Blasphemous Brewery of Pilz: Extra Stout Edition

After a brief respite from the world of role-playing, I woke today with an itch to get back to writing, playing, and running games.  Besides, I reckon if I force myself to resume work it may jump-start my interest, thus blowing away my apathy in a blast of Harley-like exhaust.

Anyhoo. My current project is now active again.  It's a revised edition of my first for-sale module, THE BLASPHEMOUS BREWERY OF PILZ!, now subtitled "Extra Stout Edition".  "Extra Stout" because it's both more difficult and detailed than the original.

I'm also re-doing all, or at least, most of the art.  The style is shifting from slightly cartoonish, towards a more realistic slant.  For example, my original Burpee art:

Burpee
Copyright 2011 Dylan Hartwell

... and the Extra Stout Burpee art:

Burpee
Copyright 2012 Dylan Hartwell

In my original PILZ! I briefly outlined various game extensions.  In Stout, I either remove them altogether or flesh them out with significant detail.  I'm most proud of my Barrel Beast.  Those of you with the honor (or misfortune, depending on your outlook) to play in one of my Gencon games know it all too well.

Barrel Beast
Copyright 2012 Dylan Hartwell

Extra Stout looks to be jam packed with new art, monsters, and maps.  I have to be careful not to overdo it.  Ambition now runs high.

I also plan on using RPGNow's Print On Demand (POD) system after seeing some of their products first-hand at their Gencon booth.  Since Extra Stout is likely to exceed thirty pages, I see this as a viable option running alongside the typical PDF.

In regards to a timeline, I hope to have a serviceable text-only rough draft ready in a month.  I already have a few editors lined up, all of whom I've worked with before, so I have little concern regarding the quality or timeliness of the editing job.  Bottom Line:  I hope to have it up on RPGNow before Halloween.

There.  I've said it.  Now I'll feel like a total ass if I don't deliver what I consider to be a quality product on time.

And now, back to it.

Cheers.

Post Gencon Blues

Maybe it was all the money I spent on consumables.  Maybe it was my incessent Google Reader and forum scanning on my (now long gone) smartphone.  Maybe it was all the time away from family.  Maybe it was the ending of summer vacation.  Maybe it was all the time I spent in game prepping.  Maybe I went a little too far with my technology purge.  Whatever the reason(s), I have an acute case of gamer apathy.  I even canceled my regular Monday night session today, for crying out loud!

Not sure where I'm headed with this one.  I suppose it's a break of sorts.  I have a lot of projects in the works.  Of these, most notable is my adventure module that I ran at Gencon and my Halloween-based game with original mechanic.  I was on-track to have these published prior to Halloween.  Now I'm not so sure.

Looking over my blog and personal notes, I see that I've been going strong for nearly three years now.  By "strong" I mean working on game materials and playing at least several hours every week.  It's been nearly two weeks now with absolutely nothing.  My grid paper lies empty, my dice firmly capped.  The maps are kept warm where my furry cat naps.  The windows frame rain and the door to my mind is letting in air, but also building up grime. 

OK, enough of that.

And while I generally enjoy hearing from my blogger friends and reading what they have to say, I can't ignore the changing dynamics in the OSR as some bloggers fade away and others surge into the spotlight (and still others chug along with amazing endurance).  Some of the new Lamentations modules, for example, are tempting another click on the 'ole RPGNow "buy" button, but even that is a mild temptation only.

It's not that I dont' have fun projects and great friends and stacks of unread material.  It's not that I don't have my health.  It's not that I don't have the time.  It's not that I dont' have a regular physical gaming group.  For some reason it's the inclination that waning.

In all liklihood, this, too, shall soon pass and I will be back to my regular 10-20 posts per month. 

Regardless, may your dice roll true and your glass hold brew.

Cheers.

Post Gencon

Got home from Gencon.

Had a good time.

Spent way too much.

Met Sniderman and paid him owed beer.

Ran two of the three games I wanted to.

Played both of the games I wanted to.

Will provide expanded details later.  Now it's back to the real world.

Meet up with Kevin Sembieda.

Thwarted Drows with Dungeon Bastard!

Lots of booth babe pictures.

Meet The Orc At Gencon! Get A Free Beer!

I leave tomorrow for Gencon and plan on staying through Sunday afternoon.  There are four ways to get in contact with me if you want to meet up, hang out, or drink a cold one.

One:  Attend one of my games.  They've all sold out, but maybe you already have a ticket.  I'm running Labyrinth Lord games Friday at 5PM, Saturday at 1PM, and Sunday at 10AM.  They're all at the same location: JW :: 311 :: 2

Two:  Email me at hartwell602@gmail.com and we'll set up something specific.

Three:  Find me wandering the hallways like some hungover overfed gamer zombie.  No, seriously, you might find me 'cause I'll be wearing my Pioneer hunting hat and it kind of sticks out.  It looks like this:

Four:  I'm attending The Stink Wednesday evening (if I get there safe and sound), you can find me with the Labyrinth Lord Society begging for swag.  It starts at six and is held in Union Station Grand Hall.

Beer:  If you find me and have a copy of one of my games printed out that you yourself bought, not only will I offer my signature, but will buy you a cold one as well.

Prepping for My Con Game

I'm running three three-hour Labyrinth Lord sessions of my module, THE BLASPHEMOUS BREWERY OF PILZ! at Gencon.  While watching Silver Bullet and Sleepaway Camp 2 I finished twenty-two pre-generated characters and finished keying over thirty rooms.  I'm also making a few entirely new monsters to liven things as, but I haven't even started that yet.  I just bought the complete Nightmare on Elm Street DVD pack, so I figure that'll get me through the monsters and remaining bookwork tonight and tomorrow.

I completely overhauled the geography as well by making encounters harder and overall map larger.  Much larger.  As in 300% larger.  I figured that some of the players have already purchased the game and I want to give them something new.  Something to challenge them.  The problem with this approach, is that I haven't had time to play-test.  As in zip, zilch, nada.  No time to test things about:  First game is fly by the seat of my pants time.  Don't worry, failure doesn't bother me much.  I usually see it as an opportunity to learn.

I created a binder with all my maps, monsters, etc.  In addition to character sheets I have an overall map for each player as well as a miniature rules book outlining the character classes and my house rules.  I bought twenty mechanical pencils, table covering, battle mat, and some playdough (don't ask) in preparation for a roaring good time.  Heck, even if it doesn't turn out fun I know I have a few cold ones waiting for me in my hotel room.

I'm also bringing a bunch of old-school game materials to auction off to my players.  You heard correctly, Dear Readers, not only do my players enjoy the benefit of killing an evil force of Burpees intent on disrupting beer flow, but they also get a chance to win (slightly used) fine rpg publications from the mid-eighties.  Money is no good, however.  They can only use in-game currency to bid.  Bwa.  Bwa ha ha.  It's another way to spread the good word about retroclones to an unsuspecting public.

P.S.  If you don't know what a Burpee is, click HERE at your own risk.

P.S.S.  If you have any suggestions of something else I should bring, let me know.

Megadungeon Rationale

I love the idea and actual play of megadungeons in basic D&D, but a skeptical part of me always questions the reality of such a place.  I can't get over the irrationality of such a huge series of arbitrary rooms, traps, and encounters, even as I have my Cleric call upon an equally irrational God to heal a wounded party member.

It's stupid, I know.

When I'm writing adventure modules, such as Pilz, Heap, and Veiled, I try to bring a certain amount of believability to my fantasy.  At the very least, a certain amount of consistency.  Both of these are often missing from megadungeons that I've read or ran.

One way, and there are many others to be sure, to explain the inconsistencies and irrationalities inherent in mega-dungeons is employing what I call the Waxwork Principal.  It may also go by the Magic Scapegoat, but I prefer the former nomenclature.

Waxwork is a 1988 horror film in which a wax museum houses magical scenes that spectators may enter (and get killed in so doing).  This premise permits seamless vignettes of unrelated horror scenes without destroying suspension of disbelief (that is accomplished through the bad acting) and can be equally employed in megadungeons.  Simply replace the evil museum director with a powerful chaotic magic-user.

Secret Admission... And It's Not About The Olympics!

I'm an anglophile.

I've made the long hop from Ohio where I reside to the UK twice now and I'm looking forward to the first affordable opportunity to hop the pond again.  With a daughter and mortgage, however, I lament it will occur any time soon.

Let's back up, though.

My parents are both anglophiles.  My mom was a stay-at-home mom and she very rarely let me watch TV growing up in the 70s and 80s (I was born mid-70s).  We grew up on 100+ acres, most of which was forest, so I spent a LOT of time running around hills and mud with my two brothers.  My dad was a lit and poetry major and was the head librarian for a large affluent public school system and he rarely let me watch TV also unless it was IU basketball or Chicago football.  His favorite poet, by the way, was Lord Byron.

However.

Every weekend, we gathered around the rabbit-eared TV for PBS Masterpiece Mystery.  To this day, nearly forty years later, I have it religiously set to the DVR in my Cleveland home.  Beyond the awesome Jeremy Brett and Joan Hickson as Holmes and Marple, respectively, I grew to love BBC sitcoms.  Last of the Summer Wine, All Creatures Great and Small, Are You Being Served, and especially Keeping Up Appearances all have very special places in my heart.

I can't hear the opening notes of All Creatures Great and Small without a shiver down my spine and my wife is tired of hearing my poor impression of Hyacinth's OH RI-CHARD!

Breaking from British propriety, I also feel inclined to admit my love for Benny Hill.  I remember watching episodes without shame with my father and now am proud to have over seven DVD's on my mantle.  In fact, I am very much generally alarmed at how quickly he and his work have faded from public consciousness.

I'm no nostalgic or curmudgeon though.  I also love Doc Martin and Cumberbatch's new Sherlock.  However, Midsomer Murders is where my heart and pocket book currently reside.  The rustic homes, witty dialogue, different characters, and thematic episodes keep me coming back for more.

In regards to literature, my love for Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell is surpassed only by George Elliot and Samuel Johnson.

So, what does this have to do with gaming?

Admittedly, not much.  The Olympics are hosted in London, but the real reason I've decided to write this post is because of my recent print publication, The Veiled Invocation.  It's my first print product and I'm, personally, mailing them out.  I am both surprised and pleased to find so many orders going overseas.  My ego is further boosted to see so many going over to England specifically.

I have to admit.  Each time I get an order from the UK, I quickly Google Map it and daydream of visiting again.  And it is through blogging, Paypal, and D&D that such personal global connections are possible.  I suppose my next step is Google+.  For some reason, however, I 'm hesitant.

Anyway.  If you're not from England, don't worry.  I appreciate and love hearing from you.  Don't take it personally.  If you ARE from the UK, be forewarned that I am likely to apply rose-tinted glasses for nearly all interactions.

Don't blame me, though.

Blame my parents.

Cheers.

Return of a Burpee in Realism

A realistic version of my previously cartoonized original monster, The Burpee (magna eructant)

I'm busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

I'm busier than a thirsty Burpee breaking into a fresh barrel of delicious Mountain Mushroom Stout Beer.

I'm busier than Will Wheaton giving signatures at a sci fi convention... in 2012.

In addition to running a house, raising a daughter, working full-time, and getting in my much-needed daydreaming time, I'm also working on my Gencon Labyrinth Lord game a lot these days (actually, things aren't busy at all, but I wanted to make a run-on sentence).  I'm running my module called THE BLASPHEMOUS BREWERY OF PILZ!  For the con, I'm making the adventure a lot harder and more detailed.  Why? Just in case.

Just in case players decide to go in an new direction.  Just in case they destroy my Red Dragon too quickly.  Just in case I want to mix things up for myself.

But mainly because I love writing D&D stuff.

I love making my doodles.  I love creating new monsters and seeing if anyone can kill them.  I love making dangerous dungeons and running parties through them.  I love creating worlds and fleshing out little details.

I don't give two hoots whether anyone actually sees, appreciates, or uses the fruits of my labor.  Those considerations are secondary.  Actually, in some cases tertiary and not even on the radar.  Why then, you might ask, do you even bother with a blog?

Mainly to meet and work with like-minded gamers.  We're actually a pretty small group globally.

If you're reading this, you're one of them.  How do you do?

Hey!  Are you coming or not?

New Review

You can find a newly posted review for my third published adventure, THE VEILED INVOCATION available in both print and PDF at the always awesome Gothridge Manor.  Tim has been a significant factor in my own stroll towards publishing.  He's guided me through both PDF and print runs of which, I'm now happy to report, have sold many copies.  At least, "many" for me.  If you haven't read his blog or any of his products, I recommend a visit.

Tim also suggested doing a compilation of sorts with all of my adventures at some point.  This is an interesting and challenging idea because the adventures aren't explicitly designed to fall within the same world.  I don't see why I can't, it's just something I haven't considered.  I also need to publish a few more to satisfy my own demands of a "meaty" project such as this.  It may, however, become a reality in a couple of years.

I'm working on several projects now.  First and foremost is the final copies for my upcoming Gencon game which I am running on three separate days.  After Gencon, I plan to take my notes and feedback and finalize everything together as a print product.  The second project is a megadungeon based on a traveling circus funhouse.  It's still in the brainstorming stage and, so far, promises to be significantly different than my other products in content and layout.

I have other project ideas and some are even nearing second draft stage, but they have all, for one reason or another, taken a back seat to the two mentioned above.  I have a horror game module and system I hope to release prior to Halloween, an Angel game independent of D&D, and several other D&D modules bouncing around my hard drive.  I hope some of these see the light of day sometime in 2013.

In the meantime, thanks for reading.  Thanks for buying and providing feedback.  And thanks for playing.  Cheers.

Reduction, Not Elimination

The past month has been an exercise in technology reduction.

First, I reduced cable to the minimum package and canceled my Netflix streaming.  Then I replaced my smartphone Android with a basic text/talk only model.  Now I'm planning on destroying my Facebook account.  Don't worry, Dear Readers, I don't end this paragraph with The Demise of Digital Orc.  Nor do I decry the time spent role-playing.

Just the opposite.

Work is kicking into high gear soon.  Gencon is nearly here.  And, frankly, I was getting a little anal about checking all my updates on Facebook, watching a shit ton of movies on my never-ending Netflix stream, and constantly checking my Google Reader.  All it took was reading Nicholas Carr's The Shallows to tip from thought to action.

This blog is still too much fun.  It's not going anywhere anytime soon.  In fact, I'm working on my "Extra Stout" version of the Blasphemous Brewery.  It takes everything in the PDF and makes it bigger and extra hard.

Uh.  Huh.  Huh huh.  You said, "Bigger and extra hard."

Where the original Brewery was one level and twelve area descriptions, the Extra Stout version has four levels and over thirty room descriptions.  It's not quite a magadungeon, but it's a heck of a lot harder.  I'm also bringing in more original monsters that are, you guessed it, much harder.  Along those lines, I also flesh out and stat a Red Dragon.  Hell, this IS Dungeons & Dragons, right?  About time I stuck one of these bad boys into an adventure!

Most of these guys are dead.  That's why you'e hired.

I'm running this adventure at Gencon.  After I work the bugs out in play (read:  kill my Gencon player characters), I will release Extra Stout as a print-only product.

Quick question for those of you who already purchased THE BLASPHEMOUS BREWERY OF PILZ! in PDF form:  Do my plans to release an "Extra Stout" print-only edition piss you off?  Or, is it kind of cool and you look forward to thinking about maybe possibly buying one?

The Veiled Invocation: Sleep, Love, & Fight

My first Labyrinth Lord adventure in print is kind of like this:

With a little of this:

And a bunch of this:

Intrigued?  Find out more by clicking HERE.

Or, go straight to the source HERE.

Crystal Cave

I took the ferry across Erie to visit Put In Bay Island recently.  Aside from the cool war memorial and numerous bars, I also visited the Heineman's Winery.  The old German winery offers both a tour of the wine-making facilities and, oddly enough, a cave tour.

When the original Heineman family started digging for water, they came across a crystal cave.  According to our tour guide it is the largest geode in the world.  They decided to sell both wine and cave tours.

From a tourist standpoint and one who has done wild caving, I didn't find it all that exciting.  However, from a D&D standpoint I thought it would be a cool room to add to a dungeon.  Since magic-users can put their souls into crystals, I thought this room would be a sort of magic-user prison in which each shard houses a particularly dangerous wizard.