MAJUS: Marvin and Lord Rathmore are in. How about you?

Today's blatant plug of the MAJUS Kickstarter comes from Jim Wampler, Gygax Magazine Art Editor and creator of Marvin the Mage! We're seven days and $603 away from funding my magic noir game. Don't be left behind once the magic goes away. And for the record, I hate shilling, but it's a necessary evil sometimes. It'll soon be over, I promise, but it's going to get worse the closer we get to the finish line until we get those last couple of C-notes to finish the funding. Apologies in advance!

I’m Very Two-Dimensional

So “Of Unknown Provenance” didn’t fund, depriving generations of future gamers the chance to take a wander through the Night Archive. It’s this sort of hole in our shared cultural landscape that allows “The Jersey Shore” to keep airing, people. When society collapses, you’ll regret not forking over that $20.00.

In all seriousness, however, thank you to everyone who did contribute to the campaign and I’m sorry you won’t be seeing the adventure anytime soon. There’s still hope it may appear someday in some form, but I’ve got a heap on my plate to work through at the moment and projects with paychecks attached to them take precedence.

Even though my project didn’t make the final funding cut, I did get a piece of good news this week and it’s something very few other occupants of the OSR tent can list on their resume: I’ve been rendered in comic form in the latest installment of “Marvin the Mage!” Jim Wampler was kind enough to add a cameo appearance of myself in the midst of a tavern brawl. I think this means that the world of Marvin now contains two RPG writers and designers as residents—myself and Tim Kask. The place is certainly going downhill fast!

A very big “thank you” goes out to Jim for including me in a small capacity in comedic schemes of Marvin and his cohorts. You can check out the page here and play “Guess Who Mike Is?” for yourself.

Beware of Lampreymen…Suckers

My regular readers know that I’ve penned the upcoming DCC adventure Emirikol Was Framed! and that it’s due for release later this year. What is not common knowledge is that I’ve written a second adventure and that I’m currently working on a third Dungeon Crawl Classics scenario.

The second adventure is entitled The Sea Queen Escapes! and it’s now in the final stages of revisions and playtesting. The cover art is complete and the book is almost ready to go into layout. No release date or formal announcement has yet been issued, but I have permission to talk a little bit about it. You can hear me say a few words about The Sea Queen on an upcoming episode of Jennisodes, and those of you looking for more details about my DCC work, Stonehell Dungeon, and “Of Unknown Provenance” should tune in once that goes live.

As I mentioned, The Sea Queen Escapes! is undergoing playtesting at the moment by certain select groups. One such group played through the adventure this weekend. Amongst the players at the table was Jim Wampler, the mind and pen behind Marvin the Mage! I’ve mentioned Marvin in the past and Grognardia gives old Marv some wordage as well in this post. If you’re not currently reading Marvin, I suggest you point your browser over to mudpuppycomics.com and catch up on the fun.

One of the unique monsters featured in The Sea Queen Escapes! are the lampreymen, an sea-going race that makes an appearance early on in the aquatic-themed adventure. Jim Wampler, inspired by the party’s run in with these cold-blooded suckers, created a wonderful illustration of them in his own unique comic style. Both Jim and Joseph Goodman gave me their blessings to share Jim’s work with my readership.

Having no visual artistic talent of my own, it’s always a surprise and an extreme pleasure to see something that existed solely in my head and in written form come to life in an artistic depiction, and Jim’s take on the lampreymen is no exception. I’m digging the bandoleer of pouches this guy’s rockin' as he comes at you with his spear and big old mouth.

Hopefully this small glimpse at just one of the many threats awaiting the PCs inside the cover of The Sea Queen Escaped! “wets” your appetite for more. If you dig this sample of Jim’s work, stop by mudpuppycomics.com for a lot more of his stuff and a lot of laughs to boot!