10 April, 2009
Today’s Tabbloid
PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
ROGUE FEED
More Sad News
APR 09, 2009 07:20P.M.
Jerry Mapes, founder of the Knights & Knaves Alehouse, one of the
primary forums of the old school renaissance, has passed away. Like
Dave Arneson, I suspect many gamers, even those of the grognard
persuasion, have no idea who Jerry was or what he contributed to this
hobby. I never met him in person and my dealings with him were limited
to a few emails here and there, along with posts over at K&K. But Jerry’s
work in establishing the Alehouse, as well as his tireless efforts to keep it
running smoothly, helped create some of the conditions that led to
OSRIC and I dare say much of what we now term “the old school
renaissance.” He may not have been a household name, even in our little
corner of the Web, but he contributed far more than most of us realize.
His loss will be felt deeply and all of us who have derived fun and
enjoyment from the resurgence of old school gaming in recent years
should mourn his passing.
ROGUE FEED
Megadungeon.net
APR 09, 2009 02:33P.M.
Megadungeon.net is now online.
I’d intended to announce this much sooner, but the news first of Dave
Arneson’s turn for the worse, followed soon thereafter by his death, gave
me pause. I continue to believe that Dave was one of the great unsung
heroes of this hobby. It’s a pity he wasn’t more well known and regarded
before he passed away. If there’s any consolation to my having
announced his death several hours early, it’s that he might have had the
chance to see how beloved he was by many of us. I like to think that he
embarked on his greatest adventure knowing that he’d done good in his
life and touched more people’s lives in a positive way than he could ever
have known.
I don’t want to take anything away from the focus on Dave and his
accomplishments. He deserves all the attention and accolades he’ll be
receiving in the coming days and weeks. That’s why I initially planned to
hold off on getting Megadungeon.net up and running this week, as I’d
originally intended. But then I realized that, as “the innovator of the
‘dungeon adventure’ concept,” there was probably no better time to
1
launch this new project. Dave Arneson is the patron saint of, among
other things, dungeons. He’s the original Dungeon Master, the creator of
the first dungeon ever published in an official D&D product from TSR.
How better to honor his legacy than to begin a new dungeon? Amityville
Mike of The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope seems to agree with me.
Megadungeon.net will be dedicated to Dave Arneson’s memory. I have
several ideas about how I plan to do so, but I’m going to take some time
to sort through them all. The megadungeon of Urheim is going to grow
slowly and organically anyway, so there’s no rush in settling on a fitting
memorial to the co-creator of D&D.
At present, what you’ll find at Megadungeon.net is the structure on
which the whole project will be constructed. There are maps, background
information, introductions — overview material, by and large. The
“meat” of Urheim will start appearing over the next few days. I
encourage anyone who wishes to add to it to send me their ideas and I’ll
do my best to include them somewhere in the dungeon, with attribution.
I’ve already posted some rumors I received from readers. If you’d like the
attribution to include a link to a website, blog, or email address, please
let me know and I’ll make sure the site is updated accordingly.
I sincerely hope that Urheim will grow immensely with the help of others
and that the end result will be something that pays tribute to the
“founder of our feast,” Dave Arneson, without whom none of us would be
here.
ROGUE FEED
RIP Dave Arneson
APR 09, 2009 02:27P.M.
By now the news has been heard.
Dave has passed away.
I was very lucky to have the privilege of working for him when I was
employed by Zeitgeist Games. Having the change to speak with Dave and
learn from him is something I will cherish for the rest of my life. I still
remember the shock of having a figure from my childhood call me.
I am very sad by this. I have no words to express what I am feeling like.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
James said it best when he wrote:
I can’t help but think the hobby might have been richer had
Dave Arneson’s vision of fantasy not been relegated to the
sidelines.
All I can add. All I can say is: Thank you. Thank you for your creation.
Thank you for your time. Thank your for lessons. I learned a lot from
talking with you, and working for you. I roll the dice in your honor and
memory.
Posted in Life Tagged: thoughts
ROGUE FEED
Rogue Games bids you to enter
the dungeon.
APR 09, 2009 01:00P.M.
(Chicago & Toronto) April 8, 2009. The Rogues of Rogue
Games is please to announce the launching of
Megadungeon.net.
First conceived on James Maliszewski’s Grognardia,
Megadungeon.net is an exercise in collaborative dungeon building.
Over the course of the coming weeks and months, the site will present a
growing old school megadungeon. Although its native rules set is Swords
& Wizardry, available as a free download from Mythmere Games, rules
content will be light, making it usable with almost any fantasy
roleplaying game. More importantly, the entirety of the content on
Megadungeon.net (except artwork and cartography) is designated
Open Game Content under the Open Game License. This means
that anyone can freely use content from Megadungeon.net as they
wish, including their own published products, provided they abide by the
terms of the OGL.
More importantly, Megadungeon.net is free of charge — no
subscriptions, no fees, no cost. Once content is done and posted, it is
there for anyone to use in any manner they choose. In addition, everyone
is invited to contribute to Megadungeon.net, providing room
descriptions, monsters, spells, magic items, maps, artwork — you name
it. The goal of this project is to produce a dungeon resource unlike any
other.
So the question remains.
Do you dare to enter the dungeon?
2
10 April, 2009
ROGUE FEED
Rogue Games bids you to enter
the dungeon.
APR 09, 2009 12:25P.M.
(Chicago & Toronto) April 8, 2009. The Rogues of Rogue
Games is please to announce the launching of
Megadungeon.net.
First conceived on James Maliszewski’s Grognardia,
Megadungeon.net is an exercise in collaborative dungeon building.
Over the course of the coming weeks and months, the site will present a
growing old school megadungeon. Although its native rules set is Swords
& Wizardry, available as a free download from Mythmere Games, rules
content will be light, making it usable with almost any fantasy
roleplaying game. More importantly, the entirety of the content on
Megadungeon.net (except artwork and cartography) is designated
Open Game Content under the Open Game License. This means
that anyone can freely use content from Megadungeon.net as they
wish, including their own published products, provided they abide by the
terms of the OGL.
More importantly, Megadungeon.net is free of charge — no
subscriptions, no fees, no cost. Once content is done and posted, it is
there for anyone to use in any manner they choose. In addition, everyone
is invited to contribute to Megadungeon.net, providing room
descriptions, monsters, spells, magic items, maps, artwork — you name
it. The goal of this project is to produce a dungeon resource unlike any
other.
So the question remains.
Do you dare to enter the dungeon?
Posted in Games, Rogue Games Tagged: © 2009 Rogue Games, news,
Rogue Games
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 10 April, 2009

ROGUE FEED We are in the process of making final arrangements and will provide
additional details as we work them out. We will continue to receive cards
An Early Testimonial and letters in Dave’s honor. We are planning to hold a public visitation
APR 09, 2009 12:16P.M. so that anyone wishing to say their goodbye in person has the
opportunity to do so.
Dave Arneson ... Is there really such a creature? Yes, Gentle
Readers, there is, and shudder when the name is spoken. Cards and letters can continue to be sent:
Although he is a man of many talents who has authored many Dave Arneson
historic rules sets and games, Dave is also the innovator of 1043 Grand Avenue
the “dungeon adventure” concept, creator of ghastly Box #257
monsters, and inscrutable dungeonmaster par excellence. He St. Paul, MN
devises complex combat systems, inexplicable dungeon and 55105
wilderness areas, and traps of the most subtle fiendishness.
Herein you will get a taste of these, but he never reveals all. Visitation will be on April 20th
This writer always looks forward with great anticipation to an Time: yet to be determined
adventure in the “Blackmoor” campaign, for despite the fact Address:
that I co-authored the original work with Dave, and have Bradshaw Funeral Home
spent hundreds of hours creating and playing DUNGEONS & 687 Snelling Avenue South
DRAGONS, it is always a fresh challenge to enter his “world”. St. Paul, MN 55105
I can not reccomend him more highly than simply saying that
I would rather play in his campaign than any other - that Link to the original post (which the family checks regularly).
other dungeonmasters who emulate Dave Arneson will
indeed improve their games. While eagerly anticipating yet
more material from dread “Blackmoor Castle”, the following
pages should satisfy your immediate craving for new ideas.
Those of you totally committed to the fantasy adventure game
may expect additional supplements from time to time; and ROGUE FEED
isn’t that dark shape crouched over the desk of blackened oak
laughing fiendishly as glowing runes flow from his quill, [Lost Works] Lustria, Part 1
remarkably similar to Arneson’s? APR 08, 2009 11:57P.M.

E. Gary Gygax
TSR Games Editor
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin One of my favorite games, to play and run, is Game Workshops
1 September 1975 Warhammer FRP. This game taught me a lot, both in structure and
setting. It also is the game where I cut my design teeth, and it introduced
me to the concepts of dark fantasy. It was also the game that inspired me
to design games as a vocation, and I owe a lot to WFRP for introducing
me to people who I count as some of my best friends.

ROGUE FEED For as long as I can remember the concept of Lustria has been one that
I could not shake. I worked with it in many forms, and what follows
David L. Arneson Passed On appeared in the fanzine Carnel (which by the way, I cannot recommend
APR 09, 2009 03:14A.M. this fanzine enough) , as well as the long running Alarums and
Excursions (A&E). Since both of these two publications are hard to
From the family: come by, I felt this is a perfect example of what I should run as a Lost
Work.
Shortly after 11pm on Tuesday, April 7th, Dave Arneson passed away. He
was comfortable and with family at the time and his passing was If you are new to the concepts found in old school GW WFRP, or if you
peaceful. want a walk down memories lane, this is going to be a treat. For me it is
strange seeing this appear again — I am no longer the person who once
The Arneson family would like to thank everyone for their support over wrote this.
the last few days, and for the support the entire community has shown
Dave over the years. Discovery of Lustria

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
The first known record of Lustria’s discovery was -4419 I.C. when the
High Elf explorer Anurell Seaspirit set foot on the southern tip of the
continent. On the tip of the peninsula the High Elfs built what is known
as the Citadel of Dusk. The citadel was initially established to monitor
activity in the Southern Chaos Wastes. Thousands of years later it still
stands protecting a critical point of the Ulthuan-Cathy sea lane and
providing a safe port for all sea-faring Elf ships.
It was not until the spring of 2410 I.C. that the Norse adventurer and
pirate Losteriksson set foot on the shores of the Isthmus of Lustria. How
or why he set sail for here is unknown. Some believe that Losteriksson’s
boat was caught in a storm and blown off course. Turned around, he
sailed where he thought Norsca was only located to find himself in a
strange land.
Some contend, actually it is the Norse who contend, that it was a vision
from Ulrich that pointed Losteriksson toward this new land. Some joke
that Losteriksson was simply drunk, and sailed west instead of east.
Regardless of why he sailed there, a small colony named Skeggi was
founded and to this day the Norse are still based here. Skeggi trades with
Hexoutl, and fends off occasional attacks by High Elfs and Dark Elfs.
Six months after the Norse arrival, the Tilean explorer Marco Columbo
“discovered” Lustria. Columbo claimed the land in the name of his
sponsor the Queen of Estalia and became wealthy from the gold and
jewels discovered. Columbo did not deal fairly in his trading with the
Slann. To make matters worse, he sent his men into the jungles to steal
gold works and other sacred objects from the cities. After many years of
dealing with these raids, Lord Crok of Tlaxtlan sent a large force to
Columbo Island to kill the humans. It is because of Columbo’s actions
that the High Elfs consider the Old World explorers interlopers and
nothing more than pirates. It is Columbo’s actions that caused the Elfs to
institute their policy of sinking any Old World ship bound to and from
Lustria. This policy worked for many years, but it has been only in the
past twenty that the Elfs have shown an inability to maintain it.
With the success of the Skeggi colony it was decided that the Norse
should establish further colonies in Lustria. The first colony was founded
in 2442 I.C. at the mouth of the Amoco River and named Iquitos. With
its prime location at the mouth of Amoco River, Iquitos became a major
trading port. Regular shipments of goods leave the cities docks for the
Old World; in addition barges can be seen sailing up river to the
Lizardmen city of Chaqua.
Iquitos success led to another settlement founding. Located on the
Ljunger River, a tributary of the Amoco, Vastervik was established in
2498 I.C. The settlement is located to the north of Iquitos, and is nothing
more than a heavily fortified village. Vastervik is a major farming region
and this is due to its prime soil. The bulk of the Lustrian Cigars that are
shipped to the Old World originates from here.
The High Elfs hold the exclusive rights to all goods in Lustria try to keep
others out of the land. Yet the Elfs are a dying race and their ability to
limit Old Worlder activity is slowly weakening. Still explorers from the
Old World have come and pillaged some of the ruined Slann cities, and
4
10 April, 2009
these thieves are always hunted down and killed. The Lizardmen track
down the warm bloods that manage to escape the jungles to their own
lands. How the Lizardmen get there is anyone’s guess. It is rumored that
the Slann use ancient magical gates to send the Lizardmen war parties
after these thieves.
Birth of the Lizardmen
My brothers we are Slann. Though the young races may not
know us, or if they do, they underestimate us. We are Slann;
we are the children of the Old Ones. It is us who they
entrusted The Great World Plan. It is us who have worked
all these years to ensure it is carried out. Do not talk to me of
the upstart Elfs. We are older. We have endured. When the
Elfs are no more, it is we who will still be here.
- Lord Rupt, Slann of the 2nd Spawning
In days long ago a frozen wasteland of a planet spun in the cosmos
untouched. The only life found was Lizardmen, Troglodytes and Cold
Ones living deep underground. A group of travelers known as the Old
Ones traveled to this via the Wrap Gates. Once they arrived they began
the process of encouraging the development of the races that exist today.
Their first task was to make the planet habitable. To do so they shifted
the orbit of the planet. This shift melted the ice, and created an
environment hospitable to life above ground. The Old summoned
through the Warp Gates the Slann, who helped in carrying out The Great
World Plan. Realizing that more Slann would be needed, the Old Ones
constructed breeding pools throughout Lustria the long Slann spawning
process could begin. While waiting for the New Slann to emerge from the
breeding pools, the Old Slann saw a need for servants. These servants
would help in the day-to-day operation of the empire and would free the
Slann to meditate on the teachings of the Old Ones.
Seeing a need for strength and power they decided to tinker with the
Troglodyte genetic code to create a new race. Great breeding pools were
created and experiments were conducted. It took many years of
experimentation until success was achieved in the form of the Kroxigors.
Tall and powerful the Kroxigors were ideally suited for heavy lifting and
as troops in the Slann’s armies. In addition, due to some quirk in the
maturation process, the Kroxigors were able to swim and breathe both
above and below water. There was one drawback to this race-they were
stupid.
Disappointed, yet not discouraged, the Old Slann started another round
of experimentation. This time the Slann adapted the underground living
Lizardmen to a life above ground. The goal was to breed a strong, yet
smarter Lizardmen. The results were a partial success when the Saurus
emerged from the pools. Weaker then the Kroxigors, the Saurus were
smarter, but only by a little. Saurus were able to take orders and follow
directions, but could not reason for themselves. The Saurus made perfect
laborers and guards for the Slann, and it was decided that the bulk of the
Slann armies would be made up of this race. Still not happy with their
results, the Old Slann went back to the pools one more time.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 10 April, 2009

A new set of breeding pools were built and this time the Old Slann looked ROGUE FEED
to the newts populating the surrounding jungle. Using powerful magic
and technology the Old Slann mutated the brain of the developing race Sadly, This is Accurate
known as Skinks. Emerging from the pools the Skinks were smaller and APR 08, 2009 11:36P.M.
weaker than the other Lizardmen. What they lacked in muscle, they
made up for with their increased brain matter. Like the Kroxigors, the I just received an email directly from Dave Arneson’s family, who asked
Skinks were able to breathe both above and below water. They were also me to share the following:
able to read and write in their own language and learn how to read and
write the language of the Slann. The Skinks were perfectly suited to serve Shortly after 11pm on Tuesday, April 7th, Dave Arneson
not only as scribes, but also fill administrative roles within the Slann passed away. He was comfortable and with family at the time
Empire. and his passing was peaceful.

By the time the first spawning of Kroxigors, Saurus and Skinks were in The Arneson family would like to thank everyone for their
place the first native Lustrian Slann emerged from the pools. The Old support over the last few days, and for the support the entire
Slann who traveled through the Warp Gate were known as the First community has shown Dave over the years.
Spawning, and this new group became known as the Second Spawning.
More Slann were spawned until they reached the Fifth Spawning. These We are in the process of making final arrangements and will
Slann emerged from the pools after the Warp Gates collapsed and the provide additional details as we work them out. We will
Old Ones disappeared. continue to receive cards and letters in Dave’s honor. We are
planning to hold a public visitation so that anyone wishing to
The Old Ones were pleased with their success, and taught the Slann the say their goodbye in person has the opportunity to do so.
ways of magic. The Old Ones also shared The Great World Plan with the
Slann as well. This was done so that the knowledge of the Old Ones Cards and letters can continue to be sent:
would live on, so that each new spawning would know what is to come Dave Arneson
and what needs to be done. 1043 Grand Avenue
Box #257
The Slann of the First Spawning inscribed on plaques of gold The Great St. Paul, MN
World Plan, and every temple city regardless of size and importance, has 55105
a copy of these plaques. The plaques are sacred to the Slann, and are
guarded at all times. Because the plaques have been copied so many Visitation will be on April 20th
times, no two copies are alike. This lack of quality control has led to Time: yet to be determined
discrepancies in the interpretation of The Great World Plan. Often, as Address:
was the case with the Prophecy of Sotek, Slann in neighboring temple Bradshaw Funeral Home
cities find prophecies that no one knew about. It is the discrepancies in 687 Snelling Avenue South
the plaques that have prevented the Slann from rising to a greater St. Paul, MN 55105
position of power in the world today.
Farewell, Mr Arneson; you will be missed. I hope that, at the very least,
Posted in Games Tagged: Games, Lost Works, Lustria, thoughts, yesterday’s outpouring of affection for you and your contributions to our
hobby cheered you in your final hours. You were one of a kind.
Warhammer FRP

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
ROGUE FEED
Role-Playing Must Be Fun
APR 08, 2009 10:27P.M.
This gradually became, within the past few years, how all instances of
evolution of the game’s design have been explained to the masses.
D&D is a game that ought to be fun. To increase the fun, it thus needs to
be faster in game play. It needs to be easier to grasp. It needs to provide
all sorts of elements that help players and DMs imagine as quickly as
they possibly can, with the most “fun” value out of it. Okay, I guess, but...
what kind of “fun” are we, in fact, talking about?
Never, in the last edition’s text, do we get a comprehensive explanation
of what, exactly, is supposed to be fun when playing role-playing games.
I suspect that’s where the fallacy of Fourth Edition began: the challenge
of 4e’s “design team” was to pick up Third Ed and instantly wonder “how
do we get this game to be more fun?” rather than “what makes role-
playing games fun?” in the first place!
I suspect that the fun that makes one play role-playing games has in fact
nothing to do with “game balance” (which truly means “rules’ balance in
a vacuum” - maybe more about this later). It has nothing to do with the
relative complexity of a game system, though it can affect the long term
engagement of a player with a particular game.
Nope.
The Fun of role-playing games has to do with that very first day we were
given the occasion to play them. It surely varies in tone, feelings and
experiences for each and every one of us, but I suspect it always come
down to “wow. I can actually be part of the fantasy world“. Some will
call it immersion. Others will call it escapism.
I prefer, like others, to call it Enchantment with a capital E.
Yes. Enchantment.
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10 April, 2009
This “wow” factor of “Yes! This time and forevermore, *I* get to be Jack
climbing the beanstalk!”
This has been ignored in game design for some time now in favor of a
self-contained, self-contaminated, self-inflicted obsession about the rules
and how these rules bring about fairness, choices, support to the fun of
the game.
This is my theory, and this is why I think it is valuable to get back to the
Lake Geneva campaign as a sort of cartharsis to our own first role-
playing experiences. A way to understand why role-playing was so fun in
the first place, and how, so that we can make our own games profit from
this experience and become more “fun” themselves.
I suspect this post may be quite controversial to some people, and to tell
you the truth, this is fully intended. Am I wrong in thinking this way?
Then please, tell me so by leaving your comments! Whatever your
thoughts may be, I hope you will share them and fuel this conversation. I
feel this is part of the reasons why we are all here.
ROGUE FEED
AGP Customer Appreciation
Sale
APR 08, 2009 05:17P.M.
James Mishler of Adventure Games Publishing has announced a
Customer Appreciation Sale. All sixteen of AGP’s products are now
reduced in price as a way to say thank you for those who’ve purchased
them in the past.
I’ve reviewed most of AGP’s products here in the past, so here’s a handy
set of links to the individual reviews:
100 Calamitous Curses
100 Exciting Encounters & 100 Treasure Troves
2008 Wilderlands Jam
Adventure Games Journal, Issue #1
Aendryth’s Eldritch Compendium
Barbarians of the Wilderlands I
Forn Sidthr: The Old Custom
Martial Artist Class
Monsters & Treasures of the Wilderlands I (Revised Version)
Wilderlands Maps
James Mishler is one of the hardest working guys in the hobby. His
output is amazing both in terms of volume and quality. If you’ve ever
thought about buying one of his many terrific products, now’s a good
time to do so.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 10 April, 2009

Judges Guild in 1977. Part gazetteer of Blackmoor and its famed

dungeon and part rules supplement, FFC is a remarkable peek into
another take on D&D, one very different than the Gygaxian paradigm
that most of us, consciously or unconsciously, take to be its native idiom.
ROGUE FEED For those of us in the old school movement, this is an invaluable
document, not just for the information it provides about the earliest
New Judges Guild Site campaign setting in the history of the hobby, but also for the way it
APR 08, 2009 03:59P.M. presents another way to play OD&D, making Arneson the patron saint of
rules modders and home brewers.
Judges Guild has a very attractive new site. It’s still under construction,
but I hope that its appearance presages lots of good things to come from The First Fantasy Campaign begins, appropriately enough, with an
the Guild. overview of “Blackmoor, the Campaign,” which was a series of wargames
scenarios that provided the backdrop for the setting. FFC includes
extensive army listings for all the various forces involved (Egg of Coot,
Duchy of Ten, Great Kingdom, etc.), including notes about their incomes
and costs of upkeep. There’s also an overview of domain management —
constructing roads and bridges, laying down sailing ships, exploration,
ROGUE FEED farming, fishing, and much more. It’s a fascinating reminder that D&D‘s
roots are in wargaming and not just in a vague “it’s about killing bad
Retrospective: The First Fantasy guys and taking their stuff” sort of way. As presented in this book,
Blackmoor was at least in part an honest-to-goodness exercise in strategy
Campaign and tactics by the players, as the armies of good and evil contended to
APR 08, 2009 02:45P.M. determine the fate of the northern provinces of the Great Kingdom.
Unfortunately, for all this information, it’s unclear what rules set Dave
and his players used to adjudicate these battles. One assumes Chainmail
but that’s not a certainty.

FFC continues with descriptions — but no stats — for “Blackmoor’s More

Infamous Characters.” These characters include heroes and villains alike,
at least some of whom, such as Mello and the Great Svenny, were PCs in
the Blackmoor campaign. Following it is a description of Blackmoor
Town, along with a map. Blackmoor Castle itself also gets a description,
complete with a history and sketches of its “haunted rooms and the like,”
as the text calls them. After that, there is a large section devoted to the
“outdoors in Blackmoor.” This section includes methods for generating
your own wilderness map and encounters that are similar to but differ
from those included in OD&D. They’re quite fascinating in their own
right, but are even moreso for insights into the almost-improvisational
way Dave ran and developed the Blackmoor campaign. This was not a
campaign with a grand plan or story but one whose elements evolved
through the rough and tumble of actual play, with luck playing as big a
role as choice by players or referee. I found this section very fascinating.

The “Blackmoor Dungeons” section begins with a brief historical

overview of the dungeon (starting in Winter 1970). This is followed by
discussions of notable inhabitants, such as Sir Fang the Vampire and the
elves who maintain the barricades preventing the dungeon’s inhabitants
from terrorizing Blackmoor Town. Gamers used to a more straitlaced
and serious approach to world building will no doubt find much that
offends their sensibilities (turnstiles to enter the dungeon, holy water
hoses, souvenirs, etc.) and I’ll admit that it’s a fair bit more over the top
than I’d ever use in my own campaign. But one must remember that
Although Supplement II to OD&D was entitled Blackmoor, the book
Blackmoor predates all the conventions we’ve come to associate with
described very little of the setting of Dave Arneson’s fantasy campaign.
fantasy gaming; its participants were creating it on the fly, drawing on
That task was taken up by The First Fantasy Campaign, published by
every inspiration available to them and without regard for concerns

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
other than having fun. I think we need reminders from time to time that
the true origin of our hobby is fun and all the philosophizing and
debating in the world is but straw in comparison.
Two dungeons are included in FFC. The first is Castle Blackmoor itself,
consisting of 10 levels, although the text indicates that there are at least
15 more levels beyond what is described. These levels each get a map and
key, along short entries detailing monsters and treasures. The second
dungeon is a small one beneath Glendower, which consists of only four
levels. Both dungeons are not highly detailed and their maps are more
like sketches than exhaustively drawn works of cartographic art. Again,
many gamers might be disappointed with these maps, but to expect
precision from them is, I think, to misunderstand the nature of early
gaming, which was much more “seat of the pants” than many realize.
Notes were kept but they were brief, intended to jog the memory more
than anything else. This section of FFC reflects that.
The final portions of The First Fantasy Campaign are a grab bag of rules
and ideas: magic swords, Gypsy sayings and chance cards, a discussion
of how the OD&D magic system is interpreted in Blackmoor, the “wine,
women, and song” rules for earning experience points for gold. There are
also maps of Svenson’s Freehold, expanded rules for dragons, vampires,
and other creatures, among other tidbits. FFC truly is an eclectic
product.
What I think is most notable and praiseworthy about The First Fantasy
Campaign is the way it preserves and communicates, warts and all, what
it was like to play at the dawn of the hobby. The rules presented here are
quirky and flavorful, one part Chainmail, one part OD&D, and one part
imaginative improvisation. The setting itself is highly impressionistic.
Macro details are few and far between; most of the information pertains
to individual locations within the setting, with the implication that other
information will be created as needed rather than determined in advance
of use.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate this style of gaming much
more than I would have in my youth. Consequently, I am sure that many
will look on FFC with some disappointment at its seemingly random
approach to a variety of topics, including world building. For me, though,
that’s part of its charm. This most emphatically isn’t a polished product
or an attempt at brand building. It’s the notebook of one highly
imaginative and eccentric referee, offered up for the world to see rather
than to pick up and use “out of the box.” Like OD&D itself, using The
First Fantasy Campaign for onself is an exercise in active engagement
with the text rather than simply reading it and following its instructions.
There are no instructions in this book, just as there were no instructions
to OD&D. Each person who reads it must of necessity make of it what
they will. Like Dave Arneson himself, it’s a pity more people aren’t
familiar with this product and its unique approach. I think the hobby
might have been a very different place if they had been.
8
10 April, 2009
ROGUE FEED
The Latest — and Accurate —
Information About Dave
Arneson
APR 08, 2009 02:49A.M.
The following information was passed on to me directly by a member of
Dave Arneson’s family:
As of this writing, Dave is still with us. We have moved him
into a facility where we can focus on keeping him
comfortable. We have been and will continue to watch the
forums and blogs and are passing along everyone’s thoughts
and prayers. Right now our focus is on getting Dave into the
best possible position to maintain his comfort and his dignity.
We will update the community as we can. We want to thank
everyone for your thoughts and prayers and ask that you
continue to send Dave your support in whatever form that
means to you.
An address has been established to receive messages to Dave.
Dave Arneson
1043 Grand Avenue
Box #257
St. Paul, MN
5510
The family has asked that all of us who care about Dave wait patiently for
news from them, as they are the only wholly reliable source of
information. Given the misinformation to which I contributed today, I
think that’s a very sensible policy and one by which I’ll happily abide.
My thanks to his family for contacting me directly and for being very
understanding about the mess I contributed to. I still feel very bad about
it.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 10 April, 2009

ROGUE FEED

Dave Arneson is Still with Us

APR 07, 2009 10:46P.M.

The report of Dave’s death I received was apparently mistaken. I had

been told by someone who had worked with Dave in recent years that
Dave had passed away earlier today, but this seems not to be the case. He
is currently in a hospice where he is being cared for at this time.

I am both glad to hear that Dave is not dead, as I was led to believe, and
rather mortified at my having posted this information before it had been
confirmed by a second source. I had no reason to doubt my original
source, given his close proximity to Dave, but apparently I should have.

My apologies to everyone to whom my post has caused distress. I can’t

begin to describe how embarrassed I feel right now, particularly since I
should have known better.

ROGUE FEED

[Thousand Suns] Foundation

Transmissions Beams August
2009
APR 07, 2009 10:43P.M.

[BEGIN TRANSMISSION]

[HUD CHANNEL ALPHA 4.3.2]

[DISPLAY FOUNDATION]

The Encyclopedia Galactica Foundation, more commonly known

simply as the Foundation, is neither an organ of the State nor a great
commercial enterprise. Established shortly after the signing of the
Concord, the Foundation produces an encyclopedia of all knowledge,
selling it to eager readers throughout the Thousand Suns. Here is your
chance to read a sampling of the innumerable articles Foundation
researchers produce each standard year.

[DISPLAY CONTENTS]

The Foundation’s mission is an important one: collect data, document it,

and codify it for the betterment of all species. This latest regular update
to the Encyclopedia continues that mission by providing information
on many topics of interest, including

• The Aurigan: A new alien species/encounter

9
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 10 April, 2009

• Moving Through the Ranks — Military Ranks in Thousand Suns

• Custom Weapons

• Custom Protection

• A Spacefarer: Introduction to Lingua Terra

• The Ways of Scheming

• Robots

• Guide to the Core Worlds

These articles are ready for immediate download to all subscribers of the
Encyclopedia Galactica.

[END TRANSMISSION]

$9.99

RGG 1030, 96 Pages, 6×9 BW Softcover

In stores August 2009.

Because I tend to write rather dense posts, I like to include illustrations

or photographs with them to break up the walls of text. Usually, finding
an appropriate image isn’t too hard, but it was in the case of this entry.
Type “Dave Arneson” into Google Images and you’ll find comparatively
few clear photographs of the man who co-created Dungeons & Dragons.
Many of them are impromptu snapshots taken at conventions, often
ROGUE FEED
from a great distance.
In Memoriam In some ways, that’s a metaphor for Dave’s place in the hobby. Most
APR 07, 2009 08:12P.M.
gamers, even those who joined the hobby after its heyday in the 80s,
have at least a vague sense of who Gary Gygax was. But Dave Arneson is
probably a mystery to them. They might recognize the name from the
title pages of their Third Edition rulebooks or see it as one name among
many cursorily listed in Fourth Edition, but it probably doesn’t really
mean anything to them. Part of that is because Dave never had a
company of his own or a regular magazine column to use as a bully
pulpit. Even in this wired age, he rarely ventured forth to answer
questions on forums or blogs. He was a very private guy, humble even,
and he tended not to toot his own horn, even when he probably ought to
have done so.

That’s why news of his death hits me harder than I ever expected it
would. Unlike Gary, with whom I did have personal interactions, I never
met Dave or exchanged emails with him. The extent of my connection
was a very brief stint working as developer for the 3e line of Blackmoor
products, where he approved an outline for a product I submitted.
Beyond that, I knew him only as other gamers my age did: through his
writings. Dave’s output was all-too-brief in the field of fantasy
roleplaying games. Much of Supplement II is not in fact his work and
very few gamers, even older ones, owned his First Fantasy Campaign or

10
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
Dungeon Master’s Index, let alone his Adventures in Fantasy. His
earlier wargames work is even more obscure.
It’s a shame that Dave was not better known and appreciated when he
was alive. That’s why news of his death hits me harder than I’d imagined
it might. It was Dave, after all, who created the concept of the dungeon,
without which D&D as we know it would not have been possible. Dave
was also the originator of the cleric class, having added it as a foil for a
vampire PC, Sir Fang, after having watched one too many Hammer
horror films starring Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. Blackmoor was also
the first campaign setting and its idiosyncratic character was an
inspiration to many people in the early days of the hobby. Dave’s
masterpiece was surely “The Temple of the Frog” adventure in
Supplement II. I know that, when I read it as a teenager, years after I’d
been playing D&D, it came like a bolt from the blue, an amazing piece of
creative genre-bending that made a profound impression on me. As I’ve
gotten older, I can’t help but think the hobby might have been richer had
Dave Arneson’s vision of fantasy not been relegated to the sidelines.
I had some hope that Dave’s health might have improved and that he’d
take the opportunity to step out from the shadows to tell his story to the
gaming public. Goodness knows he deserved more time in the spotlight
than he ever got during his life. Till the end, though, Dave remained very
private and avoided self-promotion. Psychologically, I guess it just wasn’t
in his nature and I can hardly blame him for that, even if I selfishly wish
otherwise. There are lots of gaps in our understanding of the early days
and Dave was in a unique position to fill them in. That possibility is
closed to us and I’m sorry for that, not least because it might have helped
people understand the role this man played in founding our collective
hobby. He was one of the Titans and now he’s gone.
Farewell, Mr Arneson. Thank you for everything.
ROGUE FEED
RIP David L. Arneson (1947-
2009)
APR 07, 2009 06:50P.M.
I’ve just received word that Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons &
Dragons, has passed away. When I have additional information, I’ll post
it here, along with a longer post about Dave and his contributions to the
hobby.
Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat ei.
11
10 April, 2009
ROGUE FEED
My Take
APR 07, 2009 05:28P.M.
By now, pretty much everyone with a presence online has weighed in on
the latest news from Wizards of the Coast: the company has halted the
sale of PDF versions of their products through RPGNow/Drivethrurpg
and Paizo’s online stores. As a general rule, I’ve avoided commenting
much on what WotC does, primarily because I’m no longer have any
interest in their products. My opinion of 4e isn’t a secret, but, since I
don’t play the game, I rarely have anything to say about it or the
company that produces it. I think this is a pretty good policy. I catch
enough flak as it is just talking about old school games and the history of
the hobby without inveighing against WotC’s current products and I
don’t need that kind of grief.
I’m not at all convinced that this move has anything to do with trying to
prevent piracy. They may claim that is the case and it’s a convincing
claim in light of its occurring on the same day as lawsuits against eight
people across the world for illegal distribution of electronic copies of the
Player’s Handbook II. But, conspiracy monger that everyone knows I
am, I suspect there’s more going on here than that. Most likely, WotC
wants to shore up its bottom line and thinks bringing the PDFs back in
house, either through their own online storefront or, more likely, as a
feature of DDI, is a way to do that. A far more outlandish scenario is that
this could be connected in some way to re-organization of the company
late last year, when it ceased to be Wizards of the Coast Inc. and became
a LLC.
I don’t give much credence to the notion that this move was intended to
deal with the growing popularity of older editions of the game or to force
gamers to migrate to 4e. In the first case, I don’t think WotC cares much
about the older editions of the game, which I suspect represent such a
tiny fraction of the D&D-playing public as to be insignificant. Likewise,
by all accounts, 4e is doing well — perhaps not as well as some in WotC
had hoped or expected, but well enough. I doubt that making AD&D or
3e unavailable in PDF is going to convince their buyers to suddenly
adopt the new edition if they weren’t interested beforehand. Even if it
did, such gamers aren’t numerous enough to make up the difference
between 4e’s current level of sales and the hoped for Second Coming of
the 80s. That’s why I suspect the move is most likely motivated by a
desire to squeeze every last ounce of profit out of “legacy D&D” as they
can and that necessitates cutting out the middle men and, quite possibly,
using these older products as a carrot to entice their fans into giving DDI
a whirl.
That said, I think this could, potentially, prove a boon for the old school
renaissance. I think there are people out there now who might be more
inclined to give Swords & Wizardry or OSRIC a look-see than they were
before this announcement. Again, I don’t expect there to be sudden
deluge of newcomers to our little corner of the hobby, but I’m sure we’ll
see an uptick in sales and interest, at least in the short term. It’d be
terrific if it was a lasting surge in our numbers, but I’m not naive enough
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
to believe, let alone hope, that it will be.
And that’s about all I have to say on this subject.
ROGUE FEED
[Rogue Games] Our Pledge to
the Gamer
APR 07, 2009 02:44P.M.
So the news about Wizard of the Coast pulling their PDFs and running
has hit the web, and gamers are angry. Fear not gamer, because Rogue
Games is here, we are still selling our PDFs, and guess what? They are
still as affordable as ever, and we still treat you, the Gamer, with
respect.
When the Rogues started Rogue Games, our goal was was simple: make
our games affordable. We strive to keep our prices low. In addition, we
want you to play our games, and we feel that we should not get in your
way when doing that. How are we doing this? Simple:
• Every time you buy a hard copy of our games at IPR you get the
PDF for free. Forever. Ever.
• Our PDF pricing is as follows $9.99, $6.99, $4.99 and $1.00.
These prices hold no matter if you buy your PDFs from Indy Press
Revolution, Studio 2 Publishing, Drivethrurpg.com, RPGnow.com,
e23, and Yourgamesnow.com.
• Finally, over the next few weeks our PDFs will be DRM free.
Starting with Transmissions from Piper and all products here on
out, will be DRM free. Call us crazy, but, we do not care.
Why all of this?
Simple. We. Want. You. To. Play. Our. Games.
Strange concept, we know, but that is the truth.
Posted in Games, Rogue Games Tagged: © 2009 Rogue Games, news,
Rogue Games
12
10 April, 2009
ROGUE FEED
[Rogue Games] Our Pledge to
the Gamer
APR 07, 2009 02:43P.M.
So the news about Wizard of the Coast pulling their PDFs and running
has hit the web, and gamers are angry. Fear not gamer, because Rogue
Games is here, we are still selling our PDFs, and guess what? They are
still as affordable as ever, and we still treat you, the Gamer, with
respect.
When the Rogues started Rogue Games, our goal was was simple: make
our games affordable. We strive to keep our prices low. In addition, we
want you to play our games, and we feel that we should not get in your
way when doing that. How are we doing this? Simple:
• Every time you buy a hard copy of our games at IPR you get the
PDF for free. Forever. Ever.
• Our PDF pricing is as follows $9.99, $6.99, $4.99 and $1.00.
These prices hold no matter if you buy your PDFs from Indy Press
Revolution, Studio 2 Publishing, Drivethrurpg.com, RPGnow.com,
e23, and Yourgamesnow.com.
• Finally, over the next few weeks our PDFs will be DRM free.
Starting with Transmissions from Piper and all products here on
out, will be DRM free. Call us crazy, but, we do not care.
Why all of this?
Simple. We. Want. You. To. Play. Our. Games.
Strange concept, we know, but that is the truth.
ROGUE FEED
[Colonial Gothic Revised] Skill
Cost
APR 06, 2009 10:15P.M.
One of the things I wanted to do with Colonial Gothic Revised was
make skill buying much clearer and easier to understand. When writing
the book, I thought I hit the right tone, but then when play testing
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 10 April, 2009

started, I learned that I did not do the job. 10

This is a good thing, learning that something is not clear, and it allowed 11
me to see an issue from a different perspective. When you work with a
game for as long as I have, you start to become blind to some problems. 12
This happens because as a designer, or gamemaster, or player, you
already know the rules, and you know how they work, even though they Base Rank
might not be clear.
1
So, after learning that a section was not clear, I went a rewrote it. I like
the changes I made, even though I did not change anything. I simply 1
clarified and removed a lot of confusion — I hope. Here is the new
section I wrote, I still need to edit it a little more, but this is now added to 2
the game.
2
As previously mentioned, all Heroes begin with 55 Skill
Points, which are used to buy skills, as well as to buy 3
additional Ranks in current skills. All skills are associated
with one of the five Attributes, and this association is what 3
sets the Skill Cost for the Skill. What is the Base Rank?
4
When purchasing a new skill, the number of Skill Points it
costs is equal to half the Skill’s governing Attribute. When 4
purchasing a skill, you have it Rank 1. To raise the number of
Ranks in the skill the cost to do so is half cost to buy it at the 5
Base Rank. No starting skill can start more than 1 Ranks
above the governing Attribute. 5

To make it easier calculating the Skill Costs, refer to the Skill 6

Cost Table below. By finding the governing Attribute Ranks
you can quickly find how much it costs to buy a skill, and how 6
much it costs to raise a skill’s Rank.
Raise 1 Rank
Skill Cost Table
1
Attribute Rank
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
4
2
5
2
6
2
7
3
8
3
9
3

13
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
3 a barbarian? Create a fighter and call him a barbarian. Sometimes the
Let’s use an example.
You want your Hero to able to shoot a bow, so you decide to
buy the Archery skill. Archery is associated with the Nimble
Attribute, and your Hero has Nimble 6. Using the table above
you see that to buy a skill at the Base Rank cost 3 Skill Points.
Spending 3 Skill Points you purchase Archery at Rank 1. This
Rank now sets all Target Numbers in all Skill Tests associated
with Archery.
Realizing that Archery 1 is not good enough, you decide to
spend more skill points and raise Archery to Rank 6. Using
the Skill Cost Table, you see that to raise a Skill costs 2 Skill
Points (your Hero has Nimble 6), and to raise Archery to
Rank 6 costs 10 Skill Points (2 Skill Points per Rank, 5 Ranks
multiplied by 2 Skill Points per Rank equals 15 Skill Points).
For more on skills refer to Chapter 3.
Ok, so that is the new section. Later this week I want to write
about magic, and a slight change I made to it.
ROGUE FEED
An example of my game design
approach
APR 06, 2009 09:52P.M.
We are releasing a new Thousand Suns supplement this August. The
supplement is going to be a meaty little tome filled with new rules and
options for the game. Among the rules are rules for robots as player
characters.
Yes. It will be a simple set of rules to allow for them as playable
characters. James did not like my version of the rules:
“Create a character, call it a robot.”
Hence, James is writing these rule up.
Still, my rule highlights something about me. I feel that any type of
character concept can be captured with basic rules. You want to play
robot? Create a character like normal and call it a robot. You want to play
14
10 April, 2009
rules at hand are all you need.
Posted in Games, thoughts Tagged: game design, Rogue Games,
thoughts, thousand suns
ROGUE FEED
Dwimmermount PCs
APR 06, 2009 07:39P.M.
I was asked in the comments to my earlier thread to describe the player
characters in the Dwimmermount campaign. At present, there are five
PCs. They are:
Brother Candor (Cleric 3)
Str 13 Dex 9 Con 15 Int 12 Wis 15 Cha 16
As you can see from his rather impressive ability scores, Brother Candor
was blessed by Lady Luck from birth. He’s the de facto leader of the
party of adventurers. He’s the adopted son of an itinerant cleric of Tyche,
who followed in his father’s footsteps after he died. Candor recently
formally joined the hierarchy of the Lady’s church. His only magic item
are a pair of boots of levitation.
Dordagdonar (Elven Adventurer 3)
Str 11 Dex 15 Con 9 Int 12 Wis 6 Cha 15
Dordagdonar claims not to have a lot of use for “ephemerals,” as he calls
mortal races, but he spends all his time with them. He’s implied that he’s
older and more knowledgeable than he appears, but no one else believes
him. They keep him around because he’s a good shot with a bow, but his
use of magic is much less certain (he cast sleep on Pike, while he was
engaged in combat). His magic items consist of chainmail +1 and a wand
of paralyzation.
Pike (Fighting Man 2)
Str 16 Dex 9 Con 14 Int 7 Wis 9 Cha 10
Pike was once a grave digger and took up adventuring as a way to make
more money than he earned in his former profession. He still carries the
shovel he used in those days. Semi-literate with a weakness for gambling,
Pike is nevertheless no fool. He distrusts Dordagdonar and is wary of any
plans that involve his entering a room alone without a visible means of
escape. His magic items consist of a longsword +1 and a hand axe +1.
Iriadessa (Magic-User 2)
Str 8 Dex 13 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 10 Cha 8
Iriadessa is a 12 year-old girl who claims she’s actually 15. She joined the
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
party so that she could escape the wizard to whom her parents had sold
her in exchange for a small amount of gold. Rather than wait to see what
the wizard had in store for her, she swiped his spellbook and fled,
teaching herself the rudiments of magic. She’s cowardly and wary of
anything remotely dangerous, which makes her decision to explore
Dwimmermount somewhat nonsensical but her command of sleep and
charm person spells means she’s occasionally proven her worth. She
currently possesses no magic items.
Vladimir (Dwarven Warrior 1)
Str 13 Dex 11 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 9 Cha 9
Dour and greedy, as you’d expect from a dwarf, Vladimir remains a bit of
a cipher compared to his fellow party members. He spends most of his
free time — and all of his wealth — carving a son for himself, in
accordance with dwarven custom. He’s fond of bad jokes and puns and
speaks Common with a peculiar accent. He also doesn’t like goblins,
which is why Brakk often disappears whenever Vladimir decides to rejon
the party. He currently possesses no magic items.
ROGUE FEED
Curious
APR 06, 2009 05:09P.M.
Getting lots of hits from Livejournals today. Not sure what’s up with that.
ROGUE FEED
Dwimmermount, Session 9
APR 06, 2009 02:01P.M.
The ninth session of my Dwimmermount campaign was, once again,
given over mostly to exploration. As I’ve mentioned before, the party has
been keeping rather detailed maps of the levels into which they’ve
ventured. This has proven a boon for them, since these maps have given
them a better sense of where secret doors might lie, for example, as well
as how features on each level interrelate. I’m positively tickled by this,
since it means that the players are paying attention to the environment
I’ve created rather than just treating it as scenery in a succession of fight
scenes.
What the players have noticed is that the level they’re currently on seems
rather small compared to Level 1. The first level contained many
staircases and other forms of descent that seem not to connect to the
portion of Level 2 they’ve explored so far. Indeed, Level 2 appears to
have only one direct connection to the level above it. Unless they’ve
15
10 April, 2009
missed some secret doors or other means of lateral movement, they’ve
concluded that “Level 2” is in fact a small sub-level rather than
something as extensive as Level 1. Without revealing whether they’re
correct or not — my players read this blog — I will say that this line of
thinking pleases me, if only because it means they’re thinking of the
dungeon as something more than a succession of neatly stacked levels,
one on top of the other.
The players also concluded that the only way down from “Level 2” is via
the passages leading to the pool of black oil. Brother Candor did some
investigation into this and determined that the oil is pooled in a large
cavern with several connecting passages, some of which also contain oil
and some of which contain dry rock. He could see no inhabitants in the
oil cavern but he spent minimal time exploring it. He did collect even
more of the oil for analysis. In large quantities, the party noticed that the
oil isn’t just black but has a sheen to it not unlike quicksilver. When the
characters returned to Adamas (which I’ll describe in a moment), they
wanted to hire an alchemist to help them identify it. Unfortunately,
alchemists are very expensive (250 gp/week) and the characters are
cash-poor at the moment.
Their explorations of “Level 2” involved a fight with some more beast-
men and a giant spider. There were also some fatalities. A poison gas
trap claimed the lives of Erik, Ethil, and Hrothgar. It also nearly killed
Brother Candor and Iriadessa, both of whom made their saves by the
thinnest of margins. The loss of not one but three of their front-line
fighting men was a serious blow to the party. They decided they couldn’t
continue without first replacing their hirelings (since both Pike and
Vladimir were absent this session), so they knew they’d have to ride back
to Adamas to do so. They did dispose of all three northern warriors
outside of Muntburg, on an alcohol-soaked funeral bier set aflame.
These deaths hit home a bit more than had previous ones, partly because
Erik and Ethil were jovial, goofy NPCs who talked like Arnie and had
quirky personalities. As it turns out, a pair of women’s boots Erik found
— and wore — were magical boots of levitation. These were removed
from his body and replaced with a different pair of women’s boots before
his body was consigned to the flames. “At least he died with his boots on”
was a source of several jokes this session. Brother Candor wears the
boots now, but claims his plate mail greaves hide their appearance to
anyone who doesn’t spend a lot of time looking at his feet.
The characters spent time in Adamas hiring new mercenaries. Brother
Candor now employs Wulfhere and Dordagdonar employs Brandis. Both
are mighty fighting men and cost a fair bit more to hire than did their
deceased comrades. Dordagdonar also “upgraded” Henga the Shield-
Maiden to the status of henchman. She is now the longest serving NPC in
the party, having been used continuously in every session since she first
appeared (unlike Brakk, who was absent in two sessions). While in
Adamas, the party spellcasters also learned new spells and Brother
Candor formally joined the Church of Tyche’s hierarchy. He’s now
expected to give over 10% of his loot to the high priest in the City-State in
exchange for access to the temple libraries and reduced rates on spells,
such as raise dead and the like. I’m not sure he’s convinced it was a good
deal in the end, but it’s still too early to tell.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
Once again, a good session and one that helped further develop the
characters and better establish their place in the world.
ROGUE FEED
Pulp Fantasy Library: The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
APR 06, 2009 05:07A.M.
You know me; I love to stretch definitions to the breaking point. In this
case, though, I won’t even attempt to argue that L. Frank Baum’s 1900
tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is a pulp fantasy book, because even
I’m not addled enough to make that claim. That said, I do think this
children’s novel is an important one for our hobby, for reasons I’ll now
elucidate.
I often say that one of the reasons Dungeons & Dragons has been
misunderstood by many gamers (and designers) is because they
misunderstand its cultural roots. In the late 60s and early 70s, fantasy
and science fiction weren’t as diverse as they are today. Fans of those
genres — which were generally considered the same genre rather than
16
10 April, 2009
distinct ones — all read the same books and authors, creating the
common literary culture out of which D&D arose. That’s not to say that
there wasn’t a lot of variation from fan to fan and from place to place, but
the underlying foundations for those fandoms showed a high degree of
commonality. Thus, allusions to certain characters, situations, and
authors were all broadly
understood rather than being opaque or outright impenetrable. The
death of that common culture has, in my opinion, led to the distancing of
D&D from its roots to the point of unrecognizability.
The story of Baum’s novel is another example of a common culture. I
suspect most people in the English-speaking world — certainly in the
United States at any rate — know the story and characters of The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz. When I was a child, in the benighted days
before VCRs and cable television, watching the 1939 Victor Fleming
movie was an annual ritual, broadcast each year as a network TV special.
People could and still do reference this story with the expectation that
just about everyone knows what they mean when they do so. That’s what
many fantasy and SF stories were like at the dawn of this hobby and it
was that kind of ready familiarity that allowed the ideas contained in
those three little brown books to catch fire and spread so easily.
There’s a catch, of course. When I say that everyone “knows” the story
and characters of Baum’s novel, that’s not entirely truthful. The reality is
that the 1939 film changes many elements of the original, just as earlier
dramatic productions of the story did, often with Baum’s blessing, who
regularly wrought his own changes through sequels to the initial book. In
Oz fandom — yes, such a thing does exist — there are discussions and
debates every bit as vociferous as those in this hobby regarding the
merits of such changes, not to mention continuations and re-
interpretations by later authors. The Oz books are all in the public
domain and have been for some time, allowing the original ideas to be
picked up and developed further by any author who wishes to do so,
leading to a wide variety of non-Baum Oz tales, some of which stray very
far from the original intent — not unlike D&D itself.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is, if nothing else, a powerful example of
fantasy world building. The Land of Oz and its inhabitants have no doubt
exercised a powerful influence over the imaginations of many a
participant in this hobby, including some of its earliest writers. Oz is a
“pure” fantasy world — a dreamland (though not literally so in the
novels, where it’s clearly a real place) that obeys its own laws and
confounds expectations. It’s thus about as far from a naturalistic world
as you can get and yet it’s drawn so colorfully that one forgets its
inherent unreality and simply accepts it for what it is. This approach to
fantasy was much more common in the hobby’s early days, as anyone
who reads the ‘zines of the period will know. That’s probably why you
can find lots of references to Oz-inspired adventures, items, and
monsters in their pages. A full treatment of the Land of Oz as a D&D
campaign setting was, in fact, promised in the pages of Dragon for many
years but never saw print so far as I am aware.
I don’t think there’s any hiding the fact that I miss the days when the
hobby had a stronger common culture — when one could allude to “The
Tower of the Elephant” or “Ill Met in Lankhmar” and not be met with
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
blank stares, when we could cite Manly Wade Wellman or Henry Kuttner
and people would not only know to whom you referred but had actually
read their fiction. To the extent that such a common culture exists
anymore, it comes from the ouroboros of D&D itself, a substitute for the
books and authors that once formed the Common Tongue by which
gamers conversed. I’m not sure such days can ever return — the hobby is
simply too diverse now — but I long for it just the same.
ROGUE FEED
[Lost Works] Libraries and their
use in Fantasy RPGs
APR 05, 2009 01:38P.M.
I have a lot of stuff rattling around in my various notebooks and folder.
Most of this will never see the light of day. A lot of this material is simply
notes for ideas, that at the time of their creation, I thought were good.
Sadly after reading through them, most are not worth the effort to type,
revise, or even edit Some however, are either small pieces that had no
home, or fleshed out articles meant to go someplace else.
This is an example of a small piece that had no home, and deals with a
subject near and dear to my heart, libraries.
Libraries and their use in Fantasy RPGs
With the amount of books PCs come into contact with during the course
of their adventuring career, the utility of the library is often overlooked.
From serving as a springboard for adventures, to research tools for
scholarly PCs, the library offers many options to GMs looking to interject
something new into their game. Since most fantasy based RPGs are set in
a pseudo-Medieval world, libraries from our medieval history can be
used as templates for libraries within the game. The question remains:
what were libraries like during the Middle Ages, and how can they be
used in the game? This article attempts to answer this question.
Historically, libraries as we know them, were mostly rare in medieval
Europe. When they existed they were typically connected to a monastery,
cathedral or church. It was not until the High Middle Ages that libraries
became more widespread. The early libraries were mendicant’s libraries.
Friars established these libraries and since their vow of poverty did not
allow for owning books, friars relied on donations to build their own
libraries. The mendicant library was used for education and is
considered by many scholars to be the model used for university
libraries.
During the High Middle Ages, education moved away from the
monastery to urban universities. It was the growth of these universities
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10 April, 2009
that led many to seek an education, and often this education was not one
based in theology. With the high cost books have in the era before
printing, most students could not afford their own books. Students
studying theology at a monastery might be given their essential books
from the monastic order. In 1228 the General Chapter of the Dominicans
ruled that all brothers sent to study at a university had to have three
books. These books usually consisted of the Bible, Book of Sentences and
Peter Comestor’s Historia Scholostica. Students not attending
monasteries or church run universities relied on lending libraries for
their books.
Lending libraries were private libraries maintained by stationers, who
for a fee, copied books and rented text books out by sections. Students
would rent a book section by section and make their own copy. This gave
the student access to the needed books and allowed them to build their
own library of books. University authorities supervised this closely and
regulated the fees stationers could charge and the worthiness of the
rented texts.
Before movable type was invented all books were copied by hand.
Monks, or stationers, would copy a book word for word and the process
could take months, and in the case of the Bible. Monks would not only
copy the text, but illuminate the pages with illustrations and create a
work of art. The act of copying was such an expensive endeavor that only
the very wealthy could afford to own a book. When movable type was
invented this changed, and allowed books to cheaply and quickly be
reproduced.
In the early Middle Ages the rarity of books, meant that most of a
library’s collection consisted of scrolls and loose pages. The contents for
these pages were ancient texts dating to the time of the Greeks and
Romans and the organization of them was often haphazard. Libraries of
this time were very small, and most could store all their books in a locked
cabinet. By the late Middle Ages collections became large and libraries
were divided into two sections.
The main section of the library was known as the magna libraria or
public library. This section was a large room where scholars could go to
consult a large reference collection of important books. These books
could not leave the library and in the case of Merton College, Oxford, the
best copy of each book the library owned was chained to the shelves. The
second section was a communal library, or parva libraria, and was open
at regular hours and loaned out duplicate books and specialized works to
members of the institutions. Others could consult these books, but they
could not remove them from the library.
Libraries spent a great deal of their time safeguarding their collections.
From chaining books and locking extra copies in chests, libraries wanted
to ensure their books stayed in the library and remained intact. Libraries
throughout Europe had many rules dealing with book treatment and
storage. In the Sorbonne library, rules prohibited anyone from carrying a
light into the library for fear it would cause a fire. Some libraries had
rules stating that books had to be arranged in such a way that they were
separate from each other. This prevented tightly packed shelves from
damaging books as they were used. Swearing of oaths to not damage
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 10 April, 2009

books was not unheard of either and the Heidelberg library required
anyone wishing to use their library to take such an oath.

For people wanting to borrow a book it was customary to pledge another

book or item of equal value as a deposit guaranteeing the return of the
borrowed book. For some libraries, this was an acceptable arrangement
and allowed access to new titles. Monasteries did not lend out their
books and threatened to excommunicate monks caught lending books.
The church frowned on this and encouraged leniency or annulled
penalties so that poor scholars could have access. Some libraries went
further and required all borrowers to return a new copy of each book
borrowed along with the original.

Introducing libraries into a fantasy RPGs is an easy task and all it takes is
a little work on the GMs part. Libraries can be a source of adventure.
New books can be added by the PCs who are hired by a library to find
them. This can be accomplished many ways, but perhaps having the PCs
steal books from other libraries offers the most opportunity. Besides
being hired to acquire new texts, PCs can be hired to track down books
thieves, book vandals and delinquent borrowers. Besides their source of
adventure libraries can be used by PCs for research. From researching
new spells, or historical facts dealing with a current campaign, the
library can be a viable tool for GMs to dispense information.

Libraries are a great device for GMs and with a little work they can add a
new dimension to games.

Posted in Games Tagged: Games, Lost Works, thoughts

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