I Get Burned

This week, I'm the first-ever "special guest" on the new DCC RPG-focused podcast, Spellburn. Judges Jeffery, Jim, and Jobe grill me on topics such as my involvement with DCC RPG, the secret Easter Eggs behind certain spell names, the status on Stonehell Dungeon, and why I'd pick Fritz Leiber and Clark Ashton Smith over REH in an Appendix N grudge match. Check out the episode over here.

An Interview with Grognard Games

I'm back from CincyCon and getting caught up on projects and prepping for Gary Con (in just nine days!). While in Ohio, I had the opportunity to sit down alongside Tim Kask and participate in an interview with Grognard Games for their YouTube channel. You can see the results below. WARNING: contains gratuitous self-promotion!

Dungeon Alphabet Pre-Order Offer

Just like the first time around, Goodman Games is offering a special incentive to pre-order the third printing of The Dungeon Alphabet: the chance to win a signed copy by either Erol Otus or Stefen Poag. Erol will sign the original cover edition and Stefen will sign the limited-edition gold foil cover. In order to qualify for the drawing, you'll need to do a little paperwork.

Dungeon Alphabet Pre-Order Offer – Place your pre-order now for the third printing of The Dungeon Alphabet! All pre-orders placed by Oct. 31 will be included in a drawing to receive one of two free copies autographed by cover artist Erol Otus or Stefan Poag! This offer applies to both the color cover edition and the limited-edition gold foil cover! Place your order online now or download the flyer to order in stores!

New Dungeon Alphabet Art

This just in from the "Please Make Mike Shut Up About His Books" Department:

Dungeon Alphabet Art Preview – The third printing of The Dungeon Alphabet is at the printer, with a great selection of new art! This expanded edition features new images by Russ Nicholson, Jeff Easley, Jim Holloway, Brad McDevitt, Peter Mullen, Stefan Poag, Michael Wilson, and William McAusland, plus the great art from prior printings. Check out the Dungeon Alphabet art gallery!

Here's but one example of some of the new pieces accompanying the expanded third printing. It's the new end sheet created by Peter Mullen. Looks great, no?

Affairs: See “State of”

It’s safe to say that August 2012 won’t go down as a banner month of posting here at the Society. Somehow, the entire last few weeks of unofficial summer here in the Northern Hemisphere slipped by without much activity around these parts. Such is the nature of blogging, especially when you’ve been doing it for four years now.

This dearth of regular postings does not reflect a lack of activity on my part, however. Quite frankly, I’m busier than ever writing, designing, planning, scheduling, corresponding, and brainstorming on new projects. If the OSR is in fact dead as the naysayers would have you believe, somebody neglected to inform my inbox of that fact! I’d appreciate it if you all kept it on the QT as well since I’m having a lot of fun keeping busy with the work.

So, like a neglectful boyfriend, I find myself needing to explain why I haven’t written you all lately. Hopefully, I haven’t damaged our blogger-reader relationship irrevocably, even if I’ve been catting around with other slutty projects on the side.

As long-time readers and fans of The Dungeon Alphabet undoubtedly know, Goodman Games and I are deep in cahoots. The lion’s share of work that’s been occupying my time has been for Joseph Goodman and the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. My adventure “The Undulating Corruption” debuted in this year’s Free RPG Day release from Goodman, but it’s not the first adventure I wrote for the game. That honor belongs to Emirikol Was Framed! which should be on the shelves of your finer FLGS either this month or next depending on when the printer gets finished with it. I’ve seen the layout of the adventure, including Doug Kovacs’ excellent maps and player handouts, and I’m mighty pleased how it’s all turned out.

When I took the job of writing Emirikol, I knew I was putting myself in the crosshairs. When you’re dealing with one of the iconic images of the hobby, you’ve got to accept that people are going to have their own expectations firmly in place before they even get a look at the damned thing. Early speculation pegged it as a parody module, but it’s absolutely not. It’s a solid, pulp sword & sorcery adventure, one where Conan or Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser would be at home. My hope is that once people get a chance to read it (or better yet, play it), Emirikol will be judged on its own merits. Time will have to tell.

In addition to Emirikol, I’ve completed two more adventures for DCC. One is The Sea Queen Escapes!, a nautical-themed adventure with a deliciously evil twist for the judge to spring on his players. The second is a more traditional “stop the evil brotherhood” dungeon crawl. I’m not sure if I can make any formal announcement regarding its content or title, but regular readers can probably speculate on its subject matter if you recall what I’ve play-tested at conventions this year.

These two are not the end of my scribbling for DCC RPG either. Contracts have been signed for at least two more adventures by yours truly and they’ll take us safely into the heart of 2013. I’m also doing work for a third-party DCC RPG release entitled Tales From the Fallen Empire to be published by Chapter 13 Press. Suffice to say, if you enjoy my work and DCC RPG, you’ll be a happy camper for the foreseeable future.

The DCC RPG stuff is in addition to two more books I’ve written for Goodman (well, one and half, really). Next month sees the release of the expanded version of The Dungeon Alphabet, available in both the regular and limited-edition covers. The third printing is 33% larger than the original and features new art in addition to eight more entries covering other classic dungeon tropes we couldn’t squeeze into the original. I think “T is also for Treasure Chests” is worth the price alone, especially when you see Holloway’s accompanying illustration, but there’s plenty more to inspire in there as well.

The second book in the schedule is The Adventurers’ Almanac, a title in the same vein as The Dungeon Alphabet. It’s not a “this is how you do it” text, but one written to inspire the referee and get the creative juices flowing. I had a lot of fun writing this one. A system-neutral supplement, The Adventurer’s Almanac provides an entire year’s worth of adventure seeds, monsters, interesting NPCs, magic items, weird events, strange celebrations, and other juicy morsels to season your campaign world. It’s also a big book, much larger than The Dungeon Alphabet, so you’re bound to find something in there to suit your purposes. The release date is not yet set on the book, but hopefully it’ll be available the first or second quarter of 2013.

As part of the grand plan to make DCC RPG your game of choice in 2013, I’m going on the convention trail throughout the fall and winter of this year and a lot of the next. I’ll be running play-tests, demo sessions, and regular games at various locales along the East Coast (or as we here call it, the “Right Coast”). The process of hammering out dates and appearances is still ongoing, but there’s a better chance than usual I might be in your neck of the woods in the months ahead if you rub shoulders with the Atlantic Ocean. More on these appearances as things get finalized.

Putting my Goodman Games projects aside for now, I still find I’ve got irons in the fire, on the anvil, or quenching in the bucket. As mentioned previously, I wrote an urban fantasy game for Goblinoid Games and the play-test period of that is at an end. No official word from Dan Proctor on it yet, but if you’re a fan of Hellblazer, Clive Barker, or classic film-noir, I encourage you to check this one out once it’s available.

I’ve not forgotten poor old Stonehell Dungeon either. I recently squeaked past the halfway point on the manuscript (thirteen quadrants are finished and there’s thirteen to go) and I’m desperately trying to ride the downhill inertia to completion. For those of you playing along at home, this means that Stonehell 2 is three quadrants larger than its predecessor. Even when the manuscript is finished, there’s still a lot to be done (cartography, editing, layout, and proofs) before it gets the green light for sale. I remain hopeful that it gets completed this year, but it’ll be close.

I decided that I won’t be doing a Kickstarter for the book, although that has been suggested. It’ll be in the same style as the original to keep the aesthetics identical and the cost down. If you own the first book, you know exactly what to expect. Perhaps, somewhere down the line, I’ll go back and combine the two books into a prestige version, but that’s so far over the horizon at this point you can barely even see it from space.

Finally, I’m writing my own role-playing game and expect to have the first draft of the rules and setting completed in the next two months. After that, I intend to spend a year in play-testing to make sure the wheels don’t fall off before offering it up for public consumption. It is not a retro-clone and it isn’t even a traditional fantasy game. Despite this, I’m designing it with old school sensibilities in mind. My goal is to keep it simple and flexible, and to leave as much agency in the referee’s hands as possible when running it. I hope to have a formal announcement as well as a design & promotion blog ready in October.

There’s more things going on, but I’ve already taxed your time and interest enough with this post. Besides, I’ve got work to do. I’m eagerly anticipating the fall months as they’re not only my most favorite time of the year, but also my most productive. Hopefully, you’ll reap the benefits of that intellectual harvest in the year ahead.

The “Jennisodes” Podcast is Now Live

My interview with Jennifer Steen for “Jennisodes” is now up. In it, we discuss an array of topics ranging from how I got into this bizarre hobby, the body of my work, Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, The Dungeon Alphabet, Fight On! magazine, this blog, and, of course, “Of Unknown Provenance.” You can listen to my dulcet tones by clicking on this link.

Third Printing of The Dungeon Alphabet Announced

Goodman Games added the third printing of The Dungeon Alphabet to their “Coming Soon” lineup today, and I’m passing the word along to you fine folks. To celebrate both the book’s selling out twice and winning the Three Castles Award last year, Goodman Games and I are proud to present you with a new and expanded printing of the old girl. Here’s what GG has to say:

The Dungeon Alphabet compiles inspirational tables on classic dungeon design elements to assist the game master in creating subterranean challenges. This third printing adds eight new topics to the existing twenty-six for thirty-four tables of inspirational materials.

A is for Altar, B is for Books, and C is for Caves: the Dungeon Alphabet has advice, hints, and randomized tables that bring new life to your adventures. 

The entries are accompanied by outstanding art from classic fantasy illustrators and are compatible with all fantasy role playing games. This third printing adds Russ Nicholson to the artist lineup, and also features new illustrations by Jeff Easley, Jim Holloway, Peter Mullen, Michael Wilson, and Brad McDevitt, including brand new endsheets.

In addition to the regular book, there’s also a limited edition gold foil cover available.

This limited-edition gold foil cover features a beautiful, thematic cover design by fan favorite Stefan Poag! The interior content includes all the improvements of the expanded third printing of The Dungeon Alphabet, including the addition of Russ Nicholson to the artist lineup, and new illustrations by Jeff Easley, Jim Holloway, Peter Mullen, Michael Wilson, and Brad McDevitt, including brand new endsheets.

With the additional content and art, The Dungeon Alphabet increases size from its former 48 pp. to 64 pp. The “regular” book will retail for $14.99 with the expanded content, which blessedly means the much-reviled “Nice Price” faux sticker is gone from the cover. The limited edition gold foil version will sell for $24.99. You can pre-order the book now at the Goodman Games website.

And since I already anticipate the question, no, I didn’t make up new letters of the alphabet to expand the book! New entries include “P is also for Potions,” “S is also for Stairs, and “T is also for Treasure Chests.”

Need a copy of the Dungeon Alphabet? These guys can help you

If you've got a cool grand, that is.

I know those prices aren't indicative of the market and/or the book's availability, and are merely an artifact of the way some online retailers work on Amazon, but I still find it pretty hilarious.

I'm Such a Sell-Out

Yeah, I know I said I wouldn't be posting until next week, but here's one piece of good news worth breaking radio silence for: The Dungeon Alphabet has sold out---again! The last of the second printings have left the warehouse and an impoverished nation must rely on what copies remain available through vendors.

Don't fret, however. A third printing is on the way and it might have some new surprises. Maybe those of you at GaryCon can ply me with black lotus powder and I'll let some details slip...

Change is Good

No, this isn’t a post about the just-announced and forthcoming version of Dungeon & Dragons (but we’ll get to that in a moment). This is about looking forward to 2012 and new directions in the year to come—which may be important on the off-chance the Mayans knew something we don’t.

Last year, I announced that this blog would be coming to an end. I felt that I had taken the Society as far as it could go based on my original purpose of chronicling my return to the gaming fold and wishing to contribute something to this nebulous thing we call the Old School Renaissance (or whatever OSR stands for this week). In some ways, I still believe that. I’ve done what I set out to do and succeeded beyond my wildest expectations.

Since its inception, this blog and the material produced for it allowed me to establish a presence hitherto undreamt of—by me anyway— in the gaming community and the industry that supports us. I don’t think anyone can dispute that The Dungeon Alphabet and Stonehell Dungeon remain examples of some of the better works created by this movement. The Dungeon Alphabet was especially well-received and is one of the few works that achieved success outside of the OSR, drawing praise from not only grognards but folks who entered this hobby in more recent years. That continues to blow my mind.

Having done what I set out to do, my choices were to either start anew or shut down. My workload made me more inclined to the latter. But with the start of the New Year, my attitude has changed. I’m hacking away at the “To Be Done” list, and although I expect it will fill up again (at least I’m praying it will), I think I’ll be able to dedicate some more time to this blog o’ mine. The Society has been around for more than three years now and maintains a steady readership. And while it doesn’t have the number of fans some older and more prolific blogs have, SoTPR is still in the upper echelon of old school blogs. It seems as shame to throw away all that hard work now.

So what to do? First off, it’s high time this place got a revamp. In the weeks ahead I will be playing with the design a bit to come up with something new, but still legible. I’ll be editing and updating my links section and playing with ideas for a nifty new banner up top (I remain one of the few elder statesmen of blognards who has never gone beyond a text header). It’ll likely be a hack job since the visual arts is not my forte, but I’ll endeavor to keep it classy and discrete.

Secondly, I’m going to fold my side blog Secret Antiquities into this one. The premise of having a secondary blog for material not directly relating to fantasy gaming was sound, but the end result was two blogs I ignored and not much progress made on either. Seeing as we’re all gamers, I don’t think anyone will mind too much if I post the occasional design ideas for a system other than D&D and its various clones. Unless my readership starts abandoning the joint in droves, expect to see some reposting of things from Secret Antiquities here as I integrate both blogs into one.

Thirdly, and I know I’ve stated it before, 2012 will be the year the Stonehell sequel is finally released. The fact that it is so far behind tears me up more than I’d like to admit and since my name is synonymous with that dungeon, I feel its failure to see the light of day reflects poorly on me. To correct this, I’m committed to producing one new quadrant of Stonehell a week. While that might mean it takes all year to complete the manuscript, slow progress trumps no progress.

Lastly, although connected to the above, 2012 will see me at GaryCon IV. I intend to try and play as much as I can, but I will be bringing Stonehell with me to Lake Geneva, hopefully with brand new material to test drive. There are no official Stonehell sessions on the schedule, but if you corner me, I’ll gladly run it during the open gaming portions of the con. I’ll even allow your FLAILSNAILERS to bring your PCs for a visit if that’s cool with how things work in FLAILSNAIL-land. As always, Stonehell’s Save Your Ass T-shirts will be honored, so grab one now and edge out your competition for loot.

More projects and plans will be announced as they develop, but I think the above is going to keep me busy for awhile.

OK, with that out of the way, let me say my piece on the 5^th edition which isn’t the 5^th edition of D&D. In all honesty, I was completely indifferent about the announcement. That surprised me a little, but it’s the truth. There’s no gnashing of teeth or rending of raiment here. The game will come, I’ll check it out, and if it’s fun and captures my interest, I’ll play it from time to time. I’ve no expectations that it will heal the great edition rift or create the greatest version of the game ever. I might run it or I might not. I signed up to get a look at the beta version once it’s released, but I suspect that will be the extent of my involvement. I’m certainly not going to attempt to steer its direction. It will be whatever Mike and Monte design within the boundaries laid down by management. I wish them the best and hope Wizards comes out with an entertaining diversion that attracts more gamers to the fold. After all, more tabletop gamers are good in the grand scheme of things.

I don’t expect to give much coverage to the game here so this may very well be the last words I say on the game until it is released. Others will certainly be following its development with close scrutiny. I’ll say this though: “5E” looks really, really strange when seen written out to my eyes. I must be getting older.

A Dungeon Alphabet Question

I’m very pleased to announce that The Dungeon Alphabet is heading for a third printing. Thanks to the interest of not only those who pitch their tents in the OSR camp, but to gamers of all ages and stripes who enjoy great art, useful tables, and low sticker prices, The Dungeon Alphabet remains a commercial success. I’m very pleased that so many gamers have embraced the book and consider it to be one of the better resources to have come out of the OSR in recent years.

To mark the occasion of a third printing, Joseph Goodman and I have been tossing around some ideas to make the next print run unique. But before anything is decided on, we thought we’d see if the readers who made the book a success had anything to say. So our question to you is “Readers, what would you like to see in a third printing of Dungeon Alphabet?" Some options are already on the table, but we’re interested in hearing from you before we forge ahead. Please feel free to use the comments section to leave your input or drop me a line at the email addy listed to the right. Thanks!

Mike’s on the Chronic…

…Rift, that is. I recorded an interview with the New York-based podcast the Chronic Rift last week as part of the celebratory tour of wining the Three Castles Award. Host John S. Drew and I talk about the Dungeon Alphabet, old school gaming, and why my OSR membership card is in jeopardy. For those of you wishing to hear my dulcet tones, you can go here, download the podcast directly over here, or get it through iTunes or Zune.

One Hell of a Bookend

Again, let me extend my thanks to everyone who helped me get to this point. I remain honored and very much humbled by your support.




In case you're wondering, the award has an encumbrance of 80 cn.

Promos & Discounts

No, really, I’m taking the summer off. But before I get back to work on SH2 and myriad other projects, I wanted to let you all know that the now-award winning The Dungeon Alphabet remains available in hardcover at many online venues including Amazon, Amazon UK, Noble Knight, F-Shop, and other discerning venues. The PDF can be purchased via RPGNow and Drive-Thru RPG.

In related news, I somehow missed that this was announced over at the Legends & Labyrinths development blog, but here it is: The Dungeon Alphabet tables will be incorporated into the L&L rules in a piece of cross-company synergy. You’ll still need a copy of the DA to get the full use of the tables, but they’ll hopefully help neonate referees design their own subterranean nightmares to inflict on their players.

Finally, before I get back to work, Lulu is having another 20% off sale, so this is the perfect time to stock up on print or PDF copies of Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls or its second supplement, Buried Secrets. Just plug TOP305 into the designated field by June 13th during checkout to enjoy a fifth off the cover price. Buy extras and put them under windshield wipers at the mall parking lot or make them into decorative hats that makes Paree say “Oui!” this summer.

Thank You All Very Much

As reported over at Grognardia, The Dungeon Alphabet received the first Three Castles Award last night at the North Texas RPG convention, culminating a process that began back in October of last year. I am immensely honored and humbled that the judges, all of whom have many years of experience in the game industry, chose my debut book as worthy of the award. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the convention this year to accept the award, so I’ll have to present my acceptance speech here.

I was honestly surprised to discover that the book had won. After the final nominees had been announced, I was certain that Jim Raggi’s the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Roleplaying was going to take the award and I sent him an email to wish him luck and to say that I thought LOTFP: WRPG was the title to beat this year. Jim replied that he was certain the Dungeon Alphabet was a shoe-in, which goes to show that not only does Mr. Raggi have a better sense of prophecy than I do, but that writers are wracked with self-doubt about the quality of their own work. In this case, I am pleased to have been proven wrong.

This is not to slight the other nominees. I own a copy of Rob Conley’s Majestic Wilderlands and found it to be a great book. Plus, as a fellow Goodman Games alumnus, I simply have to support his efforts and wish him well. Jonathan Becker’s B/X Companion has garnered its own fair share of acclaim and he too came out of nowhere to produce a book that was welcomed and respected by the old school roleplaying community. It was an honor to be included amongst them and I certainly hope they continue their efforts and submit their follow-up work for adjudication next year. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for them.

Winning this award is a fitting coda for a very strange and unexpected chapter of my life. I don’t speak much about my personal life on this blog, preferring to keep such matters to myself outside of the occasional game-related anecdote or observation. But in this case, a revelation is in order. A little over three years ago, I was quite literally homeless, living in my car and in skeazy motels when I could afford it. My life was in shambles and I was trying to follow a wildly-spinning compass that provided no direction. Luckily, before things could get any worse, I managed to find new guidance and started putting my life back in order.

Part of that process involved rediscovering what I enjoyed doing, which led me back to my earlier love of roleplaying games. That rediscovery guided me to the then burgeoning old school renaissance and then to this blog, a venue where I hoped to record my efforts to return to the hobby I had enjoyed and to give something back to the online community that had welcomed me. I expected nothing more.

Then, in November of 2008, what I considered a throwaway series of posts intended to buy me some relaxation time away from the blog caught the attention of the gaming blogosphere and catapulted me into the upper echelon of old school game blogs. This resulted in my getting noticed by Joseph Goodman, who approached me with the opportunity to expand those essays into a book. As a native New Yorker, I was skeptical (“What sort of scam is this?” was my first impression upon reading his email if I remember correctly), but some research allayed my fears and I started down a most unexpected path.

Like a lot of gamers, I remember wanting so badly to grow up and work at TSR. I read the TSR profiles in Dragon magazine with great interest, imagining how cool it would be to work with what appeared to be the most diverse and zaniest crew my young mind could comprehend. And while my interests shifted as I grew older and began worrying about making a living that could pay the bills and/or allow me to create art, I never truly lost my desire to maybe make games for a living. Joseph Goodman was kind enough to take a chance on an untried writer and designer to give me that opportunity—something which I will always be grateful for.

The Dungeon Alphabet continued to grow after I submitted my draft, nurtured by Joseph Goodman’s efforts. The occasional emails I received on its status staggered the mind as Joseph gave me progress reports on who was signed up for the art: Easley, Holloway, Roslof. Only Dee escaped the drag net due to other obligations. When the email that Erol Otus was doing the cover arrived, I knew that there must be some mistake. This was all intended for somebody else and an oversight at the Karmic Bureau had obviously occurred. I waited patiently for celestial agents to arrive on my doorstep and inform me that I’d be going back to sleeping in my car down by the river now. But that never came. The book, however, did and you fine, discerning folks embraced it and praised it. It remains (probably for only a short while longer) the most successful book Goodman Games has produced.

The success of the book and its suitability for winning this award does not rest solely on my shoulders and I’d be a fool and hypocrite to suggest otherwise. My writing merely served as a framework that Joseph Goodman provided the land for. Jeff Easley, Jim Holloway, Doug Kovacs, William McAusland, Brad McDevitt, Jesse Mohn, Peter Mullen, Erol Otus, Stefan Poag, Jim Roslof, Chad Sergesketter, Chuck Whelon, and Mike Wilson made that frame aesthetically appealing. Peter Bradley made sure the beams were lined up and the concrete had settled. Elizabeth Bauman ensured that the floors were level and free of typos to trip over. And David “Zeb” Cook, one of those people covered in Dragon’s TSR Profiles which I had read with great interest decades ago, stepped in to cut the ribbon and welcome visitors across the threshold. Without their efforts, The Dungeon Alphabet would still be a moderately successful, three-year old post series and nothing more. They are as worthy of this award as I am. For simplicity, I’ll keep it at my place, but they are all welcome to stop by to see it any time.

The Dungeon Alphabet led to other opportunities, the first being my other nominated book, Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls. I’d like to think that that book had something to do with my receiving the Three Castles Award as well, allowing me to demonstrate my design talents above and beyond the construction of interesting tables and instructive essays. Stonehell Dungeon would never had occurred had it not been for the work of David Bowman and Michael Shorten, both of whom I’m very grateful to and who I hope continue to produce and share their own creations with a wider audience. You guys both have talent you’re keeping under the bushel basket. Stonehell also owes a debt to Dan Proctor of Goblinoid Games who assisted me with my questions and was impressed enough to ask me to play with his Lovecraft action figures in that horrific sandbox know as the Realms of Crawling Chaos.

Despite these successes, it’s not been an easy year. Like a lot of Americans, I was hit by the downturn in the economy. My career is always somewhat dicey at best, being largely dependent on grant monies and other financial windfalls that can blow away all too easy in the financial breeze. I’ve been out of full time work for over two years now, making end meet with frugal living and by the occasional royalty check my game design work earns. Needless to say, any opportunity to do paid design work and writing is a welcome one, and I find it impossible to say no to those opportunities. (If you’re reading this and are looking to hire a new and now award-winning designer and writer, feel free to contact me. I can be there in a week if it’s a full time gig.) This award came at a time when I’ve been feeling especially low. It was a welcome respite from the doubts that have been plaguing me. Now, I’m filled with all new ones, the kinds experienced by the winner of “Best New Artist” each year in the record industry. Do I share the ultimate fate of Hanson, now? I shudder at the thought.

I think that I’ve carried on long enough. I’d like to close by offering my sincerest and deepest thanks to my friends who’ve supported and encouraged me during the last few years and to those designers who’ve welcomed me across the line between gamer and professional and offered me their own insights and wisdom in the process. And of course, I give my complete and utter gratitude to my family for being there for me even when I wasn’t. I love you all.

Michael Curtis
June 5th, 2011

“R is for Roslof”

When I learned that Jim Roslof was ailing, I sat down to write him a card. I had never met the man, but he was one of the cadre of old school artists Joseph Goodman wrangled together to contribute artwork to The Dungeon Alphabet. I’m certain that for Mr. Roslof this was just another illustration gig, one no different from the many he had done over the years. For me, however, the fact that this artist, one who was responsible for so many iconic illustrations in TSR’s heyday, was participating in my first professional book was mind staggering. I had never been able to express my appreciation directly and I wanted to do so before it was too late.

The card that I sent Jim and his wife, Laura, was not one of condolences or best wishes in times of trouble, but a simple “Thank You” card. In it, I expressed the heartfelt joy and boundless wonder that Jim’s work had engendered in me over the years as well as my sincere gratitude that his work graced the pages of the Alphabet. Unfortunately, from what I’ve read, it is highly likely that Jim had already slipped into unconsciousness before my card made it to Wisconsin, so I fear he never got a chance to read my words. I can only hope that they were of some small condolence for Laura Roslof and that the card was just a drop in a torrent of well-wishes, support, and thanks.

There has been a bevy of remembrances and tributes to Mr. Roslof over the last few days—and he deserves all of them. His contributions to the hobby are immense, even if he didn’t receive the recognition that other TSR artists from that era commanded. And although glory may have eluded him, so many of his pieces helped define D&D and the fantasy roleplaying experience that it is almost impossible for gamers who got their start in the late 70s and early 80s to separate those images from their own memories.

From what I’ve read recently, Jim wasn’t only responsible for ushering in the next wave of influential fantasy artists at TSR, men with names like Holloway, Elmore, Caldwell, and Easley. He was also a great boss by some accounts. Jim Holloway said he was the best boss he ever had and shared this picture he took of Roslof during his tenure as art director:

How could you not love and respect working for a boss like that?

When I got my author’s copies of The Dungeon Alphabet, I had a brief moment of déjà vu as I flipped the pages. Seeing Roslof’s work inside the book took me back to my youth and I remembered the sense of wonder I experienced then while leafing through a new module and seeing his awesome illustrations waiting for me. I could almost taste the Red Hots candies and the Snapple Crystal Cola.

Jim’s art had a way of expressing both the "otherness" of a world populated by monsters and magic as well as the sense that his subjects were not heroes, but hard-working regular Joes looking for that one big score. He often took us into the middle of the action, his subjects portrayed in media res, leaving it up to the observer to determine what led to the image he was now witnessing and to conjecture on what would happen next. This mixture is why I particularly love his piece for “I is for Inscriptions” from The Dungeon Alphabet.

As a bibliophibian, archivist, and writer, words are important to me. They play a pivotal role in any game I run, often possessing great power and hidden secrets. I use inscriptions, books, sigils, and signs with great frequency, and having Jim do an illustration that could easily have come out of one of my own games was immensely cool. That it also depicts his usual mixture of the odd and the ordinary was utterly wonderful. Correct or not, I will always consider this piece to be my own, personal Roslof work. I only wish he could have known how much it touched me.

I could keep saying it year after year and it would never be enough. Nevertheless, I’ll say it again: Thank you, Jim, for everything. I’m sorry I couldn’t have said it to you in person, but thank you especially for “I is for Inscriptions,” my very own piece of your incredible magic.

Jim Roslof is Gravely Ill

I know this rumor was going around not too long ago, but it appears there is further confirmation from Steve Sullivan, the old friend of Jim Roslof who first mentioned it on his twitter account. According to sources, Sullivan has posted this on his Facebook account:

Old friend and former TSR Artist/Art Director Jim Roslof is rapidly losing his fight with cancer. His wife, Laura said cards are welcome and seem to cheer him up. Please send kind thoughts to: Jim & Laura Roslof W5409 Kenosha Dr, Elkhorn, WI 53147

In addition to Jim’s work as TSR’s Art Director, he produced many iconic images that graced the pages and covers of various D&D books over the years. I fear that despite his hard work and talent, his efforts were often overshadowed by some of the other luminaries working for TSR in the early days.

Mr. Roslof was one of the legends who contributed work to The Dungeon Alphabet, something I’m very grateful for. And not to dismiss the other great artists whose work fills the pages of my professional debut, but Jim’s take on “I is for Inscriptions” and “P is for Pools” are perhaps my personal favorites of all the illustrations. He truly sums up the old school adventuring experience with those two pieces.

My hopes and prayers for a miracle go out to Jim and his family.

Miscellaneous is the Largest Category

Here’s a few bits and pieces that I wanted to touch upon before I forget. Look for real posts tomorrow and the weeks to come.

1) RPGNow and DriveThruRPG are having a Game Master’s Day Sale from now until next week (somewhere around Tuesday or Wednesday). Enjoy 25% off or more from a slew of publishers including old school favorites like Brave Halfling Publishing, Fat Dragon Games, GM Games, Goblinoid Games, Goodman Games, Rogue Games, and more (apologies to those I missed). If you haven’t picked up a PDF copy of say The Dungeon Alphabet (let’s get it to a Popular Electrum Pick, people!) or Realms of Crawling Chaos for that shiny new iPad, now is the time to do so. It’s also the perfect opportunity to buy something nice for your own poor, beleaguered game master who puts up with your antics week after week with no thought of himself…

2) Obfuscate and Deny: Remember that thing I said about starting the Stonehell sequel as soon as I finish my current manuscript? Well, forget it. Another gig stepped in to take its place in the queue. The good news is that it’s not only a funky fresh opportunity, but it’s something that any old school gamer would be a fool to not be a part of. The turnaround time is short so there will still be plenty of time for me to finish Stonehell before year’s end (crossed fingers knocking wood).

3) Local Gamers Take Note: To anyone in the tri-state area looking for something to do on the weekend of April 15-17, turn your browsers to the homepage of ICON-30, Long Island’s biggest science fiction convention. This year’s gaming guest of honor is Mr. Frank Mentzer.

4) All the finalists’ entries for the Three Castles Award have been sent to their doom the judges for adjudication. Quote one unnamed judge: "The package arrived today, in good condition. Since there were no gold coins hidden inside, I doubt any of them will win... In fact, I was astonished by the excellent quality and professional appearance! I was afraid I would be judging amateurish entries hand-written on legal pads (well, maybe not that bad). What a great group of products for the first award. I hope all five get good recognition from this. Looking forward to judging them." I knew I forgot to put something in my parcel…

Video Review of The Dungeon Alphabet

The Dungeon Alphabet Now At Select Borders Books

Since Lord Kilgore reported a sighting yesterday, I may as well break the news: Borders Books has made arrangements with Goodman Games to stock select stores with copies of The Dungeon Alphabet. I'll err on the side of caution and not reveal anything more than that at the moment. Once I get the official O.K. as to what I can make public, I may follow this post up with additional information.

It's probably needless to say this, but I'm extremely proud of this development. I think getting the DA into the Borders Books' distribution chain is a milestone for the OSR. I won't claim it marks the start of a new Golden Era for old school games, but by putting in on the shelf next to 4th edition D&D splatbooks, it may get new people interested in what it is we're doing here--and that's always a good thing.

Having the books sell is also in my interest as well--there's no denying that. So if you happen to walk down the aisle at your local Borders and see a copy sitting on the shelf, why not pick it up for yourself or buy it for a friend if you already have one ($9.99 is a very reasonable price). At the very least, pull it out and "face" it on the shelves so that everyone can catch a glimpse at the Erol Otus cover and wonder what exactly this book is all about.