White Plume Mountain: Dungeon Crawl funhouse

 

S2: White Plume Mountain. A dungeon crawl adventure full of traps, tricks, treasure, and of course monsters. Both a fan favorite & critically acclaimed. This installment I'm looking back at this classic TSR module. Let's get right to it...

Spoiler Alert: No spoilers here! Haha! I'm guessing if your reading & following this blog there's a good chance you've played the "classic" TSR modules. 

I have both a 1st print 1979 Mono copy and a 1980 (6th printing or later) Orange cover copy. Why? I wanted both, of course!

1979

1980?

First thing I noticed is that the olderversion has 3 artist listed: Dave Sutherland III, Erol Otus, and Darlene Pekul. The 1980 version adds art by Jeff Dee, Dave LaForce, Jim Roslof, and Bill Willingham.

Bill did the cool "Elric looking guy" on the back cover...more about that later.

Fun module to play! Classic "Dungeon Crawl" adventure...which is what I'm most comfortable with.

 The 3 treasures that you are after make for and adventure with purpose...which is something we, as young teens, often lacked in our own homebrew dungeons.

Great art in this module...from the before mentioned artist...

I know I had seen the works pf both Dee & Willingham before this....probably the new Basic & Advanced Box sets from around this time. This might be the 1st time I saw the works of Otus & LaForce...both stellar TSR artist!

Always loved this page by Erol Otus...love the visual of the mountain & surrounding area! Did any of you create an adventure based around Dragotha? I'd still like to myself!

 

And the Ogre Magi shapeshifter by Bill Willingham is another fav of mine!

And the last couple of works by Otus draw very different reactions from me. The 2 Efreeti make me really miss the art of Dave Trampier...his Efreeti in the Monster Manual is vastly superior to Otus'. The Kelpie is a different story. Erol is really a master of the feminine shape.

 The last page, lettered by the great Darlene, is a nice touch to end the module. Darlene's work is always excellent.

All in all WHITE PLUME MOUNTAIN is an excellent module for player & DM alike. Great tricks & traps that force a party to think. Enough monsters to keep the "hack & slash" crowd satisfied.

A great work by TSR. A module that still holds up after all these years.

Until next time.....EXCELSIOR!

More Dave Trampier art & surviving Covid Brain

 Back from an extended break...let's get right into things.

I picked up some more Dave Trampier art objects over the past couple of months...along with the 'Rona virus! Dealing with the "brain-fog" after effects...so forgive me if I ramble...more so than usual!

I grabbed a 2nd copy of both The Dragon Magazine #15 from 1978 & the Tramp Backgammon poster that came in said issue. Bought both off of Ebay...separately even!

Framed both and added them to my "Wall of Trampier"!

The Gamma World poster, also by TRAMP, is a reproduction. I didn't have the resources at the time to purchase an original. They go for big bucks on Ebay these days...if you can ever find them!

As I recover from the virus I'll post more often again...it's really kicked my Keister! 'Till then "....be good. And if you can't be good, be safe."

EXCELSIOR!

They Walk Among Us: The Giant Series D&D Modules

Greetings to you my faithful fellow old salty dog soldiers! Back for another installment of my D&D blog...

I can remember the awe & wonder I experienced at looking at the "Against the Giants" module cover...you love these modules too? Excellent...lets set the controls of the "Way-back machine" for the early 1980's...and off we go...

The "G-series" of D&D modules. Created by Gary Gygax himself! Have to say...I 1st laid eyes upon the 1981 reprint "Against the Giants" 3 module combo...a friend owned one. Probably our favorite modules...at least starting out...great cover by Bill Willingham.

Some great art in this version that wasn't in the original versions...Willingham, Jeff Dee & Diesel LaForce!

I upgraded my collection this summer...and purchased the 3 Giant modules in their original versions...

Let's look at G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief...

One thing I've learned from looking over these old modules...we must have simplified them in our youth...these are some flat out deadly adventures...and each module gets more so...Great art by the usual suspects: Sutherland & TRAMP...have to love the Kool-Aid pitcher on the shelf in the drawing of the 2 female Hill Giant's in the kitchen!

Yeah...I remember sneaking around those halls...trying to not run into too many Hill Giants before setting the torch to the place! Great fun!

G2 The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl...okay, I ponied up the extra dough for a 1st edition of this module....check out the Lizard man TSR logo...OLD SCHOOL BABY!

Some excellent art from both Dave's (Sutherland & Trampier)...some not included in the later 1981 reprint. Have to love the Halfling's feet in the mouth of the Remorhaz! Also a big fan of the Jarl's trophy room! Being a collector of TRAMP's work I couldn't pass up this old copy!

Another module that I vivdly remember running through....though I'm sure we didn't face the amount of Giants that the module describes! Another great adventure!

G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King

I really don't recall this module from my playing days....maybe it was too tough for us. Maybe we got distracted by the time we got this far into the combined adventure...maybe we just ran out of time!

Very challenging module...great art, maps & challenges. Love TRAMP's Fire giant...which came 1st...the Monster Manual or G3? Love the back cover with the hippogriffs, too! The Trolls as well...nightmares come to life! Stellar stuff!

Great memories of days gone by...Autumn always make me think of D&D...the smell of burning leaves...the crisp air. Does my heart good to hang on to these old treasures...hope the same for you.

Stay safe & well...

Be seeing you again soon...

Excelsior!

D&D Summer Quarantine 2020

 

Greetings fellow plague survivors! Hope you're all staying safe & well during these strange days. I've taken the longest break since starting this blog 2+ years ago...lets jump back into the mix, shall we?

I've been back to work all summer...staying isolated & keeping myself free of the virus...I have picked up a few D&D related items in my down time...

I replaced the reprint versions of the monochrome modules that I owned with the "real deal". The Giant series and White Plume Mountain...even went as far as to pick up a 1st print "Frost Giants" module...Tramp cover did it for me! Dig the original TSR Lizard man logo!

Picked up the "Blueholme" books & module to check out...I'm a sucker for "Old School" style D&D. I'll review the books & the "Necropolis of Nuromen" in the next blog entry!

Same with Dungeon Crawl Classics...picked it up to see what its all aboot...review in the near future...

I bought some more old Dragon magazines...as much for the original Dave Trampier art as anything...those old Dragon mags are far superior, in content as well as style, to anything that came afterwards.

I even purchased a print from Jeff Dee...who has been reproducing old works that he did for TSR back in the early 1980's...I got the Elric from Deities & Demigods

Brings back some great memories for me!

And I painted a slew of minis this summer...finished the LOTR minis...didn't find the time to finish my blogging about them, though! Drats! Here's the finished fellowship...along with a Gollum mini from the same period!

Other minis...

Here's the giants, from Otherworld Miniatures, that I painted this summer...all are based on Dave Trampier's drawings from the Monster Manual! 

Well that mostly brings us up to speed...hopefully I'll find more time & inspiration to blog with the weather turning colder & the days getting shorter. 

Excelsior!