Skull Cave Preview

This weekend I will be putting the finishing touches on the next release from Iron Tavern Press – Skull Cave! Here’s the blurb from the title page:

A Swords & Wizardry compatible adventure for 4th to 6th level characters.

Centuries ago nomads found a cave and felt drawn to perform their death rites to dark gods within its confines. Years of ritualistic blood offerings to malevolent forces has fed demons deep below the cave. The nomads have long since disappeared, but a recent earth tremor has freed the demon spawn from their prison deep below the surface. Seeking blood of victims to fuel their infernal fires they have moved closer to the surface and begun their hunt.

And even though Iron Tavern Press does not use cover art in this product line, don’t fear – we do use art inside! Here is a preview:

Bloodfire Demon Bestiary

Artist: Frank Turfler

Behind the Curtain: Default System Choice

PSE1_Kajaks_Kave_Cover_ThumbIn the week following the debut of Iron Tavern Press and our first product, Kajak’s Kave, I suspect some folks are wondering why I chose Swords & Wizardry for the “default” system. There is a plethora of well-written OSR systems available today and to choose one seems a very difficult task.

I wanted to take a little time and explain why that choice was made, specifically for the Pocket-Sized Encounters series I launched Iron Tavern Press with.

Background

I got my start in the role-playing world with D&D Basic, the Moldvay version. Even today the cover of that boxed set is etched into my mind. That set is what launched me on what has proven to be a lifetime hobby. From playing games, to running games, to blogging, to starting Iron Tavern Press. The roots can be traced back to that system.

Of course over the years I drifted away from that initial edition. 1st Edition AD&D, then on to 2nd Edition, and even to D&D 3.x. From there I drifted to Pathfinder and in recent years even more dabbling in various systems. Some just picked up and read through and others taken for more extensive test drives.

Regardless of system I will hold a fondness for the OSR. Especially as my available time diminishes and I need to work the hobby into a fuller and fuller schedule. The light nature of many of the OSR systems allow me to spend more time on the creative and less time on the “crunch”.

System Choice

When I first wrote Kajak’s Kave and the idea of Pocket-Sized Encounters percolated the adventure was written to be systemless. The creatures were simply referenced by name and how many were present with directions to look up the actual creature stats in your rule system of choice. While this led to great versatility it did push work off on the GM.

Around this same time I was doing on the fly conversions of some Dungeon Crawl Classics and Labyrinth Lord adventures to Swords & Wizardry. Converting on the fly was pretty easy, but I was glad I had at least some stats to work off of. Even the inclusion of basic stats for a different system gave me the ballpark of what I would use in Swords & Wizardry.

This experience had me second guessing my choice to go completely systemless for this series. But what system should I use as the default assumption?

It came down to three top contenders for choice of system that I felt were good fits for the series and still adaptable for people to convert to their system of choice. OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, and Swords & Wizardry.

Each of these systems have their strengths, but in the end I chose Swords & Wizardry for the default system for the Pocket-Sized Encounters line. Let’s take a closer look as to why.

Swords & Wizardry

I’ve posted before about why I like Swords & Wizardry as a foundation system. But there are some factors that also influenced my decision from a publisher’s point of view.

Swords & WizardryThe biggest factor? Swords & Wizardry stat blocks include both ascending and descending AC. To me this is huge. Yes – one can convert even AC on the fly, but to some that seems a mystery or at the very least, not something they feel like doing at the table. Swords & Wizardry includes both a number for ascending and descending AC in the same stat block which removes what I consider one of the larger hurdles for at the table conversion. It also lends itself well to conversion to more complex rule systems such as Pathfinder as well.

Another major reason I like Swords & Wizardry is that the ruleset is available online at d20swsrd.com. It is easily searchable and very handy for a rule lookup when you are away from your books. I find online resources such as these invaluable. Having the ruleset online in such a clean format simply lowers the bar to entry that much more. It even makes things easier for me as I write to be able to look things up quickly.

Though the decision was made after I had chosen Swords & Wizardry as the default assumption for Pocket-Sized Encounters, the fact the Swords & Wizardry Complete PDF is now free to the public doesn’t hurt! Yet another step to keep the barrier to S&W low.

In general I find S&W a very solid foundation for people that like OSR gaming. It is easy to build upon by “borrowing” rules from other places or layering your own house rules on.

All of these factors contributed to why I chose Swords & Wizardry as my default system for this line of products.

Kajak’s Kave Now Available

Kajak’ Kave Now Available!

Kajak’s Kave, the first release in the Pocket-Sized Encounters line is now available at RPGNow!

Livestock disappearing from their pastures, children discovering large humanoid footprints along the creek, rumored sightings of a lumbering giant, and Shaerie the Huntress’ disappearance several weeks ago leave only one conclusion. An ogre has taken up residence too close to town! Are you the brave adventurers to help rid the town of this threat and discover the whereabouts of Shaerie?

A Pocket-Sized Encounter compatible with the Swords & Wizardry rules system for 4th to 6th level characters.

PSE1_Kajaks_Kave_Cover_Thumb

 

Questions about Pocket-Sized Encounters? Check out the Iron Tavern Press page.

Free: Swords & Wizardry Complete PDF

Swords & WizardryAs noted here at The Iron Tavern and other popular OSR blogs in October, the folks at Frog God Games were going to release the S&W Complete PDF for free if their The Lost Lands: Sword of Air Kickstarter hit 400 backers. This isn’t a stripped down, sans art PDF – but the real deal with artwork and all.

Today the Kickstarter hit 401 backers and true to their word have released the S&W Complete PDF for free as announced over on Matt Finch’s blog. I don’t want to reproduce his content from his blog here, but for his own words and the caveats associated with it (primarily don’t make changes to it and that they still retain copyright to it, so don’t lift the art from it) – visit his blog:

Mythmere’s Blog Post – Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules Now Free

The Frog God Games site will be updated shortly, but in the meantime permission has been granted to redistribute the S&W Complete PDF.

The Iron Tavern will act as a short term host for now and post a copy for download. As Frog God Games gets caught up and updated, I will likely remove as it makes more sense for folks to grab the most up to date copy from Frog God rather than a potentially out of date copy here.

Swords & Wizardry Complete PDF Revised

Are you wondering why Swords & Wizardry? Check out a post I did for S&W Appreciation Day earlier this year – ‘Is Swords & Wizardry the One?’

Also – don’t forget to check out the Kickstarter that is responsible for this. There is still time to get in on it!

Megadungeon Advice

Barrowmaze CoverNo, this isn’t a post where I am offering advice on running megadungeons. This is a post where I am soliciting advice on running megadungeons! See, I have the itch to run a megadungeon campaign over the winter in some form. I have the rules system pretty much picked out, Swords & Wizardry Complete. But I need some guidance on a couple of things.

First – I need a megadungeon! I own Barrowmaze and have dabbled in that with a campaign with the kids. It seemed to work well for the amount we played in it and could be suitable for my plans. I have Stonehell on the way, I should receive it this week. And I am not opposed to picking up something like Rappan Athuk. But with all of these choices, I need to make a choice!

What does the crowd think? Which published megadungeon do you think would be a good one to base a campaign on this winter? Why do you think one is better than another? Sell me on your favorite megadungeon and why I should use it for my nefarious plans.

Or – on a more ambitious possibility, I like to map, I like to write, maybe I should create my own megadungeon this winter and possibly turn it into a package for other folks to use. The downside is one, the work, and two, I feel like I should get the feel of an already published megadungeon to see what works and what doesn’t work before setting down the path of creating my own. So maybe this is more a future project for me.

Once I determine what megadungeon to prep and run, how do I keep it from turning into a “grind”? I expect exploring room after room will be fun for the first 4 to 6 weeks, but what about after that? What can I do as a GM to keep things interesting and not turn the megadungeon campaign into a slog partway through?

I figure I need a nearby town, so the experience can be more of a the group ventures to the dungeon, explores, and then retreats the end of the session. Rinse and repeat. Do I need to sprinkle in some non-dungeon crawl adventures on the side for “breaks” between the megadungeon? I likely need some way to keep the dungeon alive – restocking rooms, making sure to make prior decisions and combats matter later in the game, etc.

I plan on setting player expectations prior to the campaign, so players will know what they are getting into and hopefully be in the mood for a similar campaign style. I also plan on this being a 3-4 month long thing, then put it aside until next year, and so on.

What is your advice for really making a megadungeon fun and exciting?

Swords & Wizardry Complete PDF for Free?

Sword of Air MainThis news has circulated a bit in a couple of my social media circles, but I wanted to boost the signal a little more. Frog God Games plans to make the PDF of Swords & Wizardry Complete free for everyone (not just backers) if their current Kickstarter hits 400 backers. I think this is a pretty awesome way to help get S&W out there in the hands of some more folks and a some additional incentive to back their current Kickstarter.

Just what is Frog God Games kickstarting now? A new adventure from Bill Webb called The Lost Lands: Sword of Air Pathfinder & Swords & Wizardry. Currently the tome is running 500+ pages and is going to be available in both Pathfinder system and Swords & Wizardry system – your choice when you back it. With several different adventure areas, this adventure area has been a part of Bill’s campaign since 1977. Rather than try to summarize it all, take a look at the Kickstarter page and read all the details as they describe it.

As I have regretted missing the Rappan Athuk Kickstarter I decided to go in on this one. Plus – I think letting S&W Complete loose on a wider audience is a good thing!

S&W Family Campaign

Ruins of Ramat HallwayIt has been many months since I have run a game for the kids. We last left off a little over a year ago with a Pathfinder campaign. The older boy has been asking to play and using the start of a new family campaign up as leverage for some other things, the family campaign has started once again!

The System

While a big Pathfinder fan, I have been dabbling in other systems and wanted to use something else this time around.. I run and play in a lot of Dungeon Crawl Classics games. My son has played this twice and the randomness of the magic system annoys him. The fantasy games are new enough and fresh enough to him that he doesn’t need the “shock” value of random spell results. He wants his magic to work predictably.

He mentioned an interest in the mysterious brown books I have on the shelf (OD&D) and playing with that set. Not really wanting those books on the game table or getting damaged, we opted to go forward with Swords & Wizardry Complete for the foundation of our campaign.

My son has slowly taken a liking to these older systems. Once the system was chosen, he immediately set about creating his characters and lining up his henchmen. He also took input from his younger sister on what kind of character she wanted to play and built her an elven ranger (we let the race/class requirement bend a bit).

S&W BattlematIt took a little convincing to assure my son 3d6, assigned as he saw fit, was going to be okay. I let him know his character did not need to be a superhero in these systems. While I did not supervise his actual dice rolling, the resulting scores looked reasonable with a minimal amount of indicators of fudging.

I did let him use his own house rule for hit points as I thought it was a good one. If the hit die was a d4, then I let him do a 2d2 to generate, a d6 was a 2d3, a d8 was a 2d4, etc. That seemed a reasonable compromise to me.

The Campaign

I started the campaign in a small, as of yet, unnamed village. The spring wars were being fought on the border of the region leaving the village with a much smaller number of defenders. A young girl had recently had her dog taken by a pair of skeletal hands from a hole at the top of a nearby hill. Our heroes were needed to find this dog or determine what happened.

This came from the Brave Halfling Module The Ruins of Ramat. My version was actually written for DCC RPG, but it was easy to convert on the fly to S&W. The Ruins of Ramat is a small dungeon that is not overly deadly, despite its intention as a 0-level funnel.

Kids - Ruins of RamatWith the scene set, the kids quickly asked questions about the situation. In fact the younger daughter was quite inquisitive, immediately asking extremely relevant questions about the claws, how many, what size, and other things about the hill before heading there. I was quite impressed!

My son plays two characters, a Magic-user and a Halfling Thief and my daughter plays the elven ranger. They have hired two henchman to assist as they head out to investigate.

The two have played many times before and did well at exploring and battling the denizens within. Several of the fights went quite quickly with good tactical playing by both of them. The final fight got a little close to going quite poorly. The two henchman both feel to the foul creatures, and the high starting hit point of the ranger saved her. But in the end they vanquished the threat and recovered the missing dog from the ruined temple.

Returning to the town as heroes, they enjoyed their spoils and tallied up their gold and experience points. A very successful first session of the new campaign!

What is Next?

DiceInspired by The Delvers podcast, I decided to pick up Barrowmaze. I continually hear positive things about the megadungeon. I also think back to my early days of dungeon crawling and remember enjoying expansive dungeons.

So I have decided to drop Barrowmaze into this early portion of the campaign. I suspect we can get a lot of great game time out of it. It should make regular game prep a little easier always having that as an option as well. Anything to reduce the hurdles of running the campaign from my end is a good thing. On weeks I have a little more time I can always drop in another side adventure for a break from the Barrowmaze if need be.

Once we get a few Barrowmaze sessions in I will do another post on how the family Swords & Wizardry game is coming along!

Swords & Wizardry House Rules

Swords & WizardryI should be finishing up the S&W adventure I am writing for Origins 2013 in Columbus, Ohio in a few weeks, but instead I find myself putting my initial house rule document together for Swords & Wizardry!

I have mentioned Swords & Wizardry on this blog before, but as many know it is a retro-clone that hones in on the Original D&D brown booklets. It does a lot to clean them up and smooth over some of the rough edges without adding a plethora of rules to the system. While I own the OD&D booklets, it is nice to have a system that is readily available to new players in either physical or electronic format.

I have gone back through the rulebook in prep for my upcoming game to take my first shot at house rules and my own clarifications for the system. Some of the items below are house rules and some are just clarifying a particular option that will be in use for games I run. The house rule document is a living and breathing document and will certainly morph as actual play continues.

So here we go…

The S&W House Rules

Character Stats

Ability Scores:  Roll 3d6 six times. Arrange the results as the player sees fit. If character seems utterly hopeless, consult the GM for possible options.

Hit Points:   Roll your hit die twice, take the highest result.

Character Classes

Assassin:   The assassin may add their level as bonus damage on a successful backstab. This bonus is added after damage is doubled, tripled, or quadrupled.

Fighter:  The multiple attack ability gets better as the fighter advances in level. At 5th level the fighter gains one additional attack against 2HD creatures for each level he exceeds 5th level. At 10th level the fighter gains one additional attack against 3HD creature for each level he exceeds 10th level by. At 15th level the fighter gains one additional attack against 4HD creatures for each level he exceeds 15th by. At 20th level the fighter gains one additional attack against 5HD creatures for each level he exceeds 20th level by.

Equipment

Shields:  The character may opt to sacrifice their shield to absorb all damage of a successful melee hit against them. This destroys normal shields, rendering it useless.

The shield can be used in a similar fashion against damage causing spells and breath weapons. If the spell or breath weapon grants a Saving Throw the shield can be sacrificed to automatically succeed at the saving throw. Spells that do not normally have a saving throw allow one for half damage. Use of the shield in either fashion destroy a normal shield, rendering it useless.

Magic shields can also be used in this fashion. When used in this manner the shield has a 15% chance of not being destroyed. For each +1 modifier above +1 the shield has an additional 10% chance of not being destroyed (i.e. a shield +3 has a 35% chance of not being destroyed).

Combat Encounters

Ascending AC:   Ascending AC will be used from the GM’s side of the screen.

Combat Order:   Combat order will be used as described in the S&W Complete rule book. The alternative methods are not being used.

Fumbles:  Fumbles will be used. Rolling a 1 on a d20 attack roll causes a -1 to hit until one round is spent recovering (i.e. not attacking).

Criticals:   A critical hit grants a +1 bonus to damage for that attack.

Movement in Melee:  Moving past a combatant in melee results in a free attack on the person moving by the occupied square. A person bearing a shield is able to prevent someone from moving by them in combat.

Ranged Attacks into Melee:  A miss when firing into melee may result in striking a friend in engaged in melee with the initial target. Roll another 1d20 against the friend’s AC to determine if damage is dealt. Spending one round aiming negates this penalty.

Retreating from Melee:   The enemy gains a free attack against the person trying to leave melee.

Death and Dying

Death:   A character at 0 hit points or lower continue to lose 1 hit point per round. A character dies when they reach their character level in negative hit points. (i.e. a 5th level character dies at -5 hit points.)

S&W Adventure: Catacombs of Corruption

Wednesday is typically a day I post a map of some sort to The Iron Tavern. In honor of Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day I decided to make a map just for this event and apply some S&W loving to it. The result is this mini-adventure that can be used standalone or added onto by an enterprising GM.

Catacombs of Corruption

Catacombs of Corruption

The village of Falstaff is nestled in a rocky valley at the foothills of a great mountain range. Falstaff is a small village situated right on one of the busier travel routes into the heart of the mountains and the mines. Business booms in the small town as the merchants and business owners cater to the miners traveling to and from the mines.

Just outside of town the village maintains a city catacomb. With the surrounding rock and soil so rocky, a traditional cemetery is near impossible. Instead, the town has reclaimed some old worked tunnels, abandoned when the first residents moved into Falstaff. The catacombs contain several small chambers for burial preparations and one large chamber providing ample space to put those villagers who have died to rest. The catacomb has served the town of Falstaff well for the past ten years.

Last week however, a pair of grave diggers made their way by the locked gates to prepare a site for a recently deceased citizen of Falstaff. Only one made it back alive and his tale seems too tall to believe. He says the two were digging a fresh grave in the heart of the catacomb when the dead began to arise around them.

Dropping their shovels the pair tried to escape, but Almgram’s partner was grabbed by a hand pushing up from a grave. Almgram tried to pull his friend free, but as the dirt erupted near him he turned and fled. He reached the gated entrance of the catacomb and slammed it shut behind him. The gate locked, the only existing key resting with his partner deep inside the catacomb.

The mayor of the village, Jhanet Sylvanik, has posted a sign on the central message post in the center of Falstaff offering a 800gp reward to any group that can clear the catacombs of these undead creatures. Here a week later after the event, she is growing desperate for help in putting this problem to rest.

The Approach

The entrance to the catacombs is easily found and is just a short distance down the road from the small town of Falstaff. A small, heavily rutted cart path turns off the main trail and leads one to the gates of the catacomb.

All passages beyond the gate are unlit. Light sources will be necessary unless a character has Darkvision or some other means of seeing in the dark.

1: Catacomb Entrance

The catacomb entrance lies at the end of the cart path, broad iron gates closing the entrance. A lone shadowy figure can be seen just on the other side of the gate, arms appearing to swim through the air as it claws at something unseen on the other side. Soft, guttural moans reach your ears as your watch from the other side of the gate.

The catacomb entrance is gated. The gate is locked with the only known key being on Amalgram’s partner in business deep within the catacomb. A lone zombie seeks to escape through the gate as it repeatedly swipes through the open bars and pushed against the bars in a futile attempt to break through.

The zombie behind the gate will try to attack any who draw too near the bars.

Monsters: Zombie: HD 2; AC 8[11] ; Atk 1 strike (1d8); Move 6; Save 16; AL N; CL/XP 2/30;Special: Immune to sleep and charm
Treasure: None

Once the zombie has been dealt with the party will need to figure out a way past the gate. The lock could be picked or the gate could be smashed down as if it were a stuck door.

Rusty Lock: The lock on the gate is rusty. Allow an increased 10% chance of opening it.

2: Preparation Chamber 1

The door to this chamber has been battered down. The smell of rot and decay waft out through the remains of the door. Inside a human figure with patches of missing gray flesh revealing yellowing bones shambles about amongst overturned shelves with broken glassware on the chamber floor.

This room was formerly an area used to clean and prepare bodies before being buried in the burial chamber ahead. The roaming zombie has destroyed the room’s contents in its mindless movement.

Monsters: Zombie: HD 2; AC 8[11] ; Atk 1 strike (1d8); Move 6; Save 16; AL N; CL/XP 2/30;Special: Immune to sleep and charm
Treasure: None

3: Preparation Chamber 2

A mid-sized table standing three and half feet tall sits in the center of the room. A two basin cabinet sits along the other wall. A small cupboard hangs from the south wall. Two lantern brackets hang directly over the table in the center of the room.

This is another preparation chamber for the dead. No zombies have found their way to this room and it is mostly intact.

Monsters: None
Treasure: None

4: Antechamber

The doors to this T-shaped room are torn from their hinges, hanging haphazardly. The movement of two shapes can be seen lurching through the damaged doors.

The T-shaped room is a decorated foyer just prior to entering the main burial chamber. Tall candelabras have been knocked to the floor by the lurching zombies on either side of the chamber.

Monsters: 2 Zombies: HD 2; AC 8[11] ; Atk 1 strike (1d8); Move 6; Save 16; AL N; CL/XP 2/30;Special: Immune to sleep and charm
Treasure: 2 candelabras (75gp each) – Falstaff’s residents might object to the looting of these.

5: Burial Chamber

The dank smell of decay and dirt fill this expansive chamber. Four feet tall walls of flagstone form a pathway through the center of the room. Mounds of dirt mark dozens of graves on the shelf-like areas to the left and right sides of the chamber.

A faint glowing blue light can be seen along the far wall of the room, about nine feet off the ground. It stands unmoving. The floor of the chamber is littered with dirt and broken flagstones from where the makeshift walls have been disturbed.

In the faint light the shambling humanoid figures can be seen in both the pathway and on the higher dirt mounds. The guttural sounds of the creatures grows louder as they begin to lurch towards you.

There are five zombies moving about this room. More zombies will surface for each hour the source of their rising is not dealt with (the statue at the end of the room, see below).

Monsters: 5 Zombies: HD 2; AC 8[11] ; Atk 1 strike (1d8); Move 6; Save 16; AL N; CL/XP 2/30;Special: Immune to sleep and charm
Treasure: None

Once the zombie threat has been eliminated the party can investigate the statue more closely.

The statue at the far end of the room stands on a stepped dais. The statue is carved of stone and covered with small metal studs and depicts a slender, robed woman with an outstretched hand. The source of the blue light visible upon entering the chamber is a dark blue gemstone set in her left eye. The light appears to flicker inside. The soft glow from the gemstone illuminates the entire statue.

The statue has been present in the catacomb since the time the villager of Falstaff began using these ancient structures as a burial site. The blue stone has never been known to glow before.

The glowing blue stone is the source of what is causing the dead to rise from their graves as zombies. The stone has also caused an electric current to run along the outer portions of the statue. Anyone touching the statue is shocked for 1d4 damage. Anyone touched the gemstone is shocked for 1d8 damage.

To disable the trap the dark blue gemstone must be removed from the left eye of the statue. There are several ways to do this, but any that involve using something that conducts electricity will result 1d8 damage from touching the stone. Using a wooden pole or any other creative solution will allow a character to remove the stone without harm.

Once the dark blue gemstone is removed it continues to flicker dully, but loses its electrical-like properties. The stone must be destroyed to prevent more dead from rising. Smashing it with a rock, weapon or other means will work.

There is a secret door beneath the statue. If the secret door is detected, the character finds a small lever at the base of the statue in the back. Sliding the lever to one side allows the statue to slide to the left revealing a trap door. The trap door appears to have been used recently. No one in the village is aware of this trap door.

Opening the trap door reveals a natural stone passage that descends about ten feet before opening into a larger passage below.

To Be Continued…

The threat to the village of Falstaff from the rising undead has been eliminated and the adventure can easily be ended here. But what activated the blue stone that had sat inert in the statue for decades? What lurks in the tunnels beneath the statue?

S&W Appreciation Day Sales

Today is Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day as noted in my earlier post today. 130+ blogs are participating in a one-day blog fest posting all manner of things about Swords & Wizardry.

The Iron Tavern has another post lined up for later today, but for now if you are growing curious about the system, this is a great day to pick up some deals. I want to make sure my blog followers are aware of the two big discount codes running today, and today only.

SW-Appr-Day-CouponFirst up, Tales of the Frog God site has released a 25% off coupon code. Here you can get physical copies of the books or PDFs. The coupon does exclude items less than $1, S&W Cards, Pre-Orders, and Subscriptions. Still an awesome deal, I even picked up a coloring book for my daughter! The code to use when checking out is:  SWApprDay

SwordsWizardry_store_couponThe d20pfsrd.com store is also running a 25% off sale on Swords & Wizardry PDFs. The d20pfsrd.com store hosts the Pathfinder SRD and the more recent Swords & Wizardry SRD. The coupon code to use at that store is:  SWAD252013

So if you are starting to get curious about Swords & Wizardry and what you have might have been missing out on or just want to build up your collection, be sure to visit one of the above two online stores to take advantage of this 25% off deal.

And don’t forget to check back at The Iron Tavern later today as I release another S&W Appreciation Day post, which just might involve a map!