Free PDF: Adventurer Cleric Class

My beef with the cleric has been long and well-roasted.

In the new year, I'm going to be starting a new Labyrinth Lord campaign (a welcome change after my experiments with D&D 5 this year) and thought it was maybe about time to come up with a divinely blessed class which is to my taste.

Lo and behold! The adventurer cleric.


The design goals of the class were:

• (Primarily) A divine class without any moral imperative and which can fit in with the usual assortment of mercenaries, rogues, cut-throats, and murder-hobos.
• Cutting down the power of clerical magic a bit -- no raise dead.
• Reducing the class' spellcasting advancement -- no spell at 1st level and a maximum of fifth level spells.

You can download the PDF here.


Wishing everyone a happy 2016!

The B/X Rogue: Now Available in Print!

The postal gods smiled kindly upon me this morning and delivered the long-awaited proof copy of the B/X Rogue. All looking spectacular, I have switched the switch at RPGNow: tis live!

Thou mayst get thy hands on it here!
(The PDF comes free with the print version. For people who've already purchased the PDF, I'll send you a coupon with a discount on the print version, if you'd like to "upgrade".)

Wormskin 1 PDF Live!

Dreams can be real.

(PDF only for the moment. What with the holidays and so on, the print version probably won't be out til the new year. BUT!: if you purchase the PDF edition now, we'll send you a discount on the full print/PDF combo when it goes live.)

Pre-Yuletide Missives

Just a quick update on a few projects and gaming-related things that I've got on the go:

• The first issue of Wormskin -- my and Greg Gorgonmilk's zine exploring the mythical Dolmenwood -- is (dare I say it?) poised for release. (See grumpy cat.) I have completed the layout and it is in the fair hands of the Gorgonmilk, awaiting his ducal seal of approval. Get your nostrils ready for massive infusions of dank moss.
• Also: following on from the critically acclaimed (James Spahn, Tim Brannan, and Eric Fabiaschi liked it) B/X Rogue, I will shamelessly admit to having begun work on a sequel: the B/X Warrior. I imagine you can guess what it might be about.
• Additionally: I am pleased to share that my home games are about to revert to Labyrinth Lord, after a brief flirtation with 5e. "Not my cup o tea" would be a fair summary of the experience.

More news as it breaks.

May all your dreams be mossy.

The B/X Rogue: Out Now!

I have written a thing and you might like to buy it! It has illustrations by the esteemed Nicolò Maioli. Here is what it says on the back:


Climbing walls, hiding in shadows, moving silently, removing traps... There must be more to the adventuring life than this!

Explode the talents of your sneaky characters with this book!

More than simply a thief, the rogue class has access to talents drawn from a wide array of archetypes, all integrated into a single class. Scouts & spies, burglars & tomb robbers, charlatans & con-artists, swashbucklers & explorers, brigands & highwaymen, assassins & thugs. No need for all of those specialised sub-classes any more!

Within these pages you will discover:

1. Complete advancement tables for levels 1 to 20
2. 36 adventuring talents
3. Themed packages of talents for a quick start into the game
4. Guidelines for other classes attempting roguish feats
5. Rules for song magic and dabbling in arcane secrets

Buy the PDF at RPGNow

(Print version coming soon.)

Wormskin Issue 1: Delayed But Not Dead!

Back in August, the Gorgonmilk and I made an (in retrospect rash) announcement of the impending emergence of a zine known as Wormskin, in which the mythical Dolmenwood would begin to be revealed. Since that day, all has been quiet on the Dolmenwood front...

What's going on?

Well, as often happens with such things (when one is doing this as a hobby, not as a job, at least), writing was delayed, layout was delayed. In this case, the only thing that wasn't delayed was illustration! Hurrah!

But! I have this very evening put the finishing touches to the text of issue 1 and will be embarking upon the layout process in the coming weeks. I'm not going to be foolish enough to say anything like "it should be ready be the end of the month!" (again), but wanted to put the word out: it is still happening!

Finalised contents of issue 1 are:

• The grimalkin race-class (witnessed in sketch form here).
• Three new spells of cat-kind, including the terrifying (?) furball.
• The moss dwarf race-class (glimpsed as a wisp here).
• One (1!) new forest-creeping monster: the root-thing.
• A hearty article on the fungi of Dolmenwood: edible, psychedelic, and poisonous. How to identify them? What are their names? What shall come to pass upon consuming one? All this and more is answered!

 Coming soon(ish). Keep 'em peeled!

LL/5e Mashup: Arcane Trickster and Arcane Champion

I just came across some notes related to the ideas I had for a 5e-inspired Arcane Champion (Warrior) class and Arcane Trickster (Rogue) class.

It's just simple lists of spells, but I thought I might as well type them up, for completeness, rather than entirely discard them. So here we go.

Arcane Trickster
1st Level Spells

1. Auditory illusion
2. Dancing lights
3. Darkness globe
4. Doppelganger
5. Charm person
6. Feather fall
7. Comprehend languages
8. Jump
9. Read languages
10. Spider climb
11. Unseen servant
12. Ventriloquism

2nd Level Spells

1. Invisibility
2. Phantasmal force
3. ESP
4. Knock
5. Levitate
6. Locate object
7. Detect invisible
8. False gold

3rd Level Spells

1. Blink
2. Haste
3. Hold person
4. Nondetection
5. Suggestion
6. Infravision

4th Level Spells

1. Arcane eye
2. Charm monster
3. Dimension door
4. Polymorph self

Arcane Champion
1st Level Spells

1. Light
2. Magic missile
3. Burning hands
4. Protection from evil
5. Shield
6. Shocking grasp

2nd Level Spells

1.  Detect evil
2. Scare
3. Strength
4. Pyrotechnics
5. Mirror image
6. Ray of enfeeblement

3rd Level Spells

1. Dispel magic
2. Fireball
3. Lightning bolt
4. Haste
5. Hold person
6. Protection from normal missiles

4th Level Spells

1. Enchant arms
2. Fire shield
3. Ice storm
4. Wall of fire