Just when you think you've been wondering if you've become far too jaded and gone too far down the old school rabbit hole, the OSR produces something so weird as to take you by the hand and show you weird. In this case, Descent into the Candy Crypts From Kort'thalis Publishing which has been created for Venger Satanis's Crimson Dragon Slayer game. Crimson Dragon Slayer is a scifi, totally 80's, mildly post-apocalyptic, and self-indulgent sword & sorcery roleplaying game turned up to eleven. Then the knob broke off. If you take your games too seriously then your not going to make it past the first random table. Descent Into the Candy Crypts is a hell of a lot of fun, this is an adventure that harkens back to 80's Saturday morning bright day glow cartoon characters making war, taking slaves, and generally having your PC's caught into the middle of events. It's a mini-module that adds in new races, magic items, and Venger's random playing tables that enable this module to be perfect for replay value. And at three dollars this one actually has plenty of utility value. Before jumping on the band wagon that this adventure is perfect for the kids; be warned that this module is peppered with profanities and some very weird motivations for your PC's. It has some very interesting cross sections about the realm of the candies, their rivals the fruits, the surrounding regions, and there's even some dungeon crawling thrown in to get into the old school Saturday morning Crimson Dragon Slayer action. Part of the backdrop of Descend Into the Candy Crypt goes something like this: Candies buy and sell slaves as they would milk, sugar,or eggs. They believe in a master candy race.Since all others are inferior to them, in their eyes, allnon-candy life is fair game. However, candies takespecial pleasure in dominating fruit people (commonlyknown as fruities). There has been a longstandingrivalry between candies and fruities, lastinggenerations and poisoning both cultures. Fruities believethey are sweet enough and that candies arean unnecessary extravagance. Candies considerfruit and fruit-based snacks to be a dull reflection oftheir own delectable sweetness. And so it goes.So we get a bit of backhanded campaign rivalry right out of the gate and that's one of the things that keeps Descent Into The Candy Crypts interesting and entertaining. If Strawberry beserkers, psychotic killer bananas, and Hentai style grape men are your thing, then your in the right adventure. The puns are flying fast, and the humor is take no prisoners as adventurers are recruited into a world of one part 80's cartoon, three parts of high school humor, and three parts of awesome thrown into a blender on old school high. After talking with the other half about this module, blenders and juicers of +1 or better were mentioned as possible treasure to be injected into the mix of this module. Which brings up one of the parts of this module, one of the things that Venger injects into his modules are random tables for PC motives and these always dovetail in with the campaign adventure's background. Although played for laughs this is a very well done way of bring in PC's and players with a vested interest of the action. This makes it a very nice add on for OD&D and OD&D style retroclone rpg systems with plenty of room to customize DICC into your own campaign world. Hell I can even see using this module with Dungeon Crawl Classics with little to no issue at all given the way the adventure is plotted out. Now believe it or not, this is a pretty tightly plotted module with a nicely done linear plot that takes its backstory, setting, and material into some interesting turf. I can see this module working with any number of retroclone systems besides Crimson Dragon Slayer, or perhaps Swords and Wizardry, or Fifth Edition D&D as suggested by Venger. With a good bit of tweaking this module could be used with the Toon Rpg. Or gasp as a completely off the wall unexpected twisted adventure for the Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg system. The reasons for the latter choice are pretty simple, given the amount of dimensional hijinks that seem to occur in LoFP and the naughty nature of Descent Into the Candy Crypts, this might be a good fit. Other choices that come to mind are the Mutant Future rpg or Planet Mother $%@er. But is it worth the price of admission? I think so because of three things; the price admission, the presentation, and because of its a great add on module for the Crimson Dragon Slayer rpg. Given those factors and the utility of Descent into the Candy Crypts From Kort'thalis Publishing this is one module that holds much potential for your old school games.

Sometimes you can crawl into a game designer's head and get a glimpse at what's going on at their table with clues as to what direction their taking their campaigns. Vacant Ritual Assembly #3 is now available and its one of my favorite Lamentations Of The Flame Princess Rpg fanzines out there. This is the zine that help me to loosen up with the LoFP system and take the game as it comes. The Red Moon Medicine show group of authors and designers headed by Clint Krause continues to impress me. There is an echoing them of down and dirty homegrown Lamentations horror in this issue and issue three echoes with it throughout. Take one part Robert Howard's Beyond The Black River, mix in the fevered imagination of an obsessive LoFP fan, stir generously with 80's and 90's cinema swords and sorcery fantasy, mix in some dark material of the darkest magick , and perhaps you might get this issue of VRA. But I doubt it. This issue reads like a temperate mix of Deliverance, Cannibal Ferox (1981), and Conan with a healthy dose of its own brand of insanity presented as a personal campaign setting. Here's what you get for four dollars!

The Legend of Dragon Trench: Is the big adventure location for this issue and covers a wide gap of material including Hex map, encounter table, rumors, NPC stats, site descriptions, and more. This is perhaps one of the best thought out bits of adventure campaign material and its a very dangerous area at that which will challenge and test adventurers to their limits. Knights of the Dragon Clan - This knightly order are the guardians of the Dragon Trench and its environs. These are not the squeky clean paladins of OD&D but an order of adventurers,warriors, knights and survivors who are dealing with frontier life in a very dangerous world. Think Conan and company dealing with the Picts in Beyond The Black River with a LoFP twist, the Romans in ancient Britannia or the forces during the French and Indian wars in upstate New York. Life on the edge of a knife blade for your adventurers with death a hair's breath away.

The Thundercloud Druids - This is another faction with deep ties to the Dragon Trench rife with possibilities for adventurers. The Thunder Cloud Druids are the guardians of the Crystal Crater and masters of a twisted type of flute magick. At night in the wilderness of this setting the head hunting witches of the Tales of the Timberwives are detailed and these ladies are devious, dangerous, and wholly without mercy. The Grand Vespiary - This is one of the more unexpected adventures I've seen in an issue of VRA, it details a wasp cult that will leave adventurers changed forever or dead in equal measure. Its well done and very fiendish in what it does. And this is one of my favorite bits of the whole issue. The final bit of this issue is Rick's Moving Castle an interview with the creator of the cult classic video game Castle of the Winds Rick Saada. A nice interview with one of video game classics masterminds and authors. So far this is perhaps one of the most personal issues of the fanzine Clint Krause and we really get to see inside his head and his own personal campaign. This isn't a bad thing at all, we really get a sense of what's ticking off the boxes of the home game of the author and his crew at Red Moon Medicine Show. And its an interesting glimpse into the creative process for one of LoFP's more dynamic fanzines in a community of gamers that continues to bring some of the best OSR material to the table. This issue isn't for those looking for a simple set of hack and slash locations, these are adventure locations that could be used for many years to come in an LoFP or OD&D campaign. But is all of this useful? Well, that really depends upon your personal taste in gaming. Personally I would say yes and buy this issue based solely on the strengths of the author's writing on his subject matter. Vacant Ritual Assembly each issue has threaded some very deep waters and this issue goes even further into a region that is rife for potential adventures. Personally I would break out my copy of Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad . This is exactly the sort of vibe that echoes through the Dragon Trench, a wilderness adventure location that is at once weird and dynamically different to take adventurers on a journey into the weird, pulptastic, and strangely different. That being said the locations that are detailed are easily used with other retroclone systems and that's part of the beauty of Vacant Ritual Assembly issue three. There are so many things that can be done with this material and issue three is rife with old school gaming goodness potential. Do yourselves a favor, go and pick this issue up ASAP, its well done and well worth the money for the Lamentations of The Flame Princess rpg system or any old school system for that matter! Eric F Sword and Stitchery blog

There are important books that come out and then there are books for OSR games that you wonder how you ever did without them at the gaming table. Years ago, I downloaded Theorems & Thaumaturgy, which is available as a free download now: it contains (among many other things) a basic version of the vivimancer class. The Complete Vivimancer is essentially not only as a follow up book but an expansion of this class that does some awesome things with biosorcery, magic items, spells,etc. This is because I've been reading and following through The Complete Vivimancer From Necrotic Gnome Productions after tearing into the free monster & adventure book Out of the Vats . The Complete Vivimancer does exactly what it says on the tin. It brings eighty eight pages of sheer wizard master goodness of gene splicing, cross breeding,and the Vivimancer as a corruptor of nature itself. In the first two pages of the book we get a complete overview of this class and then the book jumps into the deep end of the darkness . For the advanced edition version of this class we get Elves and half Elves as the preferred racial foundations for the Vivimancer. This enables them to advance up to 10th and 11the levels respectively. This reenforces the alien aspect of the Elven race and this is part of an under current theme in the OSR that Elves really are far more alien to the humanity. A fact that came in loud and clear in games such as LoFP. This supplement takes full advantage of this fact and even through it claims to be for Labyrinth Lord. There are ton of options for adding this book to both OD&D and its retroclone systems all the way through the various Advanced editions.
Another added bonus is the amount of time it takes the vivimancer down in the lab to master the craft of flesh warping, genetic meddling, neural manipulation, and vat growth to become a master of mind slaves, mutants, symbionts, parasites, and viruses.The guidelines for this book's chapter are very nice and helps to flesh out the laboratory details and adds a certain Lovecraftian something to the class. The book details a ton of spells for levels between one all of the way to nine. And here's where the book really starts to take off for me. The spells have flavor and add a ton of resonance for me for the backbone of the Vivimancer as a whole. These twisted freaks are putting together the horrors and weirdness that adventurers loath to encounter. Remember those random monster tables that created horrors with the claws of a lobster, the head of a giant monkey, and demons blood that the DMG guide had in it. These are the wizardly guys putting those together. The magic item section proves that in spades. We get an overview of items for these twisted practitioners of the bio sorcery arts over and over again. Here's why you want one of these guys in your party, not only are they going to know the ins and outs of the biology and applications of this stuff they're going to want some of this of stuff as their own which means favors and big ones at that. The last sections are appendixes on mutations and psionic powers, these are really needed because of the bio science fantasy and fictional nature of this class. There's lots of icky stuff in this book, slime laden weirdness that brings to mind all of the really cool VHS nastiness of the Eighties horror movies, science fiction 'B' films, and lots of other wonderfulness but it also clocks in with all of the pulpy bits from the science fiction, fantasy,etc. of the 1930's thru 1950's. As far as I'm concerned this is win/win. So let's get right down to brass tacks, is this a good book and even a necessary one? Yes not only is this a good book but it has a huge range of possibilities at the gaming table. You really do want a mad scientist type in your party, you want them as vile villains as well. This brings the dual nature of the class as a whole. This book gives you every last tool to pop these guys into the post apocalyptic wasteland, the science fantasy deserts of your choice, as dimensional travelers and invaders, as motivators for adventures, adventurer patrons, twisted healers, & the list goes on and on. In my own Warlords of the Outer Worlds setting, I'm using these guys sparingly and lovingly as a twisted faction. Applying what I've learned about them after reading about them over the last week or so, I've come to the conclusion that one can take the frame work and backdrop of the Vivimancer and apply their own creations to the class without losing the vitality and freshness of these twisted practitioners of the dark arts of bio sorcery and mad biological magicks. So five out of five for one of the more original and flat out weird books and PC classes to come down the pike in a very long while. Eric F Sword and Stitchery blog

There are few classes that can put the fear of the gods into vile villains like the exorcist, this class has so much potential for solid gaming goodness and so much abuse as well. Straight out the gate this class is more Hollywood then witch's hammer so let's make that clear and this class has all of the facilities to allow it you the DM or player to use this one with anything from OD&D to straight through to AD&D 1st edition or any of the retro clone gaming rpg systems.

So what is the exorcist and how is it put together? Well believe it or not this class isn't a variation of the cleric. Instead we get a fulfilled developed fighter variant.

According to the pdf's introduction;'The Exorcist is a warrior dedicated to combating

supernatural evil. As such, the Exorcist has an immunity to baleful magic which increases as he gains in level.Basically this is a perfect class for either Lamentations of the Flame Princess set during the height of a fictional witch infestation in a pseudo historical Europe or other setting infected with the demonic or supernatural. The PC class reads like a variation of the fighter from LoFP whose seen far too much action and perhaps has had a brush with the demonic at the cost of a bit of their sanity only to have it replaced with faith to help pull them through. This sets up the class for all kinds of bits and pieces of the burned out veteran of wars whose turned to hunting and battling the supernatural on their own terms. Using this sort of set up allows the DM to use this class for all kinds of NPC's. This means that with a little imagination the DM could use the class for a Wild West setting as the victim of the Civil War, the War of the Roses, etc. Now please bare with me but I don't see this class as something that would stand up the horrors of something like 40K or Warhammer. Instead what we get is a PC class that dove tails right into a party of fighters, paladins, clerics and blends into the background to provide leadership, support, and to help beat back the forces of Hell itself. But this class can easily lend itself into other fictional settings and circumstances. This class could easily be added into Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea as a very welcome addition to an adventuring party. Seriously with the zeal and pulp nastiness of the setting these guys would fit right into the wood work of Hyperborea. The OSR exorcist and the witch hunter PC class make excellent additions to that game as well. I'm also reminded of certain episodes of Lost In Space when rereading this entry this morning. There always seemed to be a burned out veteran of some interstellar war. A crusading adventurer who would save the petty humans once again. This kinda brought home the fact that the OSR exorcist might make an excellent investigator of those supernatural or xenomorphic threats in the Outer Reaches of space. Eric Swords and Stitchery Blog

There are books that players are going to hate to see the DM having and know that the PC's are going to be in for a hell of a weirdly strange trip and well get ready for that with this free rpg resource! From The Vats was just birthed! The vivimancer.was first introduced in 'Pay What You Want' title Theorems & Thaumaturgy which your going to need in order to properly use 'From The Vats'. I consider it one of the essential books for Labyrinth Lord or any retroclone game. Each year free RPG day gives birth to some wonderfully twisted strange creation that sort of defies convention. There are really wonderfully strange OSR books that come out from time to time and then there are books that you have to have if your a certain kind of DM. Those books that leap right into your lap. Deformed, mewing and sort of like the baby thing from Eraser Head. Wailing this thing wants, no needs you to use it. Well, 'From The Vats' is that thing with genetically engineered bells on. I have over the years spent way,way too much time with Necotic Gnome Production's creations over the years and this one is no exception. This book is an eighty four page tour de force about the abominations, creations, and high weirdness of the vivimancer class, a magic-user sub-class specializing in flesh-warping, genetic meddling, neural manipulation, and vat growth. These guys give mad scientists nightmares or genetic drift envy. There are two adventures here. The Submerged Spire of Sarpedon the Shaper, by Ben Laurence is a look into stomach churning journey into the world of a particularly nasty vivimancer. The maps are very nice, the ideas, setting material, monsters, and goals are very nicely laid out. The two one-page adventures by Alex Schröder and Anders Hedenbjörk Lager take the themes of the book and expand them further and twist the material into other directions. The three adventures within the book are plug and play allowing them to be dropped anywhere into the background of your campaign. In point of fact these creations have a strange sort of universal appeal about them many of the things in From the Vats would fit a wide variety of campaigns from pulp, science fiction,sword and sorcery, fantasy, science fantasy, and even post apocalyptic material. In point of fact this whole book could be dropped right into your favorite Advanced Mutants & Mazes campaign for Mutant Future and not one person would be the wiser. Holy crap the monsters are meant for Labyrinth Lord but with a little tweaking would give an OSRIC or AD&D party a hard time and these things are straight up adventurer nightmare fuel. Seriously these things are horrors from beyond the vats of nightmare. These things could be used in a science fantasy game and not one person would bat an eye at their use. This is one of the strengths of these creatures. They would also fit right into the background of a sword and sorcery campaign or a pulp campaign this is again one of the basis of evil that is From The Vats. Look if you already haven't stopped reading and grabbed this book let me go on. The seven magic items are perfectly suited for this book and these things are perfect for wrecking the lives of PC's and making the vivimancer spasm with glee. A bit of warning, use these things sparingly as many of the magic items are life altering things that one might find within the lab of some of the most dangerous members of this class. The six new magic spells are especially tasty and give the DM even more sauce to get the maxium flavor for the meal of From The Vat. These are very well done and can be vary dangerous to the well being of PC's and are of great use to the vivimancer. The magic here is bold, dangerous, and borders on things man wasn't meant to know. Many of the things within the 'From the Vat' dove tale into the vivimancer PC book The Complete Vivimancer Much of that material supports and expands many of the elements, themes, setting material presented in 'From The Vats'. The Complete Vivimancer goes into far greater detail into the back setting of the PC class. Filling in many of the gaps and what have you presented in Theorems & Thaumaturgy. All in all this is one of the best books that I've seen released for the Free RPG day weekend. And its amazing that this book has been released into the wild for free. This is easily a five out of five book for From The Vats. Grab this one right now and don't wait. Eric From The Sword and Stitchery blog

The White Star rpg community has to be one of the most active rpg communities I've ever seen, and there's been fan based & professional product after product for the game coming out daily it seems.. Which brings me to Outer Space Raiders Volume 2: Aliens, Creatures & Foes by Magic Pig Media. This book covers over twenty monsters drawn from the public domain, the author's warped imagination, and generally every conceivable source that's known to man. But is it good? Well, this is done with an eye towards tongue planted firmly in cheek here. There are over twenty monsters from the Pulsarites to Warp Beasts with at least one fully developed race called the Radioactive Lust Vampires. I love the artwork for this monster by Bradley McDermott.You've even got some star ship sized monsters in the form of Cosmic Behemoth or the Star Kraken along with some others. Finally to round out the whole affair you get a random Bug-Eyed Monster generator and three new starships in the appendixes or add ons. For the most part I enjoyed the book which you get eight pages for a dollar fifty and over twenty monsters as well. Everything seems well put together here, the font is easy to read and the monsters are pretty damn useful but the tongue & cheek tone of the book bothers me a bit. White Star while it is a Swords and Wizardry variation seems to have as many science fiction and fantasy settings. Magic Pig is taking full advantage of this situation to bring DM's a good selection of monsters. But the fact is that this collection takes the overview approach to its monsters not quite seriously enough but there are some damn useful foes in this book. With a bit of imagination these monsters could easily be used in any Swords and Wizardry or OD&D style campaign adventure. Because there are traditional, funny, and pulp material mixed in. I have a feeling that a DM is for a bit of a headache with the monsters in here. These monsters work quite perfectly for a sci fi action comedy series such as one that draws from the Ice Pirates or the Star Wars knock off school of space fantasy. There is a ton of utility and bang for your buck here for a dollar fifty, with a bit of fore thought there's plenty here to get in on the ground floor of Outer Space Raiders Volume 2: Aliens, Creatures & Foes. Would I recommend this for the right DM to take his game into a comedy style science fiction or space adventure? Absolutely this is a very well done little solid game book. Four out of four for this one. My advise is to grab this one and get the ball rolling. Eric The Sword and Stitchery blog

I approached James Raggi IV for a copy of this pdf about two days ago and downloaded it prepared for something of a total party kill adventure. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a stone cold horror adventure done in the round robin way of isolated Heavy Metal album covers and European myth & legend. Where as the first Death Frost Doom was a scattered tapestry of horrific elements, Zak Smith has rewritten the entire adventure from the ground up to weave every morbid facet of this adventure as a whole. And its done very well. The cover art (in color) was done by Yannick Bouchard and the black and white interior illustrations, cartography and design were done by Jez Gordon. These elements are all done very, very, well. From just a look over of the material we're plunged into a peusdo European world of horror and twisted dark mythology with an entirely new take on the undead. Everything in this module echoes so far the charm of a romp through the darkest corners of imagination with bits of Lovecraftian adventure throughout out the first couple of pages. To get into the ins and outs of this module is like looking at a horror film with a subplot that runs through it in a smart and very well way. There is the feel of European legend here mixed in with horror films then set on high and poured into a setting waiting to spring on the PC's. And I'm not talking about a total kill straight out of the gate. Instead what we're looking at is an adventure that takes full advantage of the horror tropes in well done but different way. Ways that actually fit into a wide variety of old school quasi- historical backgrounds and setting for which Lamentations of the Flame Princess is well known. This adventure can not only seamlessly fit into the back space of existing campaigns but can be used to generate entire local sub spaces for such. The adventure elements add an entire sub mythology and myth to the adventure. This is something that Zak Smith has done before as an author and designer. I see this all of the time on his blog but to see it done in an adventure using the old Death Frost Doom material is something else entirely. Straight up this is a very well done adventure and I'll get more into it in the second part. My intial impress is that not only can this adventure work for Lamentations of the Flame Princess but I would use this adventure for other old school rpg's as well. I'm thinking here of OD&D with a dark horror theme or even Cthulhu Dark Ages. The conversion would be quite painless and easy to accomplish. Death Frost Doom is an adventure of supernatural horror and intrigue with a veneer of OD&D. This is not a light weight adventure but one that needs far more attention then it has been getting. Please remember these are only my initial impressions of the adventure. But for those DM's already running a LoFP campaign who bought the original adventure, go back and grab this one. This is a completely different animal then the first adventure and be prepared for that. Death Frost Doom is an adventure that literally draws you into the center of its world like a black hole of wintry death. This is a place that has gone beyond the pale of mere myth and legend into a world of all its own. And the adventurers are drawn up into the module's magick and malevolence. This is a horror movie starring your PC's and the situations described are ones with an internal world all their own. You've just stumbled into the world of Death Frost Doom. So what the hell is it about DFD that is so intriguing? The writing, the plot, or construction of the adventure or perhaps Zak Smith's writing? Maybe the artwork? None of the above really. There's an internal mechanism of menace to the adventure that makes it part investigation, part dungeon crawl, and part monster menace all rolled into one package.There's a nice quality of high weirdness and depravity to the events of DFD that give the DM plenty to work with. And if played correctly with a solid group of players will have them experiencing something akin to Evil Dead part two and some dark twisted European fairy tale on steroids. Adding to mix is the cover art (in color) was done by Yannick Bouchard and the black and white interior illustrations, cartography and design were done by Jez Gordon. All of those seem to add to the total feel of the adventure and it can be added straight into a pre existing LoFP campaign with little issue. Heck this could be added straight into any horror themed campaign. There are reminders and echoes of old Gothic European, Romanian, and Russian legends in DFD. This is adventure that Ravenloft wouldn't have the balls to pull off, and yet the horror elements bring some new stuff to the LoFP. There is a totally new take on the undead in this adventure that has some very cool implications for your LoFP adventures if you decide to take this option on board your campaigns. Lots of miliage of this adventure if you decide to adopt some of the ideas, mythology, and high weirdness that lurks between the pages of DFD. As a frame work to me at least this adventure has a ton of potential to take your adventures in some dark and dangerous directions! This is an adventure that pulls heavily from the legendary roots of its own mythology and deals with its encounters as a series of events set in motion with balance and terror all in one. Something that really well done horror movies try to do. But be warned this is a horrific module that can and will wreck PC's if dumb decisions are made. So is Death Frost Doom worth the price of admission? Yes I not only think so but I actually one of the essential LoFP books because of the way that it handles the game's material. This is a solidly dark and disturbing read,run, and rabble through the underbelly of the Lamentations universe for characters. I'd put this adventure high on the list of runs for a mid level group of LoFP adventurers. Five out of five for a reinvention of a fantastic adventure. Eric Sword and Stitchery and The Dark Corner Blog

Reading through Taskboy game's The Manse on Murder Hill is like reading through an EC or precode horror comic but its done in such an entertaining style that you forget that your reading an old school rpg adventure. This is the type of plot that you want for a low level party of adventurers, something exciting gritty and entertaining for you as well as the players. This review and commentary is for the updated as well as expanded adventure on Rpgnow and Drivethrurpg The plot is like something lifted right out of a pulp magazine, 'Several children of Little Flanders have gone missing near an abandoned house of evil repute. A desperate town has begged your heroes to exorcise the house of evil spirits and rescue the children. Will you brave the dangers of the Manse on Murder Hill.' For a Labyrinth Lord adventure for levels 1-3 this product takes full advantage of every aspect of the dungeon adventure trope and has it twisted into a solid direction that actually follows a nicely handled plot with goals, treasures, and gives everything you need to play in a two dollar product that is worth the money. The artwork in the product as I've said in a past review of the product looks like it came out of a Hellboy comic and that's a good thing. The mood here is right in line with the swords and sorcery aspect of Little Flanders. You've got NPC's here that fit the local space, lore, rumors, and menace lurking around the corner. You've got places of interest, equipment, and high weirdness. Whist reading through this I was reminded of whiffs Robert E Howard's Solomon Kane, traces of Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea and bits of a low level Lamentations of the Flame Princess. The product oozes with atmosphere and weirdness in a low level sort of way that one generally doesn't see with products of this cost. There is a lot of quality here. The PC's might wander where they will but this adventure takes full advantage of a solidly done investigation with full rounds of dungeon and location crawling in three spots or more. There is lots happening in Flanders and its on the level of a Twin Peaks meets Solomon Kane kinda vibe. Even though this adventure could be used with any sword and sorcery system including OD&D. And yet this is a straight forward adventure with plenty of action happening below the surface as well as on top. This product reminds me of at at least several old school fantasy comic books from the 70's with traces of late two thousands game design sensibilities and that's a good thing. But make no mistake, one wrong move in this module and your adventurers are dead meat. The second thing that I love about this adventure are the maps, handouts, and attention to details that the author has done. There's something very pulpy reading through adventure and seeing these. Its like an invite into the world of the adventure. And this is where The Manse on Murder Hill shines, the drawing in factor of this adventure. For the Labyrinth Lord retro clone Manse on Murder Hill is a must. Seriously this is an essential adventure for the DM to have and its solidly done. But if PC's make mistakes your going to be dead meat. Scattered throughout this product are three or more campaign hooks that could see the DM fleshing out the events of Little Flanders. And to be honest while this adventure is designed and executed for Labyrinth Lord. I wasn't thinking of that game while reading it at all. I was looking thoughtfully over at my shelf and contemplating Lamentations of The Flame Princess or Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea for running this one . Now there are several reasons for this and number one is the fact that Little Flanders could easily be tucked into the peusdo historical realms of LoFP with little problem, making it a perfect little local starting place for adventurers of the freebooter type. For Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, this is a nice and even low level starting adventure where you've got locations recovering from the Green Death and on its way back to the road of recovery but in dire need of adventurers. In point of fact I'd go so far as to say that besides the efforts of Corey Ryan Walden. Manse on Murder Hill is great starting adventure for low level PC's with enough action, excitement, and engagement for your PC's for a very long time to come. Now with enough bang for your buck for two dollars, I'd say that this adventure could be adapted for OSRIC, Fantastic Heroes and Witchery, and other advanced clones but this might require some juggling with the stats and adventure elements & materials within this product but I think its well worth it. In point of fact I'd go so far as to say that using this adventure you could take the location of Little Flanders and pop it right into a post apocalyptic isolated location and still have the action, flavor and adventure intact. To take this further with a little imagination you might have the adventure taken further afield into the Cthulhu Dark Ages rpg . But then again that might be going to far a field for a solidly done and well written game adventure. The best one's spark the imagination and get the players and DM thinking in just that sort of way. Five out of Five in my book! Eric Swords and Stitchery blog

I'm still reeling with the passing of Sir Christopher Lee, no seriously this death along with a bunch seemed to come out of no place and pull the rug out from under me. So I'm thinking about vampires and decided to play catch up with an old friend of mine's work. James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler's Vampires of the Olden Lands is a pay what you'd like title Available right over HERE . This pdf book comes from James Mishler's home campaign the Chronicles of Mhoriedh. Oh sure, sure, you've seen vampire books before but this one is very different. It comes two very distinct direction to the issue of vampires. On the one hand these undead fiends are looked at from a distinctly sword and sorcery style direction. All the books in this series are dual stated with Labyrinth Lord and Castles & Crusades write ups. And everything is laid out with the dungeon master in mind, there is a one of the best approaches to the PC Dhampir in this book but the entire thing is laid out with the DM in mind. There's plenty of the usual mythology and legendary material here but this book presents vampires that have a distinctly edgy and completely dangerous aspect to them. Make no mistake these are the monsters of Hammer, horror, and myth. The blurb from Rpgnow lays everything out nicely:

Bhabaphirs – Soul-sucking child-slaying vampiric wise-women of the mountain villages that truck with night hags and liches; Ekimmu – The Vampire Lords, founders of all the vampiric lines, masters of the High Vales of the Mountains of Blood, immortal spirits born of Chaos and Evil; Lhamiras – Mothers of Monsters, the Vampire-Witches of the South who hunt men for sport and for game, dams of dhamphirs and lamias; Lhamphirs – The Plague Bearers, the rotting husks of men and women who died of plague and now haunt the families and friends who abandoned them; Mhoroiphirs – The Living Vampires, men and women who seek to continue to live their lives though they are undead, the classic blood-suckers of myth and legend; Strighoiphirs – The Dead Vampires, mhoroiphirs who have moved on and fully embraced their undead existence and retreated from the world of living men to seek solitude; Szalbaphirs – The Vampire Gamins, sad creatures born of horror, children transformed into blood-sucking monsters who seek an end to their undead existence even as they gather around them more of their kind that they create seeking solace and safety with siblings; Vhukodlakhs – Vampire-Men, created as servants by the ekimmu in ages long passed, they now haunt the mountains and highlands of the Olden Lands, serving vampires and other dread lords as they prey upon man and beast alike.

We get an overview of these creatures with guidelines from one of the veterans of the old school hobby's pen's and it show. The organization here is one of handcrafting, the material is adapted to the author's campaign world but its done in such a way as to make it fresh, useful, and totally horrid to PC's health on a number of levels. There's an element of old school horror and gravitas in this pdf that almost seems to have the author daring the DM to use these monsters in their own games and taunt's them to come back for more. The author lays everything out in forty eight pages of sold work with elements of horror, a bit of humor and lots of style. Vampires of the Olden Lands knows exactly what it is and what its intended audience plans to do with these creatures and that's where the excitement of looking into the Dhamphirs comes from. The author knows his subject and knows that these monsters who are part man are intended as PC's and this version of the famous monsters are actually playable. This is one of the best versions of these horrors. And I intend to use them. Could Vampires of the Olden Lands be used for other adventures and retroclones besides Labyrinth Lord? After looking into Vampires of the Olden Lands I can honestly say yes! I can see using some of this material for a game of your favorite space based old school campaign fun or even in a science fantasy setting as well. Such as the horrors of the sinking of Atlantis or something more akin to the Marvel vampire menace or something out of folklore and legend. If one was running say an advanced Mutants And Mazes variation of Mutant Future I would turn to Vampires of the Olden Lands for fleshing out my wasteland vampires. Or since there is an element of almost comic book style madness lurking in the back of this book. I might tack this book on to the sweeping vampiric horrors of Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Do I think that Vampires of the Olden Lands is worth the download. Yes I do and then some. Serious this one of the best vampire books I've read in a very long time. Its well done, smart, savy, doesn't talk down to its audience and has a sweeping style that you will find very useful at your table time and again. Grab this one!

What is the 'Rocker' PC class? Well that's pretty easy to explain. There have always been this weird set of sort of alternative realities where rock & roll was/is king and the party goes on forever surrounded by the lights,drugs, three A.M. Pink Floyd laser light shows, eternal fog machines and the galactic stage. Now add in a variation of the bard as interstellar or post apocalyptic PC class. Add in new monsters and you've got the making the latest add on product for the White Star retro clone rpg system. Called simply 'the Rocker' , this is a nine page variation of a new take on the bard with twists into some very daring, fun, and dark rock & roll ideas. This product takes the rock and roll daydreams and Saturday morning cartoon ideas of yesteryear and brings them into a whole new direction with this PC class. For the slim cost of a dollar you get a complete class, new sets of monsters, and some twisted fun.Perfect for taking your campaign in a whole other rock and roll school direction. Basically this product take the White Star rpg system and adds in a fun, funny,and weirdly twisted take with the PC's being intergalactic rockers on a mission. That mission is up to you but it possibly involves those of you who are fans of such influences as Subatomic Party Girls, Rock and Rule, Operation: Mindcrime, Buckaroo Bonzai, Gwar, Doctor Octagon, Silverhawks, Kidd Video, Limozeen, Metalocalypse, Ziggy Stardust, the original cartoon Jem, and the drug hazed memories of Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space! So basically your playing intergalactic rock and rollers in SPPAAACEE who can influence crowds, deal with adventuring situations, and even gauge the reactions of the alien audiences your PC's deal with. This isn't the first time I've seen this sort of a campaign but the last time was in a post apocalyptic wasteland. And this product adds in new wrinkles to the mix. But I've got to say something about the cover art. I hate it. Seriously this title cover isn't going to grab anyone's attention at all. I get what its supposed to do but it doesn't convey the awesome energy that the rest of the product evokes. And in nine pages you get everything you need to set up a brand new style of a White Star Rpg rock and roll campaign. Well almost everything. The DM and players are still going to need a copy of the White Star Rpg. This class introduces such things as the power to deafen a target, a Rocker can play a sound so loud and terrible that anyone within 100 yards without ear protection must save versus audio assault or be deafened for 1d6 turns. Groupies as a ninth level perk/power as well as an entourage and the ability to establish a record label at ninth level. etc. And yes there are saving throws to stave off those Satanic record label agents. Yes, all of the usual rock and roll abilities and powers are in here and more. This begs for the DM to create venues and send those crazy rockers on all kinds of interstellar adventures in sleazy dives and alien concert halls across the universe and beyond. This product echoes the golden age of Studio Fifty Four dark side record agents & executives mixed in with drug fueled Star Wars nightmares brought to a boil with Saturday morning cartoons. Adult cartoons in my case but you get the idea. This could easily be reverse engineered so that you could have your party of rockers appearing on some backwater science fantasy or Swords and Wizardry planet and wowing the crowd. There's even a table that has a random roll to allow the DM to gauge the crowd's reaction at each venue. Modifiers for local religions, pitch fork wielding mobs and more are up the DM. New monsters include Crimson Arachnids which I'm assuming might come from Mars, and what rock and roll band can't use a drum bot, Space Mummies are in there as well who hate the sound of rock. Then we get Void Rockers a twisted and horrid philistine of the dark side whose given their soul to a Void Knight to be twisted into a very mockery of a horror of heavy metal proportions. We live in an a golden age of hand carved old school neo rpg products and The Rocker is a fine start on a complete campaign product. As an addition to the White Star universe of products this is a nice one. And its pretty damn well done for a dollar. Five out of five even if bards still suck the rocker is a really interesting addition to the intergalactic crowd of White Star. Eric Sword and Stitchery Blog

Someplace between one am and the morning I just rolled in and I'm thinking about a sort of neglected class, the tomb robber. The often talked about but seldom seen class has been lurking around the bounds of pulp magazines for years and years. These wonderful little adventurers break into tombs and crypts making off with all manner of relics, artifacts, and what not. The OSR Tomb Robber From Jeremy Reaban is a three page 'pay what you want' affair that covers all of the basics of this class in spades. Right out of the gate this pdf's byline got me thinking of certain films of the Eighties, see if you can tell why from the introduction: While most adventurers are tomb robbers at some point in their career, some make a specialty of it. Part scholar, part fighter, part thief, they specialize in looting ancient tombs and dungeons. Trust me, this mix of old school Indiana Jones, Alan Quarterman, and the sneak thieves ages past are right in here with the pulp sensibilities of this pdf. All of usual suspect races can become a tomb robber, Dwarf, Gnome, Human, & Half-Orc. This class is a compromise between fighter, thief, and a specialist of sorts. They have has a lore ability similar to a Bard, giving them a chance to know legends as well as potentially identify a magic item. The focus here is on the PC and this product contains tables for running the tomb robber in OD&D, First Edition AD&D, Basic and Expert D&D, and The Basic D&D Encyclopedia style games and the retroclones of these games. Does this class do what it sets out to do? I think so, there are several options on the table to play a pulptastic tomb robber in the OSR of your dreams. Here the PC has everything that a thief can do and a bit more besides and that's fine. I can see this class getting a ton of table top or adventure screen time. There is a ton of useful bits in the three pages this pdf covers, this includes everything from gun running a pulp adventure to picking the locks from a local temple to the tomb puzzles as well as guardians. This class can deal it out with the best of em. The OSR Tomb Robber From Jeremy Reaban is concise, balanced, and covers all of the basic ins and outs of the class. I can see using this for everything from pulp adventures. This is just what the doctored ordered if your interested in mixing your D&D with everything from OD&D to more modern games as well. The essence of the class is perfectly suited to any number of retro adventures where the skill and wit of the tomb robber is needed. Everything in the tomb robber is done for any number of OSR platforms from OD&D to OSIRC this class covers all of the bases and leaves enough room for the DM and players to get plenty of mileage and room for customization . In point of fact I can see this class being adapted into other OSR or retroclone settings. This class can double for the cautious and yet deadly xeno archaeologist and despoiler of tombs on alien worlds . The tomb robber makes an excellent addition to any old school adventure party. The tomb robber is incredibly useful in the post apocalyptic wastelands where several of this PC's skills can add so much to a party. Given the relics and artifacts of the ancients this really is a no brainer to add in this class into your mutant spawned party of murder hobos and adventurers. Jeremy Reaban does a fine job squeezing everything into three pages of pretty much retro adventure hero into a decent class of tomb robber goodness. My recommendation is to pick this one up. Eric The Sword & Stitchery blog

Dreamscape design has done a complete ground up revamp and improvement to the Blueholme adventure The Necropolis of Nuromen from the interior outward with lots of little blends and bobs to it. The adventure clocks in at at twenty pages of pure adventure with a fairy tale feel to it on steroids. This is a great adventure to throw a beginning party of adventurers into. This adventure features additional background, new maps, and an entire follow-on mini-adventure starring the notorious outlaw Lothar the Lawless. The reasons why this is such a great adventure are also laid out by the author, this is a modular quest designed to let the referee introduce a group of 1st level characters to the thrills of Underworld exploration as they attempt to unravel they secrets of the evil necromancer’s lair and deal with some bandits, too. But does it live up to the hype? I actually think it does. Right out of the gate the party of adventurers is brought into a situation that draws them in and brings them close to the edge of a campaign setting that will provide them with weeks if not months of play. This adventure lays out everything from back history to full blown dungeon crawling in one go along with NPC's, some monsters (well lots of them) and some solid weird pulpy fairy tale adventuring right into the center of the whole affair. The prose is cleaned up and the layout solidly done and everything has been put together in a nice easy to read style. On the whole the adventure flows very well in the reading and is very easy on the eye. There are a ton of public domain artwork scattered throughout but these are perfectly suited to the whole affair and add to the adventure without distracting at all from the whole. The adventure is keyed to be regionalized and local to it's environment, rumor tables link back into the implied campaign setting, things make sense on a local level, and forces are all evenly matched to the weird of the setting. This is a perfect adventure for players who will or could migrate into a Lamentations of the Flame Princess campaign along the way or vice versa with Blue Holmes. If you already have a copy of The Necropolis of Nuromen, then go back to Drivethrurpg and grab the updated PDF. You won't be sorry the maps are very well done. The fact that this adventure has a fully realized dungeon at its center and side makes this a great starting point to bring players into the Holmes mindset over and over they get a taste of the weird while maintaining the integrity of their PC's. In the middle of all this there are several places, events, and monsters that can end their 1st level snow flake existences and lives like blow torches. That's not an easy balance to pull off but The Necropolis of Nuromen does this with wit, charm, style and a sense of the fairy tale wrapped around a core of a solidly done adventure. My advice is to grab this one, some friends and get into the middle of a BlueHolmes style of play. Everything is right here to bring home the vibe and weirdness of a fully functional dungeon crawl that can play havoc with PC's while everyone has fun. This adventure brings home that old school vibe of play with a sense of terror and weirdness while creating an adventure that is actual fun to play. The Necropolis of Nuromen is a great adventure for both veterans and beginning players of old school OD&D and Blueholmes style games.

Its about two O'clock in the morning and I've just gotten back from a game, tonight the subject of the Witch Hunter came up with my players. And one of them suggested we take a look at PC3 - The OSR Witch Hunter From Jeremy Reaban. This is a 'pay what you want' title from Drivethrurpg and emulates any number of pulp characters from Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane to Vincent Price's Witch Finder General. Clocking in at five pages, this title adds a bit of flare to the PC class but this is a strictly meat and patatoes no nonsense download. And that in my opinion is a good thing. This isn't a download that wastes your time at all and gives options for playing this character with humans, half elves, and half orcs respectively. Over the years I've used several of the author's character classes for players and NPC's alike, the focus here is on the PC and this product contains tables for running the witch finder in OD&D, First Edition AD&D, Basic and Expert D&D, and The Basic D&D Encyclopedia style games and the retroclones of these games. Everything fits into five pages including the author's suggestions and options for getting the most pulptastic options out of this PC class. But is this a well done PC class? With bits and pieces of the clerical abilities mixed in with the combat skills of a fighter the witch finder has a lot to offer a party and does it with some style. This is a PC who could be a fantastic asset to a party or a fantastic ass depending upon the player's reaction and take with this class. Everything is in tact to get the most out of the witch hunter in all of its aspects. This class rings with the swash and buckle that a DM expects and I was taken back to my youth with Marvel's Solomon Kane as all of the aspects of the story are there in this class in spades. From the stand point of a DM this is an excellent addition to the tool box of the DM for creating an NPC. But for the characters this is an excellent class to keep games moving. Given the history and weirdness of these characters this is a great class to have. Adding in a witch hunter is a great show of faith in the people that the players are playing with. All of the high points of the class feature some solid write up action with a springing board for the imagination of the players. All in all this is a nice up change for games and I could see adding this class to everything from Lamenations of the Flame Princess to fully flesh out and engaging AD&D first edition campaigns. I can even see using this class fully done for a White Star campaign or other futuristic adventure as well where the pulp is just about coming off of the ceiling. All in all I was really glad that I took the time to grab this one on Drivethrurpg and its pretty well balance and very nicely done.

If your looking for an adventure with gnomes, high weirdness, a great sense of humor, and plenty of room for customization. I went to the author to secure a review copy of this adventure but found myself laughing out loud several times while reading it. The Gnomes of Levnec might just be for your party of warriors, wizards, and adventurers. I went to Zzarchov Kowolski with one thing on my mind, gnomes. This adventure incorporates gnomes but not in the traditional sense but in the weird humor of old school gaming. The Gnomes of Levnec is one part outdoor adventure, two part dungeon crawl, and a whole little mini sand box of gaming adventuring with a twisted humor slant to it. I don't mean that this is a jokey unplayable adventure, rather its a twisted romp with a wry and twistedly strange sense of humor about itself. Levnec is actually a very interesting little setting, with the slightly familiar and the oddly twisted existing side by side. Your adventurers are thrust right into the deep end of the adventure. And the adventure is well worth the money, this adventure would make an excellent and more then slightly twisted adventure to run with OD&D, Swords & Wizardry, or Lamentations of The Flame Princess. In point of fact I love to run this adventure as a low level introduction to the world of Lamentations of the Flame Princess. In only sixteen pages the author establishes the setting, adds in a number of interesting NPC's within the adventure locations, adds a real plot with some minor hooks for adventure continuation, and ties it together with a witty yet interesting device or two. There are some nifty random tables in this adventure that add to weirdness factor of piece without taking your PC's out of what's going on. This adventure knocks the traditional out door adventure on its ass and does it with style. A style that has a unique view point on gnomes, spells, magick, and a ton of weirdness at its heart. And uses these elements with a sense of the morbid and strange. But it does it in a completely awesome way. Repeatedly! If your expecting hack and slash dungeon crawl fest, this adventure isn't for you. If you want an adventure with plenty of DYI old school OD&D adventure with plenty of Twin Peaks style high weirdness this might be the adventure for you. This adventure has some nice maps, great diagrams, and I love, love, the art in the adventure piece because it suits the adventure rather nicely and set's the tone for this darkly whimsical adventure. The Gnomes of Levnec provides the DM with a handful of locations in the village, and there's plenty of room to add more in except for the gnomes are waiting to screw with adventurers. And yet they're still more going on then is hinted in the general outlay of this adventure. In fact the plot will have your adventurers crawling around the woods in no time flat and getting lost. In fact their's a rather nifty random table for that. The adventure is going to take PC's into the woods, twist their perceptions around, and then leave them feeling more then slightly disturbed. This is a perfect adventure for a short set campaign adventure that can be dropped right into the background of an existing campaign and yet leave the PC's feeling rather particular about the gnomes that are featured. Which in my book is a good thing. Five out of five because this adventure ticks so many boxes. Dark and more then slightly twisted, great maps, easy set up, deployment ,and a great weekend adventure to keep the PC's weirded out and more then slightly disturbed. This adventure is a five out of five in my book. A very well done and tight adventure. Eric F Swords and Stitchery blog

Do you need monsters fast for tonight's game or shall we say something unique to torment your adventurers? Something to slip in between the cracks of your ruin or sci fi base? Well,the Creature Compendium has you covered. There are monster books and then there are those monster catalogs that include stuff you wished you'd thought of as a DM. Well, the Creature Compendium is one of those. And if your thinking that this book can't be used with your AD&D 1st edition or OSRIC games then think again. According to the company's website: Creature Compendium for OD&D, AD&D, and B/X D&D. This 92 page supplement has a host of new creatures to harass your players with. This thing is wall to wall artwork by Richard Leblanc Jr. And its very well done, this is a dual statted book and I know what your thinking, so what big deal? Well it means that you can use any of these critters right out of the gate upon your adventurers. Each monster is "dual" stated for 0e/1e and BX. Sometimes there is no difference. For example an AC of 3 in AD&D is roughly an AC 3 in BX and the monsters will either list 3 or some other close number. Movement rates are easy to convert of course and alignments are different systems & edition, but all in all it is still easy to convert. The Pdf clocks in at about 92 pages for two dollars and the monsters are well worth the pdf and man these things could easily be incorporated into a wide variety of games or campaigns. And all of these monsters are perfectly suited for a wide variety of dungeon environs but that's not all. Many of these horrors are straight up generic enough yet weird enough to go right into a post apocalyptic wasteland or better yet your favorite space based dungeon. Seriously there is a ton of potential and I love the way that you get your money's worth out of this product. Using these with White Star or Swords and Wizardry would be a snap as these monsters have a very old world pulp quality to them. Look this is exactly the sort of book that I need for tonight's game, monsters pulpy enough to fit into any environment but different enough to give the PC's pause and make them come up with a plan for the horror's demise. And these monster's are not going to go down easily, they're capable of taking out an entire party of adventurers with relative easy if the party isn't careful. There's a lot of potential here for TPK's if the players' are not paying attention to the monster's patterns,behaviors, and attacks. These horrors don't follow the usual monster biology BS that so many writers slip into the background. The author knows his stuff and keeps things busy and interesting in the background of the design of the critter's. Several of these horrors could be mini adventures into themselves and here's where I mentioned White Star or one of the sci fi retroclones being very useful for a quick night's one shot using these things. With the revive on the post apocalyptic front these horrors could easily be slipped into the back drop of an advanced Mutants and Maze's game of Mutant Future. Of particular use is Appendix A gives the DM Treasure Types by Edition. 0e, 1e, HB and BX. There are subtle differences in each, but it's easy to convert between each. Appendix B gives us the monster XP totals for various editions as well. 0e, S&W, BX/BEDMI, LL, 1e and OSRIC. These are essential elements that I wish, wish other retroclone systems would incorporate as well. The bottom line is this grab the damn book right now and don't wait, for the price this is really a no brainer. Five out of five because its so well done and I can't find fault with it.