I shall call this die (UK:dice)...."Mini-d20"

I snagged this little die (or "this little dice" if you're a Brit) at U-Con last week. I shall call it "Mini-d20." Here it is next to it's normal-sized low-impact (read: sucky, yet nostalgic) d20:



The Mini-d20 is numbered 0-9 twice...a configuration that some old-schoolers prefer. I like having some in my pile, but I would just as soon grab a 1-20 numbered d20 when I need one. It's all personal vibe, though.

I'm not sure what game these mini versions are from. I don't think I've ever seen them before. Maybe some googling is in order...hmmnnnn.

Anyway, I filtered thru a fishbowl of dice at one vendor's booth, and a box-o-dice at another booth, and ended up with several to add to my collection. Here's the gang:



Several of those mini-d20s, an old (I'm presuming) Basic or Expert D&D Box Set light blue d6 (probably Moldvay or Mentzer set), that normal-sized sucky d20 referenced above in the 1st pic, and three Gamescience d4s of various colors Again I'm presuming these d4s are Gamescience, cuz I have a full purple set and these are identical to the d4 that Colonel Lou Zocchi made in that set (those dice rock, BTW):



Ah well, kinda boring I guess, but I like finding these treats in a mound of modern/regular dice. These folks probably think I'm nuts for wanting the crappy ones, but I dig 'em, and that counts too!

so I went to U-Con the other day...

U-Con is a gamers convention in Ann Arbor (MI), focusing on RPGs, board games, etc. I got a chance to stop by for a quickie there (whoah!). I didn't get to play anything. I was really hoping to get back there to try to get in the OD&D game DM'd by Ignatius Umlaut of "Fight On!", the very cool oldschool RPG fanzine. I was, and still am, severely bummed that I missed that session. However, I did have time to snag a few goodies while I was there.

Top find for the day (IMO): Module GW2: "Famine In Far-Go", a Gamma World module from TSR.


Now, I did play *some* Gamma World in High School, just not nearly as much as we played D&D/AD&D, but I still have the 2nd Edition Box Set books/maps (form "Back in..." well, not '81, but close...'83) and the 1st Edition B/W book (this was '78, but that was 1st ed:1st printing, my 1st ed:2nd printing is actually is from '81), and I would love to play a pickup game of this very cool setting, sometime soon.

Anyway...here's the best part of this particular find (the mod): Upon pulling it out of the sleeve to take a peek inside, I find on the title page this nice little diddy:





Very, very cool! Signed by the legend himself. Now who the hell would get rid of such a thing? Jeesh. Ah well, their loss, my gain.

Now, if this would have been on GW1 "Legion of Gold" (by Gary himself) and signed at GenCon XIV, it would have been perfect for "Back in '81." For now, this will have to do.

Anyway, I got tons more cool stuff, but that's enough geekability for one post, eh?

a lesson in when *not* to be Lawful Good (Gamma World - Endless Quest)

From page 1 of "Light on Quests Mountain", a Gamma World Endless Quest Adventure Book:

1) If you think that it is too late to do anything to help Chark and you choose to run for your life, turn to page 93.

2) If you choose to charge the ferocious dog-men in hope that, by some miracle you can save your monkey friend, turn to page 140.



*** SPOILER ALERT!!! ***

Well. if you do the right thing and help your friend...let's just say that you should *not* be LG in this situation.

And to think this is on the first page of the freakin' book! Nice lesson there for our youth....ha!

Now, let me state that the book really starts a few pages later, and that first page is a teaser of sorts, to make you want to buy the book, I guess. At any rate, I recall flipping this one open, reading that passage and immediately turning to page 140, to save my "monkey friend." Hey, my favorite AD&D character *was* a Paladin, for Pete's sake.

And so my first adventure thru this cool little book lasted exactly 2 pages....reroll!

Anyway, I still love all of these Endless Quest books, especially a few of the D&D ones and this Gamma World romp. I have tons of them, including a couple Top Secret themed ones and a Star Frontiers adventure too. They are mostly fun, even now 25 years later.

I prefer the choose your own adventure books that actually involve rolling some dice and generating some sort of character. The "Lone Wolf" series is great, and the "Fighting Fantasy" books and the "Sword Quest" ones are cool too. I have a one-shot of the "A Crossroads Adventure" series(?) that has the D&D stats and hp outlined pretty much exact.

I know a lot of folks in the RPG community have talked about these types of books in their blogs, etc, especially Reis O'brien over at http://geek-orthodox.blogspot.com/ ...very cool and fun blog.

So, back to my latest jump to Back in '81...err..'83 in this case. My Gamma World itch is needing a major scratch. I've been dorking around with my "pile of nerdliness" and have some fun stuff to go thru yet.

I've got a freakin sweet find from U-Con (Ann Arbor) that feeds the Gamma World geek in me a five course meal....or at least the dessert first. I'll have to babble about that pretty soon here.

Futurama: Bender's Game DVD...yes!!!!

Ok, snagged this at BestBuy last night, and can't wait to get a little time to sit down and watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgymjDq_UYY

Titanius Anglesmith, Frydo and Leegola, Hermaphrodite, Gynecaladriel (the Queen of the Water Nymphos)...sa-weeeeeet!


I just dig this crap. Yep, I'm a dork. ;^]