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Even with superheroes in retreat in the early 1950s, super-powered protagonists sometimes continued to come to the rescue in comic books. The Frankenstein monster himself was capable of doing innocent…

September 10, Mt. Laurel, NJ: Two iconic comic book bad girls are back in business, as Dynamite Entertainment and Coffin Comics announce the official launch of a brand-new Kickstarter offering fans…

The post Video of the Day – CEGA: Stacking The Deck, 2025 appeared first on Blogtor Who.

The Regency Elegance Cowl Tutorial will show you how to crochet this simple and elegant scarf! A one skein pattern perfect for that special hank in your stash. Just choose the right or left-handed video tutorial below and crochet along! Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. Be sure to scroll down past the videos to […]

The post Regency Elegance Cowl Tutorial appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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  Running T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil (AD&D 1E) using Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II) requires reading the first part of this blog post OSR Commentary - Running T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil (AD&D 1E) by Gary Gygax With Frank Mentzer using Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II) RpgTo model the dynamic cold war and active Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

The Collection Standard Edition range continues in January with Doctor Who Season 7

Jon Pertwee’s first season as the Doctor arrives in Standard Edition packaging next year. Doctor Who: The Collection Season 7 will be released on the 11th of January, 2027. It will also be available in North America as Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee Complete Season One.

In this debut season, the Time Lord begins his exile on Earth, teaming up with UNIT’s Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) and scientist Liz Shaw (Caroline John). Together, they’ll confront both threats from beyond the stars and ones from right here on Earth.

The Standard Edition features the same remastered episodes and extensive extras as last year’s original Limited Edition. However, they’re now in a more shelf-space friendly box for a lower price.

You can already pre-order the set from your preferred retailer now.

 

The four stories in Season 7 are

• Spearhead from Space
• Doctor Who and the Silurians
• The Ambassadors of Death
• Inferno

 

Special Features

Alongside previously released features from the DVDs, Doctor Who: The Collection: Season 7 is also jam-packed with hours of new and exclusive material including several new documentaries:

Splendid Chap – A profile of beloved actor Nicholas Courtney.

Looking for Mac – Uncovering the story of writer Malcolm Hulke.

Terror in the Suburbs – When Doctor Who came down to Earth.

Lucky 13: Rockets, Aliens and Spare Parts – How the science of the day influenced Doctor Who.

Behind the Sofa – with Katy Manning (Jo), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Sophie Aldred (Ace), Toby Hadoke, and the late Caroline John’s family: husband Geoffrey Beevers (The Master) and daughter Daisy Ashford.

In Conversation – Matthew Sweet chats to John Levene (Sergeant Benton) about his life and career.

The Doctor Who Escape Room – Will Team Third Doctor escape the room of doom?

Movie Length Omnibus Editions – The Silurians and Inferno.

Exclusive Convention Footage

HD Photo Galleries

Info Text

PDF Archive

Plus Lots More…

The post Doctor Who: Season 7 – Standard Edition Blu-ray appeared first on Blogtor Who.

The First-Ever Battle Beast Comic from Robert Kirkman & Ryan Ottley Returns to Comic Book Shops This October LOS ANGELES 9/10/2026— Today Skybound and Image Comics announced a landmark tenth…

ART STYLE VARIANT COVERS, the latest cover collection from Marvel’s Stormbreakers, arrives in October. New York, NY— September 10, 2026 — This October, the Marvel Stormbreakers reimagine some of Marvel’s…

This November Experience An Event Unlike Any Other in the Continental United States, When The Spectacle of Comic Book Storytelling Meets The Glamour of the Roaring ‘20s Featuring In Person…

Elegant, timeless, and just a little bit romantic, the Regency Elegance Cowl brings a touch of Jane Austen-inspired charm to your wardrobe. This lighter-weight reworking of my Italian Elegance Cowl is crocheted in DK-weight Elizabeth yarn from Bad Sheep Yarn for a soft, graceful drape. Get the free crochet pattern here on Moogly! Disclaimer: This […]

The post Regency Elegance Cowl appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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Sandbox Campaigns often fail when players feel they lack information and that their choices are little better than throwing darts at a board in the dark. In the decades I have been running Sandbox Campaigns, one key tool I use to combat this issue at the start of a campaign is working with the player to establish their character's initial context. This helps them make informed choices as their characters the moment the campaign begins. 

Creating Characters

Creating characters for the Majestic Fantasy RPG involves deciding on an initial context, rolling attributes, picking a character class, choosing a character background, allocating skill points, and finally choosing equipment and spells. The following outlines each of these in detail.

The Initial Context

The players’ choices as their characters propel sandbox campaigns. However, to make choices, the player has to understand the circumstances and the character’s context. Otherwise, the options are no better than making a random dice roll.

The Initial Context is particularly important at the start of the campaign, when there are no past events for the players to reference when making decisions as their characters. The Initial Context establishes the character's circumstances at the start of the campaign, enabling players to make informed choices from the outset.

The Initial Context doesn’t have to be elaborate. It only has to be sufficient. What is sufficient varies from player to player. I have had players come up with detailed histories and backstories, as well as those who found a single sentence sufficient. “Max likes to hang out at bars in Eastgate and likes to get involved in trouble.” This player decided to make a Human Thug in a campaign set in the City-State of Eastgate.

Most players find a paragraph or two of personal background sufficient, along with a handout of the region or city they will be starting out in.

Ideally, with the Initial Context, the players should know or have created:

• Where is the character starting?
• Who does the character know?
• What are the character’s immediate goals?
• What kind of trouble is the character in at the start?

The Pre-game

I encountered this in HârnWorld, released by Columbia Games in 1983. The basic idea is that you sit down one-on-one with each player before the first session to flesh out the character’s background. Mostly, this is some discussion intermixed with a bit of light roleplaying.

This technique effectively minimizes the write-up required for handouts. The discussion and roleplaying often work better and are more fun than reading a document, particularly for players or groups who want detailed backgrounds at the start of the campaign.

If this feels too formal or you don’t have the time, that’s OK. The key is that the Initial Context fits the group’s time and interest.

Definition Note

Initial Context: The circumstances, location, and relationships that define where the character is at the beginning of the campaign.

Previous Section: Part 3

Next Section: Part 5

RPGPub Forum Thread

One of the OSR campaigns that I've been tossing around is a Weird War II Amazing Adventures campaign setting. Amazing Adventures is having  Codex Monstorum Kickstarter style campaign & to get ahead of the curve I decided to kick up a Weird War II campaign. Here's what I've got so far in my notes and such.  Troll Lord Games’ Amazing Adventures (built on the SIEGE Engine) isNeedleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

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

The mastermind behind Circuit Breaker steps into the light as the this summer’s multimedia epic concludes

Big Finish have updated their covers for their upcoming releases Full Circuit and Short Circuits, revealing the original covers were missing one vital detail. Both covers now feature Circuit Breaker’s arch-villain the Conductor. Hints of the Conductor’s role in the multimedia event have been scattered through several of the chapters so far. But now the mastermind behind this evil scheme is ready to step into the light.

A recurring theme in the different comics, short stories, audio books and game levels so far has been Sontarans using unusual tactics. So it’s not entirely unexpected that the Conductor is revealed as a Sontaran strategist dedicated to developing new and different paths to victory. But the goal seems to remain the same: conquest for the glory of the Sontaran Empire!

 

Doctor Who: Full Circuit. Cover by Simon Holub (c) Big Finish

Full Circuit is out on the 22nd of September and brings this summer’s epic to a climax, as the Conductor (Dan Starkey) makes his final move. Can the Fugitive Doctor (Jo Martin) and her allies, now including Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) defeat his schemes as the action moves to UNIT Tower? The Doctor’s entire existence, past and present, is at stake…

Short Circuits, out two days later on the 24th of September, provides a coda for the Circuit Breaker narrative, with two short stories featuring the Conductor and Andrew. Together they cast new light on the Sontaran mastermind’s origins and plans.

 

Doctor Who: Short Circuits. Cover by Soundsmyth Creative (c) Big Finish

You can order Full Circuit and Short Circuit from the official Big Finish website.

The BBC have also published a new Circuit Breaker trailer featuring the Conductor, and work by CG artist Anthony Lamb. The official synopsis for Short Circuits describes the arch-villain as “cadaverous.” The trailer certainly bears this out. He’s a Sontaran like no other, but why? What does he want? And has this entire series of missions been walking the Doctor into a terrible trap?

 

The post Circuit Breaker’s The Conductor – Doctor Who’s New Villain Revealed appeared first on Blogtor Who.

Recently, Hooks & Needles reached out to see if I'd be interested in partnering with them in a unique way - and I said yes! So I get to give you a sneak peek of a Hooks & Needles Crafting Box, and share a discount code - and inside your subscription, you'll get a Moogly […]

The post Hooks & Needles Monthly Crafting Box - A Mini Review! appeared first on moogly. Please visit www.mooglyblog.com for this post.

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By E.S. Wynn
Cairn
Self Published

This 210 page supplement is a collection of one hundred two page dungeon zones. More toolkit than adventure, you stick them together, in a modular fashion, to create your own megadungeon. That’s bs, but the zones themselves are fairly interesting, if small. It channels soe decent OSR zone spirit. Putting some thought in to it would have turned out a decent adventure/megadungeon.

Is it a megadungeon or is it a toolkit? This is almost certainly a toolkit for constructing a megadungeon. It presents one hundred zones that you could stitch together in to something larger and/or drop in as sub-levels to another dungeon. You have to think of it as a kind of dungeon geomorphs project. Each section has a number of entrances/exits that you could link up to other areas, with a few being targeted at main entrances/exits to a dungeon. It’s laid out in a “facing pages” format, with the map and a little overview on one page and the keys on the other. This limits things to about twelve or so rooms per page, maximum, and zone designs that are none too complex, from a mapping standpoint. Each zone will have a few rooms related to the zone, theming wise, and generally a few more not directly related to the theme.

There is a very fine “OSR spirit” present in many of the rooms. One of rooms reads “Ominous Vault: An impenetrable door of warm stone bars access to this room. Three locks are arranged in a triangle on its face, each accessible only with a Branch Key. Inside, a cursed, deathless humanoid like those in the sarcophagi waits, bound in leather straps and desiccated, but still aware. It will wait until someone comes close enough to bite. Stat as a Vampire (Cairn Bestiary.) It may be reasoned with (or bartered with) eventually, becoming a source of information, but is currently crazed with hunger.” So, a vampire. But you’re not just walking in here, it’s triple locked. It gives the party a reason to revisit the one or at least get some knock spells agoing. Once in we’ve got a nice little description of dessicated and bound in leather straps. And then, the vampire, it does have this “you got too close thing” but also it becomes a situation. Can you bargain with the dude to get some info? Will you dump some blood at it?It’s a resource to exploit. It is a fairly involved room for being a short-ish description, with lots of interactivity possible for the party to exploit, or be exploited by. And that’s a good room. 

In other zones you’ve got some goblins running a kidnapping for ransom thing. Will you get kidnapped, or will you exploit them to get them to kidnap someone else for you? An undead zone has a lich who wants to finally get to read his big ol book collection. (I’m sure many of us can sympathize,) Are you gonna piss him off? Are you going to manage to use him to your own ends by bargaining a book? He’s testy at being interrupted. This things manages to put in an impressive number of situations in the dungeon, and not just the parties relationship with the various denizens. 

Writing is generally good, there are a decent number of evocative description, rooms that feel imagined first and statted second, the way it should feel. That vampire being desiccated and bound in leather being a decent example. It does rely on “strange” and “weird” a little too ofton; we should be striving to write a description that avoids conclusions like that and gets more visceral, to the point the PLAYERs think “huh. That’s weird.” But it’s ok in general, especially given the sheer number of rooms.

The issue here, as with nearly every geomorph type product, is that there is little in the way of a larger picture. These areas are in isolation. “He seeks revenge against whatever pushed them out of their old home in an adjoining area and will pay with a random relic,” That guy, and his situation, with his cult, would be better if he had a specific vendetta against a specific group, that was played with in both zones. The interconnections between zones, and I’m not talking mapping, just are not there. And, i think, by design. There are some possibilities, like a dude who has a bronze tablet that “someone else wants”, but then it would be better if there were, say, some cross-references with ideas for linking areas. Or, just forgo the entire geomorph thing and spend the extra effort to put this thing together into a unified whole. That shouldn’t be THAT much more effort for the designer, already familiar with its two hundred pages of dungeon. Then you’ve have a real product here.

And some areas ARE weak, or have weak aspects to them. “A Maze of rough-hewn mine tunnels carved into the living rock …” This is just a few standard rooms layouts, as one would find in any dungeon, nothing minelike or mazelike about them. 

I really like the vibe here. Strong OSR situations in the zones. Terse descriptions that still give the DM a lot to work with. But, then, I’m doing the Bryce thing. I bought a geomorphy thing and now I’m gonna complain that its a geomorphy thing. But it is! And it would be such a strong product if the designer did the work to tie the zones together and create a cohesive whole instead of explicitly noting that the DM is free to link these as they wish. Lean in to some cross-references, at least, to suggest possibilities! Oh, also, it’s Cairn, so, you have to adjust treasure appropriately and I’m not overly happy withthe magic items.

This is Pay What You Want at DriveThru with a suggested price of $10. The preview appears broken.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/572362/the-underbranching-cairn-megadungeon?1892600

I'm reading DC Comics' output from January 1980 (cover date) to the end of Crisis! This week, I'm looking at comics that were published on September 12, 1985.

Shadow of the Bat #1: This is not, of course, the post-Crisis series. That Batman: Shadow of the Bat doesn't debut until 1992. This is another reprint limited series focusing on the work of Englehart and Rogers, whose late 70s collaboration on bat-titles is celebrated. These first couple of issues, though, are pre-team-up of those creators. Here we have 3 Batman stories with Englehart and Simonson from 1977, and a House of Mystery story with Rogers on art written by DeMatteis. In keeping with my policy on reprints, I won't be reviewing it, but I'm noting it was out there. It runs for 5 issues.

Amethyst #12: Newell and Doran/Kesel fill-in on this issue. Amy is babysitting neighbor kids and tells them a previously unrevealed adventure of Amethyst and Prince Topaz where they must find a way to stop the onyx plague that turns its victims to stone. The solution involves a quest to the Emissaries of Varn. It's a shame Doran didn't draw more Amethyst as her art fits the material well. 

Batman #390: The skies are still red as Moench's and Mandrake's story veers into high melodrama. After their kiss in the Gotham Observatory, Batman and Nocturna have a talk. She feels her theft is justified and won't give it up, but Batman can't just let it slide. Nocturna points out that Batman is attracted to "dark and dangerous" women, but he feels compelled to stop them from being that way. If they change to suit him, he can't love them. Batman, perhaps stung by the truth, leaves. Meanwhile, the Night Slayer is still stalking the night, and Catwoman's quest to clear her name by catching him brings her to the Observatory. Robin intervenes to stop her from taking in Nocturna, and as she is fighting him, Batman shows up. He likewise tells her to stand down. Catwoman realizes Batman has feelings for Nocturna and is hurt, and in her anger, vows again to bring in Night Slayer, whatever it takes. 
Then she's struck by lightning.
Batman in anger and guilt blames Nocturna and carries Catwoman's body (dead or alive, it's unclear) away with Robin coming after him. Another earthquake in the series that has been shaking Gotham creates a rift between the observatory and where they stand. 
All that aside, we get more of the buddy relationship Moench is developing between Bullock and Robin. It's really a shame that that will all go away following Batman: Year One.

Legion of Super-Heroes #17: This is the second issue of Legion (not counting the Subs) I remember reading, though technically I read it in its reprint in Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes #342 in 1986. LaRocque comes on as penciler this issue. Super-wealthy Leland McCauley wants to get his rival RJ Brande out of the way. Charon, the man he's hired to do that, says that the only way is to get the Legion of Super-Heroes out of way. Then we cut to Dream Girl awaking form one of her precognitive dreams saying RJ Brande is going to die and it's the Legion's fault! 
The Legion rushes to the rescue and deals with the assassin, then confronts McCauley. Brande refuses to press charges, though so they have to let him go. Brande decides to give up his public persona and this petty squabbling and head on into space on his own, anonymously, thus making Dream Girl's prediction sort of true.

Omega Men #33: In the first story, Klein and McManus bring most the Omega Men to a planet Nimbus is imprisoned on where they hope to settle the refugees of the Spider Guild invasion. Meanwhile, the other group that we last saw in Blue Devil has an audience with Harry Hokum.
In the second story by Parkhouse and Gibbons, an escaped, "mad android" hiding among the folk dwelling in the sewer system becomes a healer, but he's still hunted. 
Star Trek #21: Rozakis Tom Sutton/Villagran give Spock a spotlight story in his new command. The Surak arrives at an unexplored planet. Beaming down with two crewmembers, Spock finds himself alone, and in a dream-like environment. He realizes it is a dream and manages to breakout by force of will. He then has to employ the Vulcan mind meld to help the other crew escape and finds the monster in the mind of Commander Brinks, who isn't fond of her captain, bears a resemblance to him.

Super Powers #4: Superman and Firestorm are investigating one of the "Seeds of Doom" and encounter a Roman gladiator and Steppenwolf. They follow Steppenwolf into the past, Firestorm and the Gladiator having to be wrapped in Superman's somehow expanded cape for the journey.  In the Roman era, our heroes are captured and rendered powerless by Steppenwolf, then forced to fight in the arena. Firestorm manages to save both himself and Superman by separating into his component identities to escape the inhibiting device. The heroes defeat Steppenwolf and return to their own time to find the seed shriveled and dead.

Superman #414: Maggin and Swan/Williamson continue the story from last month's DCP #87. The Man of Steel is the captive of the Superman Revenge Squad. They take him to New Krypton, the home of the Kandorians, and forced to watch their conquest of the planet. Though they aren't able to win militarily, they employ means to mind control the Kryptonian population. They even bring them in to beat up Superman, and the poor guy seems so defeated he winds up sitting in a corner with his cape over his head. That's a ruse though, because when Sylvia (the human wife of Superman's cousin Van-Zee) shows up, she gives Superman a Phantom Zone Projector he had told her a little while ago to carry, predicting just such a Revenge Squad plot. The alien leaders are sent to the Zone. Before leaving New Krypton for what will be the last time thanks to Crisis, Superman retrieves Supergirl's body from space and brings it to her parents, Zor-El and Alura. 
This is the last story where any of those Kryptonian survivors (or the Superman Revenger Squad) appear for some time, though many have ultimately been reintroduced in one form or another.

 Merging the high-science fantasy sword-and-planet flavor of Warriors of the Red Planet (WotRP) with the rigorous domain economics, supply chains, and law enforcement mechanics of Adventurer Conqueror King System II (ACKS II) creates a compelling, highly volatile black market. This blog post picks right up from OSR Dangerous Adventure Location - Port Skagg: The Sunken Docks & Upper Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0

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 Alien Threat Profile: Klowns (Killer Klowns from Outer Space)Klown (Standard Outer Space Klown)Attributes: STR 11 (+1), DEX 09 (+0), END 12 (+2), INT 07 (-1), EDU 02 (-2), SOC 01 (-2)Skills: Athletics 1, Deception 2, Gun Combat (Slug/Energy) 2, Melee (Unarmed) 2, Science (Bio-Technology) 1, Stealth 1Armor: 4 (Padded Carnival Costume/Gag Padding)Traits: Absurd Resilience, Nose Needleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11243274667834930867noreply@blogger.com0