I hope you'll forgive the title; I know it's only marginally amusing but once I thought of it I had to do something with it. Anyway, this post was sparked by a discussion I had on Reddit about re-skinning dungeons and monsters from classic fantasy RPGs to the Vaults of Vaarn setting. This is an… Continue reading B/X TO THE FUTURE
Guest Spot on Wobblies & Wizards
I have a new interview out with the Wobblies & Wizards podcast. I talk to Logar the Barbarian about Vaarn, Moebius, academia, making zines, distributing zines, the Antipode Zines store, e-readers vs printed books, why people still love zines in a digital world, and more. Logar is a great interviewer and keeps the energy high… Continue reading Guest Spot on Wobblies & Wizards
VAULTS OF VAARN: ADVENTURE PACK 1
Hello folks, I've got something new on sale at Antipode! Presenting the first Vaults of Vaarn Adventure Pack. The mysterious, far-future wasteland of Vaarn is expanded in this pack of three short format adventure locations. Together Khenet Rock, Eigin Oasis, and The Tomb of Nassak An-Rah provide two challenging dungeons and one safe haven for your vault raiders. Khenet… Continue reading VAULTS OF VAARN: ADVENTURE PACK 1
VAARN ACTUAL PLAY: EPISODE 31
Last time, our intrepid adventurers battled themselves in jelly-clone form, finally drained the water from the flooded lower level of the Water Baron's Aquifer machine, and were ambushed by some glider spiders in a tunnel. We left them standing at the bottom of the main shaft, faced with the newly revealed body of the Hydra… Continue reading VAARN ACTUAL PLAY: EPISODE 31
Antipode Zines
The new year has brought a new venture: I am the proud co-founder of an online store called Antipode Zines. This storefront will be replacing my old Big Cartel shop as the place where you can buy Vaults of Vaarn, Bloodheist, and anything else I make straight from the author. That isn't all however! Antipode… Continue reading Antipode Zines
Holiday News Roundup
Hey folks, hope everyone's having a good holiday season. Vaarn is closed for the moment, but there are a couple of quick news items I wanted to post before the new year. Italian Translation Vaults of Vaarn #1 has been translated into Italian! This was an effort by some Italian OSR fans, Pedro Celeste and… Continue reading Holiday News Roundup
LOW-LEVEL MONSTERS
I find that it’s easy to overlook the lower end of the monster power curve. I completely understand why: you want your monsters to be memorable and cool and dangerous, so anything that gets its own blog post feels like it needs to be at least 4HD or above, have a load of weird powers,… Continue reading LOW-LEVEL MONSTERS
CREATING A VAULT
The Vaults of Vaarn are subterranean ruins that riddle the blue desert. Crucially, these Vaults will always contain Exotica, the far-future treasures the PCs are searching for; therefore, the GM is advised to create one such location before the campaign begins. Follow these steps to begin drafting a Vault. Roll a d20 to determine the… Continue reading CREATING A VAULT
FRACTALISK
An incursion from another fevered sphere of reality, a bizarre hypergeometric monster which feeds upon paradox and whose mere regard unwinds the weave and weft of space-time. The Fractalisk resembles a lizard from some angles, a blossoming flower from others, and at times can seem no more substantial than a fan of light reflected upon… Continue reading FRACTALISK
ELIXIRS
Elixirs are the province of the Vaarnish alchymist, a catch-all term for wondrous unguents, salves, tonics, nectars, and draughts, the recipes for which have been passed down through the eons. Infused with exotic molecules and enthusiastic nanomachinery, these single-use concoctions grant the drinker a variety of beneficial effects. They may be ingested by all PCs… Continue reading ELIXIRS