Any Map Experts Out There?

I've been scouring several books for examples of "old time" maps. I'm thinking of doing up my hexmaps in a style other than the standard icons. In my search, I found this map of the Adirondacks:

Does anyone know if there is a specific name for maps rendered this way? I know I've seen others done in this fashion, so I'm assuming it must be a particular style. If anyone knows of a website or book that contains other similar maps, I'd be much obliged as well.

The Dungeon Alphabet PDF

Yes, yes, I know! I'm getting tired of it too, but I can't help that there's been a lot of activity surrounding The Dungeon Alphabet this week. I promise that this is the last one until the weekend at the earliest.

Anyway, The Dungeon Alphabet is now available in .pdf format for those of you who either prefer electronic versions for some bizarre reason or find overseas shipping costs astronomical. You can purchase a copy through RPGNow by clicking here. The file will also be available from Paizo and e23 within the next few days.

Players Wanted for Labyrinth Lord Campaign

I apologize for the local business as I know my readership is international, but, as fellow gamers, I’m sure you’ll understand me using my soapbox to drum up some players for my proposed game.

With my Labyrinth Lord Society membership in hand, the time has come for me to get a game going. I play in a regular group but time and interest won’t allow me to run a regular game with those guys. And I really need a regular game to ref. I’ve got too many ideas and nobody to share them with. Plus, I might as well use some of this newfangled “Author of ‘The Dungeon Alphabet’" fame before it gets cold.

So, if you’re on Long Island and are looking for a B/X, “red box,” Labyrinth Lord game, and have either Sunday afternoons or Monday evenings free, drop me an email at poleandrope[at]gmail[dot]com. Below is the text from my FLGS flyer so you can see what I’m thinking.

Veteran referee seeks to start up a classic “sandbox style” campaign of Dungeons & Dragons using the Basic D&D rules (a.k.a. B/X, “Red Box,” or Labyrinth Lord). Players will create 1st level adventurers beginning their careers on the edge of the Eldritch Frontier, a vast expanse of wilderness teeming with dungeons, monsters, treasure, and magic. The Eldritch Frontier is an old school D&D hex and dungeon crawl, and the players will be free to choose their own paths to fame, power, and riches—provided they’re lucky and smart enough to survive!

The Eldritch Frontier will also turn back the clock on the history of D&D and present a “what if?” scenario of how the game might have developed if left solely in the hands of gamers. Although Basic D&D will be used as the rule set for the campaign, further material will be taken from periodicals and supplements dating from the early years of the hobby, as well as new additions created by the players and referee through actual play. Because of this, The Eldritch Frontier is best suited for those with open minds and laid-back attitudes. Rule lawyer-types might find themselves frustrated, but creative players will have the opportunity make an indelible mark on the campaign world and the referee’s house rules.

Game sessions will be held at Brothers Grim on either a weekday evening or Sunday afternoons depending on player availability. Regular sessions of The Eldritch Frontier will start once three or more players have committed, with an eye on adding additional players as interest grows.

I figure if I can get three, I can get four, and we’ll grow from there.

Dungeon Alphabet Review on Grognardia

For the two people out there who somehow missed it, Grognardia has reviewed The Dungeon Alphabet. That review can be found here.

Dungeon Alphabet Block

I'm trying to consolidate The Dungeon Alphabet news and shilling so as to not overwhelm this blog's signal-to-noise ratio. Here's what's what from the last few days:

• Eli over at I See Lead People has gotten a copy and has placed a review of it here.
• Over at There's a Bugbear in My Kitchen, the Runokobold also reviews the book.
• Paizo.com has ranked the book at #3 on their "Top Selling Products from Other Companies" list this week. Subsequently, the book is currently on backorder on their website.
• Noble Knight Games is still sold out, but copies are available through RPG Shop. If you're in the UK, you can get the book via The Orcs Nest and iguk.com.
• Goodman Games still has the book on their website and has also collected many of the book's reviews at the DA's product page here.

That's the week in The Dungeon Alphabet. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Help Me Identify a Movie

The last two weeks have seen me playing in my hexcrawl sandbox--mapping, stocking, planting trees--and it has put me in a frontier frame of mind. So much so that I paid a visit to my local independent video store to rent a few "man vs. the wilderness" films to inspire me. There is one that is escaping me, however, because I've only seen a few minutes of it and have no clue as to who's in it or what the title might be. I'm looking to fix that situation because the few moments that I did see of the unnamed film have stuck with me. A search of the web has left me without the slightest clue to go one so I'm hoping it might be recognizable to one of my readers.

All I can say about this film is that it involves a group of trappers/explorers hauling a fairly large boat across the plains of either America or Canada. I seem to remember them being in the company of some natives as well.This might be but a short moment of the film or a sizable plot point--I'm uncertain. I suspect the movie probably dates from the early to mid 1990s if only because of the film stock, but again, I can't be certain.

I do know that it wasn't Northwest Passage or Fitzcarraldo. It might even be some small independent film. Quite frankly, my inability to ID the film has been driving me a little mad; hopefully one of you can point me in the right direction. Anyone have any idea what it was that I saw?

UPDATE: It was A Man in the Wilderness. I just finished watching it and, although not a great movie, the images of a mule team dragging a boat across all sorts of terrain does tend to stick with you.

Judges Wanted for OPDC 2010

Alex Schröder, one of the judges from last year's One Page Dungeon Contest, is starting to organize the One Page Dungeon Contest 2010 and he needs some people with stalwart eyes and sound opinions to help out. Unfortunately, due to time constraints and the fact that my eyes still haven't recovered from 2009, I'm off of the judges' panel this time around. Nevertheless, I'm helping spread the word to get the ball rolling. If you have an interest in helping out with the adjudication this time around, please visit this link and contact Alex for more information.