We are just three weeks away from the start of Grellcon — Britain’s only Old School D&D convention. I’ve been busy rolling up pre-gens and re-reading my modules. In the meantime, I am very pleased to announce the publication of BENEATH THE BLACK PYRAMID: a brand-new classic adventure roleplaying gaming zine.

BENEATH THE BLACK PYRAMID (BTBP hereafter) was originally conceived as a means of financially supporting Grellcon and helping to ensure it can flourish. Grellcon organiser Andrew Walter and I dug a few dungeons out of our binders of yesteryear, gave them a thorough spruce-up, and assembled them into a zine that is now jam-packed with adventure material.

BTBP contains forty-four pages of content in saddle-stitched A5 format. It features two detachable cream card covers containing maps and player handouts. Within its pages, you will find no fewer than three dungeons for ADVANCED DUNGEON & DRAGONS campaigns, a short article offering advice on running them, and a selection of pre-generated characters should you wish to tackle the gauntlet scenario as a one-shot.

The contents are as follows:

• The Coliseum of the Lunar Lion, by Mitch Hyde : Tournament style gauntlet with demons and traps aplenty!
• The Black Glass Ruin of Sick-Thicket, By Andrew Walter : Explore the haunted terraformer of an arch-mage!
• A Grab Bag of Approached to Adventure Game campaigns, by Andrew Walter: Start your campaign now, sucker!
• The Barrow of Boundless Thews, by Mitch Hyde : Kick off a new campaign with this brutal low level dungeon.

But wait — there’s more!

BTBP will only ever be available in physical form and in short print runs. There will never be a digital edition. If you wish to procure a copy, you will need to attend a convention where Fantasy Adventure Games are played (and where I happen to be).

Furthermore, whenever you purchase a copy of BTBP, the full purchase price will be donated directly to the convention at which it was sold. BTBP will only be available at conventions, gatherings, and gaming tables where the Gygaxian Game is flourishing.

It is my hope that this zine will help support the continued growth of A/OD&D conventions such as Grellcon and Cauldron Convention. More issues are already being written as we speak. In the meantime, I offer you a few glamour shots of the zine to whet your appetite.

All artwork was created by the very talented Andrew Walter and myself.

BENEATH THE BLACK PYRAMID is £10 per copy, with all proceeds being donated to the convention at which it is purchased. The first print run is limited to just fifty copies.

See you at the con!