Proposal for a Pulp Fantasy Society

A little over two months ago I was surprised to learn that Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom was almost completely in the public domain in the United States (hey, I often come late to parties). Upon digging further my surprise went over into a mild shock when I started finding that a big chunk of the older entries of Gygax's famous Appendix N were now in the public commons as well.

Think about it a second, much written material copyrights before January 1, 1923 has now passed over into this realm. The first five of Burroughs' Barsoom books, ten Tarzan, and two Pellucidar novels are now public. All of the works of Lord Dunsany are in the public domain. Nearly all of Abraham Merritt's novels are too, as is a good chunk of Clark Ashton's Smith's work.

Thinking of all the time, money, and energy I have expended collecting out-of-print editions—and worse jacked-up priced re-issues from small for-profit presses--the thought crossed my mind that there just simply has to a better more accessible way to get this work into people's hands.

I mean sure one could cobble together text and PDF files from this site or the other or download free or $.99 editions for a $200-plus Kindle. But I--and I would hazard a guess many of you--love the feel of a book in my hand far more than straining eyes on a screen.

So here's my modest proposal. I am seeking to launch with like-minded souls a not-for-profit literary society, club, or cooperative (possibly incorporated as a 501(c) non-profit corporation) that will aim to accomplish the following goals:

1. Promoting ways to honor the work of these writers and their descendants.

2. Producing tasteful reformatted, book-length compilations of the public domain work of Burroughs, Dunsany, Merritt, Smith, and other fantasy greats. These books will likely feature:

• Original introductions and essays written by society members.
• Appropriate public domain artwork from the time period and/or original artwork from society members.
• The most inexpensive cover and distribution prices we can allow taking away our overhead costs and allowances for a degree of quality (inexpensive, not cheap).

3. Producing related gaming material from these sources such as setting books, adventures, rules adaptions, etc. Again an eye will be given to the three points from above.

So who's game? Next Tuesday night I will be organizing a conference call for interested parties. Write to me at kutalik at gmail dot com for details.

D&D, The New Yorker, and Painful Adolescence

This is old news for some, but there was a well-written—if painful—short story with a heavy D&D theme in high-brow flagship mag The New Yorker earlier this month. Written by forty-something novelist Sam Lipsyte the story rang very true to me in its depiction of how the game was played in the early 80s on occasion by that awkward mutant breed called the teenager.


The story was a great wake-up call for me on my sentimental binge about early gaming years. Nostalgia tends to blot out the bad times over decades and leave you with the warm fuzzy ones. I tend to remember the laughter, fun, and mystery of games with my brother and close friends—and forget about the times like the jerk-wad in 8th grade who literally kicked me in the balls after I killed the 50th level Anti-Paladin he imported from his Monty Haul game. Oucha.

The Mountebank Class, Take Two

Work on revisions to my variant classes continues apace (new ones coming down the pike too). That scamp the Mountebank has been reworked: carte-blanche illusionist spellcasting is replaced with a set of special abilities. Level advancement has been lowered to reflect the change—and to be more in line with the metrics of the system I posted the other day.

Special thanks for feedback and inspiration to Mack and Brad from the tabletop group and to Jonathan Becker for some cross-fertilization. And big play-testing thanks to the Siggy Tomb Raiders group our ongoing revolving GM Skype group): Scott, Dan, Bill, and of course Brent (aka Guanillo).

Mountebank

Requirements: INT 13, DEX 13, CHR 13

Prime Requisite: CHR

Hit Dice: 1d4

Maximum Level: None

The mountebank is the consummate con artist of the medieval-fantasy world. By use of smooth talk, sleight of hand, and magical illusion the mountebank stays one step of the law—and earns a decent living in the mean time. Because of their specialized skill set they are often also employed as spies.


As a sub-class of the thief, they are allowed to wear leather armor and use any weapon. They are also allowed to pick pockets, move silently, hide in shadows, listen at doors, and back stab as per a thief of the equivalent level. They can further use disguises as per the assassin class. All saving and combat throws are made on the thief table.

They are also able to use a new skill, sleight-of-hand, at the level they can pick pocket--plus an additional 15 percent. Sleight of hand allows the mountebank to move, switch out, or otherwise manipulate without being noticed a hand-sized object.

They are restricted to only using magic items open to thieves until ninth level at which time they can also begin to use items available to illusionists.

At ninth level, the mountebank attracts a crew of 2d6 grifters, con-men, and other ne'er do wells (1^st level mountebanks) as followers.

Mountebanks cannot be lawful or “good” in alignment.

Beginning at first level, a mountebank can use their smooth fast-talking and arcane powers to create semi-magical effects. All abilities are dependent on the character being able to talk in a language understandable to the target.

Mountebank Special Abilities

Level	Effect	Duration
1	Flim Flam, raises Charisma to 18	1 turn, +1 per level
2	Hustle, lower or raise a price in a commercial transaction by 10-40%	Immediate.
3	Charm Person, same as Magic User spell	1d4 hours, +1 per level
4	Hypnotism, same as Illusionist spell	1 round, +1 per level
5	Manufacture Flash Powder, causes blindness, one batch a day with appropriate materials (150gp)	Immediate
6	Charm Person twice a day	See above
7	Hypnotism twice a day	See above
8	Charm Monster, same as Magic User spell	1d4 hours
9	Suggestion, same as Magic User spell	6 turn, +1 per level
10	Implant Emotion, same as Illusionist spell	Same as spell

Mountebank Level Progression

Experience	Level	Hit Dice (1d4)
0	1	1
1,565	2	2
3,125	3	3
6,251	4	4
12,501	5	5
25,001	6	6
50,001	7	7
100,001	8	8
200,001	9	9
300,001	10	+1 hp only *
400,001	11	+2 hp only *
500001	12	+3 hp only *
600,001	13	+4 hp only *
700,001	14	+5 hp only *
800,001	15	+6 hp only *
900,001	16	+7 hp only *
1,000,001	17	+8 hp only *
1,100,001	18	+9 hp only *
1,200,001	19	+10 hp only *
1,300,001	20	+11 hp only *

*Hit point modifiers from constitution are ignored.

New Ways to Kill and be Killed in LL or B/X

Futzing with combat is one of the more common temptations in old school house rules. I, for one, seem to go in a six-month cycle of wanting more and more detail only to turn full circle and move back to the most stripped down and quick (and by the book). Our current house rules (flavored a bit by LotFP) are somewhere in my medium zone, a place I hope to stay.

So with no further ado some of the new weapons, armor, combat options, and the ever loveable Death and Dismemberment chart (adopted and modified in a chain from Robert Fisher to Norm of Troll and Flame to myself). You'll note that the HC version of the latter table is a bit more on the deadly side than others.

New Combat Options

The fighting classes have a few more options in combat. An eligible character has two more attack options to use in melee in place of a standard attack: an all-out attack and a defensive attack. An all-out attack gives a +1 to hit, but costs the player a +2 AC penalty on the next round of attacks on him/her.

A defensive attack conversely gives the character a bonus of -1 on AC at a cost of -2 for the attack. Fighters alone get one other special attack, a shield pummel, in lieu of a standard attack. A fighter equipped with a large shield can inflict 1d4 of fatal or bludgeoning (non-fatal) damage on a successful hit using the shield pummel option. Fighters equipped with a small shield inflict 1d3.

New Weapons and Armor

Weapon	Cost	Damage	Weight
Rapier	15 gp	1d6+1	2 lbs.
Spiked Gauntlet	5 gp	1d3	2 lbs.
Dirk	4 gp	1d4+1	1 lbs.
Pike*	6 gp	1d6	6 lbs.

* The pike is a two-handed spear about 15-20 feet long. A pike-equipped character can strike from the second rank of a party and can be set to receive a charge. It is extremely awkward weapon in cramped underground quarters however.

Armor	Cost	Armor Class	Weight
Hides/Fur	20 gp	7	3 lbs
Bronze Breastplate	80 gp	5	20 lbs.
Field Plate	1250 gp	2	50 lbs.
Large Shield	10 gp	-1	10 lbs.
Small Shield	20 gp	-1	5 lbs.

Death and Dismemberment Chart

Roll d10 after PC reaches 0 or lower hit points For each subsequent hit while below the 0 hp mark the player must make a roll with a -1 for each time he has rolled on the chart previously in the encounter. The GM can also adjudicate positive or negative modifiers according to circumstance.

1d10
0 or lower	Grisly Death. Body so spectacularly destroyed that only a resurrection or wish spell can bring it back to life.
1 to 2	Just Plain Dead. Dead as per the usual rules.
3 to 4	Fatal Wound. Character dies in 1d12 turns unless magical healing is applied. Character is completely incapacitated and will remain an invalid for 3d6 weeks . Scarring makes for -1 to Charisma.
5 to 6	Severed or Mangled Limb or Digit. Roll randomly or GM pick for which limb or digit (can also eyes, ears, or nose). Unconscious for 3d6 rounds. Character requires 3d4 weeks of healing before being able to adventure.
7 to 8	Broken Bone. Roll randomly or GM picks limb. 3d4 weeks to heal bone. Also Unconscious for 2d6 rounds.
9	Unconscious for 2d6 rounds.
10 or higher	Stunned for 1d4 rounds. Unconscious for 2d6 rounds if not wearing helm.

Free Tekumel Paper Minis

While I am on the whole point-out-free-cool-stuff-to-download kick here's another.

The Genie's Lamp has a nice well-designed--and surprisingly wide--range of paper Tekumel monsters and characters to download for free on their website. The ru'un, an automaton guardian-type critter, pictured to the right has a sweet Erol Otus vibe to it.

A nice cheap way to spice up your own tabletop game session with outlandish pulp fantasy creatures. (Hill Cantons players avert ye eyes.)

Darklands Free Download and other Fun Stuff

Yesterday I mentioned that the 1993 computer game Darklands was an influence on my current campaign setting. With a little lazy Google research I not only found that the game still has a devoted fan following, but that also it is in that fuzzy grey area of intellectual property rights that some term abandonware.

Long and short is if you want to while away some time on a cool old pixelated sandbox crpg here is your chance to download it free. Pick up a free download of dosbox too to get it running while you are it.