So Genghis Con really took over my life last week, and I just didn't have any time on Friday or over the weekend. Here's all of last week's Picks to catch you up until this coming Friday. You'll note a lot of d20 action in this one, from the very first iteration all the way to the current. Add to that another d20 game - Rifts - and a place where you can run any version of the game, and it's a 20-sided kind of week!
OD&D Supplement I: Greyhawk
Another trip back in time, friends. One of the very first campaign setting books ever published for the hobby.
One cannot properly introduce a supplement to an existing body of rules, which already contain both a foreword and an introduction; yet it is absolutely necessary to make certain that the prospective buyer understands that this volume cannot stand by itself.
It is expressly written to augment the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS rules set, and if you do not possess the set there is no point in buying this supplemental booklet alone. However, it does no harm to read further, it is hoped that if you do skim through the pages, which follow you, will become so interested as to buy both “D & D” and this addition! If you enjoy fantasy you will never be sorry you were introduced to the swords and sorcery of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS games.
If you already own a set of “D & D” then buy this booklet right now, for what is herein adds immeasurably to the existing game. There are new characters, new abilities, more spells to use, a horde of new monsters, heaps of new magical treasure, and various additions to the suggestions and rules for adventuring above and below the ground.”
This PDF is drawn from the Original Edition Premium Reprint, which included new cover art and updated layout.
Product History
D&D Supplement I: Greyhawk (1975), by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz, is the first of four supplements for the OD&D game. It was published in March 1975.
Origins (I): Early Products. Following the publication of OD&D (1975), the young TSR focused on producing other wargames such as Tricolor (1974), Warriors of Mars (1974), and Star Probe (1975). However, Gygax was also well-aware of the expandability of D&D. Though he wasn’t producing new D&D products yet for TSR, he was writing articles for Jim Lurvey’s Great Plains Game Players Newsletter that began to extend and revise the rules of the D&D game.
This dynamic been to change in January 1975. By that point, TSR had sold out of the first printing of 1,000 copies of OD&D. Meanwhile they’d also published The Strategic Review #1 (January 1975), a six-page newsletter where they for the first time ever printed official D&D expansions, including a new monster called the mind flayer and a solo dungeon system. It pointed the way toward more substantive supplements in the near future …
Frozen Castle – Expanding Tyranny of Dragons
This one is from the Dungeon Masters Guild (and remember, this is part of the DriveThruRPG network of sites, so your same login and account will take care of you there, too). Here’s Kobold Press‘ expansion for Hoard of the Dragon Queen.
Tyranny Expanded: A Return to Skyreach Castle!
The loss of Skyreach Castle in Hoard of the Dragon Queen was a major setback to the Cult of the Dragon, but still only a setback. The cult is determined to retake the castle and claim Tiamat’s lost treasure buried in its frozen walls and cloudstuff vaults, but they aren’t the only ones. Giants and creatures of the frozen wastes wish to claim that wealth themselves!
This 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure is designed for 10th- and 11th-level characters, and is set in the Forgotten Realms.
Rifts World Book 13: Lone Star
The vast library of Rifts books are flying onto the digital shelves. If you’ve not checked all the latest offerings lately, you should. Those who are interested in my impending Savage Rifts project will seriously want to look into these books, because they contain so much awesome information that will add to your game, whichever system you’re using.
The Coalition State of Lone Star is a wild and woolly place of contrast and conflict. The Coalition States claims the entire State of Texas as their own, but they only control a small corner of it. It is here, at the Lone Star Complex, that the CS engages in genetic engineering and creates the famous Dog Boys and a host of other mutants. The rest of the state is held by the Pecos Empire – an empire of bandits, outlaws and rebels. The perfect companion to Rifts® New West™, Rifts® Spirit West™ and Rifts® Machinations of Doom™.
Drakonheim: City of Bones
“Man, I’d like a cool city to run my [insert game system of choice] fantasy game in, but who has time to write something like that up?”
Here you go.
Why are we nicknamed the City of Bones?
People first started calling us that when the city’s founder killed the dragon Ignomia and used her bones to build the walls of Drakonheim.
It took on new meaning after the Empire fell. The marble palaces became skeletal remains of a dead civilization.
Now there is a third reason. The bones of the dead walk the street. Skeletons and zombies. Why don’t we fear them? We do, of course. But what choice do we have?
—Gavin Kipper, guide for hire
To save the city from disaster, Drakonheim made a deal with a cabal of necromancers. Now this cabal, the Gray Society, holds the real power in the city.
Drakonheim is a fantasy city full of intrigue and surrounded by dangers. Goblins dwell in the sewers, undead walk the streets, and aristocrats scheme for greater power. Hobgoblins ride across the northern plains, lizardfolk rule the southern swamps, and all manner of monsters hunt in the western mountains.
Drakonheim is a system-free setting; you can use it with any fantasy roleplaying game. It can serve as a quick stopping point, or as the center of an entire campaign.
CLASSifieds: The Technopath
For those who want to take their Pathfinder games into total sci-fi/fantasy mashup territory, here’s a great place to start.
Artificial intelligences—strange consciousnesses made of code—can lurk in the circuits and processors of robots and other fantastic technologies. When combined with the soul and arcane powers of a technopath, however, an AI can gain new ways to influence the material world around them, transforming into a new sort of entity: a technogeist. Capable of possessing robots, unlocking new powers in technology, and even manipulating reality from a virtual demiplane, this summoner alternate class is well suited to fantastic settings where iron robots and technological gods run rampant.
New rules options, including new feats and a new robot, are compatible with the official Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules for technology and compliment (but doesn’t require) Fat Goblin Games’ hit Call to Arms: Fantastic Technology.
~~~~~
A quick epilogue today, friends, as even though Genghis Con is over, we still have the inestimable Michael Surbrook, the lead creative helping make Aaron Allston's Strike Force happen, here with us in Denver. He wants to see the Rocky Mountains, and we aim to oblige.
It was a great con, and Savage Rifts was extremely well-received. For a lot of us who've become disappointed with the insanity of scheduling and logistics that is Gen Con (not to mention to grotesque expense), shows like Genghis Con are incredibly fun and rewarding.
The Adventure Continues!
~SPF
OD&D Supplement I: Greyhawk
Another trip back in time, friends. One of the very first campaign setting books ever published for the hobby.
One cannot properly introduce a supplement to an existing body of rules, which already contain both a foreword and an introduction; yet it is absolutely necessary to make certain that the prospective buyer understands that this volume cannot stand by itself.
It is expressly written to augment the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS rules set, and if you do not possess the set there is no point in buying this supplemental booklet alone. However, it does no harm to read further, it is hoped that if you do skim through the pages, which follow you, will become so interested as to buy both “D & D” and this addition! If you enjoy fantasy you will never be sorry you were introduced to the swords and sorcery of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS games.
If you already own a set of “D & D” then buy this booklet right now, for what is herein adds immeasurably to the existing game. There are new characters, new abilities, more spells to use, a horde of new monsters, heaps of new magical treasure, and various additions to the suggestions and rules for adventuring above and below the ground.”
This PDF is drawn from the Original Edition Premium Reprint, which included new cover art and updated layout.
Product History
D&D Supplement I: Greyhawk (1975), by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz, is the first of four supplements for the OD&D game. It was published in March 1975.
Origins (I): Early Products. Following the publication of OD&D (1975), the young TSR focused on producing other wargames such as Tricolor (1974), Warriors of Mars (1974), and Star Probe (1975). However, Gygax was also well-aware of the expandability of D&D. Though he wasn’t producing new D&D products yet for TSR, he was writing articles for Jim Lurvey’s Great Plains Game Players Newsletter that began to extend and revise the rules of the D&D game.
This dynamic been to change in January 1975. By that point, TSR had sold out of the first printing of 1,000 copies of OD&D. Meanwhile they’d also published The Strategic Review #1 (January 1975), a six-page newsletter where they for the first time ever printed official D&D expansions, including a new monster called the mind flayer and a solo dungeon system. It pointed the way toward more substantive supplements in the near future …
Frozen Castle – Expanding Tyranny of Dragons
This one is from the Dungeon Masters Guild (and remember, this is part of the DriveThruRPG network of sites, so your same login and account will take care of you there, too). Here’s Kobold Press‘ expansion for Hoard of the Dragon Queen.
Tyranny Expanded: A Return to Skyreach Castle!
The loss of Skyreach Castle in Hoard of the Dragon Queen was a major setback to the Cult of the Dragon, but still only a setback. The cult is determined to retake the castle and claim Tiamat’s lost treasure buried in its frozen walls and cloudstuff vaults, but they aren’t the only ones. Giants and creatures of the frozen wastes wish to claim that wealth themselves!
This 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure is designed for 10th- and 11th-level characters, and is set in the Forgotten Realms.
Rifts World Book 13: Lone Star
The vast library of Rifts books are flying onto the digital shelves. If you’ve not checked all the latest offerings lately, you should. Those who are interested in my impending Savage Rifts project will seriously want to look into these books, because they contain so much awesome information that will add to your game, whichever system you’re using.
The Coalition State of Lone Star is a wild and woolly place of contrast and conflict. The Coalition States claims the entire State of Texas as their own, but they only control a small corner of it. It is here, at the Lone Star Complex, that the CS engages in genetic engineering and creates the famous Dog Boys and a host of other mutants. The rest of the state is held by the Pecos Empire – an empire of bandits, outlaws and rebels. The perfect companion to Rifts® New West™, Rifts® Spirit West™ and Rifts® Machinations of Doom™.
- 19 R.C.C.s, many of which are mutants.
- A few new O.C.C.s.
- Dog Boys – an in-depth look at how they are designed, bred and trained.
- Dog Boy armor and CS weapons.
- CS Death Wing assault armor.
- Hover cycles of the Lone Star State.
- Notable characters in the region.
- Overview of Lone Star and the Pecos Empire.
- Overview of the Lone Star Complex and the mad doctor who runs it.
- A wealth of background material and adventure ideas.
- 176 pages by Kevin Siembieda.
Drakonheim: City of Bones
“Man, I’d like a cool city to run my [insert game system of choice] fantasy game in, but who has time to write something like that up?”
Here you go.
Why are we nicknamed the City of Bones?
People first started calling us that when the city’s founder killed the dragon Ignomia and used her bones to build the walls of Drakonheim.
It took on new meaning after the Empire fell. The marble palaces became skeletal remains of a dead civilization.
Now there is a third reason. The bones of the dead walk the street. Skeletons and zombies. Why don’t we fear them? We do, of course. But what choice do we have?
—Gavin Kipper, guide for hire
To save the city from disaster, Drakonheim made a deal with a cabal of necromancers. Now this cabal, the Gray Society, holds the real power in the city.
Drakonheim is a fantasy city full of intrigue and surrounded by dangers. Goblins dwell in the sewers, undead walk the streets, and aristocrats scheme for greater power. Hobgoblins ride across the northern plains, lizardfolk rule the southern swamps, and all manner of monsters hunt in the western mountains.
Drakonheim is a system-free setting; you can use it with any fantasy roleplaying game. It can serve as a quick stopping point, or as the center of an entire campaign.
CLASSifieds: The Technopath
For those who want to take their Pathfinder games into total sci-fi/fantasy mashup territory, here’s a great place to start.
Artificial intelligences—strange consciousnesses made of code—can lurk in the circuits and processors of robots and other fantastic technologies. When combined with the soul and arcane powers of a technopath, however, an AI can gain new ways to influence the material world around them, transforming into a new sort of entity: a technogeist. Capable of possessing robots, unlocking new powers in technology, and even manipulating reality from a virtual demiplane, this summoner alternate class is well suited to fantastic settings where iron robots and technological gods run rampant.
New rules options, including new feats and a new robot, are compatible with the official Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules for technology and compliment (but doesn’t require) Fat Goblin Games’ hit Call to Arms: Fantastic Technology.
~~~~~
A quick epilogue today, friends, as even though Genghis Con is over, we still have the inestimable Michael Surbrook, the lead creative helping make Aaron Allston's Strike Force happen, here with us in Denver. He wants to see the Rocky Mountains, and we aim to oblige.
It was a great con, and Savage Rifts was extremely well-received. For a lot of us who've become disappointed with the insanity of scheduling and logistics that is Gen Con (not to mention to grotesque expense), shows like Genghis Con are incredibly fun and rewarding.
The Adventure Continues!
~SPF
