Tricks & Traps on 3d8

TL;DR

For usability, tables provided at the top. Roll 3d8 and consult the tables, in order.

Roll	Target
1	Whole Room / Whole Party
	(gas cloud, closing walls...)
2-4	Small Area / Sub-Party
	(spike pits, quicksand...)
5-7	Single Target
	(pendulum blade, poison needle...)
8	Trick!

Roll	Defense
1	No defense
2	Save vs Death or Poison
3	Save vs Wands
4	Save vs Paralysis or Petrifaction
5	Save vs Dragon's Breath
6	Save vs Spells
7	Roll vs Armor Class
8	Ability Check (Further 1d6 to see which)

Roll	Severity
1-2	Annoyance
	(time taxes, translocation, resource loss...)
3-6	Drain
	(physical damage, temporary blindness, encounter rate changes...)
7-8	Loss
	(death, permanent ability damage, teleports into danger...)

For an explanation of what these mean - read on! 

Tricks & Traps on 3d8

An essential element of the dungeon experience - from the original inspiration in pulp magazines through the numerous iterations of the game, from 1974 through to present day - is the trick or the trap: the inanimate but malicious hindrance set before the party to stop them from passing or from achieving the riches on the far side. There are dozens of products which are designed with traps in mind - and dozens more blog articles, generators, and lists with numerous ingenious traps (this blog included) - to line the halls and inlay to treasure chests, much to the chagrin of the players.

But how do you come up with a trap that will stand out? 

How do you come up with a trap, keeping the experience fresh, without over-telegraphing or repetition that makes the party think, "Ok, we'll do Room Search: Pattern Gamma for this hall, then split for Delta between the two spaces ahead" as they meander through the darkened underworld?

In recent vintage, I'd had some success with 3d6 generators - for quests and geas as well as for stocking special rooms: so why not try the same for traps, tricks, and hazards. Presented below, a brainstorming tool, an inspirational generator, designed to get your mind out of the box and into the dungeon with the assistance of three eight-sided dice: Tricks & Traps on 3d8.

Whom does it Target?

First - a trap may target a single character (the thief failing to spot a hidden needle; a strongman falling victim to a spear thrusting downwards against the lifting of a portcullis; hidden crossbows attached to touch-plates; ...) or many any once (henchmen being exposed to a cloud of acid, breaking into a tomb; a whole party locked in a space with a sinking ceiling; a swarm of stinging hornets bursting from a hidden compartment; ...). The first die rolled determines who - and how many - of the party are impacted.

Roll	Target
1	Whole Room / Whole Party
	(gas cloud, closing walls...)
2-4	Small Area / Sub-Party
	(spike pits, quicksand...)
5-7	Single Target
	(pendulum blade, poison needle...)
8	Trick!

I see "Trick" in there - what does that mean? In the original editions of the game - a trap doesn't necessarily do harm to the intruders: which sort of makes sense, in that its purpose is to deter access to an item or place. A Trick might be an illusion, a false (but obvious) trigger mechanism, or other device intended to make the players think they are in danger when they are not (or perhaps think they are not in danger when they are!)

Including "Trick" in the options reminds the stocking referee to keep it in mind, once in a while, and may introduce some interesting interactions between party and dungeon environment.

How does one Defend Against it?

Next - a character needs to know how to defend against it. While some traps may not entail a defense whatsoever (say, a room fills with water and the doors are held fast by it: you can't Save vs Drowning to breathe under water), it's generally more common that a defense of some kind could protect a hardy or fortunate character from the effect of the trap. The second die indicates how the character might benefit from this evasion.

Roll	Defense
1	No defense
2	Save vs Death or Poison
3	Save vs Wands
4	Save vs Paralysis or Petrifaction
5	Save vs Dragon's Breath
6	Save vs Spells
7	Roll vs Armor Class
8	Ability Check (Further 1d6 to see which)

"Roll vs Armor Class" - the easiest response is to - of course - make an attack roll against the target or targets. THAC0 should be considered according to dungeon level, importance of what's being protected, and referee discretion. Alternatively, however, consider 1d10 roll-over Armor Class (similar to the swimming house rule documented here, albeit potentially modified by Dexterity). This puts the onus on the player and evenly distributes risk: thus, a Plate-armored fighter will always have a 3-in-10 chance that the effect will find purchase.

Similarly, where "Ability Check" is indicated, roll 1d6 and pick, in order. 

Why isn't "mitigating circumstances" on the list? Mitigating circumstances - such as, say, bashing a door down instead of touching the contact-poison laced handle - are intrinsically reliant on the specifics of the trap or trick: as such, those should be considered as part of the brainstorming after: not necessarily as part of the prompt - which is what this tool intends to provide.

Have I heard of using Ability checks to escape danger before? You may have! I have written about it before as a mechanism to resolve non-role-playable actions without a skill system, however - in the present context - the earliest instance of checking Ability scores to avoid a hazard could be in The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun - provided Delta is to be believed - where rolling 4d6 under Dexterity is used to avoid a trap. Consider - then - in your traps: should the victim roll 1d20, as B/X suggests, or should they use a dice pool?

What is the Severity?

Last - severity: how badly will the trap hinder or hurt the party. Not every trap should cause instant death - but likewise, instant death should not be out of possibility. This may account for faulty mechanisms, lax attention on the part of the trap-setter, or perhaps imply that the "trap" is in fact an environmental hazard or other thematic element functioning mechanically as a trap.

Roll	Severity
1-2	Annoyance
	(time taxes, translocation, resource loss...)
3-6	Drain
	(physical damage, temporary blindness, encounter rate changes...)
7-8	Loss
	(death, permanent ability damage, teleports into danger...)

Does "Severity" apply to Tricks? Absolutely. Simply use the Severity result to inform how dangerous the Trick appears to be - or maybe how dangerous it is!

Oh. Cool.

Let's Compare Notes

How does the provided measure up to the example Tricks & Traps provided in B/X? The Basic booklet breaks Tricks & Traps into two categories: Room Traps and Treasure Traps. Let's pick a few of each and see what the corresponding prompt might have been:

"Poison gas: Save vs. Poison or die"

This trap is fairly straightforward. Listed as a Room trap, this implies the room fills with the gas: not just a blast to the face - so the whole of the party would be impacted. Similarly, it's save or die - so the save to use and the consequence for failure is obvious.

Result: 1-2-7

"Pit: 1d6 points of damage per 10' fallen"

Pit trap. Classic. Unlikely to hit the whole of the party - assuming it's 10 feet across - and dealing a set amount of damage. Subset of party, no defense (you fell into a pit), and it drains your hit points (or your zero-level hirelings!)

Result: 2-1-3

"Fog: Looks like Poison gas, but harmless"

Included this one not-really randomly: as this might be the trap suggestion that specifically inspired the "Trick" result on the generator being detailed. There is no mechanism to avoid it - as there really is nothing to avoid: it's just mist - and as for Severity - we can only guess: as really, this is area-denial: a spell, tools, or blind luck might get the party through it so perhaps a mere annoyance?

Result: 8-1-2?

"Chute: No damage, but slide to the next level down"

Like the pit trap - I make the assumption this will be unlikely to hit the whole of the party at once, assuming a standard marching order and B/X party size. Also like a pit trap, I assume there is no save - however, as a generous referee, you might allow a Save vs Paralysis to grab the sides.

Result: 2-1 (or 4?)-1

"Spring-fired darts: 1-6 darts hit for 1-4 points of damage each"

Listed under the Treasure Traps section - this would seem to only impact the Thief or other character opening the treasure. I've said it's "No Defense" below because it does not specify a to-hit roll, instead relying on the 1d6 to tell you how many strike home. I would - personally - allow for the 1d10 Armor Class variant presented before: but I'm a softie like that.

Result: 5-1 (or 7?)-3

"Spray: Be sprayed with an unknown liquid that attracts Wandering Monsters; double chances for 1d6 hours"

Again, listed under the Treasure Traps, I assume it to affect only the treasure-grabber. Again, no defense: but this makes sense, as its literally a mist - Chanel No B5 - which coats (and marks) the target. A generous referee might allow a Save vs Breath - but the end result is still the same: a change to the game, but one which will primarily affect resources: namely, the rate at which your resources are challenged as more and more monsters wander into you seeking the alluring (or appalling?) smell.

Result: 5-1 (or 5?)-3

So, it's not perfect - that is, it doesn't line up as well as the Special Room Generator does - but the goal is to inspire new and novel traps, and the only way to verify that is to give it a whirl.

Let's Try it Out

First throw - 8, 3, 7: or, a trick, Save vs Wands, for extensive loss. There are a couple different directions you could go, made curious by the extreme severity (and made difficult to think of by the Save vs Wands!):

• Withering Hall Across a 40' hallway, a four distinct sets of beams of light move across the floor and walls, coming from glass domes extending from the corners of the ceiling. To move past without being hit, a Save vs Wands is required - for each failure, the failing character appears to age 2d8 years: with hair graying, skin sagging, and joints beginning to pop.
  
  Key - "appears to." Upon leaving the way they came, any affected characters will return to normal - one year per dungeon turn. Upon leaving the far side into the protected space - having gone through the tunnel, wholly - all illusionary years dissipate after one.
  
  
• Translocation Disintegrator Black jets of smoke pulse at interval, blocking the entrance to an alcove. A Save vs Wands will allow a character to pass through without touching them, but if touched, the character is visibly disintegrated, starting from the place where the smoke touched, their dust becoming one with the pulsing smoke.
  
  But just visibly. In reality, the character is teleported to a matching alcove on the other side of the level: exact replica of the alcove and its contents - but nothing inside of value. They will be surprised, of course, when they find that they are no longer surrounded by colleagues - and potentially in the dark, as well.
  
  
• Pressurized Scarabs A spray of what appear to be crawling, biting insects erupts from the trapped object - the bugs burrowing into and under the skin of the affected character. A warmth and rumbling begins working its way to the chest of the character in question - at which point, after 1d4 rounds - the character falls unconscious, as though a Sleep spell had been cast. Save vs Wands to avoid - after evading, the bugs disappear into corners - a thoughtful player might note the illusion, seeing that there are no cracks or crevices into which the bugs might have retreated.
  

Let's try another:

An ability score defense! Adding in a second-thrown d6 for ability, we get 4, 8 (6), 4 - or, a trap which affects a small area or subset of the party, roll vs. Charisma to save, with a draining effect:

• The Hecklers Two statues hang from a portico in the wall. When a party enters, they begin to judge and heckle: picking 1d4 party members as their primary points of derision. Their jibes are hypnotic - and only by rolling against Charisma might one of these targets duel back, returning a jest which impresses the statues, who laugh and then freeze from view. Failure to do so results in a supernatural questioning of confidence - causing the character a -1 penalty on all d20 rolls and a -1 penalty to Armor Class until they have had a full night's sleep to wear it off.
  
  
• Narcissus' Mirror Hidden behind a sheet is a magic mirror which portrays, to those who look into it, an idealized version of themselves, one which they would long to be, if given to such thinking. Any character which can see him or herself in the mirror - which is oval, three by two feet - must roll over his or her Charisma stat - failing to do so, the character will loll, gander, and ponder for 1d3 dungeon turns; at the end of which, they may attempt the Charisma roll again. A generous referee may allow a bonus if multiple cumulative rolls are, in this manner, failed.
  
  
• Posey Pocket A spring load in an otherwise nondescript pouch launches a fair smelling incense into the air, affecting any character within 2d4 feet. For the next 2d6 turns, the character is considered perfumed - which will impose a +2 bonus on Reaction rolls to intelligent monsters during the onset of encounters ... however, if this would take the roll to 12 or above, the monster will fall horribly enamored of the character or characters, seeking without regard for health nor morale to kidnap the character and abscond to its lair therewith.
  (Not strictly a roll against Charisma, but touching Reactions, which are modified by Charisma!)
  

Decent luck so far - so we'll throw one more set:

A result of 7, 1, 8 - or, single-target, no save, instant death. Well, substantial loss - but this trap, according to the dice, should be a doozy:

• Thousand Foot Pit Not particularly well named, as surely it can't be 1,000 feet deep, can it? This shaft once served as a conduit between many levels of the complex: now, however, the carriage has been lost and all that lies beneath a camouflaged tarp, supported by bowing wooden crossbeams with a manhole-sized gap in the center, is a gap too deep to see the bottom.
  
  
• The Lock from Chaon Gacca The abandoned capitol of Tasuun is said to be cursed: a place of shadow where the darkness itself, contacting human flesh, will wither and rot instantly at a touch. Some of that shade has been kidnapped - locked away into a false hatch atop a precious cargo. Anyone opening the box without the proper safeguard - administered by a second key through a hidden keyhole in the bottom of the bronze-trimmed trunk - will free the shadow, which will pass over their working hands. Rolling 1d8, on an even number, the right hand melts before your eyes; flesh sloughing off as a leper, shriveling to dust as in reverse of papers thrown into a flame, arcing into the chimney, disappearing with no mark left on the floor to guide them. On an odd number, the left hand suffers this fate. Or, on a 1 or an 8, specifically, both hands are affected.
  
  
• Monodirectional Teleporter In ages past, this teleportation pad was connected to a deep station - leagues distant through solid rock: a quick mechanism to transport a single commander through to a hidden keep. However, in the intervening years, the destination has collapsed, leaving only damp, dark holes the size of a child. Any character - or any object - which steps into the teleporter will be translocated to this dark damp - with no way out and nothing but stone for a mile in any direction.
  

And Them's My Two Coppers

What do you think? Would this procedural inspiration technique help pique your creativity? Or did we just collectively waste half an hour or so of your time, piecing through this article? The examples herein presented a sizable challenge for me, at least - trying to fit to the theme, without deviating, changing one die for another to fit an inspiration that bounced up from the plastic hitting the tile...

But who says you can't deviate from the dice? 

If they give you a good idea - bank it! Use it! I'd love to read about your creations - and I'd love to hear about the groans of your players as they walk face first into them!

As with other generators, the intention of this piece was inspiration, not instruction: this is not a list of predetermined cool traps, this is not a prescription designed to supplant the creativity of the dungeon architect, but a mechanism by which I hope you can unlock your brain and churn out horrors at which Grimtooth himself would balk.

In either case - make sure to don your Ring of Resistance... and delve on.

Thank you for reading!

Public domain artwork retrieved from the National Gallery of Art or OldBookIllustrations.com. Attribution in alt text.

Thoul Tunnels

Scale: 10 ft.
Click HERE for a PDF version of this adventure!

Suitable for 2nd level.

•		A little keyhole icon in a door means the door is locked.
•		A little "S" through a door means the door is secret.
•		The other icon on a door - which is supposed to look like a muscly arm - indicates a door is stuck and must be forced open.

Image work generated on Craiyon.com; just to try it out.

X - Entry

Six statues stand in this room - slightly larger than life size: four facing inwards from the walls in the non-cardinal directions; two more in the center of the room, facing one another: north and south. The statues in the center portray life-like adventurers - one in heavy armor, one in light - while those on the walls are all armored, albeit in an archaic style, with a thinness to them, a pall almost as though carved in the likeness of a corpse. 

The four corpse statues each bear a silver candle holder - 50 gp value each - and between the two statues facing one another, a crimson buckeye hangs suspended in the air. If taken from its position, it cannot be "put back" and will fall to the floor. The buckeye is worth 140 gp.

N - North

N1 - North Atrium 

The floor is inlaid with a mosaic of long-bones, forming a rectangular "carpet" leading to the East door. The walls are lined with thousands of skulls, stacked. Coins have been placed in most of the eye sockets - a total of 3,000 gp, 2,000 ep, and 10,000 sp can be harvested by a party willing to invest the time. Four Ghouls (B35) guard the space. 

N2 - Snake Altar

The floor to this space steps down - two feet over four stairs which ring the perimeter of the room. In the center of the room is an altar with a red tabard, triangular at each end, draped over it. A Pit Viper (B42) is curled on the floor behind the altar.

N3 - Nephilim's Tomb

An iron cage housing an oversize skeleton is propped up, about 60 degrees, facing the door. It wears a crown of mithril and several teeth are likewise. Before the cage is a case with 200 gold pieces; on the four corners of the case are garnets - each of 10 gp value.

E - East

E1 - Staff Storage 

To the north and south of the dead-ending hall are two statues, relief on the wall, in the shape of muscular, faceless humanoids with robes. In the nook to the East, a Staff of Commanding (X49) is wedged in a masonry stand on the floor. Five Thoul (B43) are talking among themselves about how to retrieve the staff without damaging it. One of the Thoul carries a quiver of 14 magical arrows (+1).

E2 - Canopic Hall

On each of the non-cardinal walls to this room, a nook has been carved into the wall, each containing a large urn, almost an amphora, with an animal head stopper: two cats, one dog, and one falcon. Inside the cats are 500 and 600 sp respectively; the dog and falcon contain only ash. A light spiral has been traced on the floor in the dust.

E3 - Cage

In the floor is a depressed rectangle - eight feet deep, four feet across. It is covered by an iron mesh - six inches to the gap - allowing an unhurried party to easily traverse it as floor without interruption. At the bottom of the pit, coins can be seen - these amount to 300 silver and 500 gold pieces. Clay braziers - three total - are stowed in one corner of the room.

E4 - Thoul Storage

To the north and south, ceramic amphora store long-dried incenses and spices. Collected, the incense is worth 500 gold pieces; the spices have gone stale. Four Thoul (B43) play cards in the room - at stake, 5,000 cp. The leader wears a diamond earring worth 800 gp.

E5 - Beetle Collapse

A rent in the ceiling has dumped rubble onto the floor of this space, allowing 4 Tiger Beetles (B31) to enter and mull about a small trove. A locked wooden chest in the space - partially buried - contains 300 sp, 600 gp, two aquamarines worth 10 gp each, and a garnet worth 100 gp. Two candle holders, five feet in height, have been knocked over and lean against the wall.

E6 - Turning Pool

In the floor is a circular depression, four feet deep, filled with an ectoplasmic imitation of water - incorporeal yet tangible: mildly electrifying to the touch. On the north wall is emblazoned a skull within a whirlwind.

If a living being steps into the depression, the ectoplasm will start to turn: if the being remains, it will accelerate and the skull on the north wall will start to glow. After a number of rounds equal to the hit dice of the being in the pool, there is a sudden bass thrum and the ectoplasm disappears. The being must Save vs Death or be imbued with an essence of morbidity - their skin going sallow, their flesh growing more gaunt. The affected creature or player will no longer require sleep and will have infravision out to 30' (or improve existing infravision by 15', if applicable), but become subject to a -1 penalty to all rolls while in full sunlight, may not cast spells in full sunlight, and must eat fresh foods - nothing preserved, e.g. Iron Rations. If Lawful, the alignment of the character shifts to Neutral immediately and may not return: but may be changed at a later time to Chaos. If killed, the creature will rise as a Ghoul after 1+1d6 days.

This effect can be "cured" with a Remove Curse spell or equivalent magic if administered within 7 days.

W - West

W1 - Halfdan's Horde

Above the locked door, from the view of the hallway, eldritch sigils hang on the stone. They are untranslatable except by magical means - reading simply, "Halfdan the Wise visited this vault". Inside, a wide stone trough is filled with grave goods - which include some archaic weapons, a torque worth 800 gp, a scepter a rubied pommel worth 1,200 gp, a sicle with an emerald handle worth 1,400 gp, and 500 sp and 300 sp in coin.

W2 - Co-Explorers

Internal to the room, six clay pots contain a mixture of spices and oils. Two Nobles (B39) attended by a squire, each (as Veteran), guide 7 soldiers (also as Veteran). They are aware of the trap in W3 and are seeking treasure they believe to be in the catacomb: having bypassed W1, not having a way past the lock.

W3 - Iron Net

Four skeletons in various states of disassembly hang from chains in the ceiling over a steel grate floor. In each of the corners of the room are clay braziers - those furthest East are lit, smelling of burning oil. If characters move through the skeletons, disturbing the chains, there is a chance of activating a trap: further chains drop from the roof, forcing any character affected to Save vs Paralysis or become entangled. It will take 1d4-1 turns to extricate oneself from the mess - but the clamor involved will trigger a wandering monster check for each turn spent. 

Cimmerians in Cinema - Part I

Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Conan, destined to wear the jeweled crown of Aquilonia upon a troubled brow. It is I, his chronicler, who alone can tell thee of his saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

N-Spiration: Conan the Barbarian (1982)

About the Film

While there have been many iterations of Robert E. Howard's Conan in visual media, as might be inferred from the title, this film - starring James Earl Jones, Sandahl Bergman, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the title character, and many others. The project was a full decade in the making - having to overcome lawsuits over who owned the rights to the Conan character (not yet in the public domain, Howard's death having been only 40 years prior) as well as a relocation of the entire filming production from Yugoslavia to Spain due to the instability following the death of communist revolutionary turned legendary dictator, Tito. However - these investments would pay off in both the box office, where the film would earn almost quadruple its $20 million budget, and in cinematic history: inspiring a sequel, spin offs, and emboldening other, similar epics over the coming decade. And while criticism of the film was mixed on and following its release, it will be self evident to any OSR player or referee as to why.

The film is beautiful. Literally.

With production headquartered just outside of Madrid, the film was shot in a myriad of locations around Spain (coincidentally the inspiration for Howard's Zingara) - making great use of extensive sets and practical effects to create a combined perspective both historical and fantastic. In particular, the Temple of Set where our primary antagonist, Thulsa Doom, resides represented a $350,000 investment (around $1.2 million in 2023 currency): standing as a 70+ foot tall monument to the dedication of the film makers. Pooled blood for post battle sequences was sourced from local slaughterhouses. Further - while agencies were contacted for optical effects - including George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic - the use of optical effects was limited (director John Milius wanting to emphasize the rugged self-reliance of the primary characters, a spirit akin to Howard's Conan in regards to the Hyborean gods). To showcase, in a scene where Doom transforms himself into a serpent - unquestionably a supernatural, fantasy element - a contrast to the grit aforementioned as the director's preference - was filmed and combined through four separate sequences: the actor, Jones, sitting; a prosthetic rubber face distending via a snake-shaped puppet pressing from behind, a man-sized mechanical snake slithering out from a cast of Doom's robes, and finally a miniature scale model of the throne set where a live snake matching its mechanized counterpart. The inclusion of practical effects, the refusal to accept painted backdrops in lieu of outdoor sets, and the attention to detail in props and mechanisms creates a truly surreal experience: one in which the near past might be realized - as though the story of Hyborea might truly slither its own way, as a priest of Set, into the annals of history.

Shot on location in Alcazaba of Almería

To compliment the compelling visual esthetic, an amazing musical score accompanies the film, with its composer, Basil Poledouris, allegedly treating the film as an opera - where the music and the atmosphere it helped create played an equal or perhaps greater role than the dialog - working closely with the director throughout production to ensure that the sound, with its raw brass and relentless percussion, inspired a sense of energy, of power: bringing the primal emotions of the viewer into the primal world of Hyborea long past. While the film was shunned by institutional accolades and awards - if it deserved one at all, it would have been for the masterful integration of sight, sound, and rhythm.

Why Conan the Barbarian?

As C.S. Lewis said in On Science Fiction, "To tell how odd things struck odd people is to have an oddity too much." 1982's Conan the Barbarian strikes this balance perfectly. In his effort to portray a world where people get by on their own strength, Milius eschewed excessive magic - and while there is magic, it does not eclipse the need for and use of mundane processes or people.

How is that OSR? It is correct to say that magic is intrinsically everywhere in an OSR game - because you can roll up a level 1 MU or accompany a level 2 Cleric essentially at the drop of a hat, this implies there is a deal of wonder to the game world. However - consider the resources available to a level 1 MU or a level 2 Cleric: by the book, in most OSR and original systems, that MU is going to have one spell at his disposal; that Cleric, one miracle granted by his divine patron. Akiro, wizard of the mounds (played by Mako) is able to convince the spirits to resurrect a dead Conan: an act anyone would deem supernatural - however that is essentially the only magic you see him doing in the film. Thulsa Doom is able to transform into a snake - as described earlier - and is able to command obeisance and compliance in a manner akin to hypnosis: but even he is able to use his powers only so many times, relying on the sword where magic might have offered the solution in a more high-fantasy picture. Thus - by allowing for magic (aforementioned magic, trinkets in the bazaar, the witch in the woods...) - but by balancing it with focus elsewhere, Conan the Barbarian presents a very OSR picture of the world: where magic can be a solution - and when it occurs, it is frequently an "I Win" button - however it is a limited resource: and steel is never obsolete. 

Further - Conan the Barbarian presents multiple dungeon crawls: reliant on strength of arms, subterfuge, as well as diplomacy to achieve successful ends. To illustrate the point while maintaining a semblance of restraint as to word count, we can examine the raid on the Tower of Set outside Zamora. During this dungeon crawl alone we see several key tenants of the OSR experience:

1. Conan and Subotai meet Valeria outside the tower - where she likewise plans to burgle. This can serve two purposes: if she is an NPC wandering monster, this represents a favorable reaction roll: one resulting in collaboration with the monster; alternatively, if she is a PC, her player may have missed the first few sessions - the witch, the tomb of the Atlantean sword, ... - and is being introduced mid-adventure.
   
   
2. In penetrating the tower, Valeria obtains a disguise, posing as one of the acolytes of Set. This is an example of subterfuge - of non-combat player solutions - to get closer to the prize. Valeria knows she is outnumbered by the guards and may be outmatched by the axe-wielding temple priest, Rexor. She chooses not to test herself, avoiding confrontation through subterfuge: a classic player tactic.
   
   
3. In the bowels of the temple, Conan and Subotai, in search for the prize of the temple - a large gemstone we come to know as the Eye of the Serpent - encounter a colossal snake: a full yard in girth and dozens of feet long, coiling around the gem's resting place. Awakening it by accident and doing battle with it - we see several concepts in motion: did Conan fail his Move Silently roll? Did the snake roll a Surprise check and pass, despite its slumber? Chaos ensues and the battle is won - but then a falling sacrifice from above alerts others in the temple to the event! This illustrates - one - that the temple is multi-level: some more dangerous than others, some containing treasure and others bereft - as well as demonstrating verticality: shafts, stairs, and other mechanisms to interconnect and allow for interaction between these levels.
   

In a sense, the scene in the Tower of Set is almost a perfect picture of an OSR dungeon crawl: the only thing missing is a fortunate Magic User dropping the Sleep spell as a mechanism to escape!

Other dungeon crawl elements can be identified - for example, Conan's acquisition of the Atlantean Sword from a barrow tomb - but the final point I will highlight as to why Conan the Barbarian will do your game good: the vincibility of characters. As mentioned above - there is a point at which Conan dies. As not yet mentioned, there is likewise a point where Valeria dies. Casualties are a part of a rogues' life - something Valeria alludes to, as though it is common knowledge among reavers and thieves: a merry life, but short, when attempting to convince Conan to give up his quest for revenge. This is something both referenced by the characters and illustrated by the film: mirroring the experience a low level party (or a higher level party with appropriate challenges) might likewise expect to encounter.

But is it Conan?

There is always an elephant in the room (or its tower, perhaps, based on context) whenever talking about Conan the Barbarian: and that is the question of its fidelity to the source material. In the Howard stories, Conan has black hair, cropped; in the Milius film, he has flowing brown. Howard's Conan is described as both intelligent and clever; many complain that Milius' Conan fails to demonstrate this quickness fairly. While some of these differences are more superficial than others, undeniably - they arise: influencing the authenticity of the film. 

Conan the Barbarian is not a Conan film, but it is a Howard film. Tributes to Howard and to Hyborea are made throughout - subtle and unsubtle - to reinforce its alternative fantasy history. Conan's first opponent when fighting in the pits of the gladiators is a man whose teeth have been filed to points: a reference to the cannibal inhabitants of Shadows in Zamboula (VERIFY). Conan's crucifixion after having been captured by Thulsa Doom? Homage to Conan's crucifixion following his capture by Constantius the Koth in A Witch Shall Be Born. Yet... Conan's comrade and paramour in the film - Valeria - while named after a warrior woman after whom Conan lusts in Red Nails, behaves more akin to Bêlit from Queen of the Black Coast: namely, in her romantic arc with Conan, her death and cremation-style funeral, as well as her brief return from death to fight by Conan's side in an hour of need. Further Bêlit contribution to the film - in Milius' Conan, an ally - Subotai (whose name has no Howard parallel, but whose character and culture may be based from the Hyrkanians of Iron Shadows and The Devil in Iron) discuss religion: in Queen of the Black Coast, this is Bêlit's honor. 

Similarly - the primary antagonist of the film, Thulsa Doom - from where does he hail? Are not the main sorcerous adversaries to Conan Xaltotun (The Hour of the Dragon) or perhaps Thoth Amon (The Phoenix on the Sword)? Thulsa Doom hails from a posthumous Howard publication - The Cat and the Skull - originally presented in the King Kull compilation by Lancer Books. Kull - as a character - is similar to Conan: an outsider, a barbarian, who takes a throne by force and skill - an earlier character which did not catch on as did Conan. These would not be the only contributions Kull made to Milius' Conan the Barbarian - Howard's Conan has no tragic background, where Howard's Kull is from a tribe destroyed when he was a child: Milius' Conan, post orphaning, becomes a slave whose physical labors cause him to develop great strength; Howard's Kull is captured and enslaved as a youth by Lemurian pirates, where he builds great strength as a galley slave. Milius' Conan learns to fight in the gladiatorial arena; Howard's Kull - though having been a pirate and warrior before - is captured in Valusia and fights in the gladiatorial arena.

Is Milius' Conan the Barbarian then a retelling of Kull? Aptly - the original script for 1997's Kull the Conqueror starring Kevin Sorbo was originally intended to be a Conan film to follow 1984's Conan the Destroyer, but had gotten hung up in developmental snags. That said - I would argue no. While no Howard scholar, but a Howard fan, Conan the Barbarian appears to have been written by a Howard fan - one who took Howardian elements from across the board, tossed them into a mixer, and added some of his own spices to the recipe: producing an adaptation, an interpretation of the work and of the character that was his own. Whether that is fair or not? A moot point - posthumously, more Conan has been written than ever was written by the original author. Whether it is faithful or not? Subjective - to the taste of the viewer. Someone who is passionate about Howard may find the liberties Conan the Barbarian takes to be distressing - though someone who has no experience with Howard prior may find it a gateway: rediscovering the pulp classics for themselves after having been snared by the allure of the film's powerful character and story. 

The latter example is my own story - I find Howard's original works refreshing, electric: but for those memories, for that introduction - perhaps - I still have a soft spot for the 1982 cinematic adaptation. Whether or not that spot is soft, hard, or spiny for you will have to wait to be determined until you see it.

Conclusion

Conan the Barbarian may not be a perfect film - nor can any film truly encapsulate the experience of adventure around the table when playing your choice of fantasy adventure game - however Conan is, for the latter purpose, one of the gleaming examples of how close it can truly come. Not, perhaps, as inspirational as reading the original Howard texts - enshrined boldly and proudly in ubiquity in Gary's 1979 Appendix N - but doubtless and verily a resource in its own right: to inspire your games, to inspire your players, and to inspire your game. In honor of this, the Garimeter reading for Conan the Barbarian, 1982, plants itself loosely on the 1.

Howard's Conan, this film is not - but taken in context of its own merits, watched free from inhibitions of the genre, it stands head and shoulders above other similar films of the era: with its memorable characters, its amazing production, and the resonating impression it continues to make through to this day on home campaigns all over.

Thank you for reading. Delve on!

 

Conan the Barbarian (1982) is copyright Universal Pictures. Illustration of Conan from The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Mark Schultz, published by Del Ray Books and copyright Conan Properties International, LLC. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons & Dragons, and D&D and all imagery thereto related are property of Wizards of the Coast. All rights reserved to and by the respective owner parties.

Clerics Wear Ringmail makes no claim of ownership of any sort to any of the aforementioned media, texts, or images and includes references to them for review purposes under Fair Use: US Code Title 17, Chapter 107.

The slide-in of Gary... I got from a meme.

Quick Update

Going to shake things up on the podcast a bit. Won't be posting show notes here any more and I've taken down all the podcast posts that don't have comments on them. The blog, I think, is better suited for long form, persistent content: while the podcast is almost social media, ephemeral conversation. And more so, I don't like how, when I have several episodes in a row, the podcast can drown out blog-form content: which totally defeats the aforementioned purpose - sharing persistent posts with perennial utility.

Show notes will still be available on the podcast, itself, and I will continue doing a YouTube video with each. The feeds shouldn't be changing. But I didn't realize when I started it how the podcast was going to block out everything else - SEO, blog entries, and so on.

So for folks who came to read - not to listen - apologies: I should have that fixed now.

And for folks who like the podcast - listen on! I think you'll be happy with where we're going. 

Delve on, everyone.

Alternative Alternative Combat: 2d6 on 1d20

In considering how to integrate Chainmail combat into an OSR campaign, two prevailing theories presented themselves: first, the most common, was the use of the d6-driven dice pool from troop combat in lieu of d20 rolls; second was the use of the 2d6 man-to-man table in lieu of the d20 roll: retaining attack progression and damage dice of the preferred edition. But - if attempting to engage with a concurrent mechanism - as detailed in the Hero entry - why not both?

So I took an afternoon to compare the probability curve of 2d6 target values and translate them over to 1d20 - rounding for closeness - including an easy-reference calculation for bonuses and penalties: what +1 on 2d6 meant for the 1d20 target, retaining the same curve. Originally included as almost an appendix in the WW&W Players' Guide alpha, I present it below for easy access for anyone interested:

2d6 on 1d20

With Penalty			Original Target		With Bonus
-3	-2	-1			+1	+2	+3
4	3	2*	2	(1)	1	1	1
7	4	3	3	(2*)	1	1	1
9	7	4	4	(3)	2*	1	1
13	9	7	5	(4)	3	2*	1
15	13	9	6	(7)	4	3	2*
18	15	13	7	(9)	7	4	3
19	18	15	8	(13)	9	7	4
20^	19	18	9	(15)	13	9	7
~	20^	19	10	(18)	15	13	9
~	~	20^	11	(19)	18	15	13
~	~	~	12	(20^)	19	18	15

In order to more closely (albeit not perfectly) align with the probability of success on 2d6:

• Target numbers marked with an asterisk (*) allow, on failure, a follow up re-roll against a target number of 9. If the roll against 9 succeeds, the roll succeeds.
• Target numbers marked with a carat (^) require, on success, a follow up confirmation roll against a target number of 9. If the roll against 9 fails, the roll fails.
  

To arrive at these numbers, I did a simple tabulation for the probability of success to meet or beat a number on 2d6 for each of the possible results: 2 through 12. For example, in order to hit an 8 or higher - the requirement to hit a man with a shield when using a sword - there are 15 different combinations of dice: 15 out of 36 total results in a 41.6% chance of success - rounding to 40%, this lines up with a 13 or better on 1d20: rinse, wash, repeat. The 2 and the 12 - specifically - have a follow up roll, representing the 2.7%, 1-in-36 chance of not rounding "fairly" to either 0 or 5%.

The original intent of the matrix was to provide quick reference and allow for dice-pooling the d20 in tandem with a 0e character's fighting capability: so, a Hero who fights as 4 men would roll 4d20, comparing their chance of success against the success chance defined above rather than against the Alternative Combat System matrix. This made weapon choice much more significant, mathematically - a Hero on Hero action in troop combat, "Armored" versus "Armored", could be reduced from an almost impossible 1-in-1,296 chance to roll four simultaneous sixes to a rare, but possible 9% chance, rolling four 9s or better on 4d20 with a two-handed sword. Still a far cry from the 41.6% chance - a roll in excess of 7 (so, 8 or above - coincidentally the same as our sword against shield example) on 2d6 - presented for a Hero to defeat a Hero on the Fantasy Combat table - but still feasible.

Having delved deeper into the game and come to understand Fantasy Combat, I had not proceeded with the d20-dice-pool solution by default: however the math here remains - and hopefully it can find a use in your home brewing.

Delve on!

Open license artwork taken from Pixabay. Public domain art taken from OldBookIllustrations.com. Attribution in alt text.

N-Spiration: Tales of the Dying Earth, Pt 2 - Vance's Rogues

Horrors wait in the shadows - asleep in the daylight, waiting for the red, wheezing star overhead to slip beneath the horizon or to blink out of existence entirely that they may wander forth, preying upon unwary travelers. Caravans brave the byways - dozens of armed men keeping the night at bay; lone travelers chance refuges and safe-houses, the owners or proprietors of which may be just as much the predators as the alien and chthonic creatures from which their guests are hiding.

And so it is - league upon league across a dying world - as societies and civilizations forget one the existence of one another as history slowly begins to foresee the passing of humanity into memory - Jack Vance's Dying Earth.

N-Spiration:
The Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga

About The Eyes of the Overworld

The Eyes of the Overworld was published in 1966 - officially - 16 years after its predecessor in Vance's far future world, The Dying Earth. I say "officially" published in 1966 as, like its predecessor, The Eyes of the Overworld was initially published in serial as a fix-up beginning in December of 1965, published, and then subsequently the second chapter, Cil - wherein Cugel, having achieved an initial acquisition of his objective, pursues its delivery through a kingdom cursed by a ghoulish creature preying on unprotected citizenry - was published standing alone in 1969 within an unrelated collection. It would later go on to be re-titled, Cugel the Clever, in reprint in 2005 - however, I mention these disparate mechanisms to support a commentary to its style: each story is interconnected, much more so than those in The Dying Earth before it, however each still stands alone - with more or less context - as a self-contained story, representing a stage of the journey Cugel is under: with one or two primary themes tying them together - namely, Cugel's curse to quest for and unrelenting desire for revenge upon the Laughing Magician.

But I get ahead of myself.

The Eyes of the Overworld introduces Cugel - our aforementioned protagonist - as a wily anti-hero: a self-serving and self-aggrandizing character, one who both survives by his keen wit and quick thinking but also who provides his own downfall through a certain hubris. The author - in addition to presenting the world tilted in the perspective of the Cugel character despite still dictating in the third person - uses Cugel as an instrument of drama and humor: mixing the thrill of adventure, the curiosity of exposition and mystery, with comedic moments - situational or jibes from other characters - with a dark undertone of variable intensity. His juxtaposition against other characters - gullible or guileful characters, noble or ignoble, each presenting an opportunity to have or be had - is used to paint a cynical world: one that provides a stark commentary about the nature of societal interactions - the relationship between the commoner and the vagabond; the worker and the employer. In particular - spoiler contained within the following collapsible tag - during Cugel's interactions with the sorcerer, Pharesm:

Cugel, between the mountains and the forest, halfway in his journey home...

...to return the purloined Eye of the Overworld spectacle to the Laughing Magician Iucounu, comes across a perplexing series of stone monoliths arranged in an intentional pattern. He comes to learn this was the work of teams employed by a sorcerer - the lead of the workman team singing the praises of the employer, Pharesm. Pharesm, meeting Cugel, rejects him as an employee due to lack of experience and offers no hospitality whatsoever: which the workman lead also praises, displaying an almost toadying devotion and zealousness for the work to be performed. Thus - both of them are content to see Cugel (admittedly a stranger) go hungry off into the wastes - both of them are then disappointed when Cugel, alleviating the hunger they chose to ignore, devours the very being that the monoliths and centuries of research were designed to lure to Pharesm's study!

Pharesm goes on to attempt to conscript Cugel to recover the creature out of the past - which is thwarted by Cugel's own lecherousness and ignorance - but the message remains: if basic humanity, basic hospitality and understanding, had prevailed instead of raw self-interest (on the part of both parties), everyone would have been off for the better.

Like his other works within Tales of the Dying Earth, the chapters of each story are long: though some of them do have break points for those with bookmarks looking for an opportunity to rest their eyes. This is - also like most of the other work in the collection - due to the serialized publication strategy. Because each of them was, itself, a self-contained novelette, each of them would be of sufficient length to accommodate the trappings of a story arc and to draw value for the attention of a magazine or collection reader. However - due to the occasional breaks and due to Vance's evocative diction over imaginative vistas; our own world presented alien in the far future where the sun ages into decrepitude; and the intermix of humor as integral to the experience - I, myself, did not find the length to be bothersome. Each chapter logically leads into the next - and each satisfied enough to keep me turning the pages.

About Cugel's Saga

Cugel's Saga picks up where The Eyes of the Overworld left off: its first sentence, the first moment following the final events in The Eyes of the Overworld immediately. Published in 1983 - 17 years after its predecessor - it bears many of the same themes and tone, but is its own work: being significantly longer and written singularly (according to the author) rather than serially. Marketed as a novel, it still has a sense of episodic progression - and each of the chapters can be read independently - however the continuity between them is stronger and the context they provide next to each other is greater, contributing more heavily to the sense of events within the work as interpreted by the reader.

The premise of this work is a duplicate of the previous: Cugel sees himself the victim and seeks to return in order to have revenge on Iucounu, whom he sees as responsible for his current plight. Additionally, the process for accomplishing this end is the same as the prior - the presentation is that of a travelogue, each chapter (or section, depending on what you consider a "chapter") being titled according to the geographic: for example, his journey between the mud flats of Tustvold to the port city of Perdusz is contained in "From Tustvold to Port Perdusz." However - unique to this volume is the happenstances along the way - though the beginning and the destination remain consistent, the places, people, and story elements along the way are entirely new and their own: presenting an entirely new story within the context of the old.

On the subject of theme, Cugel's Saga embraces the same direction but displays a renewed intensity. In The Eyes of the Overworld, where cheating or larceny is common, Cugel's Saga contains blatant murder. True - The Eyes of the Overworld is rife with examples of active malice (and does contain characters killing one another) it seems amplified in Cugel's Saga - example in his aforementioned journey between Tustvold and Port Perdusz:

Coming across ominous warnings against a wizard, Faucelme...

...Cugel encounters a group of farmers whose wheel is off the wagon. In exchange - perhaps - for safety over night (recall, the world is full of man-eating horrors in the dark) he uses a magical item to help them get the wagon moving: holding it partly aloft against the force of gravity. Instead, they muscle him out of his money - the cost of the wheel, they say, because they lost it while he was about - and set him on his way.

Continuing - Cugel takes shelter in the manse of Faucelme - who seems an absolute gentleman. Cugel ties him up, mistakenly using a magical rope over which Faucelme has total control and can escape at will, but instead of hostility, Faucelme offers Cugel entertainment, sup, and shelter... until he sees an artifact which Cugel carries. After which, Cugel not being willing to part with it Faucelme attempts murder by four separate mechanisms: poison at dinner and three separate trapped bedrooms: one of unknown hazard - but bearing no windows; a crushing mechanism on an iron framed bed; and finally a mysterious burst of presumably fatal gas in an otherwise nondescript room - all to obtain the artifact: a shining scale called Spatterlight.

Which is better, perhaps, than what could have happened - as the draft animals (intelligent enough to speak) for the farmers prior reveal that the farmers in bullying for cash did better than they did to previous travelers - whom they would offer shelter only to murder in their sleep: a habit which they stopped only because of the bother to bury the evidence!

These animals, Faucelme describes as drunkards - so they are not without their own vices - but truly: they are the least odious of the whole bunch!

Further, the theme of workman versus employer continues in Cugel's Saga - with Cugel having to out-scheme both a purveyor of antiquities who, through deceptive advertising, entraps workers with debt to the company (something that did happen in industrial America through the industrial revolution - and arguably happens to this day in the form of various avenues of credit... though that's another conversation peripheral to the review) to dig through cold mud pits, and then a second time - a merchant - who seeks to maroon Cugel and replace him: despite Cugel having uncharacteristically actually performed his role aboard ship faithfully.

Faithfulness and trust are rewarded with abuse and betrayal - throughout - and the crafty regularly come out on top: including both Cugel in moments of clarity and those around Cugel in moments where his own ignorance or naivety bites him. To my own reading - the ever-presence of this theme, the never ending predictability of every character to do the absolute worst thing possible in the service of their own goals came off as monotone: Vance's use of egocentric, Machiavellian characters draws a parallel to the more modern G. R. R. Martin's use of character morbidity: where, in the earlier works, the theme and tone serve an end and stand in juxtaposition to how the bulk of literature tends to turn - in later works, it grows sour: the inversion of the trope becomes the trope itself: becomes a gimmick - and the reader (or, this reader) grows weary of the pony performing its one trick. While I am not disappointed to have read Cugel's Saga, I will say that by the end of it, I was excited to have made it to Rhialto the Marvellous.

But that said - mood lightening commentary in spoiler below:

Cugel, in his maritime adventures...

...takes on the role of "worminger." He takes it on not knowing a thing about it, lying a bit saying he simply has been out of the game for a while and would need to knock the rust off.

In a curious parallel - the author, Vance, was disqualified from military service during World War II because of his poor eyesight: not wanting to leave the sea, Vance would then go on to obtain and memorize an optometrist's exam chart - reading the lines from memory rather than sight - in order to join the Merchant Marine! He would go on to a successful career on the water until establishing himself as a full-time writer 30 years later - again, in parallel to Cugel, who learns the worminger trade (tending and goading a giant sea worm strapped to the boat and providing a mean of propulsion) and excels at it, better than the paired junior worminger who had served previously.

It's interesting to note - by the 1980s when Cugel's Saga was written, Vance was still an avid sailor, having left the Merchant Marine, but having lived on a house boat (with Frank Herbert and family - actually - SUCH AN INTERESTING LIFE VANCE LED) and having bought, rigged and operated multiple personal watercraft up to 45 feet in length - and that so much of Cugel's Saga takes place on the open ocean.

Habits and loves of the author injecting themselves into the work.

What's to Like?

Cugel is the archetypal thief. 

Whether he is hiding in the shadows, striking from behind, or experimenting with (and making errors in) casting spells from written material - Cugel is, at least from the 1966 tome, quite an obvious influence on Greyhawk's Thief class. In that sense, there is value in this book for both player and referee in the portrayal and running of Thief-esque characters.

First, Cugel - he is not a fighter. He can fight, but he recognizes his own limitations (or seeks to avoid discomfort, at a minimum) in relation to creatures of the wild or to skilled or numerous adversaries. As such - the wilds being a dangerous place - Cugel finds himself constantly thinking outside the box to address situations he's in: negotiating with (or taking advantage of) other characters he meets, taking on roles or proverbial side-quests to gain access to what he needs for the next phase of his journey, or pitting others against one another in order to achieve his ends. The most memorable of these (to me, at least) being,

when approaching the Mountains of Magnatz...

...Cugel is followed by a deodand. Knowing he does not stand a chance in open combat, Cugel hides and attacks with a stone from above - a back-stab, so to speak: albeit with a bludgeon - wherein he cripples the creature. The deodand then goes on to bargain for its life - offering to guide Cugel across the mountains safely if he does not slay it.

Of course, being an evil thing, it goes on to lead him to three of its fellows - who in turn are fortunately killed by rangers Cugel encounters: who, in a technicality, as Cugel said he would not kill the crippled deodand, Cugel encourages to kill the crippled deodand, its purpose and use fulfilled - but this is a perfect example of doing business with a Chaotic creature - one which players and referees alike can draw inspiration out of.

Cugel's propensity for betrayal makes sense as to why a party might be wary of a Thief - or why Thieves as specialists often cannot be employed by a Lawful party for long.

Lastly, consider the spell Geas. In the original edition of the game - wandering magic users, Wizards in particular, were a hazardous encounter, as where a name-level Fighting Man will demand a joust or a name-level Cleric will demand a tithe, a Wizard will demand a quest, a favor, and will do so at the threat of a slowly worsening curse until such time as the geas is fulfilled.

Although Rhialto would - 17 years later - illustrate this quite literally...

...in The Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga both, this theme is iterated: at least twice, magic users take advantage of the common man (and of Cugel, specifically) leveraging compulsive magic:

1. Iucouno, compelling Cugel to seek the eyes on pain of being tormented by Firx, an alien barb attached to his liver.
2. Pharesm, sending Cugel into the past with an amulet which will only return him to the present when its purpose is fulfilled.
   

As a plot device, it's convenient - arguably lazy - but as an OSR trope? Priceless.

What's to Toss?

In reviewing the magician-themed Dying Earth tales, I warned the reader that the oldest of the stories were written over 80 years ago and as such, language and themes would not match up to what you might expect from fantasy fiction written today. While this holds true for The Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga - the newest of which was published around the time my median reader was born - what stands out more so in the Cugel stories is the severity and darkness of their themes. While bandits and a nihilism brought on by pending heat-death in darkness is surely grim in both cases, in the Cugel stories, it becomes ubiquitous - there is no good in humanity: under the fading red sun, kindness is repaid exclusively with predation.

Further - consider the following; spoilered in collapsible panel, as with the other in-text examples:

In this sequence, Cugel is subjected to a prank by several barnacle elves, as I was considering them. They are sedentary sea life - fey, by the seeming of it, and their mastery of the strange liquid gossamer referenced. In response to being wet - imagine having a child throw a water balloon at you from a tree fort - Cugel reacts by pulling the creature out of its shell and spilling its entrails on the beach.

A hyperbolic overreaction intentionally, sure, for humor's sake - and the reaction and commentary thereafter is used for humorous effect - but Cugel is totally remorseless and indeed self-justifies the act, moving on as though nothing had happened, incident remembered only to try to short-circuit the barnacle child's dying curse laid upon him, once his jerkin dries out. 

Arguably, this is not a human. It is a fictional creature whose species is never heard of again in Vance's writings. Similarly, this is a work of total fiction: am I not over-reacting to this? 

Perhaps. But then, further along in the very next chapter:

Having escaped the well-incurred wrath of a demon-mastering heir to the kingdom of Cil, Cugel and a companion continue in trekking back towards Almery, where the magician Iucounu resides. Encountering a group of ruffians who inform the travelers that a glade they seek to cross is in truth haunted by fey and that they would need guidance across. In exchange - they demand payment: the involuntary servitude of Cugel's newly acquired female companion, Derwe.

Cugel convinces her to to trust him - that he has a plan.

Along the way, they bind her in shackles, they move through the forest outnumbering him, and in the end, you're unsure of whether or not he needed them at all - but through the whole ordeal, the reader is considering, "What is this plan? How will Cugel get through this one?" 

And then... he sells her.

That was the plan all along.

In reading this - I actually (and I expect many others would have) experienced a rising suspicion, an enjoyment in realization, as the tension built. The reader may see what's happening, may understand what the endpoint is going to be - and for me, at least, I drew great pleasure from the build-up and reveal: chuckling audibly to myself when it finally happened. However, that said, the fundamental joke here is human trafficking: a very real and very serious thing that persists into the modern day. 

Then, in the Mountains of Magnatz...

...after having been fooled into taking to a watch tower from which there is no returning, Cugel escapes and kidnaps a woman, Marlinka of Vull - to whom he had been ceremonially wed as part of the fooling, an inducement to take the role of watchman.

In his own words, Cugel is simply taking what is his due: behaving in the manner expected of himself. However, in reading this chapter, I had to read this twice - the first time through, having thought "Is this a fade-to-black rape?"

On the second reading - no - no it was not: and I hesitated to post this comment in the review as the subject material is serious: it does not bear diminishing. But be advised, potential reader, this kind of language occurs at least once, as referenced above - and is something to have in the back of the mind.

Again - in context - these are fictional people, fictional characters, introduced to tell an amusing story: and knowing that is the grain of salt to take when reading - but the presence of truly dark themes embedded sometimes as humor and other times in earnest is at times - or, was for me at times - intense.

On a more editorial note - regarding Cugel's Saga: reading Cugel's Saga can feel like I'm watching Airplane 2. Old jokes get repeated in new contexts, the same plot - and conclusion - gets rehashed. While Cugel's Saga does have great merit to it - in the story-telling, in the world-building, in the humor - by the end of the book, I had grown bored and at a few points, recall having had to force my way through it. 

The Eyes of the Overworld is stronger than Cugel's Saga - and The Dying Earth and Rhialto the Marvellous, to my reading, are stronger as well. The Dying Earth in particular is the strongest of the four: for its mystery, for its novelty, and for the manner in which it explodes the world around you: the reader isn't drawn in - instead, the world is forced out: a V.R. set without the goggles projected directly and suddenly into your mind.

Further Reading

In my previous post regarding The Dying Earth and Rhialto the Marvellous, I mentioned the prolific nature of the Jack Vance library. This remains true - though I add little to the conversation by restating it. Instead, for those interested in Cugel directly, I have come across another book - A Quest for Simbilis - written by Michael Shea.

Shea - author of the series Nifft the Lean and multiple-winner of the World Fantasy Award for his own works as well as for his contributions to the mythos of both Vance and Lovecraft - wrote the piece, interestingly enough, in 1974 with the blessing of Vance, himself, with whom Shea was friends. It is a sequel to The Eyes of the Overworld, picking up Cugel's adventure where Eyes of the Overworld leaves off and following through on a quest for vengeance in much the same plot driver as Cugel's Saga but following a totally different narrative: presenting different stories, different adventures, and different outcomes for our antiheroic protagonist.

While I have not read A Quest for Simbilis, it is curious to note that - having been written in between 1966's The Eyes of the Overworld and 1983's Cugel's Saga, it stood alone as the official course of events for 9 years before Vance, the original author, orphaned it with his own rendition of post-Eyes events. This in and of itself makes me curious to see what's in it, on top of other reviewers agreeing: if you like the Cugel stories, you may like Simbilis. So - if you're willing to roll the dice on future reading, the dice for A Quest for Simbilis might be loaded: and Michael Shea may find his way in months to come into the Clerics Wear Ringmail N-Spiration series.

Conclusion

As with the other books contained within my purchased anthology, Tales of the Dying Earth, Vance's works are specifically called out in the 1e DMG's Appendix N - and as such, are by default seminal to the ongoing development of the D&D game at TSR and foundational to a fledgling referee's engineering of a tonally faithful campaign. The Eyes of the Overworld, having preceded even the original edition, would have been in Gary and Dave's minds - and I have no doubts that when Cugel's Saga came out years later, they would have binge-read on it, as well. 

For that reason, The Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga has to be a 1: Very OSR.

Cugel is our prototypical Thief - and Cugel's story - or stories - is and are emblematic of the prototypical OSR campaign. While there are some rough edges and some moments where the seriousness and the silliness intermingle, do those qualifications not also apply to most home games? The Eyes of the Overworld and Cugel's Saga both make for a fine addition to your Appendix N library and a fine inspiration for the games a budding referee is yet to run.

Thank you for reading - delve on!

 

Tales of the Dying Earth, The Eyes of the Overworld, and Cugel's Saga are copyrighted Jack Vance and to the affiliated publishers of their respective distributions. First edition The Eyes of the Overworld cover art is by Jack Gaughan; first edition Cugel's Saga cover art is by Kevin Eugene Johnson. A Quest for Simbilis is copyright Michael Shea and DAW Books; the first edition cover art therefor being accredited to George Barr. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons & Dragons, and D&D and all imagery thereto related are property of Wizards of the Coast. 

Clerics Wear Ringmail makes no claim of ownership of any sort to any of the aforementioned media, texts, or images and includes references to them for review purposes under Fair Use: US Code Title 17, Chapter 107. 

The slide-in of Gary... I got from a meme.