Friday, October 31, 2014

Another Free Halloween Download - Skywald Comics: Nightmare Issue 11 (1973) For Your Old School Campaigns

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My own journey with Skywald comic magazines begins someplace around 1975 when I was a wee little lad and since it is Halloween I thought I would share one of my all time favorite issues of the venerable ghoulish grave side story offerings. I stumbled upon these magazines whilst helping clean out a basement back in New York state.  This issue features some fantastic tales of horror, a bit of sword and sorcery thrown in, and some old school horror articles. This magazine series is forever linked in my mind with OD&D because it was two years later I stumbled or was shoved right into my first game! And things haven't ever really been the same again.
Skywald was an incredible engine of creativity and horror back in the 1970's and then it disappeared under an avalanche of Marvel horror induced haze. Many speculate that this was done as sheer marketing volume stunt to drive Skywald into submission. Needless to say that Skywald folded its tents and its material have faded into the public domain. Its perfect fodder for a retro horror campaign.

This issue featured :
The Wetness of The Pit which could well be a purely urban retroclone adventure withe PC's pushed right into the horror train tracks of the story. The monsters here are nasty and deadly enough to make this a very easy story to adapt to a variety of old school retroclone games.
Taw is another story with potential for an old school adventure encounter, here I'm thinking either Strange Adventures or another modern day variant here. 

The Beasts of Tomb Island might well be a great adventure encounter for a Planet Mother #$@er campaign touch stone with a bit of reworking this could be used for an old school post apocalyptic campaign. 
Where Gods Once Stood is absolutely perfect for an Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea style adventure or any old school sword and sorcery campaign. 
Corridors of Caricature is just the sort of thing that might go on in a lower key Planet Mother $#%er campaign. Very workable for any old school modern style horror themed campaign. 
Where are The Inhabitants of Earth? now this is a perfect crossover venue for any old school post apocalyptic campaign including Stars Without Number, Mutant Future, Bandits and Battlecruisers or any old school science fantasy style campaign setting. 
Titan Weep is another old school sword and sorcery story with a twist that makes a great little encounter for AS&SH or any old school sword and sorcery campaign. 
Finally The Horror War rounds out the whole issue and keeps the ball rolling.
The whole issue of Nightmare has some great filler material and adds from a real by gone age. It gives a great alternative to the huge glut of Marvel horror material of the time. Bear in mind that I love Marvel here even though Skywald was a completely different animal and had a whole different feel to their magazines. From their characters, settings, stories, art, and backdrops in all of their graphic comic magazines. All in all Skywald is like Charlton comics for me. An old school independent spirit in age when boxed and packaged consumerism was just really getting its toe hold in. 



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