News — TSR

Tamoachan… even the name can give one shivers, and adding it to the complete title of C1: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan gives you an instant classic. This ‘deluxe set’ module, with over 16 illustrations in a separate players pack, was written by Harold Johnson & Jeff R. Leason back in 1980. It is for levels 5-7 and pits a party against a Mesoamerican threat that not only educates by also inspires, as it did with my creation of Taux for Tales of the Emerald Serpent two decades later.The cover art here is done by Erol Otus, with back cover...

The I series of modules from TSR are certainly an interesting line, and one known primarily for Hickman’s Pharaoh trilogy, but that isn’t to say those venerable classics are all the line has to offer.The initial offering, I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City is pure old school art, featuring the talents of ‘The First Four’, and I3 Pharaoh has entered the full 1980s recast of the TSR pit with all Jim Holloway art, but I2 Tomb of the Lizard King was produced fully in the transition.It still features the new cast, Holloway, Quinn, and Easley, but they are raw here...

What can I say about TSR’s Gangbusters Boxed Set that isn’t apparent from the outstanding cover? Well, I can say that for many years I’d wrongly assumed that the two color cover pieces for the game were done by artist Jim Holloway when in fact it was his partner in crime [yes, pun intended] Harry Quinn who actually produced these two brilliant pieces for this little loved yet classic RPG.The game takes place in the heart of the prohibition era 1920s with gangs and cops vying for control of Chicago as they try drive Duesenbergs and fire Thompson submachine guns...

Please remember to go to Black Gate and take a look at my 'Top 10 RPG Artists' article if you get the chance.  You can find it here!   Now to the other good stuff!  Produced in 1981, the TSR classic A series module A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords highlights some of the greatest artwork collected from the famous TSR ‘First Four’ [Jeff Dee, Erol Otus, Bill Willingham, and Jim Roslof]. This rather light 28 page module is the 3rd on a four part series and for AD&D 1E characters level 4-7. It was written by...

First things first, if any of my readers missed my 'Top 10 RPG Artists of the Past 40 Years' over on Black Gate, please have a look here and tell me what you think!  Now, on to this outstanding boxed set. Kata-Tur is certainly an interesting concept, let’s add a bit of non-Euro flavor to the world, and one that came into practice several times with the Forgotten Realms setting. The creation of ‘other lands’ beyond Greenwood’s initial setting can certainly do no harm and gives DMs a great ‘aside’ if they so choose. And for Kara-Tur itself, it was...