AMLA, Graf, etc

Yes, I would be very happy to see my email on the blog. I know AMLA didn't have anything to do with the original D&D A1-4 modules but when I added this 'parent company' to the mix it made an interesting game turn into a real spy mission. Uncovering facts and trying to figure out if the main company even knew about the financing of the slave lords or if this was just some junior baron executive using the company funds to try to make a little extra profit on the side. Where are the company headquarters? Who do you have to talk to? Who is the head of the company? At this point you can take your campaign in virtually any direction. Modules become easy to introduce. You don't have to have a catch or lure. The players are practically torturing and killing to get to the next adventure and add one more piece to the puzzle.

A whole book about non lethal traps :-0. I wonder where that came from? Catching adventurers for slaves? What a great idea!! I'm ordering my copy today.

AMLA has saved many a beloved character in the past and has, for the most part, been an outstanding company in my campaign. The best part about using these names and ideas is that very few players today have ever heard of Dragontree. I know this is probably not good news for you (sales I mean),

But for dungeon masters like me these books are GOLD! Unless you know what you are looking for you can't find these things. It's not like you can go the local bookstore and just order a copy to figure out how to avoid these traps. Also putting these items in at random into a module not only makes play interesting but if you do have the sneaky player who has purchased a copy of the module and is going just by the information in it there can be some nasty surprises in store for them. The maps they have are now complete but dangerous to follow. Kind of like having a map made by a party many years ago and now some new residences have moved in.

Just from memory I added a floating, flaming, horned skull to a module. You should have seen the array of spells, arrows, flying axes and other missile weapons flying toward this thing. All so the local mage could invite them to a special dinner. When it spoke its invitation and floated off I could not believe the reaction. It was not in any monster manual nor was it described in any other adventure, tome, or dungeon masters guide they had ever seen. I got comments like "Thats it?!?!? Were invited to dinner???" and my favorite "What do you mean that wasn't a monster??!!!!"

Can you tell me any more about GRAF or your character? I know I probably have to get the books.

I envy the games you must have been involved in. It sounds to me like there was a lot of imagination going on there. I am collecting as many of the books as I can and I will check out the blog today. For now I would like to thank you for giving me a way to point my players' imagination in a direction outside the 'normal' realm of just rules and dice throws and to be prepared because not all things are monsters. Just because you can't detect a curse in the bigmouth sword (that still radiates very strong magic) does not mean its not there.

Book of Artifacts????

I am what you might call an OLD school player. I have been playing D&D for about 27 years (my god, has it been that long?!?!?). When I first started playing I was looking for any kind of way to try and spice up my adventures for my friends. Then one day I went into my local hobby store and saw the Dragontree books. So what did I do? Like a novice adventurer I picked up the most interesting looking book and started reading it. It was the Book of Artifacts. I was instantly immersed in a world of Dungeons and Dragons that was unlike any other I had ever seen. Spell casting arrows (that were really funny to throw into an adventure at just the right moment) and bigmouth swords that got you into more trouble than out of. Or best of all was this Amazon Company that seemed to be interested in trade (or maybe behind some of the more sinister parts of the main D&D world). Who did finance the Slave Lords (modules A1-4)? I know that some of my uses were probably not what you intended but it sure kept my players interested.

So the years went by. My friends stopped playing. I went to college. But still these books were on my shelf. Collecting a little dust. Every now and then I would take one down and reread it. Over time I lost track of the most interesting book I had ever owned. Now, years later, I have a group of friends who want to play. I volunteered to be Dungeon Master. I started pulling out my old books and getting some new ones (now where is that old book of artifacts?). It had been so long that I didnt even remember who printed it. Getting most of my things from Ebay I was looking through this list of items and something clicked. What was that? A book from Dragontree press? Yes!!! Spell books and adventures. Cool! But. . . But . . . Where is it? The Book of Artifacts?

So here are my questions: Do you have any copies of the Book of Artifacts? Are you going to print any? Where can I get more information about the campaigns that these books were based on?

JW