Free RPG Day Recap, Redux

It would be remiss of me not to mention that 401 Games, while not carrying every title from Goodman Games or every Dungeon Crawl Classics module, did have Dread on Demon Crown Hill waiting for me, as well as core books and several other adventures. They also asked me to put them in contact with Goodman Games in order to get the funky dice.

I had an early Father's Day after running Gnole House with my older children, so that they could attend their mother's birthday party on Sunday. We used the board games cafe at 401 Games, playing a game called T.I.M.E. Stories. We managed to beat the game just before the store closed.

T.I.M.E. Stories is sort of a locked room mystery played using a board. Unfortunately, once you've finished it, that's the game. Fortunately, there are additional expansions that allow for different game scenarios. I recommend trying the game, but I don't know if I recommend the price tag for a game you only get to beat once.

We had a discussion about getting a copy, with the expansion scenarios, playing through them, and then passing it on at half cost. It would be less than movie tickets for four, if purchased in this manner, and was certainly more entertaining than many films I've seen.

On Sunday, I dropped by Doug Miller Books, where I was able to obtain a Manly Wade Wellman book, The Beyonders, that I hadn't heard of before. There was actually a fair amount of Appendix N material there, although you have to do some looking to find it. Zoinks! is another place where I've had luck rounding out my collection, as is the BMV by Bloor and Spadina.

I'm only about halfway through The Beyonders, but it is (not surprisingly) good so far. As always, when reading Appendix N fiction, I find myself considering how to express characters, situations, and creatures in Dungeon Crawl Classics terms. The Beyonders is short on creatures, so far, but otherwise would fit in well in a Chained Coffin campaign. Or in the Esoteric America of Secret Antiquities. Something involving Michael Curtis, anyway.