Fosc Anansi

Shadow of the Spider Goddess

is then next adventure module from Fail Squad Games that is going to print with the help of backers like you through Kickstarter!

This will be the first Hardback from Fail Squad Games available to the public!

Silent crawlers with a venomous bite. Web spinners, creating sticky, beautiful homes that double as deadly traps. Nature’s most artistic killers.

What fools would grow these tiny killing machines into the size of ponies or even larger?

Gnomes! Opportunistic dark gnomes, looking for profit, who stumbled upon an inter-dimensional substance—experimental, yet undoubtedly powerful.

Then something came creeping down the strand that connected the spiders to the inter-dimensional world, a shadow—the Shadow of the Spider Goddess!

Back it NOW!

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~continued
After reading a bit more into the free PDF from WOTC, where they reference the Player’s Handbook (PHB) pages in the text more frequently, it occurred to me that what I was missing the point that the PHB and Dungeons Master’s guide (DMG) aren’t really intended to be read from front to back so much as danced around when a new term comes into play. This technique of flipping to the Table of Contents to find the explanation of the terms really expedited the learning curve and saved me from getting lost in not understanding the terms or the mechanics behind them at first mention.

So, now I was getting through mechanics and moving along, really getting warmed up to see it in action. I found a short video online with a fella who walks you through the basic character creation process. It really helps to watch this video after you have done some of the reading in the PHB to hear the terms and see a little bit of the mechanics. This has now made about 75% of the game suddenly come into focus. I am confident that I could sit in at a table right now and game with ease, and perhaps even run a game as a GM.

Many of connections are made when you see someone create a character. I.E. Ah, that section after this one, oh THAT’s how I use that skills column etc.

Today some more delving will happen into the PHB and I will be moving on to the DMG before long. My Monster Manual is in the mail from Amazon as I type this, and things will be in full speed to getting to a 5E mod, and possibly even a Kickstarter with Minis!

Things I have come to enjoy:

• Character backgrounds
• Positive number AC (I thought I was going to hate it)
• The whole DC (Difficulty Challenge) thing. The system almost runs on this, and it works.
• Resting – I expected to hate this. Putting too much healing power into the hands of all players – I have come to accept that it actually make CLerics fun again. You don’t just walk around handing out hundreds of ‘Cure Light Wounds’ spells anymore. You become more useful actually.
• Number streamlining. One chart for Experience points! One chart / method for stats +/-. Saving throws, Attacks, Ability checks – all work about the same way

I still have reservations about death, and the prolonged process of rolls that happens when ending the life of a character. I haven’t delved too deeply into the section yet, so perhaps I am not fully understanding it. I have a sneaking suspicion that I may house rule it out, and keep to the short negative number rule.

Also – Still don’t like halflings with little tiny feet.

Stay tuned for my journey to learn 5E part 3.

~Lloyd M

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The Hobgoblin Hold

A Low-level Labyrinth Lord / BECMI side quest by Lloyd Metcalf

While traveling along the road the PCs discover three dead and bloodied kobolds and what was quite a skirmish. Closer investigation suggests that someone, or something has captured the creatures.

Crude cages are hidden nearby, and manacles are dangling from a low tree branch. The trail leads to a very unpleasant out-cropping.

The Hobgoblin encampment dominates the face of a series of cliffs. For years this tribe of Hobgoblins have been enslaving kobolds and goblins to carve their secure underground hold out of the cliff for their leader, Blodnick. Blodnick seeks the favor of goblinoid wicked gods above ALL other things.

Within the lair are 30 hobgoblins, 20 Kobolds, and 15 goblins.

While making their way into the caverns and through the cliffs, the PCs find the kobolds and goblins quite desperate to escape and terrified of their captors. If the PCs approach with a willingness to converse, the kobolds reaction is at +1 bonus.

The Hobgoblins are more interested in simply getting the PCs to leave than they are in the dangerous business of killing them. Some may attempt bribery if given the opportunity.

Blodnick is attempting to become a cleric of the goblinoid gods, but simply can’t find the blessings, literature, or tutelage to get there. He sees PCs disrupting him as an intrusion in a very private affair.

Blodnick – Alignment Chaotic, MV 90’ (30’), AC 2 (Banded mail+1 + shield), HD 4, #Att 1, DMG 2d4+3 (broadsword +str) , Save F4, Morale 9, Hoard Class  see below , XP 215
Treasure: Banded mail +1, Jewelry x 1, Potion healing x 1 (May use in battle), PP 50, GP 200, EP 80, SP 500, CP 2,300

Hobgoblin – Alignment Chaotic, MV 90’ (30’), AC 6, HD 1+1, #Att 1, DMG 1d8 (or weapon), Save F1, Morale 8, Hoard Class  XIX , XP 15
Goblin – Alignment Chaotic, MV 60’ (20’), AC 6, HD 1-1, #Att 1, DMG 1d6 (or weapon), Save 0 level human, Morale 7, Hoard Class none , XP 5
Kobold – Alignment Chaotic, MV 60’ (20’), AC 7, HD 1d4hp, #Att 1, DMG 1d4 (or weapon), Save 0 level human, Morale 6, Hoard Class none , XP 5

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(Available in just a few days!)

That’s right, we are only a few days away from this being available for purchase! The first OFFICIAL FailSquad adventure module.

Written by Christopher Clark (Eldritch Ent and Innercity Games)
Edited by Brenda Clark,James M. Ward (Eldritch Ent.), Lloyd Metcalf
Illustration, layout and production – Lloyd Metcalf (Fail Squad Games)

From the back:

Several months ago, human settlers discovered a marsh-covered valley which they knew would provide fertile cropland if only the marsh could be drained.
The settlers dammed the river and may have damned themselves! The diverted river has awoken the cliffs themselves.
Strange rumblings in the earth and smoke from the cliff-tops are sure signs of trouble.
The residents of Fertile Valley need some heroes, can you save Fertile Valley before it’s too late?

It has been my pleasure, honor and joy to work with Chris on this project and I look forward to pulling the trigger shortly to allow orders to begin. There are a few scant illustrations laft to pop in, some minor tweaking, and a little testing to be sure everything is 100%.
I am hopeful that orders can start when July does.
:)

~Lloyd M

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Those Dam Goblins!

A swamp in a green lush valley is home for some, but it’s opportunity for industrious humans. Damming up the source of the water and diverting flow through some old caves to dry out the land has left some of the best agricultural land anywhere! The town of Fertile Plain sprang up as soon as the first harvest rolled in from the fields.

The cliffs at the dam have begun smoking during the day, something isn’t right. The balance of life itself in Fertile Plain is suddenly in the hands of a few fearless heroes. A hundred lives hinge on what you do next. 

Chris has dubbed this “A short dungeon crawl” but it isn’t your classic room-monster-treasure by any means. This is an interconnected adventure with a LOT of potential for fun, future quests, and potential frequent failure.

Those Dam Goblins is now in the Illustration phase, and it will need some wiggling in layout as the artwork falls in place. As it stands we are looking at approximately 24 full size (8.5×11) pages of adventure.  Over the next couple of weeks we will be getting this project nailed down and produced.

THE FIRST EVER Fail Squad Games Module produced, bound and delivered from the studio.

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Ogres of the Fen

The tribe of Gaundelfen ogres have long lived among a stand of trees in a large fen near the village of Lorview. The land was too wet to farm or cultivate. The villagers have kept their distance and the ogres have kept their focus south of the fen skirmishing with goblin platoons.

Some miles to the south of the ogre fen, a large band of goblins have been mining silver in the hills and terrorizing the mountain range for as many as ten years. The ogres maintained a balance and an odd sense of protection between the unpredictable goblin horde and the human settlement. An almost symbiotic relationship had emerged from the situation. The residents of Lorview began to take solace in the fact that their southern border was protected when they heard the heavy ogre drumming on the new moon.

Recently the ogres have been knocking at the door of Lorview. One by one the farmsteads are being raided and taken over by ogres. Who will stop this plague and find out why the ogres have come to Lorview? What can possibly be happening in the fen when ogres come screaming out of the night terrified from their own marsh?

This adventure and ‘Those Dam Goblins’ from Chris Clark are neck and neck in a race to be the first from our in-studio production equipment.

Last Call Oliviah is still in the works and progressing quickly Keep your eyes on the site here for updates!

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Those Dam Goblins!

Classic game creator Chris Clark has agreed to team up with us to create an old school adventure module! Chris will be writing the meat and potatoes of this adventure and we will be handling the illustration, layout and production.

We are very humbled at the opportunity to work with such a well known and experienced gamer. What a great start for the Fail Squad Games family endeavor!

More details to come as things progress.

Check out the Eldritch Entertainment site to see what other projects they have brewing!

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