Faux AD&D covers for True Detective Season 3 by artist Juan Moore

Originally shared by Zenopus Archives

Faux AD&D covers for True Detective Season 3 by artist Juan Moore

Striking image!

Striking image!

Originally shared by Christopher Mennell

@mattsav.concept on Instagram shared this...dystopian image of an astromech from the Solo film. Don’t recall seeing it in the film but I’ll have to rewatch it for details like this I’m sure.

I've added the Zenopus Archives blog to this site.

I've added the Zenopus Archives blog to this site. If you have a blog with a feed you may want to consider doing so as well.



Originally shared by Alex Schroeder

Blogosphere unite!
(Again‽)

It’s been some days since my last reminder. 😅 I know that the constant repetition is tiresome but there seems to be no other way to reach lots of people. Here’s the gist of it: I cannot ask each and every one of you fine bloggers whether I may add you to one of the RPG Blog Planets. If you are reading this and have an OSR RPG blog, a DIY RPG blog, a Story Game blog, an Indie RPG blog, please contact me and tell me it’s ok to add your blog to one of the RPG Planets. And I will do it! And share the message: invite other bloggers to join.

Please join!
https://campaignwiki.org/wiki/Planet/Please_join!

What is this?
https://campaignwiki.org/wiki/Planet/What_is_this%3f

And here's the result:
https://campaignwiki.org/indie
https://campaignwiki.org/osr
https://campaignwiki.org/wiki/Planet/What_is_this%3f

Anybody use G+ Exporter (third party program) to successfully export a community here to a new Blogger blog?

Anybody use G+ Exporter (third party program) to successfully export a community here to a new Blogger blog? I'm working on making an archive of the Holmes Basic community. I tested out the free version ast night and harvested ~1700 posts going back to the beginning (late 2012), despite it saying the free version would only get 800 posts. It created an XML file I was able to import into a new Blogger blog, creating one blog post for each G+ post including images! There are a few problems: 1. It's not showing the name of who made the original post. 2. It is showing names for comments, but it is not showing all comments for every post, most are only showing the last two or three. This may be due to using the free version of the program. I may try the $20 version after more research.

I'm working on making an archive of this community using the G+ Exporter (a third party program).

I'm working on making an archive of this community using the G+ Exporter (a third party program). I tested it out last night and harvested ~1700 posts going back to the beginning (late 2012). It created an XML file I was able to import into a new Blogger blog, creating one post for each post here, including pictures! There are a few problems: 1. It's not showing the name of who made the original post. 2. It is showing names for comments, but it is not showing all comments for every post, most are only showing the last two or three. This may be due to using the free version of the program. I may try the $20 version after more research.

This year's Gary Con beer/soda cup designs.

Originally shared by Zenopus Archives

This year's Gary Con beer/soda cup designs. (Not sure if the black one is just the back or a different design). The monster is an Aboleth.

Today, raise a glass to honor the 45th anniversary of Dungeons &Dragons!

Originally shared by Jon Peterson

Today, raise a glass to honor the 45th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons! Here's what Gary said to Dave when the moment was nearing...

http://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2019/01/d-45th-birthday.html

FYI, I'm running two sessions of my Zenopus game at Gary Con this March.

FYI, I'm running two sessions of my Zenopus game at Gary Con this March. Gold Registration opened yesterday, and my Saturday night game is unexpectedly already full! I recognize one name in the group, Stephen Newton

On the other hand, my Friday morning game only has one sign-up so far, Larry Hamilton. General (Silver) registration starts next Saturday.

https://tabletop.events/conventions/gary-con-xi/schedule/903

Pic from yesterday's 1e game.

Scott Mob wrote:

Pic from yesterday's 1e game. The Earth Elemental mini my buddy had acquired and painted up here is stamped 'Ral Partha 1977' on the bottom which makes the mini older than the ruleset we were using, Not sure off hand whether Earth Elementals were included in Holmes Basic, or if the Monster Manual had been published yet(?)

Yesterday's vintage paperback haul: Breakaway: a novelization of thefirst episode of SPACE:1999 by EC Tubb (who...

Originally shared by Zenopus Archives

Yesterday's vintage paperback haul: Breakaway: a novelization of the first episode of SPACE:1999 by EC Tubb (who also wrote the Dumarest of Terra series that inspired Traveller), Wishbringer: a novelization of the Infocom Text Adventure game by Craig Shaw Gardner, Quest for the Unicorn's Horn: a 1985 AD&D-compatible Swordquest gamebook by Bill Fawcett (of Mayfair games), and Vols 4, 6 and 8 from the famous Ace/Lancer Conan series.

I just finished registration for games and events for Gary Con.

Larry Hamilton wrote:

I just finished registration for games and events for Gary Con. Due to the placement of when my three games are & the special events I want to attend, I am signed up for one game.

I'll have to make a 2nd pass and see what I want to play that fits openings.

I may just leave that time open for anyone wanting to play my card game, or running or playing pick up games.

https://t.co/MyWcrcvHGD
https://t.co/MyWcrcvHGD

XQ1 The Castle that fell from the Sky

Chris Holmes wrote:

Just got my copy of Module XQ1 The Castle that fell from the Sky by Steve Robertson and Jimm Johnson. I have a couple drawings in this revised edition. It's a weird and fun dungeon /wilderness with some sci fi elements. Published by the Scibes of Sparn. Nice cover too.

Of likely interest to folks here: http://originaleditionfantasy.blogspot.com/2019/01/erb-update.html

Of likely interest to folks here: http://originaleditionfantasy.blogspot.com/2019/01/erb-update.html

Has anyone had experience running this module from dragon #41?

Thom Hall wrote:

Has anyone had experience running this module from dragon #41? There's a couple cool quirks; first there is a special saving throw mechanic introduced where the situation calls for a saving throw against the specified ability score (ala t&t,5e, etc) but the save is made by rolling a certain number of d6 as noted for the difficulty or complexity of the situation then the player subtracts one for every 2 levels of experience and if the resulting total is less than the ability score they are successful. The other bit nifty about this module is it includes dex scores for a bunch of the monsters for holmes style initiative.

Skirmishing on Ancient Mars right now

Originally shared by Zenopus Archives

Skirmishing on Ancient Mars right now

An adventure I wrote - STATUES - was run using BlueHolme rules and reviewed and analyzed in-depth on...

An adventure I wrote - STATUES - was run using BlueHolme rules and reviewed and analyzed in-depth on 2018-Silver-Ennie-Award-winning podcast Fear of a Black Dragon. The players and DM had a lot of fun, despite a TPK.

They coined a new genre term, "Urban Picaresque," for the tone of the adventure and made references and comparisons to Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, Jack Vance, Robert Altman's Nashville, Walter Hill's The Warriors, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, among other texts.

https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/fear-of-a-black-dragon/statues
https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/fear-of-a-black-dragon/statues

FYI, I'll be running In Search of the Brazen Head of Zenopus at a new single day con in College Park Maryland on Feb...

FYI, I'll be running In Search of the Brazen Head of Zenopus at a new single day con in College Park Maryland on Feb 16th. 2 open seats left...

https://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2019/01/scrum-con-feb-2019.html
https://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2019/01/scrum-con-feb-2019.html

The Sorcerer’s Jewel

The Sorcerer’s Jewel

A “Map Not Required” Dungeon World Adventure by Mark Tygart

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1rpBaMGzmYVkrsbawdXapwiuClxscIydR

Inspired by the “Boinger and Zereth” short story The Sorcerer’s Jewel by Dr. Eric J. Holmes and the works of Edgar Allen Poe

Adventure Background
The young human had a map. Zereth had seen innumerable treasure maps, and he was not impressed with this one.

“Whoever sold you this, sire,” he said callously, tossing it down on the table between them, “did a poor job. The parchment isn’t even aged.”

“You wrong me, Sir Elf,” said the man, “for I never claimed this to be authentic. It was drawn yesterday; I saw it drawn myself.” The arched eyebrows of the black elf shot up on his forehead. “Drawn? By whom?”

“By Misteera the Medium.”

“At a séance?”

“Verily. The controlling spirit claimed to be one Yartoosh, a sorcerer dead these two thousand years.”

---The Sorcerer’s Jewel by John Eric Holmes (first published in Dragon #46, recently republished in Tales of Peril.)

To order Tales of Peril: https://grodog.blogspot.com/2017/06/how-to-order-tales-of-peril-and-other.html

The Dungeon Of Rak-Arnesh: Level 2

Tristan Tanner wrote:

More work on the dungeon, the third level will have dinosaurs!

http://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-dungeon-of-rak-arnesh-level-2.html

Since G+ is going away, Julian Levallon suggested we collect links to the blogs and other sites of members here in...

Since G+ is going away, Julian Levallon suggested we collect links to the blogs and other sites of members here in this group. Please leave a comment below with the name of your blog or other website and a brief (no more than one sentence) comment on what it covers and I will collect them and post it on the Zenopus Archives blog.

Short notice, but Paul Stormberg is running an AMA on the Gygax IP on Reddit today from 12-2 CST.

Short notice, but Paul Stormberg is running an AMA on the Gygax IP on Reddit today from 12-2 CST. Info via Erik Tenkar

Announcement link: https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/adylvq/paul_stormberg_who_is_currently_cataloguing_all/

This is the actual link where he is responding: https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/ae9ef5/the_lost_treasures_of_gygax_ask_me_anything/

http://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/adylvq/paul_stormberg_who_is_currently_cataloguing_all/

The Dungeon of Rak-Arnesh: Level 1

Tristan Tanner wrote:

I recently got my hands on an old copy of B1 and the 1977 Monster & treasure Assortment levels 1-3, and because of this I was inspired to start work on my own multi-level labyrinth in the vein of Blackmoor, Greyhawk, and, of course, the Tower of Zenopus.

http://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-dungeon-of-rak-arnesh-level-1.html

Just submitted two time periods for 'Zenopus - 40 Years Later' toNTRPGCon 2019.

Steve Muchow wrote:

Just submitted two time periods for 'Zenopus - 40 Years Later' to NTRPGCon 2019. Hopefully, Chris Holmes and Zach H will be able to visit the table!

Friday Night at 8pm and Saturday Day at 4pm.

After the crumbling demise of the plus, what is the plan for this community?

After the crumbling demise of the plus, what is the plan for this community? Has a Holmes Basic group been established on MeWe yet?
Thanks!

Gygax photo 12/77

This has circulated before, but I haven't posted it in this collection. This is Gary Gygax at work in his TSR office at 723 Williams St, Lake Geneva. Hand-dated by someone as December 1977, which is the same month the Monster Manual came out. An upside down lid of a Holmes Basic set is at the top of the pile of books behind his head. Perhaps he is working on the Players Handbook?

For those insane people interested in useless details.

For those insane people interested in useless details. https://crierofkemen.blogspot.com/2019/01/worldbuilding-part-one.html

2019 will be back to Basics for me.

2019 will be back to Basics for me.
Thanks to +Mark Craddock, +Dan Proctor, +Gavin Norman, +Michael Thomas, and +Jonathan Becker.
http://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2019/01/2019-back-to-basics.html