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: 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.

Miniatures Contest

Center Stage Miniatures has licensed the right to produce Swords & Wizardry miniatures, and they are running a contest for Knockspell Magazine readers! Write up the best new monster and Center Stage will sculpt it and put it into their Swords & Wizardry line. Here are the rules: (1) it has to be a monster; (2) it has to be roughly human-sized; (3) the description has to be in Swords & Wizardry format; (4) the winner has to sign a contract allowing Center Stage to produce the minis for as long as they want to. There’s not a money prize, but it isn’t every day you get to see one of your own creations immortalized in metal.

How to enter the contest: send your monster description, in Swords & Wizardry format, to centerstagehobbies@yahoo.com, attention Matt Solarz, who is the president of Center Stage Miniatures. Center Stage will judge the entries, and the winning entry will be sculpted and sold in the Swords & Wizardry line of miniatures, as well as being published in the magazine. The monster description will also be printed on the packaging for the miniature, with your name as author.

The first contest runs from September 1, 2009 until December 31, 2009. Fire up your creativity and make some monsters!

REVIEW: Knockspell #2

As a general rule, I avoid reviewing any products with which I have even a slight association, but I am going to make an exception in the case of issue 2 of Knockspell magazine. I do so because I think it's both a noteworthy product in its own right, as well as another milestone in the development of the old school renaissance. That said, do bear in mind that I contributed two short articles to this issue and weigh my words here accordingly. Although I believe I can offer a fair review of this issue, the possibility of undue bias nevertheless exists and I'd be remiss not to mention it.

Issue 1 of Knockspell was an excellent kick-off for this magazine devoted primarily to supporting Mythmere Games' Swords & Wizardry. Issue 2 builds on the virtues of its immediate predecessor by expanding its page count (t0 86 pages, up from 61) and improving on its presentation. In addition, this issue sees the announcement that Knockspell will now be the "official" magazine for OSRIC, as well as for S&W, although Matt Finch states in his Editor's Note that he doesn't "like the word 'official.' Don’t look for any offi cial rules or official anything else to be coming out of this magazine, but you can expect to see more 1e material starting to show up in these pages as we continue to expand the magazine’s scope." Such a statement is nothing new in the old school community, of course, but it's always good to see this philosophical point restated, as it's at the core of the Old Ways it hopes to revive.

As I noted above, the presentation of this issue is a vast improvement over that of the first one. That's almost certainly due to Jeff Preston's coming on board as art director for Knockspell. Everything looks a great deal more polished than it did in issue 1 but without losing that hobbyist quality that's so essential to the appeal of endeavors like this. The interior illustrations are terrific, with many old hands like James Holloway and Liz Danforth joining the best of the new generation of old school artists. The color cover by Peter Fitzpatrick, depicting an adventurer being lowered down into a forgotten ruin, is inspiring and nicely sets the tone for this issue, a good portion of which is devoted to the thief character class.

Given how much material is packed within its 86 pages, it'd be impossible to comment on it all in any reasonably-sized blog post. Therefore, here are some of the issue's highlights in my opinion:

• Allan Grohe's discussion of "dungeon dressing," using the example of doors and how they can be used in different ways.
• Jason "Philotomy Jurament" Cone's expansion of his superb essay on "The Dungeon as Mythic Underworld."
• Four alternate thief classes for Swords & Wizardry, two each for the Core Rules and White Box versions of the game, plus an additional one in an interesting article task resolution in S&W.
  
• Another fine Fomalhaut adventure by Gabor Lux.
• Interviews with Stuart Marshall, Chris Gonnerman, Dan Proctor, and Matt Finch, where they each talk about the retro-clone games they've created.
• Michael Curtis offers up an amazing article on "Dungeon Oddities" that has already inspired me as I continue to work on my Dwimmermount megadungeon.
• Spell Complexity rules inspired by the fantasy supplement to Chainmail.
• An Arnesonian magic system.
• Many new magic items and creatures.

This list doesn't do issue 2 justice, as there are many more articles, both large and small, to be found within its pages. What's remarkable, I think, is not just the diversity of articles, but their quality. There wasn't a single article that left me wondering, "How did that get in here?" Furthermore, each one gave me something to think about, even the additional thief classes, which is high praise given that I've already written a thief class of my own (and which appears in this issue).

Issue 2 of Knockspell really does exemplify Mythmere Games' tagline "Imagine the Hell Out of It." For $10.15, you get an impressive amount of imagination, to be used as-is or to inspire your own creativity. I'm not exaggerating to say that this issue reminded me of Dragon during its Golden Age height. What we have here is a hobbyist periodical that manages to walk that fine line between amateur and professional that I consider the "sweet spot" for old school products. This isn't something thrown together in a slapdash fashion nor is it a slick and soulless cash grab. It is, I think, a textbook example of just what hobbyists can do nowadays, given the technology currently available.

Knockspell #2 thus sets a very high bar for its future issues and for future old school products in general -- something about which I doubt anyone can complain.

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

Buy This If: You're looking a terrific collection of articles to inspire your old school fantasy adventures and campaigns.
Don't Buy This If: You've already got all the inspiration you need.

Knockspell #2 Now On Sale

News from Matt Finch of Mythmere Games:

Knockspell issue #2 is now on sale at the Swords & Wizardry storefront. This issue contains dungeon design advice from both Allan Grohe and Philotomy Jurament, an adventure by Gabor Lux, and all kinds of other articles from jousting to monsters and all points in between! The art in this issue is phenomenal: artists include Jim Holloway, Liz Danforth, and others. The cover piece is "Dungeoneer," by Peter Fitzpatrick. Games covered include 0e, 1e, Swords & Wizardry, OSRIC, and other retro-clones. 86 pages. Note: the pdf isn't up as of 5/13, but will be up shortly.

DURING MAY the prices of Knockspell #2, Spire of Iron and Crystal (module), The S&W/0e Monster Book, and Eldritch Weirdness Compilation Books Three to One are all reduced, because we're in the middle of another lulu sales competition.

Table of Contents:
3 Editor’s Note, Matt Finch
4 Art Director’s Note, Jeff Preston
4 From Kuroth’s Quill, Allan T. Grohe, Jr.
8 The Dungeon as Mythic Underworld, Jason “Philotomy Jurament” Cone
14 The Trouble with Thieves, James Maliszewski
16 WhiteBox Thief (1): The Treasure Seeker, Rob Ragas
17 WhiteBox Thief (2): The “Standard” Thief, Salvatore Macri
18 Core Rules Thief (1): The Skillful Shadow, Salvatore Macri
20 Core Rules Thief (2), James Maliszewski
21 Thieves and Tasks, Akrasia
24 Isles on an Emerald Sea 2, Gabor Lux
31 Retro-Clones: Interviews with the Authors
36 Jousting (Optional Rules), Brendan Falconer
37 Dungeon Oddities, Michael Curtis
45 The Zocchi Experience, Matt Finch
46 The Claws of Ssur-Sparih, James Carl Boney
47 Random City Lair Generator, Sean Wills
48 Random Thieves Guild Generator, Robert Lionheart
51 The Fantasy Marketplace: Looking at Merchants Differently, Michael Shorten
55 Spell Complexity (Optional Rules), Brendan Falconer
57 Thoughts on Arnesonian Alchemy in the Original Dungeon Game, Jason Vasche
60 When is a Spell Book Much More than a Spell Book?, Brendan Falconer
62 Random Pits & Occupants, Mike Davison
63 Magic Swords & Treasure Maps, Jason “Philotomy Jurament” Cone
67 Leprechauns, David (“Sham”) Bowman
69 Why White Box?, Jim Adams
71 Surviving Old-School Dungeons, Sean Ahmed
72 Three Sorcerous Creations, James Carl Boney
77 Magic Items
78 Review: On the Road of Knives, Matt Finch
79 Masterminds & Minions, bat
82 The Bestiary
86 Classified Ads

Lulu Contest Update

With a day to go in the Lulu Author Sales Contest, Fight On! has risen again to the #2 spot and Swords & Wizardry has risen to #5. This is really excellent news -- but it could be better still. If you haven't bought something from either publisher, please consider doing so in the next 24 hours. It'd be an amazing turn of events if either -- or both! -- made it into the Top 3, which would earn them cash prizes as well as free publicity from Lulu in the form of free advertising and an interview on the site's blog.

2008 was already a remarkable year for the old school renaissance. Let's make 2009 and even more remarkable one.

Art of the Old School Announcement

Produced by Matt Finch and jointly published by Knockspell and Fight On! magazines, Art of the Old School represents an effort to win the Lulu Author Sales Contest. Currently Fight On! is in third place and Knockspell is in seventh place. Both publishers would like to finish in the top three, for which there is a monetary award, among other benefits. Perhaps more importantly, it'd be a signal that the old school renaissance represents a serious movement of more than just a few disgruntled old guys complaining on their blogs.

Art of the Old School costs $9 and available for purchase from the webstores of either Mythmere Games or Fight On! Magazine. Buying a copy will help put one or both publishers over the top in the final contest standings. If you buy one from each store and give the extra to a friend, you can combine shipping even when your products come from different sources. You might also want to consider buying copies of Fight On!, Knockspell, Swords & Wizardry, and all the other great products these publishers have for sale. All products must be purchased by the end of March to count for the contest, and, as of April 1, Art of the Old School will be gone forever.

Free Ads in Knockspell #2

Once again, Knockspell Magazine is running all old-school advertisements for free. If you have a blog, or a free module, or a website, or you're an artist (here we are a bit arbitrarily selective - you've got to be part of the old school community), or you're a retro-clone publisher, or publish materials compatible with 0e, 1e, Basic, etc ... whatever.

Email Matt Finch at mythmere at yahoo dot com with the text of a classified ad, or with a quarter-page or smaller graphic (which must contain any text you want attached). Graphic ads will need to be approved - no photos, and artwork needs to be roughly in the general style of the magazine's internal appearance. Clip art is fine.

Mythmere Games does this to show the full strength and resources of the old school renaissance, as a service to the readers, and as an expression of gratitude to those who are producing free (and paid) material for all the rest of us to game with.

Knockspell in Print

I forgot to mention this the other day, but Issue #1 of Knockspell magazine is now available in print. The first issue is terrific and I'm not just saying that because I made a couple of small contributions myself. Like retro-clones, I don't think there can be enough fanzines and it gladdens me to see another one appear on the old school scene -- and in hard copy no less!

Knockspell Issue 1 Released

The premier issue of Knockspell has been released. You can get the PDF version here; the print version will be available in a few days. I'm very happy to see this, because it not only marks the appearance of a second old school publication in the last year, but also an important step for the promotion of Swords & Wizardry. Although I had a very small hand in the first issue, the real credit goes to the indefatigable Matt Finch and his many excellent contributors. And if that cover by Peter Mullen isn't the coolest thing, I don't know what is.

Good work, guys!