Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will be compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry and the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game from Goodman Games. Some of these fanzines provide fantasy support for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game, but others explore other genres for use with Dungeon Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game. One such fanzine is The Valley Out of Time.
The first volume in the six-part series, The Valley Out of Time: Welcome to the Valley takes you into ‘The Valley Out of Time’. Published by Skeeter Green Productions, it is written for use with both the Dungeon Crawl Classics RolePlaying Game and Mutant Crawl Classics Roleplaying Game – Triumph & Technology Won by Mutants & Magic, ‘The Valley Out of Time’ is a ‘Lost Worlds’ style setting a la X1 The Isle of Dread, and films such as The Land that Time Forgot, The Lost World, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, One Million years, B.C., and others, plus the artwork of Frank Frazetta. Combining dinosaurs, Neanderthals, and a closed environment, it is intended to be dropped into a campaign with relative ease and would work in both a fantasy campaign or a post-apocalyptic campaign. It could even work as a bridge between the two, with two different possible entries into ‘The Valley Out of Time’, one from a fantasy campaign and one from a post-apocalyptic campaign.
The Valley Out of Time: Exploring the Valley is the second entry in the series. Published following a Kickstarter campaign, like the first issue, it opens with a list of hooks and motivations to get the Player Characters into the Timeless Valley, whether that is to search for a rare item or McGuffin, ending up in the valley via random gate or teleport, simple discovery of the vale between two mountain chains, or a previously closed off valley suddenly being opened by gods or the like, for reasons which will become clear. The eponymous scenario, ‘Exploring to the Valley’ begins with the Player Characters travelling across the valley. Having encountered a tribe of Urmanoids, the Neanderthal-like species native to the valley, and helped fend off two attacks upon their camp, first by a giant lizard and then by a pack of Dinychus attracted by the first attack, in the scenario in The Valley Out of Time: Welcome to the Valley, the Player Characters continue their travels in ‘Exploring to the Valley’. They spot a more-like figure in the distance, obviously more technologically capable. If they follow her, they will discover that she is a scout for a group of hunters from a tribe of Urman proto-humans. The Player Characters have the option to watch or participate in the hunt and then interact with the Urman, or even attack them.
Unfortunately, ‘Exploring to the Valley’ is not a scenario, but rather an extended encounter—and a frustrating one at that. The problem is that it focuses too much on the combat and not enough on the interaction, and although it introduces the female scout, she is only used as a lure to get the Player Characters to the encounter. As a whole, this is fiercely underdeveloped in terms of interaction and thus of opportunities for the Player Characters to learn anything about the surroundings and the Timeless Valley. As a consequence, there is no real pull or push for the Player Characters to do anything but wander around, and hope that something happens to them. This lack of development is compounded with the inclusion of not one, but two further encounters, neither of them designed to be run in conjunction with ‘Exploring to the Valley’. ‘A Cat-astrophe in the Grasslands’ is an encounter with a Pakthara, or giant sabre-tooth cat, whilst ‘Conventional Wisdom says RUN!’ is an encounter with a Strigoso, or giant owlbear. Both are for parties of high-Level Player Characters and thus highly unsuitable to be run with ‘Exploring to the Valley’, which is intended to be run with Player Characters of Second to Fourth Level.
Unfortunately, ‘Exploring to the Valley’ is not a scenario, but rather an extended encounter—and a frustrating one at that. The problem is that it focuses too much on the combat and not enough on the interaction, and although it introduces the female scout, she is only used as a lure to get the Player Characters to the encounter. As a whole, this is fiercely underdeveloped in terms of interaction and thus of opportunities for the Player Characters to learn anything about the surroundings and the Timeless Valley. As a consequence, there is no real pull or push for the Player Characters to do anything but wander around, and hope that something happens to them. This lack of development is compounded with the inclusion of not one, but two further encounters, neither of them designed to be run in conjunction with ‘Exploring to the Valley’. ‘A Cat-astrophe in the Grasslands’ is an encounter with a Pakthara, or giant sabre-tooth cat, whilst ‘Conventional Wisdom says RUN!’ is an encounter with a Strigoso, or giant owlbear. Both are for parties of high-Level Player Characters and thus highly unsuitable to be run with ‘Exploring to the Valley’, which is intended to be run with Player Characters of Second to Fourth Level.
As with The Valley Out of Time: Welcome to the Valley, the remainder of The Valley Out of Time: Exploring the Valley is dedicated to three appendices. The first, ‘Appendix A: New Monsters’ gives full write-ups for the various monsters and creatures which appear in the adventure, including the Drumahen, or giant bison, that the Urmans are hunting, as well as the Urman themselves. They are joined by the Gorge, or giant stirge, the Naga, Royal Cap giant fungus, and the Strigoso. These are all nicely detailed. The second, ‘Appendix B: Random Encounter Tables’ gives random encounter tables for the jungle, grasslands, and hills of the Timeless Valley. This followed by the stats for the encounters themselves, some sixty or more entries. This takes up half of the issue, and if the ‘Appendix A: New Monsters’ is added to that, almost two thirds of The Valley Out of Time: Exploring the Valley is devoted to just monsters.
The third and penultimate entry is ‘Appendix C: The Timeless Valley’. Where the previous article in the series in The Valley Out of Time: Welcome to the Valley suggested ways in which the Player Characters could be brought to the Timeless Valley, in this issue, it actually look at the Timeless Valley as a setting, but not in a way that is actually useful. It opens with “What is the Timeless Valley? Where is the Valley? WHO is the valley? Why is the Valley? All good – if somewhat silly – questions.” These are anything other than silly questions. They are very good questions, they are very pertinent questions, because in answering them, they provide the fundamentals of the setting and from those fundamentals can be created stories and plots and motivations. It then continues with, “The Judge needs to integrate as much or as little background as necessary to keep the players interested in the area. Here at SGP, we think that the valley is ripe for exploration, conquest, just plain killin’ new critters. Whatever motivates the players and keeps the campaign going is why it’s here.” Which begs a number of questions. First of which is, if that is what Skeeter Green Productions thinks, why is it avoiding every single opportunity to support it? Why does The Valley Out of Time not have a background or setting? Why does The Valley Out of Time not include anything that would support Player Character motivations? And why does Skeeter Green Productions think that fundamental basic questions about a setting that it wants its customers to buy and play are silly?
The third and penultimate entry is ‘Appendix C: The Timeless Valley’. Where the previous article in the series in The Valley Out of Time: Welcome to the Valley suggested ways in which the Player Characters could be brought to the Timeless Valley, in this issue, it actually look at the Timeless Valley as a setting, but not in a way that is actually useful. It opens with “What is the Timeless Valley? Where is the Valley? WHO is the valley? Why is the Valley? All good – if somewhat silly – questions.” These are anything other than silly questions. They are very good questions, they are very pertinent questions, because in answering them, they provide the fundamentals of the setting and from those fundamentals can be created stories and plots and motivations. It then continues with, “The Judge needs to integrate as much or as little background as necessary to keep the players interested in the area. Here at SGP, we think that the valley is ripe for exploration, conquest, just plain killin’ new critters. Whatever motivates the players and keeps the campaign going is why it’s here.” Which begs a number of questions. First of which is, if that is what Skeeter Green Productions thinks, why is it avoiding every single opportunity to support it? Why does The Valley Out of Time not have a background or setting? Why does The Valley Out of Time not include anything that would support Player Character motivations? And why does Skeeter Green Productions think that fundamental basic questions about a setting that it wants its customers to buy and play are silly?
That said, ‘Appendix C: The Timeless Valley’ does actually provide some background. It provides the history and the legend of the Timeless Valley and explains how it came to be populated with dinosaurs and other great beasts, and has its technological development slowed. It is a good introduction to the setting and well written, but it comes with one big caveat. This is that it is a possibility of a background. So not the actual background to the Timeless Valley? What then is the point of it except as piece of fiction, because there is no reference to it elsewhere in the fanzine and certainly no ideas are given as how such a possible background relates to the current state or geography of the Timeless Valley expect for the dinosaurs and the lack of technological development.
Physically, The Valley Out of Time: Exploring the Valley is well presented, although the artwork does vary in quality. As with The Valley Out of Time: Welcome to the Valley, this issue continues its ‘Partwork’-like structure.
The Valley Out of Time: Exploring the Valley is ultimately, an exercise in frustration. Its content is for the most part undeniably good, and that is because the various monsters and beasts are all given good write-ups and the stats in the encounter tables are useful. The rest leaves the Judge to ask the question, “Yes, and?” because what the issue fails to do is develop the Timeless Valley as a setting and present suggestions as what the Player Characters might do or go. The lack of an overview of the Timeless Valley as a setting, let alone a map, leaves the Judge with the parts of setting, but not the actual setting itself. This is compounded by the lack of a proper scenario, one with an actual plot and something that the players and their characters can learn or gain from in playing. All of which is exacerbated by the last thing in the issue. Two pages which are left blank as ‘GM Notes’. Literally, blank pages instead of actually addressing the fundamental problems of The Valley Out of Time and The Valley Out of Time: Exploring the Valley as a playable setting. As a consequence, The Valley Out of Time: Exploring the Valley completely fails to live up to its title. It is all about the monsters and nothing about exploring the valley.
Whether The Valley Out of Time is an actual setting or the parts of a setting that the Judge has to design and assemble herself remains to be seen.
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