First question on the City State of the Invincible Overlord Map

+simontmn ask

I always thought the Cryptic Citadel was one big building, this shows it as a small circular building surrounded by a courtyard?

On the original it is a judgement call. 

A case could be made for it to be a big giant building due to lack of interior detail like plants or roadways like the one leading to the lower entrance.

But then I got the no-name city photocopy.

Notice how the walls are shaded like the city walls. Despite the lack of a interior crenelation this to me meant the inside is a courtyard not a building.

Product Launch

The launch went well. So far 100 kickstarter backers have claimed their coupons. Plus I made 18 sales enough to put the map at #9 on the Bestselling Titles and #3 on hottest small press. I appreciate the business and the numerous good compliments. When some reviews, good or bad, appear I will make a post linking to them.

If you are interested in getting this map for yourself you can buy it here on RPGNow for $8.

In addition to the City State of Invincible Overlord, Revised, and Guide to City State (1976) it was pointed out by Falconer that one can use the Initial Guidelines Booklet I as well. The Initial Guidlines Booklet I is what Judges Guild sent out after the selling the maps at Gen Con IX. 

Then there also the Necromancer Games version of the City State of the Invincible Overlord which fleshes out the entries and includes the Wraith Overlord Sewer Supplement. 

City State of the Invincible Overlord, Color Map (authorized release)

Bat in the Attic Games and Judges Guild is pleased to announce the release of the City State of the Invincible Overlord, Color Map on Friday November 24th 2017.

In 1976, Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owens went into business as Judges Guild. Their initial offering was centered on a magnificent 22" by 34" map of the City State of Invincible Overlord. First appearing at Gen Con IX, it was sold literally out of the trunk of a car during the convention.

Now forty years later that map has been redrawn in full color. It preserves all the original detail while adding new ones like rocks, foot paths, trees, and shrubbery. This has been checked against the no-name city blueprint that was the first draft of the map. This helped to clarify details obscured by the offset printing process used in the 1970s.

This map is not a scanned image of the original but has been redrawn from scratch.

This product contains several versions of the map.

• A vector based PDF with layers at 22" by 34" 
• A bitmap based PDF at 22" by 34"
• A jpeg of the map with building labels and legends removed suitable for Virtual Tabletop software.
• Instructions for using the VTT map with Roll20
• A 17" by 14" map with the city arranged in its correct location on the original 5 mile hex map published on the back of the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.
• A PDF with overlapping sections of the full map suitable for printing on letter size paper.
• A PDF with a letter sized black and white only map suitable for taking notes on during a campaign.

This is a authorized Judges Guild release for the Wilderlands of High Fantasy.

A coupon for a complimentary copy will be offered to all backers of the City State of the Invincible Overlord kickstarter. Please check the comment section of the Kickstarter for instructions.

Link to Kickstarter

This product only contains color maps of the City State of the Invincible Overlord. The original guidebook and map can be purchased from Judges Guild on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG.

The original guidebook can be found on RPGNow/DriveThruRPG at

City State of the Invincible Overlord Revised
or
Guide to the City State (1976)

Barebones Fantasy, Death in Middle Earth, and a weekend at the Con.

Barebones Fantasy

So I went to Con on the Cob over the weekend. There I met up with +Tim Shorts and +Chris C. on Friday Night. Because I just got off of work, I had just enough time to check in, unload my stuff and head to my first game. Which turned out to be a Barebone Fantasy adventure.

Barebones Fantasy is an RPG about as detailed as Swords and Wizardry Complete, Basic DnD 5e or Fantasy Age. It uses a d100 and very basic skill system. You crit (success or fail) when you roll doubles (11, 22, 66, etc). Interestingly 00 means 0 and not 100. And counts as a crit. Skills are grouped by profession. Each profession (Thief, Scout, etc) have a number of skills that the your rating applies too.

Overall the system has it own favor and the rulebook cover everything you need to get started with a fantasy campaign using it. My only issue is that I have a number of RPGs of similar complexity and ease of use. So it doesn't hold much appeal for me.While it sounding I am damning it with faint praise. I feel it quite good ... for another gamer. My own personal bias is towards 3d6 based system when not using Dungeons and Dragons. So I would use Fantasy Age over this.

However if you like to use a d100 then you should take a look at this. Like Fantasy Age, like Swords and Wizardry Complete, or the Basic Version of DnD 5th edition, it quick to read and leap into. Recommended.

Barebones Fantasy Character sheet.

I will have a followup on the result of the Adventures in Middle Earth game I ran at the convention.

Of to the Con and Middle Earth!

So around 3pm I will heading from work to Con on the Cob in Richfield (Cleveland) Ohio. There I will hang out with my friends +Tim Shorts and +Chris C.. and get in on some gaming action.

On Saturday at 1 pm,  I will be running a modified version of my Scourge of the Demon Wolf for Adventures in Middle Earth called Scourge of the Werewolf. Because it is a face to face session I can go all out with my Dwarven Forges, props, and minis.