Before GOZR... Sand

For years, since ye olde G+ days, I had this idea called Dead Wizards. It was to be a pure sword and sorcery RPG filtered through my own personal S&S lens. It was a desert setting, borrowing from some of the same well of ideas that Al Qadim borrowed from... but not too explicitly. I didn't describe it as "Arabic" or anything like that. I got my inspirations from those sources, but also many others across the world and throughout fantasy fiction. Eventually I changed the name Dead Wizards to Sand in the Bone because (what a shitty reason) I didn't want the "DW" to be confused with Dungeon World. No shade on Dungeon World, just wanted to be distinct.

Anyhow... the development of that game stalled multiple times and eventually I hit on a basic system I liked and wanted to test out. But I didn't want to run it in the Dead Wizards/Sand in the Bone setting. So I got some inspiration from watching Heavy Metal again and one day I scribbled "GOZR" on some paper and the rest is history.

So GOZR basically looted the corpse of Dead Wizards for its system and even its map. The DNA of this game shifted from a gritty S&S pulp style RPG to a post-apoc sci-fantasy romp.

Lately I've been revisiting Dead Wizards in my mind, allowing my brain to wander over it and feel out what was magical about the idea to begin with. Maybe it'll lead to something I can publish. Who knows?

Here are some ancient posts talking about Dead Wizards. Much of this info is probably no longer applicable, but perhaps you'll enjoy it anyway. You've read this far.

Gad'Juth

Kanebok

Big Swords

Initiative (and the origin of Threat from GOZR)

Game Design is Hard

Reflection on Dead Wizards

GOZR Adventures

Pookie did a review of GOZR and he brings up a point that's been raised before: GOZR doesn't have an example scenario. People always say that RPGs need a sample adventure so people can immediately get a feel for how the game works and what you do with it.

And I agree. It is always a benefit and rarely a detriment to have a sample scenario in a game. Hell, my first RPG, the D&D red box, was centered heavily on that opening scenario that held your hand to learn the rules. Very effective.

I didn't include one with GOZR because I couldn't quite get one finished. Eventually I created Tower Trouble, a one page tower crawl (which will probably be included with GOZR RISING). But doing a full scenario for this game proved quite impossible for me to do. Why?

I think it's because this game is a toolkit. It is meant to inspire you to just play. You should roll on tables (or pick) to generate settings, NPCs, and situations. The material is meant for use and re-use both within the game itself and in other games you play.

Pre-written adventures are more like snapshots of a moment. A different vibe.

For GOZR RISING, I do want to include some adventures. But I'm not sure what form they will take. Honestly, I don't know if the default format of these pages is best suited to the task. An adventure will be looked at mostly by the GM, not by the players. But I designed the game book to be looked at by everyone. Therefore I think I might take a different approach for adventures and - GASP! - write them. With fonts and words and stuff.

But if I do that, I won't include them in the actual GOSR RISING book. They'll be in a separate book. Which, I think, is kind of a cool idea. You'll get the new GOZR book with all its color and art and handwritten craziness with new monsters, gadgets, and so on. And you'll get a nifty companion book with some slightly more traditionally-presented adventures.

As I type this, I'm reminded of Mörk Borg. That book is also heavily visual in its presentation. Indeed, when I started working on GOZR in early 2020, I got my copy of Mörk Borg at about the same time and was inspired by it. But the sample adventure for that game was in fact presented more traditionally and is even printed on different paper than the rest of the book (fancy!). I don't know if it is the case, but I suspect they might have done this for the same reason I outline above. It just makes more sense.

Still, similar to Tower Trouble, I might include a few one page "dungeons" in the main book. Just some locations to pepper into your games. The adventure book will be slightly more fleshed-out, perhaps.

We'll see.

GOZR Rising (slowly)

As I said previously, I've been on a GOZR kick. This means I've been working on pages for the second book: GOZR Rising! As with the original, I'm keeping it organic. I make notes and list table contents in a spreadsheet where applicable, but mostly I'm drawing it on the canvas as it enters my head. Because in my head is where the gooz live. And, I'm told, they also live at some gaming tables. A fact that gives me comfort in the long, dark nights.

No schedule on this. It'll come as it does and eventually I'll have a book I can put out there and smile about while you all scratch your heads and say "Why the hell would anyone do a game THIS WAY??".

Moozik

I've been using Spotify since it launched. I don't know who owns it or what happens behind the scenes. I admit full ignorance on this matter. All I know is it has shit tons of music and I have logged a shit ton of hours using it.

Anyway, here's one of my "daily mixes" that the fine folks at Spotify put together just for me. I feel so special! It's actually a nice jam. I mean... these are all songs from my favorites list, so duh.

ROCK OUT

Itchy Page

I finally added a lot more stuff to my itch.io page. Added GOZR and the rest of the Black Pudding zines that weren't up there yet. It only took me like... a couple years.

GOZR Notebook

Oh yeah, it seems that I put up a GOZR spiral bound notebook on Redbubble at some point. At first I saw this and thought "Motherfucking pirates!", but no. This is mine. I'm not cool enough to be pirated. I think.

Goozing Around

Lately I've been on a GOZR kick, which is very nice because I do love the game. I'm super proud of it. The system is nice and simple and it works. The book itself, which is the most important thing for me as a creator, is a labor of love and I'm happy to have completed it.

I'm not the kind of creator who gets hung up on one thing and feels compelled to "support it". I'm happy enough to never do another GOZR project and do other things instead. But it just so happens that my muses have aligned under an ugly banner and I'm their slave at the moment. Niiiice.

Here are some little character sheets I doodled in a wee sketchbook. I started with one and ended up with a handful and counting. Here's a trick to see if I really love a game's aesthetic: can I do a million iterations of its character sheet? Obviously the answer is yes for old school D&D and it's many clones. I've also done a handful of Troika! sheets. But now it seems that GOZR hits the sweet spot. It has a discrete number of "bubbles" to draw: Cunning, Magic, Prowess, Hit Points, GOOZ, Defense, and WIZ. Each of these items has a shape and purpose and I can easily move them around on a sheet.

When I'm less familiar with a game, or it has a lot more moving parts, I find it difficult to get the vibe and make a character sheet. This why you don't seem me doing a ton of various game sheets. I need to understand a game and really get it to make a good sheet.

Aside from character sheets, I'm also working on new pages for the inevitable GOZR Rising! I'll share some of that next.

The Savage Sword Situation

Oh woe is me! I cannot seem to remember exactly which issue of Savage Sword of Conan was my first. This important blog post will seek to correct this pivotal injustice. I shall dive deep and figure this shit out. You are invited to join, or welcomed to run away. Your choice.

There are a few distinct memories I have of acquiring and reading SSOC. I’m going to sketch out the main ones, then I’ll try to analyze them based on the release date of those specific issues and where I was at in my life at that time.

1. Joe’s Underboob (issue #104, Sept 1984)

As mentioned in this salacious post on my scantily-clad alternative blog, I was quite fixated on the cover art for this issue. In fact, this art adorns the wall to my left even as I type these words right now in 2023. To be honest, I don't even remember what was inside this one. To be even more honest, there's probably only one issue of SSOC that I do remember inside and out. The stories tended to blur together, didn't they? Conan would be cast into some situation with some thugs and damsels, cut a bunch of bastards in half, roll in the hay with a hottie, and maybe slay a demon. That's what we bought the book for.

But I do remember this cover. Joe Jusko was at the height of his powers with this one. And I'm not even a huge Jusko fanboy or anything. My connection to him is merely through his SSOC covers, with this one being the standout. In a lot of his paintings I just see Vallejo-style gym shorts dudes with oiled pecks.

2. The Mill (issue #105, Oct 1984)

I think this is a fucking great issue. It kicks off with an epic Michael Golden cover that actually depicts what is happening inside the comic. Now, I don't think this is necessary, mind you. I'm a fan of zines and comics with cover art that just does whatever the hell it wants. But in this case the cover really does tell you what the story is about.

I actually studied this cover art quite a bit. I eyeballed it in detail, looking at how Golden drew buckles and how he angled the weapons to avoid boring front-on shots. And his crazy colors!

Then we get the story The Mill, written by Don Krarr, pencilled by Gary Kwapisz, and inked by Bob Camp. Kwapisz had already contributed a number of pinups to the comic and would go on to do a lot more feature stories. He was at his peak when I was an avid SSOC reader.

The Mill is a very simple story. It features no sorcery, no magic, no kings, no monsters. It is about a group of cold, hungry soldiers who come upon a grain mill and crash it to feed their bellies and get warm. Conan, their leader, forces the owner of the mill to comply but promises no harm will come to him or his family. Naturally, Conan's men are too base and lecherous to keep that promise and so he has to kill them. ALL OF THEM. And it is glorious, bloody, epic storytelling with a gritty ending to boot.

This is #98, not #102.

3. Jabba the What the Fuck Bill Sienkiewisz? (issue #102, July 1984)

See, this is the twist. I'm listing these issues in my memory order. But clearly my memory is fucked because this issue predates the other two. I distinctly remember picking up #104 and it felt like my first. But I 100% for certain also owned #102 because every single page of it hits my memory receptors like a tidal wave. Especially the letters page... which shows the phenomenal art from the cover of issue #98... which I NEVER OWNED. I remember bemoaning the fact that I got in after that issue.

Of course the cover pictured here is #98. The actual #102 cover is by Bill Sienkiewisz, which is cool... but it ain't no Jabba-slaying Conan.

4. For shits, let's look at #103 and maybe #101

So which of these was actually my first SSOC? Maybe it will help me narrow this down if I look at a few peripheral issues.

First up, #101. Hard nope. I have absolutely no memory of this one. If I dig out my Conan books, long isolated in my storage shed and probably suffering as a result, I will not find this one. It has a dope Michael Golden cover though, with some beefy warriors on a boat and a witch.

And HOLY FUCK it has an aboslutely SICK Armando Gil frontpiece! Check this out:

So what about #103? Nope. I don't recognize that Bob Larkin cover and I don't remember any tigers with stars on their heads. Also, and this might sound incredibly juvenile to you, but I would probably remember the naked woman on page one of the story. I was a teenager.

Umm... #106? For damn sure, no. I never even laid eyes on that Michael Golden cover.

Rudy Nebres brings the heat.

#107 does get me back into familiar territory with its Earl Norem Viking cover and a villain who looks like Warduke. I had this issue for sure. I also had #108, #109... yeah. So it was with issue #107 that I fell into the lucky habit of picking up every issue every month.

5. What are we to make of this?

Ok. As far as I can recall, I didn't know anyone who collected or bought or read SSOC. I discovered it quite by accident at a convenience store. It must have been in in July, 1984, that I made the initial discovery. Two months later I found another, and followed up on it one month later. Then I missed a bit and finally settled into the routine of buying them monthly in December, 1984.

In the summer of 1984 I was 13 years old and I was in 7th grade. This was when my family finally stopped moving around all the time. We settled into a single location where we lived until I graduated from high school. This is why I was able to start picking up comics on a monthly basis. I was getting SSOC and Amazing Spider-Man.

Ok. I think my work here is done. I now have a Savage Sword timeline I can refer to next time I can't remember. This was fun.

Cobalt 60

Been on a kick lately of doing fan art. Here's my take on Vaughn and Mark Bodé's Cobalt 60.

A Bit of Bodé

Just some pics of Vaughn Bodé stuff I picked up recently. I have most of these comics in various collections, but I never owned the originals.

Junkwaffel #1, 1971

The Man, 1972

Miami Mice (Mark Bodé), 1985