Prime Requisite Games™

Play post of the Brigand Crypt

2011-02-07T20:40:00.002-06:00

Hey!

Just popping my head in to direct you to TKB's Blog. On there, you will find a play by play account of PRG's Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt adventure in 4 sessions.

It sounds like they had a blast. It's great to see people playing and enjoying the games PRG produced. These modules are my creations, so that makes me a proud poppa...so to speak. :)

Wife's AEC copy on ebay

2011-01-10T18:59:00.002-06:00

Hello!

My wife wanted me to let ya'll know that her untouched paperback copy of the Advanced Edition Companion is for sale on eBay. It literally is an unread mint copy which she ordered and there it sat in the envelope for a few months.

Weird, huh?

Anyway, if nobody here is gonna use it, maybe one of you swabs want it. Interested buyers can go here.

New Adventure in GDF #4

2010-10-14T00:43:00.004-05:00

In case you haven't heard, LotFP has just released the pdf-only Green Devil Face #4.

In this issue, you'll find my new small but wild and deadly adventure titled The Tomb to Die For/In.

I remember when I wrote this adventure that I tried to keep in mind the spirit of what GDF is all about. So, a quick thanks goes to Mr. Raggi for including it in the recent issue of his madhouse zine. I hope you all enjoy it.

As for the rest of GDF#4, the fun, genius, and insanity are all there, packed into 69 pages!

Check it out and use what you can in your own game to throw your players for a loop. :)

Quick update

2010-10-10T15:48:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I temporarily stepped down from writing and playing RPGs to take care of things going on in Real Life. Now for a bit of updating about the future of Prime Requisite Games.

I'm not going into much detail just yet, but within a few months, I plan to slowly get back into the OSR circles again with a couple new adventure modules, the Labyrinth Lord optional expansion book that I have been working on as well as an all-new official Prime Requisite Games web site.

I plan to go the same route as Goblinoid Games and offer PRG books free as a low-res/no art pdf. The high-res (with art) pdfs and print copies will be available at a cost. I also plan to collaborate with a couple local artists I know to help produce quality painted covers for future gaming books.

Anyway, there is plenty to do on my end before I jump back into publishing. As you might have noticed, I shrunk my availability online (no Scribd or Issuu, and turned off blog comments), but this is only to keep minimal tabs on my stuff while I am away from the gaming table.

My wife Else has been a real trooper in supporting me, and she will eventually be instrumental in helping me with the restructure of Prime Requisite Games. Else's a smart cookie, and while we are both professional graphic designers, she can design circles around me - so I'm hoping to utilize her talents for the print books and web site.

So now, I will be signing off for a little while longer. Other important Real Life situations call for my attention, but it's nice to see a small speck of light at the end of the tunnel.

However, while you wait, I have a small (deadly) adventure to be published in Green Devil Face #4.

Take care and Happy Gaming!

Ah, I knew this was coming. Goodbye again, my friends!

2010-06-19T00:59:00.001-05:00

Time has swallowed me up for the last time. My limited time for gaming has become zero time. I was knee-deep in the middle of the new LL book, but that, along with anything else RPG (or PRG) related, will be stuck on the far back burner.

I know I've said this before, but I also mentioned that soon I will no longer be able to ignore my responsibilities of RL, and will eventually slither away again. This time, I'm afraid, it will be for much longer.

Take care and happy gaming!

Spreading the brand name

2010-06-16T13:02:00.004-05:00

Although I have no delusions about growing the old-school movement into the multi-million dollar mainstream, I still love the idea of finding new (or tried and true) ways of expanding the hobby.

What made the original D&D game so damn popular in the early/mid eighties? I'm sure some would say it was a perfect storm of something new, different (and even rebellious in some circles), and the internet wasn't around to whisk away most kids' attention.

However, I seem to remember that if there was something I was into, D&D was able to worm its way into the medium (or product) and place its ads in front of my curious eyes.

- Posters at the local book store (when there were still local book stores). Check.
- Tons of cheesy, yet freaking awesome, cartoon ads in all the comics I bought. Check.
- Groups of kids at my middle and high schools for rpg play. Yep.
- Dungeons & Dragons candy. Perfect. One of the easiest ways to reach the young boy demographic, especially with a kick-ass dragon pic on its cover.
- Action figures! Silly for (most) adults, sure. But when I was 11 years-old and out looking at G.I. Joes and Marvel's Secret Wars figures, the D&D figures looked cool to me.
- Board games! Remember Dungeon! and the D&D Labyrinth Game from Mattel? Not only did they help spread the brand name, they were actually fun.
- The AD&D coloring book. A giant coloring book with a stripped down D&D game within. As a kid, I loved this, but the art in it was the key. Plus, it was placed with all the other activity/coloring books and it was bigger than most of the others.
- Animated cartoon. Want to get the product in front of young kids? 'Nuff said.

I know there are a few other example that are escaping me at the moment, and even if I could remember, many of the hobby publishers absolutely do not have the resources for most, if any, of the promotional techniques mentioned.

Most agree that the best way to promote the game is to play and talk about it. Play, play, play and invite as many newbies from the office as possible. Most likely, those noobs have kids. With my limited time and resources, this is what I do and have been fairly successful at it.

Beyond that, if resources were available, what do you think would be the best way to promote, say, Labyrinth Lord (for example).

Let's say that the Labyrinth Lord Society decided to do a fund raiser to promote the game. What would be the best possible use of the funds? It would seem simple enough to sponsor some type of game play at the library or local book/gaming store, but that will only attract people already into rpgs. I'm thinking about different ways to spread the brand name.

- Comic book ads?
- Parenting magazine ads? This can promote to older non-rpg players the benefits of rpgs (reading, writing, critical thinking skills), and the bonus is that most clones are free to download - try before you buy.
- Ads in "men's" magazines? Not necessarily porn mags, but stuff like Maxim or genre mags like Fangoria. Most of these readers are either parents or uncles, and for the genre crowd who might be ex-players, it never hurts to scratch that nostalgia itch. Plus, it might get them back into the game!
- Sponsorships for kid-related events! Get those Labyrinth Lord banners over a big city's Zoobalee function, or school sporting event, or movie marathon, or whatever. Sponsorships gets your name into printed programs, t-shirts, and event signs.
- Free giveaways. Not PDFs, but hard copies. God bless Free RPG Day, but how do we get it into the hands of non-players? When I was in a band, we would spring for a ton of tapes (before CDs were readily available), set them in the area record stores with a big "Take One" sign next to them. At our gigs, we sold our demos for $1. Within a year, most of the area kids knew our songs and word spread about us pretty quickly, even to those not usually interested in metal. Could something similar work for rpgs?

These are just a few pie in the sky ideas to spread the brand name. If enough resources were available for small-scale promotion, what ideas would you have?

Early details about my new Labyrinth Lord book

2010-06-15T23:21:00.004-05:00

Here's a few details about my new Labyrinth Lord book, Adventures into the Old Lands.

Adventures into the Old Lands is a campaign expansion for Labyrinth Lord. It will feature new classes, spells, magical items, monsters, and a couple of adventures within some of the more notable Old Lands locations.

Some of the following details are up for change.

Centuries ago, these lands were supported by a thriving fishing and farming industry. It wasn't until a secured evil on a southern island found a way to the mainland, and slowly spread. Many people moved far east, to what is now called the Known Lands.

Those who stayed moved to the northern lands which serve as a vast lair of the dreaded Worm Cult. These vile clerics and tribesmen surround Worm Mountain, a huge lone mountain within the hills of the Old Lands, to worship the Great Worm. Legend has it that the Great Worm is a god from the lower regions of the earth. Thousands of years ago it burrowed up from the earth's core causing a great mountain to form where there are no other mountains.

The southern island as well as the Worm Mountain locations will be used as two adventures to be included in the book.

Classes

• The Mountain Man class: The Mountain Man is invaluable in wilderness travel. They have spent their lives living off the shelter and sustenance provided in the harsh outside environment, using their skills to track, hunt, and set deadly traps.

• The Harlequin class: Harlequins are natural performers who have learned trade tricks of thieves and low-level wizardry. Their range of skills includes some thieving abilities and simple spells which produce minor effects (called antics).

Spells

Antics are minor spells used primarily by apprentices and harlequins. As a fan of the original cantrips, almost all of the antics are cloned from 1.5e.

Magic Items and Monsters

The new items and monsters from my past module releases with be featured here with a few more added goodies. Relics such as the Staves of Maurath and the Black Jewel will also find their way in the Old Lands book. My favorite magic item so far: the Medusa Scalp.

Combat

I had at one time used some house rules regarding shields and dodging. Researching online, I noticed that many others do the same. I may incorporate these optional combat rules here.

Adventures

As previously stated, the southern (eeeeeevil) island and Worm Mountain will be the sites for the book's adventures. While the Worm Mountain adventure will be relatively short, the setting will have mega dungeon potential.

These adventures will mainly be a spring board for the new classes and items available in Adventures into the Old Lands. I think it's necessary (and cool) for a campaign expansion. Most likely they will be low level, but I am considering making the southern island adventure for intermediate levels…that's when you can bring out the undead big guns. :P

Art

I will handle most of the interior art, but for the cover art, I am in talks with a local guy I know. I respect this guy's fantasy work a lot and I know he will do a wow-wee job. I plan for the cover to be black and white/pen and ink work, similar to the LL and AEC covers.

As I've said in a previous post, this book is still a long way off as my time for a project of this magnitude is very, very limited. However, I do make progress on it every week, so I'm happy about that.

If you have any suggestions, by all means, throw them at me.

Player's Expectations, Game Balance and Whatnot

2010-06-14T22:55:00.002-05:00

I read a terrific post from Brunomac at Temple of Demogorgon and thought about some of my past players' expectations when coming to my game table.

I am not a complete softy GM. I have no problems with the fact that sometimes characters die. I love a good trap or puzzle that has the potential of splattering a character in a finger snap. It's just as cool when the characters play their way around these deadly encounters.

I will admit that I lean toward the characters surviving the adventure, even secretly rooting for them to overcome the same killer obstacles I placed within the adventure to kill them. Weird, huh?

I also house rule a few things that benefit the characters, but my players are the types to not complain if I decided to get rid of the bonuses. Luckily, the only expectation my players have is that I will provide them with a fun time, with or without house rules or if there are character deaths, they can relax with the idea that I will not screw them out of a good game.

I am thankful that in all my experience as a GM to know of only one player who "expected" his characters to live, and if any of them died, I automatically became the Killer GM who would wring his hands together as each character met their gory deaths.

I'm sure most GMs have met players who want to bring in their characters from other power gaming campaigns (all 17s and 18s on the stats, +5 vorpal weapons, plane-jumping, wielding Thor's hammer, and all before they reach 3rd level). Or players that bring in a stack of splat books that you have never read and never WANT to read, fully expecting you to GM his multi-multi classed/sub classed thief/magic-user/jester cyclops into the town tavern to ask about adventuring rumors.

Some worry about Game Balance when confronted with such ridiculousness, but there are times when I think, "bring it on!" I'm not worried about Game Balance. If some dude wants to bring in his high powered 2nd level fighter with a Ring of Endless Disintegrations, then as a GM, I know how to stack some heavy freaking rocks on the game scale.

This, of course, can lead to some silly game play. Fun at times, but who wants a pissing match between a player with an entitlement problem and a GM who won't allow the offered entitlements to prevent a possible TPK? It's the normal players who will suffer...unless you give 'em all +5 vorpal weapons. ;)

Sometimes it's just best to say, "We're playing Labyrinth Lord (or S&W, C&C, BFRPG) and we're going to stick pretty close to those rules."

If a player has his or her own set of preferred house rules, let 'em start their own game.

My Mini LabLord Character Sheet

2010-06-11T23:58:00.005-05:00

I know that more than a handful of people have already created mini character sheets, but I thought I would go ahead and post the one I created for my games.

This character sheet is small enough to fit on a 6x4 index card. It has interactive fields you can use if you have Adobe Reader or Acrobat Pro (you can save data typed into the fields only with Acrobat Pro).

If you are printing on 6x4 cards, print at 100%. If you can get any use out of these, have at it. :)

http://www.mediafire.com/?e12gx4aby603rlb

My personal gaming timeline - 1979 to the present

2010-06-09T02:18:00.002-05:00

1979/1980 - Played Adventure! on the Atari 2600 for the first time. I couldn't understand how much awesome could fit into such a small rectangular cartridge. The dragons looked like giant hollow ducks, but they still scared the hell out of me.

1982 - Played my first D&D game and died within the first 3 minutes. What happened in the game: My character went against his god's wishes and was supernaturally crushed to death by the betrayed deity. What happened in real life: The DM thought, "How can I send the little 9 year-old pest home quickly?" However, those 3 minutes changed my life.

1983 - New wave, Quiet Riot, and weird short films dominated episodes of Night Flight as I sat in front of the TV drawing pages after pages of maps. Usually, one dungeon room would fill one page. I went through a lot of paper.

1983 - Dragon's Lair appeared at my local arcade. It proceeded to eat my quarters, two at a time. It was twice as expensive as my go-to games (Pac-Man, Food Fight, Popeye, Elevator Action), but playing and guiding an animated cartoon was pure gold to a 10 year-old.

1983 - The Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Saturday mornings became a weekly D&D holiday for me.

1984 - I bought my first issue of Marvel's Conan the Barbarian. This lone, random purchase brought me into comic collecting. I asked my dad what his favorite comic was. He told me and within a month, my back issue of Howard the Duck arrived via mail order.

1984 - Bought the Marvel Superheroes rpg. I had so much fun with this game, I nearly stopped playing D&D in favor of roleplaying Spider-Man. Plus, they turned Secret Wars into a freaking MODULE!

1985 - By this time, I was playing AD&D two to three times a week at a minimum. We house ruled so much that we may as well have re-written the rulebooks.

1985-1988 - Played through many of the classic D&D adventures. Saltmarsh, Tomb of Horrors, Beyond the Crystal Cave, Slave Lords, and the first Ravenloft just to name a few. By the way - in Ravenloft, our DM's jaw dropped (as well as a few tears) after Strahd was killed with one hit from a Mace of Disruption. Ha!

1989 - Bought all the 2nd Edition stuff. In my game, I kept what I liked from 1e in my games. Loved that the new edition was backward compatible.

1991 - My gaming began dropping off. However, I was able to DM a party through the entire Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Incredible experience, that was.

1992 - Moved from my home town to Lawrence, KS. Not to go to college, but to join a metal band. Occasionally played 1e with a small group of friends.

1993 - Stopped playing RPGs. Stopped collecting comic books. Devoted my time to music and eating Pizza Shuttle pizza.

2000 - 3e came out. This revitalized my interest in D&D. Bought the core books and noticed how completely different it was from my favorite game. I still gave it a fair shake.

2001 - My wife and I joined a 3e group. Played four sessions. The group was full of rules lawyers and combat took FOR-freaking-EVER. After the fourth session, I put my books away. The experience even made me lose interest in any RPG playing whatsoever. I hung it up.

2005 - Graduated from college and got a nice graphic design job working with a bunch of comic book/sci-fi movie geeks.

2006 - Started collecting comics again.

2008, Summer - Spoke to my Brazilian brother-in-law about the old D&D cartoon. Apparently, the show was a big hit in Brazil. He thought the game was based on the cartoon (!!). We talked for hours about D&D and my interest started shifting toward getting a game together.

2008, Summer - I didn't want to relive my gaming experience with 3e, so I researched "old school rpgs" online. After separating the computer rpgs with the tabletop rpgs, I came across the retro-clones - and they were FREE.

2008, Late Summer - I gathered a bunch of RPG newbies from my job and played David Bezio's Lost Daughter adventure using the Labyrinth Lord rules. We quickly decided to schedule another game.

2008, Fall - I took notice of the DIY publishing movement within the old-school community. I wrote The Courtyard of Gerald Red for my group's second adventure.

2008, October - Created Prime Requisite Games and published Gerald Red as my first Labyrinth Lord module.

The rest is history. Let's hope there is a future. ;)

News on Big New Project (early stages)

2010-06-07T23:38:00.002-05:00

Dang it, I didn't mean to start on this, but it just happened. I swear.

It began with a couple ideas that I jotted down on paper. Soon I added more notes to those notes and the next thing you know, I'm typing this stuff out on my laptop. Ideas for new classes, monsters, magic and modules.

I am in the process of putting together an all-new Labyrinth Lord book. First I release A Promise of Vengeance Fulfilled, and now this.

Some vacation.

Normally, I wouldn't say anything about this project since I am so early in the process (past incidents have taught me a lesson), but after I gazed over what I have put together so far, I couldn't help myself.

The tentative title is Adventures into the Old Lands. This may change, but I'm keeping it simple.

So far, I have fleshed out (without the fine details) the following:

- Two new classes - the Mountain Man and the Harlequin.
- Cloning a batch of minor spells to be used with the Harlequin class.
- A small list of new monsters, of which I am considering on adding a bunch more. There can never be enough monsters, man!
- A few new magical items.
- A map of the Old Lands, including landmarks.
- Two locations within the Old Lands to be used for adventures. One will have mega dungeon potential (although I will not be writing a mega dungeon any time soon. It's just that this location will be ripe for such a setting).

Things I have yet to kick into for this book:

- Ideas for optional combat rules.
- The two adventures I want to include.
- Details, detail, details.

Just to let you know, I have tons of mixed notes for this book scattered about and I need to get this stuff organized and written out. This book is still a long way off (as my time to work on a project such as this is extremely limited), but I am confident that when the Old Lands finally sees the light of day, it will be a welcome addition to anyone's RPG collection.

I am guesstimating that this book will between 75 to 110 pages, depending on the amount of monsters I add and how long the two adventures will be. If I fall way short on the page count, that would be just fine with me. :)

I'll keep you posted.

Dark Dungeons. Unbeatable Price!

2010-05-28T01:35:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to post a congratulations to Blacky the Blackball for his recent publishing of the RC retro-clone Dark Dungeons. From what I've read about his endeavor, he put a ton of love into this project (as do most hobby publishers), and is passing that love onto us.

The Dark Dungeons pdf is free (get it from the Dark Dungeons site) and the 344 page paperback is a whopping $13.11 over at Lulu! An offer like this doesn't come around very often, so here is a big thank you to Blacky for producing such a killer book at an unbeatable price. Dark Dungeons may be cheap in price, but definitely not in quality.

I'm not the only guy giving away free stuff

2010-05-22T02:57:00.003-05:00

People love to get free stuff, especially if the "stuff" is a high quality product.

Case in point: Check out John Stater's NOD magazine. Stater (from The Land of Nod blog) is offering up 92 packed pages of RPG goodies...for free!

Review for Vengeance Fulfilled

2010-05-20T08:12:00.002-05:00

Notes From Under the Kayak reviewed A Promise of Vengeance Fulfilled here. Ah, the typos! I should know better on a couple of them, but that's what I get for relying completely on InDesign's spell checker. :P

New Labyrinth Lord module available! Free!

2010-05-19T14:05:00.004-05:00

Prime Requisite Games is proud to announce the release of Classic Deep Level Dungeon Adventure DLD6: A Promise of Vengeance Fulfilled available as a FREE download!

An evil warlord, facing betrayal from his own family, swore revenge with his dying breath. Ten years later, his vengeance has come to pass with the murder of one and the promise of more death to follow. Has the warlord raised from a decade of unrest to fulfill his bloodthirsty oath? Can the characters stop him before more fall prey to his vengeance? A Promise of Vengeance Fulfilled is a dangerous dungeon crawl for character levels 5-7. For use with the Labyrinth Lord rules or other BASIC/EXPERT rpg systems.

Available now at Lulu, Scribd, and Issuu.

R.I.P. Dio, King of D&D Metal

2010-05-16T18:34:00.002-05:00

Ronnie James Dio passed away today from stomach cancer. His vocals will be missed.

Will blast the first Rainbow album tonight in tribute to the king of fantasy metal.

Goodbye, Dio. :(

New module art samples

2010-05-13T22:47:00.004-05:00

My new Labyrinth Lord module A Promise of Vengeance Fulfilled is nearly complete. I have two more interior art pieces to draw and ink as well as the cover, and a couple decisions regarding my new page layout before I can put this baby to bed.

I need to hurry with this because my vacation from my vacation is almost catching up, at which time I will resume my break from publishing for a while.

Anyway, as I'm chugging along with the new module, I though I'd post a couple samples of the interior art that I just completed.

Here we have the skeletal Keeper of the West Door and an attack by a Flame Salamander! Woo-hoo!

Art of the One-Shot Dungeon: The Adventure

2010-05-13T00:12:00.002-05:00

I am one of those unfortunate GMs who can only manage to organize a game once a month - or every other month - due to the time restriction of real life.

Real Life. A concept that didn't fully exist until marriage, kids, house repairs, bills, and the inevitable Real Job (which either one gets because of the situations pertaining to Real Life, or the Real Job forces one into Real Life. It's really a chicken or the egg type of thing).

No matter. All one needs to know is that the beast known as Real Life can really take a chunk out of one's hobbies. I don't care if it's painting, sports, spelunking, or RPGs - Real Life will unapologetically take its unfair share.

So as a time challenged RPGer, I need to get the most bang for my gaming sessions, and that usually means one solid action-filled adventure that can be completed within one night. If we kill the momentum in the middle of a dungeon, having to pick up the pieces again one or two months later...well, that stinks. I hate that. If we had a weekly or bi-weekly gaming session, I could live with an adventure that last three or four sessions.

However, my sessions are too sporadic for such a luxury. Ain't gonna happen.

In order to prepare a one-shot dungeon, I have to understand the parameters of what can and cannot be accomplished in a single gaming session (four to eight hours in length).

1. The quintessential beginning town adventure.

In my youth, I loved starting off an adventure in a town. The inn. Ale. Rumors. Thievery. The supply shop to buy torches (and the "Magic Shop" required in every Monty Haul campaign). The town setting is a great place to Role Play before heading off to the meat of the adventure.

Not in the one-shot dungeon. The town can quickly become a time-eater. Players will get so wrapped up in local affairs, politics, thieves' guilds, and prostitutes, that they will never get to the desired destination: the last room of your dungeon.

Unfortunately, unless the adventure actually takes place in a town, you will need to either strip the city way down or scrap it all together. My modules usually begin in a generic, undefined town, mercilessly devoid of hard details as a simple jump start into the goodies: the first room of my dungeon.

2. Wandering monsters.

Also known as wondering time-eaters. Do you want to burn up enough time so the characters will never find the Lost Artifact of Whatever? Toss in teams of wandering monsters. Even one wandering monster will set your adventure off by one or two "numbered" areas within the dungeon. You will kick yourself when you have to stop the adventure a mere one room away from completion because the party had to take care of a batch of stupid giant centipedes.

To be fair, I do put wandering monster tables in my modules, but I do this for a couple of reasons. 1. Tradition. Can't help it. I rarely use it, but I can't help it. 2. There are folks out there who game frequently, like every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and can afford to eat up some time. ~~I hate them.~~ God bless 'em.

3. A map with tons of areas.

Thankfully, I hate creating maps. Hate it. So, for me, the smaller the map I have to create, the better. A small map with some carefully placed encounters will help to ensure a quick adventure. Also, keep in mind that if you really want to write a one-shot adventure, stay the hell away from labyrinths. Holy crap. I learned my lesson when I test-played the Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord (available now in Knockspell #3). It ended up lasting two full sessions and the players actually missed a few numbered areas. Boo.

Plus, watching a player try to carefully map out the twisting passages of a labyrinth is the ultimate exercise in tedious time-wasting. Avoid!

4. The use of intricate puzzles.

Puzzles are great fun. The can add flavor and challenge when well-placed in a dungeon. They can also make players sit around for precious minutes, scratching their chins, while wandering aloud what they should do to solve your ingenious time-eater.

This one is always tough for me because I love to place puzzles throughout my dungeons, so the trick for me is to make the puzzle a bit obvious, but in a way that keeps the characters moving. I don't know how to explain this except that the players will know how to solve the puzzle, and the answer to the puzzle can be found somewhere further into the dungeon, so they must keep moving to other areas until they eventually stumble upon it.

This keeps the adventure moving though other important areas. They make progress until they find the key to the puzzle, and then they can backtrack (which is not too wasteful considering I eighty-sixed the wondering monsters).

5. Fast ending.

While I have no problem saying, "Good job! This one's done!" after the characters took care of the dungeon's final encounter, some players need a bit more closure to the adventure. To accomplish a quick ending, establish what will happen at the beginning of the adventure as to what events will follow after conquering the Temple of Fill-In-The-Blank.

Something along the line of a set reward to be given to the characters after bringing back proof to the citizens of whatever evil that plagued the temple is now destroyed. That way, after the characters sweep through the dungeon, you can have them "instantly" return to town (again, since the trip will be devoid of any wandering encounters), do a quick role-play session with the town officials, and close the book on that adventure.

These are just a few pointers I use. One-shot adventures for the busy adult can be fun (or it can suck, but we busy fellers sometimes have to take what we can get), at least to be able to game, even if it is once every other month.

Progress on new Labyrinth Lord module

2010-05-07T20:41:00.005-05:00

The rewrites for A Promise of Vengeance Fulfilled are nearly complete. For this module, I have an all-new layout that I've been wanting to try. This layout allows for more art (and bigger art, too), and offers an easier read than my previous releases. Some people might not like the look, but I believe most will be impressed.

Since I mentioned that there will be more art, let me tell ya that I am stepping the quality of illustrations up on this one. I'll admit that the art in my first couple of releases were done with a bit of silliness, sketchiness, and cartooniness that I remember loving in old-school publications.

Well, that's all still there, just better refined. :P

I have an idea for the cover (thanks to my test-player Jason for suggesting a twist on my original idea), that if I can actually pull it off, it will be killer. If I don't pull it off, none of you will know. I'll simply state, "That's exactly what I meant to do," and then go sulk and cry in the corner.

Still, I could release this module with a blank cover and it won't kill the fact that this adventure rocks and I'm excited to get it into your hands. As usual, the PDF will be made available for free. No need to thank me, just pay it forward by killing as many characters as possible with this module. :)

Take care.

Please tweak for publication, Lawrence! Please!

2010-05-02T13:47:00.006-05:00

We played a marathon of Labyrinth Lord last night that lasted until 2:30am. Yes, we were all tired, but everyone had a great time. The entire party survived (!) and I was finally able to give my new set of GameScience opaque dice a whirl.

This was an unusual gaming experience since the thief had to strip naked due to his encounter with the ever-acidic gray ooze. Luckily we had Bracers of Armor AC 2 for him, and with modesty cast aside, he adventured in the buff…for the most part (“where do you sheath your dagger?”).

I feel like I was off my mark as a GM during this session because I missed the little traps, puzzles, and curses that added a lot of flavor to the adventure. It wasn’t until the characters would “conquer” the area and move on when I would realize that I had forgotten to utilize half of the goodies I had placed in there as a fun and deadly challenge. Boo. This happened more than a couple times. Usually, I put stern reminders about important items to uncover, but this time I did not -- it won’t happen again any time soon.

This session was very helpful for my rewrites. I’ll have it play-tested again after I do some tweaking, and I’m hoping to publish it soon after. However, I said the same thing about Beyond the Midway Post and The Dead Heir of Kressik Keep, and both of those are STILL awaiting final tweaks.

I’m sure many of you know what it’s like when it either feels like your beating a dead horse, polishing a turd, or to say, “screw it! I’m moving on.”

I try not to do that, especially since there is SO MUCH prep work to go into these dungeons, I want to see it through to publication. Hopefully this latest module will hit the finish line.

Test-play for new adventure! Can't believe it.

2010-04-30T20:53:00.002-05:00

As I've stated here, the clouds have parted a bit, allowing for a weekend game with an adventure that has potential to be the next PRG release. But just as quickly as the clouds parted, they will swallow me up again, so if play-test goes well tomorrow night, I'll need to pop this one out asap (because I'm not sure when I'll have the opportunity again so soon).

So, yes, although I am officially still on a temporary vacation from publishing to take care of some real life ordeals and necessities, it looks like I'll be able to take a quick vacation from my vacation.

Besides, I believe the last thing I published was way back in November of '09. Unthinkable! Gotta get something else out before I duck my head back under the surface for another six months. Right? Right.

Tomorrow, my players will adventure through my new Labyrinth Lord module A Promise of Vengeance Fulfilled, for levels 5-7. I have such high hopes that this one will be PRG's next published module that I've already begun the artwork!

Your well wishes for this session is appreciated because, man, I'm super excited to sit at the gaming table again.

Rumors in the Southland! A horror to investigate!

2010-04-29T21:46:00.002-05:00

Could it be?!

Rumblings in the southern parts of the Known Lands. An evil overlord, 10 years dead, has exacted revenge from the grave.

Is it really him, back from a decade of unrest? We shall find out this Saturday!

(Out of the chaos, my blue moon for gaming has risen, and I had to jump at the opportunity before it sets...and it will.)

The frenzy a sold-out book can cause

2010-04-29T00:49:00.003-05:00

Congrats to Michael! :)

Also, I have posted this elsewhere, but some dude is attempting to sell the previous edition of Labyrinth Lord for $999.98!

Passed some dice on to my little nephew

2010-04-11T10:43:00.002-05:00

Last night my wife and I watch my little niece and nephew (ages 11 and 8, respectively), and I busted out the Labyrinth Lord game in place of the Star Wars (Episode 1) Monopoly set we had planned to play.

You see, I've played a couple games of "D&D Lite" with these two in the past, and for the past several months, my nephew has really been hankerin' to play, reminding me every time he and his parents come to visit. We just never could find the right time for a quick game.

Recently, I thought about those past games we played using extremely simplified and watered-down rules. Both my niece and nephew had a blast. However, I began playing D&D around my nephew's age, and the older guys I played with definitely did not water down the rules. In fact, since I was the tag-along young kid in the group, I believe they purposely did not pull any punches, hoping for my character's quick demise and sending my annoying little butt home.

Although I did not plan to build up a cruel death dealing dungeon for the kids to lose their characters, but I did want to start playing the game a bit more closer to the actual rules.

The simplified version went something like this:

You could be a Knight or a Wizard.

No abilities, XP, or Armor Class.

You have eight Hit Points.

For everything (attacks, spells, stealing, saving throws, whatever), a 10 and over on the d20 is a success (or a 9 and over with a +1 weapon).

Every time you're hit, you lose one hit point. At the end of the encounter, hit points are regained.

Of course, as you can tell, there are no rules for a character to become stronger and more powerful via level advancement, but it wasn't my intention. I just wanted a "beginners" gateway RPG for the kids, offering them a basic understanding on how to play. Just a quick story hook, kill some monsters, and find the treasure.

And it worked! Like I said, they had a blast. So now that they have a basic knowledge on how to play an RPG, I wanted our next game to adhere a little closer to the rule set.

So last night, out came the Labyrinth Lord book and my quick Monty Haul adventure Treasure Crypt of the Salstine Pirate. My niece played a thief, my nephew played a magic-user, and we rounded out the party with a cleric and fighter NPCs.

I will admit to watering down a few details (including the monsters), but not by much. They survived and had so much fun that my nephew wanted to go home and download the Labyrinth Lord game right away. My niece had fun, but she is the type that goes with the flow, is up to play any game, but not one to pursue a die-hard interest in RPGs (I'll continue to work on that!). She does, however, at age 11, play a mean clarinet.

Before my nephew left with his parents, I told him to wait for a minute as I dug into my dice bag. I sorted out a mismatched set of old and new poly dice, put them into a zipped baggie and handed it to him. As gamers, we all remember our first set of polyhedron dice, and my hope is that he will, too.

Our next game will be the Tomb of Horrors. ;P

AEC Echo Chamber Announcement

2010-02-03T21:15:00.002-06:00

Just popping in to say that the Advanced Edition Companion for the Labyrinth Lord game is now on sale!

Many LL/1e fans have been waiting eagerly for this puppy to hit the online stands so I'm sure AEC is going to be a big hit.

Hardback and softcover copies available HERE.

PDFs available HERE.

More info HERE.

Happy Gaming!

So leave a light on, Leave a light on for me

2010-01-26T01:42:00.004-06:00

Well, it wasn't too long ago when I detailed a few plans for the fresh year of 2010. However, like so many involved in the OSR, writing, playing and publishing rpgs is a hobby. You know where I'm going with this, I'm sure...

With a heavy heart, I must put aside my cherished hobby to put some hard work into personal matters. As we know, there's only so much time in the day, and the amount of time required to produce Prime Requisite Game materials is simply not available to me as of now.

Don't worry, friends, because as the Joe Cocker post title implies, I will be back sometime when my real life obligations aren't so hectic. I have a ton of gaming materials swimming around in my noggin that I need to get outta there!

Since I have no idea when I'll be returning to the OSR publishing circles, let me say this: The past year and a half have been amazing. I've "met" so many positive, creative, helpful, and encouraging people within the old-school rpg community. The incredible response I received for my written adventures was humbling.

Prime Requisite Games modules have always been with the "quick game" in mind - for those who play infrequently and need an adventure to provide as much entertainment as possible for a one or two night play session. That's the way I like 'em anyway: a quick start, nice little hook, lots of action and plenty of treasure.

Although I have a soft spot for all my released modules, I'd have to say that The Courtyard of Gerald Red is my favorite. It has everything I enjoy in a low level adventure: deadly mysteries and curses (the rings), surreal spectacles (the fighting skeletons), fake-outs (vampire coffins??), and loads of treasure that will be hard as hell to obtain (giant piranhas) but is worth it all in the end if you get it.

Again, since I don't know when I will be back to the OSR stomping grounds, let me get out a few thank yous (Yes, I know this isn't an awards show, but please indulge me).

First, I'd like to thank Dan Proctor, not only for his excellent product, but also for his help and encouragement in PRG. The forum space he kindly gave me at Goblinoid Games really helped to shine a bigger light on my work, and I can't thank him enough for that. Here's hoping that the Revised Edition as well as the AEC will be a huge hit for Dan and the OSR.

Thanks to John at Brave Halfling Publishing, who was a major influence in me getting PRG started. It's awesome to see how far BHP has gone within the span of one year.

A big thanks to Matt Finch for the editing help and publishing The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord in Knockspell #3. People seem to really enjoy that adventure and I grateful to Matt for getting it into so many hands. I owe him a new module that I hope to get to him someday.

Jim Raggi and Michael Curtis for their thought-provoking gaming materials. Anyone that has a spot of writer's block needs to thumb through a copy of Green Devil Face or The Dungeon Alphabet to help the spinning tires get out of the mud. (Side note: I have a submission sent in for GDF #4. If Mr. Raggi decides to use it, I'll pop my head up on the blogs and forums to let you all know).

David Bezio, who, along with John at BHP, was another influence in my OSR publishing. As I mentioned many times before, his Lost Daughter adventure was the first LL module I ran for my noob group. I still owe him an X-plorers module.

Moritz at Soapbox Games for his unending support of all things old-school. He has mentioned my modules on his blog and I don't think I've ever gave him the proper thanks he deserves for the support. So, thank you, Moritz! :)

Thanks to Bruce at Barrataria for his killer gaming materials and for being such a cool cat.

The many blogs out there (James at Grognardia...I'm lookin' at you. But not in a weird way). Thanks for the hours of your food for thought. My gaming experience was all the better from the old-school blogs offering up their 2 cps on rpgs.

I definitely must thank my family who put up with my endless late-night writing sessions. My wife Else is fantastic, and I know that she's proud of what I've accomplished here. Love you, girl!

Finally, a big thanks to the followers of this blog and to those who downloaded/bought my modules. Your excitement in old-school rpgs in turn made me excited about producing quality adventures. This community rocks.

I know I forgot a few folks out there. I'm sorry!

So, other than the occasional comment I may offer up, I am going to sign off for a while. I don't know if it will be in six months or 24 months, but I will be back to writing and publishing old-school rpg adventures again.

So please...leave a light on for me.

Labyrinth Lord sighting and a set o' dice

2010-01-20T18:12:00.003-06:00

While browsing my FLGS (Tabletop Games in Overland Park, KS), I noticed a fresh Labyrinth Lord paperback on the shelf. I asked the kind gentleman (dude) if he has people coming in asking about LL. He said, "Oh, yeah" and went on to tell me that the number of people buying the small press products is growing and growing.

That's encouraging news. Especially for small press publishers like BHP and Black Blade Publishing getting their products up on the shelves.

It was hard to not buy the LL paperback, but since I just received my hardback from Lulu over a week ago, I had to leave it behind for another lucky bloke to find.

Instead, I saw that they had a bunch of Gamescience precision dice, so I bought my first set- blue opaque. Beautiful. My wife asked me if was going to retire some of my old worn-out dice. Haha!

No.

Never, ever, ever throw away dice. I don't care if the sides of my old d20 are so worn that it more resembles a marble. Never toss out dice! I keep 'em all, even the so-called "cursed" dice (I give those to my players - heh heh).

One day I'll have enough dice to satisfy my gaming needs. But then again, probably not. Probably not ever. :P

Test-play for new adventure completed

2010-01-16T13:15:00.004-06:00

Two two straight nights we hacked and slashed through my new adventure The Dead Heir of Kressik Keep. The players came out the other end of this module with more than a few bumps and scrapes, but everyone survived. Even Jason's thief survived this time, which is a rare occurrence 'round these parts. :P

Kressik Keep was going to be my submission to Knockspell #4, but I missed the deadline with this one. Many obstacles kept me from my hobby including a sick two year-old daughter and a severe case of writer's block.

Well, not that I wasn't writing, it's just that the adventure was not quite coming together. It was done. I had the map and all the rooms were keyed, but...it sucked. Blah. Patooie.

So then came the rewrites. I knew by this time that I would miss the Knockspell deadline, but I needed peace of mind with my work. With a bit more planning and a heavy dose of help from the Dungeon Alphabet (man, that book can stir up ideas!), I was able to reach a point with Kressik Keep in which I was comfortable enough to run a test-play.

Now, after a two day marathon of Labyrinth Lord fun, it's back to the rewrites, tweaking what needs to be fixed before I submit it to Knockspell, hoping to get it into issue #5. We'll see!

The Dungeon Alphabet and the OSR make me feel great!

2010-01-08T23:38:00.004-06:00

I finally received my pre-ordered copy of The Dungeon Alphabet, and it's beautiful. With its $9.99 price tag, such a book is truly a steal. Looking over the material, I must say that Michael Curtis really knows how to jump-start the imagination. From the wondrous to the disturbing, The Dungeon Alphabet is teaming with ideas that would prove valuable at the fingertips of any dungeon designer.

Yes, I am a fan.

While I may come off as some sort of slobbering fanboy, it's difficult for me to contain my enthusiasm due to all the quality products available from the OSR. I haven't acquired so many gaming materials (both bought and for free) since the TSR days.

For those of you who were gaming in the late 70s to early 80s, I'm sure you remember the bubbling excitement of visiting your local bookstore to thumb through the game books, modules and magazines. To me, it felt like my friends and I were onto something truly unique, and as far as we were concerned, it was all lovingly produced specifically for us alone.

Such is the feeling I get with the new material streaming out of the OSR. In fact, the products getting churned out of people's basements ARE specifically for us: the FANS who love this crazy hobby. When I think of all the great materials published by Goblinoid Games, BHP, Mythmere, LotFP, 3 Headed Monster, Barrataria, Grey Area, ect., etc., and so on, it takes me back to that small local bookstore to find that one strange product to add a bit more fun into my rpgs.

Right now is a wonderful time for our hobby and I hope many within the OSR are taking advantage of the goodies provided and soaking in the old-school rays of resurgence. I know I am (to the best of my ability, both money and time-wise). Right now, I am awaiting the arrival of my copy of Stonehell and the hardback copy of LL Revised. Meanwhile, I have my eye on a print copy of the Companion Expansion and when AEC is released, I'll get that, too.

Now, back to my copies of Green Devil Face and The Dungeon Alphabet to gather up a bit of dungeon creating inspiration. Yep! Again, what a great time for us old-school game-lovers.

Another Half Price Books Score

2010-01-07T19:39:00.003-06:00

I braved the frigid temperatures and went to the Half Price Bookstore during my lunch break today. In the past, there I have found near-mint copies of Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure ($7), The C&C core books ($9 each), and a ton of old Dragon magazines.

Today I was able to replace my missing copy of the Moldvay Basic rulebook for $5. This sucker is also in near-mint as the pages haven't even yellowed much.

In addition to this fabulous find, they were selling comics in bulk - 20 for $5. I landed a bunch of 70s/early 80s issues of Avengers, Hulk, Iron Man, and Invaders.

Man, I love HPB. :)

Plans for 2010

2009-12-31T15:11:00.005-06:00

For PRG, 2009 was about as successful as I could have ever hoped. This past year I was able to publish Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt, Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord (for Knockspell #3), The Lost Staves of Maurath, and the Treasure Crypt of the Salstine Pirate mini-module.

For 2010, I want to keep the momentum going. Here are the plans (which may change, of course).

- Finish my new adventure for Knockspell. Whether it gets into issue #4 or #5 is up in the air right now. I'm way behind schedule on this one.

- The Classic Deep Level Dungeon Adventures Vol. I: a compilation of modules DLD 1-5. This will include the never before published DLD3 Beyond the Midway Post. Also this will be the Maurath adventure's first time in print. This volume will also include all new editing, art and layout.

- I plan to finally begin my Labyrinth Lord mega adventure The Fierce Foes of Fire Peak Mountain. I'm kicking around the idea for this module to be used with the LL Advanced Edition Companion. If I didn't mention it before, this will be a nice fat old-school adventure filled with all my faves: Deserted ruins, mysterious villages, trap-filled tombs, caverns, and a big ol' Red Dragon at the end of it all (I'm not giving anything away. It will be known that a dragon is up in them thar mountains).

- Once the dust settles, I can get my X-plorers game going. I have a rough idea for an adventure, and I'd like to see if I can finally get one published. It's just too cool of a bare-bones sci-fi RPG.

Anyway: Happy New Year to ya'll!

Just saw Dorkness Rising

2009-12-23T00:06:00.003-06:00

After hearing bits and pieces about The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, I finally saw it streaming on Netflix. Yes it is a shoestring budget affair, but I actually found myself laughing hysterically at most of the adventuring gags. The dead bard gags were priceless as well as the alignment arguments.

As I was watching, I kept thinking of the average non-gamer who might try to watch this and how freaking confused they would be by all the gamer lingo. Dorkness Rising might not be for everyone, it is definitely a love letter to tabletop role-players.

Although this movie has some obvious low budget drawbacks, as a gamer I would still recommend checking it out.

Favorite quote: "There's 37 more of me, asshole!"

Another D&D clone available? Sure, why not?

2009-12-20T13:30:00.004-06:00

I just stumbled upon Paige Oliver's Red Box Fantasy rpg (Player's guide here for free), a game that is described as "the new face of Retrogaming." A more in depth description can be found here.

Jim Raggi is kicking around the idea of a LotFP traditional rpg in order to market his games under his own brand.

With S&W, LL, OSRIC, BFRPG, M&M, etc., as well as similar themed companions from Barrataria and Blackrazor, do you think this fragments or waters down the OSR, or do you find more options to be healthy for gaming references/growth.

I mentioned before that I think that most old-school gamers love to draw ideas from various sources. As a young roleplayer, I used to mix B/X with a fat dose of 1e and a dash of the ol' Arduin Grimoire. That being said, I am all for more ideas based on the old game we know and love to be written and available for public consumption. For I shall consume, see?

I would like to believe that someone who mainly plays Labyrinth Lord or BFRPG would have no problem utilizing other retro-sources into their game if they wish. If not, for those who use a set of their choice rules as a strict source for play, why would/should it bother them that other retro rules exist?

To ask if more and more retro-clones are necessary is moot. That opinion is up to the one who might want to use additional rule sets for inspiration. For those playing strict B/X D&D by the book (and with the originals no less), of course new sets of retro rules are unnecessary...for them.

For me, I like a variety of ideas on my favorite game, whether it comes from the 0e or the 1e spectrum of play. So I read through and utilize bits from most of the clones, as well as the supplements and magazines. If Raggi publishes the LotFP rpg, I'll read it and possibly use it for inspiration in my LL campaign. What I won't do is roll my eyes and say, "ANOTHER one?!" The quality and love put into the available clones (as well as the wealth of ideas) are seriously not that off-putting. :)

Playing the Maurath module backwards? Nice twist.

2009-12-10T03:41:00.003-06:00

SPOILERS to the Maurath module. You know...just in case.

This post will assume that you have read The Lost Staves of Maurath. If you have not, what the heck, man? Go here, download it for free, give it a once-over, and then come back for a nice twist to this module.

As I thumbed through The Lost Staves of Maurath again the other night (always, always looking for typos) it dawned on me that this particular adventure could be played in a way to add a good amount of mystery and discovery: run the module backward.

In this scenario, the characters will have zero knowledge of the town of Bremwell and their problems with their damaged temple and the lost staves of Maurath.

Deep into the original adventure, The Temple of the Black Jewel (area 21) has a northbound hall that eventually becomes a natural cavern, leading the characters outside into the hills north of Bremwell. Playing the adventure backwards, this cavern will be the characters' entrance instead of exit.

The first encounter for the characters will be with the clerics of the Black Jewel who will tell the characters about the theft of the Black Jewel. The clerics could hire the characters to explore the caverns above the waterfall to the south to seek out and return the stolen relic. Even if this encounter somehow results in combat (the clerics are Chaotic after all), the discoveries of the giant black statue, the strange interlocking staves, and sinkhole leading to the Temple of Maurath would be fun mysteries for the characters to untangle.

It's the discovery of the Temple of Maurath which intrigues me the most about playing the adventure backwards. I like the idea of the characters finding this mysteriously new structure above the dark catacombs. If the characters climb up into the sanctuary and kill off the temple's intruders, curiosity will insist that the characters hack or blast through the temple's boarded-up entrance. This might bring them to the town of Bremwell.

Should the characters end up in Bremwell, imagine the role-playing between the characters and the residents. Will they look at the characters with deep suspicion? Will they tell the story of the lost staves (one adventure, two lost artifacts! Who wudda thunk it)? The main thing the residents would want is some proof that the caverns do indeed contain an ancient, evil burial chamber. What evidence will the characters have with them?

Nice possibilities.

RPG aimed at kids to help one in need

2009-12-09T00:58:00.002-06:00

Hey, folks.

Just read this over the theRPGsite:

Hi,

I'm new to the forums, but I work for Empty Room Studios, I am posting this not to try and plug our new RPG game that's aimed at kids, but to try and get some support from the community. One of the artists of Empty Room Studios is having a tough time right now financially -I know we all are- but his is unique in that he is dealing with a sick wife, and raising two daughters with one on the way.

The point is, we at ERS would like to offer our newest game, Dungeon Dwellers: Junior Edition for *almost* free. All you have to do is visit www.helpthehersheys.blogspot.com and donate as little as $1.00 to help out Rick's family and we will send you a link to download DD:JD.

Also, please post a link in your facebook pages (with the same deal I am offering you here), tweet out a message, blog about it, or e-mail your friends -just help get the word out to everyone you may know who would be interested in a great game aimed at kids and for helping out a worthy cause!

Thanks for your time

-Rocky

Please check it out and pass it along.

Big Bang Theory and D&D

2009-12-04T00:27:00.002-06:00

I watch the show Big Bang Theory when I can because of all the GeekSpeak found on the program. While I enjoy the show, I can not BELIEVE that Sheldon and his buddies have not engaged in a Dungeons & Dragons edition war yet. There is no way that these characters know as much as they do about all things geeky, from comics to Star Wars to Star Trek, and they have never played D&D?

Well, I for one want my BBT D&D episode! Who at CBS do I yell at to get this done? :D

Barrataria's Companion Expansion

2009-11-29T02:34:00.003-06:00

I'm always up for pimping other OSR products on the ol' PRG blog, soooooo...

Here is a cool new product in which one can mine some great ideas for their LL/old-school game. With Barrataria Games' Companion Expansion, GMs can introduce new spells, magic items, classes (half-ogre!), and rules to slice and dice your characters up to 36th level.

The Companion Expansion is an obvious labor of love and a useful gift to the OSR. You can check out the no-art version here for FREE! Barrataria plans to release a POD version soon, filled with glorious art and old-school happiness.

Give it a test-drive to see if a little (or a lot) of the CE can fit into your current game.

Creative ideas: Thanks, Green Devil Face

2009-11-07T01:23:00.002-06:00

I finally purchased LotFP's Green Devil Face (#1-3) based off a harsh review from the Pundit over at The RPG Site. As a fan of Raggi’s writing and a supporter of the OSR, I pimped GDF here on this blog. After all the cool things I’ve heard about these ‘zines, it’s funny that it took a bad review to finally make me take the plunge and buy GDF.

Man, I wish that I had not waited to get these. As a writer of RPG adventures, reading GDF is a true inspiration of what one can produce when you really stop giving a %#@$ about what others think or how adventures are “supposed” to be written.

Sometimes we need to step back and say, “This is fantasy. I can do ANYTHING I want to make this more interesting and fun.”

So far the best thing I can say about reading GDF is that it has sparked in me some fun ideas. I love that. Would I use all the traps found in GDF in my own adventures? Nooooooooooooo freaking way, but that’s not the point. It’s the creativity of what GDF’s contributors put into their ideas that I get off on (whether they work or not).

Personally, I loved the humor and satire found in issue #1 (and, no, I don’t know everyone Raggi is picking on, so although the inside jokes might go over my head, the set ups are still freaking cool, if not unusual and surreal). I would like to see more of that carried into future issues of GDF. I love it when an RPG resource can stimulate ideas while tearing me up in laughter.

Also, I must say that the imagery within Caleb Jensen’s Beware the Red Stream in issue #3 could be used by David Lynch should he decide to direct a “D&D” movie. I love it.

Anyway, as I said, GDF has spawned some fun ideas in me and I am in the process of putting those ideas down in a mini adventure that I plan to submit for a future issue of GDF. Whether it gets published there or not is not up to me, but I’m having fun with the extra burst of creativity.

As for future PRG releases, I think there will be one or two areas within each new adventure where I’ll think to myself: WWGDFD?

Traditional or "Book" Sized?

2009-10-29T19:02:00.003-05:00

I've seen people posting here and there around the rpg community about size prefence in gaming books. It seems the book (or digest) sized booklet is gaining acceptance with the traditional fantasy gaming crowd.

For me, I like both. However, back in the day when I played post UA AD&D, I used to carry around a backpack FULL of rulebooks (which, admittedly, half were never even used). I would have loved access to booklet-sized rules back then.

Now, as a Labyrinth Lord GM/player, I carry around one (1) book, so, as they say, size doesn't matter. I do have a nice collection of pdfs of other rpgs and supplements that I have recently printed off as pocketbooks, which make for great and less clunky bedtime reading.

Does anyone out there have a die-hard preference, and if so, what drove you to wanting smaller/larger sized rpg materials?

A big thanks for representing LL in Knockspell.

2009-10-28T00:30:00.001-05:00

I received my pdf copy of Knockspell #3 earlier today and it looks fantastic. I simply have to give a big thanks to Matt Finch at Mythmere Games for not only publishing my adventure, but making it look so darn good in print (a thanks to Mr. Kramer, too)!

The last time I really gave Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord a good read was after its first and only editing session. As I re-read the module last night, I forgot how much freaking fun this adventure was to run. The puzzles, traps, new monsters and magical items all come together in a delightfully deadly labyrinth crawl!

Could I say that Minotaur Lord is worth the price of the magazine alone? Sure, but that would be overstepping my bragging rights, and this issue of Knockspell is packed full of so much old-school happiness that nearly every piece would be able to make the same boast.

As an extra incentive to get your own copy from Black Blade Publishing, for the rest of this week, they knocked 10% off the pdf price. 64 pages of Knockspell for $3.60! Check it out here!

Or if you like the deadwood edition: here.

Last thing I want to say here is to give another thanks to Matt for allowing me to represent Labyrinth Lord in his pages. He uses Knockspell as an entertaining and useful forum to prop up the old-school - from 0e to 1e and everything in between - and I'm just happy that he has decided to take on this endeavor to share with the rest of us.

...Minotaur Lord adventure released in Knockspell #3!

2009-10-26T12:57:00.004-05:00

The cat is out of the bag!

It looks like Mythmere has a sweet deal with Black Blade Publishing! What's even sweeter is that Knockspell #3 has finally been released. And even sweeter-er is that KS#3 features our new adventure Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord!

It has been a long time coming for this adventure, and it's worth the wait! Now, with the modules Treasure Crypt of the Salstine Pirate, The Lost Staves of Maurath, and now Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord, that equals three module releases within one month. Good times. :)

I doubt that I'll maintain this type of schedule, but it's nice when everything comes together at once, you know?

You can find Knockspell #3 here in both PDF and print.

EDIT: There will be a big announcement on the Mythmere forums tomorrow (10/27) about the publishing deal. Regarding this, Matt said: "Don't buy anything today, because there may be a sale announced with the launch."

And you think Pac-Man is a retro game??

2009-10-26T10:54:00.002-05:00

This is non-rpg related, BUT, I found these fantastic pics over at Retro Hound of a place called the Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

I have actually visited this place a couple times and it is just as cool as it looks. Those who think that Space Invaders is an old game should check this place out and learn a little history.

Man, I love this stuff!

The Lost Staves of Maurath now available! FREE!

2009-10-23T00:34:00.001-05:00

Prime Requisite Games is proud to announce a new Labyrinth Lord / BASIC rpg adventure available as a FREE download!

Classic Deep Level Dungeon Adventure DLD5: The Lost Staves of Maurath

An open sinkhole under a sacred temple has revealed a catacomb of twisted dark caverns. Vicious creatures from below raided the temple of its most precious possessions, the magical Staves of Maurath.

Now the staves must be found, and an open call has been issued for a group of powerful adventurers to explore the caverns and find the Lost Staves of Maurath. However, it is believed that the caverns may echo the deadly secret of an ancient and evil burial chamber.

The Lost Staves of Maurath is a challenging adventure for character levels 4-6. For use with the Labyrinth Lord™ rules or other Basic/Expert RPG systems.

Available for FREE at Lulu, Scribd, and Issuu.

Enjoy!

New mini module while you wait!

2009-10-16T12:47:00.005-05:00

While the finishing touches are added to our next module, let me douse a bit of your adventuring thirst with our first Labyrinth Lord mini adventure released under our new KTM3T brand: Treasure Crypt of the Salstine Pirate.

The legend of the Salstine Pirate tells of a sea captain who turned pirate, killing off most of his crew and taking his treasure to land. Salstine found an abandoned tomb within the Dwarven Mountains to hide his stolen goods, and meant to stay there to avoid getting caught by the military he betrayed. However, what he found in the tomb was a horror that would keep the Salstine Pirate trapped within forever.

As always, this is a free download!

Influenced by the One Page Dungeon contest, KTM3T (which stands for Kill The Monsters, Take Their Treasure) mini modules are one or two page adventures that can easily plug into any existing campaign, or they can simply be a great Saturday night time-killer.

These adventures will be written with the quick-game in mind. There will not be long drawn out stories full of cryptic rumors and mysteries to solve. KTM3T modules will have three major elements: monsters, traps and treasure. So not only will these adventures make for a nice quick one-session game, they are perfect as introductory modules for new players.

As far as scheduled releases for KTM3T mini modules, I must say that the full-length modules will have priority, so the minis will be released as time permits.

Enjoy and Happy Gaming!

New cover art!

2009-10-09T00:34:00.003-05:00

Here is an early peek at the cover art.

As I finish up the new module

2009-10-07T00:50:00.003-05:00

Right now I am deep in the rewrite/art and design stage of PRG's new adventure module The Lost Staves of Maurath. Like our past releases, this will be released under the Deep Level Dungeons Adventures brand. Maurath will be released as adventure module DLD5.

So where are the modules DLD3 and DLD4? Well...

DLD3 is the temporarily shelved Beyond the Midway Post adventure and DLD4, The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord, will be published in the upcoming Knockspell #3.

So there you go. :)

As a side note, I'm trying to get a lunch-hour Labyrinth Lord game going at my job. When it finally happens, I believe we're going to give Brave Halfling Publishing's The Ruins of Ramat a spin. Knowing my players, they'll have no problem running sword-first into a fray with the Tentacled Demonic Guardians (and then we'll quickly roll up some new characters after the carnage).

Test play for our new LL adventure

2009-09-21T10:20:00.001-05:00

Saturday's test play for the full-length The Lost Staves of Maurath was a blast! I don't think I've ever ran a game that was so crazy and by-the-seat-of-the-pants as was this one. We were having so much fun that the group didn't want to stop, turning the evening into a seven hour long Labyrinth Lord marathon!

However, I find that when you don't know when to say "when", and the party is near the adventure finish line, people start making foolhardy mistakes when they're tired. Although Jason, a PRG test-player regular, did some very smart and innovative role-playing throughout the evening, a fatal mistake was made in the very last room. His thief died...again. We'll mourn his lack of hit points here...again.

I'll admit that we should have stopped a couple hours earlier and saved the big stuff for another night. This saves the party from just trying to "push through" to the end just so that we can reach the end (in our group's defense, our gaming sessions are rather far between, so we'd probably not be able to continue the adventure soon enough to keep its momentum).

So now the tweaking, writing and art shall begin in preparation for publication. Those of you familiar with the one-page dungeon from which this adventure is expanded, much has changed! I'm excited to get this one out, and like the other PRG adventures, it will be available as a free download.

I'll keep you posted.

The Lost Staves of Maurath revamp and other goodies

2009-09-11T16:09:00.002-05:00

Things will start to move right along. Next weekend is our next scheduled gaming session. We will be playing a revamped and full-length version of my one-page dungeon The Lost Staves of Maurath. This version includes an expanded temple and an all-new third level.

The plans are to make The Lost Staves of Maurath for levels 4-7, so the critters will be bumped up from the original if they have any hope of giving the PCs some serious boo-boos.

Again, like my previous adventures, if all goes well with this one, it should be the next Labyrinth Lord module release for PRG.

After this one is finished, I'll continue on a module that I am really excited about titled The Fierce Foes of Fire Peak Mountain. This Labyrinth Lord adventure will be for higher level characters (around 6-10) and will feature some hard-hitting baddies.

PCs will venture through seven or eight small levels full of Fierce Foes as they travel up toward the Fire Peak, including some "abandoned" ruins, a security fort, a village and its graveyard, and a vast labyrinth of caverns that will lead characters to the peak.

Typical stuff? That's right! Fire Peak Mountain is going to be a 100% old-school dungeon crawl (take a gander at the cover to the original D&D Dungeon Geomorphs for the type of flavor I have in mind). While that might not be for everyone's taste, hopefully we can win the naysayers over. After all, free-of-charge adventures are hard to beat!

One last thing: I still have my sights on an X-plorers rpg mission module release. This will happen (or my test-playing crew will string me up). Whether this will happen before Fire Peak is released is all up in the air right now.

New Goblinoid Games site is up!

2009-09-06T02:30:00.003-05:00

For those of us who have been waiting with a drooling mouth for the new Goblinoid Games web site, the wait is finally over.

The new GG site is up and running. It's well-organized and after navigating through, I had the urge to break out the dice and role-play a game (but at 2:45am, it's highly unlikely).

I want to thank Dan at Goblinoid Games for the "shout out" in the site's our partners section. I'm happy to support Labyrinth Lord and I look at this acknowledgment as a thumbs-up directly from the source.

One last thing -- I must say that the copy on the main page is perfect, especially the line, "It's time to wipe the high gloss off your gaming table and take a journey leading to gritty old-school adventure."

Amen!

News on our upcoming adventures

2009-08-20T13:20:00.003-05:00

Just to let you know that I haven't been sitting on my hands since the release of Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt, the next adventure has already been written and ready for publication.

The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord will be out soon enough, but not through Prime Requisite Games. I am pleased to announce that as of this writing, Minotaur Lord will appear in the next issue of Knockspell magazine (issue #3)!

While the adventure's title may be a bit self explanatory, the deadly traps and cryptic puzzles within are anything but predictable. The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord is compatible with Labyrinth Lord and Swords & Wizardry and is suitable for character levels 3-5.

I'm excited that Mr. Finch accepted Minotaur Lord to be in the pages of Knockspell (as well as provided some desperately needed line editing of the adventure manuscript). I'm equally excited that Matthew tapped fantasy artist Christopher Burdett to illustrate the adventure! Very, very cool.

While I do not have a time frame of when Knockspell #3 will be released, I'll definitely let you know as soon as I know!

In the meantime I have plans for a high-level Labyrinth Lord release as well as a mission module for the X-plorers role-playing game.

More updates to follow! Woo-hoo!

Grey Area Games releases X-plorers RPG

2009-08-13T00:13:00.005-05:00

The X-plorers sci-fi RPG is now in full release. David "grubman" Bezio, famous for his Phoenix Barony fantasy setting, has made both a print and PDF version available at Lulu.

He is also offering a free version at his Grey Area Games web site for you to check it out before purchasing the real deal. According to Bezio, the free version doesn't have the art, sample adventure, and a few other bits which are all included in the full version.

Why have I been hyping up the X-plorers RPG? Well, my regular Labyrinth Lord group will give this game a spin during our next scheduled session. If all goes well, the adventure we test-play might find its way out to the public through Prime Requisite Games! We loves us some space battles! More news on that later.

Am I helping or hurting the OSR?

2009-07-15T17:01:00.002-05:00

I was going to comment on Mishler's post on the Doom of RPGs once I had more time to digest it. Then I came across this posting from Labyrinth Lord publisher Dan Proctor.

He writes about what consumers are starting to expect, which are PDFs for free and impractically priced print products. Well, sure, of course. Who doesn't want cheaper products? But they don't consider what it takes to get that fine rule book or adventure out cost wise (as Mishler breaks down for us).

Dan says the reasoning behind this sense of entitlement is, "the people who price their POD books for nothing have a cost of $0 to produce the book, because they either write it themselves, had volunteer writers, did the art themselves, or had volunteer artists."

He then states, "People see these very low prices and wonder why a product of similar page count can't be so cheap, too. more than that, people are now starting to expect that the POD books be priced for nothing much like PDF books."

Knowing human nature for wanting everything to be even and "fair" (blah), I believe that Dan might be right. If that's the case, then Prime Requisite Games would be part of the problem.

I am a basement publisher doing this as a fun hobby. I do all the illustrating, layout, design, editing, writing, map-making, and even a bit of advertising all on my own. Unlike Dan, I don't have to fork over the dollars to some talented individuals to produce a decent product (side note here: I'm not saying that my products are the best, but they don't look like refrigerator drawings either! :) )

Therefore, I can sell my product at cost and it seems cheap compared to others on the market. Also, since the print products are sold at cost, the PDFs are simply given away for free. Is there a chance that making these products available as such makes people believe that it should be the norm? Do OSR consumers believe other publishers have some sort of obligation to sell their modules for $5.90 a pop? I'd like to hope that isn't so.

Why? Because Mishler's breakdown of the RPG product price doesn't affect me in the slightest (since the dollar amount for each cost is zilch) as it does for other publishers. My time is the only thing spent.

That being the case, Dan's products (as well as John's from BHP, Raggi's from LotFP, among others) are fairly priced. On the other hand, I feel my products are also priced fairly in a sense that I want to spread the word about Labyrinth Lord (my game of choice) and I'd like to get my adventures into as many hands as possible.

I love doing this as a hobby! I love the people involved and the excitement they get when playing, producing, and watching the hobby grow and grow. My time is not only spent on adventures, but also going to different forums and Q&A websites to drop a Labyrinth Lord or Swords and Wizardry link here and there. I even got a bit of light-hearted ribbing for my MySpace ads promoting PRG and Labyrinth Lord.

I wanted my products to be a way in helping the OSR grow. I remember when I started PRG, I figured the best way to spread the word is to offer cheap/free RPG materials. However, am I shooting the OSR in the pinky toe by doing just that?

Bezio's new sci-fi RPG is ready for test play!

2009-07-09T16:13:00.002-05:00

Ah! I've been anxious to get David Bezio's new sci-fi game X-plorers ever since he announced the project on the retro forums. His idea of "what if" the fathers of RPGs were more into sci-fi than fantasy when they wrote the original 1974 set - that sounded intriguing to me (and to a couple of my test players who are big sci-fi geeks).

Mr. Bezio has graciously provided the public with a test play version over at Lulu for free. Hopefully, I'll be able to give the game a spin around the game table.

Here's my official good luck to David with his new game. I hope it's a succuesful one.

Idol of the Orcs module from Goblinoid Games

2009-06-23T14:14:00.003-05:00

Here's a quick plug for the new Labyrinth Lord module from Goblinoid Games titled "Idol of the Orcs".

Note the all-new cover and logo design!

Adventure description:

A band of unusually organized orcs has taken to raiding farms and waylaying travelers near the local town. The characters must seek out the orc lair and rid the area of this menace, but things are not entirely as they seem. A sinister voice whispers instructions from the darkness; what demonic force lies at the heart of the labyrinthine orc lair? This adventure is suitable for characters of 1st-3rd level and is intended for use with the LABYRINTH LORD fantasy role-playing game, but is easily used with all editions of the world’s most popular fantasy RPG.

Print copy here.

PDF here.

The Goodman response. Not surprised, just disappointed.

2009-06-21T14:20:00.003-05:00

When I read the responses and the "parody" of Goodman's post, I guess I wasn't surprised, but I did wonder "why?".

Based on his post, I look at Goodman as someone who is smart about his business and actually cares about games. Why pick on someone who HELPS the popularity of RPGs? Especially when he has something noteworthy to say.

Maybe because he burst everyone's ideas about 4e's success OR that he was so "arrogant" about how much more he knows about the RPG business than the rest of us (which is true).

It seems that people in general like to piss in the same pillows on which they sleep. James at LotFP said, "Thanks, everyone. You've made it extremely easy for the people that know things to not bother telling the rest of us about it." You're right, Mr. Raggi. Why would this guy share ANY inside info with the rest of us ever again?

Some people really need to have their diapers changed, and then with a clear head they could realize where they are directing so much ridicule and hostility. Maybe then their shame will show them that we're all in this together.

Significant other's plan for your RPG books

2009-06-16T00:27:00.007-05:00

I was searching on good ol' Craig's List for some used RPG books and I came across this. Read the fine digi-print if you can (click the image to make it bigger).

The main part I want you to read is, "Great news! We've had a baby! But, now my husband doesn't have time for his D&D. Thus, we are getting rid of some of his collection of books."

Just by her language, when she writes "my husband doesn't have time for his D&D", you know that she regarded his gaming as a complete waste of time, daydreaming about her Craig's List plan all the while.

Why do I come to this conclusion? Well...

...I can understand that he might not have time now for some RPGs, with the new baby and all, but forever?! You mean to tell me that since he now has a child, he will never again have time for "his" D&D? The baby will stay 3 weeks old for eternity and there will absolutely be no time to game! Well, I guess the books need to go. Don't place them on a bookshelf or pack them away...sell them! It only seems logical since now and forever until he dies, there is and will be no time for "his" D&D.

Hopefully they also sold their family editions of Monopoly and Scrabble for a tiny profit as there will most likely be no time to pass Go or spell "epoxy" on a double-word score.

Also, notice the "we are getting rid of some of his collection of books." I really doubt there was any "we" involved in this decision.

The poor sap didn't even stand a chance.

Our module is gettin' passed around

2009-05-28T15:58:00.004-05:00

I snaked this pic off of ebay a while back. It's cool to see PRG's stuff there, but we're hoping it's because they played it and wanted to pass the fun onto somebody else. *heh heh*

No matter. Our module The Courtyard of Gerald Red is in great company here. Whoever won the bid was a lucky gamer!

Our modules are now on Amazon

2009-05-26T21:49:00.004-05:00

I just found out that Lulu has selected Prime Requisite Games adventures to be distributed on Amazon through lulupress.

The downside is that there is a markup in price through Amazon* (while the price on the Lulu site will remain the same).

The upside is that any type of distribution isn't a bad thing, especially with old-school RPG adventures.

*EDIT: Lulu removed the 30% markup in price. Now we have equal pricing on both Lulu and Amazon.

I found players who don't care (in a good way!)

2009-05-26T14:31:00.002-05:00

I read a lot of complaints from GMs/Players who would like to run through some old-school adventures but seem to be the only one in the group holding such sentiment. They end up playing 3x or 4e because, well, it's the only game they can get going, and if one truly wants to game, they'll get it any way they can.

It's better than nothing (for most). Put into the same predicament, I would do the same thing.

However, I was lucky. When I got the itch to play again, I found the Labyrinth Lord rules, devoured them, and decided to set up an old-school game. Easier said than done? Actually, it was.

Fortunately I work in a design firm filled with some movie/comic/sci-fi geeks...and not ONE of them has ever played an RPG. Sure they did the online thing for a while, but never a tabletop, pen 'n' paper, fist full o' dice role-playing game. I extended an invitation. they accepted, and we have been going strong ever since.

In fact, after a few gaming sessions, a couple of my players got so into the idea of RPGs, they went out and snatched up everything they could find, such as AD&D1e, Lejendary Adventure, Star Frontiers, Alternity, OSRIC, C&C, etc. They sat in on a 4e game and had a good time (however, it coincides with a 1e game they are deeply involved in).

What's so great is that "old-school" and "edition wars" mean zilch to these people. While my players are my age and older, they did not grow up playing RPGs and seem to shrug off the ideals that bring about so much fist waving. Labyrinth Lord was their introduction into RPGs, they are having a great time, and now they would be up for anything. Sure, they may find a game that they don't enjoy, but to them that doesn't mean others are "playing it wrong" or the game is "wrong" or rules are "wrong" or the type of chips served at the game are "wrong." It's just a game.

Also, the term old-school or new-school means nothing considering they started off with LL. To my players, Labyrinth Lord is new-school! Heck, RPGs in general are new-school to them.

So, really, these guys don't care. Just bring it on, 'cause they're ready to have whatever fun they are looking to have, if that makes any sense. :) (I would just say, "ready to have fun", but Raggi has given me a complex about using the term.)

My One Page Dungeon

2009-05-25T02:57:00.005-05:00

This is a cleaned-up and branded version of The Lost Staves of Maurath that I sent in to the Chatty DM/Chgowiz's One Page Dungeon contest.

It was a quickie to slam together, but time was limited while getting The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord ready for test-play. Still, I wanted to submit something and I figure that this fun little cavern-crawl is better than nuthin'. :)

That being said, I had a great time writing this and I plan for more one page adventures to be released under the Classic Deep Level Dungeon Mini Adventure brand. They will remain edition-neutral with minimal monster and treasure details, but will make a great springboard for anyone looking to plug in a quick adventure into their campaign.

So a big shout-out and thanks to our favorite Chatty DM and Old Guy for the idea that inspired so many people involved in FRPGs to produce some adventure material!

*UPDATE

I've noticed that this particular post generates a LOT of noise, and I assume it's because people are searching for One Page Dungeon entries. Unfortunately, ...Maurath is no longer available from PRG as a One Page Dungeon. Fortunately, it has been available for quite a while as a full length free module. Download and enjoy!

Randall at RetroRoleplaying: a request and offer

2009-05-21T13:08:00.002-05:00

Randall at RetroRoleplaying: The Blog is hitting a rough patch on an already bumpy road dealing with the cost of his wife's cancer treatment. He explains more on his blog.

To help with costs, Randall is offering up PDFs of the two issues of The Grimoire, an RPG fanzine he published in the 70s. These 'zines were lovingly produced with a manual typewriter and, according to Randall, "It contained a wide variety of material for D&D and boardgames."

You'll also get a pdf copy of The Second Grimoire of Pharesm the Bright-Eyed, a set of house rules for BECMI.

This stuff was produced when the old-school was new, so it should be interesting to see the dedication poured out for what was a relatively new hobby. Read about issue #1 and #2 if you're interested and then see if you can donate any amount to receive them in PDF format, or if you're unable to donate, spread the word on a blog or two.

RetroRoleplaying: The Blog

Sunday's test-play successful (so far)

2009-05-20T15:29:00.002-05:00

My group began test-playing The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord this past Sunday. We made it about 2/3rds of the way through the adventure, and while the party was knocked around a bit, not one character died! Yes, even Jason's thief survived this first go-around. A rarity and I applaud him.

We'll complete this adventure on May 30th and then it's time for tweaking. As a side note, I should be working on Beyond the Midway Post before I do any work on the Minotaur Lord, but that one's been shelved for the time being. It will see the light of day, just not so soon.

Anyway, this adventure will be the last with my loyal test-players Buzz and Cathy. The married couple are moving 21 hours away, so I don't think think they'll make our bi-weekly (or so) gaming sessions. I guess there's always Skype! *tear*

As a going away present, a few co-workers and I found a Fine-graded copy of Captain America #100 at a local comic convention and snatched it up at a decent price. This is the only Cap issue he's missing from his collection, and he was nearly speechless to say the least. It was awesome.

Buzz and Cathy are fun players and they will be missed. Here's hoping that they plug into a game soon after settling in.

I'll post about our next session and hopefully I'll have a time frame for publication.

Brave Halfling Publishing is live!

2009-05-14T15:24:00.004-05:00

The fine folks at Brave Halfling Publishing finally have their home site up and running. The time and dedication paid off and it looks impressive. As I've mentioned previously, with their foot firmly in the OSR as well as getting their other foot wet in C&C and 4e D&D, I'm ready to see some big things come out of these guys. It's a nice bridge from old to new-school (and vise-versa).

Good luck BHP!

Knockspell, an apology, and good news

2009-05-13T15:01:00.004-05:00

I see that Knockspell #2 is out already. I told Mr. Finch a long time ago that I had an adventure that would be a good one for the magazine and I would get it to him ASAP. He thought that was great.

Well, life happens, and as different obstacles stood in the way and as my test-play games could not get on track, I was not able to get the adventure to him. I know Matt has probably met more than his fair share of fellers who are gung-ho about a project only to fall off the face of the earth the next day, but I didn't want to be that guy. The guy who says he'll do something one minute and then forget your name the next. That guy.

Actually, I'm sure most indie publishers have met that guy while waiting for design, artwork, or whatever. *shudder* Not fun. Especially when you're ready to push your product out the door.

Now although it's not the biggest deal in the world, still I would like to apologize to Matt for not keeping in touch with him, at least just to say, "It won't be ready." From now on, if I have something I'd like to submit (whether it's to Knockspell or to my church's bake sale), I better be on top of my project or my communication skills.

That being said, here's to much success to the new issue of Knockspell!

In other news, I am finaly test-playing The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord this weekend. My usual gang of players will be there sans Dynamic Dan who will be venturing to Wonderfest in Kentucky. Although I have always been more into comic books and heavy metal than models, it does look like a good time for all interested.

RPG Blog Carnival for the OSR

2009-05-05T16:31:00.002-05:00

Just for fun, I snaked the RPG Blog Carnival questions regarding "The Future of Roleplaying" from Roleplaying Pro and answered them with the OSR in mind.

What games do you see emerging as the big players in the near future?

Mythmere Games. Between S&W and Knockspell Magazine as well as their support for the OSR, I can see their snowball getting bigger as it rolls along.

What companies should we be watching out for to release the next big product?

Brave Halfling Publishing is beginning to do everything from old-school to 4e and are now top sellers on RPGnow (for classic-type RPGs).

However, Chaotic Henchmen Productions made a big splash with Guy Fullerton's Dungeon Module F1 - The Fane of Poisoned Prophesies.

One of these two companies will produce the next adventure everyone will be blogging about.

How will technology become more integrated into roleplaying games?

It already has or else most of these indie publishing companies would not exist (including PRG!).

What industry writer do we need to be on the look out for?

James Edward Raggi. A quality writer and a hell of a chance-taker.

What blogs do you see exploding into becoming the next big thing?

I really don't know. The few I frequent include Grognardia, Greyhawk Grognard (I'm a fan of his Castle of the Mad Archmage), and LotFP, among others.

What do you see for the future of the industry?

I see a paper-thin, superficial coating of "you're not playing it right" with a meaty center of fun-for-all house rules, picked from the various RPG faves. People diving into "old-school" playing will want to get EVERYTHING - Labyrinth Lord, S&W, OSRIC, BFRPG. etc, as well as their supplements - and take what they like from each (while using one set of rules as the system of choice).

I would also like to believe that these house rules will result in more fan-produced material.

One Page Dungeon sent out

2009-04-24T16:44:00.004-05:00

Well, I bit the bullet and drew up a quick adventure for the One Page Dungeon contest. It's titled The Lost Staves of Maurath. It's a fun little low-level dungeon crawl, so it will be cool to see how far it can go.

Those of you interested in putting something together for the contest, you still have time. Click the link above for details and get something sent in before May 14th!

The 4C System FASERIP clone

2009-04-23T10:54:00.002-05:00

I was a big, big fan of the original Marvel Superheroes RPG from TSR. My friends and I spent hours playing our favorite heroes (and I even attempted a game as Howard the Duck).

Well, there's a free public domain release clone of this "FASERIP" system called the 4C System. You can download it here.

You can also find the forum 4C4Ever! (dedicated to the 4C System) here.

This is great for the indy publishers interested in providing new material for this classic game. In fact, once the Labyrinth Lord adventures I have planned are finally finished, Prime Requisite Games might set its sights on publishing some 4C material. We'll have to see what the future holds.

Here's to much success to 4C.

A couple of Green Devil Faces

2009-04-21T14:56:00.003-05:00

James Edward Raggi IV over at LotFP has released Green Devil Face #1 and #2. This seems like an excellent community effort spearheaded by Mr. Raggi to enhance our game-time with early FRPGs and their clones.

The section titles are clever (Mummy Tar Trap Room of Death, The Lumberjack is Not OK, Yet Another Stupid Giant Chessboard, just to name a few). Plus, the cover to #2 is cool as hell.

Swords & Wizardry Core Rules 2nd Printing!

2009-03-09T18:55:00.003-05:00

The all-new 2nd printing of Swords & Wizardry rules are out and available as a FREE download at Lulu!

After you get it, check out Mythmere Games' website from my posted links.

Lovin' the retro-clones! Keepin' em in print!

"Brigand Crypt" now in print

2009-03-06T23:36:00.002-06:00

I have made Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt available for print at Lulu!

I have updated this version, as well as the free PDF downloads, to fix some glaring typos and to add a page of simple pre-generated characters that players can use for immediate play or as NPCs to help round out the party.

Now, as we who buy/sell on Lulu all know, the shipping prices there have gone (way) up. For an undetermined amount of time, I will be selling Prime Requisite Games adventures through Lulu at cost to help ease the inflated prices.

It may not be much, but any amount will help. :)

Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt now available

2009-02-20T23:33:00.002-06:00

Prime Requisite Games is proud to announce a new Labyrinth Lord / BASIC RPG adventure available as a FREE download!

Classic Deep Level Dungeon Adventure DLD2: Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt

The legend of an ancient crypt outside the ghost town of Iron City tells of a powerful curse and those who venture there will surely meet their doom. A group of bloodthirsty brigands moved into the city, using its rotted dwellings as a base for their terrible raids on local travelers. When the thieves suddenly vanish, fears and questions arise about where they went and what was left behind.

Can your party survive the traps and puzzles that surely lie within the crypt in hopes of finding the brigands’ abandoned treasure?

Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt is a fearsome adventure for character levels 1-3. For use with the Labyrinth Lord™ rules or other Basic RPG systems.

Available for FREE at Lulu, Scribd, and Issuu.

Preview of the "Brigand Crypt" cover

2009-02-07T00:28:00.003-06:00

Although Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt will not be released for a little while longer, we thought you might like to check out the cover art for PRG's latest adventure.

Test-play for new adventure went well

2009-02-01T00:23:00.002-06:00

The test-play session for Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt was fantastic. The players had a good time even though Jason lost his thief (again).

We will mourn his character's lack of hit points here (again).

A few things need to be tweaked and a few details need to be added, but I hope to have this adventure ready for a FREE download asap.

Test play this Saturday!

2009-01-28T10:41:00.003-06:00

The plan is to test play Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt this Saturday. The usual gang will be there (Buzz, Kathy, Jason, Anne, and Dan) to give the new adventure a shot. This run-through will see what needs to be tweaked so we can finally get the Brigand Crypt into your hands!

Like Gerald Red, this one will be available as a FREE download at lulu, scribd, and issuu.

New adventures finally in the works!

2009-01-13T00:10:00.002-06:00

The holidays are over but the craziness never comes to an end! Prime Requisite Games has three new adventures in the works for Labyrinth Lord.

The first is titled Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt (DLD2).
Legend has it that the crypt holds a powerful curse over the abandoned ghost town of Iron City and those who venture there will surely meet their doom. A group of bandits took over the ancient crypt for their base of operations. Their sudden disappearance raises fears and questions about where they went and what was left behind. For character levels 1-3.

The second is titled Beyond the Midway Post (DLD3).
This follow-up to DLD2 is about a small guard post stationed between two cities. The station, called "The Midway Post," was put in place to curb a rise in local bandit attacks and the movement of stolen goods.

The post was meant to keep the roads safe for the local trade, but something terrible happens. The adventurers must investigate the station and gather information that will lead them on a dangerous journey Beyond the Midway Post! This adventure mixes classic dungeon crawl with a bit of detective work. For character levels 2-4.

The third adventure is titled The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord (DLD4).
Decades ago, the chaotic magic-user Wruulyn and his son Banezyth went in search of the Conjurer's Key, an artifact of enormous power. While fighting a tribe of hill giants, Banezyth was slain. Desperate and grieve-stricken, Wruulyn cast a reincarnation spell which promptly cast his son's soul within the body of a grotesque minotaur. As vain as he was evil, Banezyth went insane because of his monstrous appearance and attacked his father in a blind rage.

Forced to kill his own son, Wruulyn built a giant labyrinth tomb and encased both him and his son within. Rumors passed down through the years that Wruulyn had actually found the Conjurer's Key which is buried with him in the labyrinth tomb to this very day. For character levels 3-5.

As stated before, these adventures are "in the works", so we'll let you know when we're close to a specific release date.

Happy adventuring!

OSRIC 2.00 now available!!

2008-12-10T00:54:00.002-06:00

As many of you old-school gamers already know, OSRIC 2.00 has been made available as a free download from the good ol' Knights & Knaves people.

The months of work these guys put into the OSRIC update paid off, and needless to say it looks stunning. Anyone into classic fantasy role-playing should treat themselves to this fabulous game and download it here.

I'm looking forward to the printed edition!

Another great online document sharing site

2008-12-10T00:46:00.005-06:00

In addition to Scribd and Lulu, Prime Requisite Games products will also be available for free download at Issuu.

Scribd Hotlist

2008-10-28T22:27:00.002-05:00

It looks like "The Courtyard of Gerald Red" has made it on the "Hotlist" at Scribd.com! I don't know for how long we'll stay up on the list, but it's nice to see this little adventure get so much attention.

Print Version of "The Courtyard of Gerald Red" Now Available

2008-10-26T03:34:00.005-05:00

Prime Requisite Games is proud to announce the print version of The Courtyard of Gerald Red adventure, now available through lulu.com

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3182722

Also, a revised version of the original FREE pdf is available, with minor typo and layout fixes --- still FREE!

The free pdf is also available here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/6441685/The-Courtyard-of-Gerald-Red

Again I need to thank everyone for their kind words of support. Classic Deep Level Dungeon Adventures #2 is in the works now!

Feedback for "Gerald Red"

2008-10-09T11:10:00.004-05:00

I posted "The Courtyard of Gerald Red" only two days ago and the response has been beyond expectations. A big thanks to the people at Goblinoid Games as well as the folks on their forum. They have offered many kind and encouraging words about the adventure.

Also, a thanks to Mr. Conway at The Dwarf and the Basilisk blog. He extended to his readers a generous plug for Gerald Red. Check it out here: http://arcona.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/download-the-courtyard-of-gerald-red-now/

I also need to thank my test players, who helped me in shaping the final details before publication. So thanks to Buzz, Kathy, Jason, Anne, Else, and Dan. Jason's thief was the only one who did not come out of this alive, so we'll honor his lack of hit points here.

Introductory adventure now available!

2008-10-07T01:00:00.011-05:00

Our first adventure "The Courtyard of Gerald Red" is now available as a free download at lulu.com!

Gerald Red held evil and blasphemous battle games for the public within the confines of his courtyard. When the local officials came to put a stop to the bloodshed, Red vanished, leaving behind a terrible legacy of horror and death that surrounds his courtyard to this very day.

Can your characters conquer Red’s construct and put the surrounding communities of Irllendom at ease? The Courtyard of Gerald Red is a perilous adventure for character levels 1-3.

For use with the Labyrinth Lord™ rules or other Basic RPG systems.

Download it now by clicking on the cover or go to the following link: http://www.lulu.com/content/4636106