A world that floats like a leaf

It's a strange thing that fantasy world-builders will happily allow for biology that defies reason, but when it comes to the shape of the world they stay shackled to the globe.  Suppose that there is a world that isn't a sphere.  Suppose that it has a different shape, but that the logic of that shape still gave its creatures a day to day experience that is easily imagined.  Where would imagining such a world take us?

Review: & Magazine, Issue 13

Yesterday's review of &12 was so enjoyable I couldn't help but go straight on to issue 13.  & Mag suffered a bit of the "2016s" itself, so - to the satisfaction of triskaidekaphobes everywhere - &13 was their only issue out last year.  On the bright side, this issue is fully loaded with great articles.

Gamebook playthrough: "Seas of Blood" by Andrew Chapman, attempts 4 & 5

Andrew Chapman's Seas of Blood killed me on the first try.  That's what should happen with a gamebook.  It also defeated me on outings two and three, in a healthy display of replayability.  Right now, I'm hoping to bring it down within ten attempts.  As always with gamebook playthroughs, Beware of The Spoilers from this point on.

Review: & Magazine, Issue 12

Issue 12 of & Magazine came out shortly before my long hiatus and certainly had nothing to do with my case of "the 2016s".  Back in 2015, Bryan Fazekas was nice enough to share my review of issue 11 and remarked that he couldn't recall & getting any better praise than being thought-provoking.  I still see his point, but there are plenty of other fine things to say about & Magazine.

Gamebook playthrough: "Seas of Blood" by Andrew Chapman, attempts 2 and 3

After falling well short of beating Seas of Blood yesterday, I'm going to take another swing and try to get a little further.  This is 80s-style re-playability, where the thing is hard enough that it takes several attempts to get through.  If you enjoy that sort of thing, be warned: there are spoilers ahead.

WotC's "Original Adventures" series available on DriveThruRPG

It's come to my attention that Wizards of the Coast have released some of the Original Adventures series through DriveThruRPG.  That explains why the old giveaway series isn't on the archive versions of WotC's website.  It also means that complaining about Owen K. C. Stephens' module design will resume in short order.

Unfortunately, WotC have decided to slap a charge on the old giveaways (less than $1), so I can't really say these things are free any more.  I've gone back and fixed up my links to direct readers to the relevant pages and advise them of the cost, but haven't fixed up the index yet.  Perhaps I should add an index of reviewed cheap adventures?

Gamebook playthrough: "Seas of Blood" by Andrew Chapman, attempt 1

My flatmate has a fantastic collection of gamebooks, many of which I remember owning and playing as a child.  I thought it would be fun to play through a few of them to see if I was actually any good at these as a kid, or whether I just cheated my way to the end!  Today I'm having a crack at Andrew Chapman's swashbuckling, throat-cutting Seas of Blood, a part of the "Fighting Fantasy" line published in 1985.  I think I last played this book in the mid-90s.  Note that this playthrough contains significant spoilers for the gamebook.

Preview: "Tukram's Tomb" by Davide Pignedoli

Davide Pignedoli recently released a "Beta version" of Tukram's Tomb with a call for feedback from anyone brave enough to venture within.  Tukram's Tomb is an adventure for the Crying Blades system (which I've never heard of, but understand to be in the same vein as Swords & Wizardry) or "any OSR system".  However, the rules used include ascending AC so some light conversion may be necessary.  There's a brief mention of first-level character but it's not clear how many adventurers are expected in the party.  The module is currently available as a Pay What You Want product.

The bath: a lively location for RPG campaigns

According to received wisdom about the middle ages, Europeans unfortunate enough to be born into that era were ignorant of the merits of bathing. As a result, public hygiene was poor and epidemics regular.  This could hardly be more wrong.

Review: "Primrose Path" by Owen K.C. Stephens

Welcome back to the Original Adventures series reviews.  This time I'm reviewing another Owen K.C. Stephens adventure, Primrose Path.  The module was distributed by Wizards of the Coast for the D&D 3.5 line, but it should be useful with Pathfinder and other D20 games with some conversion.  As the image says, Stephens is aiming to challenge four 6th-level characters.