OSR Review & Commentary On Children of the Wolf (Cardstock Characters™) With Artwork By Bob Greyvenstein For Any Rpg Campaign

 " Shapeshift, howl at the moon, and run with the pack!

This beautiful set of highly-detailed cardstock miniatures by renowned fantasy artist Bob Greyvenstein contains 10 unique figures, variants for four of them, and horizontally-flopped versions of all of them to provide additional variety (for a total of 28 different miniatures), as well as corresponding tokens for use online and with virtual tabletops. All of the miniatures are provided in two sizes, standard c. 28-30 mm scale and large 54 mm scale (2"). " 

This set includes: 

● Three powerful-looking Werewolves (one with a weapon-carrying variant); 

● Four different Wolves (some more-or-less monstrous than the others); 

● Three wolf-hooded people, in both armed and unarmed versions (which can be used variously as berserkers, Ulfhednar, cultists, or Human forms of the Werewolves); and, 

● A ZIP folder with 40 tokens (10 different images in four colors each). 

These miniatures are suitable for use with any fantasy, horror, modern, or science fiction roleplaying games or wargames. We hope you love them! " 

Children of the Wolf (Cardstock Characters™) With Artwork By Bob Greyvenstein is one of those rpg products I didn't know I needed. Published by Skirmisher Games, Childen of the Wolf has eleven pages of paper mini's that are perfectly aimed at any OSR or even horror game such as Werewolf The Apocalpyse. There's just enough figures  here to keep things interesting with three powerful half wolf/half human werewolves, there are also four different wolve forms and this allows the players or the DM to mix and match the wolve forms as they want. 
The artwork is quite nice by Bob Greyvenstein on the figures and these guys are perfect for a D&D style game or a horror themed game.  One where Werewolve PC and NPC take centerstage. And hence where these figures can shine! 

Because of the variety of material at use here the three wolf-hooded people, in both armed and unarmed versions (which can be used variously as berserkers, Ulfhednar, cultists, or Human forms of the Werewolves) could be important NPC's or stand in's for PC's. The artwork here is solidly done.
For the world's most popular fantasy game these werewolves make excellent cultists for some Chaotic wolf god or other horror. I would not want to have these figures on my PC's tail. Given the amount of Lovecraftian cults and other horror seen in both OSR & D&D style games Children of the Wolf (Cardstock Characters™)  is a worth investiment for a DM whose in need for low cost alternatives to miniatures whose prices  do seem to be skyrocketing ever upward. 

Session Report One - High Tech Mysticism & High Caliber Adventure campaign - Amazing Adventures Fifth Edition - Influence of the Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride By Levi Combs From Planet X Games

 Tonight's Amazing Adventures fifth edition session picks right up from last week's zero session. 

A player hand out printed from the papers recovered from Mr.Smithers the town historian. 
The photo was marked with the following;"Wehrmacht officiers, 1941. Unidentified site, picture from the personal archives of Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr." 
The following artwork is used without permission from Andrea Bonazzi

The players are poking around the old Morley mansion & came across the town historian's belongings?! Mr. Smithers had set up a makeshift room inside the old mansion & they found a bunch of classified papers from WW II & a four foot high jar. The jar began to move & out bust a swarm of thousands of  tiny hand like creatures that crawled towards the PC's!? There was an odd disembodied cackling that came from off in the ether. There were a series of photographs, an oddly annoited & noted map of the seas around South America & a journal in archaic German!?!  The same Wehrmacht officiers appeared in front of a dire looking jungle tomb in the South American bush! Smithers himself isn'r anywhere to be found?! 

The PC's decided to press deeper into the Morley place & discovered a secret tunnel passage that led down into tunnels running below the Morley place. In one of these the PC's came across a dug out room with an alchemist lab set up within it! And there was a rather nasty blood splatter across the floor & green ichor mixed with it. None of the player's PC's touched the foul bubbling stuff mixed with the blood. 
We drew tonight's game to a close rather early because of work schedules for tomorrow morning. 

A few take aways from tonight's game of slipping in the adventure  crow bars of Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride. Amazing Adventures fifth edition has the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition's or Castles & Crusade's alignment system in full effect. Running away is always an option esepcially for OSR style adventures. 
The PC's also have run into a little sip of paper that contained the following; 
 "Keep women, thrones and kingly lands,

Grant me—to work all mankind dole

To cleave their skulls and split their hands,

To kill the body, damn the soul." 
Keep women, thrones and kingly lands ...
by Robert E. Howard

They have no idea what this verse means but their about ready to charter a plan to South America near a little fishing village where  Mr. Smithers was staying at some months ago. 

Character Workshop & Zero Session - Now With More Tomb of The Mummy's Bride By Levi Combs From Planet X Games

 
"Tales of the cursed pyramid and the sleeping tomb of the Mummy Bride have long been a traveler’s tale, passed along by wayward explorers and greedy plunderers alike. Deep within the verdant jungles of the south, amidst a Green Hell of impenetrable jungle, savage cannibals and ancient myth, lies the shattered remnants of a once-powerful civilization and the terrible gods who ruled over them. Rumors swirl of untold riches and un-plundered magic for those brave (or foolish!) enough to claim it. Will your players survive… and what will be left of them?" 



We've closed up shop for the moment on the Veterans of the Supernatural Wars rpg mini campaign for the moment. So we're in the planning stages for an Amazing Adventures 5th editions rpg campaign romp. Except we've already got a fifth edition AA mini campaign already on the run! This one takes place in 1965 when a group of adventurers is looking into the legends of the Goblyn Glass. 

This goes back several months & the fact that we had a group of players go through Goodman Games Classics Reimagined #2 Isle of Dread . The isle appeared off the South American panhandle. The problem?! A complete party wipe on the isle & its chain of mini islands. 

So where does this leave Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride?! The fact that this undead dark lord is on the rise on this Earth! But what's the connection to small Connecticut town of Bingham?! We'll there's a ton of connections with the town historian Mr. Smithers whose family has a strong ghoul strain running through it. This family line slides in with the witches history that  interconnects with Skirmisher Publishing's ' Games  Mythos Guide To New England '

Mr. Smithers has several artifacts in his possession that have deep ties to the Mummy Bride herself. Smithers has consulted the renowned occultist John Grimlan whose recently comeback into the world of the living.  John Grimlan is the occultist  from the classic horror story by  Robert E. Howard' called 'Dig Me No Grave'. The U.S. army has the Goblyn Glass at the moment. 

Now things are starting up again at the old  Morley Manor property. There's been several disappearance in & around the old place. And Smithers has had the where with all to call in the player's PC's. Now however Smithers has disappeared! 

Mirror, Mirror - High Tech Mysticism & High Caliber Adventure - Nightshift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars By Jason Vey & Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door - Session Report

 Over the weekend we were able to get together & play a round of Night Shift The Veterans of the Supernatural! Things in Bingham have really heated up! 

The PC's got in way over their heads by going into the Morley mansion & finding the Goblyn Glass in the basement. They crossed  over into the dreamlands of  Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door series! And things got much weirder as they found Christopher St.John's 'workshop' along with the magic mirror that dominated the entire basement. The whole mirror radiated with occult  power drawing everything around it! 
The PC this time shot Robert St.John dead & made sure of it! But the guardian of  the Goblyn Glass had them! A giant hairy hand belonging to a Gug reached through & drew them into the glass! 

The The Mirror of Erised photo by  Rob Young from United Kingdom was my player handout stand in for the Goblyn Glass. 

And then the party came face to face with the dungeon of Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door! Things got very weird indeed when it became clear that the party was hip deep in the dream wilderness of  Ultan's Door! They wanted to turn around & go back to Bingham. The mirror wouldn't let them! So now they are face to face with the weirdness of the dreamlands of Ben Laurence. Will they survive the experience?! 

What's really happened is that the PC's have aquired a very special occult key from from Edward Dimond, who wants to see the PC's near the Morley manor. But will it make any difference & can the PC's figure it out in time?! And now a pride  of cats is shadowing the PC's. Now what the PC's don't know?! Agents from the U.S. Army have moved in & claimed the Goblyn Glass! How will they survive?! 

Shot in The Dreams of Others - High Tech Mysticism & High Caliber Adventure - Nightshift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars By Jason Vey & Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door

 So the PC's in this session of the on going hybrid got a chance to do a bit of investigative work around the old inn in Bingham. This session picks right up after the last one . The PC's ran into Christopher St.John & they shot him! They plugged him dead! 
Or did they?! 

Well not exactly.  They plugged instead one of his doppleganger marionette's made from the dead bodies of his victims. You see Christopher St.John is a puppeteer who got is education within the dungeon outlined in Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door series. The players didn't take any chances with the marionette & burnt the remains then their cleric/priest Father Callihoun sprinkled holy water on it & gave it a proper send off. 
The party cornered the smuggler a  very young  Amos Bradford aka The Raven more ammo & weaponry of a particular type just as he was leaving town. They almost got themselves shot but he was more then happy to take their money.  The party ran across a lost child near the Morley manor. And the players were expecting to find a murdered family or some such. They didn't. But they did find a very terrified family outside of their house. They had no idea how they had gotten there & were covered in blood. But whose was it?! 
And that's when the cat's pride showed up. 

A gang of forty cats on sure footed paws showed up & surrounded the party. The magus of the pride cast a sleep spell to put the family out & the cat general incharge of the pride handed the party a note explaining that they needed to take the Donaldson's away from the house now! There's something really dangerous happening besides the machinations of Christopher St.John! The players didn't make their saves & the meows of the cat magus became very tiring to listen to. 

Illustration from  Through Ultan's Door series.

The party got very tired & each one dropped looking at the yellow golden eyes of the cat magus. They awoke in their own beds in the morning each with a battered cat looking at them. They had their equipment, weapons, etc. all with muddy shoes. But no idea how they got there. But who or what did the cats save them from?! 
Under the pillow of Father Callihoun was a letter from Edward Dimond, who wants to see the PC's near the Morley manor. Near the broom close in  the inn where the PC's were staying one of the cats showed Lord Reggie a curious sword that was left behind by Kane when he was staying there. Weird green dried fluid is on the blade.  

Session Report Zero - High Tech Mysticism & High Caliber Adventure - Nightshift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars By Jason Vey & Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door

 So today we've  gotten the chance to put into practice some of the things we've been talking about here for sometime. And this goes back into a whole cloth other direction in today's game session or one shot. Or should I say the Connecticut one shot. In 1919's Connecticut in the little town of  Bingham tucked in the  Northwestern hills the residents  are stumped by the disappearance of twenty people into thin air! What's going on?! In 1785 a young boy fell through a hole in reality & right near the dungeon outlined in Ben Laurence's Through Ultan's Door. What came back in 1919 isn't even remotely human at all! Christopher St.John is a 13th level  undead puppeteer fully grown & murderous! Christopher is a thirteenth level puppeteer whose trained under some of the monsters of the dungeons of  Through Ultan's Door.

The PC's were called in by the Pilgrim a mysterious immortal figure who wanders New England searching out local urban legends & stories. The Pilgrim  was a fellow of Cotton Mather & a part of the society of intellectuals & people in the know. He's recruited the PC's who are also a part of this society to find out what's happening. And much of the mythology behind this comes straight out of Skirmisher Games The Mythos Society of New England by Clint Staples. 

Clint Staples was a historian & one of the best writers/designers for Skirmisher Games. And I should have took far more advantage of the friendship on social media then I did. Since then several things have become evident. The OSR ruleset that we're using for this are Nightshift Veterans of the Supernatural Wars & Age of Conan both by Jason Vey both have many of these same elements within them. Today was a PC workshop to get characters up & running within this campaign. The men & women of this game are people of extraordinary means. We're not sure if this is going to be an on going campaign. We're not sure if we're going to be using Pagan Publishing's 1995 Coming Full Circle. But its on the agenda as a possibility. 

Bingham seems like your typical New England sleepy town or village. Its anything but. The town has ties to the smuggling operations of a very young  Amos Bradford aka The Raven.  The PC's are investigating the Morley manor house that goes back to the Civil War era which is the home of Silvia Dyer one of the social & political lights of Bingham. And the PC's were met by a horror beyond human kin inside the manor! 

A  marionette that had been created from the body of Silvia Dyer one of the town's leading socialites & member of the board that runs the town under the mayor himself. 

This quick mock up campaign uses several things here at once with a large debt to Lamentations of the Flame Princess rpg. The unique lay on of the monster/NPC, the crew of NPC's of the town, & several options. We can  add in the Lovecraft mythos as needed or not. Amazing Adventures rpg by Jason Vey from  Troll Lords is on the docket if we need to tap into it. The local Bingham historian is a former New York City Museum of Natural history executive officer in charge of the Cimmerian collection named Robert Howard.  Karl Edgar Wagner's Kane just left Bingham & the PC's heard the riot act about this scandalous Bohemian businessman. Quite the scandal in Bingham.