"Mystery" Sale at Lulu: The More You Spend the More You Save?

What can I say about this "Mystery" sale that the headline doesn't, except THIS SALE ENDS TOMORROW! Here are a few items to consider...

The entire collection of Nod magazines by John Stater.
These issues are ABSOLUTELY PACKED WITH GOODNESS!

Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox Rules (hardcover)
There ain't no dungeon like a whitebox dungeon, 'cause a whitebox dungeon don't stop. Hollah!

Fight On! #13, to which I contributed a few illustrations.

And, of course, a print copy of the d30 DM Companion.

Feel free to use the comment area to shamelessly plug your Lulu wares as well!

d30 DM Companion Reviews and "The Big Plastic Boulder of Nerdiness"

I came across the the following discussion thread at The Something Awful Forums recently, regarding the d30 DM Companion...

"... who the gently caress has a d30 anymore?"
- rekenner @ The Something Awful Forums

"Who the gently caress ever had a d30? What does a d30 even look like?"
- Rasamune @ The Something Awful Forums

"The D30 is a goofy novelty die with no particularly useful applications that I know of. If you really need to dink with big numbers you can just rock percentile, without having to sling around this big plastic boulder of nerdiness +30."
- Angry Diplomat @ The Something Awful Forums

In that same thread, someone did also say this about the one the promotional bullet points from the overview of the d30 DM Companion...

"27,000 mold/slime variants and 27,000 mushroom variants...
Old school gaming, encapsulated in a single sentence."
- FMguru @ The Something Awful Forums

They may have said it out of sarcasm, but I looked at that comment and said to myself, "Yes! Exactly."

And now for the reviews from people who appreciate both the d30 and the OSR...

I'd like to thank both Greg Welty for his review at RPGNow and Fenway5 at the Sword and Shield blog for their time to earnestly examine the d30 DM Companion, which began as little more than a series of weekly posts in an effort to bring the d30 to the forefront of the gaming table. Now that DCC is growing in popularity and obliging folks to assemble some very specific Zocchi dice, the competition is getting stiffer for your polyhedral attention. All of those lonely d30s and I both appreciate it.

From Greg's Review at RPGNow...
"'Aren’t there lots of random tables already out there on the interwebs, produced for free by the denizens of the OSR?' Yes, there are, but LeBlanc has optimized these tables to get you maximally diverse output for minimal rolling."
Read the full review.

From Fenway5's Review at Sword and Shield...
"What I like is these charts are the sort of core random charts I would want to reference and use frequently in my DM bag of tricks during gaming. Ready Reference has many more esoteric charts or even campaign level charts...but frankly I never used them frequently. I guess it is closer to Monster & Treasure Assortment, but it has MUCH MORE variety and as a DM reference book, more overall utility."
Read the full review.

Buy the interactive PDF of the d30 DM Companion at RPGNow.

Buy a print copy of the d30 DM Companion at Lulu.

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Cyclorc

Between the image of the cyclops orcs from the British edition of Holmes Basic and the fact the orc deity Gruumsh only has one eye, I figured it was time to give cycloptic orcs their due (i.e. "stats".)

Cyclorc

DESCRIPTION Cyclorcs are a slightly larger cycloptic version of an orc. While they are stronger than normal orcs (having a +4 bonus to their HD and fighting/saving as 2 HD monsters), their cycloptic sight gives them poor depth perception and all “to hit” rolls are made with a 1 point penalty. Furthermore, like normal orcs they are nocturnal and prefer to live underground, so they must subtract an additional an additional point from their “to hit” rolls while fighting in daylight. Cyclorcs tend to the same weapon choices as normal orcs. Cyclorcs have a temperament similar to normal orcs (have bad tempers, kill for amusement, hate elves and will attack on sight). They are, however, much more independent than standard orcs and will rarely serve in any type of organized military, regardless of the strength, charisma, or alignment of the group’s leader. Instead, they prefer to roam in loose bands (small tribes) comprised only of other cyclorcs. When 12 or more cyclorcs are encountered, they will be accompanied by a leader with 4 HD (will have at least 1 hit point more than the other strongest member of the group), that fights as a 4 HD monster and saves as a 4th level fighter. If the leader of the group is killed, the morale of the other cyclorcs becomes 7 instead of 8. Cyclorc tribes usually live underground (80%) or above ground in crude wooden huts (20%). For each male cyclorc in a tribal lair, there will be one female, and for each 2 adults in a tribal lair there will be 2 whelps (cyclorc children). Additionally, there is a 50% chance for each family unit in a tribe to possess 1-4 slaves (except elves). Cyclorcs prefer not to have ogres or trolls among their number. In addition to speaking the standard orc language, cyclorcs have their own dialect which few standard orcs understand (10% chance for standard orc leaders or better only). Additionally, most cyclorcs are able to speak the languages of goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres as well as their alignment language (lawful evil).

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Uncommon NO. APPEARING: 5-20 ARMOR CLASS: 5 MOVE: 12” HIT DICE: 1+4 % IN LAIR: 25% TREASURE TYPE: Individuals L; C in lair NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-9 or by weapon type SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil SIZE: L (7’+ tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS HIT DICE: 1+4 MOVE: 120’ ATTACKS: 1 weapon DAMAGE: 2-9 or by weapon NO. APPEARING: 4-20 SAVE AS: Fighter: 2 MORALE: 8 TREASURE TYPE: Individuals L; C in lair ALIGNMENT: Chaotic: Nil

Free Oe/1e/BX Mini-adventure (Characters level 8-12)

This was another of the A-to-Z adventures that I mentioned when I posted the free low-level D&D adventure at the beginning of the month. It leans a bit toward BX, but does a little "mix/match" with the monsters and spells (both of which are easily adjusted around your own game, considering the monster stats are included in a framework that supports Oe, 1e, BX, and compatibles.)

The Inexplicable Ice Tower
of Inverlock Isle

The rolling green fields of Orlea, normally aglow with soft sunlight, are blanketed with gray. Clear blue skies have given way to the dismal haze of threatening dark clouds that drizzle cold rain and sleet over the area.

The source of this recent and everpresent gloom is a mysterious tower of ice on a small island in the center of Inverlock Lake. The slender, frosty peak supposedly emerged from the ground and over a few weeks has risen to a height of well over 500'.

No one seems to really know what the tower is or why it appeared, but whatever is happening can’t be good.

Click here to download "The Inexplicable Ice Tower of Inverlock Isle" from MediaFire.

The System Hits 4,000 Downloads (+Free RPG Downloads)

Just 3 months after the The System hit 3,000 downloads, it has now hit 4,000! That's 4,000 folks who've downloaded a free PDF copy of The System, my universal RPG written originally in the mid-80s. (Tally includes only MediaFire downloads, not including any Lulu or 1km1kt downloads.)

As per my previous 1K-interval blog posts, I have to thank Chris's Compendiums of Free Role-Playing Games, John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web, and Rob Lang over at 1KM1KT (1,000 Monkeys, 1,000 Typewriters), all of whom have taken on the vocation of helping rule-makers and home-brewers to get their work out there. Rob even goes above and beyond, working double-duty with the 24 Hour RPG competition, and triple-duty with the Game Chef competition.

If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

To buy a print copy of The System from Lulu, head over here.

d30 DM Companion PDF Now Available: $3.00 at RPG Now

Yes, you rhombic triacontahedronites... the PDF of the d30 DM Companion is now available at RPGNow! For 30 days, it will be selling for the introductory price of $3.00. At the end of that time, it will go to its normal price ($3.95). If you check out the previews at RPGNow, I urge you to check out both the flash quick view and the full-sized PDF. Each of them features different parts of the book.

The PDF has been optimized for digital game table application (e.g., on an iPad).
The vertical pages are in portrait format and the perpendicular pages are in landscape format (so you don't run into those "turn the tablet" issues, where you try to turn the tablet and the page "flips" back the wrong way.) The book is set to open to the table of contents (instead of the cover) so you don't have to scroll down through the cover, inside overleaf and title page to get there every time you want to use the book. Not only are the TOC and the index hyperlinked, but so are all of the cross-references, AND the 270 listings on the monster encounter tables (each linked to the page with the stats for that monster/encounter!)

Anyone who bought the print copy (AND EMAILED ME W/ THEIR LULU ORDER #) should have already received an email with the link to your complimentary copy!
If you don't see the email from RPGNow, check your spam folder. If you still don't see it, email me and I'll send your link directly. If you haven't emailed me yet with your Lulu order # (for your purchased print copy), email your Lulu print copy order number to d30dm1@newbigdragon.com and I'll send you a link to your free PDF copy.

FREE SHIPPING TODAY ONLY (MAY 25) AT LULU!
Click here to buy a print version of the d30 DM Companion from Lulu.com

THERE'S A FEW D30 BUTTONS LEFT!
I know some of you that already purchased the Lulu print copy did not request your button. There's no charge. It's just a thank you from an old-schooler who refuses to admit that print is dead. So email your Lulu print copy order number and your snail mail address and I'll send you a button and a link to your free PDF copy. (BTW, it will be this weekend before I get to mail out the buttons, so look for them late next week.)

d30 Feature of the Week: d30 Dinosaur Encounters w/ Stats

Let's face it, when it comes to dinosaurs, "you can't tell the players without a program." And forget about trying to look at the length of the damn things in correlation to their hit dice, and then guessing the basic shape of the dinosaur from the number of attacks or special armor class conditions. And then there's the fact that what we used to call the "brontosaurus" in the 70s and 80s is now officially the "apatosaurus."

Consider this your program. It includes all of the major prehistoric players (dinosaurs and pterosaurs) covering all the bases of the 1e MM, BX Blue, and module X1, as well as newer discoveries that post-date those editions (like the velociraptor.)

To download a free PDF of this d30 Dinosaur Encounter/Stats Page from MediaFire, click here.