Anamnesis of the Mystic Scholar

Gygax Magazine #3 contains a little more Sci-fi this time around. Ernie makes a contribution, but Luke is "missing." Where are you Luke?

 

 

Ernie and Benoist give us an Adventure Module: "The Marmoreal Tomb of Garn Pat'uul." It used to be a city of the Dwarves, until some Stone Giants crashed the party; typical. There are goblins, kobolds, stirges, spiders, rot grubs . . . the usual "pests" one finds. Then, of course, there are the "larger" problems. Well naturally there are Undead – what did you expect? It's a tomb!

Wolfgang Bauer follows up with the article: "Order of the Knights Incorporeal." It's written for the 13th Age RPG. Yes, that's right . . . incorporeal. And yes, it means just what it says; an army of the buggers. Ravenloft anyone? Yep, the "Ghost Knights" are a new villain for the game and yes, a Vampire is to blame for their existence. But then, aren't they always? Of course, Wolfgang does try to lay at least some of the blame at the feet of the Darakhul -- Ghouls of the Underworld. But then again, isn't that just like Wolfgang? Yeah, defending the Vampire, naturally. Now we can all stop wondering why we only see Bauer after the sun goes down. Mwahahahahahaha!

Tim Kask presents us with "Master Mariner," rules for running a gang of Pirates! I think Mike Bridges – a.k.a. "Mortellan" –  of Greyhawkery should take a look at this one, pirate fanatic that he IS. Is there anyone left who doesn't know about Mort's pirate campaign? If so . . . where the heck have you been!? Yeah, even Mike could come away with some ideas from this one.

James M. Ward presents a mini Adventure: "They All Died at the International Space Station." Sounds like a TPK in the making to me, if the players are not careful. It's Sci-fi, so I couldn't get that into it, but I like the way James presents it. Nice writing.

Jess Hartley presents a piece of Advice on how to rid yourself of a contentious Player. A Player invited their girl-friend to join the group, they have since split up and she's being "snippy" during their gaming sessions. I'd say the advised works well for ridding yourself of any Player who has – for some reason – become a problem for the group. A definite must for anyone experiencing this kind of problem in their game.

Ben Gerber presents an article on sock-puppet role playing for kids. Talk about "passing the baton." Sounds like a great way to introduce the next generation to the game.

Jayson Elliot presents a new Player Class for AD&D, the Airlancer, on page 12. The Class is for those of noble birth. Do you have a player that doesn't want their character to be of noble birth? These guys possess a unique ability . . . for when they've had one too many! Look it over, you may have found a new Class for your game.

James Carpio presents us with the dwarven Rune Priest for Dungeon Crawl Classics. I found the character interesting and may have to give one a try out. Like every character class, it has its advantages and its disadvantages. It's for you to decide if this guy is for your game and you can't determine that until you've read the article.

Michael Curtis offers an interesting take on Artifacts and their ability to impart Knowedge and Ancient Lore to the holder. This is quite different from the blatant destructive/curative power usually displayed by, or granted to, an artifact. Surely everyone knows that "knowledge is power?" Well, here it is . . . manifold.

The comics "Full Frontal Nerdity" and "Order of the Stick" make a return in this issue. I'm partial to Order of the Stick myself and in this edition they've been . . . REBOOTED! Holy Mackerel! Our favorite Bard – Elan – then starts talking about how when a Franchise runs out of ideas . . . they start over. Sound like any company you know? I doubt that Rich Burlew has run out of ideas – just yet – but it is a perfect analogy for our Hobby. ROFL

There are other articles to be read, for sure, but I just can't get into that much Science Fiction. Sure, I've watched Star Trek, but not every incarnation. Voyager, Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, blah, I was never interested in those. Sword & Sorcery is my escapism outlet.

Still there's more good stuff in this edition of Gygax Magazine for people of my taste too. Each piece is well written; the Publishers are insuring that they use people with some talent, it's only with some subject matter that I loose interest. But taste vary widely, so dive in and enjoy!