New content! New look! New locale!

What comes first? The dungeon or the wilderness?

https://mythopoeicrambling.wordpress.com/2019/04/01/leveling-up-and-world-building/

The End is Near! Reset your Browsers and Feeders!

Mike took a break and is back -- you probably noticed.

I took a break...you probably thought I was dead.  I came back a few times and said I wasn't dead. If you noticed, you probably suspected that I wasn't really back.  Well, I hope I am cycling into a new phase of life.

I'm not going to promise twice-a-week posting like used to be my norm, but I have been thinking and working on things, and even carving out some little bits of time to write up some of the things I've been thinking and working on, so I have some hope for increased blog activity on my part.  I even think it's going to be productive!

At the same time, I've digested some feedback about the blog and some of my own dissatisfaction with Google.  So, I'm here to say that this blog is dead.

It's being reborn on Wordpress with a new look and new organization.  Tomorrow, April 1, I will post the first substantial new content from me in a long time. I'm going to be focusing on a very basic question about the structure of D&D in it early forms and what it may have to do with world building.  Yep, my basic obses- er, interests, have not changed. I've still got my Old School stance, but I'm not going to hate on or close myself off from new possibilites. I'll try some and see what there is to see, when opportunity presents itself. In the areas of tabletop gaming closest to where this blog dwells, we live in a time of great innovation and activity in roleplaying in general, the current edition of D&D, and frankly inspiring creativity in the OSR and OSR-adjacent DIY D&D that is blowing fresh winds my way. Pathfinder has long been dethroned by 5e, but it too is coming soon in a new iteration. Newness is in the air. The season is changing.

I hope Mike will chime in and say what his thoughts and hopes are for MPR, the second-born. Is he going to keep making PF 1.0 monsters? Is he going to make PF 2.0 monsters and/or D&D 5e monsters? I'd like to know.  And I'm going to try to discipline myself to offer some of them in conversion for those of you playing things like Swords & Wizardry -- still powering my current campaign.

https://mythopoeicrambling.wordpress.com is going to have a threefold structure -- My Rambles, Mike's Monsters, and an archive of this blog. Okay, I've already learned some hard lessons about Wordpress. There will be no tripartite structure, however, you'll see clearly that all that stuff will be there.

To everyone who contributed to this blog over the years -- readers, sharers, commenters, friends, guest writers, and above all, Mike, please accept my hearty and humble thanks.  I hope this blog contributed to your imaginative and ludic life, because sharing it with you has greatly contributed to mine. Going forward, all our blog interactions and new posts will appear there.

Please join us and see where the creation and enjoyment of mythic fantasy will take us in the future.

Yours sub-creatively,

Dr. Obscure

Mythopoetic Rambling Blogspot, February 2011-March 2019

NTRPG CON, Here I Come!

This is the year folks! It's finally happening!

After years of not getting to go, tomorrow, I will head back up to my home grounds of DFW and game until I drop. Hopefully, there also will be a decent amount of shopping, meeting people I've known only online or through podcasts, and making new gaming friends.

Here's what I'm registered for:

THURS. ALL DAY 6/2

AD&D 2e - Kelly Rowe The House of Strahd

FRIDAY AM 6/3

S&W - Matt Finch Mythrus Tower

FRIDAY PM 6/3

OD&D - Tim Kask    Sneak Peek/Test # 2

SAT AM 6/4

Swords & Wizardry - Jillian Webb    ???

SAT PM 6/4

Empire of the Petal Throne - Dr. Victor Raymond The Jakallan Underworld  

I hope to see you there!

Deciphering Dyson

I can't imagine there are any readers of my blog who are unfamiliar with Dyson's Dodecahedron. It's a must-read RPG blog -- and his lovely maps have gone isomorphic, which I simply adore as the most helpful kind of dungeon maps.

Recently as I was looking over one of Dyson's maps, I found a spot I couldn't rightly interpret, nor helpfully explain to Dyson my perception in the comments to get clarity. So I made some pictures to hopefully get across my problem to enable him to fix my understanding.

The map is found at the top of this post: Return to Durahn's Tomb. At the top of the stairs to the overlook above the elevated niche to the entry room is where my interpretation problem begins.

In the detail shot below, as I look at the right angle niche above the half-square dais or platform, the stairs appear to lead to an undifferentiated space. I can imagine that the red lines I've added below would differentiate the space, but they'd represent a sheer drop from the stairs which I doubt Dyson intended.

In the detail shot below, I have added a landing for the stairs in green lines that turn into a gallery above a lower overlook, but getting those two spaces to make sense together is also not exactly obvious.

Funny enough, if I flip the entire image (below) the problem with that intermediary space disappears entirely and the area becomes an octagon, and the only things that then would need fixing are the sarcophagi and the main entrance.

So, I look forward to Dyson's explanation, and I appreciate the time he spends sharing his labors with us foremost, but also in helping me get clarity.

If you have never supported Dyson's work before, now is as good a time as any. If you're looking for a one-time purchase, I've enjoyed his Dyson's Delves II, but you could also contribute to his Patreon account to keep these works coming and released into the wild.

All in the cards

Tim Shorts over at Gothridge Manor has a short but interesting article up about using Tarot cards as game props.  And you know how I love cards!  Here, take a look.  Of particular interest is a link to an expansion he did some years back on the Deck of Many Things.

In the blog maintenance department, I've added a tag for Cards.  Take a look and see if you've missed any Rambles on gaming with cards.  Also, on the practical side, if you need boxes to store your cards in, try Hobby Lobby.

World Building with the Core Rulebooks

If you haven't seen this post by Rob Donoghue of The Walking Mind, then I highly recommend it: Inferred history of the world per the Monster Manual and a little from the Players Handbook.  This is the kind of exercise that I love for building the setting of a game, and that really inspires me to do the same.  This should be of interest to folks whether they are interested in the new edition of D&D or not, as reading game rule books for details or clues applicable to world building can be practiced across editions and games.  His schematization of the inferred history into those time periods he creates also indicates to me a kindred spirit.  Thanks, Rob!

Campbell's Mythopoeic Soup, you say?

Bound to be overly processed and loaded with sodium, says I.  But don't take my word for it.  Head on over to Black Gate for this interesting reflection.

Oh, and to the commenter who noted that Campbell gets things wrong when he talks about areas he knows well, that's exactly how I feel when Campbell talks about the Judeo-Christian tradition.

BFGs to meet in Tenkar's Tavern

No, not Big Friendly Giants, although that would also be cool.  Fine, I left the "R" out.

Patrons of publican Tenkar's fine establishment will know of his upcoming gathering for appreciators of Basic Fantasy Role-playing Game. This red-headed stepchild of the OSR is the product of the generous labors of Chris Gonnerman and is supported by the ongoing dedication of its fans who put out a considerable body of supplemental material.  All of this is available for free download at the site linked above, Basicfantasy.org.  This game has been on my radar for a while, though I've yet to play it.  One of these days I'm going to give it a good going-over, to see if my own home-brewing project of B/X, Holmes, S&W -- together with what I appreciated about AD&D and 3rd era gaming -- is either reinventing the wheel or has something to learn from Basic Fantasy.

In any event, I look forward to seeing what tomorrow will bring, and hope you too will take a look and join me in appreciating the appreciators!

No More Anonymous Comments

I've been mulling over eliminating anonymous commenting with the constant waves of Spamments I get for some time.  The recent spat of commercials and LOLcats have convinced me that this is a necessity for sanity's sake.  Sorry to my friends and readers who find signing into Blogger a pain.  Hopefully, changes to Blogger will at least have eliminated problems in signing-in and folks will live with the extra hassle.  Also, thanks to my pals who came riding to my rescue.

More Support from the Author of the Cloven Hoof Syndicate

Almost too late for a Mythopoeic Monday posting, but I just got word about something that went live today: a support article from Rambler and Friend of the Blog, Paris Crenshaw.  Head on over to the Clockwork Gnome site and get "Arcane Assistance in the Conduct of Criminal Investigations" under Supplemental Articles.  I also notice how much Allen has prettied the site up.  Nice.

If you're interested in quality product for the Pathfinder RPG, PF Beginner's Box, or Swords & Wizardry, and haven't all ready, take a look around.

Elizabeth Kobold-Ross

THE NEWS.

D.  This can't be happening!  Is today April 1?  No, their site's been hacked.  That's it.

A. @#$%^&*!  This is Fourth Edition's fault, isn't it?  DAMMIT!

B.  I'll buy two subscriptions this time -- no, three!  I'll give them to family and friends!  Just give me another year...

D. This is because I didn't renew my subscription fast enough.  I meant to, but we were between issues, and I was going to do it soon!  I'm a terrible person.  I should have written more reviews and highlighted KQ on the blog more often.  Now there's nothing I can do.  I want to crawl into a chaotic cave and never come out.

A.  Okay, I'm nowhere near acceptance.  I'm very sad that this excellent magazine is folding.  But I want to add my voice of thanks to Miranda Horner, Christina Stiles, Chris Bodan, Cathy Rundell, Crystal Frasier, Wade Rockett, Pierce Watters, Jeff Grubb, and everyone who ever contributed to the production and support of what had become my favorite magazine.   But above all to Wolfgang and his wife Shelly.  I hope the next stage for you two brings better things.

With a Little Help from my Friends!

A big thanks to Dave for his guest blogpost considering the state of fantasy illustration from a young artist.  As you can see from the drop in my posting frequency, the new classes and departmental responsibilities at my new institution, while a great blessing, are cutting into the time and energy I have for Rambling.  I've got some things in the cooker, but my friends have noticed this, and in their expansive FaWTLy spirit, have offered to guest post from time-to-time.  Keep your eyes out for more of these contributions in the days to come, as well as some new posts from Yours Obscurely.  There efforts are going to enrich things around here.  Thanks a lot, friends!  This is not the first time or only venue in which you have gotten me by.

Thanks and Welcome!

There have been a number of comments and additions to the roster of Ramblers lately that I have not been as quick to acknowledge as usual.  Thank you to everyone for the support!  I appreciate your follows and comments (even if it takes me a while to get around to them).  Please accept my welcome to Mythopoeic Rambling.  I hope you'll explore the Page Tabs, Blog Archive, and Labels to get a lay of the land and find new resources for your own imaginings.

The Squeaky Wheel

Remember this post?  

Signs are that oil may be forthcoming.  

Stay tuned!

To My Fellow Blogspot Bloggers

Dear Brilliant Colleagues,
For days, I have been trying to comment on your entries for their utility, inspirational value, cleverness, and so forth.  Every time, posting the comment fails.  No amount of restarting or signing out and back in has made it where any of my comments successfully post.  I think that it is not merely those who have the security feature turned on, but also those who require one to be signed in to comment.  I encourage folks to open up comments.  Yeah, I agree, anonymous comments are annoying, but I think over all it will increase your feed back and anonymous comments will still be a small minority -- and spam even rarer.  At least, that has been my experience.
Wishing you the best,
Theodric the Obscure

Year Two of the A-Z Challenge

This year will be my second year in a row to participate in the A-Z blogging challenge.  I'm back in town and I have made it through some demanding times, so action is really going to pick up over here.  It's a really interesting exercise -- a mix of structure and randomness, planning and exploration.  Some of last year's posts remain among my most popular and continue to be viewed, and some of my readers found this blog thanks to the blogging challenge, just as I found theirs.  I hope you will include stopping in for day one in your celebration of Palm Sunday or April Fool's!

Mail Call!

I was pretty busy yesterday, so today I get around to the mail and, lo and behold, it was a great day for mail, thanks to Paizo and New Big Dragon: a veritable Oriental Postal Adventure!  (Goodies pictured above.)  Thanks go especially to New Big Dragon, since his was an act of pure generosity.  And check out that attention to detail on the envelope.  You've got to respect that.  Of course, now I wish I had a logo for my blog so it could be put on cool stuff like buttons and envelopes and such.

Thanks to the latest Ramblers for following the blog.  Reminder: there is only one day left to enter the contest for a free fantasy paperback.  I hope you all are having a good end of February and a good Year of the Dragon so far.  Here, the winter is disappointingly mild.

Contest and Follower Drive!

Starting today and ending Friday the 25th at sundown in the Central timezone, I'm looking to break the 100 follower barrier, bring new folks into the Mythopoeic Rambling readership and spread the word, and celebrate one year of blogging.  Every new follower will be added to the list of entrants, and I will roll dice to choose the winners.  It's a way of passing some possessions on and sharing with you as so many of you have shared with me.  The tokens of my appreciation are the books pictured above.  So if you have not been publicly following the blog as a Mythopoeic Rambler, do so now!

"What is that?" asks you faithful 98.  "What about us?"  All my current followers need to do to enter is make a comment on this post.  Of course any suggestions, criticisms, compliments, or questions will be seriously entertained and appreciated. 

We'll see how this first contest goes.  I may immediately follow it up with another, as I get some more things together.

Books, R-L/T-B: Dray Prescott 1: Transit to Scorpio, 33: Witches of Kregen; Snow White, Blood Red ed. by Datlow & Windling; Raymond Feist's Magician books Apprentice and Master; Yarbo's Path of the Eclipse.  They are all in decent reading condition (the glare on the last book makes it look otherwise than it is).  The two Prescott books are not easy to find and especially deserve a good home!

Valentine's Exaltation of the Flame Princess

James Edward Raggi IV has been appearing in another round of podcasts lately, hawking his Lamentations of the Flame Princess WFRPG: Grindhouse Edition.  This was a sign to us of what was to come.  It is clear to me that, instead of blowing all his profits from Lamentations on his rock-and-roll lifestyle as I'm sure we all assumed he had, he was actually playing the long game, bribing his way onto the Adventure Time special Valentine's Day episode. If you haven't seen the episode yet, I won't spoil too much: in "Incendium," the Flame Princess (spoilers at link) threatens to displace Princess Bubblegum as Finn's love interest.

Very devious way to insinuate your game into the American market and get around all the not-for-the-kiddies issues, JERIV.  Happy Valentine's Day, you filthy animal.

Also, check out Randomistics' fan art.

Tops of the Blog in Year One

Going through the blog's stats for the first year, I have compiled the following in case it is of interest to others besides me.  If you helped introduce folks to my blog, I am deeply grateful.  I should note that the A-Z April Blogging Challenge brought lots of readers, but I have no way to keep up with that traffic other than its contributions to post popularity and to followers.

TOP TEN POSTS OF 2011-2

1. The Ouroboros
2. Z is for Zoomorphic Angels
3. P is for Paladin
4. King James Rules for Mythopoesis
5. Pawns of the Pathfinder Beginner Box
6. T is for the Tree of Life
7. It's Snowing Villains
8. Far over the Misty Mountains cold
9. Siren Calls from the City of Angels
10. The Thing (2011)

Four Posts that were in the Top Ten Until Recently 
Q is for Queenly Quest
H is for Heart
Scoopocalypse! Adventuring News from PaizoCon 2011
Everything American Horror Story: Pilot Review

TOP NINE GAMING BLOG TRAFFIC DRIVERS

1. jrients.blogspot.com
2. errantgame.blogspot.com
3. rathergamey.blogspot.com
4. eternalkeep.blogspot.com
5. bloodofprokopius.blogspot.com
6. daddygrognard.blogspot.com
7. risusmonkey.com
8. gothridgemanor.blogspot.com
9. towerofthearchmage.blogspot.com

Top Game Sites Not Blogs
Paizo Forums
ENWorld

Growth Rate: 39%.  If only the economy were doing so well!


Note to UK Readers: Yes, you are the second largest group after US readers, but not by much.  How could the lands of my forebears be squeaking by Canada -- Canada, by Her Majesty's frocks and frosty locks! -- and so far lagging behind US readers in a ratio of less than 1:7?  I appeal to my people in Kent and Northern Ireland to rally behind the Rambling.