Taking Stock – Going on Sabbatical

I figure I’d start taking stock at the beginning of my gaming career. I started working in the industry full time on January 1st, 1995; my last full-time day in the industry was September 28, 2012. 17 years total, with a few minor interruptions in-between, and since January 2013 I have been self-publishing part time through James Mishler Games. 

In that time I have designed, written, edited, and published games; written magazines and books about games; bought, sold, marketed, and advertised games in manufacturing, distribution, and retail; and run conventions and other gaming events. The only thing I’ve not done is anything artistic, other than cartography, but that’s due to lack of talent rather than any lack of desire or need.

This January will be James Mishler Games’ 10th anniversary, with the release of the first (and only) issue of Hercynian Grimoire on January 9, 2013. In that time my wife and I have published 57 products, ranging from simple maps and character sheets to Hexcrawl gazetteers and monstrous sourcebooks, and everything in between. Of these, six are Silver Best-Sellers (sold 100+) and 13 are Copper Best-Sellers (sold 50+). 

I’ve sold 2,680 units at an average of $1.57 each (net) and given away 3,321 units. This will be the first year I get a 1099 from DriveThruRPG, which tells you how piddly some… well, most year’s sales have been… 

Here are the Top 5s based on units sold and dollars earned:

Top 5 Sellers by Numbers

1. Vampires of the Olden Lands 

2. Barbarian Class 

3. Necromancer Class 

4. Chronicles of Mhoriedh Map 00 Olden Lands Continent 

5. Ogres of the Olden Lands 

Top 5 Sellers by Dollars

1. Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Cyclopedia & Gazetteer 

2. Hercynian Grimoire #1 

3. Ghosts -- The Incorporeal Undead 

4. Vampires of the Olden Lands 

5. Ogres of the Olden Lands 

2022 was a banner year in many ways. We published 20 of the 57 products on our list this year, including the Isle of Eldisor, which was the culmination of three years of attempts to realize a specific vision of a campaign setting. 

One third of all published items, more than a third of all sold items, and almost half of all JMG income were realized in 2022, mostly in early 2022.

For most, that would be a reason to push through and move on to the next level of publishing. 

But no, not for me. 

After the Adventure Games Publishing Debacle, I decided I would only make my game writing a sideline at best – something for fun and for money to buy more games. Self-publishing games for anything more than that, well, I found out it is not for me.

And on top of everything, right now is a very, very slow time for sales. Between Labyrinth Lord moving to a 2nd Edition next year and the Shadowdark RPG not even yet being released, sales have been slow the last couple of months. Very, very slow since September when the new edition of Labyrinth Lord was announced.

So, between the big push to publish earlier this year, and the big slowdown while waiting for the new edition of Labyrinth Lord and the release of the Shadowdark RPG, I think it is time to take a break. 

We’ll call this one a sabbatical.

The sabbatical will last at least until the release of the new edition of Labyrinth Lord and the release of the Shadowdark RPG, both of which I expect will occur sometime in early to mid-Summer (fingers crossed!)

In the meantime, I am going to recharge my batteries by spending time with my wife; gaming with some friends; and cataloging and rebuilding my once-extensive game collection. I have one other neato Secret Project I need to work on for some friends, but other than that, all my gaming will be purely for fun until I see some cool new books in hand.

I do not plan to do any blogging during the sabbatical. Blogging… isn’t what it once was. There was the Golden Age of early Blogger & Forums; then the Silver Age of Blogger/WordPress and Google+; and finally, the Bronze Age of, well, whatever was left. And then there’s now, the Iron Age, with the Wastelands of Discord and the Fall of Twitter. So… meh.

Check back here around July 1st, 2023, to see what comes next; by then I hope the new edition of Labyrinth Lord and the new Shadowdark RPG will either be on my shelves or on the way.

Until then, good gaming!

[Now Available] The Witch, the Shepherd, His Goats, and Their Daughter Shadowdark RPG Adventure

The Witch, the Shepherd, His Goats, and Their Daughter

An Adventure Designed for use with for Shadowdark

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Art by Evlyn Moreau

Challenge Level: GBX

The Witch, the Shepherd, His Goats, and Their Daughter is a fairy tale adventure designed for use with the Shadowdark RPG. Help the Shepherd find his Goats and Daughter who have been kidnapped by the Witch of the Woods. The woods are home to all manner of strange, fearsome, and fey monsters… not to mention the witch!

Featuring 12 encounter sites, each with various dangers and rewards, The Witch, the Shepherd, His Goats, and Their Daughter provides action and adventure for one to three sessions.

The Witch, the Shepherd, His Goats, and Their Daughter is a forest point-crawl based on the art of Evlyn Moreau. It presents three Challenge Levels and can thus be used for three different kind of adventuring parties.

This adventure is designed for three separate Challenge Levels of play – Gauntlet (G), for parties of 0th level characters; Beginner (B), for parties of 1st or 2nd level characters; and Expert (X), for parties of 3rd and 4th level characters. Note that G level adventures are more difficult than B level and slightly less difficult than X level, as they are designed for four or five players each with four 0-level characters, rather than four or five players each with one character of 1st or 2nd levels or 3rd or 4th levels. Most, though not all monster and danger difficulties and treasures vary depending on the level of play – the greater the danger, the greater the reward! Choose the level of play based on the characters at hand – of course, you could also go with a lesser or greater level of danger, depending on the desires and fears of your players and their characters to seek danger and reward regardless of level! Higher levels of play in subsequent adventures include Champion (C) 5th to 6th, Master (M) 7th to 8th, and Legend (L) 9th to 10th.

JMGSD04, 20 pages (17 pages of content), $3.00.

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG

[Now Available] Expanded Races: Thanians - A Shadowdark Supplement

Expanded Races: Thanians

Designed for use with the Shadowdark RPG

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Expanded Races: Thanians includes 41 new races for use with the Shadowdark Role-playing Game.

Thanians, also known as Beastfolk, are anthropomorphic animals, including insect, amphibian, reptile, avian, and mammals, and including the following races:

Antfolk

Apefolk

Badgerfolk

Batfolk

Bearfolk

Beefolk

Birdfolk

Boarfolk

Butterflyfolk

Catfolk

Cattlefolk

Corvidfolk

Crabfolk

Cricketfolk

Deerfolk

Dogfolk

Duckfolk

Fishfolk

Foxfolk

Frogfolk

Gatorfolk

Goatfolk

Horsefolk

Lionfolk

Lizardfolk

Locustfolk

Mantisfolk

Monkeyfolk

Mousefolk

Otterfolk

Pigfolk

Rabbitfolk

Raccoonfolk

Raptorfolk

Ratfolk

Roachfolk

Serpentfolk

Sheepfolk

Skunkfolk

Tigerfolk

Wolffolk

Each has a brief description of common physical characteristics and typical societal systems, along with one or more special abilities.

16 pages (13 pages of content). 

$1.99 -- A steal!

Buy it now at DriveThruRPG!

 

[Now Available] Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit

Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit!

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran Mishler

Have you ever wanted to go out into the wilds and capture and train Magical Beasts as companions, friends, and your helpful bodyguards/prize fighters?

Have you ever wanted to show up that snarky friend of yours who said you just didn’t have what it takes?

Have you ever wanted to be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was?

Then hey, do I have a game for you!

Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit provides you with everything you need to run a Labyrinth Lord campaign in a world of Magical Beasts where you play a Magical Beast Summoner!

Go on a journey to find and bind all the Magical Beasts!

Fight with them in Matches with friends and Melees with Wicked Enemies!

Gather your team of Magic Beasts and go out and be a Hero!

Summoning Magical Beasts for Fun & Profit includes all the following information to run an entire Magical Beast Campaign!

Magical Beast Summoner Class includes the following:

Starting Magical Beasts

Binding Magical Beasts

Healing Magical Beasts

Summoning Magical Beasts

Training Magical Beasts

Companion Magical Beasts

Bonus Special Abilities

Summoner Specialties

Beast Master

Beast Lord

Building a Summoner Organization

Magical Beast Description includes the following:

Magical Beast Ability Scores

14 Energy Types

Magical Beast Experience

Magical Beast Experience Value

Magical Beast Loyalty & Morale

Breeding Magical Beasts

Magical Beast Class includes the following:

Bonus Hit Points

Energy Attacks

Special Abilities

Magical Beast Special Abilities include the following:

25 1st Level+ General Special Abilities

14 1st Level + Physical Attack Adjustment Abilities

14 1st Level+ Special Energy Attack Abilities

22 4th Level + General Special Abilities

10 8th Level + General Special Abilities

5 16th Level + General Special Abilities

Magical Beast Breeds includes 26 Breeds, including:

Batrachians

Bats

Bears

Birds, Columbidae

Birds, Galliformes

Birds, Passerines

Birds, Raptors

Birds, Waterfowl

Bovids

Canines

Creepy Crawlies

Dragons

Equines

Felines

Fish

Flora, Carnivorous

Flora, Trees

Foxes

Ghosts

Lepidoptera

Oozes

Reptiles

Rodents

Snakes

Spiders

Turtles

Magical Beast Campaign Details, including:

Magical Beast Campaign Settings

Magical Beasts in the Wild

Magical Beasts Chapter and Verse

Organizations

Matches

Melees

Beast Boosters

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any other Old School RPG!

64 page Booklet (60 pages of content), $8.00

Buy It Now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Expanded Talents for the Shadowdark RPG

Expanded Talents

Designed for use with the Shadowdark RPG 

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler 

Expanded Talents contains a new talent system for the Shadowdark RPG. It expands the Class Talent Tables for each class from five talents to 11 talents, with many new talents to roll or choose from! 

New talent tables are included for Clerics, Fighters, Thieves, Wizards, Knights of St. Ydris, Warlocks, and Witches! 

Expanded Talents also offers new Racial Talent Tables. A player may, at the discretion of the Game Master, choose to roll a talent from their character’s race rather than from their class. These tables provide a character with talents that emulate the talents of those races according to myth, legend, and fantasy role-playing gaming tradition.

New talent tables are included for Dwarves, Elves, Goblins, Halflings, Half-Orcs, and Humans!

A new talent system, complete with 13 new talent tables designed for use with Shadowdark!

16 pages (13 pages of content).

$1.99

Buy it now at DriveThruRPG!

The Shadowdark Quick Start PDF is available FREE from The Arcane Library!

Get the Shadowdark Quick Start Now!

[Now Available] Vampire Class

Vampire Class

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

This new class booklet presents a 20-level Vampire class for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any other classic style OSR Role-Playing Game.

The Vampire Class booklet includes details and rules on:

• Becoming a vampire.
• Vampire hit points and ability scores.
• Special defenses, resistances, and immunities.
• Vampire special abilities.
• Vampire combat, bringing back the blood drain!
• Vampire weaknesses.

With this class, a player’s character who has been transformed into a vampire no longer need become a non-player character! One can also run an entire campaign with vampire player characters! And of course, it is an excellent source for creating unique vampire enemies.

16-page booklet, 11 pages of content. $2 – CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[Coming Soon] The Heart of Albion, a Hexcrawl Campaign for Castles & Crusades

The Heart of Albion Hexcrawl Campaign Setting

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

The year is 1400 AUC, as the world has fallen into the cold-hearted grasp of Fimbul Winter.

 

Summer is as autumn, spring is as winter, and winter? Winter is as some cold slice of the Hells. Glaciers are rolling out of the mountains; new lands rise as waters retreat; and the very earth cracks under the weight of the Wrath of Eldisor.

 

The Great Northern Isle of Skandza has shattered into a thousand isles under the weight of these glaciers, and the survivors struggle to survive amidst the ruins as the Old Gods fight for their survival. Elsewhere, the remnants of the old Tyrrhenian Empire are being swept away by waves of barbarians and savagery…

 

The peninsular realm of Albion, far in the northwest and forgotten by Tyrrhenia and Skandza alike, is undergoing similar convulsions.

 

The native Kymrae and Brigantian tribes, Tyrrhenized and free, are threatened by the invasion of the barbaric Reichlanders from the east and the Caledonians from the north.

 

The native demi-humans and fairies are caught in between, and also drawn into the internecine battles between the various families of the Old Gods of Albion and the Reichlands, and even those from further afield, in their struggles with one another and with the rise of the new faith, the Holy Temple of Law.

 

And here and there still stand a few settlements and strongholds of Jordvann and Tyrrhenia, where the Jordvanner seek to rebuild civilization and the Tyrrhenians seek to conquer its remnants amongst those dimming points of light.

 

Follow the development of this classic Hexcrawl Campaign, The Heart of Albion, and explore the history behind the Continental Realms of the current Isle of Eldisor setting.

 

The development of this new Castles & Crusades setting will be featured on my blog, Adventures in Gaming v2, to edify those who wish to learn how to develop their own campaign settings in the classic Hexcrawl Sandbox fashion.

 

For fans of Labyrinth Lord, never fear; Castles & Crusades is readily adaptable to Labyrinth Lord (just as Labyrinth Lord is readily adaptable to Castles & Crusades).

 

Further Labyrinth Lord development of the Isle of Eldisor in the current era will follow the completion of The Heart of Albion, notably the northern half of Eldisor, The Northlands.

Follow developments on these pages!

[Now Available] The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Cartography by Dyson Logos

 

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel is the first adventure specifically set in the Isle of Eldisor Hexcrawl Campaign Setting. Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, it is easily adapted to any OSR-Style Role-Playing Game.

 

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel is an ancient, much-storied flying citadel in the shape of a demon’s head. Since the death of its creator during the Wars of Succession following the Fall of Eldisor, it has passed through the hands of countless villains, who have used the flying tower to raid, pillage, and enslave the peoples of the Ivory Plains and beyond. Terrible tales of wizards, demons, and dragons follow in its wake.

 

And now it has drifted into a tree-lined ridge near Wulf’s Ferry… right in your own backyard!

 

What are the inhabitants up to? Are they here to raid or to trade?

 

What of the rumors of centuries of treasure hidden within?

 

Are you brave or foolish enough to find out?

 

The Demon Tower of Valdig Fel is designed for use with Labyrinth Lord and other OSR-Style Role-Playing Games. Designed for use for a party of 4 to 6 adventurers of 5^th to 7^th level, its dangers can easily be increased or decreased for more powerful or less experienced parties.

 

24-page booklet, 19 pages of adventure. $3

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Shortcuts to Adventure #03: Monstrous Reflections

Shortcuts to Adventure #03: Monstrous Reflections

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Shortcuts to Adventure is a new series of mini-adventures designed to be fit into any dungeon, sewer, or ruined city. Each consists of five to 10 rooms, no more, and has an adventure theme.

The third Shortcuts to Adventure module is Monstrous Reflections. This one is a doozy. The party finds themselves in an area where they can all too easily get in over their heads. A simple clan of refuge goblins seeks to save their skins by offering up information on their neighbor… a crazy old and very wealthy magic-user. He has a giant crystal, they say, and he stares into it all the time. If taking out the magic-user is so easy, though, why do the goblins have such a look of terror in their eyes?

Designed for a party of 1st to 3rd level adventurers (maybe…), this adventure can easily be adjusted to higher levels by altering the mix and number of monsters present.

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, this adventure can easily be used with any Old School RPG.

Eight pages, three pages of adventure. $1 – CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Fairies Fair and Foul Volume #01

Fairies Fair and Foul Volume 1

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

The Fairies Fair and Foul series transforms the list of fairies from Michael Denham’s famous tracts into a series of creatures fit for encounters in Labyrinth Lord and other Old School RPGs.

The fairies included herein are not necessarily based on myths and legends, taking merely inspiration from the name and possibly inspiration from myths and legends. Some are created from whole cloth, much as many of the names of fairies in the Denham Tracts most likely were. 

Rest assured, they will challenge your players with new and interesting encounters!

This first volume includes seven new types of fairies:

The Alholde Fairy – A household fairy who only the rich and powerful can afford.

The Fairy Apparition – A creature literally born of fairy nightmares!

The Banshee Fairy – Wicked fairies all too… keen… on avenging themselves on all other life!

The Barguest Fairy – A greedy beast of a fairy who toys with his enemies like a cat does a mouse…

The Black Dog Fairy – Guardians at the crossroads between the Fairy and Mortal worlds.

The Black Bug Fairy – Mortals should be careful when they wish upon a star, as they never know who might be listening…

The Bloody Bones Fairy – These traitorous fairies have lost their heads… but a little setback like that would never stop them. Just don’t lose your head when you encounter them…

Seven new fairies – Mostly wicked and foul, in this run. Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any Old School RPG.

10 pages, 7 pages of fairies, $1 – CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Shortcuts to Adventure #02: The Lost Gnome Mine

Shortcuts to Adventure #02: The Lost Gnome Mine

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Shortcuts to Adventures is a new series of mini-adventures designed to be fit into any dungeon, sewer, or ruined city. Each consists of five to 10 rooms, no more, and has an adventure theme.

The second Shortcut to Adventure module is The Lost Gnome Mine. Here long ago a clan of gnomes discovered a huge and beautiful black diamond. So magnificent was it, they began to worship it. Then, strange and terrible things happened, and the gnomes disappeared. But it is said that the huge black diamond, worth a king’s ransom, remains to be found…

Designed for a party of 1^st to 3^rd level adventurers, this adventure can easily be adjusted to higher levels by altering the mix and number of monsters present.

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, this adventure can easily be used with any Old School RPG.

Eight pages, three pages of adventure. $1 – CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Shortcuts to Adventure #01: Shrine of the Slime God

Shortcuts to Adventure #01: Shrine of the Slime God

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Shortcuts to Adventures is a new series of mini-adventures designed to be fit into any dungeon, sewer, or ruined city. Each consists of five to 10 rooms, no more, and has an adventure theme.

The first Shortcut to Adventure is the Shrine of the Slime-God. Here horrible Chaotic and Evil priests and cultists come to worship the Demon-Prince of Slime. Here they store their treasures when they return home and hide in obscurity among their Lawful, Goodly neighbors… but they do not leave these treasures unguarded!

Designed for a party of 4th to 6th level adventurers, this adventure can easily be adjusted to higher or lower levels by altering the mix and number of monsters present.

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, this adventure can easily be used with any Old School RPG.

Eight pages, three pages of adventure. $1 – CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

Isle of Eldisor: A Realm of Crawling Chaos

The Isle of Eldisor comes across in most ways as an Epic High Fantasy campaign setting, but, in truth, it has more than a dash of Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror lurking beneath the surface. Literally – beneath the surface of the land and sea.

Thus, if you are running an Eldisor campaign you should check out Goblinoid Games’ Realms of Crawling Chaos, a guide to using Lovecraftian elements in your Labyrinth Lord or OSR RPG campaigns.

If you are running Eldisor using 5E, then I would suggest checking out Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for 5E. It is an amazing, in-depth, and novel treatment of the Mythos for use with 5E by a past-master of the Mythos Horror RPG genre.

First and most prominently, of course, are the Morlocks, which are not Lovecraftian per se, being an invention of H. G. Wells, though even then they have more than a touch of body horror and cosmic horror about them. In Eldisor, they are a full-blown Lovecraftian fusion, as they worship the Old Ones, notably Abhoth, Atlach-Nacha, and Tsathoggua. They are the bogeymen who haunt the nightmares of the Tribesmen and the colonists. Orcs and goblins are monstrous, but Morlocks? These are monsters that are supposedly men…

Then there are the Cavemen, which would on the surface seem to be normal, everyday Neanderthals. However, many of the Cavemen clans are corrupted by Chaos, and for all intents and purposes these should be treated as Voormis… Dreadful Secret: true Voormis are found on Eldisor, in the Northlands. More on that some other time… But if you want to give a corrupted clan a bit of a boost, check out the options available via various Mythos magics and abilities. The Subhuman race from Crawling Chaos is a possible player character race for extended OSR Eldisor campaigns.

Then there are those that dwell beneath the surface of the deep waters… the Deep Ones. These monstrous fish-folk are ever at their age-old schemes to try to take over the surface world for the greater glory of Cthulhu, Father Dagon, and Mother Hydra. Fortunately, they are mostly limited to the waters and coasts of the Twilight Ocean, though they continually seek to make inroads into the waters and coasts of the Merrow Sea. There are minor hamlets of Sea-Bloods scattered across both coasts, with all the dangers and potential treasures they offer. The Sea-Blood race from Crawling Chaos is a possible player character race for extended OSR Eldisor campaigns.

Note: For the Deep Ones, if you do not have a proper source for their game stats, you can use Sahuagin in their place, or if using official 5E, you can use Kuo-Toa.

There are other Mythos elements at work in Eldisor. Humans are hardly the only ones corruptible by the Old Ones and their minions. Giants, dragons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and goblins can all be corrupted by True Chaos. Such creatures should possess strange, unusual, and terrifying powers. If using Realms of Crawling Chaos, Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for 5E, or another Mythos source, you should also feel free to add in more proper Mythos creatures, though do so lightly, if you wish to maintain the High Fantasy veneer on the setting.

And then there are the Cults, which bring corruption on a societal as well as individual basis. Rare among the Continentals, these cults are de rigueur among the Morlocks, far too common among the Cavemen, Gray Folk, and Trolls, and only moderately less so among the Tribesmen and Kruski. Such cults often disguise themselves as cults of the King of Hell, much as the cults of the King of Hell disguise themselves as the cults of other gods. Only at the last are they revealed to be far more than a mere Hell-bound cult, providing the players a glimpse into the cosmic horror of the Realms of Crawling Chaos…

[Now Available] The Tavern from Hell Module for Labyrinth Lord

The Tavern from Hell

By James Mishler & Jodi Moran-Mishler

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord

The Tavern from Hell is a Labyrinth Lord adventure for 4 to 6 characters of 1st to 3rd level.

A local tavern, known as a hive of scum and villainy, has fallen under the powerful curse of an angry wizard. The locals and the heirs of the taverner are offering an exorbitant sum for adventurers to go in and perform the needful actions to lift the curse.

It is a LOT of money. And the adventurers get to keep all the treasure they find in the tavern. And the local authorities have even suspended their usual taxes on treasure.

Too good to be true?

As a down-on-your-luck adventurer, you are probably too poor to care…

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any Old School RPG system.

16 pages, 12 pages of ADVENTURE! $3.00 CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG

[Now Available] Centaur Race

Centaur Race
Designed for Labyrinth Lord
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

This booklet contains all the information you need to create a centaur player character for Labyrinth Lord or Advanced Labyrinth Lord (and is easily adaptable to other OSR systems). Details include both a centaur race and a centaur racial class, as well as information on creating centaur bands and camps.

 

12 pages (6 pages of material), $1 – CHEAP!

Buy it now from DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Gnome Racial Class

Gnome Racial Class

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

 

This 8-page booklet contains a gnome racial class designed for use with Labyrinth Lord. The class combines the illusionist and thief classes in a traditional gnomish manner. Not much new, as such, but fills a lacuna in the game's classes.

Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord and Advanced Labyrinth Lord, this class is easily adaptable to any classic fantasy role-playing game.

 

8 pages (3 pages of content), $1 CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] The Incompleat Olden Lands

The Incompleat Olden Lands

By James Mishler with Jodi Moran-Mishler

 

Nine years late and more than a few details short, here finally is the Incompleat Olden Lands, the gazetteer of my first new world.

 

Boy howdy, did I learn a few things NOT to do with building worlds with this one. Lessons that were still not learned for a time; took a while for the lesson to take, so to speak. Biggest lesson – start small, not big! Too much, too many details, too many things to juggle in the design and development eventually bogs you down and burns you out.

 

I got a good bit along with this one. Maybe three-fifths of the way, perhaps somewhat more, from a glance. Some sections are mostly done; other sections are skeletal, and some are in-between.

 

THIS PRODUCT IS INCOMPLETE AND DOES NOT DETAIL THE ENTIRETY OF THE OLDEN LANDS!

 

The Incompleat Olden Lands includes the following sections, some more complete than others:

 

Humans of the Olden Lands (Complete)

Demi-Humans of the Olden Lands (Complete)

Humanoids of the Olden Lands (Complete)

Languages of the Olden Lands (Complete)

Political Divisions of the Olden Lands (Various levels of completion)

Geography of the Olden Lands (Various levels of completion)

Complete Monster List by Area (Complete)

Complete Resource List by Type (Complete)

Coinage by Realm (Complete)

Titles and Order of Precedence (Very Incomplete)

Gods of the Olden Lands (Incomplete List Only)

 

I must emphasize, THE CAMPAIGN INFORMATION INCLUDED HEREIN IS INCOMPLETE. YOU WILL NEED TO FILL IN MANY DETAILS TO MAKE COMPLETE USE OF THIS CAMPAIGN.

 

The Olden Lands maps are available separately.

 

114 pages (108 containing material), $5.00

Buy now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Psychic Class for Labyrinth Lord

Psychic Class
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler
 

This booklet presents a new 15-level Psychic class that utilizes psychic powers, completely compatible with the existing magic system!
 
The class possesses the following:
 
Psychic Powers!
Psychic Combat!
Attune Restricted Magic Items!
Psychokinetic Powers!
Psychic Combat Expertise & Mastery!
 
The new Psychic class can be used alongside traditional magic-users and clerics or can take the place of one or both in a more science-fantasy campaign.
 
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, the Psychic Class can be easily adapted to any old-school fantasy role-playing game!
 
16 pages, 10 pages of content -- $1 CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[Now Available] Wicked Encounters #1: Slakt the Slayer and the Seven Dread Dwarves

Wicked Encounters #1
Slakt the Slayer and the Seven Dread Dwarves
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

This 16-page booklet has a ready-made wicked encounter ready for the judge to use in the underworld or wilderness. It includes a party of eight villains of 5^th to 9^th level:
 
Slakt the Slayer, a mighty human warrior-mage – and his “uncles,” the Seven Dread Dwarves:
 
Ond the Evil, Pretender-in-Exile
Lur the Cunning; “Lur of the Lightning”
Stygg the Ugly
Skrekk the Hideous
Friendly Frykk
Foul Frekk
Skurk the Villainous
 
The eight are out to overthrow an ancient kingdom for their own wicked purposes. And your party might just be in their way…
 
Plus, two new magic-user spells and a new magic ring!
 
Designed for use with Labyrinth Lord, easily adaptable to any old-school fantasy role-playing game.
 
16 pages, 10 pages of content, $1 – CHEAP!

Buy it now on DriveThruRPG!

[NOW AVAILABLE] Limited-edition, limited-run copies of James Mishler Games Books

Gary Con XIV has come and gone, and it took me most of two weeks to recover from four days. Whew, what a show!

While it was a busy show, I still have copies of the five special print products I printed for Gary Con. 

These are now for sale, US sales and shipping only.

Each book is priced as listed below. A full set -- one of each book, five books total -- costs $70, including shipping. Shipping is in a medium-sized flat rate box via USPS Priority Mail (tracked and insured for $50).

Books will be shipped bagged and boarded, and with bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts in the box.

If you are only ordering one or two, they can fit in a USPS Priority Mail flat rate envelope; shipping then costs an additional $5 above the total for the one or two books.

The five special, limited-edition, limited-run print products are as follows:

Barbarian, Demi-God, Dragonborn includes the PDFs of the Barbarian Class, the Demi-God Race, and Dragonborn. $10.

Ghosts – The Incorporeal Undead includes the entire manuscript from the PDF. $20.

Hercynian Grimoire #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1) includes the entire manuscript from the PDF. $15.

Myrkridder, Ogres, & Vampires includes the PDFs of Myrkridder – The Demonic Dead, Ogres of the Olden Lands, and Vampires of the Olden Lands. $15.

Quick Start Race & Class Guide includes the entire manuscript from the PDF. $10.

Other than a full-cover cover, these are all in black & white, with no new art or other fancy bits.

There were ever only 41 of each of these printed. The first prints, to test the print, are my personal copies; the first of the 40-print run went to my wife, Jodi, as has always been the case with all my print products; and the second went to Dan Proctor of Goblinoid Games. 

These will NEVER AGAIN be reprinted in this format; in fact, except maybe for Ghosts, they are likely to never be reprinted in ANY format, though I cannot promise that.

Contact me at jamesmishler@gmail.com to order.

[SALE] James Mishler Games 40% Off Sale

James Mishler Games is having a 40% Off Sale!

To celebrate the return of in-person gaming at Gary Con, James Mishler Games is having a 40% Off Sale on all PDFs!

Yes, you read that right – 40% off! That is to celebrate that 2022 is my 40^th year of playing role-playing games!

You know I don't go in for sales at all anymore, so you won’t see a sale like this on James Mishler Games products… probably ever. OK, maybe I’ll do a 50% off sale in 2032. So, if you can wait that long…

But if you can’t wait, buy now!

The sale ends on Monday, March 28^th.

Speaking of which, if you make it to the convention, stop on by Booth #104 to check out our convention exclusives! We also have products from Goblinoid Games, Arcane Library, and Geoffrey McKinney, as well as some surprises!

[Gary Con XIV] Hope to see you at the Convention!

Hoping not to put a Hex on the whole thing…

But every time I have announced I was going to Gary Con in the past, something has intervened. I’ve had to miss more Gary Cons than I’ve had a chance to attend…

But here goes…

If everything goes as planned, I will have a booth at Gary Con XIV, March 24-27, at the Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva, WI. Booth #118.

Originally it was to be me and Dan Proctor of Goblinoid Games, backed up by our Significant Others… but that was two years ago. For various reasons, it will be just me at the booth, however, I will have both my product and Dan’s Goblinoid Games products and… a few surprises.

This is where I will finally (hopefully) be able to sell the five special, limited-edition, limited-run print products I had printed two years ago for Gary Con XII. They are as follows:

Barbarian, Demi-God, Dragonborn includes the PDFs of the Barbarian Class, the Demi-God Race, and Dragonborn.

Ghosts – The Incorporeal Undead includes the entire manuscript from the PDF.

Hercynian Grimoire #1 (Vol. 1, No. 1) includes the entire manuscript from the PDF.

Myrkridder, Ogres, & Vampires includes the PDFs of Myrkridder – The Demonic Dead, Ogres of the Olden Lands, and Vampires of the Olden Lands.

Quick Start Race & Class Guide includes the entire manuscript from the PDF.

Other than a full-cover cover, these are all in black & white, with no new art or other fancy bits.

There were ever only 41 of each of these printed. The first prints, to test the print, are my personal copies; the first of the 40-print run went to my wife, Jodi, as has always been the case with all my print products; and the second went to Dan. 

So there remain 38 copies of each to be sold.

These will NEVER AGAIN be reprinted in this format; in fact, except maybe for Ghosts, they are likely to never be reprinted in ANY format, though I cannot promise that.

The prices will start out at their lowest on Thursday, and slowly increase each day until they are their most expensive on Sunday. Counter to normal methods, but there is madness in my method.

The five will be offered together as a set with a discount (as long as supplies last).

If any remain after the show, I will sell them here.

As I am the only monkey at the booth at this show, my time during exhibit hours is taken up. Stop on by to chat even if you are not interested in buying something. And even if you are not interested in chatting, as I mentioned, there will be some surprises, so you never know what you might find!

After exhibit hall hours, I hope to run or play in some pick-up games (if I have the energy). I hope to run some Labyrinth Lord and Mutant Future, and might bring along some other games, as well.

Hope to make it there this year, and if so, hope to see you there!