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The world of entertainment over recent decades has undergone fundamental transformations, moving the main centers of gravity from noisy city streets straight into our pockets. If previously a trip to…

For months, Marvel fans have speculated about the future of the Merc with a Mouth following the massive success of Deadpool & Wolverine. Those rumors were finally put to rest…

Mark, along with Hassan Godwin, covers the news; Mark’s thoughts on Silo season 3, and Jenny Feldy interviews Author Gina Falke

Not all of the many fictional private eyes operating in the 1940s and 1950s were the cynical, bittersweet noir types. Some, like Richard S. Prather’s Shell Scott, were more light-hearted,…

By Greg Ferris
Talaraska
Generic/Universal
Level ... 3?

The hills making up the Archian border with Caledos are pocked with dozens of abandoned mines. These leave a lasting reminder of the rush for silver in the years prior to the rise of the Graun Empire. Without drawing much attention from local officials, a nebulous consortium of investors has been purchasing old dig sites throughout the region. The mine at Mt. Morris was one such purchase. About 12 months ago, a group of ten men reopened the dig, which locals were sure was folly. After spending a couple of weeks repairing the base camp, the team resumed the dig. None but the foreman had any previous mining experience. Most of the “miners” were farmhands or former members of the stevedores’ guild. None were strangers to hard work, but they were a motley crew to be certain. However, the strangers who came and offered them the job assured them that they would be paid handsomely. The past year had been difficult. The team had failed to find any substantial amount of ore and they often assumed that their work would soon come to an end. Despite this, the paymaster and his retinue of guards would appear every month and the dig continued.

This nine page adventure presents eleven rooms in an old mining camp & camp that has been “overrun” with undead. It’s pretty basic, with not much going on. 

I’m not super sure how this made it on my list. It must have either been in the OSR section on DriveThru or a request? I don’t think I see a request, so it must have been in the OSR section at DriveThru at one time, even though it’s labeled Generic/Universal. The marketing blurb advertises it as a flesh out adventure hook, but the adventure, proper, lists itself as an adventure. I don’t know, some way of framing it not having stats? I don’t think that matters. In any event, it has more life to it than the vast majority of adventures and even manages to present more rooms than the number of pages in the adventure. How far have we fallen to have that be some standard of success? What’s a spud to do? Anyway, ignoring most of the intro there’s a small adventure hidden in here that is relatively inoffensive. There’s not much interesting about it either, but, hey, it’s 2026 and I’m in a morose mood because somehow an uninteresting adventure with eleven rooms in nine pages somehow is better than most if the garbage I review. So, no stats and no treasure, just some “place treasure appropriate to your system” notes here and there.

There are some pretext reasons here for exploring, nothing very interesting. Hired to do blah blah blah, or local priest has visions blah blah blah. Getting to the site you find four outbuildings and then seven rooms in the mine. There are bodies about, partially eaten. A stable has horse bodies, and one stall padlocked with a living horse in it and extra water that has run out. One of the buildings has a survivor barricaded inside of it with a confusing story that doesn’t make sense. The idea is that the party will use the stable clue, as well as another clue in the bunkhouse, to understand that the dude knows more than he is saying and that they’ll press him for details. The details are not altogether interesting given the small size and stand along nature of the adventure combined with the generic/unival vibe. He was hired to run a mining crew, looking for a diary in a buried complex. He did some research on his own and found out that the dude was a necromancer and used animated bodies as guards. When the miners found a wall he gave his horse some water and locked himself in, fearing the worst. The miners break in, undead get out, the worst happens, everyone dies but him and his horse. It’s an interesting way to present a clue, without having to resort to a diary or monologue. And by interesting” I mean “correct.” We get to see the results of actions taken in the past that help explain the now, rather than listen to a droning monologue. The players gets to use their brains to put things together. Or not. 

The rooms inside the mine are uneventful. Generic alter room. Generic crypt. “There are 8 sarcophagi in this room. Four of these are open and empty. The remaining four are closed and hold inanimate skeletons. There is a small stone altar along the western wall. Beside it rests an open chest filled with gold and any treasures that would be appropriate for your game. “  Nothing really evocative about them, inside the mine or out. Nothing really stands out. A few ghouls/ghasts. Entries are padded out with things like “As the party moves in this direction, they are assailed by [an odor.]” There’s like five pages of intro to go with the four pages of room keys. There’s just nothing to this. “First, do no harm”, the slogan goes. And, for the most part, that was accomplished here. Sure, some padding, a decent amount of it. But, also, the rooms are still relatively terse and easy to scan. There’s still no way I would run this, there’s just nothing to it, but it IS still better than most adventures because it IS doing no harm.

This is $2 at DriveThru. There is no preview.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/571820/the-mine-at-mt-morris?1892600

 

Zagartha is a floating island wandering some 1000 feet above Berlaith. Like the other floating rocks of Parsulan, it contains large amounts of thaumatite. It was ejected from the surface during the early years of the Demon War owing to the magical surge from the weakening of the Great Barrier.

Zagartha, when it was an earthbound mountain, contained a large temple complex and was the site of a famous oracle, but it was abandoned after it was desecrated by demonic forces. At least two conflicting stories are told regarding its reinhabitation. The first holds that the Seven Great Sages, disputing some obscure points of the oracles last series of pronouncements, journeyed there with their followers and were holding a symposium there when Zagartha rose into the sky, stranding them. The second holds the Sages led a group to a place of (relative) safety from the Fomori on the already skybound island with a magical conveyance that was wrecked upon landing. Even among Zagartha's inhabitants, both stories have their adherents. 

The original sages passed long ago, and the number of students their successors enjoy have dwindled over time as they tend to be drawn from outsiders, not from the ranks of locals who feel a sense of duty to the sages and support them materially but have little time for their ascetic lifestyles and philosophical arguments. Both groups dwell in and among the ruins of the previous temple complex. Either the buildings have been repurposed or their materials used to build new structures. The locals are mostly craftsmen, farmers, and merchants. They maintain the all-critical cisterns, tend the small fields, and conduct trade with the "ground-folk." 

One important aspect of their lives is the capture over other floating rocks. Some of these are added to Zagartha to expand it. Others are mined for materials. In both cases the rocks are reached through the use of the skywires and skywire harnesses that use small thaumatite to shoot lines at force. The skill necessary to employ them effectively takes years to master but makes many Zagarthans skilled aerialists.

 Here is a complete, ready-to-use stat block and profile for Evil Ash from Army of Darkness, built specifically for the Sword of Cepheus (2nd Edition) ruleset. This blog post picks right up from 'I'll Swallow Your Soul '- The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (also referred to as "Naturom Demonto" and "Book of The Dead") for Sword of Cepheus 2nd edition & Adventure EncounterIn Sword of CepheusNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

The post Video of the Day – Doctor Who: The Sonic Screwdriver, 2026 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Rutans vs Sontarans reaches its climax in Peace at Last, out now from Big Finish

One war has stretched throughout the history of the Doctor Who universe. Since 1973’s The Time Warrior introduced the Sontarans, they’ve been in a seemingly endless conflict with the Rutans. But now, a conclusion may finally be in sight… Big Finish’s Rutans vs Sontarans series began with the very first stages of the war, and the fourth and final instalment – Peace at Last by Tim Foley, is out now – is set at what could be its end, as the Sontarans propose a peace deal.

The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann), Charley Pollard (India Fisher) and C’rizz (Conrad Westmaas) are present to help out, but the ceasefire is a fragile one – there’s a lot of work to do to ensure the peace will last, and there are forces at work to ensure it doesn’t…

The guest cast of Peace at Last includes Dan Starkey (known for playing many Sontarans on television as General Greff, Ajjaz Awad as Selina Carr, Cecelia Appiah as the Rutan Ambassador, and Jonathon Carley as Scur/Hurgo.

 

The universe may soon known peace, but who will be left alive to enjoy it?

Writer Tim Foley said: “I love Charley and C’rizz, and I still haven’t quite forgiven Lizzie Hopley, who wrestled me to the floor in the previous miniseries to write for them. So this time, it was my time to shine with them. I don’t want to make people feel old, but I grew up with them, and they were such a good TARDIS team.

“The title of this story is Peace at Last, as we wanted to play with the idea of the very end of the Rutan-Sontaran War, though maybe it has a double meaning! It’s fun to imagine this eternal war – what were its murky beginnings, and what are its murky ends. And in that way, it really reflects the events of episode one, which kicked off the whole debacle.”

 

Doctor Who: Peace at Last. Cover by Sean Longmore (c) Big Finish Doctor Who: Peace at Last

On the precipice of peace it stands…

After the destruction of a major stronghold, the Sontarans propose something extraordinary. More extraordinary still, the Rutans say yes. The Doctor, Charley and C’rizz are on hand to watch history being made.

Yet history has other ideas. A plan that has taken centuries is about to come to fruition. The Melmoth is returning.

 

Doctor Who – Rutans vs Sontarans: Peace at Last is now available to purchase for just £9.99 (as a digital download to own) or £14.99 (download + collector’s edition CD), exclusively here. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,500 copies and will not be re-pressed. 

The post Doctor Who: Peace at Last – Out Now appeared first on Blogtor Who.

We are a group of approximately 50 artists and writers currently or formerly published by Silver Sprocket. We are stepping forward to address our concerns with the business practices of…

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Precisely because melodrama and farce are merely two sides of the same coin — like opera and musical comedy — superheroes have been prime targets for parody from the start.…

DC ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #21 ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #22 ACTION COMICS #1100 DARK KNIGHTS OF STEEL HEIR TO THE SEA #1 (ONE SHOT) DETECTIVE COMICS #1111 FLASH #35 GREEN LANTERN #37…

The latest BBC Audio original remixes a classic Doctor Who in the style of another era, with pleasing results

Circle of Memory is the latest offering in BBC Audio’s range of original Doctor Who audio dramas. In many ways it’s William Hartnell classic The Savages reborn for the Matt Smith age. It begins in the middle, in true Moffat style. Three strangers awake near a mysterious stone circle, with no memory of how they got there. They’re “Amy and her boys, Rory and the Doctor,” according to the Polaroid photo they carry. But beyond that their only clue is a Dictaphone recording explaining the story so far.

As the recording plays out, it becomes clear our heroes are trapped on a planet where something or someone is parasitically living off the vitality of others. They’ve clearly already fallen victim to at least one attack themselves. And since they can no longer even operate the TARDIS, how can they escape? This mystery angle is another way in which Circle of Memory grounds itself firmly in the milieu of 2010s Doctor Who. The Savages may have attempted to subvert expectations with the Elders, in gold makeup and fine clothes, revealed as villains, but that was a skewering of exploitation and colonialism any child would instantly recognize. But Circle of Memory keeps its secrets much closer. The dynamics of the planet’s ecosystem take longer to reveal themselves.(At least if you avoid reading the official blurb which rather gives the final act twist away.)

And when they do, they may not be entirely what listeners expected.

 

Circle of Memory is a gently untaxing slice of Doctor Who, perfect for departure lounges or road trips

With a resolution also borrowing heavily from The Savages, the various plot twists of Circle of Memory won’t be too jaw dropping to anyone familiar with the earlier story. But there’s still a pleasing novelty to hearing it all play out through the eyes of the Eleventh Doctor and his friends. Dan Starkey reads with a gentle irony, as if with one eyebrow permanently raised. There’s no real attempt at impersonation of our leads, but his diffident Doctor, cautious Rory, and gung ho Amy capture their essences well.

As with most of the BBC Audio originals, the adventure feels all too brief, despite being about half as long again as a television episode of the modern era. But for the next time you’re commuting, or hitting the treadmill, it’s just right for spending that time with the good Doctor and his friends.

 

Doctor Who: Circle of Memory (c) BBC Audio Doctor Who: Circle of Memory

“Hello, I’m the Doctor… Doctor someone… can’t remember who at the moment. Hoping it will come back to me.”

On a planet with twin suns, three people wake in the shadow of a crashed spaceship. They don’t know who they are or where they are. All they have to go on is a photograph of themselves marked ‘Amy and her boys: Rory and the Doctor’. It’s obvious who Amy is – but which of them is the Doctor?

A voice recorder in one of their pockets reveals how the TARDIS materialised some days earlier in the centre of a stone circle and the travellers met blue-skinned Sunaya, apparent sole survivor of the crashed ship.

Yet Sunaya isn’t who she claims to be, and she is also far from alone. She and her children have been waiting to feed on the memories and identities of the living.

And as their own memories fade, the Doctor, Amy and Rory are in danger of being left behind for ever…

You can order Circle of Memory now from your preferred retailer, with the links here.

The post REVIEW: Doctor Who: Circle of Memory appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Last post was about Cunning and Prowess, which are the stats PCs roll against to accomplish almost everything. But that's not the first part of character creation.

First, you come up with two Marks, or "specials". There's a list of 20 fleshed-out examples to build from. Here are a few to give you an idea what I'm talking about.

"2. You have a silver flute that was given to you “for luck” by an old woman on her deathbed. Playing it clears your mind and lets you focus. Sometimes playing the flute allows you to see solutions to problems or divine facts you could not otherwise have known."

"17. A vicious vulture plucked out one of your eyes. You know its name and nature. A desert devil, it is. A supernatural monster with part of your soul inside it. When you close your good eye and concentrate, you can see through the evil old vulture’s eyes. You can often make it fly where you like so you can see distant places. One day it may find you and try to finish the job."

Marks don't include game mechanics. The way they work is to be sorted out between player and Judge, but usually comes down a modifier to an Action Roll (Prowess or Cunning) or an Oracle (1d6)... the two mechanics used in the game.

I'm trying to keep this focused on the setting's theme, on characters, and the stuff that develops naturally through play. The mechanics underpin it, but I wouldn't call this a crunchy or fiddly system at all. 

Téo Pinheiro is a Brazilian comic book artist whose work has steadily earned attention across the independent comics scene and shared-universe superhero publishing. Known for his dynamic inks and vibrant…

 The Archeon Market is a massive, multi-tiered commercial meat-grinder hidden deep within a jagged obsidian chasm on the dying planet. Heavily inspired by the cosmic horrors of Rifts Atlantis, this market is not run by mere desert outlaws; it is a trans-dimensional and hyper-technological bazaar controlled by an ancient, multi-eyed alien cabal known as the Grand Taskmasters. This picks rightNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0