grodog

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So far grodog has created 115 blog entries.

Mega-Dungeon Mondays – a new blog series from grodog

2022-12-26T15:57:47-05:00November 11th, 2019|

I'm trying to get back on track with writing more in general, and decided that a more-regular series of posts on mega-dungeons would be a good way to do that. I also figure that if can get a regular posting schedule on Mondays, that I should also be able to do a bit more during the week between Mondays too. So, starting next week, and on Mondays henceforth ever after, I'll post something new and hopefully interestingly useful on the blog concerning mega-dungeon design stuff.This week as the kickoff, I present a TSR blue rendering of my First Landings Level from my version of Castle Greyhawk:The Landings Level Map - grodog's Castle GreyhawkCharley Phipp's TSR Blue versionIt's somewhat fitting that this level kicks off the new series, since it also began the most-recent phase of my design work on the Castle (back in 2008). This particular version of that map was created by Charley "Druvas" Phipps in 2010, and I just refound it on my PC while digging through files this weekend. He graciously gave permission to share it here, and I've also added it to my original post linked above, too. Until next week---or sooner! ;)Allan.

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The Starless Sea—Campaign Structures vs. Adventure Structures

2019-11-08T10:00:00-05:00November 8th, 2019|

How much thought have we collectively given to game elements/structures that are part of a campaign's flow and evolution, independent of the structure of the individual adventures that make it up? I've been reading Erin Morgenstern's new book _The Starless Sea_, which is a fairy-tale-like novel told through nested stories like the 1001 Arabian Nights; the book explores the stories' structures, some of which are meta-fictionally self-reflective/-reflexive, a la Borges or Robert Coover. It's a bit like a mega-dungeon of a book, really.So, it got me thinking about elements and structures that drive campaigns over the medium- to long haul, like:active foreshadowing through backgound/history/sage advice, spies/spying, divination and research spells, prophecies and divine/infernal guidance, etc.hidden foreshadowing through returning to earlier locations/NPCs/items/prophecies/etc. that have a newly-realized meaning or significance in retrospect after learning D after A, B, and C ("we should never have sold that wand at 3rd level so we could pay our training costs---it's the X"; "whoa!: we need to head back to that well in level 6 and open that unopenable door with this key now"; etc.); this works best, of course, when specific items, content, histories, etc. have layers of additional meaning/mystery to them to be foundassembling pieces and parts of multi-part magic items (Rod of Seven Parts, Eye and Hand of Vecna, etc.), maps, information/lore, paintings, etc.; Anthony Huso's Black Journal falls into this category, I think, in addition to being an awesome propred herrings, false trails/false alarms, and misinterpretations: player agency means that they'll get distracted by the fake ghost's tricks rather than unmasking the fake ghost, sometimes; this is possible through their own misinterpretations, as well as through being ... read more!

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grodog talking 1e Dragons and Greyhawk on Twitch Sunday night @ 7:30pm EDT

2022-12-26T15:57:47-05:00October 25th, 2019|

Just a quick announcement: I'll return to talk Greyhawk and dragons on Twitch again this weekend, with Jay Scott and Anna Meyer, on Sunday, Oct 27, 7:30PM EDT, livestreaming at https://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbaHere's Jay's full announcement:Sunday evening, we continue our discussion on everyone's favorite D&D monster, Dragons, with Gabbin' at Lord Peak's Haven #68 - Dragons of the Flanaess, Part 2. We will discuss specific Dragons from Greyhawk Canon and Lore, and from the participant's Campaigns. My guest hosts this week will be Anna Meyer and Allan T. Grohe Jr.! This should be a fantastic finish to our two week chat on this topic! We begin Sun, Oct 27, 7:30PM EDT. Thank you so very much for the wonderful support, and I hope to see you Live Stream! www.twitch.tv/lordgosumba Talk to you then! :D Allan.

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grodog’s Events at TsunamiCon 2019: Greyhawk AD&D and Aliens: This Time It’s War

2022-12-26T15:57:48-05:00October 17th, 2019|

At the 11th hour this week, I decided to submit events to run at Wichita's TsunamiCon, our sixth annual gaming convention. Details on the events appear in my post to the TsunamiCon Facebook group, but I figured I'd share the details here as well:The events are listed at TableTop.Events, and here are the details:Introduction to World of Greyhawk and AD&D 1st edition: Create new characters for AD&D 1e, learn the basics of play, and explore grodog's infamous version of Castle Greyhawk. Players new to Greyhawk or AD&D 1st edition welcome! Bring your graph paper, dice, and a healthy dose of paranoid courage! 1e character sheets will be provided. Prizes awarded!This will run on Saturday from 1-5pm, and 7-11pm. Aliens: This Time It's War!: Celebrating 40 years of Alien, this is "The Reactor" level from the classic 1989 miniatures skirmish game. Players control Colonial Marines trying to escape the alien nest that has awoken around them! Fast-paced and very deadly, rules will be taught. In space, no one can hear you scream!This will run on Sunday from 9am-Noon, and 1pm-4pm.I've been discussing the kickoff of a new multi-group Greyhawk campaign in Wichita for the past couple of months, and hopefully this will provide a good opportunity to introduce Greyhawk and AD&D to new and interested players! If you're local and interested, the main discussion is in our local Wichita D&D group in Facebook.Allan.

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What types of product designs does the OSR lack?

2019-10-14T10:25:00-04:00October 14th, 2019|

In the discussion over @ https://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?41224-What-Would-You-Like-In-A-Fantasy-OSR-Product, Simon mentioned (my emphasis): I don't find weird 'edgy' stuff much use, and I'm not currently in the market for Venger-style sleaze or Pundit's historicism; fairly meat & potatoes stuff with a typical OD&D/Greyhawk vibe rather than B/X - so more demons & snake cults, fewer BX standard monsters like giants, probably preferable. The heavy OSR emphasis on BX type material leaves a bit of a gap for the former. I haven't given a ton of thought to the B/X and/or SW focus in the OSR creating a content gap, but that makes sense. We've discussed these concepts a little bit before at the Knights & Knaves Alehouse:Bill Silvey's Book of Lairs 1 & 2 review: https://knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=10791Guy Fullerton's Q about what to call "lair raid"/traditional dungeon crawling: https://knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9336but not necessarily with an emphasis on what's not out there, content-wise. OSR-content-gaps analysis probably requires a broader understanding of Kickstarter and other crowd-funding platforms, as well as DriveThruRPG pdf offerings, than I've got these days. The continual need for "good vanilla fantasy" content that Melan has mentioned in his blogs, zines, and adventures (see https://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/search?q=%22vanilla+fantasy%22 for some good examples), and Bryce's focus on highly-usable adventures that don't suck are good touchstones for tone and quality, but don't really touch on the content gaps for the types of books that aren't being written and published. In my head, these are the main types of content for RPGs that exist, regardless of game system, setting, edition, etc.:Core rulebooks: the holy trinity: PHB, DMG, MM; OSRIC rule book; etc.; these could be books or boxed sets, but define the DM's minimum investment required to play the ... read more!

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grodog talking Iggwilv in Greyhawk on caslTawk @ Monday night 8pm EDT

2022-12-26T15:57:49-05:00September 29th, 2019|

I think that this Twitch.TV/live-streaming thing may be starting to click for me, but you'll have another opportunity to judge for yourself, since carlos "casl Entertainment" lising has invited me to join him and his Patreon sponsors in their October discussion tomorrow night:caslTawk announcement,with classic Greyhawk styling!Tune into our Twitch channel for a chat between carlos "The Rook" lising and Greyhawk scholar Allan T. Grohe Jr., who will be discussing the casl Entertainment Patreon topic for the month of October: Demons and the Witch-Queen, Iggwilv!Monday, September 30, 2019 at 8 PM – 9 PM EDT on www.twitch.tv/caslentertainmentI don't know exactly what Carlos and his crew of patrons will dig into for the agenda, but I'm sure it will be a fun discussion---what could possibly go wrong, when you start to mix up Iggwilv, demons, and the World of Greyhawk? ;)Edit: the replay can be watched on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuZ3eOSrabE&feature=youtu.be:Allan.

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Happy 64th Birthday to Rob Kuntz!

2019-09-23T18:00:00-04:00September 23rd, 2019|

Happiest of birthday wishes to Robert J. Kuntz as he embarks into his 64th annum, in the best company possible---his wife Nathalie Hachet:Rob Kuntz and Nathalie HachetFrom Rob's biography in The Strategic Review #5 (December 1975):Strategic Review #5 (December 1975)Robert J. KuntzI was born September 23rd 1955 in Lake Geneva and have lived here all my life. As a kid I played the game that everybody played on our block: “Bang! You’re Dead!”, though it did vary at times. I learned about Wargames in a peculiar way. As I sat skimming through an issue of Playboy one day when I was barely thirteen years old, I came upon a game section describing all varieties of party gifts to give to your family or friends for Christmas. I saw a “Dogfight” game listed among the buyables and immediately proceeded to the nearest dimestore with hopes high. I was disappointed when the assistant manager informed me that they did not carry the game and was about to leave when he suggested that I come over to his place and try some games he had. He named a few off; “Stalingrad”, etc., and I was on my way . . . . In my seven and one-half years of participation in the wargames field I have enjoyed boardgames, miniatures and play-by-mail types and am now employed with a company that produces games and of which my best friend is the head thereof. I intend to write many more rules sets before I pass away and I have this spectre friend of mine who can give the inside on this good “ghost-writer...” While a lot has changed in Rob's life since I've known him, he remains the quintessential, creative Dungeon Master, and may his dice ... read more!

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LordGosumba Twitch.TV DM Roundtable Replay from 22 September 2019

2022-12-26T15:57:49-05:00September 23rd, 2019|

I should have been more proactive about posting the DM Rountable I was invited to last night on Jay "Lord Gosumba" Scott's Twitch.TV live stream, but with everything else going on I forgot to blog about it beforehand:LordGosumba DMs Roundtable - 22 September 2019In case you're curious, on Sunday, 22 September 2019 I'll be live on Jay Scott's LordGosumba TwitchTV channel, in a DMs Roundtable discussion focusing on Greyhawk and AD&D 1st edition:==Hello Friends and Greyhawkers! On this weeks Gabbin at Lord Peak's Haven #63 - DMs Roundtable Discussion, we will have some well known names in the Greyhawk and Streaming Communities taking part!Scheduled to participate in our 4th Roundtable Discussion, are Allan T. Grohe Jr., Carlos Lising, Anna Meyer, William Henry Dvorak, James Duffie, and Ann (Sydwe) from Knightheartgaming. We will hope to bring some experience and insight into questions you may wish to ask, and we welcome viewer input and comments!We begin this very intriguing conversation this Sunday, Sept. 22nd, 7:30PM EDT. See you in the Live Stream https://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbaThe replay can be watched at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/485181123 and we covered some fun and interesting (and in a few cases, somewhat unexpected!) topics, including:Our favorite DMs?Our favorite adventures?Our favorite recurring in-game enemies? Our saddest in-game moments?How has DMing helped our jobs/lives?Our thoughts on consent in gaming groups/sessions?Who would we most want as a player at our tables and/or to play with---both historical and living?How do we manage improvisation?What's our favorite game other than D&D to run?What do we think about Critical Role?What are our plans/hopes for the future?Jay also interviewed me on his show last month, and you can watch the replay for that at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/469154701 ... read more!

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Saving Throw OSRIC fundraiser zine News and Updates – #3 on DriveThruRPG Best Sellers!

2022-12-26T15:57:50-05:00September 19th, 2019|

Saving Throw - Introduction and Table of ContentsSome news and updates on Saving Throw since its launch on Sunday:Thank you for your generous support of this project!---Saving Throw has been as high as #3 on the DriveThruRPG.com best sellers list this week, outpacing both Eclipse Phase 2nd Edition and Legend of the Five Rings! Tuesday 17 September 2019 - Saving Throw is the #3 Best Seller!That wouldn't have been possible without your support!Please continue to spread the word---Saving Throw isn't even a week old yet, so many old-school gamers won't be aware of it: mention it in your gaming groups, your local game stores, and in your social media channels! Your primary link should be back to the DriveThru project page at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/288750/Saving-Throw-fundraiser-fanzine-for-James-D-KramerPositive reviews are starting to come in:Bryce "tenfootpole.org" Lynch's review is at https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=6236 and states:"Jim Kramer is the guy behind Usherwood Publishing. Several of his adventures appear on my Best & Regerts list, including Arachnaphobia and most his Bone Hilt campaign series.""You should go pick this up because you’re not an asshole. And, also, because the adventures are quite good. Also, there’s a lot of OTHER content in it, beyond the adventures." The DriveThru page now notes two five-star ratings thus far, and user Guggy Z also commented as a verified purchaser: "What a great zine! Just skimming I think the hours of solid play to page count ratio looks immense, and I appreciate the chance to support a good cause. This stuff is going right to my table ASAP!"The print edition is getting closer to reality, per updates from Guy Fullerton:18 September: On the bright side, the premium color hardcover masters got ... read more!

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Saving Throw – new OSRIC zine to support Usherwood Publishing’s Jim Kramer

2022-12-26T15:57:51-05:00September 15th, 2019|

Saving Throw is a new zine dedicated to OSRIC and AD&D 1st edition gaming, and it's being produced to support James D. Kramer of Usherwood Adventures, who is battling through his third round of brain cancer treatments. Saving Throw cover art by Alex ZischI've known and worked with Jim for more than a decade now, and he has been an integral member of the old-school gaming communities that spawned the OSR: his work to layout OSRIC is reflected in the standard version available on Lulu, the high-end Black Blade/Usherwood hardcover OSRIC edition, as well as his highly-usable OSRIC Pocket SRD digest-sized softcover book, also available in a layflat spiral-bound edition. And it doesn't stop there!---Jim has built .epub and .mobi versions of OSRIC, laid out the six issues of Knockspell Magazine, written and published the Bone-Hilt Sword Campaign, and created several stand-alone adventures and supplements, too. Jim's contributions to OSRIC and old-school gaming in general are quite extensive, so a group of folks at the Knights & Knaves Alehouse gathered together to help support him and his family. Here's the product announcement from Guy Fullerton of Chaotic Henchmen Productions, who coordinated this project: Saving Throw — a fundraiser fanzine to help James D. KramerYou may know Jim Kramer from his Usherwood Publishing modules & supplements, or his work helping produce works like OSRIC and Knockspell. You probably didn’t know Jim had multiple brain surgeries to remove tumors, and the battle has gotten much harder. To help Jim and his family during this difficult time, a group of his friends, collaborators, and first edition enthusiasts banded together to make this fundraiser fanzine, where all royalties go directly ... read more!

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grodog in Greyhawk—a Summer Raining Multitudes!

2022-12-26T15:57:51-05:00September 10th, 2019|

It's been a busier summer than usual this year, in part because I've got lots of Greyhawk going on, which is a wonderful "problem" to have =)Here's what's been cooking: I'm continuing to play in Bill "TheDungeonDelver" Silvey's ongoing Greyhawk AD&D campaign, which is heavily-focused at present on the exploration of his version of Castle Greyhawk! Let me tell you that it's a treat to explore Bill's Greyhawk and its Castle, not knowing a thing about it =)Here's where we are, after spending most of this year clearing out the upper ruins of Bill's version of Castle Greyhawk: Bill Silvey's Castle Greyhawk - Ruins LevelPlayer map by Allan GroheBill Silvey's Castle Greyhawk - Ruins LevelPlayer map by Allan GroheWe just began to explore down the central well last week, and will likely pick that up again this week.I began playing in Bill's game since July last year, and have enjoyed it immensely! Thus far we've remained in the vicinity of Greyhawk City and the Gnarley Forest---not counting a demi-planar/extra-planar holiday adventure at Christmastide. My high elf, Svert, is now a 5/5 Fighter/Magic-User, about to level up to 6th MU (but I've hit my level limit in Fighter unless I'm able to permanently gain two or more points of Strength, alas...).My 11-year-old son Henry has been running an on-and-off again AD&D campaign for some school friends, his older brother Ethan, my wife Heather, and me (although both Ethan and Heather have largely stopped playing D&D in general save for special occasions here and there). Set in his Underground Mansion dungeon, situated on an island in the Nyr Dyv. While Henry's game is nominally set in Greyhawk, ... read more!

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Darlene Greyhawk Gothic Font

2022-12-26T15:57:51-05:00August 26th, 2019|

Darlene Artist's wonderful Greyhawk font, showing-off some of the dungeon level titles from my version of Castle Greyhawk! You download the free-for-non-commercial-use font from https://www.facebook.com/groups/1471065309863986/permalink/2082384232065421/In the text file of the download, Darlene includes details on how to purchase a commercial license as well. Some additional context/details from Anna Meyer, who sponsored Darlene's development of the font: I helped Darlene create a font featuring the famous script of the Greyhawk logo. It took awhile but here it is, version 1 of the Greyhawk Gothic font. It is released as Creative Commons -BY -NC -SA 4.0 so you can use it for all your gaming needs as long as they are not for commercial purposes. You can grab it here: http://bit.ly/GreyhawkGothic-Font After I downloaded the font, I played around with it using some of my Castle Greyhawk dungeon level titles:Allan.

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“Celebrating Greyhawk – A Fandom Renaissance” GaryCon XI – seminar video recording now available

2022-12-26T15:57:53-05:00August 22nd, 2019|

Luke Gygax just posted the video from our "Celebrating Greyhawk - A Fandom Renaissance" seminar at GaryCon XI to his YouTube channel:Thank you Luke, for arranging to record the seminars and for keeping GaryCon a great place for Greyhawk gaming, year-in-and-year-out! Allan.

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The Spinel Ossuarium – Reliquary of St. Kargoth

2019-08-22T22:39:00-04:00August 22nd, 2019|

The Spinel Ossuarium - Reliquary of St. Kargoth, Grand Marshal of the Demonic Knights of DoomSacred to the faiths of Erythnul and St. Kargoth, The Spinel Ossuarium is known to house the ashes and bone fragments of St. Kargoth's mortal form. Previously anointed as Grand Marshal of the Demonic Knights of Doom, Kargoth's conflagration in Mentrey marked the end of his mortal existence as his body was consumed in his fiery descent into death knighthood. The central skull gemstone of The Spinel Ossuarium is of dark rust-red luster, and was Kargoth's unholy symbol in life. The unholy symbol is encased in red-gold and platinum, and inset with twenty-two diamonds, one for each Demonic Knight of Doom in the order, with a baleful jacinth crowning the amulet for Kargoth himself. The whole is mounted upon a double-stranded thick red-gold chain that cannot be broken if worn by the faithful. Known powers for The Spinel Ossuarium operate at 28th level and include:Continuously radiates Protection from Law and Protection from Good in a 20' radius at double-strength; the hue of the aura is as of drying bloodDetect Good at triple duration and range 6/dayCommune twice per week with St. Kargoth, once per month with Erythnul; up to 5 questions may be askedEruption of Discord, as Symbol, at 18" range with 50' radius area of effect twice per monthRadiates Protection from Good in a 400' radius sphere at quadruple-strength for 28 hours once per monthWhen unholy water is poured through the reliquary, the unholy water tints red with the blood of Kargoth, and inflicts +2 damage. If unholy sacred red wine of Medegian vintage is poured through the reliquary ... read more!

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grodog interview on Twitch TV, Sunday 18 August @ 7:30pm EDT

2022-12-26T15:57:54-05:00August 16th, 2019|

Jay Scott, one of the gamers I know in South Jersey, runs a Twitch TV channel dedicated to his 30+ year 1e campaign set in the World of Greyhawk. While visiting with him on my last trip back home, he asked about having me on his show, which will be live-streamed on Sunday this weekend. Here's his announcement:Sunday Evening on the Lord Gosumba ChannelHello Friends and Greyhawkers! Finishing up a wonderful vacation week with family at the shore! On this Sunday's Gabbin at Lord Peak's Haven #58, my special guest will be Allan T. Grohe Jr., the grodog!We will discuss Allan's multitude of accomplishments to the D&D and gaming community, his love of the World of Greyhawk, and share what Allan and his company, Black Blade Publishing, are working on currently.Also, we will discuss some intriguing Greyhawk topics, including, Castle Greyhawk and Castle El Raja Key, Greyhawk Artifacts, rules variants for homebrew Campaigning, and using third party D&D Adventures in the World of Greyhawk setting. I cannot wait to delve into this discussion!As always, we will welcome questions and participation from the audience! See you Live Stream, Sunday, 8/18, 7:30 PM EDT! https://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbahttps://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbaPerhaps I'll see a few of you on Sunday night in the audience :DAllan.

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