Developing Cultures - The Grell in Grayharrow.

Grell illustration (Fiend Folio)

Avremier is not my only campaign setting. Grayharrow is the name of another RPG project. There's a free preview posted on DriveThruRPG. What follows is a peek at the development of the grell as a "major player" monster race for Grayharrow.

Why the grell? I mean, it came from the Fiend Folio, so it's gotta suck. Well, popular opinion has never been terribly popular with me, and maybe I'll craft another entry regarding my own opinion of the Fiend Folio (spoiler: I like it) - but, for today, we're doing the grell.

Why the grell? Because a main focus of the Grayharrow setting is psionics. *sound of needle skipping and dragging off the record* Psionics?! But - I hate psionics! Good for you on calling me out for that. Spot-on. I do hate psionics - in a traditional fantasy setting. I hate psionics as an option that I would be forced to include in my game just because one or more players think they're kewl. In its proper place, psionics can be super-kewl. Grayharrow is such a place.

So, why the grell? Well, its a big floating brain with tentacles. Grayharrow has kind-of a Mythos thing going on, so tentacles fit right in...so to speak - I mean, they do fit right in, but...ew.

Anyway...

Intellect Devourer (Monster Manual)

Mi-Go (Deities and Demigods)

I've always thought the grell had massive creep-factor potential. Floating creatures are always fun - so sneaky. Plus - brains and tentacles. Speaking of brains, our grell is related to the intellect devourer - another major player in the Grayharrow setting, for obvious reasons. While we're at it, let's add the "brain collector" to the family tree. Brraaaiiins. Oh - how about the Mi-Go?

Brain Collector (Module X2 - Castle Amber)

Getting cluttered now. Where is this all leading, anyway? In a way, its leading to the Mind Flay-um - can't say that, can we? Someone owns that. But its, like, the ultimate psionic monster. In that case, we re-purpose the grell. We incorporate aspects of the brain collector and the mi-go. We make the grell psionic in much the same way as the Mind Flay-um...the Illithid? We give them similar tentacle attacks and habits. Maybe the beak needs to go. Maybe modify a couple of the tentacles to let the grell get to a victim's brain. Using variants, the grell can effectively replace the brain collector, mi-go, and illithid. The mi-go variant will be that which travels through interstellar space and inhabits other worlds. The more standard grell will be the terrestrial version, adapted to the campaign world. And, there's no reason why either couldn't store the brains taken from victims. So, now we just need to make some modifications.

The grell becomes psionic (akashic) - definitely. Now, it not only resembles a brain, but it also seeks to gather them. For what purpose? Food? Trophies? Knowledge? All three? Whatever suits the campaign. They have a mass of tentacles and it won't be hard to give them a couple designed to extract brains from living victims. Some appendages adapted to surgical work and finer manipulation. Getting rid of the beak allows us to create other orifices for various purposes. They can be hidden until needed. Giving them links to the intellect devourer and the mi-go, the grell can receive a bit of an armor upgrade in the form of a coral-like outer growth, or a chitinous exoskeleton (respectively). Not that their AC of 4 (same as the intellect devourer AND the mi-go) is anything to sneeze at.

For the Grayharrow setting, the grell needs to be fearsome, alien, and challenging. The original suits a dungeon setting well. Other systems and supplements have given us options for the species - just not exactly what I would like. The grell of Grayharrow will have physical aspects of coral, and of fungus. They will be able to handle a wide range of environments. You'll be able to find grell underwater, or in the void of space. They will be more intelligent, and organized. More dangerous. Functionally, the same creature as that found in the 1981 Fiend Folio, but now employed as the foundation for a more ambitious project.

And Mauvolg Makes Three...

Another six months have passed and the third volume of the five-book Avremier 0e set is due to go to press very soon. I will confess, this was a tough one. Still need to finish the cover art.

Mauvolg has never officially existed in the setting, until very recently. For many years, it was quite a different place on the developing map. It even went through a phase as the cliched "evil empire." Wacky times.

Now, Mauvolg is the "second human domain." The land that suffered a great disaster and fell into the ground. Now, the place is mostly at the bottom of a really big hole. Mauvolg is a kind of eastern-flavored place - inspired by many different cultures and legends...adjusted and re-skinned to suit the Avremier vision. A place of floating halfling villages and huge riding birds.

Following the original homage-driven design aesthetic of the project, this volume showcases the druid and monk classes. Mauvolg is much less of a "western civilization" than Dhavon (the previous volume of the series).

Mauvolg was tough because so much of it needed to be written out. Very little of the content for this supplement existed in a format intended for the use of others. It is not a region I've been using much in my own games. To even my own players, most of this stuff is going to be new. That means it hasn't really been playtested. THE HORROR!

So, I shall let others judge the merits and flaws of the supplement at the end of the month. When it finally goes to press. When people other than myself get to see it all for the first time. Mauvolg is going to be different. Probably not as different as the non-human lands to come...but, definitely a contrast to Dhavon. Here's hoping I can pull it off.

Avremier in Print - How We Got Here and Where We're Going

This entry will attempt to address all the questions and curiosities offered by those who have been following this project, and those who continue to support it today. Some of what follows has been said before, but I would like to put everything into perspective, as well as make an attempt to cover it all. It won't be short.



This is my first and only campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game. Development of what would evolve into this setting began around 1982. Truthfully, there were glimmers even before then, but I consider 1982 the point at which it all started to come together as a place for gaming. I've never run a game in a published setting and I've never run a module. It's just been Avremier. Not that I don't have other settings and adventures on my shelves. Not that I haven't run characters of my own in the worlds and dungeons of others. I've just been developing Avremier for my entire life.

Until this year (2016), Avremier existed entirely as semi-organized and piecemeal notes intended solely for my own use. Nothing was written for others to read, understand, or utilize. In recent years, I've been looking back to the beginnings of the D&D game. My nostalgia was probably rooted in a longing for something I've long admired, but never owned: the original rule booklets first printed for the D&D game. The first three in the boxed set, plus the supplements that followed. Then, a reprint collector's set was released. Though I've had PDFs of the original booklets, my desire for physical printed copies was great. So, I ordered a set for myself. That was probably the trigger. That - and being introduced to Ernie Gygax.

My exposure to D&D has included every edition of the game, except 4e. I've read the 4e books, but had no desire to play. Every other edition, I have played - and enjoyed. Now, I find myself appreciating the pre-2e versions of the game more and more. With the growing OSR movement, I find myself in excellent company. Old-School is in fashion once again and I couldn't be happier. After acquiring the reprint set, I realized I still didn't have everything I felt I needed. The reprints were nice, but they weren't all faithful to the originals. That wouldn't do. Not for what I had in mind. So, I set about finding and buying excellent specimens of the original booklets for my collection and my reference. The surge of excitement and satisfaction as I completed the set with a pre-edit copy of Gods, Demigods & Heroes is hard to describe.

Now, I have long wished to have been there at the beginning. Those early days when this entire hobby/genre was being born and shaped. Holding those early booklets and reading through them takes me right back to that time - even though I was only about five years old then. Hell, I started writing my first fantasy story soon after. I have always been here. At the time, I hadn't seen any compilations of all the early rules in one convenient volume. All the rules and added options from The Strategic Review and The Dragon magazine. Everything that would become AD&D and beyond. So, I set out to do it myself. I started to research and compile all the information I felt was necessary. I started to write my own compiled and edited edition of the 0e rules.

At some point, I felt compelled to set my own Avremier campaign down in a coherent form. Mostly for myself. But also with some intent to share it with those who expressed interest in seeing it all for themselves. Some of my players. Some of my online friends and fellow gamers. The time felt right. In the end, I decided to create an Avremier volume in the format and appearance of the original Greyhawk supplement. It just felt right. Besides, it also seemed like less work than setting it all down in some later rules format - though, that is planned for future development.

The booklet started entirely as a personal vanity project. I wanted to see Avremier as a "little brown booklet" with the look and feel of the originals. I wanted to hold it in my hands. I wanted to see if I could even do such a thing. Yes, I can write. I can even draw. But, I'd never seriously delved into desktop publishing. I'd never put my own work into print - but, I was employed in a professional print shop. I obtained kind permission to do a small print run with my own paper and files. As is my wont, I posted a brief announcement on my Facebook page...because there are people that follow my projects - often to my great surprise. Well, they managed to surprise me further.

People wanted printed copies of my little Avremier booklet. People that had never played my game. People that have never played D&D. People that have never played RPGs. After I recovered from the shock, I realized there was significant planning to be done. The print run had to be expanded - I'd only planned on about ten copies. One for me, one for my current players, and a few to give away as gifts. Suddenly, I had cause to double the count. Actually, there was cause to triple it. Suddenly, I was a small, independent RPG publisher.

A wee bit of panic ensued. I didn't want to refuse anyone. People were seriously clamoring for copies. People were excited. That got me excited. It also got me a little anxious. This was no longer personal. People were telling me to take their money in exchange for my work. Suddenly, I had to produce the best little booklet I possibly could. I had to give everyone as close to their money's worth as possible. Yes, I HAD to. In my mind, it was essential. That's just how I am. It's an honor thing. As a result, I had to become something else - something more. I had to become Mothshade Concepts.

Yes, I created a tiny little company of one frantic guy and a home desktop PC. I got organized. I created a Facebook page for Mothshade Concepts. I outlined a production schedule. I started doing drawings for the book. I had my wife pose for a reference photo for the cover art - I wanted the cover to be as close to great as possible. I taught myself how to draw a hippopotamus - flying. I set up a rudimentary shipping process from my home office. I edited the hell out of my manuscript to make it as perfect as possible - even recruiting a few generous volunteers to help. Otherwise, it was all me. It had to be. This was my rite of passage. I needed to prove to myself that I could do it - from start to finish.

And I did. On-schedule. I was stunned again. I had reached a place I'd honestly doubted was accessible to me. I was a self-publisher. And, when I say "self-publisher," I mean it exactly as written. I published myself. I wrote it. I did the layout. I did the overall editing. I drew every piece of art. I created the PDF file. I printed the pages and cover. I put them together into a booklet. I packaged and addressed the finished booklets. With help from my amazing wife, I saw those bastards shipped throughout the world - yes, the world. There are people in Canada, UK, Denmark, and Australia with copies of this thing.
 
The rush was even greater this time. Mothshade Concepts was born and Avremier had been set loose upon the world. But, it was only the beginning. It is impossible to cram even a small portion of the entire setting into one little booklet - even one that included more pages than the originals. Avremier was only the first of a set. I had to create and publish the rest. That's where I am now. The second volume is nearly done, with at least three more to follow. My production schedule beyond that is daunting, to say the least.

The Avremier project is a heartfelt homage to the original rule booklets published in the 1970s. To own them does not mean you can sit down and easily run an Avremier game. That was not the intent when I started down this road. Things have changed drastically since. I will need to reach higher. There has been talk of Kickstarters. I'm making plans for that. Avremier will need to be released in a fully compiled volume that includes everything needed to actually run an Avremier game or campaign. There will also need to be editions compatible with later editions of the game. These are also scheduled to happen - eventually. As long as I am an army of one, it is hard to say how long this will take. I have detailed outlines of the foreseeable future of Mothshade Concepts' output. I am making contacts and friends in the OSR/RPG industry. I am learning as much as I possibly can along the way. I am taking this very seriously. Someday, I hope to employ minions to help make it all happen. I refuse to ask anyone to work for free - except myself.

Mothshade Concepts will be more than just Avremier. It will probably remain OSR-oriented, at least for now. Other products are already in the works. Everything from adventures to t-shirts. Referee and player aids to plush toys. Whatever our supporters want. Yes - "our." I have to think of myself as an entity now. It's about the only way I'll get through this without my head exploding.

  

Gamer Friends Relief Fund Update

The fundraising effort has concluded successfully. All twenty books have sold and about $500.00 raised for the relief effort. Some even contributed more than the cost of the book. Mothshade Concepts is beyond pleased to have the opportunity to use gaming to assist those of the gaming community in need. Thank you to all who contributed. You are true heroes.

The All-New Adventures of Mothshade Concepts

So, I've become a commercial entity. Did not see that coming.

What started as a little, personal 0e vanity project has become the launch of a fledgling indy RPG venture.

I swear I never thought for a moment that a flimsy little stapled booklet designed after the original 0e Greyhawk supplement, for my own campaign setting, would pique anyone's interest. I mean, who plays 0e D&D? Who cares about my home-brewed Avremier setting? Who would pay twenty buck plus shipping for this thing? So far, about thirty people. Many of whom aren't even gamers. Hell yes, I'm flattered. In fact, I'm overwhelmed.

But that's not all.

Real names and publishers in the RPG industry are taking notice and offering support. That's one of the things I love about this community. I won't be dropping names, but you'd recognize a few. I can't recall when I've felt so honored...so vindicated for thirty-plus years of scribbling, reading, drawing, mapping, DMing.

And, this is just the start. A new chapter, I suppose. My glorious wife is going to make me into an LLC. She's already talking about having tables or booths at conventions - and I have one product to my name. She's scheduling trips to various cons in the next year-or-two. My friends are clamoring for more - and many of them don't even have their copy of Avremier 0e yet. Newly-made pals in the RPG industry are offering me advice and support. Complete strangers are Liking the Mothshade Concepts FB page.

I've actually MADE a Mothshade Concepts FB page. Mothshade Concepts - something I toyed with a decade ago (so I already had a logo designed), but let anxiety and crippling self-doubt sideline the whole thing. Now I made a little booklet and BANG! 

So far, all of this is me. If there is anything to complain about - lay it on me. I wrote it. I did the layout. I edited it. I illustrated it. I did the final proofing. I converted it to PDF and failed to note the little shifts and changes made along the way. I printed it. I put it together. I shipped it. This is quite simply, my baby. I am proud, terrified, and exhausted. I got so utterly sick of looking at the manuscript before the end, I almost started to hate what might be my biggest RPG accomplishment to-date. If this had been only about me, I doubt I'd have continued. But, then came the supporters.

While I've no doubt someone will review this somewhere and let the air out of my head in the process, I've already done what I was sure I could never do. I self-published an RPG product. And, when I decide to self-publish, I take that $#|+ seriously. I wanted to learn it all - so I did. I wanted my hands on every aspect of the product - and they were. Greyhawk was my inspiration and my guide. Avremier has been my only D&D campaign setting for as long as I've played the game. I've had many players in my Avremier games. Now, I want to share it with everyone else.

This is only the first treatment of the setting. Like Greyhawk (Supplement I) itself, the book does not give you the Avremier setting to run. It offers bits and pieces of Avremier. Options and setting-specific stuff. Unlike Greyhawk, it does cram in as much setting detail as I was able to fit. It has more pages than the original books as a result. It is the first of five planned volumes, with a number of optional books to come. The references in Avremier 0e alone should give an idea of the number of books still in the works. The setting is big and detailed. These little booklets cannot contain it all comfortably.

Yes, there are plans for Avremier 1e. There are plans for Avremier D20. There are plans for Avremier Pathfinder. There are plans for Avremier 5e. Sadly, I currently AM the Mothshade Concepts Design & Development Team. I can't pay myself, much less freelancers or actual employees. The day may come, but I make no assumptions. But, I'm not saying never. Avremier 0e took me about five months to produce. I'm hoping future volumes take even less. I'm hoping for a bunch of cash to magically appear to finance all the projects to come. I'm hoping to live long enough to realize the full Avremier product line. I'm hoping all of you make the journey with me.

Achievement unlocked.

As prophesied, the Avremier 0e booklet is finished and ready to ship.

This has been an arduous, but fulfilling, journey into the wilderness of self-publishing. The original project was merely a nostalgic treatment of my personal D&D campaign setting, inspired by the original Greyhawk supplement. Through the interest and support of no-less-than thirty other people, the project grew into the start of something greater. For that, I am immensely grateful.

So, this is now the first of a series of booklets for the Avremier campaign setting. I will keep the world updated through this blog, and the Mothshade Concepts FB Page. Website pending.

Giving 0e F***s

As I wrap up the manuscript for the Avremier 0e booklet, so many thoughts and memories assail my fevered brain. In an effort to relieve the pressure, I'd like to share a few with those of you that stop by from time to time.

Coasting through my mid-40s, I find myself taking so much with less gravity or severity. My writing is including more humor. My gaming material is showing more concepts for the sake of fun, rather than drama or conflict. I'm recalling more from my childhood reading and gaming experiences. Hell, I included the Flutterpotamus in the Avremier book - with detailed illustration!

My willingness to invest in sandbox-y adventure rather than episodic gloom-and-doom campaigning comes as no surprise to myself, but I find that I am taken away from D20 gaming in favor of "old-school" rules. Simple-and-fun becomes more and more of a priority for me. While I enjoy Pathfinder and 5E, my creative efforts are focused more on 1E and before.

"But, dude, you've said this before." I hear what you're saying and you're absolutely correct. I have - because it is important. I have this blog that is focused on pre-D20 (and even pre-2E) D&D gaming. I am now venturing into OSR publishing with the Avremier 0e project. Surely, I can achieve greater success by writing for D20 gaming. Probably so. I just don't enjoy it as much.

"Nostalgia," some snort dismissively. Sure. Why not? What's wrong with nostalgia? I may not have many fond memories of my early days, but I treasure those I do have. I use those memories to inform some of my current creations. Some of my very popular current creations. "Old" does not always mean "tired." Stuff I loved as a kid appeals very strongly to kids today. Consequently, "new" does not always mean "improved." Often, "new" is just "different."

I've done new. And different. Enjoyed them both. Along the way, I've not lost my craving for adventure, wonder, or magic. Avremier is my fantasy gaming world. It always has been. There are elements of "classic" fantasy meshed with newer aspects of the genre(s). There is myth, legend, and fairy tale. Also, here and there, can be found elements I like to think of as distinctively "mine."

It is 2016 and I am creating the stories and games that I want. To my delight, I'm finding a great many others who want them too. My worlds, and welcome to them.