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AlHazred

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Everything posted by AlHazred

  1. There was an adventure "La Dama Misteriosa" in the magazine Nivel 9 #10, written by Ricardo Dorda. I wonder if it's the same one? Awesome! I'll have to check it out.
  2. I agree. It's not a bad idea to start an adventure, the message from your father, but the way it was used isn't great. Magical adventures have their place, but this isn't a great example of one.
  3. That's not necessary, I think! I appreciate the information, and have already downloaded the products.
  4. I'm not sure if I want to start a tab for this kind of thing -- that would be an enormous list! I have a day job! 😀
  5. Against my better judgement, I've picked up Valkyrie issues 9, 10, and 11. (9 is still in-transit.) The shipping on these is incredible, from 3x to 7x the cost of the magazine. I guess that's what I get for living in the US! I've gotten 10 and 11, and "Spear of Wyrds" is a 2-part campaign outline for Pendragon, heavily dependent on the Saxon character generation system in issue 9. It looks like it's very different from what was eventually published in Saxons! and I'm curious to see it. I'll save a review of the scenario for when I have the character generation system in my hands.
  6. Found an article called "Les Tournois de Chevalerie" ("Chivalry Tournaments") in issue 18 of the French magazine Graal. Mostly system neutral, it does include a system on the last two pages for jousts, that is supposed to be modular enough to add to any system.
  7. Bíborhold and Holdtölte are the same periodical, which underwent a name change after issue #25. The files have been uploaded to the files section of the lfg.hu forums here: https://lfg.hu/forum/files/category/9-magazinok/page/3/ In addition, Alanori Krónika, another gaming magazine from the 80s-90s has been uploaded to the publisher's website here: https://www.beholder.hu/?m=ak&in=ak_archivum.php
  8. I found a couple of Hungarian RPG magazines from the 80s, 90s, and 00s, that the original publishers have made available online. There's a lot of Shadowrun and Cyberpunk (seems to have been very popular), but I did find an article of interest: In Bíborhold #19 (June 1994), there's an article titled "Keresztes háborúk" ("Crusades") which briefly covers the historicity of the crusades. At the end of the article, the author includes a short paragraph for Pendragon, including giving Muslim virtues and religious bonus. In Holdtölte #31 (June 1995), there's an adventure for Pendragon called "Apró szívesség" ("A Small Favor"). Looks like the author is signed Mordred... In Holdtölte #32 (July 1995), there's an article "Heraldika" which is a detailed treatment of heraldry. System neutral, but useful for Pendragon.
  9. I bought this shortly after it went live. I just checked and realized the PDFs don't transfer to DTRPG. I was hoping to have all my RPG stuff in one place, but I'll manage! It's a phenomenal value!
  10. I highly recommend The World's Greatest Screen (TWGS) from Hammerdog Games. Just don't be a dope like me and leave it in your car on a hot day! https://hammerdog-games.myshopify.com/collections/the-worlds-greatest-screen
  11. Sadly, apparently Fantasy Chronicles #2 is lost. I got in touch with the seller, but they can't find the issue. The hunt for the scenario "Olloch's Ring" goes on. Fantasy Chronicles #1 does have a detailed review of Pendragon, along with a frustrating teaser for "Olloch's Ring" in the next issue.
  12. Good news: somebody posted Fantasy Chronicles #1 and #2 on eBay, so I bought it so I could finally get a chance to look at Olloch's Ring scenario! Bad news: the package arrived and it only has Fantasy Chronicles #1 in it. I'm currently in communication with the seller, who assures me both issues were in the same polybag; they were not. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined! But seriously, I'm hoping it was just misplaced or something. If the seller posts it by itself later, I'd buy it alone. (Although in that case I'd feel like there was some chicanery going on, which I don't like to reward...)
  13. A few more: The Beholder, Autumn 1989. The adventure "En Drottnings Heder" ("A Queen's Honor") is presented, along with a 1-page rules brief (1st edition). This was the convention scenario for Lincon-89. In Sverox #25, August 2002, is an article "Tärningen, en kraft bortom naturens lagar" ("The dice, a force beyond the laws of nature"), which discusses dice superstitions. One of the author's friends believes he has trained his d20s to roll either low or high (depending on the die), and therefore considers Pendragon a "worthless" game since you generally need something in between for the best successes. In Torden og Lynild Vol 9 #2, Autumn 1993, there's an article "Regelændringer: Familiebegivenheder og borgbygning i Pendragon" ("House Rules: Family Events and Castle Building in Pendragon"), which sounds incredibly intriguing but I can't locate a copy. Saga #10, November 1991. The Danish magazine, not the Swedish magazine of the same name. The adventure "Ungersvenden" (???). This one was played at Games Weekend 1991 and looks interesting. It appears to be for Pendragon 3rd edition, and has faeries, which is always interesting. "En Drottnings Heder" looks very interesting. Much more detailed than the previous scenario by the same author. It reuses some characters, but no pregens are provided; maybe Pendragon was popular enough at the time that they figured people would bring their own to the convention?
  14. I got a line on some old Swedish and Danish fanzines. A few of them have Pendragon content: Pseudo-Dragen #6, August 1989. Danish fanzine. Pendragon (I guess 1st edition based on the date) gets reviewed in the column "Over disken" ("Over the Counter"). Legend #4, April 1987. Swedish magazine. A review in the article "Nyheter" ("News"). Sinkadus #15, October 1988. Swedish magazine, the house organ for Äventyrsspel/Target Games. A review in the article "Engelska Rollspel" ("English RPGs"). Sinkadus #28, December 1990. A mention in the article "Hemmafronten" ("On the Homefront"). Probably Pendragon in conventions, or new releases. Sinkadus #34, January 1992. Another mention in "Hemmafronten". Sinkadus #36, June 1992. Another mention in "Hemmafronten". The Beholder, Spring 1989. Danish fanzine. The adventure "Sir Draines vilda svin" ("Sir Draine's Wild Boar") is presented, along with a 1-page rules brief (again, of the 1st edition), a scenario background to hand to the players, and 7 pre-generated PCs. This was the convention scenario for Lincon-88. The Beholder, Summer 1989. The article "Jag gick upp en Generation" ("I Went Up a Generation") classifies games into "Generations" (meaning increasing elegance in systems) and provides a very short review of each. Pendragon is the author's favorite system, and gets the longest review. The Beholder, Spring 1990. The article "Kampanjtid" ("Campaign Time") discusses the author's experience gaming, and recommends the Pendragon system for fulfilling gameplay. The Beholder, Summer 1990. The article "Vad är ett bra rollspel?" ("What Makes a Good RPG?") lists Pendragon as a great RPG. There's a few more listed online that I have to track down, but I think most of the others are reviews. "Sir Draine's Wild Boar" is an interesting tournament scenario. Done in 1989, when Pendragon was still extremely new, it is somewhat linear (like a lot of tournament scenarios) but it has some nice ideas in it. I could easily see using it as a starter scenario. It's meant for squires, with the potential prize of a knighthood; even with starting knights I think it could be a challenge, since brute force isn't really the answer. If anyone can confirm the Sinkadus entries, that would be great.
  15. I acquired a copy of Concepts magazine #2. This was an independent UK magazine that covered RPGs; issue #2 is from April 1988. It has two articles of interest to Pendragon fans: Tryfan's Tribulations, by John Williams: I've seen this listed as a Pendragon scenario in online lists in several places. It is, however, not a Pendragon scenario -- it's an AD&D scenario for level 5-7 characters. It's set in Arthurian Britain in North Wales. A dragon is terrorizing the area, and has burned several sacred Druid groves as well. Merlin has created a storm to prevent the dragon from despoiling the area temporarily, however the storm will abate in seven days. Merlin tasks the PCs with traveling to the dragon's lair, a cave at the top of Mount Tryfan, and dispatching the beast. The weather is the main driver of drama in this scenario, as the party must travel from their starting point in Penrhyn Bay to Mount Tryfan in the Snowdonian Mountains, while high winds, driving rain, and unnatural chill plague the area due to Merlin's storm. The path is delineated on an inset map, with three predefined encounters along the way, one of which will be a little tricky to translate into Pendragon terms. Finally, they arrive at the dragon's den; this is a standard Red Dragon from D&D, but it has determined the weather is unnatural and has set several traps to deal with intruders. Hearts & Knaves: Squires in Pendragon, by Marcus Rowland: This article has two suggestions. One is for each player in a group to play a knight and another player's squire, and then trade off in consecutive sessions; this is because Mr. Rowland feels most scenarios really only allow one knight to shine while the others play second banana. This is not a bad suggestion; players who have also played Ars Magica will recognize this as a form of the troupe style play that game championed. The second suggestion is for difficult moral choices (which are represented in the game as opposed Personality Trait rolls) to have weight, have the affected player and a second player each argue one of the two Traits in question (for example, if the PK argues Modest, the second player should argue the Proud side). Then have the players have a vote, and the weight of the vote is given as a bonus/penalty on the Personality Trait rolls.
  16. I consider the EDU stat less "how formal is your education," and more "how much information that you've been exposed to do you retain". In real life, my memory is horrible, absolutely terrible. Legendarily bad among my friends and family. I have a college degree and have read many books, but don't rate my personal EDU higher than, say, 14 or so. On the other hand, look at someone like comedian Danny Kaye. He had no formal training in any field, but he was an expert at many diverse hobbies: he taught himself Chinese and Italian cooking well enough to teach classes in the 70s, and couldn't read music but learned to imitate conducting well enough that he regularly conducted world-famous orchestras in the 60s and 70s. He had a very high EDU.
  17. Found another French magazine, Les songes d'Oberon, which has one Pendragon scenario and two scenarios that could be adapted to Pendragon, in issue #02. Added to the list. EDIT: Incidentally, I failed to mention that Les songes d'Oberon is available for free online.
  18. I did not know that! Reading the fanzines, it really looks like it was translated into every European language in the 90s. Better late than never! I guess that makes sense, then! I'll check out the Kappa issues, but I'll put that on the back burner!
  19. I forgot to list that one! I checked it out, and it looks like maybe errata to the Spanish edition of Pendragon.
  20. I was able to find a couple more articles, which are now in the spreadsheet. The Spanish fanzine El Juglar, issue #2 (January-February 1996), has a two-page article defining a magical tradition for the Herbalist-Hermit. Interestingly, apparently issue #0 (or #1?) of this magazine (published by a group of RPG fans from Málaga) had an article on setting up a Pendragon campaign and included npcs, but I have that from a one-paragraph review of the magazine in Lider volume 3 #47. I'd love to find issue #0 of El Juglar, but I can't find any trace of it online. The Spanish fanzine The Elitist, issue #1 (January 1996) has an adventure named "El Torneo Irlanda" ("The Irish Tournament"), which looks interesting. There were at least two more issues of this fanzine, but I can't find these either. I'm still checking Spanish fanzines, but it's slow going, as it's not one of my primary languages.
  21. I realized the list doesn't have much European material beyond a couple of German entries, a bunch of French material, and a few Spanish entries. I've heard there was a small Pendragon fan community in Italy. I've heard of Italian gaming magazines Kappa (at least in 1991, the first two issues had RPG content), Fuori dal Tempo (also seems to have published RPG material in 1991), Kaos (ran from 1991-2002), X (a spin-off magazine from Kaos focused on RPG material), and E Giochi and Giochi (these two might be the same magazine -- RPGGeek is less helpful in this regard since "giochi" in this context means "games"). For a variety of reasons, my Google skills are failing me on these. I have no idea if any of these have Pendragon content, sadly. I know there's another Kaos magazine, a Danish periodical, that had a Call of Cthulhu scenario in issue 12. I wonder if they had any Pendragon, since they obviously knew Chaosium. Anybody have any idea for where to look?
  22. Sheet has been updated. I'm still haunting eBay looking for issues of Beamains, but it's really slow going. People like to hold onto it, and I don't blame them; it's a great fanzine! I've also got saved eBay searches for Fantasy Chronicles but that's trickier, both because those are extremely common words to have in any particular RPG listing, and also because the ones I've found are too rich for my budget. This year my daughter was born, and budgeting for inessentials has become trickier! 🙂 I was gifted some gift cards which went to PDFs of old magazines I could find, so I plan to fill out some more blanks in the list this year.
  23. I managed to acquire (at more expense than I would normally like) a copy of Beaumains issue #6 from a UK eBay seller. As a result, I can now report on the articles in it, in somewhat more detail than @ShannonA's index. The Adventure of the Strangers' Path, by Gareth Jones: This was the tournament Pendragon scenario from Convulsion '94. It's set sometime in the late 540s, and begins at King Arthur's Court, then goes into strange territory. It's an interesting scenario, based on the author's own interpretation of the Arthurian Grail drama. It's also, IMO, somewhat heavy-handed. It has some very evocative and extremely weird encounters, and definitely feels like something that could have dropped out of The Mabinogion or Perlesvaus. 12 pages long, very detailed. The Adventure of the Noble Baby, by Tim Harris: This is more of a scenario seed than an adventure, despite its name. It could take place at any time and bbegins On the Road. The PKs meet a mute woman carrying a child. The identity of the child is left to the GM, with five options being provided; as I said, this is more of a plot seed. Weirdly, the jewelry of the mute woman is described in detail, including value and magical powers, almost like it was D&D. Not bad, but it's only two pages long and extremely bare-bones. What Your Character Knows in 495 AD, by Michael Trout: This was my main interest in this issue. It's a lore article detailing the state of Britain in 495, invaluable information for those of us who were trying to run a sort of "Phase 0" game to lead to a longer campaign. A lot of this information is probably also provided in The Great Pendragon Campaign, but I'm interested in seeing how it compares. 10 pages, brief coverage of many topics. Divers Dabblings: A miscellany column of short pieces not long enough to be articles, this contains: Temporary Fellowships, by Heidi Kaye: A few examples to show how temporary Orders were set up and the sorts of benefits they provided and duties they required. Example orders: The Order of the Devoted Heart and the Knights of the Cyclops. 1 page. Saracen Knights, by Danny Bourne: Character generation for Saracen knight characters. 2 pages. Reviews: Pagan Shores, reviewed by Heidi Kaye and Ed Everett; King Arthur's Camelot, a Pop-Up Castle and 4 Storybooks, reviewed by Gareth; AD&D Crusades Sourcebook, reviewed by Ed Everett; and, The Ellyllon Knights Campaign 1995, reported on by Gareth. Waxing Wood, by Gareth Jones: endnotes about various Arthuriana Gareth has received, DC Comics interpretation of Excalibur, and so on. Now I need to acquire issue #5, which I believe contains the 495 AD character background tables to go along with the lore article in this issue. I'll update the spreadsheet shortly.
  24. It might be worth reaching out to Jennell Jaquays to see if she remembers her influences. She's pretty responsive on her official Facebook page.
  25. CoC Sanity is specifically based on Lovecraft's impression of what sanity looked like. Different authors in the Cthuhlu Mythos have different interpretations of what that looks like; there's a round-robin story where Lovecraft wrote one chapter, at the end of which the protagonist is confronted with alien horrors and freezes in fear, and then Robert E. Howard wrote the very next chapter, where the protagonist conquers his momentary fear and reaves the alien horrors limb from limb in an orgy of violence. All this to say, it's interesting to think of what "sanity" means in Glorantha. The Lunars definitely have a concept of "sanity" since they have a lot of theology about madness, but it's questionable whether the Praxians do or not. Maybe a question for Mystics?
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