OP Responds!

Well, it seems all I had to do to get a response from ShiTman was to go public! Instead of answering my emails, or accepting my invitation to openly comment here, he chose to add a bit of comical creative writing to his webpage. Not wanting any of you to visit the offending site, but at the same time wanting to share the joke, I decided to reprint his hysterical commentary here at TROLL HAMMER.

First, I would like to extend my thanks to ShiTman for the free advertising, I'm sure the one or two people who might actually visit his site will be inspired to check out what the hell TROLL HAMMER is all about.

Second, thanks for the laugh, ShiTman, I needed a good guffaw, and you've certainly provided it with your tale of fantasy. If I actually were fat and bald, this would have been a great laugh. See, you CAN write for yourself, no need to steal other people's writing. I guess you just need to compensate for some sort of self-loathing issues, and perhaps a feeling of inadequacy.

You know, this all gives me an idea for an MSPE scenario. The fat, balding, tough guy private eye takes on an assignment to investigate a weasel-like, petty outlaw who has become a slight annoyance to the local townsfolk. Hmmm... Nah, never mind, not worth the effort, the villain is too weak; a mentally deficient outlaw with no self-esteem wouldn't be much of a challenge...

Don’t forget to visit FLYING BUFFALO’s website: http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/tandt.htm and order something for your Tunnels & Trolls collection.

Be sure to tell Rick that Mist-tik-foo-al-gassy-ass sent you! ;-}

BOYCOTT OUTLAW PRESS

Things have been quiet around here, I know, and it is with a heavy heart that the revival of TROLL HAMMER has to be based upon something negative, but, alas, we cannot always control what motivates us to action. This is a blight on the world of Tunnels & Trolls, and one which I simply can no longer remain quiet about.

I have wanted to write this post for a few weeks now, and I have gone over and over how it should be done. My initial feeling was a scalding, curse-filled, personal character assassination of the proprietor of Outlaw Press, one James Shipman. But what would that prove? That I know how to bash someone and be a nasty SOB. It would have detracted from what I really want to say.

The questionable business practices of Outlaw Press are no secret, any search engine will return a number of hits describing exactly the thievery that Mr. Shipman has perpetrated, such as:

http://geek-related.com/2010/01/19/outlaw-pressjim-shipman-sinks-to-demented-pathetic-new-lows-in-art-theft-scandal/

http://martianchess.blogspot.com/2011/06/outlaw-press.html

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?483885-Outlaw-Press-uses-stolen-art

Unfortunately, Mr. Shipman has not only refused to make things right, he actively continues his theft. He has gone as far as masquerading as others, or possibly having others act on his behalf, to approach outstanding artists with freelance work for fictitious projects, and then use the art for Outlaw Press products. The kicker? He actually claims in the product blurbs that these pieces of art were 'specially commissioned'. Unfortunately, he doesn't explain that 'specially commissioned' translates into 'duped and stolen'. He constantly mines the sacred halls of Ken St. Andre's Trollhalla for inspiration, publishing tales and games shared in the 'Halla as if they were submitted to him. He has apparently even poured over this very blog, as I have come to realize he has used my work without permission (in Hobbit Hole # 19), and has stolen monsters from the popular Creature Feature posts that appear here. That last bit really burns me, as these generous folks shared their creatures with me, and all of you, for free and in good faith, just to have them stolen for publication in OP's Monstrum Codex III. The list of often brazen thefts goes on and on. When confronted, he responds with apathy, or often not at all, as in my case. To date, I don't even know what he has stolen from me (anyone with a copy of HH#19, please contact me).

Additionally, Mr. Shipman has a habit of posting 'free' solo adventures, which are actually word doc transcriptions of solos that are offered elsewhere by their creators, often not for free. If you do not believe that, look at his website yourself: http://www.outlawpressinc.com/Free.html After taking a look there, do a search of some of the solo titles at your favorite engine to find the REAL versions, then judge for yourself. I suspect that most of the creators did not authorize the appearance of their solos at OP.

So, what is to be done? While initially the word 'lawsuit' screams out to be heard, the reality is, how many small, independent, freelance artists and game designers want to spend the time, and expense, to go down that road? Certainly, one could take the time and effort to contact OP's ISP and lodge a complaint regarding the stolen material and copyright violations, which may yield success, but again, how many people have the time and desire for such an assault?

My suggestion is a boycott of Outlaw Press. Put quite simply, if nobody buys his stuff, he will have no reason to publish more, and therefore no reason to steal the work of others. I invite everyone reading this to save a copy of the 'No Outlaw Press' picture at the top of this post, and re-post to your own blogs and webpages. Spread the word to your friends via RPG forums and clubs. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM OUTLAW PRESS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU MIGHT WANT IT. Also, equally inportant, do not submit any materials to OP for publication. This is very important, because by purchasing or submitting to OP's products you are showing your support of stealing work from honest people who have worked DAMN hard to produce their creations. If you want to purchase REAL Tunnels & Trolls products, there are a variety of reputable publishers out there: Flying Buffalo, of course; Fiery Dragon; Peryton Press; pay a visit to the links list at Trollhalla for even more ideas: http://www.trollhalla.com/links.php

Additionally, I invite you all, no, rather I URGE all of you readers to post a comment here to show your support of the Outlaw Press Boycott. To be fair, I will approve all comments, whether in support of or against the boycott or Outlaw Press. I ask that comments contain a bit of respect and taste, but I also will not moderate or censor any comments.

Finally, I also invite, no I challenge James Shipman to post a comment here. Mr. Shipman, apparently you think there is nothing wrong with the way you conduct business, so I invite you to defend your position here. I promise to post whatever you send, unmoderated. But be prepared, because any responses to your comment will remain unmoderated as well.

So there you have it, a call to arms, a call to boycott.

Thanks for reading. TROLL HAMMER will become more active again, hopefully with much more positive postings in the near and far future.

Paul 'Mist-Tikk Foo-all' Ingrassia

Life...

has been a big pain in the arse lately, so this blog has fallen the wayside. My apologies.

The Troll Hammer is not dead, simply recharging, preparing for the next assault.







Stay tuned, the Hammer will be back...

T&T 7.5 Creature Feature # 15

A New Kindred for Tunnels & trolls 7.5
By Paul Ingrassia

Creature Name: Dwarf-Ogre
Monster Rating: -
Combat Dice: -
Special Damage: Warrior Bonus; Normal Spite Damage
Special Abilities: Warrior Armor Bonus; Gains WIZ points by eating standard Dwarves at the rate of One Wz/Cn point of the consumed victim; Also see below for other racial abilities.
Attribute Modifiers:
STR 2 CON 2 DEX 1 INT 1 LK 0.71 CHR 1.25 WIZ 2 HT (0.67)x2 WT 2

History and Description:
When Gristlegrim carved his first Dwarves in an effort to create his own subject race, prior to bringing the Dwarves of Midgard to Trollworld, he considered them a failure. (See Ken St. Andre's essay Dwarves, found in his A Fragmentary History of Trollworld). Upon the arrival of the Midgard Dwarves, Gristlegrim went about carving a new race of Dwarves with the help of their stonemasons. His first experimental Dwarves, much more crudely fashioned, were all but forgotten and left to fend for themselves. Though largely brutish and stupid due to their lack of training, the original Dwarves managed to sneak out of Gristlegrim's caverns and survive on their own on the surface of Trollworld. They had, however, developed enough intelligence to harbor a deep jealousy and hatred for both the Midgard Dwarves and Gristlegrim's new Dwarves.

The tribe began calling themselves the First Dwarves, and settled in a hidden cavern complex deep within a dark forest. After several decades of living in seclusion, the First Dwarves had learned much in the way of stealth, ambush, and battle. They were ready for their revenge. They began a raiding campaign of bloody surprise attacks against small groups of both Midgard and Trollworld Dwarves, giving no quarter, and devouring the corpses of their dead enemies. These guerilla tactics served the First Dwarves well, for a time, but as their numbers dwindled the volume of attacks declined. Unable to reproduce on their own, they came to realize their numbers were finite. They had also started changing. Due to their cannabalistic ways, the First Dwarves were morphing into Ogres. (See Tom 'Kopf' Loney's article about T&T Ogres and Giants here) They also came to realize that their safety was at risk, as they could never survive a major assault against them with so few left. The First Dwarves decided to disband their tribe and each set out on a solitary path, an event which they refer to as The Leaving. Every ten years, the remaining First Dwarves all meet at what they call The Gathering, held in a different, secret location each decade. They have come to be called Dwarf-Ogres by the rest of Trollworld, and are considered somewhat legendary, as most folks think they are all long dead. To the Dwarves of Gristlegrim, the Dwarf-Ogres are a very rare and hated enemy to be destroyed on sight.

Some few have grown weary of their long, solitary existences and have recently struck out into the world in search of adventure. Dwarf-Ogres are always expressed in terms of Attributes instead of Monster Ratings, as each one is a unique individual from a near-dead race. They appear as huge, twisted versions of Gristlegrim's Dwarves with Ogre-like features, such as tusks, horns or claws. All Dwarf-Ogres have increased in height (use the Dwarf HT modifier of 0.67, then multiply the result by 2) as a result of becoming Ogrish. They will without question kill and devour any Gristlegrim or Midgard Dwarf on sight (increasing their Wiz by the number of the victim's Con rating, as per Tom's Ogres), and keep the skull as a trophy. If severely outmatched, the Dwarf-Ogre will try desperately to come up with a plan to destroy the Dwarves. Dwarf-Ogres are generally NPCs, but PCs are possible for solos, or extremely rarely in parties of delvers which do not include standard Dwarves. A PC Dwarf-Ogre must make a Lvl 4 SR on INT if they wish to resist this powerful racial hatred when in the presence of a standard Dwarf. They may only be Warriors. All Dwarf-Ogres automatically have an Ambush Talent based on the highest of their Dex, Int, or Luck, which includes stealthy movement, hiding, backstabbing, and other surprise tactics. They also receive the standard Talent choice granted at character creation. Most favor large crushing weapons as their main armament, such as maces, warhammers, and mauls. Many also like to carry 4' - 6' or larger swords as secondary weapons. As a rule of thumb, if a Dwarf-Ogre has twice the required STR, he may wield two-handed weapons with a single hand. Their armor is generally made up of mixed pieces and bits, they prefer to not use full suits or use shields, but most love helmets.

Author's Note: The Dwarf-Ogre kindred was inspired by the Death in the Dark Dwarven Ogre miniature I recently purchased, released by RAFM Company (pictured below), as well as Ken St. Andre's Dwarves essay and Tom Kopf Loney's Ogres and Giants Creature Feature.




Copyright 2011 Paul Ingrassia

~~~

Would you like to see your nasty beastie included in Creature Feature? Have you got a new kindred or creature you want to share with the world? Send submissions to troll_hammer_press@yahoo.com and include the words 'Creature Feature' in the subject line.

BEAN! 2E Is Here!

HAVE YOU BEEN BEANED?



BEAN! The D2 RPG Second Edition by Jeff Freels is available at RPGNow: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=89574

If you're a fan of the first edition, you'll love how Jeff has streamlined the rules without making any major changes, and his additions of mounted and ship-to-ship combat, skills, custom archetypes, and an expanded bestiary will thrill you!

If you're new to BEAN!, now is the right time to jump aboard because BEAN! is even better than ever. Simple, versatile, customizable, and as serious or silly as you like, BEAN! is really one game that does it all.

And, as always, the best part is you still get to toss your beans!

For more info about BEAN! The D2 RPG, check out the Fabled Worlds page here at TROLL HAMMER, and of course be sure to visit BEAN! creator Jeff Freels Jeffwerx site. Additionally, Jeff and I host a Fabled Worlds Yahoo Group featuring all things BEAN!, so swing on by and request a membership for news, announcements, freebies, and discussions about all of Jeff's Fabled Worlds games.

Be sure to check out Scott Malthouse's interview with Jeff Freels over at Trollish Delver!

T&T 7.5 Creature Feature # 14

SPECIAL EDITION:

Kopfy's Clarifications for the Working Delver: The difference between Ogres and Giants.

By Tom 'Kopf' Loney

It's not the height. Both are giant humanoids but giants are more magically attuned to the elements and nature, while ogres are tainted by evil/chaos or whatever is the source of foulness in the universe. When you encounter a giant-sized humanoid, while you probably shouldn't be overly worried about semantics, certain characteristics can determine whether you're dealing with a giant or an ogre.

Creature Name: Ogre
Monster Rating: 120 and up
Combat Dice: 13d+60
Special Damage: varies per ogre.
Special Abilities: Gains Wz points from eating PCs. One Wz point is gained per Cn point of the consumed foe.

Description: One time regular individuals of any bipedal kindred that for some reason thought that the flesh of their own kindred was tasty, and gained some magical perks in the process. It's a win-win situation overall in their minds. Ogres aren't even always giant-sized at all. What one needs to look for is some sort of unnatural trait or deformity. The most common trait is height, and spiked teeth would probably be the second. But there is more...

When one speaks of a two-headed ettin or a single-eyed cyclops, what he is really referring to is a racial variation of ogre.

Creature Name: Ettin
Monster Rating: 130 and up
Combat Dice: 14d+65
Special Damage: d6 Acid Spit (utilized in Projectile phase of Combat turn). Spit eats away armor, and does d3 permanent damage to Ch of stricken targets if any Hits are taken.
Special Abilities: One head can cast spells or spit while another braces itself for hand-to-hand combat.

Description: A giant, or just taller than average humanoid, with multiple heads. Each head has a different personality, but any of them may control the body that they share. One dominant head usually handles the body, but often another or the other (if there are only two) will take control of an arm or the legs to entertain itself, while the other is dealing with people and delvers around it.

Creature Name: Cyclops
Monster Rating: 120 plus
Combat Dice: 13d+60
Special Damage: n/a, unless otherwise noted by GM
Special Abilities: Natural TTYF casting ability @ 1/10 MR for damage, but creatures Wz is assumed to be as high as its MR.

Description: Wizards do well never to assume that they have the advantage with their spell-mastery just because the creature may act like an cloddish idiot, its brutish strength actually is its Wz manifested in the creatures physical form. Cyclopes are highly magical creatures, despite their brutishness and usually low IQ. These creatures' overall MR can be shifted from attribute to attribute, only having to leave 1 point in the others, to fit the situation around them. And the creatures’ MR will reconstitute as fast as the GM allows Wz points to be regained during the game session.

Creature Name: Sand Ogre
Monster Rating: 140 plus
Combat Dice: 15d+70
Special Damage: Sand in the eyes and flying debris.
Special Abilities: Sneeze Up A Storm- the ability of this type of ogre for 10 Wz points, counted against the creature's effective MR, to blow hurricane force winds in one direction. The area of the effect is as wide as its arm-span and as many strides in length as its MR.
Sand Foundations- the ability to burrow through and shape sand to the Sand Ogre's will, allowing for 10 strides to be one day's work.

Description: Sand ogres do not have to live in deserts, but they like to dwell where their talents suit them best. And they really dislike rainy and cold weather to begin with. They are known to fashion entire palaces, even city-sized abodes in the wastelands of desert dunes. This artisanship is only a pastime until they can get down to the business of sucking the bone marrow of folks that they have just killed.


Now giants are a bit different. They are just as mean and ornery as any ogre, but they aren't out to use your femur as a soup bone. Well, not primarily at least. Giants are the embodiment of primal forces mixed with esoteric astral forces. They are a part of the natural world, and they do have human-like bodies and all the wants and needs of that body– just on one hell of a lot bigger scale than the rest of us.

Creature Name: Hill Giant, also called Wood Giant
Monster Rating: 200 plus
Combat Dice: 21d+100
Special Damage: n/a unless the GM says otherwise.
Special Abilities: Acute smell.
Natural camouflage to the landscape that they dwell in. Hill giants usually have hair that resemble leaves and skin tones that resemble the dominant trees of the area around them.

Description: These giants are the most "ogre-like" of giant-kin. They are hunters, and often tend to be sadistic. They like intelligent prey the best. Some of these giants claim to be seraphim and use the term to impress the locals around them. How true the claims are has yet to be determined.

Creature Name: Frost Giant, also called Snow Giant
Monster Rating: 225 plus
Combat Dice: 23d+113
Special Damage: d3 frost damage for anyone within three bowshots of it who fail a 1st level Cn SR.
Special Abilities: Frostiness in general, included Blizzard Breath- a blow attack that all in its range, as many strides as the creature's MR, must make a 3rd level SR on CN to avoid taking 3d damage. Even those that make it must take d3 Hits.

Description: Frost giants, while usually solitary, make take a smaller form to interact with other humanoids. They may even adventure with them, or just be looking for sex. Mind you the cold always follows them.

Creature Name: Storm Giant, also called Cloud Giant
Monster Rating: 250 plus
Combat Dice: 26d+125
Special Damage: See the bit about lightning
Special Abilities: Lightning Strike, acts as a TTYF for everyone within a bow shot of its impact. The In rating of the casting Storm Giant is considered to be 1/4 of the creature's MR.

Description: These guys are serious trouble. They are often wizards as well as having the ability to call lightning.

Copyright 2011 Tom Loney

~~~

Would you like to see your nasty beastie included in Creature Feature? Have you got a new kindred or creature you want to share with the world? Send submissions to troll_hammer_press@yahoo.com and include the words 'Creature Feature' in the subject line.

BEAN! 1st Edition Errata Released

Available now at RPGNow.com, the official errata for BEAN!

More of a rules expansion, the errata gives excellent options for creating new archetypes and adding a skill system to give characters more depth.

Best of all? It's FREE!

Get your copy now: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=87943