Want to Reach Over 1,200 OSR Customers?

Book an advert in Issue 7 of Oubliette.

Issue 6 of Oubliette is available as a free download from www.RPGNow.com until the end of August.  If you have not had a chance to look at an issue before, here is an opportunity to check it out.

Oubliette Issue 6 at RPGNow.com

Over 1,200 copies have been downloaded so far, making Oubliette probably the widest read publication in the OSR. I expect our next issue to reach over 1500 within its first month of release. 

Issue 7 of Oubliette is scheduled for November and will once again be available as a free download for a limited period.  If you would like to book an advertisement, here are the rates, deadlines and specifications. As a special incentive for Issue 7, bookings of full-page adverts will include a free print copy of the issue with worldwide delivery.

RATES: Full Page $60.00, Half Page $35.00, Quarter Page $20.00

DATES: Issue 7 Winter 2011, Book by 30th September, Copy by 31st October.

SPECS: 300dpi JPEG, TIFF, in Black and White or Greyscale (I can accept colour but will convert it to greyscale).

SIZES: Full Page: 178mm wide x 265mm high, Half Page: 178mm wide x 130mm high. Quarter Page: 86mm wide x 130mm high.

Hirst Arts - The Lazy Way

I really enjoyed reading about Hirst Art Molds over at A Paladin in Citadel's blog.  I have toyed with the idea of buying a couple of molds, to give it a go, but, so far, I have managed to restrain myself.  I know I would really enjoy making them, but I also know I can't spare the time.  Another member of my gaming group has just ordered some, so I may feel the urge to follow suit when I see his creations.

Not wanting to be completely left out, I snagged the ruined tower, pictured below, from ebay for a few pounds.  I repaired the transit damage (suffered en route), and removed the cardboard base the ruin was stuck to.  All it needs now is a little bit of paint to cover the repair work, and possibly a dark colour wash or two.  Although I'm sure I'll be mainly sticking with my projected game board, the addition of some 3D structures will certainly enhance the experience.

New Developments in 3D Printing

It's been a few months since I looked at how 3D printing technology is progressing.  The price of the MakerBot machine has dropped $200 bringing it down to $999 (still about £800 from the UK site I checked though).  I'm sticking with my prediction that by the end of 2012, we'll see a sub $500 consumer 3D printer on the market.

For a good snapshot on the different ways the technology is developing, take a look at the BBC video in the link below.  It shows three different types of 3D printers in action.

BBC Click Video

Last 7 Days of the Oubliette Issue 6 Giveaway

There's now just one week left to grab a copy of the latest issue of Oubliette for free.

The PDF can be downloaded from rpgnow.com

Then, if you like it, you can head over to Lulu.com and buy a printed version.  You can get individual printed versions of all 6 issues along with a great value compilation of issues 1-4.

I did a quick search for Lulu discount coupons and found three, each offering 20% off.  They may not all work with every account, but it's certainly worth giving them a go.  Codes are:

2011SURVEY
SCHOOLED305
AUGUST305

Oubliette Issue 6 - Inspiration

In preparation for one of the Sithakk pictures, in which a Sylvmorten warrior has been poisoned and is beset by tremors, itching, bleeding and fits, I looked up various images to assist with my art conception.

The disturbing artwork depicting inmates of various asylums by 18th century artists gave me all the visual stimulus I needed. It's possible I didn't go far enough, but sometimes, less is more, more or less.

Aghast at Radagast

One of my players has a magic-user with a raven as a familiar.  We play with miniatures, and although I've got several wizard figures, I thought it would be cool to try and find one with a raven.  A few minutes on the internet turned up Radagast from Games Workshop's LOTR range.  If you'd asked me to guess the price of this single 28mm metal figure, I would have said £4, maybe £5.  The actual price is a shocking £7.70 or if you're in the US, that'll be $12.25 please.

I checked a couple of other places for prices of metal figures and, imported Reaper ones are £3.50 or £4.10 each, for most adventurers, and Otherworld Miniatures charge £10/£11 for 3 human-sized figures.  I then turned to ebay, and snagged a part-painted Games Workshop Radagast for £1.47 + postage.

Although I'm not a fan of Games Workshop, I might buy some figures and scenery pieces from them, but they seriously need to sort out their prices.

The Hunter

When I'm thinking up encounters in adventures, I often delve into natural history books for ideas.  Ocassionally, I have the good fortune to come across something inspiring first-hand.  This morning, that happened when I came very close to stepping on this beast.  He might be just a common house spider, but when you close up to him, you can clearly see he is a beautiful killing machine.  He sits just outside his lair, wating for a small insect to wander by, and then he strikes in a flash and drags his prey back into his cave.

I've got some notes on giant spiders that I keep toying with for the magazine, but just haven't got them quite right yet.  Seeing this fellow has given me the inspiration I needed to go back to them with rekindled interest.

Open Doors

I've got various scribbled notes on dungeon doors, but they still need a bit more work before they are ready for inclusion in Oubliette.  This week, I got some more inspiration from news coverage of London looters being arrested.

Here's what you get when you roll a 1 to open doors:

Open Doors Success

and here's what happens when roll a 6:

Open Doors Fail

These also made me think about including rules for metal rams and wrecking bars as tools in the dungeon.

Looters Return Stuff to Games Workshop

For the benefit of overseas readers, we had some bad riots and looting in England last week.  On Monday, I was away from home, but thankfully not anywhere near any of the trouble hotspots.  During the afternoon, I walked past a branch of Games Workshop which was closed and  I instantly reasoned that it was one of there infamous one-man shops which closes so that  the poor guy running it can go to the toilet.  As I peered through the windows to see what they had on display, I joked to my wife, "I bet the looters give Games Workshop stores a wide berth".


Today one of my friends sent me this which made me laugh out loud.  I've talked about Games Workshop before and said that I would write a follow-up piece after visiting a store.  This has proved difficult as I've not managed to find one open during normal retail hours.

Examples of Miniatures Painted with Quickshade

In the latest issue of Oubliette one of the reviews is about a product called Quickshade.  As mentioned in that review, here are a few photos of the miniatures which I varnished with Quickshade.  

The figures were all rescued from my dusty figure box in the loft and date back to the 1980s.  In descending order, they are: DA1 Dwarf Thief by Asgard, FM63 Ogre by Asgard, and Half-Orc Cleric-Thief by Citadel.  

I have a few more figures to paint in the next month and I intend to post some more photos to give more of a step-by-step guide.

Oubliette 6 Print Edition Out Now

The print edition of Oubliette Issue 6 is now available to purchase from lulu.com

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, and particularly like the glossy coating they apply to the cover.

Lulu also has all the back issues of Oubliette along with a compilation edition of the first four issues.

Oubliette 6 Hits 1,000 Downloads

It's just one week since Oubliette Issue 6 was launched, and I'm delighted to report that over 1,000 copies have been downloaded already.  That smashes the results of the previous issue and there's still a few weeks of the giveaway to go.


I'd like to thank everyone who promoted Oubliette Issue 6 on their blogs. Your support and enthusiasm have been instrumental in helping us spread the word.  Thank you also to those who downloaded the mag and liked it so much you bought the back issues.

Die Society

In response to this, here's my dice collection.  Notice the natural defensive positioning they've taken when faced with the camera.  The d6 minions instinctively move to protect the more esoteric polyhedrons.