I preordered a copy of Bookhounds Of London from Pelgrane Press and it arrived just a few days ago. The presentation of this package is not like anything I have ever seen in any product. It is so crazy cool that I am having trouble finding a place to start. I’ll detail the contents of the package as I open them. 🙂

First off it is delivered in a burlap army green messenger bag with word “DARCY” on one side and a strange Cthulhu-esque logo on the other side. When you open the bag you find a brown hardcover copy of Bookhounds Of London, a copy of Liber Fumo de Drater Vigilo: Agustus Darcy’s Guide to Occult London, a small plastic chip with a leaf insignia, and a manila envelope.

Opening the main book reveals a signature from the author, Ken Hite, and the word “ABYSSAL”. (Every copy has a different Lovecraftian word.) In the center of the book are 28 pages of fantastically beautiful color period maps. The work on these is just gorgeous. The book got an ENnie nod for best cartography and I can easily see why. To top it off the index contains an extremely detailed index for the book AND maps. (I will do a full review of the product and post it on this site after I have read it but knowing Ken’s work it will be a great review. 😉 )

The Liber Fumo book is a small (roughly 6″ x 8″) hardbound book. It is 148 pages in length. It covers occult London as researched by Augustus Darcy. The interior is entirely black and white but there are several inset photos to support the text.

The manilla envelope contains two postcards, an aged period book called Theosophy by Annie Besant (roughly 100 pages), and an aged period pamphlet called The History Of Christianity In The Essex Region by the Essex Education Committee (roughly 28 pages). When I describe the the book and pamphlet as “aged period” I mean that the pages are yellowed, some pages are stained, the binding on the book is threadbare, and the pamphlet shows wear. At the back of the Theosophy book is even a pasted in newspaper clipping that is stained. The postcards appear to be period and show faded text. The stamps are real and over stamped with period looking postmarks. I am not a “bookhound” but these look 100% authentic to me. If these are not authentic I applaud whoever created these objects.

These contents are extraordinary. I am running out of words to describe this package. Since I have run out of words I will leave you with the sound of my breathe getting taken away…[gasp]… 😀

[If you are reading this from the Kingbeast’s Lair blog site you can click on the pictures and examine full resolution shots of the details.]

Date At Start Of Game: 2/6/207

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 28th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play.]

Meiji’s House

As the fog clears the PC find themselves standing in a smoke filled cottage with all of the furniture pushed to the sides of the room. Under their feet is Donovan’s Mate. It is Meiji’s house! As the PC get their bearings Meiji says, “Welcome back! I’ve been waiting for you to return. So what happened?!?” With that the PC start to ask Meiji some questions. Here is what Meiji relates to the PC.

• It is evening when the PC arrive. According to Meiji the Dragon Festival is in two days. This tips off the PC roughly a week of time must have been lost while in the “genie bottle”.
• Cragspine visited Meiji last night. On his visit he left Donovan’s Mate with the command word, a strange skeleton finger necklace, and a magical short sword. Cragspine told Meiji that the rod must be used on ALL PC who want to be healed at the same time. The skeleton finger necklace aids spell casting and the sword, called Spirit Splitter, defends one against spells and has a very powerful dispel. According to Cragspine both were owned by Soza.
• The dragon seemed uneasy during his visit. When Cragspine left he mentioned that his uneasiness had to do with his “brethren” but he would not say anymore.
• At this point Po presses Meiji about the items he received by Cragspine. He asks if there is anything else. After coaxing from Po Meiji reveals that he also received something for Cillian but that he was told by Cragspine not to give them to him until he felt the time was right. When Meiji pushed Cragspine for details he told the court mage that where he was going was dangerous and that he may not return. This confused Meiji but he agreed. At this time the PC try to press Meiji but he does not want to give the item. When Cillian starts knocking over things in the cottage Meiji says that now is not the time and asks him to stop. Cillian reluctantly stops.

After talking with Meiji the PC go their separate ways. Oren heads back to the palace to update the Empress and find out if there is anyone that she wants to heal using Donovan’s Mate.

Donovan’s Last Laugh

At this point the PC decide to use Donovan’s Mate to heal themselves. Po, Cillian, and Kanga decide to get healed by the artifact. Po uses the skeleton finger necklace while sitting as his magical desk then activates Donovan’s Mate. In a flash of light and sound Po, Bilby, and Cillian find themselves standing naked next to nearly exact evil duplicates of themselves! In between them is a pile of their belongings. Kanga and Meiji are blind and deaf by the flash and fall to the ground trying to clear their senses. After a moment of stunned silence Evil Po react by jumping into the pile of gear. Good Po reacts by wrestling with his double! Evil Bilby grabs Spirit Splitter then jumps over and tries to stab Kanga thinking that he cannot get far if the archer recovers his vision. Good Bilby blocks the blow away from Kanga with a thrown knife. Evil Cillian immediately jumps out of a nearby window. Good Cillian grabs his Great Tree necklace and gloves from the pile. Good Po in a fit of strength toss Evil Po into Meiji’s open furnace! The Evil Raven Kin goes up in a black inky smoke that has skeletal birds flying up the chimney. Evil Bilby stabs Good Bilby who reels as he is not wearing armor! Good Cillian acting fast uses his winds to grab Evil Bilby and sweep him into the furnace. Evil Bilby screams and dies in the flames. When the PC look out the window Evil Cillian is gone! Good Cillian makes a remark that there is no way the PC will be able to find Evil Cillian in Tokaji. It is his home town and he is in his element. Po does some healing on Bilby then the PC go their separate ways for a bit.

PC Go Their Separate Ways

Lots of actions took place here so I will relate what happened to each PC over the next 24 hours.

Bilby

• The first thing Bilby does is to speak with Meiji and Po about making a chain mail shirt silent. Meiji and Po end up not only making his armor silent but also making it form fitting and weightless!
• Next Bilby tries to find Cillian by staking out his house. Before Cillian arrives Bilby spies the three teenage residents of the house sneaking out of the back entrance dressed like they are on a thieving run. Bilby waits and eventually spies Cillian returning home. After eavesdropping on Cillian’s conversation with the Sparrow Kin he joins Cillian to find out what his young friends are up to. (See the Cillian entry for the rest of the story.)
• On the next day Bilby is walking around town with Kanga. Kanga takes him to a an adventurer’s bar he has found called Nestor’s Rest. After entering the bar Bilby notices a Rat Kin sitting in the corner that he knows well. This Rat Gog is a master assassin known as Vesh. After some conversation Bilby finds out that Vesh is on a job. Bilby asks if he could help and Vesh agrees. The two are to meet up the next night at the bar to take on the mission. Bilby alerts the rest of the PC that he plans on tagging along as Vesh is often up to no good.

Cillian

• After his evil duplicate escapes Cillian goes to the palace to alert Oren then returns to his house.
• At his house Cillian finds only the Sparrow Kin Tachi. Tachi tells Cillian that the other three went out on a mission. He tells Cillian that Akiki thought the run was a “cake walk”. Apparently he learned of a visitor with jewels who is staying at a local residence. When Tachi shows Cillian the details and a crude map he gets nervous. The area is perfect for a setup and the job just seems too easy. With that Cillian heads out to the residence with Bilby. After carefully casing the area Bilby and Cillian spot two places where men are hiding. One set of men are in a building across a nearby alley. Others are inside the house behind a curtain wall. As the female Tiger Kin Hiyoshi starts to lift up the Krait Kin Akiki to the top of the wall Cillian comes out of hiding and loudly announces his presence! The three teenage thieves are stunned! At that moment the door busts open and Captain Ibara with four of his men emerge. As soon as the young thieves see the city guards they take off running! When Captain Ibara tries to smack one of them with his staff Cillian quick draws his sword and blocks the attack saying, “Good evening Captain…why are you harassing these youths they haven’t done anything wrong???” Realizing that he cannot really arrest anyone for merely planning a crime Captain Ibara storms off in a huff. After returning home Cillian chastises the young thieves and suggests that they be more careful next time.

Kanga

• Kanga finds a nice adventurer’s bar where he meets some interesting local color. [This scene will be played out when Geoff is back. 😉 ]

Oren

• Oren returns to the palace to ask the Empress if she needs anyone healed and to announce that he has returned. Empress Nokidara does not need anyone to be healed and seems glad to see the noble Armadillo Kin warrior.
• While stowing his gear Oren receives a note from Yotsu. The note from Empress Nokidara asks Oren to join her for a private dinner. [This scene will be played out when Jim is back. 😉 ]

Epic Tale #12 – Vault Of The Dragon Kings – Session #28

Po

• The first thing Po does is to complete his Link spell with Meiji. Once Link has been summoned he begins working on the chain mail for Bilby. While working on these spells Po finds that Meiji is distracted. Once the court mage even messes up a very simple preparatory spell. After some prompting Meiji reveals to Po that he is concerned about Cragspine’s visit. Cragspine was uneasy. For someone so powerful to be “uneasy” scares him. Po suggest that Meiji use the mirror to try and contact Cragspine. After first hesitating Po convinces the court mage that it is the right things to do. Meiji puts the mirror out on the magical desk then activates it with some strange words. First the mirror fills with smoke. When it clears it shows a steep icy mountain with a large cavern entrance. In the mouth of the cavern entrance is a huge dragon statue. As the vision in the mirror pans down the image fades to black then shows four round symbols. One if flaming, one is blue, one is white, and one is a round brown stone. In an upset tone Meiji explains that he thinks this vision represents the Vault Of The Dragon Kings. Meiji explains that he has followed Cragspine to these mountains in the past but could never find the entrance. He thinks the entrance might be magically hidden. If Cragspine has gone there he may be in trouble. Meiji begs Po to ask the other Avatars Of The Great Tree to see if they would be willing to help. Po agrees. Meiji says he will tell the avatars what he knows about Cragspine and the Vault Of The Dragon Kings after they have been gathered.

At the end of the session the group has gathered at Meiji’s house. Po also convinced the court mage to give the last object from Cragspine to Cillian. As the afternoon grows old and the sun begins to droop Meiji reaches under his tunic and pulls out a scroll tube sealed with gold bands…

Date At End Of Game: 2/7/207

The ENnie Award Nominees for 2011 got posted today and I wanted to make some comments on what was chosen and what I think is missing. The entries in italics are ones I actually own or have enjoyed.

Best Adventure

Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (Arc Dream Publishing/Pagan Publishing)
Monsters and Other Childish Things: Road Trip (Cubicle 7/Arc Dream Publishing)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: The Haunting of Harrowstone (Paizo Publishing)
Perils of the Surface World: Miracle Stone of the Amazon (Exile Game Studio)
Saturday Night Delves #1: Revenge of the Iron Lich (Save Versus Death)
Honorable Mention: The Dance in the Blood (Pelgrane Press/Graham Walmsley)

John’s Comments

My only comment on this category is that Graham Walmsley has put out some great products this year. Check out his set of Trail Of Cthulhu adventures…they are very nice. 🙂

Best Aid/Accessory

D&D Essentials: Dungeon Tiles Master Set – The Dungeon (Wizards of the Coast)
Eclipse Phase Gamemaster Pack (Posthuman Studios)
Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)
Hero Lab (Lone Wolf Development)
The Unspeakable Oath (Arc Dream Publishing)
Honorable Mention: Vornheim: The Complete City Kit (Lamentations of the Flame Princess)

John’s Comments

The return of Unspeakable Oath has been great. This mag is as good…if not better…than the original. It has some fantastic contributors and product reviews. Highly recommended. Cthulhu demands that I vote for Unspeakable Oath.

Best Art, Cover

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
Eoris Essence (Visions of Essence LLC)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
Shadowrun: Attitude (Catalyst Game Labs)
The Laundry (Cubicle 7)
Honorable Mention: The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)

Best Art, Interior

Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)
DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
Eoris Essence (Visions of Essence LLC)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)

Best Blog

At-Will
Critical Hits
Gnome Stew
Sarah Darkmagic
Thistle Games

John’s Comments

I follow MANY RPG blogs. Out of the selected ENnie Nominees I think Gnome Stew will get my vote. I’m really disappointed that Rob Donahue’s blog, Some Space To Think, is not on the list. His blog is really wonderful. I always jolt upright when my blog catcher fields one of his insightful posts.

Best Cartography

Bookhounds of London (Pelgrane Press)
Deep Vistas Map Set I – III (Maps of Mastery)
Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)
Heavenring Village – Virtual Boxed Set (0One Games)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Poster Map Folio (Paizo Publishing)
Honorable Mention: Shadowrun: Sixth World Almanac (Catalyst Game Labs)

Best Electronic Book

Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting (Alluria Publishing)
Continuity (Posthuman Studios)
Shanghai Vampocalypse (Savage Mojo)
Temporal Probability Agency: To Predict and Serve (Apathy Games)
The Running Death (Terminal Studios)

Best Free Product

A Time of War: The BattleTech RPG Quick-Start Rules (Catalyst Game Labs)
Hell for Leather – Free Edition (Cobweb Games)
Old School Hack – Basic Game (Kirin Robinson)
Saturday Night Delves #1: Revenge of the Iron Lich (Save Versus Death)
The Running Death (Terminal Studios)
Honorable Mention: Ultimate Combat Playtesting PDF (Paizo Publishing)

Best Game

Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
Honorable Mention: The Laundry (Cubicle 7)

John’s Comments

Boy there are some fantastic choices here. Happy Birthday, Robot by Daniel Solis is wonderful in design and execution. Dresden is an overwhelming and deserving hit with its brilliant implementation of the source material. My vote will go for Dresden in this category.

I do see a couple of omissions here. I would have really have liked to see Smallville or Leverage get a mention in this category. Those are some pretty kick butt projects with some talented folks that did not get any recognition…well there ya go…have some RPG love! 😀

Best Miniatures Product

BattleTech 25th Anniversary Introductory Boxed Set (Catalyst Game Labs)
Deep Vistas Map Set I – III (Maps of Mastery)
Mousling Heroes (Reaper Miniatures)
USCR – Commissar (MERCS Miniatures)
WARMACHINE Khador Gun Carriage (Privateer Press)
Honorable Mention: Gaming Paper Adventure Maps (Gaming Paper)

Best Monster/Adversary

Doctor Who: Aliens & Creatures (Cubicle 7)
Fey Folio: Clans of the Fey (Alluria Publishing)
Monster Vault (Wizards of the Coast)
Mythic Menagerie: The Kingdom of Graves (Super Genius Games)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2 (Paizo Publishing)

Best New Game (published for the first time ever)

A Taste for Murder (Graham Walmsley)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
The Laundry (Cubicle 7)
Honorable Mention: Stars Without Number (Sine Nominee Publishing)

John’s Comments

Dresden and Icon are “new” but I think I will give the nod here to Happy Birthday, Robot! Happy Birthday, Robot! really defines the category “Best New Game” better than the other selections IMHO. 😀

Best Podcast

Atomic Array
Chronicles: Pathfinder Podcast
Flagons and Dragons
The Dungeon Master Guys Podcast
Yog-Sothoth
Honorable Mention: Kicked In The DiceBags

John’s Comments

I am a huge podcast fan but surprisingly many of my favorites are not mentioned this year. I really think Fear The Boot and 2d6 Feet In A Random Direction are my favorites.

Best Production Values

Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2 (Paizo Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )

John’s Comments

Daniel Solis is an art director and it really shows in his product Happy Birthday, Robot! He also did a video on how the book was designed that is really wonderful. Daniel gets my vote.

Best RPG Related Product

BattleTech 25th Anniversary Introductory Boxed Set (Catalyst Game Labs)
Castle Ravenloft Boardgame (Wizards of the Coast)
Hamlet’s Hit Points (Gamplaywright Press)
Tall Pencil Strap Dragon Chow Dice Bag (Dragon Chow Dice Bags)
The Bones – Us and Our Dice (Gameplaywright Press/Atomic Overmind Press)

John’s Comments

I read Hamlet’s Hit Points when Robin Laws posted them on his blog and REALLY enjoyed them. The Bones is currently on my “buy next” list. 😉 Hamlet gets the vote.

Best Rules

D&D Rules Compendium (Wizards of the Coast)
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (Adamant Entertainment/Cubicle 7)
Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)
Mutants & Masterminds Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
Honorable Mention: D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)

John’s Comments

This one is tough. A couple of these are based on FATE and others are D&D 4e based. I guess Dresden will get my vote as the FATE implementation has really been tweaked for perfect delivery of the source material.

Best Setting

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
Dark Sun Campaign Setting (Wizards of the Coast)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Progenitor (Arc Dream Publishing)
Space 1889: Red Sands (Savage Worlds) (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Honorable Mention: Bookhounds of London (Pelgrane Press)

John’s Comments

Um…I can’t vote for my favorite…Bookhounds Of London. Very bummed that Ken Hite did not get a full nomination…a travesty actually. 🙁

Best Supplement

Block by Bloody Block (Print Version) (White Wolf Publishing)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Shadowrun: Attitude (Catalyst Game Labs)
Space 1889: Red Sands (Savage Worlds) (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
Honorable Mention: The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)

Best Website

d20pfsrd.com
Obsidian Portal
RPG Geek
The Escapist
UK Role Players

John’s Comments

I’ve recently become enamored with RPG Geek. Initially I wanted a way to track my RPG collection. After some research I found that RPG Geek would do the job brilliantly. After I got hooked I started entering product corrections, adding new products, uploading product images, leaving session posts, posting reviews, and…having a TON of fun. A definite vote for RPG Geek here.

Best Writing

The Danse Macabre (White Wolf Publishing)
Delta Green: Targets of Opportunity (Arc Dream Publishing/Pagan Publishing)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
The Dance in the Blood (Pelgrane Press/Graham Walmsley)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )

John’s Comments

I really need to get The Dance In The Blood as I like Walmsley’s work but I think this year my vote is easy…The Dresden Files. The Evil Hat crew really did a bang up job on Dresden…it was worth the wait. 🙂

Product of the Year

A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide (Green Ronin Publishing)
DC Adventures Hero’s Handbook (Green Ronin Publishing)
D&D Gamma World Roleplaying Game (Wizards of the Coast)
Gatecrashing (Posthuman Studios)
Happy Birthday, Robot! (Evil Hat Productions)
Legend of the Five Rings, Fourth Edition (Alderac Entertainment Group)
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Advanced Player’s Guide (Paizo Publishing)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide (Paizo Publishing)
The Dresden Files RPG (Evil Hat Productions )
The Stork (DreamPunk Productions)
Honorable Mention:Legends of Anglerre (Cubicle 7)

John’s Comments

Drum roll please! My vote is for The Dresden Files. The beautiful artwork, stunning layout, and terrific writing make my vote for Product Of The Year easy.