Supplement V: ___________

The aforementioned Supplement V: Carcosa has received a great deal of censure, not least for its supposed hubris in billing itself as the "next" D&D supplement after the original four (a bit of literary whimsy and speculative fancy that I, for one, rather enjoy), but also for its macabre and bloody content. Though, it must be said, the text itself is in no way puerile or lascivious in tone and said content is exclusively contained within the descriptions of the sorcerous rituals. Which are, I must point out, designed to effect horrid and barely comprehensible things, oft-times referred to as Lovecraftian horrors, and as such the terrible demands of such rites are to be fully expected.

However, the controversy is well worn (though barely a month old...) and I doubt if it shall be settled here.

Nor do I wish to focus on it.

My thought is rather to encourage the creativity of the vast horde of gamers that flock to this "scene", as the hipsters say, and throw down a gauntlet of challenge.

Write your own Supplement V.

Now, you might say, "But I liked Carcosa!", wunderbar. Do it anyway. As an exercise in creativity if nothing else!
Others may protest, "Why should I follow that objectionable work?" In short, to make it forgotten. There is no better way to erase something than to bury it with superior work. Hate Carcosa? Grand, show us the Supplement V that should have been!
Still others cry, "I don't even play OD&D!" Hey, neither do I, and I am not holding myself aloof from this. Grab the rules, the .pdfs are easily available, read them, and then start tinkering and writing.

I want to see a string of Supplement Vs, a mad, glorious, explosion of creativity and oddities that will enrich all our games. Because, as most of you know, even if you don't use the work in toto, you can invariably steal bits of it for inclusion into your own campaign.

There it is, a challenge I suspect few will read, and fewer take up. No matter. I will at least be working on my own contribution.

Supplement V: Nefaratus

And Once More We Lunge From The Shadows...

Unfortunately, we have been most remiss in actually posting our witticisms and thoughts. The blame falls mostly on illness, lack of a clear vision, controversy, and, of course, laziness.

Many apologies to the three of you who follow this regularly.

We last promised the details of the fighting men for the Cassandrian Campaign, and we will, in short order, attend to that. However, we first wish to touch upon the aforementioned controversy.

I refer, of course, to the grandly titled 'Supplement V: Carcosa'. Many have reacted with disgust towards the work, unfairly, I think. I was, to be honest, rather surprised that any controversy arose. I had perused some of the author's posts on the Dragonsfoot Forums and whilst I may not care for his style of gaming (too doomful for my tastes), there's nothing objectionable there. Creepy, horrific, and disturbing, yes, but then I own and have read the Book of Ebon Bindings, so I'm not exactly squeamish... Lamentations of the Flame Princess has an interesting take on the assorted drama, and I refer those interested to that blog (pausing only to note that one of the objectors to Carcosa uses a picture of Blackwolf from the film 'Wizards' as his 'avatar'... human sacrifice to summon and bind horrific entities being beyond the pale, but a Hitlerian-obsessed mutant sadist warmonger is OK...)

Commentary Regarding the Thief

James Maliszewski has a few things to say in regards to the thief as a class.

And, whilst I can understand his reasoning, and I find he has several solid points to make, I am still going to keep the class around in my games.

One of the comments to his post, however, was a tiny eye-opener...

"The OD&D Thief was the first "Skill" class - determined by its abilities to perform particular non-magical skills. As the other classes caught up with non-weapon skills, the double damage of the thief came to fore as a defining element of the class, transforming it into the lightly-armored, sometimes invisible striker that inhabits MMORPGs." - Jeff Grubb

This, in my opinion, is what to avoid. I don't want a thief who is a better fighter, I want a master of stealth and a dungeoneering specialist, not a combat wunderkind.

The combat specialist is, and should remain, the fighter (and his varied sub-classes).

And, on that note...

Next time: The Fighting Men.