From Kuroth’s Quill

Review – Castle Xyntillan by Gabor “Melan” Lux (Part 2)

2022-12-26T15:57:42-05:00January 12th, 2020|

Castle Xyntillan by Gabor Lux (E.M.D.T. release #60) - Maps by Rob Conley Review - Castle Xyntillan by Gabor "Melan" Lux (Part 2) This review continues from Part 1, and focuses in detail on the adventuring content of Castle Xyntillan. Unlike in the first part of the review, it is impossible for me to discuss details about Gabor's maps and encounters without spoilers: so, if you plan to play this adventure, read no further. *** SPOILERS *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** SPOILERS *** *** *** SPOILERS *** Castle Xyntillan - The Maps The map packet is important to not lose track of, since referencing the maps' broader context and the map key is much easier using the poster maps. I mention this specifically since I hadn't noticed the map packet envelope in my cardboard shipping sleeve and thought it was packing/padding; I should have known better since Gabor includes separate maps in most of his publications. That said, reading through the entire book without the map key was a bit confusing at times until I eventually ran into it on page 128, so please learn from my mistake! In addition to the map booklet, the endpapers of the hardcover display Gabor's original hand-drawn maps for the castle (front endpapers) and the upper levels (back endpapers). The hand-drawn and -written notes are rendered in sepia ink, with the hand-written notes replaced with typed labels for easier reading. In addition, Gabor adds locations details for where many of the playtesting PCs and their companions met their ... read more!

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Oerth Journal #31 Released

2022-12-26T15:57:43-05:00January 2nd, 2020|

You ever get that feeling that something takes both forever and no time at all simultaneously? Oerth Journal #31 has only been in the works 12 weeks. … but, at the same time, it's been a year. And that year's gone by in no time! Greyhawk Online was the original webhost for the magazine in '95 and GHO started publishing the Oerth Journal again in March of last year (2019) as a supplement for a seminar at GaryCon XI. Similar to most issues, design of that issue, OJ28, really began about 60 to 90 days before that, around January. Gathering authors, doing layout, all that great publishing stuff. But, never before had the Oerth Journal actually been published quarterly before. That was often what was desired or striven for … but, for one reason or another, life always got in the way, and previous Editors weren't able to get content fast enough to publish that often.But, now, we've managed to publish a quarterly issue each season.That makes this kind of a benchmark. It's never been done - whether in a 365-day period or any calendar-year. So, now, Greyhawk Online has taken up the torch and has run with it. , and we're already beginning layout and answering article queries for issue #32 due out in Spring! Oerth Journal #31 As we discuss in the Librarian's Chronicle (Letter from the Editor) on the inside front cover, the fan authors, artists, and editors who make the magazine happen are the real life blood of the magazine. GHO couldn't produce it, if it weren't for them. And that's the part where social media comes in. We are in ... read more!

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Review – Castle Xyntillan by Gabor “Melan” Lux (Part 1)

2022-12-26T15:57:43-05:00December 31st, 2019|

Castle Xyntillan by Gabor Lux (E.M.D.T. release #60) - Cover art by Peter MullenCastle Xyntillan by Gabor "Melan" Lux - Part 1Castle Xyntillan is Gabor Lux's tenth English-language publication since he launched Echoes from Fomalhaut in March 2018, and is also the sixtieth---yes 60th!---title released from E.M.D.T., the First Hungarian d20 Society since 2003 (and 18 of the pre-2018 E.M.D.T. titles are available in English, too). Unlike the many gems that appear in Gabor's regular zine, Castle Xyntillan is a self-contained adventure that falls into several simultaneous categories of interest:Castle Xyntillan is a large campaign dungeon in scope, although not a traditional mega-dungeon in design or presentationCastle Xyntillan is an homage to the classic Judges Guild haunted mansion adventure, Tegel ManorCastle Xyntillan is also an homage to Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne pulp fictions, and perhaps by way of inspirational osmosis, Tom Moldvay's X2 Castle AmberNone of these individual influences speak to Castle Xyntillan's perhaps-primary intent, in that it also serves as the first English-language release and publication for the upcoming Helvéczia RPG. From the penultimate page:[The Helvéczia RPG is a] lightweight, light-hearted historical fantasy game for playing scoundrels and low-lives in an alternate-reality magical Switzerland (and beyond) ca. 1698, [that] gives you everything you need for fast-paced picaresque adventures featuring stagecoaches, robbers, daring escapes and dark deviltry. Using a greatly streamlined, six-level ("E6") version of the renowned d20 System, Helvéczia has been thoroughly reworked and customized to capture the spirit of swashbuckling movies, adventure novels, penny dreadfuls and colourful historical legends. Match your wits against the lackeys of robber barons and faerie realms; waste your winnings in merchant towns ruled by avarice and eccentric custom; ... read more!

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Merry Needfest, Happy Christmas, Joyous Yule, and Happy 2020!

2022-12-26T15:57:44-05:00December 31st, 2019|

Merry 2020For those who celebrate holidays at this time of year, I hope you've all had a relaxing break from work filled with good times with friends and family, creative recharging, and fun shenanigans in general, and that 2020 brings your dreams to fruition! :DWe gave my 8-month-old niece some large dice for Christmas, which she took to right away!:My niece, The Notorious RKG Whither grodog?It's been a busy month+ since Thanksgiving, filled with travel and travail, fun family time and busy holiday gatherings, as well as getting over a cold one of our sons gave me (which lasted for a few weeks). Work was exacerbated by bad planning (by other groups within Ruckus) and the bad timing of some security vulnerabilities being announced that kept me busy up through and including Christmas Eve, with some follow-up the two days following too, but things have thankfully slowed down since then. We've all also remained healthy between the holidays, and the boys have enjoyed a fun break thus far. We took all of our local extended family to see The Rise of Skywalker on Saturday as our Christmas gifts (we switched over to "experiences" vs. gifts several years ago, usually doing fun Broadway shows like Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Finding Neverland, etc.). So, other than whining, what have I been up to?: I wrote a 3000 word article on creating and defining factions for campaign play in Greyhawk, for the new Oerth Journal #31, which should debut later today---a fine Needfest issue that wraps up the Folks, Feuds, and Factions themes for 2019:OJ#31 PreviewPlayed several games of Dominion with my father-in-law, which is always fun---he played it ... read more!

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From the Vaults – World of Greyhawk Rarities for Your Games

2022-12-26T15:57:44-05:00November 29th, 2019|

In this "From the Vaults" series of articles, I'm going to present and summarize information about obscure, rare, and less-well-known World of Greyhawk content. There are many Greyhawk rarities well-worth digging into. Some add significant lore to the setting, while others are simply solid Greyhawk adventures that are fun to run and play. Some are old, rare, obscure, and very difficult to find, while others are hot-off-the-presses and being actively published by fans today!What Greyhawk Rarities? The first question* to ask about this topic may be, "How does Allan (or anyone else) know what constitutes a rare item in the world of Greyhawk publishing?" Well, Ant "Echohawk" Brooks maintains a Greyhawk Collector's Guide on ENWorld, and it's amazingly comprehensive. I link to it on my Greyhawk Links page, and while there are still bits and pieces of info that trickle in with new discoveries, new versions or editions of books, additional Living Greyhawk tourney scenarios catalogued, and new titles written by and for Greyhawk fans being published each year, Echohawk's work is my go-to guide whenever I want to dig into the history of Greyhawk publishing over the decades.I've written about some of these curios here and there in my web site, and in some previous blog articles, and some of these items are somewhat better-known or are already well-documented, but I may still touch on some of them, either in passing, or directly:"The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth" is Gygax's 1976 tourney from Wintercon V and the precursor to TSR's 1982 S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth:Gary Gyga's 1976 WinterCon V tournament,The Lost Caverns of TsojconthI've written extensively about both versions---see http://greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_s4.html and http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_s4_encounters.html in particular and ... read more!

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grodog’s Castle Greyhawk – Levels Inventory and Updates

2022-12-26T15:57:45-05:00November 25th, 2019|

I've been working on the design and redesign of my version of the Castle Greyhawk mega-dungeon for nearly as along as I've been playing D&D: I began construction of it in the early 1980s, when I designed the schema below for my vision of the castle dungeons' depth and breadth of levels---it's "footprint" in the Oerth of the Cairn Hills. grodog's Castle Greyhawk - levels 1-10 elevationandgrodog's Castle Greyhawk - levels 10-17 elevationI conceived the plan for my castle to fit within this elevation footprint of the levels, which would allow me sufficient depth and distance between the levels that I could flexibly add to overall structure with new levels, sub-levels, side levels, and such, easily as needed. Or so I thought at the time.... The redesign work began again around 2006-2008, in response to the many discussions over at the Knights & Knaves Alehouse and Dragonsfoot on mega-dungeon design, and I eventually began to codify my new vision for both the castle and the levels beneath it:grodog's Castle Greyhawk - new sketch mapfor ruins and wilderness environsThe environs map above replaced my original castle ruins level, which was much more prosaic, was designed with little regard for actual castle construction techniques, and was drawn before I'd even visited a real castle, all of which informed the newer design. The image below is my first pass at a comprehensive inventory of my Castle Greyhawk dungeon levels: A partial inventory of the dungeon levels in my version of Castle GreyhawkI've gone through my Castle folders and binders to compile the levels that weren't already listed in my web site, on my blog, online in FB, or ... read more!

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grodog’s Mega-Dungeon Maps – The Heretical Temple of Wee Jas

2022-12-26T15:57:46-05:00November 18th, 2019|

So, today's my first new Mega-Dungeon Mondays post, and I thought I'd share a bit about my mapping design process. "The Heretical Temple of Wee Jas" level was the map that I began to design immediately after The (First) Landings Level, and its original name was The Second Landings Level (original, eh? ;) ). Like "The Landings Level", I playtested this dungeon at GaryCon, the North Texas RPG Con, and KantCon, among other events. I completed the first iteration of the map over several nights, noodling through a few different options on how best to design the lower half of the map, particularly the large temple in the SW corner:Draft 1: grodog's Heretical Temple of Wee Jas---draft 1 dungeon level mapWhen I'm unsure how I want to work out a particular section, or when I'm working on keying for a level with a completed map draft (I almost always draw my maps first then work on keying), I'll make photocopies of the level to play with variations until I'm happy with how the design turns out.I did that several times with the temple in the SW corner, as you can see in the various second drafts:Draft 2a:grodog's Heretical Temple of Wee Jas---draft 2a dungeon level mapDraft 2b:grodog's Heretical Temple of Wee Jas---draft 2b dungeon level mapIn the end, the completed first draft 3 of the level looked like this, but you'll note that I still hadn't decided on how to trick out the temple area:grodog's Heretical Temple of Wee Jas--- completed draft 3 dungeon level mapI was also still drawing non-narrowing stairs as stairs up at this point in my design process, but I eventually ... read more!

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grodog talking 1e Undead and Greyhawk on Twitch tonight @ 8pm EDT

2022-12-26T15:57:46-05:00November 13th, 2019|

Just a quick announcement: I'll return to talk Greyhawk and undead on Twitch again tonight, with Jay Scott, Anna Meyer, and Mike Bridges on Wednesday, 13 November 2019 at 8pm EST, livestreaming at https://www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbaHere's Jay's full announcement:Legends & Lore - Season 4 Premiere on TwitchWednesday Evening on the Lord Gosumba Channel Hello Friends and Greyhawkers! Legends & Lore has moved to the Lord Gosumba Channel starting this Wednesday, Nov 13, 8pm EST. To Kickoff their 4th season, the discussion will be about Undead of the Flanaess; this will include the various types of the non-living, and specific names of renown that put a shiver down the heartiest of adventurers! Join Anna Meyer, Mike Bridges, and me, as we welcome, Allan T. Grohe Jr., "The Grodog", to this weeks discussion!Thank you all for the wonderful support and stream participation! See you Live Stream! www.twitch.tv/lordgosumbaIt feels like I've been doing quite a few more of these live/streaming discussions lately, and I guess I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it! I've also done some others in the more-distant past too, and I should put together a compilation of all of them, I suppose---my son Henry at least is interested in going back to watch (or listen) to some of them ;) See you later tonight! :DAllan.

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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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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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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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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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