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Post by tacojohn4547 on Mar 31, 2020 15:46:50 GMT -6
Arden-Vul is, IMHO, one of the best examples of a formally published mega dungeon ever published, for any edition of D&D or other fantasy FRG.
I’ve been watching the development of Arden-Vul for about 5 years - we had looked at publishing it under Black Blade Publishing many years ago, when there was only 4 or 5 levels, and it wasn’t anywhere near complete. I’ve seen it come to life and grow in that time. The history & lore in A-V and the depth of content is amazing! And the maps are both mind-bendingly complex and beautiful to behold.
I’ve ran exploration scenarios using Arden-Vul at GaryCon, North Texas Con, and Gen Con, over the last few years. In preparation for those scenarios, I’ve read the 6th level and 1 or 2 of the 6th level’s sublevels, and various parts of levels 7-9.
It is pricey as pdfs go, but purchasers who buy the pdf can receive a 50% discount code for ordering the print version, which will be available when the print proofs are approved.
It’s a little early to say for sure, since the finished product isn’t even available in print yet. But I suspect it will be crashing into my top 10 adventures and probably my top 10 rpg products lists soon.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Mar 31, 2020 15:41:22 GMT -6
I was hoping to pick up a copy at Gary Con - is there a US distributor? I’m a little swamped right now with the US tax season, but if you want to order it, we (Black Blade) can hook you up as we have copies we were going to sell at GaryCon. Hit me with an email at tacojohndm@yahoo.com and we can get you sorted.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on May 26, 2019 15:44:41 GMT -6
Rob has been posting information about the project on his 'blog and on Facebook. He is now going to publish it himself through Three Line Studios. He is releasing an updated "Living Room" module first. Sorry, I meant to post the link to the other thread. Fixed it now.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on May 26, 2019 9:37:16 GMT -6
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Post by tacojohn4547 on May 15, 2019 20:38:12 GMT -6
I’d love to, Nathan. But my daughter and I have to drive back to Wichita on Saturday, so we’ll miss the tail end of the con.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 14, 2019 17:17:03 GMT -6
I’m going again this year. This year will mark 10/11 for me.
Won’t be staying thru Sun/Mon like usual, tho. Have to drive back to Wichita on Saturday for a family event on that Sunday.
- Jon
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 8, 2018 13:45:30 GMT -6
You know you think you have problems with fitting things in. What about this guy? Somebody pulled the trigger on printing the combined map I included with the guidebooks. tacojohn4547 : looks like something we need for our WL campaign! Allan. That’s a beauty, ain’t it, Allan? Would love to have one of these maps.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 12, 2018 0:19:24 GMT -6
What, if anything, ever came of this possible project? Was the data simply lost, never to be recovered?
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 16, 2018 8:01:00 GMT -6
Here are my Gary Con X events:
Arden Vul - The Tomb of the Twins Arden Vul - The Tomb of the Twins - Big news! The tomb of the legendary hero-twins, Tekla and Taticus, has been confirmed as lying along the Drowned Canyon, deep within the deadly Halls of Arden Vul. Your shadowy patron has hired you to locate the tomb and 'liberate' the famous Gemini blades from it. The catch? The imperial authorities are planning to do the same. You have three days to locate and loot the tomb before the official expedition descends like a hammer. A mid-level exploratory expedition into the deadly Halls of Arden Vul, a new megadungeon by Richard "Rick" Barton, to be published by Expeditious Retreat.
# of Players: 6 – 10 PC Levels: 6 – 8 System: AD&D/OSRIC
Thursday 7:00 PM Friday 8:00 PM Saturday 8:00 PM
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 30, 2017 23:35:19 GMT -6
Hi there! All levels have been written. Caverns of Slime was/is (?) going to be in issue 15 if it is ever produced and was/is available on the web at one point by the author. I have written Dark Lord of Nothingness long ago and was planning to put it in issue 16, although at this point I may put it in issue 15 if I can ever get it together just so people have the whole dungeon. If I am ever able to return to serious gaming work I would like to recruit a collaborator and an artist to write all these levels together and release them as a megadungeon. I have some supporting material to tie the levels together (keys, etc.) and unlike other articles in FO! submitting TBD levels does allow us to reuse them in this format - that was part of the permission that we offered writers and artists. (All other articles belong entirely to authors - TBD levels also can be used by authors for anything they like, but we can also use them in the megadungeon.) My wife divorced me and I went through a very sad period; now my professional career is much more active than it used to be; I had a glorious time at UCon in Ypsilanti this past weekend and I still enjoy D&D; but I don't know when I'll be able to commit to serious gaming work again. But I would like to do this project someday. Hi ya, Cal! Glad to see you posting again!! As I've mentioned previously (privately), I'd be interested in helping with the compilation and consolidation of TDB into a stand alone product. If and when the time is right, please feel free to reach out to me about this project.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jul 4, 2017 22:21:28 GMT -6
I'll be at Gen Con 50 this year, too. Michael, a meet-up for dinner or a game of OD&D would be great!
I will be working at the Goodman booth during the day, but I'm sure I could free-up one evening for either or both of the above.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Feb 5, 2014 10:40:51 GMT -6
Did some people get the map with their first shipment, and the rest of us will get it with our second shipment? The boxed set that I opened had the folded Blackmarsh map. That Blackmarsh setting was a nice addition to the set.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Feb 1, 2014 14:27:52 GMT -6
As I posted in the other thread, I got my copies of the Delving Deeper boxed set yesterday. The books are awesome, the box and artwork is great!
A big thanks to John and BHP for the follow through on these boxed sets! Glad to have copies in hand.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Feb 1, 2014 14:26:51 GMT -6
I got my copies of the Delving Deeper boxed set yesterday. The books are awesome, the box and artwork is great!
A big thanks to John and BHP for the follow through on these boxed sets! Glad to have copies in hand.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 24, 2014 10:08:29 GMT -6
PM sent.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 8, 2014 14:50:54 GMT -6
I think ordered a copy of Delving Deeper when BHP was just concluding the publishing of the Swords & Wizardry White Box boxed sets and offered to convert S&W WB boxed sets to Delving Deeper. It's been so long in getting here that I don't remember how long that's been. But, I've continued to email John about it every 3 to 6 months, just to make sure I was still on his list of folks still waiting on their boxed set. On December 30, after receiving one of my reminder emails, John emailed me a tracking number for the Delving Deeper boxed set. And today, it looks like the boxed set was delivered to my house. Whoop! :!: I'm not home yet, but when I make it home, I'm sure going to savor looking over the boxed set that arrived today. Thanks, John, for getting this mailed out! Alas, I was to be disappointed yesterday as the Delving Deeper boxed set was not waiting for me when I got home. I emailed John directly today (Wednesday, Jan 8) to inform him that the USPS's tracking info on this order seems to be inaccurate since the tracking website shows the package as having been delivered on Jan 7 but nothing was received from BHP at our home. I'm not terribly worried as sometimes our mail gets dropped off on the wrong doorstep. So, for now, I'm just 'still waiting', too. The mail just came today and my wife sent me a pic of a package that was delivered by the mailman: a book from Lulu.com that was ordered on December 31st. Still waiting..... Edit: The Lulu.com box came via FedEx delivery, not the USPS. Our mail hasn't been delivered yet. So there's a chance the DD boxed set might come today.....
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 8, 2014 12:18:15 GMT -6
I think ordered a copy of Delving Deeper when BHP was just concluding the publishing of the Swords & Wizardry White Box boxed sets and offered to convert S&W WB boxed sets to Delving Deeper. It's been so long in getting here that I don't remember how long that's been. But, I've continued to email John about it every 3 to 6 months, just to make sure I was still on his list of folks still waiting on their boxed set. On December 30, after receiving one of my reminder emails, John emailed me a tracking number for the Delving Deeper boxed set. And today, it looks like the boxed set was delivered to my house. Whoop! :!: I'm not home yet, but when I make it home, I'm sure going to savor looking over the boxed set that arrived today. Thanks, John, for getting this mailed out! Alas, I was to be disappointed yesterday as the Delving Deeper boxed set was not waiting for me when I got home. I emailed John directly today (Wednesday, Jan 8) to inform him that the USPS's tracking info on this order seems to be inaccurate since the tracking website shows the package as having been delivered on Jan 7 but nothing was received from BHP at our home. I'm not terribly worried as sometimes our mail gets dropped off on the wrong doorstep. So, for now, I'm just 'still waiting', too.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 7, 2014 18:44:40 GMT -6
I think ordered a copy of Delving Deeper when BHP was just concluding the publishing of the Swords & Wizardry White Box boxed sets and offered to convert S&W WB boxed sets to Delving Deeper. It's been so long in getting here that I don't remember how long that's been.
But, I've continued to email John about it every 3 to 6 months, just to make sure I was still on his list of folks still waiting on their boxed set. On December 30, after receiving one of my reminder emails, John emailed me a tracking number for the Delving Deeper boxed set. And today, it looks like the boxed set was delivered to my house. Whoop! :!:
I'm not home yet, but when I make it home, I'm sure going to savor looking over the boxed set that arrived today.
Thanks, John, for getting this mailed out!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on May 8, 2013 21:24:11 GMT -6
Heart-felt condolences to you and your family, John. I am deeply saddened by the news of your loss. Know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jan 7, 2013 9:30:26 GMT -6
Bravo! Congrats, Jeff! A well deserved milestone, methinks!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 19, 2012 16:20:08 GMT -6
Here is a quick list of the Companion rules modules. Of these, I have copies of CM1, CM7, CM8 and CM9. I haven't read CM1 in years, and the others haven't been cracked open even once.
Code Title Levels Author(s) Year Published
CM1 Test of the Warlords 15+ Douglas Niles 1984 CM2 Death's Ride 15–20 Garry Spiegle 1984 CM3 Sabre River 18–22 Douglas Niles, Bruce Nesmith 1984 CM4 Earthshaker! 18–20 David Cook 1985 CM5 Mystery of the Snow Pearls 15–25 Anne Gray McCready 1985 CM6 Where Chaos Reigns 17–19 Graeme Morris 1985 CM7 The Tree of Life Elves 8+ Bruce A. Heard 1986 CM8 The Endless Stair 15–20 Ed Greenwood 1987 CM9 Legacy of Blood 15–19 Steve Perrin, Katharine Kerr 1987
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Dec 9, 2012 12:41:42 GMT -6
What a great thread! Lots of really great suggestions for adventures particularly suited to the S&S style of play embodied in AS&SH. I'm especially glad to see Caverns of Thracia and Harley Stroh's Legacy of the Savage Kings get mentioned in this thread.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 27, 2012 22:38:48 GMT -6
Sounds great. You should get my near complete MS for CoB (90, 000 words) from Grodog rather than using the unfortunate composite by Kenzer. Just if you wish to remain pure Kuntzian. It was my baby they threw out with the bathwater... All of your rumors and story weaving particulars smack of the way I did it BitD. Our PCs were much more gullible (or greedy, In Ward's case) then. Plus, as I've noted, they really wanted to experience new places and stuff associated with them. Bless them for that. For it allowed all of the associated imaginations to unplug and stay unleashed for a good 5 years in Greyhawk and then onward into Kalibruhn, where it even became more immersive. Continued good luck with those adventures TJ! Rob Thanks for the good words, Rob! And thanks for suggesting I get a copy of your ALL-KUNTZIAN CoB manuscript from Grodog. I will do that straightaway and see how best to incorporate it into the Brass that will be my players undoing!!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 27, 2012 21:29:03 GMT -6
All it takes is a good story, a few hooks and a tempting what-if? We actually played numerous campaign play arcs outside our shared campaign setting, one of which, as I informed Ghul, was set in outer space and everyone started as god-like beings. I provided a star map for basing and movement purposes. The whole involved investigation of strange occurrences/invasions in their known spheres, intrigue, politics, and out and out adventure. One of the players asked me: "How do we move?" I said while gesturing to the map: "Just point." Joe Goodfellow also ran a god level game based on Zelazny's "Nine Princes in Amber." I played Corwin. My brother made a rules subset he termed "Robin Hood" and we all played as name levels in his engrossing campaign which he then expanded to the Zothar Empire using the same rules. Lots of adventures and campaign play in that, too. I could go on with the list, but the fact remains, we were experimenting with the RPG range in ways then which, i hate to say, makes a lot of the stuff from today look like Gronan Spirits... That's not meant to slight anyone, really. But I must still ask: Where are the ranges, the pushing of the boundaries and the experimentation? Seriously, if they are out there in game forms, I want to know. Following up on your comments above, Rob, as well as your suggestions upthread, over the years I've planted no less than 5 adventure seeds into our Wilderlands campaign to lure the wily-eyed characters of both the primary group (ie, the A-Team characters) and the secondary group (ie, the B-Team characters) to an exciting and dangerous extra-planar locale, with which you are most familiar - the fabled City of Brass: 1) a powerful magic item "dropped" by a minion of Set which fled the prime material by way of a planar portal with the party hot on his heels; 2) a magical tome, formerly in the possession of an evil lich-like entity, which initially causes confusion and nausea, then disorientation and loss of motor skills, and finally whisks the unsuspecting character off to the famous home plane of the efreet; (this tome is cursed, naturally...); 3) the name and contact location of a suitable expert craftsman, or weapons artisan, whom the party patriarch seeks for the unsurprising purpose of commissioning a highly coveted weapon of mass destruction (WMD); 4) a second powerful magic item, unceremoniously included in the modest treasure haul of an evil nemesis that was vanquished by the party; this item of power could single handedly lead to a whole series of adventures based on the Plane of Fire and around the City of Brass; 5) a campaign-spanning theme and arch-nemesis which, through reoccurring events and reappearing minions, could quite literally lead the party of evil-bashing adventurers to the very gates of the City of Brass itself, if only they would "see" the threads and themes and recurrences that connect the various parts (adventures and seemingly unconnected quests) together. So far, the party has resisted the lure presented in the various adventure seeds. But it may soon be time to 'raise the stakes' and convince them they "need" to visit the fabled City of of the Efreet!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Nov 26, 2012 19:07:51 GMT -6
Hiya Rob! This is a topic that I can see some real potential benefit to following for our current home campaign, so thanks for starting the discussion! I'm DMing some 10th - 12th level PCs now, and I’m really enjoying it. It's very rare that I have been able to run high level games. Time is the primary issue, but besides that, I can think of a few reasons. The party mentality, not so much that we don’t have time to play, but that the players want to use their game time playing a gaming style that is party-driven. They like a style of play that is like, the party is always together, they’re all within the same general level range, they don’t use henchmen, and there are rarely any rivalries that play out in-game. It’s hard to keep that kind of party together, and reach those upper levels; they usually break down around 8th level. Most of them started playing in the mid 80s or later, and that’s pretty much how the game was marketed. The same era of gaming bred a style of playing where the PCs don’t expect you to throw an encounter at them that they can’t beat then and there. I remember DMing for a group once, and it was a ‘proceed or retreat’ moment, and one of the players said, “He’s not like our other DMs. He will kill us.” So, playing smart would definitely be a reason I’ve experienced. In our current AD&D campaign, which has been running 6 years this month, we now have two groups of characters that range in levels from 8th to 14th. (We didn’t start them at 1st level; rather, we allowed them to start at 4th level.) The composition of the group of players has ebbed and flowed over time, but with the group of characters we have now, it is pretty easy to assemble a well rounded party that can be ran by whoever shows up to play. However, we’ve had some challenges as the characters have moved up into the ‘teen’ levels. The biggest challenges we’ve seen with playing at the 12 and above levels are that: (a) the characters have so many options at their disposal – be it in the form of weapons, spells, magic items, etc. – that deciding what they’re doing during play, round-by-round, takes a lot longer than it did at the pre-name level levels; (b) the characters have become so complex and complicated to run, largely on account of the situation described in (a) above, that for any one player to run another player’s character, particularly of the spellcaster classes, it is a very daunting exercise unless it is done on a regular, consistent basis. For example, we have one 14th level wizard in the group. The player of the character relocated out of state last summer and has only make it back for about half of our games since the relocation. For all intents and purposes, this high level wizard has gone into temporary retirement as few of the active players wish to be responsible for playing the high level wizard, on account of the complexity; and (c) as Scotty mentioned above, this group of players wants to spend their gaming time playing a game with a style that is party-centered. When this group thinks of high level play – and that being a game involving domain management, spell research, magic item fabrication, as well as planar travel and exploration, etc. – they think of play involving activities that are more PC-centered, individualized, and less party-centered. And they’re less interested in that than they are in pursuing activities that tend to keep the party together. For me as a player, it’s because I can’t find anybody to DM for me. I have a few PCs that I’ve worked up to the cusp of high level (10th level or so), and they’ve been stuck there for years, waiting for a DM. The only experience I have with playing high level characters as a player has been at conventions in the past few years, most notably playing in a few of Tim Kask’s games and Frank Mentzer’s games. Other than that, it's all been low- and mid-level characters for me.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Sept 5, 2012 18:07:31 GMT -6
I've seen a sampling of Could Kingdom Games riddle and puzzle books at GenCon every year, but I just haven't picked any up yet. So I cannot vouch for whether they're any good or not. But I think these books have been around for quite a while. I think you can order directly from them via their online store: www.cloudkingdom.com/Home.aspx
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Aug 23, 2012 15:53:00 GMT -6
Here's one that hasn't has been mentioned yet already: Shadowbrook ManorShadowbrook Manor, by Patrick Kennedy, is published by Goblinoid Games and was specifically written for Labyrinth Lord. It is available as a print on demand print product from Lulu.com ( www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-kennedy/shadowbrook-manor/paperback/product-16114238.html), lists as a 13-page adventure, and sells for $13.95. I have this adventure and have been running my kids through it. It has lots of fun things for PCs to tinker with, and there's just enough creepiness in it that it keeps everyone on their toes. Good fun! Here's the promotional blurb: " Once a powerful proponent of Law, the Archmage Tazimack the Red was eventually driven mad by a fear of mortality. As he slipped into insanity his retirement home began to reflect the chaotic bent of his mind. Long after Tazimack’s unnaturally animated body has disintegrated, his manor house remains as a shadow cast by a twisted intellect. Can the characters bring order to this chaos?"
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Aug 3, 2012 7:51:37 GMT -6
I probably would have sent a copy to James Mal for his consideration, but he was kind enough to actually purchase a copy. RPG Pundit's reviews seem to be popular, too. Yeah both of those give out good reviews for free stuff. The poster above me, James Smith, does (or used to do) product reviews. He recently moved his blog to a new site and changed the name, but he had a pretty good readership, I believe. He certainly gave OSRIC a kind and favorable review. (thanks again, James!) Relatedly, I received my copies of the boxed set yesterday. Outstanding work, Jeff! Love the look and flavor of the game so far! And you were right about Ian's style mirroring the aesthetic you were going for - it's a great match-up. 5 stars out of 5!
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Jun 21, 2012 16:06:26 GMT -6
Bumpity bump...'cuz I was looking for _just_ this sort of info on The Darkness Beneath.
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Post by tacojohn4547 on Apr 1, 2012 21:12:52 GMT -6
I see it the photos you have a skiff as well. Ace. Really like the Bronze Age figures. Why yes, yes I do! ;D Unfortunately, I simply ran out of time to get most of the minis, including the skiff, finished up in time for GaryCon IV. But there's always another con down the road...
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