It's the time of year where I find myself reflecting on Christmases long past, and it's also time to break out Dark Tower and give it a play. No other game from my childhood evokes such fond memories as this little gem from 1981. That was a good Christmas! :-)

From the smoking ruins of The Silent Sorcerer's tower, Skullsword sends forth nonsensical artwork and useless gaming tools. He also likes to discuss RPGs, boardgames, miniatures painting, writing, movies, books, and whatever else strikes his fancy. Mostly though, his goal is to provide fun and goofy things to inspire others in their games. Enjoy!
Saturday, December 19, 2015
Friday, December 18, 2015
Happy Birthday Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock turns 76 today! The last of the great Sword and Sorcery writers. December is quite the month for Sword and Sorcery writer birthdays. May Arioch grant him many more.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Karl Edward Wagner would have been 70
Karl Edward Wagner, fantasy/horror writer, psychiatrist, and hard drinker would have been 70 years old on December 12th. I first discovered Wagner in a book shop in florida in 1984, when I picked up a paperback copy of Darkness Weaves. Attracted by the Frank Frazetta cover, there was no way I could resist. Darker and grimmer than Howard's Conan, Kane was an antihero in the vein of Moorcock's Elric. No noble savage, Kane was a Machiavellian swordsman, who also dabbled in sorcery to further his frequent goals of world conquest. I was hooked, and quickly sought out the rest of Wagner's Kane stories. The novels are a bit of a mixed bag, but I think it's in the short stories where Wagner's writing really shined. Sadly, Wagner died at 48. I should very much liked to see where his writing would have gone.
Sunday, December 6, 2015
The Fish Slide Chamber
Back in the early spring of this year, I ran a Dungeon Crawl Classics funnel adventure of my own design. The crux of the adventure was a treasure hunt in the tower of a long dead wizard. The tower was on a small island just offshore, and a motley collection of candle makers, cobblers, and gong farmers braved its mysterious depths. One of my favorite rooms was the fish slide chamber, which I've tried to represent here with only a modest level of success. I'll leave it up to your imagination where the slides lead...
Glückliche Sankt Nikolaus Tag!
Happy Saint Nicholas Day. Here's hoping that everyone finds their shoes filled with candy and that Knecht Ruprecht doesn't come for you instead!
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday
This week's weird adventure idea:
On a rainy afternoon you are hailed by a charismatic boatman at a river crossing. The boatman tells you a tale that 8 days ride to the southwest, deep beneath the ruins of the Bone Chilling City of Rotting Flesh, can be found the Menacing Maze of Madness. It is said that there is hidden the Shameful Incense of the Ebony Thaumaturge. But beware, for the boatman warns you that the Shining Skeleton of Contamination haunts that place!
If you enjoy Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday, be sure to check out these free resources:
1,001 Weird and Wacky Adventure Ideas
and
1,001 Weird and Wacky Adventure Ideas
and
Sunday, November 29, 2015
The cover for a new 0 level funnel adventure that I'm working on for DCC.
Although, it's not something that I'd ever publish, I still felt the need to have a cover picture. :-) The last Dungeon Crawl Classics funnel that I wrote was a bit long and would probably have worked better as a level 1 adventure. This time around I'm looking to create a tighter adventure involving a group of foolish peasants seeking revenge on the Sorcerer who destroyed their village. Not a terribly original concept, I'll admit, but I'm hoping that it will be fun in any case. Out of curiosity, how many encounters (including monsters, tricks and traps) do folks generally put in their 0 level adventures?
Friday, November 27, 2015
The Evolution of Long Neck and No Face
My Two favorite adventurers, Long Neck the Warrior, and No Face the Wizard, have fced many dangerous situations this year. I've think I've actually done more drawing this year than miniature painting. You can get a lot done when you don't worry about things like perspective, anatomy, reasonable color palates, or talent. :-) It's good to see that Long Neck has bulked up a bit, but he's still only a Vorpal blade away from disaster with that neck...
Man, that guy needs a sandwich...
Straight legged sweat pants were all the rage...
May need to make the jump to pleated sweats...
It took three milk shakes a day to get here...
Looking buff, smelling bad....
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday
This week's weird adventure idea:
On a misty evening you meet a filthy peasant along a rutted road. The peasant tells
you that 9 days ride to the northwest, beneath the Abominable Wasteland of the Soul Eating
Serpents, can be found the Cavern of the Celibate Conjurer. It is believed that there is hidden the Spiked Lava Sword of Cruelty. But beware, for the peasant warns you that the Darkened Monk of Eternal Wounds dismembers all who come near that dreaded place!
If you enjoy Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday, be sure to check out these free resources:
1,001 Weird and Wacky Adventure Ideas
and
1,001 Weird and Wacky Adventure Ideas
and
Sunday, November 22, 2015
My Game.
Over that past few years, I've been working to whittle down my RPG collection, purging the games that I will never play. Over the four decade that I've been gaming, I certainly collected a lot of different RPGs, some of which I've actually played, but many of why just took up shelf space. This really got me thinking about the question of, "What is my game?", and what do I even mean by "My Game." By "My Game", I'm talking about the game that I think in terms of regardless of what game I'm actually playing. This isn't to say that I compare other games to it and find them wanting, but rather that it is the game that permeates my consciousness like a native language. The game that I dream in, so to speak.
Way back in the day, circa 1979, the answer to this question would have been Dungeons & Dragons, as that was the game that I played the most and the one which informed my view of roleplaying as a whole. As time went on, I found myself wanting more, and I was exposed to more varied systems. I found other games that spoke to me more than D&D, games that let me do things beyond the strictures imposed by that venerable system. By the time that I was in college, "My Game" was the Hero System. It gave me free range to create almost anything that I could think of, provided that I had the time and energy to do the math.
After college, real life intervened, and I gamed less for a good while, but I kept buying RPGs since I had a job and could better afford them. However, I would still look at everything through he Hero System lens. As I got back into gaming, and played newer systems, I found many to be very enjoyable. Savage Worlds is now one of may favorite systems. I love that I can create adventures quickly and get a session going without hours upon hours of preparation. Also, I think that Savage Worlds works really well for the types of games that I like to run (Barbarians wandering around the wastelands killing evil wizards). I'm also a big fan of the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I love the zero level funnel idea and the whole "You're not heroes" vibe, plus Goodman games puts out some great supplements and has amazing artwork. Far Away Land is also a great rules light system with some wonderful art and some really fun adventures.
If I were to run a game today, it would probably be Savage worlds, DCC, or Far Away Land, yet I can't call any one of them, "My Game". "My Game" to this day is still the Hero System, even though I haven't played it in over a decade, and very likely will never play it again. I can't create a monster or a magic items for another system without at least vaguely thinking, "How would I create this in Hero?" So, what is your game? What system do you find yourself thinking in terms of even when you aren't playing it, and do you still play it?
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday
It has been quite a while since I've posted a weird adventure idea. This isn't for lack of the ideas, but rather for lack of the illustrations to accompany them. So, without further ado, here is a new weird adventure idea!
On a warm summer afternoon you have a chance meeting with a charismatic soothsayer who is resting near a ruined temple. The soothsayer discloses to you that 23 days travel to the northwest, through the Flesh Devouring Swamp of the Hidden Eyes, lie the Forgotten Tunnels of Time. It is whispered that hidden there are the Pain Vestments of the Abominable Acolyte. But beware, for the soothsayer warns you that the Insane Tentacle Beast of Dementia awaits the unwary in that accursed place!
If you enjoy Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday, be sure to check out these free resources:
1,001 Weird and Wacky Adventure Ideas
and
1,001 Weird and Wacky Adventure Ideas
and
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Goodman Games has the best mailing labels
Honestly, To: and From: labels that form a laser battle! What could be better than that? Every time I get a product from Goodman Games, it's actually hard for me to throw the mailing envelopes away. Just another way that they add extra fun to their products. Well done guys!
Saturday, November 14, 2015
I tend to think that his should be an automatic success.
A few weeks ago, in our Iron Kingdoms campaign, my friend Dan made what I think was a spectacular roll. When the GM asked for a d6 roll, Dan's die came up corner "corner". There is no trickery in these photos, the die actually landed and stayed on it's corner. Indeed one of the craziest rolls that I've seen on my 35+ years of gaming. Does anyone else have photos of wacky or improbable die rolls?
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Some Film Inspiration for your Dungeon Crawling Enjoyment
Several years ago, I came across a lesser known German horror film from 1967 luridly entitled The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism. As it starred Christoper Lee, and as I am a notorious sucker for bad horror flicks, I was of course obliged to watch it. While the film falls squarely into the realm of gothic horror, I found that it provides great dungeon crawl inspiration as well. Let's start with the characters who feel almost as if they were rolled up from a Dungeon Crawl Classics zero level table. We have a Nobleman, a music teacher, a priest/highwayman, and a serving girl. These three embark upon an overland journey by carriage to a mysterious castle which is said to be ruined, and about which the locals refuse to speak. Their journey takes them through a phantasmagoric landscape of blood red skies and a forest where human limbs sprout from the trees, and dead bodies line the roadway. Upon arriving at the castle they find that much like many classic dungeons, it turns out to be a ruin where only the dungeons below remain. Descending into the dungeon, the heroes find themselves in a maze of twisting passages filled with secret door and falling portcullises. Disturbing frescoes festoon the walls, and skulls abound. The characters are obliged to explore this underworld by torchlight and encounter things like huge buzzards, a zombie, and an axe wielding vampire along with a multitude of deadly traps. A pit trap opens beneath one of the daring explorers. A sleep gas trap knocks a character out. A retracting walkway threatens to drop one of the characters into a pit filled with poisonous serpents. Now all of these things don't make for a great movie, and the ending is a bit unsatisfying, but the set design is great and it really got me in the mood to do some dungeon designing. For those interested in checking it out, the film is currently available on Amazon Video, and it's free to Amazon Prime members.
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