Another Really Old Old-School Artist: John Austen

John Austen was a carpenter turned prolific illustrator. Of his early works of note were his illustrations for an edition of Hamlet (below) that are pretty much a rip off of Aubrey Beardsley's style, but let's face it... Beardsley was one of THE greats of the period. Thankfully for us, though, Austen quickly moved beyond mimicry to come into his own. Of particular note were his scratchboard illustrations for the Limited Edition Club (from which the King Arthur "Faerie Queene" images below have come.)

New Monster/Illustration of the Week: White Scorpion

Scorpion, White

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Very Rare NO. APPEARING: 2-5 ARMOR CLASS: 2 MOVE: 18" HIT DICE: 5 % IN LAIR: 50% TREASURE TYPE: B NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-10/1-10/1-4 SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Low ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: M (8-10' long) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 2 HIT DICE: 5** MOVE: 180' ATTACKS: 2 claws/1 tail + special DAMAGE: 1-10/1-10/1-4 + poison NO. APPEARING: 2-5 SAVE AS: Fighter: 5 MORALE: 12 TREASURE TYPE: B ALIGNMENT: Neutral

The white scorpion is a semi-intelligent variety of giant scorpion whose body is completely covered in a short, soft white fur, except for it’s extremities which appear as a pale green. Being more cognitively developed than their non-intelligent relatives, the white scorpion is a consummate predator and surprises on a 1-4 (on 1d6.) The sight of a white scorpion is so unnatural, it is able to cause fear just by its appearance (unless an appropriate saving throw is made vs. magic.) All creatures with 3 hit dice or less who fail their saving throw will fall to the ground in convulsive fear, writhing in place for 2-12 turns. All creatures with 4 or more hit dice who fail their saving throw will drop anything they are carrying and lose any initiative during ensuing combat.

White scorpions are magical creatures with an immunity to magical control and paralysis, as well as the ability to regenerate 3 hit points every melee round. Additionally, the venom that their stinger injects is a magical one and any creature struck must save vs. spells or suffer the effects of its poison. The white scorpion’s magic venom does 1-8 points with its initial hit, and (unless cured) an additional point of damage every turn thereafter until cured (magically.)

51 Pharmaceuticals That Sound Like D&D Character Names

Please note that the class, race and sex assignments made to each pharmaceutical listed below is simply based on my initial gut feeling, but are completely open for discussion.

Also, if any of you are bold enough to actually use any of the names below for PCs or NPCs, please let me know which drug, as well as class/race/sex.

1. Actos - Cleric: diabetic medicine; also goes by Pioglitazone (Monk), Glustin (Druid), Glizone (Ranger) and Zactos (Cleric)
2. Atripla - Elf Ranger/MU: fixed-combination of drugs to treat HIV
3. Avistan - Paladin: used with chemotherapy to treat cancer of the colon
4. Avelox - Dwarf Fighter: (moxifloxacin) used to treat respiratory tract infections
5. Avonex - Magic-user: used to reduce the episodes and symptoms of MS
6. Benicar - Thief: used to treat high blood pressure
7. Boniva - Cleric (F): used to prevent and treat osteoporosis
8. Caduet - Druid: used to treat high blood pressure or angina in patients with high cholesterol
9. Chantix - Illusionist: used "in combination with education" to help people stock smoking
10. Cozaar - Barbarian: used to treat high blood pressure;trade name for "Losartan" (Barbarian)
11. Cymbalta - Magic-user: used to treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder
12. Diovan - Assassin: used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure
13. Doryx - Druid: used to treat bacterial infections
14. Enbrel - Paladin: used to relieve the symptoms of certain autoimmune disorders, including: rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, chronic plaque psoriasis
15. Epogen - Elf Magic-user/Fighter (F): injection used to treat anemia in people with chronic kidney failure
16. Flomax - Dwarf Fighter: used in men to treat the symptoms of an enlarged prostate; trade name for "Tamsulosin" (Elf MU/Thief)
17. Gardasil - Paladin (F): vaccine for use in the prevention of certain types of human papillomavirus
18. Geodon - Half-elf Ranger/Magic-user/Thief: used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia
19. Herceptin - Ranger (F): injection used along with other medications or after other medications have been used to treat a certain type of breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body
20. Humira - Magic-user (F): ("Human Monoclonal Antibody in Rheumatoid Arthritis") TNF inhibitor; trade name for "Adalimumab" (Half-orc Cleric)
21. Januvia - Fighter (F): used to lower blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes
22. Keppra - Elf Ranger: used in combination with other medications to treat certain types of seizures in people with epilepsy
23. Lamictal - Magic-user: used with other medications to treat certain types of seizures in patients who have epilepsy
24. Lantus - Cleric: used to treat type 1 diabetes
25. Levaquin - Elf Fighter/Thief: injection used to treat infections such as pneumonia; chronic bronchitis; and sinus, urinary tract, kidney, prostate (a male reproductive gland), and skin infections
26. Lotrel - Ranger: used to treat high blood pressure
27. Lovaza - Magic-user: used to reduce the amount of triglycerides in blood
28. Lovenox - Dwarf Fighter: used to prevent blood clots in the leg in patients who are on bedrest or who are having hip replacement, knee replacement, or stomach surgery
29. Lucentis - Assassin: used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration
30. Lumigan - Druid: used to treat eye conditions, including glaucoma and ocular hypertension, in which increased pressure can lead to a gradual loss of vision
31. Lunesta - Illusionist: used to treat insomnia
32. Mirena - Magic-user (F): IUD with progestogen
33. Neulasta - Fighter (F): used to reduce the chance of infection in people who have certain types of cancer and are receiving chemotherapy medications that may decrease the number of neutrophils
34. Plavix - Paladin: used to prevent strokes and heart attacks
35. Premarin - Cleric (F): vaginal estrogen used to treat vaginal dryness, itching, and burning; painful or difficult urination; and sudden need to urinate immediately in women who are experiencing or have experienced menopause
36. Prinivil - Paladin: used alone or in combination with other medications to treat high blood pressure
37. Provera - Fighter (F): used to treat abnormal menstruation (periods) or irregular vaginal bleeding
38. Reglan - Fighter: used to relieve symptoms caused by slow stomach emptying in people who have diabetes
39. Relafen - Cleric: used to relieve pain, tenderness, swelling, and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
40. Remeron - Fighter: used to treat depression
41. Risperdal - Elf Fighter/Magic-user: used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia
42. Ritalin - Thief: used as part of a treatment program to control symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults and children
43. Rituxan - Fighter: used alone or with other medications to treat certain types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
44. Septra - Magic-user: antibiotic containing sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim used to treat ear infections and urinary tract infections
45. Seroquel - Half-elf Ranger/Magic-user (F): used to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia
46. Sinemet - Elf Fighter/Thief: often prescribed to treat Parkinson's disease and Parkinson-like symptoms
47. Soma - Gnome Illusionist: muscle relaxant used with rest, physical therapy, and other measures to relax muscles and relieve pain and discomfort caused by strains, sprains, and other muscle injuries
48. Sumycin - Elf Magic-user: (tetracycline) used to treat bacterial infections, including pneumonia and other respiratory tract infections; acne; infections of skin, genital and urinary systems; and the infection that causes stomach ulcers
49. Truvada - Bard: HIV treatment for HIV patients using a combination therapy for HIV
50. Vyvanse - Illusionist (F): part of a treatment program to control symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults and children
51. Zetia - Gnome Fighter (F): used to reduce cholesterol

d30 DM Companion Update: Proofing Done/Test Print Ordered/Final Cover Preview

I can't believe it's almost ready for the world! After a looooonnnnng day in front of the computer yesterday, and after a truly carpal tunnel amount of clicking "ignore" while doing the final round of proofreading, I got the files prepped, uploaded them (privately) to Lulu, and ordered a couple of final check copies for myself. While I'm waiting on those, I'm going to get set up and ready to go with RPGNow/DriveThruRPG so I can hit the ground running with this in the next few weeks. Thank you all for your patience!

d30 Feature of the Week: Heraldry Generator

Again, this one is sort of self-explanatory, and is slated to be part of the d30 Wilderness Companion. It creates over 27,000 variants of spatial division, colors and charges.

To download a free PDF of today's chart from MediaFire, click here.

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d3 DM Companion Update: I hope to finish the proofreading today on the d30 DM Companion. Then I just need to try one more print run test and the sumbitch will be ready!

Mazes, Minotaurs and Modules: Part II

As you may remember, back in November, I examined the phenomenon of the minotaur's maze as a cliché of dungeon crawling. Again, I reiterate that, in one way or another, all dungeon crawls are essentially labyrinths, but I wanted to add a couple of entries to the list (which previously dealt with only TSR publications between 1980 and 1983.)

(Spoiler alert: As before, I know it's been about 30 years since these adventures were published, but the following descriptions do give away pertinent details of the referenced modules, on the chance that you haven't read/played them yet.)

1979 - The Caverns of Thracia (Judges Guild)
Originally published in 1979, but now available in a d20 adaptation, this module is the "king" of all minotaur modules. No... literally, there's a minotaur king ruling the former slave sub-humans (gnolls, minotaurs, dog brothers) who revolted against their captors and now occupy the Caverns of Thracia (a former "playground" for human Thracian royalty.) It's not until the adventures reach the palace and dungeon (on levels 3 and 4 respectively) that minotaurs start to show up on the wandering monster charts as "minotaur" encounters, but they show up as early as level 1 via the "gnoll patrols" running around, as well as in many of the numbered encounters that begin just after the entry to the caverns on level 1. "Grognardia" James and "Porn Star" Zak have both done fairly comprehensive reviews of this one.

1981 - Escape from the Minotaur's Lair (International Dungeon Designs)
If you haven't ever heard of this module, or this company, don't worry. It's pretty flipping rare and tends to sell on eBay for anywhere from $250 up. I'm hoping to update my entry on this one, and I am waiting on my copy of Lawrence Schick's Heroic Worlds to arrive to (hopefully) do so. If anyone has a print copy of this baby, I'd love to "get a look at it," if you know what I mean (wink, wink, nudge, nudge... PDF-ahem,) unless a reasonably priced procurement could be arranged.

Pictured at top: The Minotaur, George Frederic Watts, oil on canvas, 1885, located at The Tate.

Monster of the Week Bonus Edition: Djetabi (Serpopard)

DESCRIPTION Sometimes referred to as "serpopards," djetabi (singular and plural) have the body of an oversized leopard with a serpentine neck and head. Normally found in the plains and shrub lands of warmer climates, djetabi are solitary animals, preferring to live alone and mating only occasionally and indiscriminately. Djetabi are natural predators and will attack most other animals. Furthermore, their tan coloration and light spotting provides them a bit of natural camouflage in shrub lands, allowing them to surprise their prey on a 1-3 (on 1d6) in that type of terrain. While a djetabi's fangs are sharp and inflict a good deal of damage, its true danger is its poisonous bite. On any successful "to hit" roll by a djetabi on a bite attack, its victim must save vs. poison or die in 2-3 turns. While djetabi have been portrayed as domesticated in sculpture and on pottery, there is no record to support that this has ever happened. On the contrary, most of those who have tried have died.

Oe/1E STATS FREQUENCY: Rare NO. APPEARING: 1-3 ARMOR CLASS: 6 MOVE: 18" HIT DICE: 4 % IN LAIR: 5% TREASURE TYPE: Nil NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4/1-4/1-8 + poison SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard INTELLIGENCE: Animal ALIGNMENT: Neutral SIZE: L (7-8' tall) PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: Nil BX STATS ARMOR CLASS: 6 HIT DICE: 4* MOVE: 180' ATTACKS: 2 claws/1 bite DAMAGE: 1-4/1-4/1-8 + poison NO. APPEARING: 1-3 SAVE AS: Fighter: 2 MORALE: 8 TREASURE TYPE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral