James Kramer is probably best known for Usherwood Publishing, the most recent publisher of OSRIC.
Saving Throw — a fundraiser fanzine to help James D. Kramer
You may know Jim Kramer from his Usherwood Publishing modules & supplements, or his work helping produce works like OSRIC and Knockspell. You probably didn’t know Jim had multiple brain surgeries to remove tumors, and the battle has gotten much harder. To help Jim and his family during this difficult time, a group of his friends, collaborators, and first edition enthusiasts banded together to make this fundraiser fanzine, where all royalties go directly to Jim and his family.
This 60+ page issue of Saving Throw contains:
- Introduction by Ron Redmond
- Island Tables - random generation and inspiration tool by Steve Smith aka “EOTB”
- Sorcerer’s Stone - dungeon level by Keith Sloan
- Trolls of the Simpolo Swamps - leech-mated trollish variations by Joseph Browning
- Perladon Manor - adventure module by Gabor Lux
- By The Runes - fiction by Dan Rasaiah
- Magic Item Intrinsic Material Values - variant magic item value rules by Guy Fullerton
- Goblin Garbug Cavalry - new monster by Andrew Hamilton
- The Tiled Labyrinth - mini-dungeon by Guy Fullerton
- Lotus Blossoms - magical and special properties of these exotic flora by Keith Sloan
- Burly the Baker - ready-to-use NPC and cantrips by Gary Francisco
- Darkworld Troll - new monster by Bryan Fazekas
- Offig’s Tomb - treasure map by Steve Smith aka “EOTB”
- Lizard Man Lair - outdoor module and new monsters by Steve Smith aka "EOTB"
- Mephitic Geysers of the Intaglio Rift - treasure map by Allan T. Grohe, Jr. (“grodog")
- The Mere Beneath - dungeon level by Guy Fullerton, Allan T. Grohe, Jr. (“grodog"), and Henry A. Grohe
- Sarendra’s Crew & Kelurrin’s Crew - ready-to-use NPC parties by Allan T. Grohe, Jr. (“grodog")
- Rescue from the Sanctuary of the Leopard Goddess - dungeon module by Matthew Riedel
Featuring illustrations by Jimm Johnson, James D. Kramer, Wind Lothamer, Gabor Lux, Denis McCarthy, Peter Szmer (soon), Del Teigeler, and Alex Zisch.
For the lucky price of $13, you get two treasure maps, three referee tools, five new spells, six modules, at least nine new monsters, twelve ready-to-use NPCs, and more. Plus the knowledge that your purchase helps a family during a difficult time.
Thank you!
Note: We plan to make a print version available soon. When it becomes available, will send drivethru coupon codes to everyone who purchased the pdf so they can get a print version at a discount.
Note #2: We are still in the process of gathering artwork for some of the articles, so don't be surprised by any of the blank spots. We will notify everybody when we update the pdf with new art, and you can download the latest version from your library.
Yes, there is an affiliate link above. Affiliate links keep The Tavern's lights on and will not affect the amount of monies that will go to the publisher and James.
Thank you! The quality of this 'zine is really amazing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the signal boost, Tenkar! We hope everyone enjoys the content as they help out a great cause.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't have known about it otherwise. Picked it up, looks great. Best wishes to James, I hope things improve.
ReplyDeleteCount me in! BTW, any scuttlebutt about OSRIC and Monsters of Myth hardcovers ever seeing print again? yes, I know all about LULU, but their OSRIC leaves out a bunch of artwork...
ReplyDeleteThe Black Blade/Usherwood Adventures version of OSRIC is sold through Black Blade's Facebook pages; send a FB PM or email to tacojohndm@yahoo.com to order; product pictures are in our FB photo albums @ https://www.facebook.com/pg/BlackBladePublishing/photos/?tab=albums.
DeleteThe Usherwood Publishing A5/digest sized versions of OSRIC are sold by Jim Kramer directly via Lulu (see links on my Saving Throw post @ https://grodog.blogspot.com/2019/09/saving-throw-new-osric-zine-to-support-jim-kramer.html).
So far as I know, both the Black Blade and Usherwood A5 OSRIC editions are in-print and available, and both beat the pants off of the standard Lulu edition of OSRIC (see the BBP OSRIC album for pictures comparing the print quality of the two hardcovers: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BlackBladePublishing/photos/?tab=album&album_id=157984384364522).
Monsters of Myth is available in hardcover from Black Blade as well, and, along with the rest of the BBP catalog, is sold via mail order, and at GaryCon and North Texas RPG Con each year.
Allan.
Grodog, thanks for the info! I did not know BB was live and well on FB. I contacted Jon and he got right back to me, books are on the way!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found us, TSS---while our website is dead, Black Blade is very much still alive and kicking! :D
DeleteAllan.