John Large over at Red Dice Diaries is not only a podcaster, reviewer, live streamer, and RPG creator but he’s also a thoroughly nice chap, who lives up the road from me in Burnton, The Midderlands, with his wife Hannah whom he sometimes podcasts alongside. Definitely check out his website with links to the blog, podcast, live plays, etc:
I always really enjoy reading John’s creations and throwing some shekels his way will definitely not be wasted!
John has just released The Little Barbershop of Terror, which you can grab from the DriveThru link above. Formatted ready for Old School Essentials, it would be a great fit for a Midderlands-based S&W adventure…. here’s the intro text:
“Little Barbershop of Terror is a short adventure, it begins with an investigation surrounding the mysterious murder of a nobleman called Lord Warwick Appletone. The investigation leads to a small barbershop run by one Henley Stroude, a businessman who borrowed money from Lord Appletone to establish his business and is struggling to pay it back. Exploring the barbershop leads to the discovery of a dark ritual and a creature created from sacrificed life-essence and body parts that does the evil bidding of Stroude.”
It would also be remiss of me to not show you some of John’s products that MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing have available too:
Well this last month or two has been craaaazy busy. Web site sales have been strong, commissions have been consistent, and time for my personal projects has been reduced slightly, although I have been carrying on where I can, and The Midderlands 5E Kickstarter continues to excite!
MonkeyBlood Talks
My very irregular podcast has had an episode recently, and may more to come. Might be worth a subscribe so you can get underwhelmed by the irregularity. I try to be funny though: https://anchor.fm/glynn-seal
Commission Projects
I’ve been picking up commissions from new and existing clients alike, here are some quick shout-outs:
I recently completed a map of a coastal town of Cavrik’s Cove for Carlos over at casl Entertainment. More on that in an upcoming separate blog post!
JamesCORP
I also did some work on a Mutant Year Zero Ark for a Twitch live streamed campaign by JamesCORP. More on that in an upcoming separate blog post too!
Necrotic Gnome/Exalted Funeral
I’m super pleased to be working with Necrotic Gnome on the adventure maps for the most recent Old School Essentials Kickstarter. Super happy to be working with Gavin, Matt, Donn, Luka, Diogo, and the rest of the team involved.
I’ve been working on two new projects when time allows, and both should be coming up as the next projects, with one hitting Kickstarter next…
The Bats of Saint Abbans
Written by Richard Marpole and playtested by several groups, this project is laid out and well on its way to being refined enough for Kickstarter. Keep an eye out very soon!
Likely to be 4 separate booklets (Intro & NPCs, Adventure, Bestiary, and Map Book) we have Jim Magnusson working on the Bestiary already!
Malefica
Play an actual witch in a fictional 17th century landscape based on Salem and Pendle. This project might be controversial, but here’s some early art/project work…
Other projects are always in the works, but these two are currently centre-stage in between everything else!
Megadungeon Monday
For those of you that don’t follow the blog, I have been drawing away at a part of megadungon every week for what is now 47 weeks. All 52 pieces have now been created and schedule for posting ever monday on the blog!
I’ve had the very great pleasure of working with Carlos on a previous project, which will be coming to public release in January. You can keep up with Carlos’ Patreon over here: www.patreon.com/caslEntertainment.
I was excited to work on another project with Carlos for a project coming up this December… Feast your eyes upon an extract of the coastal town of Cavrik’s Cove, done for Carlos and coming up soon.
I was listening to a previous episode of Colin Green’s Spikepit podcast this morning and the subject of XP was being discussed. My brain wondered off into thought.
What if you could pay XP for getting out of a fix? Say you could buy another Saving Throw re-roll for 100XP, or an attack re-roll for 50XP. You could have a tariff of things that you were allowed to pay XP for.
What if the idea of spending XP was too frightening. Maybe offer the players 1 Saving Throw re-roll and 1 Attack re-roll per game. If they don’t use them they gain 100XP bonus for each one they didn’t use?
I like the idea of there being a cost associated with things like Advantage/Disadvantage mechanics that mean they are used only when necessary as there is a progression cost.
Chewer of Fingers is a grim, old-school introductory adventure intended for The Midderlands setting. The adventure is written for Swords & Wizardry and therefore can be used in all retro-clones and old school role-playing games with little or no work.
The encounters in the adventure take place in and around the small hamlet of Fetterstone—a depressing place on the edge of a stinking marsh near the border between the Western Midderlands and Staffershire.
The PCs are heading to Fetterstone because there is a 20-gold quid reward for the capture of an escaped criminal called ‘The Finger Chewer’. He absconded from Middlemoor Gaol five days ago and is believed to be hiding out in the surrounding oft-foggy marsh. The marsh is notoriously dangerous and even the lure of 20 gold quids isn’t enough to entice the locals into its fetid clutches.
The adventure is in a handy A5-sized format.
The adventure features 4 encounter areas.
Four pre-generated adventurers.
Six beautiful hand-drawn and scanned maps.
The adventure is littered with extra details (game-juice) and adventure hooks that make this suitable for additional future adventures. Any Game Master could take the information contained and use it for their own campaigns.
Every year I think, “I’ll just not get any time to submit to the One Page Dungeon Contest this year.” And every year, by the skin of my teeth, I somehow manage to make a panic-submission with a couple of days to spare.
It’s a great contest for all abilities and if you haven’t entered this year, you should consider it next year.
Deadline is this Wednesday 15th June at 24:00hrs UK time.
INTRODUCTION: Uncovered by the harsh desert winds, a giant porcine form of gold emerges from its silica slumber. As the wind whips stinging sand into your eyes, you know it’s the only shade you have seen for miles. Whilst searching for the Pyramid of Dimhotep the Stupid [or chasing another desert legend], the PCs stumble upon the giant automated golden pig constructed millennia ago. Created as an elaborate ruse, the golden pig is an automaton intended to lure an enemy king into allowing a ‘gift from the gods’—in the form of a revered animal—into their city. Little would they know that it was controlled from inside by an elite unit of fighting men, who would escape from its confines once inside the city, and slay its king. The golden pig never got that far. Halfway across the desert expanse separating the warring kings—a victim of its colossal weight—the golden pig became stuck up to its belly in the unstable sands. The limbs became unmovable, the access hatch in its belly inescapable, and the rear hatch stuck fast as the heat expanded its metal mechanism. The elite force inside were cooked alive. As quick as the automaton became stuck, the shifting sands buried it from view, hidden for millennia, until now.
It seems like the brakes are coming off on Kickstarter projects, and with fulfillment for most now seemingly a couple of months down the line, it seems safe to do so.
I wanted to plug some Kickstarters from friends and colleagues and announce one of my own…
If you haven’t got AS&SH yet, you really should (head over to the North Wind Adventures website). You may also want to get these dice because Xathoqqua demands it. Jeff is a true stalwart, a gentleman, a scholar, a hunk o’ love. Back with total confidence.
Disclaimer: I have no commercial involvement in this project. I have worked with Jeff previously on many projects.
Doug Cole over at Gaming Ballistic is a machine and a legend. I’ve worked with Doug on a pile of projects and every one has been a pleasure and a joy. Check out his store and this campaign and feast at the marvels that await.
Disclaimer: I believe I will be handling cartography on these projects. I have worked with Doug previously on many projects.
If you love DCC, then this 0-Level Funnel by the master of ‘grabbing your game by the scruff of the neck and shouting “PLAY ME, PLAY ME!”, Sean Richer of Orbital Intelligence is here. If you love worms and moths and funnels, check it out!
Disclaimer: I hope to be doing layout/design work on this project. I have worked with Sean previously on many projects.
Levi Combs over at Planet X Games is doing some proper old school, grindhouse, pulpy, RPG stuff, and it rocks. Levi is also a goddamn hero.
Disclaimer: I have no commercial involvement in this project, and have never worked with Levi.
The frogs over at Frog God Games look to have an interesting town project in the offering… Back it. Keep it secret, keep it safe.
Disclaimer: I have no commercial involvement in this project. I have previously worked with both Frog God Games and Necromancer Games.
Diogo Nogueira at Old Skull Publishing is a robot. A robot programmed to create great RPG stuff. He has teamed up with Alan over at Gallant Knight Games to bring us a kid/family-centric RPG. Check it out. Looks juicy.
Disclaimer: I have no commercial involvement in this project. I have never worked directly with Diogo or Alan.
Are you still with me? Goodo.
Richard Marpole and I have put together a book for people that love old school roleplaying games, magicians, and British folklore. Richard has written it, and I’ve done the art and graphic design. I think it might be the best thing MonkeyBlood Design has ever created…
Coming to Kickstarter very soon…
It will be a quick 14 day campaign. Please keep an eye out for it, so you don’t miss out.
We are back! The webstore has been closed since the end of February and we’ve missed three whole months of not being able to send you awesome roleplaying goodies whilst the whole world has been dealing with the virus pandemic.
We hope that you and your families have kept safe and well and that things will be improving soon, if not already starting to do so.
We’ve not been idle during this time, and managed to get some new projects on the store and some imminently arriving. So without further ado, come and stop by and look at all the pretty-shinies.
An Important Covid-19 Update about Shipping!In order to protect the health & safety of our staff and reduce trips to the Post Office, we will be shipping orders once per week (on Tuesdays) for the foreseeable future. We still aim to ship large orders (such as bundles) the following day. Also, whilst we want to get goods and parcels to you as soon as possible, please expect delays in the shipping services of the UK and other countries.
Richard Marpole’s teetering exploration of the Abbey-Cathedral of Saint Abbans. The abbess has a bat problem and needs competent people to head up into the lofty heights of the cathedral to sort it.
An adventure for Levels 1-3 for Swords & Wizardry and other OSR-style games. Compatible with The Midderlands setting.
This title will only be available from DriveThruRPG in both softcover print and PDF formats.
Midderzine Issue #5
More The Midderlandsgoodness!. This fifth issue contains details of the town of Abbots Bream, more Slightly Less Shit tables, March Woodkin, Legendary turnips, and more.
This title will be available in:
PDF format on DriveThruRPG
Softcover print and PDF format on the MonkeyBlood webstore
Folk Magic of the Haven Isles
Richard Marpole delights us yet again with a British folklore-based supplement for flavourful Magic-Users. Suitable for Swords & Wizardry and other OSR-style games. Designed to compliment The Midderlands setting. It provides ‘overlays’ for the Magic-User class, giving your Magic-Users a unique flavour and opportunity to stand out from the rest.
This title will only be available from DriveThruRPG in both softcover print and PDF formats.
Jason of Hobbs & Friends has been in the gaming community and interviewing folks ever since I got into the G+ gaming scene waaaay back.
I had the pleasure of being interviewed on his show back in August 2019 (http://hobbsnfriends.com/2019/08/26/52-glynn-seal/) and prior to that he was gracious enough to read out my speech at the ENnie Awards for which I owe him a debt of gratitude.
Jason is looking to upgrade his rig from the antiquated and failing setup he has in order to continue being a service and improving his setup for the Gamerhood. Here’s what Jason says:
Hey everyone. I am Jason Hobbs, Host and Creator of the TTRPG podcast Hobbs & Friends. I’ve been podcasting for the RPG industry for a couple of years and have started streaming my tabletop role-playing games on Twitch. The stream and podcast are not living up to their potential because my equipment is garbage! My old laptop overheats and some of my streams have to be canceled in the middle of a show because of hardware issues. The sound quality of Hobbs & Friends is also not up to par and this new setup will help with that too! Here is what I have in mind:
New PC Rig New audio interface, boom, and cords
The sooner I get this equipment, the sooner the quality of the shows will improve.
I feel a little uncomfortable about asking from help from you guys but I’m hoping I can make more content with higher quality with your assistance! Instead of buying me a beer or coffee at a con, I’m asking if you could possibly help this way instead. Then, I’ll buy you a beer or coffee at the next con!
This is my current little cubby in my step-daughter’s bedroom. Not much room, but I think it can work with the equipment I picked out. Thanks to all the people that already became donors. I really appreciate it and it makes me cry, honestly. Thank you very much! Expect some shout-outs often and extensively.
Mr. Hobbs
If you are able to lend him your support that would be awesome. You can help him out here:
I decided to do something different today whilst in this virus-fear malaise, so created a background for Troika! I hope someone finds it useful.
Stay safe, Glynn
The Ratseer background is an independent production by MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing and is not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council. (c) 2020 Glynn Seal/MonkeyBlood Design & Publishing
