob's distinctive adventure modules are very creative and serve as both challenging settings for veteran gamers and as inspiration for future game designers.”

The agreement includes the publication and distribution of:

• Six original Lake Geneva Castle dungeon levels, including The Machine Level, The Boreal Level, and four additional levels that feature such famous and infamous encounters as the Giants Pool Hall, the prototypical set-piece encounter for The Garden of the Plantmaster, and connections to several other planes of existence for off-world adventuring. Each dungeon level will be published upon completion by Mr. Kuntz, beginning this winter with The Machine Level, which will be 32 to 36 pages in length.
  
  
• .PDF editions of Kuntz’s out-of-print adventure modules CAS1 Cairn of the Skeleton King and CAS2 Tower of Blood, with additional titles to follow as their print runs sell through (including RJK1 Bottle City).
  
  
• The .pdf edition of the adventure module Ice Grave (originally published in Troll Magazine #1 in 1997), the proceeds from which Kuntz will use as a special fund to be awarded on a recurring basis to excellent up-and-coming RPG game designers.

Future publications will release the full scope of Kuntz’s massive original manuscript collection that spans the history of the development of the first fantasy role-playing game, as played in the Lake Geneva campaigns. These publications will primarily be issued in .pdf format, with select titles also targeted for in-print releases.

Robert J. Kuntz said, “Black Blade was my first choice as a publishing partner due to their commitment to producing high-quality, printed books. I can trust them to reproduce my manuscripts with the respect, fidelity and attention to detail that reflects their historical value and context.” Allan Grohe, co-founder, project manager and editor for Black Blade, will manage the Lake Geneva Castle & Campaign™ product line. Grohe said, “Rob Kuntz’s designs stand out across the history of RPG publishing for their originality in design and challenge to player skill. It’s a pleasure to continue my long-standing publishing relationship with Rob under the auspices of Black Blade.”

I'm guardedly optimistic about this announcement. As ever, a lot depends on whether these plans actually come to pass. In the short time I've been paying attention, there have been several other similar announcements of new material pertaining to the Lake Geneva campaign forthcoming from Mr Kuntz and they've all sputtered out after a release or two. If Black Blade can overcome this curse and get this stuff out there as promised, I'll be very pleased.

Faster Monkey/Black Blade News

I was sent this press release yesterday while I was offline and thought it worth posting here, since it's potential of interest to old school gaming fans. I've been wondering what plans Black Blade had in the works now that they'll no longer be publishing Swords & Wizardry. I guess now we know, at least in part.

October 1, Silver Spring, Maryland: Indy RPG designer FASTER MONKEY GAMES is proud to announce a new partnership with BLACK BLADE PUBLISHING. Black Blade will sell print and PDF copies of Faster Monkey’s popular old-school modules and game aids.

“From day one, Black Blade has generously supported the Old School Renaissance,” says monkeyboy Jeff Sparks. “We’re honored to work with them as we make the jump to the world of print.”

The partnership officially begins this month with Faster Monkey’s critically-acclaimed adventure SKULL MOUNTAIN. The best-selling module will be available in PDF and high-quality print formats with a classic module design.

Further Faster Monkey products are planned for frequent, regular release. Like all Black Blade offerings, the products are printed on traditional offset presses, resulting in excellent print quality and rapid order fulfillment.

Faster Monkey Games was launched in February 2010 by brothers Joel and Jeff Sparks. The company has published 16 popular RPG products in 8 months, supporting games like Labyrinth Lord™, OSRIC™, Mutant Future™, and Savage Worlds. Faster Monkey products frequently appear in the Top Sellers lists on major PDF retail sites. Blogs, twitter feeds, and product information can be found at fastermonkeygames.com.

Formed in 2009 by Jon Hershberger and Allan Grohe, Wichita-based Black Blade Publishing is committed to publishing high-quality fantasy role-playing material for all of the hobby’s earliest incarnations. For additional information, visit black-blade-publishing.com.

REVIEW: Knockspell Issue 4

In an age when Dragon, the original RPG magazine, is no longer available in printed form, it's remarkable to note that the old school renaissance has not one but two regular print periodicals. Of the two, Knockspell, produced by Mythmere Games and published by Black Blade Publishing, is probably closest to Dragon in terms of its content and presentation -- and grows ever moreso with each new issue. Issue 4 was just released and I very impressed by just how professional it has become. Nearly everything, from the artwork to the layout to the editing is top notch and there's a unity to this issue, a sense of cohesiveness and planning that's undeniably appealing.

Issue 4 kicks off with another delightful installment of Allan Grohe's "From Kuroth's Quill" column, the second part of a piece on the use and theory of gates in campaign dungeons. In addition to providing thoughts (and random tables) on what happens when adventurers try to destroy a gate, the article also provides many magic-user spells pertaining to gates. As a referee who recently made a gate an important part of his ongoing megadungeon-based campaign, I found Grohe's column particularly useful.

Joshua Jervais's "Beneath the Crossroads" is the first adventure included in this issue and the first to include rats, an ongoing theme in this issue. Suitable for a party of 1st and 2nd level characters, the adventure presents a small dungeon connected to a cult of a rat god. It's a well-done and evocative little scenario that can easily be dropped into an ongoing campaign. Jeff Talanian also provides a rat-based adventure, entitled "Rats in the Walls." Also for low-level characters, it has a strong pulp fantasy feel to it without being unsuitable for inclusion in most fantasy campaigns. Slightly less immediately useful is the third installment of Gabor Lux's terrific series "Isles on an Emerald Sea," which describe locales from his science fantasy Fomalhaut campaign. As with its predecessors in the series, this article is inspiring but would take some work to adapt to more traditional fantasy campaigns, given its "weird" elements.

Matt Finch's "Megadungeon Tactics: Mission-Based Adventuring" is a useful discussion of how to approach a megadungeon as a player (and, by extension, as a referee). What's remarkable is that, while the article is clearly aimed at players whose experiences of dungeon adventuring are not of an old school variety, Finch nevertheless manages to pack quite a few nuggets of wisdom of interest even to old dungeoneering hands. Meanwhile, Marcelo Paschoalin provides a solid overview of the options and difficulties confronting online rolelpaying games. Michael Curtis (whose Dungeon Alphabet is reviewed later in this issue) shows us how to mine the Greek historian Herodotus for sandbox campaign ideas in "Stealing the Histories." Al Krombach offers up some excellent advice on how to use the mechanical looseness of old school games like Swords & Wizardry in "Free-Form Rules as a Referee's Toolbox," which I found quite engaging.

What old school magazine would be complete without articles filled with random tables? Issue 4 gives us Robert Lionheart's useful "Random Tavern Generator" and "Weird Weather and Other Unexplainable Phenomena" (by several authors). It also includes Scot Hoover's astounding "Artifact Types and Attributes," which is a system for creating artifacts and relics that clearly draws inspiration from Eldritch Wizardry and the Dungeon Masters Guide, while being wholly original (and Open Game Content). Rounding out the issue are new magic items, a reworking of the spell slot system, and an interview with artist Christopher Burdett.

In sum, it's an impressive issue, one with a lot to offer old school fantasy fans. As I noted, Knockspell is increasingly professional in every respect. To some, this is unreservedly a good thing, as it puts the lie to the notion that the old school renaissance cannot compare to the improvements in presentation made since the days of yore. To others, though, I have little doubt that Knockspell might feel a little too "polished" and lacking in the rough edges many old schoolers love. Personally, I think there's more than enough room for both approaches and the fact that Knockspell is now appearing on game store shelves pretty much demands that it put its best foot forward, which is unequivocally does. Knockspell Issue 4 is thus well worth a look, whether in print or PDF form.

Presentation: 8 out of 10
Creativity: 7 out of 10
Utility: 7 out of 10

Buy This If: You're looking for a collection of ideas and resources for use in your old school fantasy campaign.
Don't Buy This If: You prefer to come up with your own ideas rather than using those of others.

Knockspell #4 Released

Black Blade Publishing has just released issue 4 of Knockspell, which can be purchased in print or PDF format. As usual, there's a great selection of old school gaming goodness to be found within. I'm especially impressed with Jeff Talanian's "Rats in the Walls" adventure and Allan Grohe's discussion of portals, but I've only just begun to read my copy. I'll post a complete review next week once I've had the chance to absorb the whole thing.

REVIEW: Ice Tower of the Salka

James Boney has repeatedly distinguished himself as one of the most astute creators of dungeon modules in the old school renaissance. His low-level adventure, The Idol of the Orcs, for example, managed to inject some new life into the hoary old trope of humanoids raiding an isolated village -- no mean feat 31 years after The Keep on the Borderlands first appeared. Similar high praise could be said of his work for Expeditious Retreat Press, all of which displays the same ability to pay homage to the past without aping it. That's a rare talent in a segment of the hobby where slavish imitation is often lauded more than originality.

Ice Tower of the Salka is Boney's attempt at a high-level (8-12) module for Swords & Wizardry. Produced by Black Blade Publishing, it's a 22-page adventure available either as a saddle-stitched hardcopy for $11.00 or a PDF download for $5.00. I probably sound like a broken record on this score, but I'll say again that I think this pricing, while typical for old school products these days, is rather high. I understand well the costs involved in publishing old school materials, especially ones including original art and maps, as this one does. Still, I hold out hope that we might see more old school print products released with a better dollar per page ratio than we typically get nowadays.

As its title suggests, Ice Tower of the Salka concerns itself with a tower that was, until recently, completely buried beneath the ice. Formerly home to the mysterious sorceress known only as the Salka, it's now the subject of many unwholesome legends and the object of much greed by those who know of the wealth and magic reputed to lie within. The module helpfully includes a rumor table to represent some of the information, both true and false, the player characters might learn about the place before setting off to explore its four levels (three tower levels plus one dungeon level) and 54 rooms. Also included with the module are some new spells, magic items, and monsters (only one of which has never seen print before, the rest having appeared previously in the Swords & Wizardry Monster Book).

Each level of the Ice Tower has a "theme," which is to say, the majority of the inhabitants and challenges of any given level "belong" together. Thus, the third level, which is the first the characters will enter, since it's the topmost portion of the ice-encased tower, is the abode of demons. You can find lots of demons here, along with tricks and traps pertaining to other planes/dimensions. The second level, on the other hand, is home primarily to a wide variety of undead, themselves the victims of a peculiar device -- a magical chandelier -- whose baleful effects can be felt throughout the tower. The first level and dungeon are little less obviously thematic in presentation, but that may be because their explicit purposes, as an entrance area and a place of imprisonment respectively, are more naturally suggestive.

These "themes" provide some coherence to what might otherwise seem to be a random collection of rooms and encounters, because, if Ice Tower of the Salka has a weakness, it's that it's "just a dungeon." By that I mean that, without the context provided by the referee and the players, this module will probably feel somewhat "flat." There's a lot less implied background in this place than has been in previous efforts by Boney. That is, I didn't feel as if the Salka, whose tower this was and whose mysterious fate left the tower bereft of its mistress, had much of a presence here. Certainly there are rooms like the "Throne Room of the Salka" that include features or traps of genuine interest, but they don't do much to flesh out the whys and wherefores of what is going on here. There is, at the module's end, something of a pay-off in this regard, but I think it comes too late to lend much flavor to Ice Tower of the Salka, even if it does make excellent fodder for follow-up adventures.

This lack of background probably makes the module easier to drop into an existing campaign, either as a stand-alone adventure or as part of a dungeon or similar complex, which may actually increase its attractiveness to some referees. Others, though, may feel as I did that the adventure could have done with a bit more internal unity to make the whole as memorable as many of its individual parts. Simply as presented, Ice Tower of the Salka has a somewhat disjointed feel to it that may be off-putting to buyers looking for a wholly "ready-to-go" adventure module.

Ice Tower of the Salka is what I'd call a "fixer-upper" module -- great for referees looking for an outline for an adventure, along with already-keyed maps, from which they can craft their own adventure. Judged as such, it's very well done and shows many of the same elements I liked in Boney's previous work. Referees not of a do-it-yourself mindset will likely find the module less satisfying, particularly at this price point. It's unfortunate, because, as I said, Ice Tower of the Salka has a number of excellent elements, but not enough, I think, to appeal to gamers who crave highly polished modules nor enough at its cost (at least not in the print edition). I liked the module myself and appreciated its virtues, but then mine was a review copy rather than one I purchased with my own money and it's on this point that I think Ice Tower of the Salka stumbles in comparison to its competitors, both professional and amateur.

Presentation: 7 out of 10
Creativity: 7 out of 10
Utility: 5 out of 10

Get This If: You're looking for a dungeon filled with high-level challenges from which to craft your own adventures.
Don't Get This If: You're looking for a high-level dungeon you can buy and run without having to ad a fair bit of your own elbow grease.

REVIEW: Knockspell #3

With the recent announcement that Black Blade Publishing was to become the exclusive publisher of the Swords & Wizardry core rules and Knockspell magazine, I expected it to be some time before we'd see any new products released. Not so, as it turned out, for shortly thereafter Black Blade published the third issue of Knockspell. It's theoretically the "Summer 2009" issue, which suggests that it uses the same unique timekeeping system as many academic journals. More seriously, I suspect this means that issue 3 was likely ready to go during the past Summer, but its publication was delayed because of behind the scenes snags connected to the new relationship between Black Blade and Mythmere Games.

As with the previous two issues, number 3 is available in both print and PDF formats. The issue is slightly cheaper than both the previous ones, while its page count (68) is more than issue 1 but less than issue 2. The layout and interior art continue to be of the same high quality we saw in issue 2 and Peter Mullen's cover is nicely evocative. Knockspell is most definitely not an amateur periodical and, while it's still far from being as slick and "professional" as, say, Kobold Quarterly, it very favorably compares to Dragon at its height, both in terms of presentation and content.

And what content! I am consistently amazed at the old school community's ability to produce new material that excites my imagination, even after 30 years of gaming. Issue 3 contains a number of excellent pieces:

• Allan Grohe's "The Theory and Use of Gates in Campaign Dungeons" is superb, both in its own right and because of its solid grounding in the great literature on the subject to be found in the hobby's past.
• Akrasia's "Pulp Heroes and the Colors of Magic" offers up some swords-and-sorcery style magic and damage rules for use with Swords & Wizardry (or any other old school fantasy RPG).
• John Vogel gives us a fun little chariot racing mini-game compatible with S&W.
• Tim Kask writes another trenchant editorial, "Blame It on the Players," in which he diagnoses where the hobby/industry went off the tracks. I expect it to be every bit as controversial as his last piece on the subject.
• Scot Hoover's "Black Armor, Black Heart" presents an anti-paladin NPC class for use with OSRIC. As with his Necromancer class from the previous issue, Hoover has done a fine job in bringing an old school classic to life in a slightly new form.
• Gabor Lux presents "The City of Vultures," a city from his Fomalhaut campaign world.
• There are several fun random generators, including one devoted to ruins.
• Jon Hershberger gives us a look at "The Planes: Playgrounds of the Rich and Powerful," which provides the nuts and bolts of planar travel for use with S&W.
• There are also new monsters, including the jin, a collection of genie-like races.
• And there's not one but three new adventures, my favorite of which was "Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord" by R. Lawrence Blake, but then I've always had a soft spot for labyrinths (and minotaurs).

All in all, issue 3 was every bit as good as its predecessors, perhaps even better, as I found nearly every article herein to be of obvious use to me. In addition, Knockspell continues to develop its unique editorial "voice," one that is strongly informed by Gygaxian fantasy. That's hardly surprising given the large number of contributors associated with OSRIC, whose raison d'être is the preservation and promotion of Gary's particular vision.

That's not to suggest that all -- or even most -- of its contents march in lockstep to a Gygaxian tune, but Knockspell's content is not as varied or as whimsical as that of Fight On! That's not a criticism, both because my own take on fantasy is Gygaxian in inspiration and because I think the old school community is strengthened by having different publications, each with its own perspective and style. That said, I think Knockspell has more to offer fans of "traditional" fantasy roleplaying than those who prefer wilder, more eccentric takes on the genre. Knockspell is much more conservative, even staid, in its approach and that's fine by me. The hobby needs an unyielding "anchor" that resists the currents of faddishness in fantasy and Knockspell looks to be assuming that role and I'm very glad of it.

Presentation: 9 out of 10
Creativity: 8 out of 10
Utility: 6 out of 10

Buy This If: You're looking for your fix of largely Gygaxian gaming goodness to inspire you.
Don't Buy This If: Your tastes run to more exotic styles of fantasy.