New Illustrations

There used to be a time on this blog when I would do a new illustration every week (the post was creatively titled "Illustration of the Week.") Then, when I started doing a Monster of the Week (or "MOW"), I sort of combined the two endeavors into a single post, especially since each monster is illustrated by me to accompany the listing. (If you take a look at the labels on the MOW posts, you'll see that "original art" is part of every one.) That being said, sometimes I felt like I was rushed to create the illustration, or did an inferior job inking it, or whatever. And now that the Creature Compendium is numbering over 70 pages (and almost 170 monsters), there are some illustrations that have become real stand-outs to me (the good kind), and others that just feel damn inferior. So I'm re-doing some of them.

Yesterday, I had a couple of opportunities to re-work a couple of them. The first one I re-did was the monster pictured below (a "kala" - an elemental-like disease spirit, originally posted back in April as part of the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge). The new one (below right) is based loosely on a nice public domain pulp image I found, and the new drawing was quick and fun, and works TONS better than the original (below left.) The other image I re-did was the jenglot (also posted on this blog back in April as part of the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge, and picture top right.) The more I looked at that piece of crap illustration, the more it bugged me. To get started, I whipped out a new sketch (above right, below the original Jenglot drawing). Also, something I've been wanting to do for a long time, is a sort of Russ Nicholson inspired inkjob. Usually, I don't have the patience for this sort of intensive inking, but when you're watching the numbers slowly roll in all night for the election, you suddenly find yourself with that time. I think the new illustration (top left) is infinitely better.

New Oe/BX/1E Monster: Wooly Dragonboar

As promised in Sunday's WTF, Armory? post, here's today's Monster of the Week. BTW, at the bottom of this post is a "sketch-refine-final" drawing comparison of today's MOW illustration, like I did on the giant two-headed snake post.

DESCRIPTION Wooly dragonboars are large, muscular, fur-covered, swine-like creatures with a mouth and snout similar in appearance to a dragon. Normally found in forested areas of sub-arctic climes, wooly dragonboars are sometimes employed as steeds by those with the patience required to train them. A dragonboar can attack by goring at a victim with its massive tusks and sharp teeth. However, dragonboars are similar to dragons in that they are able to breathe a cloud of acidic gas that does an amount of damage (on a failed saving throw vs. breath weapon) equal to the dragonboar’s remaining hit points. Dragonboars in the wild will possess this breath weapon 100% of the time, but there is a 50% chance that any dragonboar being used as a steed will have had these glands removed, disabling the dragonboar’s use of the breath weapon.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 1-6 ARMOR CLASS: 5 MOVE: 12” HIT DICE: 5+4 % IN LAIR: 10% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-8 SPECIAL ATTACKS: Breath weapon SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: L PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 5 HIT DICE: 5+4 MOVE: 120’ ATTACKS: 1 gore or 1 special DAMAGE: 2-8 NO. APPEARING: 1-6 SAVE AS: Fighter: 5 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral

Jumping into the NaGa DeMon Pool!

A very small note to say that my co-conspirator Welbo and I have jumped into the NaGa Demon pool. Unfortunately, we like our idea so much, we're having to keep it a secret. Let's just say it's been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG time coming for this.

What I can tell you...

It's nothing we've ever mentioned on this blog before.) So, it's not Starmasters, or The System: Expanded, or Riot Squad, or StoryCode AG, all of which are "ground-up" designs based on our own mechanics and systems. Instead, it's an OGL "retro-clone based" mechanic (hopefully allowing us to finish before the end of the month), in a setting that's been oft-talked-about, but (to our knowledge) never attempted. So, it is a retro-clone in the sense of mechanics and spirit, but it's not a retro-clone specifically, in that you will not see fighters, dwarves, owlbears, and so on. You will see classes, and you will see saving throws. More importantly, we're hoping that you'll see it and say... "Why didn't anybody do this before?"

I just hope that when it's done, it's playable.

WTF, Armory?

So, with nostalgia for simpler times, especially as I near completion of the d30 Sandbox Companion, I was looking back at my copy of The Armory's 30 Sided Dice Gaming Tables. While the link link is for the first edition; I have the "revised" edition which was published during the same year as the first edition. Scattered throughout the book are drawings of various miniatures available from The Armory, an obvious cross-promotion measure to push the various miniature lines they carried. After all, the d30 was a novelty (and still is, I suppose, though I'm doing my best to change that), and the content of the Armory book is only moderately passable by 1982 standards. From today's POV, the book's content is so "thin" as to be laughable, and could quite possibly be the sole reason the d30 never took off.

In my copy of the book, the image above-left appears with no title, and it left me with the question... "WTF?" By comparison, the images in the first edition are each listed with the manufacturer (e.g., Citatdel, Castle Creations, etc.), miniature name (e.g., "Serving Wench" or "Seductive Wench Seated") and, sometimes, the actual item numbers; this would make ordering the specific miniature all that much easier. I suspect the lack of rights to name usage required they remove all references to specific trademarks, including cover references to Dungeons & Dragons, Runequest, Chivalry & Sorcery, and Tunnels & Trolls. Especially since the first edition covers specifically states, "Use of the Trademarks NOT sanctioned by the holder."

So... trademark infringement aside, I referenced the PDF of the first edition of the book to find a description of this beast of unknown type. In that edition, the image above-left is labeled "Castle Creations Boar," which leaves me with one more question... "WTF?"

Let's break it down... the image appears on a page entitled "Commons Skins and Furs." While "Boar" does appear on the list, right between "Jackel" (sic) and "Rabbit," what the f--- is "common" about this boar? Especially considering the mouth is more dragon-esque than boar-like. I'm more inclined to call it a "Wooly Dragonboar." In fact, I think I will. And I'll stat this baby up for this coming Tuesday's Monster of the Week post!

The System Hits 5,000 Downloads!!!!! (+Other Free RPG Downloads)

It's been a while 'round these parts since I've mentioned The System, my universal RPG written originally in the mid-80s and finally typeset and published in February of last year, but the PDF downloads have now topped the 5,000 mark! That's 5,000 folks who've downloaded a free PDF copy of The System from MediaFire,, not including any Lulu or 1km1kt downloads.

Here's something ironic... though I wrote the game originally in the mid-80s (pre-GURPS, but post-Champions), and though the PDF has now hit 5,000 downloads and has been floating around the interweb for about 1-1/2 years, I've only recently seen anyone out there talk about The System. About a month ago, RPG4FREE, a Portuguese-language blog, posted about it. (BTW, you'll have to hit the "translate" button if you don't read Portuguese). Heder (the host over there) said some rather kind words about it... "The System... presents a system of simple rules, which fits in less than 30 pages, but is built on a solid enough to be capable of magnifications without becoming a patchwork of contradictory," and "Highly recommended for general interested in versatility and strong candidate to replace GURPS as my main system." (The translation is by Google Translate; I'm sure it flows better in its original Portugese.)

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 download a free PDF from MediaFire, click here.
• To buy a print copy of The System from Lulu, head over here.

d30 Feature of the Week: Temple Generator + d30 Sandbox Companion Update

I'm getting so freakin' close to finishing the content for the d30 Sandbox Companion! But that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of proofreadin' and introduction writin' to be done. I did make good headway this week, though. The Hireling/Henchman Recruitment pages (at left) took a lot of work to get right (though I still got some splainin' to do). And the Temple Generator (above) took longer than I thought it would, but also feels pretty detailed considering its essentially only 2 very "straightforward" d30 tables (as opposed to something more structurally complicated like the Hireling/Henchman Recruitment pages).

So what's left?
- Master Wilderness Mapping Key
- Suggested Monster Lairs by Geography/Level
- Shop Stocker
- "How to Use This Book" Section
- Back Cover copy
- Proofreading/Polishing

Yep! That's it!

Click here to download a free PDF of the d30 Temple Generator from MediaFire.

Monstrous Monday: Black & White Cadejos -New Oe/BX/1E Monsters

Welcome to my Monstrous Monday entry! This week's Monster of the Week (for those visiting, I do this weekly year 'round, though normally on Tuesdays) is the Central/South American version of the hellhound, and comes in two varieties - black and white. It will be included among the other 160+ monsters in the upcoming Creature Compendium.

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Cadejos are large, magical dogs with cloven hooves and glowing eyes. They are immune to normal weapons and silver or +1 or better magic weapons are required “to hit” against them.

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BLACK CADEJO

The black cadejo appears as a massive, shaggy black dog with cloven (goat) hooves and burning red eyes. It is nocturnal and prowls the shadows of night alongside roads, waiting to ambush unsuspecting travelers and kill them. While the darkness and their coloration make them difficult to see, their glowing red eyes and their smell (a combination of urine and burning sulphur) reduces their ability to surprise (1-2 on 1d6.) Black cadejos are able to use the following abilities (per magic user spells) 3 times per day, each: charm person, charm animal, hallucinatory terrain (appears as fiery, hellish place,) and lightning bolt (2d6.) Additionally, black cadejos have a 50% chance to detect invisible persons within a range of 50’.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 1-6 ARMOR CLASS: 5 MOVE: 12” HIT DICE: 5 % IN LAIR: 20% TREASURE TYPE: A NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil SIZE: 4'-5' at shoulder PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 5 HIT DICE: 5** MOVE: 120’ ATTACKS: 1 bite or special DAMAGE: 1-6 or special NO. APPEARING: 1-6 SAVE AS: Fighter: 5 MORALE: 10 TREASURE TYPE: A ALIGNMENT: Chaotic

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WHITE CADEJO

The white cadejo appears as a slightly quicker, smaller, white version of the black cadejo, but with blue glowing eyes. The white cadejo is nocturnal as well but, unlike its evil counterpart, watches vigilant over the roads often traveled at night to aid in protecting any passing travelers. White cadejos will attempt to go undetected, providing their protection from a distance. Unlike the putrid smell of black cadejos, white cadejos have a sweet, incense-like smell that lingers around them. White cadejos are able to use the following abilities 3 times per day, each: cure light wounds, protection from evil, bless (per cleric spells,) and lightning bolt (2d6, per magic user spell.) Additionally, they make all saving throws as a 4th-level cleric.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very rare NO. APPEARING: 1-4 ARMOR CLASS: 4 MOVE: 12” HIT DICE: 4 % IN LAIR: 35% TREASURE TYPE: C NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6 SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Lawful good SIZE: 4'-5' at shoulder PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 4 HIT DICE: 4** MOVE: 120’ ATTACKS: 1 bite or special DAMAGE: 1-6 or special NO. APPEARING: 1-4 SAVE AS: Cleric: 4 MORALE: 8 TREASURE TYPE: C ALIGNMENT: Lawful

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