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It's 2021 and the Dream is Dead
So reads the cover caption of Mayfair's Underground, published in 1993. Taking place in 2021, Underground is unusual in terms of genre; perhaps “dystopian super-hero” might be the best categorization....
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Pages from Spellbooks (part III)
Five years ago, your humble host published two posts (here and here) providing examples of what pages in spellbooks might look like. Below are nine more examples derived from 'real world' sources;...
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Journey to Stonedeep (spoilers)
Art by Ed LeeThe introductory adventure (or “ready-to-run quest”) provided in 1995's Everway Box Set takes up about half of the 64-page Gamemastering Guide. It is a very good example of what an...
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Pre-Generated Characters in Everway
Everway provides a dozen pre-generated characters, complete with backgrounds, descriptions of magic and powers, possessions, and even “questions for development.” Without further ado. . .Amber Air: 3...
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Powers and Magic in Everway
In Everway, all player characters (i.e., “heroes”) are spherewalkers. The Playing Guide asks, “What makes someone a spherewalker?”Those who are sensitive to mystical things (in game terms, those who...
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City of Wonder
Six years ago, your humble host wrote about Chaosium's 1982 Worlds of Wonder product. We return to that product because a reader has informed me that he (or she or they) purchased Worlds of Wonder on...
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Characters and Elements in Everway
From Leonhard Thurneysser’s Quinta Essentia (1574) Previously, we examined parts of the Identity Stage of Everway character generation; specifically, the concepts of Virtue, Fault, and Fate. The...
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The City and the Setting
Map by Amy WeberThe Everway Kickstarter has surpassed its goal and – as of this writing – the project has about a month left. Readers within this time period are encouraged to check it out.Anyway,...
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The Cosmology of Everway
The setting of Everway consists of innumerable spheres. Each sphere “is an entire world... physically similar to real-life earth, the same size and shape, with cold polar regions, a hot equatorial...
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Visionary Roleplaying
Art by Janine JohnstonCasting about for my next study after Tabloid! and Pandemonium!, I thought about Everway. It's not exactly old school, but it is twenty-five years old. Little did I realize a...
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Introductory Adventures for Tabloid! (spoilers)
Art by Newton H.Ewell p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115% } a:link { so-language: zxx } Interspersed throughout the Tabloid! rulebook are ersatz articles written by some TSR regulars. “The...
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Introductory Story for Pandemonium! (spoilers)
The premise of the Pandemonium! Introductory Story is that Elvis has been missing for three weeks and the player characters are dispatched to his last known sighting. Of course, since it is an...
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Adventures in Pandemonium!
Pandemonium! provides am “Introductory Scenario” for first time players and Editors of the game. The Story Section advises the Editor:After you’ve finished playing this introductory scenario you may...
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Death in Pandemonium!
The Seventh Seal In a prior post, we learned that Pandemonium! characters die when any of their Attributes (Body, Mind, or Spirit) fall to –10 or below. Specifically...When Body is reduced to -10 or...
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A Jamaican Halfling
Without further comment, I present a missive originally published in Arak / Son of Thunder #13 (September 1982):
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Death in Tabloid!
Etrurian Minchiate. p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115% } a:link { so-language: zxx }The Tabloid! Weapons Table assigns damage amounts to various circumstances, not just weapons. A few...
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Playing Pandemonium!
The essential rule mechanic for Pandemonium! is to roll 1d10, “add the appropriate numerical ability” to create an Action Sum. By consulting the Fate Table, the Action Sum indicates a result. The...
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How To Be A Better Monster
Art by Gustave DoréThe second edition of Monsters! Monsters! is now available. Technically, the second edition was available forty-one years ago. The subject of this post is the second, second...
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Comedy in Tabloid! (et al.)
A public domain photograph of the King which TSR could have used for Tabloid!Tabloid! has a four-page chapter on death called 'The Final Byline,' beginning with the phrase, “Dying Is Easy...” The...
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Character Creation in Tabloid!
Cartography by Dennis KauthIncluded in the back of the Tabloid! rule book fold-out poster map of “The Real Weird World,” a portion of which is shown above. It's incorrect to call the map a selling...
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