50 Posts, 5 months, 900 views, 12 pages, 2 issues, one Campaign and 2 great special offers!

Karharka Lives and Breathes

Well it's been a wild ride from it's small start last October.

Starting with this little blog and a dream Kartharka was dragged kicking and screaming into the world.

The Lair site has finally reached 50 posts of updates, background, rules and fun.

I've kept up the dream for 5 months, the sites gathered 900 views.

Over 12 pages of content have been added on top of the regular posts.

2 issues of the magazine are out, including the Combat issue, allowing people to finally play the game.

And at least one Campaign has begun, hopefully the first of many that I will hear about.

I would like to thank all of those who come by, repost content, +1 content, comment, and even buy actual issues of the game.

Without you I couldn't have done it.

There are a few of you out there who are really going above and beyond to help out and when more details arrive I will be posting that as well.

I'd also like to thank the great folks over at Heroes Beacon here in Saint John, New Brunswick (Canada) for stocking the game.  The first of many I hope.

I want to get as many people out there playing as possible so I call out to you now.

I have some copies I would love to send to people, so if you have a site of your own and review games, contact me at spookyroomproductions@gmail.com with your details and I will get some copies into your hands. The supply of review copies is limited to the first 10 I hear from so send in your details now.

I would also love to get more copies into retailers stores so if you are a retailer or know one well enough to convince them to carry it, then send me your details and I will send you off an introductory retailer pack containing 5 copies of issue 1 and 5 copies of issue 2. You may keep one of each for yourself and supply the rest to the retailer. 

The only caveat is that you must post a review of the game online at someplace like rpggeek.com and that you supply us with the contact details of the retailer and a picture of the game on the shelves.

I would say that's a pretty great deal so this one is limited to the first 5 people who send in their details to spookyroomproductions@gmail.com.

Lair of Sword and Sorcery Campaign begins, Part 2

This is a continuation of the Play report of the first Lair of Sword and Sorcery Campaign.

Read part one here Part 1

The heroes enter the city of Stroh-Branoch!

One of the characters has decided that their hero will follow the path of Sorcery!

Not knowing where to start (none in the land of Kartharka does) they head straight for the sages hall.

They present themselves (and their +2 ccamaraderie and a pile of gold) to the sages at the hall.

It is agreed that they may begin their training on a trial basis for 1 month. They are allowed to stay at the Sages Hall, begin their tutoring in the history and sciences of Kartharka, and are given access to the library of the sages from which they begin copying as much of their lore as they can (getting a head start on a library for their demense, see the forthcoming veteran issue for more details on that)

After the month is passed and the "bodyguard" has healed their serious injuries the sages present a problem to the would be scholar.
His money has run out. To continue his studies for another month he will have to pay more (which he hasn't got) or run some errands for them.
He accepts the challenge and is tasked with picking up some papers and items from the small sages hall located in the hamlet of Throm at the top of the valley of Fangs.
The bodyguard spends a large part of his ready cash on an almost full suit of Kartharkan plate.
Knowing that this is likely not to be as simple a task as it seems (remember the bandits on the road from earlier) the novice sage decides to enlist the help of some muscle from the local bar.
Spending the rest of their money they recruit 5 dangerous looking thugs to escort them to Throm.
And it's good that they did. While camping int he forest that lies before the great Wulf's Way road they spot a babd of men with torches approaching from the distance.
They quickly break camp and make for the woods to hide.
Luckily they find an abandoned cabin there to make their stand in and another epic battle ensues.
These men are the remainder of the bandit troop, and picked up their trail soon after they left Stroh-branoch.
The heroes again use tactics to their advantage, fortifying the cabin with traps and defending the doorways to great advantage.
The bandits do break in briefly and are able to kill one of the dangerous thugs but the heroes are unscathed.
They continue on to Throm with no further problems.
There they find the local Sages Hall abandoned, though the innkeeper has been entrusted with the key which he gladly gives to the novice sage since he bears the amulet of the Winterlands Sages (temporarily).
Entering He finds the Hall indeed empty, and the library locked, needing another key.
Luckily on the lectern is left a note, to any sages who may enter the hall.
I did not have time to prep the exact wording of the scroll but it begs any sages who enter to read the scrolls left behind and follow the sages into the cursed woods (pronounced Curse-edd of course).
The exact message of the note and the details of the scrolls will have to wait until the following game in two weeks as I had absolutely nothing prepped other than literally 10 lines jotted down for the first string of scenarios.
Something like "Road, attack, Stroh Branoch, travel, cabin in woods...' and then a couple more lines for the next scenario but that's a secret.
All in all a huge ssuccess campaign started and characters made on the fly and well into the first string of scenarios
What will they encounter next? Well they have seen a lot of Sword so far...
I believe they may finally get to the other half of Lair next time!

Next up will be a series of posts on the nuts and bolts of what specifically happened, and why, including a few rules tweaks, additions and other meddling bits of minutiae.

Ps- The continuing saga of our poor heroes will be detailed here in the posts as well as being archived in a permanent section here on the site soon

First Game Successful Part 1

The first official campaign for Lair of Sword and Sorcery has begun.
In put to the test the first tenets of the Lair philosophy, quick, easy, no prep.
My real life workplace had a lot of excitement this week and I also ended up working late on game night, whoops.
So when playtime came I had nothing prepped at all.
No problem!
People showed up late.
No problem!
Even with me flipping back and forth through the combat issue,
(page numbers, and tables of contents are now a feature from issue three up, you're welcome)
we still had characters ready in 10 minutes.
I simply started them on the Road to Stroh Branoch and had them encounter the miners from the example scenario.
No problem.
Instead of trying to get sacks of gold out they threw their miners at the bandits to kill them all before they could make off with the sacks, whoops, I did not expect that. I expected them to be a bit more careful with their miners and their heroes.
 They also set up a defensive wall of miners around the sacks to keep the bandits from getting to them. Whoops again. My bandits are having a real hard time getting at the sacks. I should start to rethink my strategy of avoiding the miners to drag sacks and just start attacking.
One player then set up a tangle of ropes at one of the entrances to the sack room using their rope and some spikes (and a sota roll of 7)
Huzzah, they're setting traps. Dammit they're setting traps.
Some my bandits are now having to fight through this thing to get at the sacks.
by the end of the scenario all the bandits were dead having looted only two sacks, leaving 28 sacks for the heroes to give to the miners for their reward.
The heroes have not suffered a single wound from the bandits though one has lost a few endurance from fighting.
Then they decided to turn on the last remaining miner to kill him and take all the loot for themselves. "Because there's no alignment in this game".
They manage to kill him but one of the heroes actually has to make a death roll in the fight, and fails!
Luckily once the scenario is over the recover roll leaves him only "severely injured".
In their now weakened state they decide to return to the miners camp near the road and return their ore for the reward, 28 gold pieces, a fortune in the winterlands!
I groan inwardly but have to admit they earned it with some clever strategy on the board.
During this first scenario we found alot of things about Lair which I will post some articles on during the week with some of the material going into the books.
But the night was not over!
This mighty encounter took only about and hour so they continued on to Stroh-Branoch
Read more about this one crazy night in part 2.

Buy Lair Online!

Buy Lair of Sword & Sorcery Online!

Well this is the big one everybody, the accounts are all setup and you can now buy your issues online.

You will see "Buy Lair Online" now appears on the menu, just follow to place your order.

All the info for shipping etc is on that page.

I'll also have the retailer options set up on that page soon as well, we're well on our way to getting in stores near you!

Get your issues and start your own games today, join the forces of Kartharka in our quest to put Awesome back in Roleplaying!

~Ripley

Lair of Sword and Sorcery is back online!

The Lair Hub is updating again!

Thanks everyone for your patience while the site went dark for another week.

I have returned from my travels to strange and foreign lands and will be updating again soon.

After planes, buses, subways, and even a car accident, the savage world of Kartharka seems a friendly and comfortable place to return to.

A harrowing but fruitful trip I also return with news.

Lair of Sword and Sorcery is going to be available online as well as Brick and Mortar establishments.

I have to admit that the hopes for selling only through retail were more of a feeling of Nostalgia for how I joined the gaming world but I bow to the pressures of today's market.

There will still be a lot of perks for the retailers as well as a lower cover price (not to mention shipping costs) but I feel it is time to open up to the global online gaming world.

Some of you may have noticed the Combat issue arrived to small fanfare as the issue was off the presses mere days before my leaving. Unfortunately my work schedule as well as access to technology and the internet was severely in the way of making a big fuss about this issue.

But fear not!

For those of you who still have not had the pleasure of holding an issue in your hands, some of the content will be trickling onto the site over the next couple of weeks.

You should see:

• A basic "overview of the game" item on the menu
• Additions to the background setting of Kartharka
• A new "how to contribute" menu item on the new contribution and "what you can do" guidelines. (I am loosening up on the restriction, call it mellowing in my old age)
• The updated Hero Record sheet (slight changes after publishing Combat issue, play testing works!)

And what's happening behind the scenes?

I was hoping to get the main chunk of the Veteran rules written up this week but workload was much more intense than anticipated.

I was hoping to have at least a page of guidelines to "get you by" until the Veteran issue but it looks like it will be a bit of time before that is all collated into something people can make sense of so you should see a temporary Menu item pop up sometime in the next week on What the Veteran system is and how the Heroes can earn veteran points (you will have to get the issue to find out how to spend them)

Hopefully this will allow you to jump right into your games before the Veteran issue is out.

If the Veteran issue is held up for a good deal of time then a selection of ways to spend them will be added to that menu item.

I will also be adding one more menu item on the "publishing spirit" of Lair of Sword and Sorcery.

It will have a little bit of the actual practice of putting together an issue, what the issues hope to accomplish and how they wish to accomplish it.

To keep updated on all of these things please subscribe to the blog, or like us on Facebook, and of course add us to your circles in Google+.

Photography Begins on Combat Issue!

Issue 2, "The Combat Issue", has just finished final editing and design. Now we head into photography, hopefully topping the quality of the photos in issue 1. Sorry about that one guys I'm still learning over here.
This is the big one, this issue where you actually get some Rules!
You've all been reading about the tone of the game, the design principles behind it and how it's different. With this issue Lair is going to back up all those claims.
My own "Campaign" is ramping up and will running shortly after the Combat issue comes out.
You'll be hearing all about how it goes as it'll be the testing grounds for the first group of Published Scenarios.
Thanks for Listening and everyone prepare for Combat!
~Ripley

Issue 2 is Written!

So let it be written, so let it be done!
All of the copy text is written for Issue 2 "The Combat Issue!"

For all fans of Sword and Sorcery The complete Lair of Sword and Sorcery Rules will be appearing in this issue.

Features include:

• Character Creation
• Equipment
• Roleplaying and Combat mode
• Combat rules
• The SOTA rules (Something Other Than Attacking)
• Background for The "capital" of the Winterlands Stroh-Branoch, with map and key features.
• Character Sheet
• Amassing your figure collection.
• The Lair Skirmish game
• An introductory scenario with tips for beginning Demonlords

The art for this issue is half done so if you would like to see your art in this issue you had better send it in to spookyroomproductions@gmail.com.

Issue 3 will be the Veteran issue, containing rules for:

Pushing your characters to the next Rank,

Balancing the enemy forces for the Demonlord, 

A list of some animals of the Winterlands both helpful and harmful

Issue 4 will tentatively be the long awaited "Sorcery" issue. And will likely be the first "forked" issue, With one version being for the players and the other for the Demonlord.

The "forked" issues are published at the same time, with the players info in a players copy of the issue and the Demonlords info in the Demonlord copy. They will both have the same issue number but with a P for players or D for Demonlord next to the number on the cover.

Concurrent with the regular run of Sword and Sorcery will be a special "Lairs" supplement, containing 10 Lairs to be used for either the Lair Skirmish game or as full blown adventures for your heroes.

Also in the new year my own group of players will be starting their own journey to fame and glory, Their exploits (as well as their advenutures) will be published on a semi regular basis as well in the special campaign issues of the Demonlord fork of Lair of Sword and sorcery. 

Let the adventure begin!

Demon Board Upgrade! (continued)

I promised an update on the clay blocks...

The dollar store clay worked out great.
It's called "Natural Modeling Clay"
Features are "dries naturally".

I honestly thought there would be some difference between these and the salt dough blocks but other than having to let the clay dry out a bit before working it the experience was the same.

If the clay is too wet it will deform when you pull it out of the mold, but just leave it out to dry for a bit, reworking it occasionally, and it's just fine.

You seem to get about 15 blocks out of a package so about 2 packages would be equivalent to a batch of salt dough. At $1.25 per package they are a great deal.

So if you're just getting started and don't know if you will bother playing the game for long, use the salt dough blocks or just card walls.

If you've stuck with your salt dough blocks for over a year and find that they are getting too soggy or misshapen from storage than go ahead and upgrade.

I decided to hold off painting until after the holidays (just too much going on, running a business, wife and kinds plus 4 birthdays all in one months is a little much) But I should find a bit of time to have everything up and ready for the new game, and if not I'll just use the card walls, I've got plenty.

Also busy finishing off issue 2.
The combat rules are all written up in a real format as opposed to my usual bullet points in my notebook.

Now moving on to the included skirmish game to help teach the combat system.

I am also possibly going to include the first Scenario in the issue (or Lair as I call them) It all depends on how much room I have left after my usual rambling.

~Ripley

Sword and Sorcery versus "Fantasy" Part 1

Most Role playing games, whether pen and paper, or video games, are based on the great grandfather of them all, Dungeons and Dragons.

The tone, genre and setting of the original D&D materials was a "quasi medieval" setting. So you have kings and kingdoms, knights, villages, cities, maps, trade, languages and ships. 

As for the trappings of the fantastic you have dragons, monsters, and other creatures hiding in secluded places.

For magic you have magic weapons, inspired by things like Excalibur, and wizards, inspired by legends of Merlin and others.

It's a wide open setting, based only slightly on a historical template from our own earth.

It's original rules and mechanics were based on rules created for tabletop war-gaming, where large masses of men fight against each other.  This means you had a lot of men and didn't feel too much loss when any of them died.

Dungeons and Dragons the role playing game is based on the idea if each player controlling only one man. And following their exploits as they grew in power to become a "Super Hero".

Now you have a handful of men versus a large number of enemies and a "general".

IF you were to set both groups on a war-game table and let them attack each other then you would have a very short lived game.  The enemies would quickly overwhelm them, killing them in a short period of time.

What the "heroes" needed was a way to encounter the same number of enemies  but in small groups, starting with the weakest ones first and increasing their fighting abilities before fighting the next group.

This is what led to the 3 main ideas which drove the D&D game and indeed all role playing games afterward.

The first idea was the dungeon.

Think of the dungeon like a battlefield. 

You start at one end and work your way through the enemies cannon fodder, the weakest and easiest to start with. The closer you get to the other "end" the more powerful the enemies become, through the shock troops and the generals body guards till you get to the general himself.

The twisting corridors and small rooms of the dungeon are conducive tot he Heroes Guerrilla style warfare tactics of hitting small targets and getting away quickly.

Indeed the first "dungeon" was the basement tunnels of a fortress.

During a war game scenario a small group of skirmishers were trying to overthrow the by sneaking in through a back door.and through the basements, but the players enjoyed that part of the scenario so much it was decided to expand on it.

The next big thing was to figure out was how was a group of mediocre soldiers ever supposed to defeat an enemy so powerful that they threaten the world? Well if the enemy was somehow able to amass so much poer there must be a way for the heroes to do so as well. And so an "experience point" system was born, so that they could incrementally improve until they too were "superheroes" capable of defeating the enemy general.

But there was still one more problem. The heroes were still too weak. If you consider the pacing of an adventure game it becomes clear that heroes have to kill alot of enemies to succeed in their quest.

IF they walk into a dungeon, kill a couple of guys each and then run off to heal, waiting a couple of weeks for natural healing to do it's work then the enemy would clearly move more guards to that room again before they returned.  

The heroes had to find a way to press further into the dungeon in a single outing.

And so magical healing was born, healing potions, healing spells and even Resurrection spells were created. No one wanted to spend years creating a character just to see them killed by some lackey with a lucky strike. For Heroes to act like heroes they needed to be able to run in heal quickly while still in the dungeon if things got really bad and move on a little farther.

The idea that

a: massive underground labyrinths exist everywhere in the world

b: that by simply entering them and killing enough enemies and gaining enough treasure will make you more powerful

c: that if you make a mistake you will be magically healed and able to continue on

are the hallmarks of all fantasy role playing games today.

See part 2 for the Sword and Sorcery version of these 3 things.

Distribution, retailers, reprints, and the internet

What a month!
Hail all followers of the Lair of Sword and Sorcery Roleplaying game!
Lets get down to the Nitty Gritty, and have one of our uncomfortable conversations.
You may have read in previous posts or in the magazine my feelings about "the whole online thing".
I want everyone to buy their copies in a store, to help out their local economy, and to join their local community of gamers.
But I've found something out in the last month, people want to buy stuff online!
They have a community online and they are quite happy with that.
Well in my spirit of embracing all our brothers of Sword and Sorcery I'm going to start selling online, but in a way that I feel comfortable with.

So, for now, until I get everything set up you can continue to follow the link on the menu of "Where to buy" to find your local retailer to buy your copy.

In the future we will be adding a few more links, one for retailers to send them to the new retailer site (under construction waiting on approvals from the online economic powers that be).

Soon after will be a link for "buy online"

Printing schedule:

Here is how the printing schedule will happen.

Retailers will be able to order an issue as soon as it's released, 1 month later that issue will appear online.

As soon as a new issue is released all previous issues will be considered "reprints" and will still be available to retailers with a black and white cover.

All issues online will only sport the black and white cover and will be considered "reprints"

Pricing:
All retailers in my local area will sport a cover price of $4 (they get a bit of a deal as they don't have to pay for shipping)

Other retailers will have a cover price of $5 (shipping costs, blame society)

The online issues will sport a cover price of $6 (plus shipping and handling)

So if you want the snazzy colour covers and the lower cover price then please buy at your local brick and mortar store.
If you don't mind the black and white cover and like the convenience of buying online then we got you covered too.

Why?
I love local stores, without local stores I would never have met all of the great people I have over the years, would never have found out about all the great games and comics I have squandered my youth with, and probably would never have even gotten into this whole "gaming" thing.
If anyone is wondering why the gaming and comic book industry is shrinking every year then wonder no more, It's because people are not supporting their local stores, those people who wave the banner of our hobby, help all of those who are just finding out about this great hobby, are passing all their knowledge down to the next generation of sword swinging little ones.
I'm an old geezer now, with a wife, kid and house, so you won't see me hanging around at my local store too much (I'm either fixing something, running errands, or just spending time with the family) but when I do see something that I want, or need to stock up on a couple of pots of paint or a few more skeletons for my undead army, I stop by my local store.
And you should too.

~Ripley

Demonboard upgrade!

I am currently upgrading my Demonboard. My Salt dough blocks have served me well for a couple of years now but I'm now getting around to making a new set out of modelling clay. I found a good source for natural clay at my local dollar store  and was able to get enough to complete a set for 5 dollars. I'll post more pics after the weekend of the upgraded blocks as well as some tips for working with natural clay.
This is all to prepare for my group of heroes starting their new game.
I'm excited to start the group off in the new time period of Kartharka, The previous game took place 40 years before the current time period in the tumultuous time of troubles. A band of heroes struck off to make their fortunes but ended up changing the face of the Winterlands forever.It was a heady year for the Winterlands with rumors of strange beasts being dragged back from the wilds, the gods returning to the mountains and sorcery flowing through the town of Stroh-branock like water.
But after their brief time in the sun they ventured forth on their greatest challenge of all...never to return.
Look to future issues of Lair to follow their mighty exploits!
Before I upgrade my board here's a few more pics of what it looks like now.
All of the details how to make a demon board in a single day (or weekend if you like it fancy!) are in issue 1 of lair "The Demonboard Issue"