The Henderson Monster Creation Table

Steve Henderson, (1944-2006) of Gloriantha, RuneQuest, Chaosium, DunDraCon, and Society for Creative Anachronism fame, crafted a nice little random monster generator for Jeff Pimper's and Steve Perrin's first All the World's Monsters (1977) tome. (You can still purchase a PDF of the book here from Chaosium. 256 critters only $5!)

The tables by themselves will produce some tough nasties. Ha, there is no procedure for mitigating a creature based on the party's capabilities. That's some old school, you gots to know when to beat the expeditious retreat.

There are also percentile chance for "special" movement, attack, and other abilities. Also it seems each beastie gets at least one special detection and immunity.

Interesting bonus, you make up the creature's appearance however you wish. The only visual cue is whether the monster is "Indescribable," "Hideous," "Average," or "Beautiful."

Demon City

(That's 455 pages, printed double-side with no art)

Go figure. The same day I decide to print and start reading the backer's draft to Zak Smith's "Demon City" my copy of collected stories, Tales of Zothique, by Clark Ashton Smith arrives. (Such tales set in Zothique Dave Hargrave writes for his bibliography to The Arduin Adventure are, "... the true progenitor of ARDUIN.")

This is why I have unfinished books all over my house...

(Yes, the wall behind my desk is a stack of boxes. A relative moved occasionally semi-permanently into my home office and I have been relegated to the garage.)

L'Abyss

(Original 1st level of "Metropolis of Chaos")

    Hot damn, I have too many irons in the fires, so's to speak, and while our adventuring group is chugging along I haven't contributed much of anything to the Greater OSR Community since reformatting my auld adventure from the 70-80s, Underport: Abyssal Descent.

    So here are the original vestigial notes that I used to run what is going to be assembled as "Metropolis of Chaos" (in their original AD&D format).

    Much of the original adventure's story was run impromptu around probably 1984-85 (?) addled with a variety of alcohol and drugs including a conclusion on good old Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.

    I just need to focus, focus, focus. Ha the story of my life...

Where the Action Is...

Wing-1

Yes, back in a mid-80s game run by J.A.S. my brownie techno-thief, BjeeBjop, built this thing out of some wreckage... I think drow were chasing us with jet planes or similar. We shot one down.

Of Techno Demons and Zippo Knights

Sick Rick and Dinglebrandsongulbunsonburner (Dingle for short) were always a trippy pair of co-DMs. Their first quest for our party (back in 1990) was across the Great Glass Sea on land-ships battling thri-kreen, then flying up mountain ranges to ruined cities and vampires.

This is their second go round occurred 'round 1994. Although my records say me and Sick Rick were DMing at the time, I am sure Sick Rick and Dingle ran this campaign. (Fixed the record.)

Now, I don't really know what the city of Lankhmar had to do with anything. I remember the weird, fiery City, Chicilube, and fighting techno demons - and that was the easy part! Our troubles really started once we were chased by the drow Zippo Knights riding their light spheres wielding horrendous artifact weapons and ended up in a forest to encounter mutant wood elves.

It seems we ended up finding some artifact of our own that saved the day.

Anyhow, Sick Rick passed his game binder on to me and I scanned what notes they had from that scenario. The link above is Sick Rick and Dingle notes to run those games, although I returned Sick Rick's binder and am not sure if the page order is exactly correct.

Ha, use them if you dare...

So Metal City

How can I have forgotten that somehow a year and a half or so ago I downloaded an overland adventure to the City of Brass, first part of an historic tournament adventure written by Rob Kuntz?

I am a City of Brass aficionado ever since the 1st ed. AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. The city, full of efreeti and surrounded by hot sands and lava, was time and again a useful place for the higher and highest level adventurers to visit.