“A system that operates by constructing and executing plans lives, to speak metaphorically, in a sort of fantasy world..." -Agre and Chapman 1990
Earlier today, I read Patrick Stuart's newest post ' Spider is a Mushroom Now ', and immediately found I had to write something about it. I recommend you read it in full: it's distilled Patrick, and it's set my brain on fire like nothing else has since Veins of the Earth. In brief, it covers a lot of the sci-fi worldbuilding around the Avatar film series and its paramedia, and follows those…
Well, this is a bit awkward. Content I only published one (1) singular post this year, Brief Thoughts on Fantasy Monotheism . It was a short, mostly stream-of-consciousness pondering of a model of fantasy divinity that better merges Standard Fantasy Polytheism with Big Centralized Church in a way that allows a lot of the broad tropes, stories, and dynamics people want out of both of those, while…
It had not been my intention to leave the blog fallow for almost six months after its five year anniversary. However, heading into my graduate degree, job search, and preparing to move house, it's fallen by the wayside. Actual gaming, however, has not. A week and change ago I finished my Pharos campaign in Pathfinder 2e, all fourteen sessions of it (yes, scheduling students continues to be a…
Thus have we reached the 6th anniversary of A Distant Chime! On to the reflections. Content I wrote only 13 posts this year, the same as 2022 and a bit less than in 2023. Most of these posts were AD&D session reports or playtest notes for the House of Pestilence. Now that I'm running PF2e as my home game, I've fallen off the habit of making session reports, largely because I conceive of this blog…
My current schedule doesn't leave much room for blogging, though I am running a regular Pathfinder 2E game that I'm quite enjoying, and which I will reflect more deeply on wrt to the old-school in the future. But I did have a quick, totally untested thought on the subject of fleeing and retreating from combat—PF2e having no such system and the designers seemingly being hostile to the idea entirely…
You've been down underground for days. When your party's thief said she smelled some gold down that dark corridor, you said it was a bad idea. You were low on food, water, and light already, and your pockets were already almost full with what treasure you could carry. Why test your luck any further? Why tempt fate? The rest of the party decided to go along, though. Instead of treasure, you found a…
There's a persistent myth about the indigenous people of Tasmania, to the effect that their isolation from the Australian mainland caused their technology to deteriorate, eventually to the point where they were unable to produce fire. Early colonial accounts describe Tasmanians carrying 'fire sticks' with them, using them to light campfires instead of producing fire on-site. Turns out, they knew…
Over a year from its original announcement, the No Artpunk III contest has finally borne fruit. The NAP III anthology is now available on itch.io at a PYWY price, suggested at $7. All proceeds go to the Dutch Het Aidsfonds charity. In addition to a rather star-studded list of contestants, including the first part of Gabor Csomos' upcoming Xantal of Dreams , Coldlight Press ' Ben Gibson with the…
This is a review of Village on the Borderlands, a module by Dark Wizard Games' Mark Taormino. For those of you who, like me, missed the storm in a teakettle around this module, I will summarize. This was published around a year ago, and reviewed by Bryce in October. Bryce gave it a very bad and caustic review (though he seems to not have tagged it as an exceptionally bad module). The author found…
In the last session , five mighty masters of the universe met in the drow citadel of Erelhei-Cinlu, traversed the underworld, and finally arrived at the threshold of the House of Pestilence, an exiled drow house turned to the worship of the daemon lord Anthraxus. They came into conflict with the House's guard dog, a wicked mage named Eastler and his umber hulks, and forced his surrender. The party…
Last time I playtested House of Pestilence, we found that killing a pseudo-lich was not as hard as expected and that it was possible to speedrun the module. Now I have returned, running my regular party through the module from the beginning, with a new premise, which I shall replicate below. The world you know is an arena for powers that lie beyond mortal understanding. Each of you: hermit…
In the last... ish session , the party chased after the anticleric Corby, following his trail to the edge of the Roaming Forest. After making a pact with the wicked spirit of the forest, they delved into that strange otherworld, discovered a diabolic guardian and a portal to a castle suspended above Hell. Making yet more pacts, they received guidance on defeating Corby and rushed, injured and…
In the last session , the party pulled a fast one on some gnolls with a fake wand, tracked them to their lair, rescued a pair of knights without facing the wicked anticleric Corby, and got a whiff of some odd happenings with their old pal Captain Fen. Now the crusade against Corby's mountain lair has gathered and is prepared to set out. Will the party join this mission? What will come of the stone…
Previously on this blog , I've expressed some fascination with the AD&D psionics rules. They're an unintuitive mess, technically playable, but doing so in practice requires automated spreadsheet technology not available in the 1980s. It's a side of the rules that the system seems not to want you to use, and it makes you go through a whole lotta hoops in order to even have psionics in the first…
In the last session , the party ventured into the mountains, befriended a lovelorn stone giant, plundered a ruined temple beset by gnolls, and got a lead on the schemes of the anticleric Corby. Now having made a great ruckus in the temple, how will they get away? Will they track down the anticleric, or will they let this opportunity slip out of their grasp? Join this week's journey to find out...…
In the last session , the party was assaulted by a shadowy demon, learned about the dreadful Thirty silver coins, and split: half has traveled up river to embark on a holy quest, while the other half has remained in the city. Will they every reunite? Will Team Holy survive their mission? Join this week's journey to find out... The Party Agatha , human paladin with a smiling-masked samurai helm,…
In the last session , the party aided a selkie clan against the evil, eel-like Maylorites, discovered, but did not wholly recover, the treasure of the last count of Clifton, acquired a tavern, and received a visit from a dangerous-seeming dragoon captain. What shall follow from these events? What hidden dangers wait in ambush? Join this week's journey to find out... The Party Norbeth Yelfiel , elf…
This is the 5th anniversary of A Distant Chime! Another good year of gaming ends with another Christmas Eve, now on to the reflections! Content There were slightly more posts this year than 2022, in large part because I was back to regular play reports for my AD&D campaign. All the same trends continue from last year, except for the fact that I'm now living with my partner, and homemaking takes up…
Starting in May, I began designing an entry for No Artpunk III, which I finally submitted a month ago. It got a good review from Prince, so now I'm revising and playtesting it in the hopes it will be included in the NAPIII anthology later this year. This is the first playtest, a rather abridged one which I did online last night via the OSR Pickup Games server. Lots to learn from it, so here we go!…
I must apologize from a rather lengthy absence from the blog: a whole lot of busy crunch time, travel, and now a lingering head cold have kept me from finishing up the latest session report, let alone other posts. However, there is good news: besides my actual AD&D game, the business keeping my RPG-related energy hostage was my contest entry for No Artpunk 3, the House of Pestilence. After months…
In the last session , the Order of the Perfect Circle escaped the quiet halls of Stonehell, partied and leveled up, traveled to Clifton, defended a sage from attack and got stuck in a cave during a supernatural hurricane. They now have more clues towards the lost treasure of the Clifton family, but also new problems to face. Will they succeed in their search? What shall come of Ingvar's strange…
We continue from the last post with remix notes for chapters 6 and 7 of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, as well as some rather extensive and hastily written addenda, including notes on making Auril an actual tripartite goddess with folkloric flavor, an exploration of Auril's motivation and a clean writeup of our new continuity, some alternatives to the text of the Rime, including a musical…
Almost three years ago, I ran an online campaign of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden , WOTC's published campaign. I documented the first few sessions here, but didn't keep up with it (just like I haven't kept up with the documentation on any of my campaigns since Castle Xyntillan... sigh [EDIT: my AD&D campaign is being very well documented!]), though it ended well enough after a little under…
In the last session , the Order of the Perfect Circle slew a 'dragon', caroused with the kobolds on the first level of Stonehell, and butted heads with the Cult of the Ultraviolet flame. Now they have been trapped in the quiet tombs of Stonehell. Will they find a way out? What treasures remain out of their reach, and what threats will they face? Join them in this week's journey to find out... The…
In the last session , the party continued their delve in Stonehell, explored more of the first level and ventured briefly to the second, accidentally started a cult, and recovered great treasure. Will their luck continue? What more awaits beneath the earth? Join them in this week's journey to find out... The Party Sonari , elf mage/thief with a wimple, played by Jada Norbeth Yelfiel , elf…