Hog Town Games Birthday Sale!

It's my Birthday so I'm having a sale on Hog Town Games' titles!

Until Labour Day, Dice Roll Zine #1 and Dice Roll Zine #2 PDFs are 60% off at DriveThruRPG -- only $2! The print on demand version (A5 perfectbound) of Dice Roll Zine #1 is also now available for only $4 (and you can get a free PDF too if you choose the combo!) on DriveThruRPG!

The saddle-stitch, digest-size print version of Dice Roll Zine #2 is now on sale exclusively at Hog Town Games' Big Cartel store for only $4 (+ shipping)!

Get yer old school game on!

Enjoy the rest of the summer folks!

Steve C

Barbarians & Black Magic - A Sword & Sorcery Pamphlet RPG

Hey folks! Today I'm posting the first draft of a swords & sorcery inspired 'Pamphlet RPG' I've created, called Barbarians & Black Magic. This is the nuts and bolts of an RPG all crammed into a double-sided standard letter-sized page and folded into three panels. Download here from the google drives.

Barbarians & Black Magic owes it's mechanical chassis to such fine old RPGs as The Fantasy Trip and GURPS, so it should be easy to grok for anyone familiar with those games. The stats are pretty straightforward and simple and the gameplay (admittedly minimal playtesting so far) is pretty quick.

I'm hoping to get out a companion 'scenario pamphlet' later this summer which will provide examples of spells, magic items, traps, monsters, and other such things to help make the game feel more 'complete.' So look for that in late August!

Ultimately, the goal here is to write a digest-sized version of Barbarians & Black Magic RPG in the 32 page range that is an xd6-based, roll-under game engine, with some different and hopefully colorful combat and magic mechanics, but is not just yet another Dungeons & Dragons retro-clone type RPG.

This is what I got so far. Cheers!

Steve



P.S. Thanks to William McCausland for his great collections of fantasy spot art available at DriveThruRPG.com. Check out Outland Arts for more art & RPG goodies!

P.P.S. If any person knows (or can figure out!) where I cribbed the name Barbarians & Black Magic from, I will send you a free print & PDF copy of Dice Roll Zine #2, my zine devoted to OSR roleplaying games. This mini-contest is open to anyone, worldwide. Leave a comment below with your answer. Good luck!

Dice Roll Zine #1 on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

Hi folks! Exciting news here at Hog Town Games and The Borderlands Blog. Dice Roll Zine #1 is NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble's websites, in addition to Lulu.

If you're in Canada, you can find DRZ #1 at Amazon.ca or Lulu's Canadian store.

I only have a few print copies remaining in my possession, so it's coming off the Hog Town Games' Big Cartel storefront. I'll keep these copies for promos and giveaways and whatnot. Of course, you can still get the current Dice Roll Zine #2 in print from the Big Cartel storefront.

Thanks for reading!

Steve C

Dice Roll Zine #2 in Print & PDF!

Dice Roll Zine #2

DICE ROLL ZINE #2

Dice Roll Zine. Get yer old-school game on!

Dice Roll Zine is a 40-page, saddle-stitched, digest-sized print zine for old-school RPGs written by Steven A. Cook and illustrated by some of the best retro-inspired artists.

Visit the Hog Town Games Big Cartel store here to order a print copy. $7 USD + shipping. Ships worldwide. And to Mars. OK maybe not Mars, but I would if I could!

UPDATE! Now available for $4 USD on DriveThruRPG in PDF format here!

The second issue includes a Sorcerer class for Swords & Wizardry Complete games; 'Roll all the Dice' tables for generating fungi, plants & freaky stuff; The City-State of Kreth, a weird-fantasy city overview with history, factions, unique gear, rumors, adventure seeds, thumbnail descriptions and encounter tables for nine city districts, and more; new spells and magic items for an 'oldhammer' fantasy role-playing game; and various other cool rules options and odd things for your old-school games.

Please Note: Print buyers also get a PDF copy for free. Details are included with your print zine.

Thanks for reading! Steve C

How to Resolve Anything That Comes Up!

This blog post was prompted by +Michael Bacon's G+ post over here. This is a one-page article from my first issue of Dice Roll Zine (PDF at RPG Now or POD from Lulu) published in the fall of 2017. I hope you folks find it useful ... and at least a little bit funny. :-)

HOW TO RESOLVE ANYTHING

THAT COMES UP

What Else are Those Damn Ability Scores for Anyway?

In a tense game session, players sometimes forget that NPCs and monsters can be bargained with, not just slain. NPCs have bills, taxes, bad habits, and exes, too. Hired guards might flee suddenly when one of their own is used as Old One bait. Go figure. Your enemies may pay your torchbearer to stick his torch up your ass. When did Oddwick accidentally sell the mahogany chest (or was it the one with gold-pressed black iron locks?) with Blackrazor and the Eyes of the Overworld in it? Why is that weird jade monkey statue looking only at you? Is that giant slug with the bloody spiked tail going to offer you tea and directions or thump you? Did that tavern owner's potboy leave you fidgeting with an itch? Scratch scratch.

When stuff like this happens, either you or the Referee rolls 2d6 and adjusts the sum of the dice by one of your PC's ability score modifiers, whichever one seems right for the situation. Then check the result on the Resolve It! table below.

RESOLVE IT!

Roll	Result
2 or less	Catastrophically bad. It attacks, hurts, steals, hates, maims, attempts to eat, uses its worst, or otherwise fucks you up. Seriously. No chance of fixing. Hope you got a sharp sword or some hot spells of fiery doom.
3 to 5	Hostile or very bad. You're attacked or otherwise thwarted, hindered, harmed, or cleverly made to look like a chump. Too bad for you. If you want to recover, get creative or make some damn good rolls. Maybe get the Referee a beer.
6 to 8	Cautious or uncertain. Make another offer cheapskate, think outside the box, keep the negotiations going, play to your strengths, etc. Roll again if the Referee feels generous. Referee, you had a beer lately?
9 to 11	Friendly or good. Things go your way, your offer is accepted, or the NPC is willing to comply/discuss/help you out. Otherwise, the NPC thinks you rock on toast and quite possibly even likes your sexy smell and smarts. Or thinks you might taste good later, if hungry. Good going!
12 or more	Enthusiastic or extremely good. The monster or NPC goes far beyond your expectations to provide assistance or information. Perhaps you glean arcane or divine insight about something, real or imagined. Can you translate ancient hieroglyphs into six modern languages without a reference? Easy peasy, step aside lads, watch the professional work!

This table means to quickly resolve any minor issues and avoid messing about with obscure situational rules you never recall and probably have to look up during play. In fact, this table may spell the end of rules subsystems as we know them. Forever. Okay, perhaps not. Obviously, this table shouldn’t be taken too seriously—it’s also meant to inspire a ‘Rulings not Rules’ play style. This is only a game, after all. If you decide that a ruling is valuable to your game play, stick with it consistently in the future. No doubt, you do this already. Carry on with the fun!

Dice Roll Zine #1 in Print and PDF!

Dice Roll Zine #1 is now available in print and PDF!

Dice Roll Zine is a 36-page old-fashioned zine for OSR RPG games written by me and illustrated by some of the best OSR-influenced artists around.

Contents of the premiere issue include a barbarian class for B/X games, a different way to turn undead in B/X games, a trippy sci-fantasy adventure location called The Purple Mushroom Inn, a chaos mutation die drop table, random dungeon stuff tables, and more!

PRINT: Please look over on the right-hand column to buy the print-on-demand version at Lulu. A5 size, 36 pages, perfect bound. $5.50 USD ($7 CAD).

PDF: The PDF version of the zine is now available at Tabletop Library, DriveThru RPG, and RPGNow. $4 USD. For four measly bucks you get the zine PDF as well as all of the map files (.png format) for the issue: 7 maps!

Zine sample photos below.

Friday Map [12] Darkened Shrine: Halls of Saurian Entombment [CC-BY-4.0]

Today's free map is titled Darkened Shrine: Halls of Saurian Entombment.

This year, the maps appearing in my Friday Maps blog feature are being released for free under a royalty-free personal and commercial license. So you can take these maps, use them as is, modify them, change and abuse them as you will for your personal games, even stick them in your commercial products if you want. The only thing you have to do is credit me, +Steve C, with the original cartography (or maps, blah blah) in your product.

If you should require it, the map on this page is also released by +Steve C under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License [CC-BY-4.0].

Downloads:
The "Saurian Tomb" hi-res .png


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

CONTEST FOR A FREE WHITEBOX MODULE!

I'm tying in a Hogtown Games giveaway with this map. If you email me at 'hogtowngamesosr' at-that-gmail-thingy-dot-com and tell me where I stole the name for this map from, I will put you in a draw to receive a free print copy of Golden Eye of the Kobold King, my 34-page Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox module for 1st and 2nd level characters. Please put 'Map Name' in the email subject line.

On Wednesday Feb 15 at 18:00 (Eastern Standard Time), I'll randomly determine a name from those who give me a correct answer. Within a few days, I'll go to the post office and mail that person a copy, anywhere in the world. I'll send it as cheaply as I can, for obvious reasons, so don't expect it too quickly if you live overseas from Canada. :-)

Cheers!

Golden Eye of the Kobold King Updated [v1.1]

I have updated Golden Eye of the Kobold King, my first Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox release from last summer. I made some very minor text and stat updates and corrections, I added a "referee's notes" page at the back, and I added some very cheesy black & white images in a few places.

Check out the links over there on the right for all the kobold slaughtering goodness!

If you are interested in a softcover print-on-demand version, it's available at Lulu here for under $4 ($5.99 in Canada).

On RPGNow/DriveThruRPG you can get the softcover POD here or here for $4 USD (which includes a free PDF). If you just want the PDF, it's free.

You can also download the PDF from Tabletop Library for free here.

Cheers!

Golden Eye of the Kobold King on Lulu, RPGNow, DriveThru RPG & Tabletop Library

UPDATE - 5-02-2017

Golden Eye of the Kobold King is now available via print-on-demand at Lulu. 34 pages, 6" x 9" US trade size, color cover, b&w interior on cream pages, perfect bound, $5.99 (CAN) or $4 (USD).

---

I'm pleased to announce that Hogtown Games first module for Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox is live today at RPGNow and DriveThru RPG and Tabletop Library.

Golden Eye of the Kobold King is a "lair dungeon" sized adventure location for six to ten PCs of levels 1 or 2. It's a 34-page US trade-sized PDF. The basic summary is that there is this bad kobold king with a magic golden eye terrorizing the frontier folk. The PCs go find him, kill him, and take his stuff. But while doing so they discover a strange alien tomb with holograms and undead. Oh the mystery and death that awaits them!

Best of all, the module is free! Well, PWYW to be technical. Don't expect any fancy pretty pictures, but it's got a cool map and a weird-dark-humorous style. Go on, check it out, all the cool kids are!

SUPER SPIFFY PROFESSIONAL AND ALL THAT ANNOUNCEMENT!

Here's what Hogtown Games company spokesman Nudford Alastair Duke III, or three-nads-a-swingin' as he is affectionately known around the office, had to say about Golden Eye of the Kobold King while strutting his stuff on the red carpet at a recent star-studded gala event at the Prince Albert Pub on Hampton Road, Twickenham:

"Huh? Wot the f&@# is a bloody kowe-bold?"

*paparazzi crowd around, cameras flash, agents mumble

"It's a dog-like man-critter? Piss off. Who the f&@# writes about dog-men these days? Bloody hack."

Thanks, Nads, you rock!

White Box 1-page Ref Sheet

Hey folks! Long time no write ... far too long. Boo to me!

Today I've got a little Swords & Wizardry White Box treat in the form of a 1-page "referee screen." It's got pretty much all the tables you'd need to quickly reference during a game--except I could not fit the spell lists on the single-page format and keep the font a reasonable, no-microscope-required size. :-)

You can get the PDF right here.

Also ... I've finally got Hogtown Games (my vanity RPG publishing imprint) supplements I'm ready to announce...

The first freebie PDF-only adventure, Golden Eye of the Kobold King, will be released in late May. This will be about 32 pages, digest/booklet format, appropriate for 1st or 2nd level characters, and usable with any old-school rules set (has Swords & Wizardry stats). This one will be artless.

The second module, The Purple Mushroom Inn, will be released in late August. This will be at least 32 pages, digest/booklet format, print-on-demand and PDF, appropriate for 2nd or 3rd level characters, and usable with any old-school rules set (has Swords & Wizardry stats). This one will feature art by Del Teigeler, Stefan Poag, Brian "Glad" Thomas, and Fred Dailey. Pricing TBD on this one, but it certainly won't be an arm and a leg. :-)

Until later, cheers!

Hogtown Games to Launch this Summer!

LONDON—April 19, 2015—The Borderlands: Steve’s Dorky Old-School Gaming Blog today announces the Summer 2015 launch of Hogtown Games, an independent small press publisher of tabletop RPG supplements.

Company spokesman Nudford Alastair Duke III, or 3-Nads-a-Swinging, as he is affectionately known around the office, addressed the flashing cameras and furious text-thumbing of the paparazzi after graciously exiting (completely of his own volition, we assure you) to the red carpet of the Prince Albert Pub on Hampton Road, Twickenham, with the following public announcement:

"Take yor bloody hands offa me you pin-headed wank... Huh? Wotzat, love? Oh yes, the Thai food here is bloody fab... Huh? Papawhatzi? ... Oh, roight! *cough cough*

"Esteemed members of the press, and I include you seedy blogosphere hacks when I say that, I thank you for coming here tonight. I'm very pleased to announce the formation of Hogtown Games, an independent small press publisher of tabletop RPG supplements. Hogtown Games is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global-Evil-Tech INC's Super Happy Fun Time Gaming and Fish Sauce Exports Emporium, LLC.

"Hogtown Games mission is to create old-school flavor gaming products with pulp adventure-gonzo spices and ingredients. Due to the technologically sensitive nature of the company, and the raving insecure egos of its corporate shareholders, we will not be taking any questions at this time. 

"Thank you, once again, for coming. Cheerio, and happy fun time gaming!"

---

The press release is obviously fake, but Hogtown Games is not. :-)

My mission with Hogtown really is to produce old-school flavor RPG supplements with pulp adventure-gonzo spices and ingredients. There may even be some more "standard" fantasy stuff (and even sci-fi/space) thrown in as well. I won't reveal any specific details of planned supplements yet, other than the first freebie one will be coming out this Summer, and that some will be free and others will be for sale. All will be available as PDFs and most will be available in print.

I'm a one-man operation based here in Toronto, so certainly don't expect a release a month (or even a quarter for that matter!), but I will update the blog whenever I have solid information to share about Hogtown Games releases.

See there on the right ... I even have a cool logo designed by the groovy artist +Del Teigeler. You can check out Del's art blog over here. It's full of awesomeness. Thanks again for the great work, Del!