"River" Inktober 52

The mummy that wasn't... aka are you my mummy? No! First appearing as the gluey in White Dwarf magazine (1978), the adherer shambled forward and made TSR's Fiend Folio (1981). It feels like one of those trick monsters DMs gleefully unleash on complacent or overconfident players to shake things up a bit. The adherer is often mocked, but I have to admit I thought it was kind of cool when I first saw the monster entry in the FF. A potentially sticky situation… on THAC0 Thursday!!

Influenced heavily by Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne stories, Dungeon Module X2: Castle Amber (Chateau d' Amberville) was written by Tom Moldvay and published by TSR in 1981: "Trapped in the mysterious Castle Amber, you find yourselves cut off from the world you know. The castle is fraught with peril. Members of the strange Amber family, some insane, some merely deadly, lurk around every corner. Somewhere in the castle is the key to your escape, but can you survive long enough to find it?" You risk getting trapped in Amber (and not the cool kind like in Jurassic Park)… on Map Monday aka Dungeon Day!!

Science fiction stories had appeared in other magazines prior, but Hugo Gernsback's Amazing Stories is widely considered the first magazine to publish only sci-fi content. Issue #1 premiered in April 1926, and the magazine is still published today (with a few hiatuses and ownership changes). Look at that amazing lineup in the first issue… on Sci-Fi Saturday!!

"Side Kick" Inktober 52

The sounds of the 80s.

First appearing in the AD&D 1E Monster Manual (1977), the Otyugh (and its larger, more ill-tempered cousin the Neo-otyugh) is not only one of the D&D monsters with the most debated pronunciation ("oh-tee-ugg"? "oh-ty-yoog"? "at-yugz"?, "ochu"? Bless you?) but is also one of the most bizarre. It looks as strange as it's name, eats poop (heck, it will happily live in poop), garbage (yep, will happily live in a garbage heap), and carrion, and for some reason is mildly telepathic. The origins of this monster are unknown, although several have speculated it was inspired by a dianoga, the Death Star garbage monster in the original Star Wars movie (these theories are unconfirmed and the timing of Star Wars's release compared to the MM release date give it a very slim window). The otyugh and the neo-otyugh are also known as types of gulguthra (or "dung-eater"). A foul but fun entry… on THAC0 Thursday!!

The Rise of Warduke is an unofficial video game for the OpenBOR engine released in 2021. Warduke rises (and side scrolls!) where least expected… on Warduke Wednesday!! Photo Credit: Zach Glazar

The difference between Avon and Tarrant summed up (Blake's 7)

Astronaut Dave Scott enjoying the view out of his Apollo command module, 1969

"Samurai" Inktober 52

1978's D1 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth (republished in 1981 by TSR as the D1-2 compilation module of the same name) took players underground and asked "for who knows who or what will be encountered in this gloomy underground world?" The gloomy underground world itself was represented by 2 maps, a large-scale map of the "whole underground complex" and another featuring "three widths of passages for the initial and subsequent travel and exploration." Adventurers fear not to delve the dark… on Map Monday aka Dungeon Day!!

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) is a satire by Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) but also an early example of the time travel and alternate history genres. In it, 19th Century protagonist Hank Morgan uses his knowledge from the future of a solar eclipse that occurs during his time in Arthurian England to save his life. That's one to mark… on Sci-Fi Saturday!!

A retailer ad from TSR promising D&D was a gateway to adventure, and they weren't lyin'… on THAC0 Thursday!!

Warduke's a nightmare for his enemies… on Warduke Wednesday!! Art Credit: Nat Jones