VHS Era Old School Post Apocalyptic Gaming Campaign - OSR Commentary

I haven't been happy for a while now with certain aspects of my DYI OSR gaming more specifically the lack of post apocalyptic & cult classic horror table top gaming. A work has been taking its toll on my life in certain aspects in a positive direction. We've gotten busier & busier in the home sewing machine repair realm. That's a great thing but its left me with a bit less time to blog & enjoy myself but today I decided to put down some of my thoughts on my corner of the OSR. The fact is that since about last Thursday or so I returned to Gamma World & Mutant Future. Yes I love both games go figure. But I like a much softer apocalyse then what's been presented in both of those game systems. Truth be told I add in bits of Fantastic Heroes & Witchery with Adventurer,Conqueror, King's rpg system to get the right balance of domain level play. Also my players weren't comfortable with the gun rules of Fantastic Heroes & Witchery's gun rules so we went with ADK's Guns of War.
Two things right off I don't care if certain authors  or designers don't get along that's not my problem. Second I've paid for these games & under the games terms of fair use I'm going to use them at my table as I see fit. If my players are happy then I'm happy. So don't bother telling me that me that you got a problem with what I'm writing behind the scenes I don't have time for OSR pissing contests. You've got to understand that there's going to be damage adjustments & other system considerations using Labyrinth Lord & Labyrinth Lord Advanced's monsters & also a fair amount of Realms of Crawling Chaos.
So over the weekend I got a chance to view some cultclassic VHS era horror films that I love. Ghosthouse a horror film from 1988 has pretty much almost everything I'm looking for to kick off a campaign.
"Ghosthouse (Italian: La Casa 3) is a 1988 Italian horror film directed by Umberto Lenzi and produced by Joe D'Amato. It co-starred Lara Wendel and Donald O'Brien.
Its plot focuses on a deserted house where the visions of a ghostly girl and her haunted doll wreak havoc on those who enter it."
The film is the unofficial sequel to Evil Dead II.^[1] In Italy, The Evil Dead was released under the title La Casa (The House), and Evil Dead II became La Casa II. "

So basically this isn't our world at all. About 1920 or so the rise in interest in the occult & the supernatural reached a fever pitch. The occult was a fringe hobby along with a part time religion. The 'Dark Forces' of the world gained a toe hold. Events escalated in the Depression allowing Hitler and his cronies to gain in power but in 1940's both the Axis & Allies employed dangerous time & dimensional continuum shattering experiments. The Fifties saw the first mutants among mankind & the rise the giant monsters.
The early Eighties saw the beginnings of the 'Little Wars' small scale atomic & dimensional warfare allowing even more supernatural seepage into our world & the rise of the mutant front organizations. The Cult of Cthulhu has been working its way into the foundations of society opening doorways for their masters. Meanwhile technologies have become incredibly dangerous as the US government & other world powers use agents, adventurers, and others to try curtail the advancing monsters destroying society from within.
This is a world with a slightly higher technological level built upon the backs of genetically modified apes & other mutate animal species after finding the secrets to this genetic fount head out in the fringes of reality.

VHS tape by Tumi-1983

All is not well in society as the major religions are calling for the end of the world as NASA & other governmental organizations stock pile caches of technology, relics, and more in bunkers all over the world & the USA. Riots of mutate workers & servants have happened in several major world cities and these are on the increase even as strangely garbed travelers wander into our home towns & other cities from Elsewhere.

Much of this came from reading through the Mutant Future Wiki Gamma World Entry over the weekend & taking a look deeper into the first Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Gamma World Conversions again for the billionth time.





More coming up very soon

Six More Sword And Sorcery 80's Cult Classic Movies For Your Old School Campaigns

 Here we are among the terror of tapes and titles of yesteryear. Here you'll find errm 80's 'Classics' to bend the mind & sanity as well provide some inspiration for your old school sword and sorcery campaigns. 

Here are five more titles that are both trashtastic and awesome in awfulness. Don't forget to rewind and return the tapes by Sunday. 

The Barbarians 1987 

The Amazons 1986 

Battle Of The Amazons 1974 

The Warrior and the Sorceress 1987 

Death Stalker 1983  

Barbarian Queen 

Five More Cult Classic 80's Sword and Sorcery Movies for Your Old School Campaigns

Back again I see to brave the rows of VHS nasties I see in search of more inspirational treasures to bend your sanity and warp your imaginations! Here are five off the top of my head that have done the mind into flights of 80's sword and sorcery movie madness!

Sword of the Valiant 1984 

Yor Hunter From The Future 1984

 

Ator II 1984 

He Man and The Masters of the Universe

Steel Dawn 1987 

Review and Commentary on 'Sinbad and The Eye Of The Tiger' For Your Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea Campaign

In 1977, I saw this film at a Drive in someplace in upstate New York State when I was a kid. The film stuck with me. This and the Golden Voyage Of Sinbad were films that really made an impression. 

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger is a 1977 British fantasy film, the third and final Sinbadfilm that Ray Harryhausen made for Columbia Pictures after The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. The film stars Patrick Wayne, Taryn Power, Margaret Whiting, Jane Seymour, and Patrick Troughton. It was directed by Sam Wanamaker.

 This is perhaps one among the many iconic Sinbad movies with effects by Ray Harryhausen that always seems to just stand out and for sword and sorcery fans its a feast. So many great monsters, plot elements, and weirdness going . Let's not mention Zenobia who is one hell of a villainess  in her own right.

The Plot once again according to Wiki: 

Sinbad (Patrick Wayne), sailor and Prince of Baghdad, moors at Charak, intent on seeking permission from Prince Kassim to marry Kassim's sister, Princess Farah (Jane Seymour). He quickly gets used to the city and its people, but finds it under curfew. When he shelters in a nearby tent, he is attacked by a trio of ghouls, emerging from a fire. Fighting and disposing of the ghouls, Sinbad is yet unaware that a spell has been placed on Kassim by their evil stepmother, Zenobia (Margaret Whiting), which turns him into ababoon (one of Harryhausen's stop-motion creations) just as he was going to be crownedcaliph (Zenobia wishes her son Rafi to be caliph).

Making direct contact with Zenobia herself, Sinbad does not yet know about the curse on Kassim and does not see her as evil at first. But when Farah shows much anger and hatred to Zenobia, and talks about a curse she believes was put on Kassim by Zenobia, Sinbad believes Farah and the two start thinking about what to do. Sinbad sets off with her to find an old Greek alchemist named Melanthius (Patrick Troughton), Hermit of Casgar, who is said to hold the knowledge to help if anyone can. However if Kassim is not crowned within seven moons he will forever lose his right to be Caliph.

They sail aboard their ship, heading in the direction of Casgar, to find Melanthius. It is also at this point that the baboon that is actually Kasim is revealed. During the voyage Farah calms the baboon that is Kassim down (even playing chess with him!) and lets Sinbad get to know him; most of the men on board believe Kassim is a real baboon. Farah tries to keep anyone out of his room so that he will always stay calm. Zenobia and Rafi (Kurt Christian), are at Zenobia's castle, making plans to pursue Sinbad and Farah on their way to Casgar.

Arriving at Casgar, Sinbad and Farah scour the land and eventually find Melanthius and his daughter Dione (Taryn Power), who agree to help them with their quest. Melanthius tells Sinbad that they must travel to the land of Hyperborea where the ancient civilization of the Arimaspi once existed. Meanwhile, Zenobia and Rafi are animating a bronze golem named Minaton (resembling a Minotaur, but made of bronze). With Minaton to power their boat, Zenobia and Rafi set off after Sinbad, Farah, Melanthius and Dione. On the way, Melanthius and Dione get to know the baboon that is Kassim. Melanthius also explains to Sinbad about how to restore Kassim to his human form and what will be needed to do so. Zenobia is meanwhile busy figuring out how to stop or delay Sinbad from reaching Hyperborea. Also three spies from Charak try to stop Zenobia and Rafi but are run over by Zenobia's much bigger boat. One of the men survives but Minaton kills him with a spear.

Along their journey, Zenobia transforms herself into a seagull to spy on Sinbad and his men. She flies to their ship and once aboard, she turns back into a human and shrinks herself, but is found and captured. However, she manages to escape when a wasp grows to the size of a bird and attacks Melanthius (Sinbad later kills it with a knife). Back at Zenobia's ship, Zenobia restores herself to full size but is left with a deformed seagull foot. The long, tiring voyage continues, but eventually they reach the North Polar wastes. Sinbad and his men decide to trek across the ice but are attacked by a giant walrus which destroys most of their food supply and kills two of the men, but eventually Sinbad and the others fend it off with spears. Zenobia gets to Hyperborea a safer way by entering an ice tunnel which leads directly to the pyramid. Sinbad and his crew finally reach Hyperborea. There they meet a troglodyte (a 12-foot (3.7 m) tall creature somewhat like a fur-covered caveman with a single horn coming out of the top of its head), though it is not dangerous to them. This primitive humanoid-like creature Trog, shows Sinbad the way to the center of Hyperborea through a huge face-shaped stone gate. After a long and tiring trek to the pyramid they get through and once inside see a strange light. Meanwhile, Zenobia has already arrived and gets into the shrine by removing a huge block with Minaton's help. However, Minaton is destroyed in the process. Inside the shrine Zenobia and Rafi wait for Sinbad's crew. Outside Sinbad and the others see the dead Minaton and, knowing that Zenobia is already there, become very cautious in entering. They finally arrive at the shrine and while exploring it, they find the light source which will restore Kassim. Sure enough, Zenobia is waiting and Prince Rafi attacks baboon Kassim. Fortunately Kassim wins the following fight and Rafi is killed. After that, Kassim is hosted into the light source (magic of Hyperborea), and is restored. As a last resort, Zenobia transfers her spirit into a sabre-toothed cat which had been frozen. Breaking free of its icy prison, the tiger attacks Sinbad and his men, and fights and kills the troglodyte. Two of Sinbad's men are also killed as they try to save Trog. Sinbad orders Kassim and the others back to the ship while he fights the tiger himself. The tiger then makes the mistake of following Sinbad up the stairs and after a tense battle, Sinbad kills the tiger with a spear. Sinbad is reunited with Kassim, Farah, Melanthius and Dione, and they all return to Charak to rejoice as Kassim is crowned Caliph. As Kassim walks through the crowd, people bowing to him, Sinbad and Farah share a kiss on the lips. You then cut to black, and before the movie ends, the eyes of Zenobia revealed themselves within the black screen, followed with an evil laugh.

 The Legacy Of Hyperborea  And Zenobia 

So the credits roll, the movie is over, and everyone lives happily ever after. Actually the lands of Hyperborea still exist and the evil of Zenobia is still out there in the world. Now even worse because she's gotten access to Hyperborean technology, alchemy, and occult knowledge.
A very dangerous combination indeed!
According to wiki: 

Their land, called Hyperborea or Hyperboria – "beyond the Boreas" – was perfect, with the sun shining twenty-four hours a day.

Never the Muse is absent

from their ways: lyres clash and flutes cry

and everywhere maiden choruses whirling.

Neither disease nor bitter old age is mixed

in their sacred blood; far from labor and battle they live.

Pindar, Tenth Pythian Ode; translated by Richmond Lattimore.

Reaching such exotic lands is never easy; Pindar cautioned:

neither by ship nor on foot would you find

the marvellous road to the assembly of the Hyperboreans.

Much of the following is available from the wiki entry on Hyperborea right over HERE
According to Wiki : 

• The 1977 film Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger wove a number of related references into the plot. Hyperborea was the name given to an island far in the North Sea, described in the film by the witch Zenobia as being "past the Celtic Isles". The island had been home to the Arimaspi and contained a pyramid structure called The Shrine of the Four Elements, located in a temperate valley hidden amongest the ice of the Arctic Circle.

About 90% of the elements of Sinbad and The Eye of the Tiger are available in the Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea rpg. Could the lands of the Arimaspi be a survival of 'Old Earth' ? A place whose people fell victim to the 'Green Death' brought through the old gate systems?  
 The ancient Arimaspi peoples might have tried to use the Shrine of the Four Elements as both central control for their magical energies and as a possible cure for the 'Green Death' only to be wiped out in the last possible moments. Thus leaving all of their knowledge, treasures, and artifacts behind. Could the old gate system still be functioning upon Hyperborea? Is it simply waiting for PC's to cross over? 
What of the evil of the witch Zenobia and her power base? Surely such a witch is not going to remain idle for long. Death is not an obstacle to one such as her. Could she even now be recruiting a cult and gathering followers to spread the madness of the lands of Hyperborea among the world of Sinbad? This might be possible within your campaigns of AS&SH.
Many of the monsters, artifacts, and spells featured in the movie are available in AS&SH as a homage to the worlds and wonders that Ray Harryhausen brought to the screen. 
The monsters of the lands of the Arimaspi are most likely from the Ice Age and possibly the age of mammals. There might be a few isolated dinosaurs here and there as well. There might well be a few mythic beasts as well as Yeti, trogs, and Carnivorous Apes.
The possiblies for Lovecraftian races might also be high. They may have moved in after the 'Green Death' took effect. 

In the end the lands of  Hyperborea are ripe with possibilities for further adventures in AS&SH or any Sword and Sorcery campaign.

Note that this blog entry is for education and entertainment use only and in way or form is out to violate the trade marks or copyrights of  Sinbad and The Eye of The Tiger or Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea.
The owners of this blog would like to thank the owners of both the movie and AS&SH for the use of their properties in this article.

Christmas Classic Rewind- The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad For Your Old School Sword and Sorcery Campaigns

Just yesterday I secured this wonder classic on VHS, because I collect vintage tapes and  this was on my list. It doesn't get any better for Ray Harryhausen fans or Old School movie buffs. 

According to wiki :
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is a 1958 fantasy film released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Nathan H. Juran and produced by Charles H. Schneer. It was the first of three Sinbad films made by Columbia which were conceptualized and animated by Ray Harryhausen and which used a special stop-motion technique called Dynamation (the others being The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger).

 Major Spoilers ahead! 

The plot according to Wiki : 

Legendary adventurer Sinbad the Sailor (Kerwin Mathews) and his crew are lost on the ocean but accidentally find the island of Colossa. They land for provisions. There they encounter Sokurah the magician (Torin Thatcher), fleeing from a giant Cyclops. They are able to escape when Sokurah orders the genie of his magic lamp to create an invisible barrier. However, Sokurah drops the lamp when the Cyclops throws a boulder into the sea, overturning their boat, though the men are able to swim to the ship. The Cyclops retrieves the lamp from the water after the barrier disappears. On board the ship, Sokurah tells Sinbad about how many ships crashed on the island and the Cyclops collected all their treasure. He offers it to him if they turn back to get the lamp, but Sinbad refuses. He and Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), from the kingdom of Chandra, are on their way to Sinbad's native Baghdad to be married. Their union would cement ties between their two nations.

The Caliph of Baghdad (Alec Mango) allows Sokurah to provide entertainment on the night before the wedding. However, this goes wrong when the "snakewoman" that Sokurah had created nearly suffocates herself while trying to dance. Sokurah saves the woman by spraying her with a magical spray to make her a full woman, but the torture of entertaining her just for the king angers Parisa and a few others watching. Later, Sokurah prophecises war between the two nations when asked to look into the future. The Caliph is angered by this; and refuses to provide a ship and crew to retrieve his lamp while threatening to have him blinded if he is not out of Baghdad before sunset. That night, the magician secretly shrinks Parisa to the size of a hand. When she is discovered her father threatens Baghdad with war. Sinbad is able to find Sokurah as he leaves the City. Sokurah claims he knows of a potion that can restore Parisa, but it requires a piece of the eggshell of a roc, a giant,two-headed bird that coincidentally nests on the peaks of Colossa. The Caliph has no choice but to provide a ship. Sinbad enlists his loyal men from the previous voyage, but they are not enough and Sinbad is forced to recruit inmates from the Caliph's prison.

Before they reach the island of Colossa, the cutthroats mutiny and capture Sokurah, Sinbad, and his men. However, the sounds of screaming demons from an island south of Colossa madden the crew, and the ship is in danger of being dashed upon the rocks, after which sea-serpents will devour the sailors. One of the mutineers releases Sinbad so he can save the ship and the leader of the mutineers falls from the mast.

On the island of Colossa, Sinbad, Sokurah and some of the sailors enter the valley of the Cyclops where they find the treasure but are captured by the monster. It almost has one of Sinbad's men for dinner but they later save him. Sokurah focuses on getting the magic lamp and ignores the pleas of his comrades. However, the shrunken Parisa is able to open the latch on the cage the men are in, freeing them. Meanwhile the other men in the Valley have become drunk from a river that tastes like wine. They attack the Cyclops, but many are killed. Sinbad manages to blind the cyclops with a torch and leads it off a cliff to its death. Still needing Sokurah to guide him, Sinbad takes possession of the lamp. Parisa enters the lamp where she finds the unhappy boy genie Barani (Richard Eyer). He shows her an inscription inside the lamp of how he can be freed and tells her the words to summon him in return for her promise to free him.

The party reaches the nest of the two-headed roc, just before a giant hatchling emerges from its shell. Some of the men break open the egg and slay it as they feel hungry, which incites an attack by the infuriated parent. Meanwhile, Sokurah kills Sinbad's faithful lieutenant Harufa when he prevents him from getting the lamp. Sinbad manages to retrieve both a fragment of an eggshell and the lamp but is captured by the Roc which drops him unconscious in its nest. The magician then abducts the tiny Princess and takes her to his underground fortress.

Sinbad recovers, is told by the Genie what happened, and climbs down into the valley of the Cyclops to the entrance of Sokurah's cave. He slips past the chained guardian dragon. Once found, the magician agrees to restore Parisa to her normal size in return for the lamp. However, Sinbad then refuses to give him the lamp until they get back to the ship, so Sokurah brings to life a skeleton swordsman to challenge him. Sinbad eventually defeats it, and he and the Princess flee. As they cross over a river of molten lava, Sokurah causes part of the bridge to break off. The Princess summons the Genie who gives the two a rope to swing over. Parisa recalls part of the prophecy the genie told her about. She throws the lamp into the lava to free the genie from his captivity.

When the two leave the cave, they encounter another Cyclops. Sinbad releases the dragon who engages the cyclops in a fight to the death as Sinbad and Parisa make good their escape back to the shore. Sokurah orders the victorious dragon to follow and kill them. However, Sinbad's men have time to organize a giant crossbow ballista and fire at the dragon. Sokurah is accidentally crushed by the fatally wounded monster while Sinbad, Parisa, and the other survivors depart. They are joined by the genie, Sinbad's new cabin boy, who has placed the treasure of the Cyclops in Sinbad's cabin as a wedding gift.

This is perhaps one of the most iconic of childhood films. And there are a few things right off of the bat to look at for Sword And Sorcery games. 

Sokurah is the perfect S&S magician. A lawfully evil Aliaster Crowley like figure of genius and menace all in one. Want to know what it would really be like to deal with a lawful evil magician in the party? Here's your perfect answer. We know very little about this mysterious wizard. Except three things : A. he has been operating upon the isle of Colossa for sometime, B. He will do whatever it take to aquire the Lamp of The Genie, C. He knows much about the original inhabitants of Colossa and perhaps they're forgotten mystical knowledge is the basis for his powers. 

Speculations about The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad
For Your Old School Sword and Sorcery 

The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad seems like a cut and dry 'G' rated family film. And for the most part its a great adventure fare film.
The fact is that this is pretty damn complex film when you come down to it. Right after the credits we're thus into the world of Colossa and machinations of Sokurah. We shoved right into this tropical lost island  and encounter one of the most iconic Harryhausen monsters around, the goat footed cyclops. I always got the feeling that there were more then one of those things on that island.
 Sokurah is one cagey wizard and I'd estimate he's been on that island for quite some time. As I've speculated earlier the technology, magical knowledge, and wonders of Colossa are the basis for his powers. His most formidable power is his cunning and evil mind. He'd make a hell of a patron for a party of adventurers who might encounter him prior to his experiences with Sinbad. 
And that desert island bothered me. Why would a micro climate island like that have such an abundance of fruit baring plants and trees? What is with the near perfect weather and the legendary creatures that inhabitant it. Colossa is a near mystical place and I believe that the original inhabitants of the isle were deep into sorcery and super science. 
Looking into the island I think that it could have been a Lemuria or Atlantian colony. The island might have survived the cataclysm that destroyed Atlantis and survived well into the era of Sinbad.  Further I think that these are the same ancient's ruins we encounter much later in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger).
And what about Colossa itself before Sokurah blow it up. His workshop hints that there might be extensive ruins below ground. What other wonders were lurking down in the extensive mega dungeons of Colossa?
The workshop has always reminded me of the Krell laboratory in Forbidden Planet. A dusty workshop filled with forbidden wonders and tools looted by Sokurah. Who knows what secrets are still there? What treasures are still waiting for some madmen or fools to grab what remains. 
The Seventh Voyage is a great resource for a Sword and Sorcery game. Very low powered magic, lots of monsters, weird ruins, and a grand dragon!
Let's not even get into the fact that two nations are about to go to war over the fate of an impending marriage. We never did learn what happened after the credits rolled? Why of course everyone lived happily ever after! 

The Treasure of Colossa

Let's suppose for a moment that the treasure of the cyclops isn't the only gold and silver left behind on that island. Most of that seems to have come from shipwrecks over the centuries according to the movie's wizard. Who knows what lays underground for some band of adventurers to uncover. What incredible artifacts await a band of fools in the dark of Colossa.  Well a good solid indicator of the type of artifacts is  the Lamp of the Genie. This is a major artifact with a very high level of sophistication that has gone into its  creation.
There might be other artifacts deep underground that the wizard never got because of their immortal guardians. The skeleton that fights Sinbad might be only the first of such things below ground. Golems, tribes of horrors, and worse might be just waiting for someone to stumble upon them.
The cizitens of Colossa must have been great engineers because they were able to tap the geothermal potential of the volcano of the island. I'd hazard to guess this was used extensively throughout the island and as part of a power source of both sorcery and science perhaps alchemy. 

So there could a window of centuries when the Island of Colossa is simply waiting for some band of shipwrecked fools to stumble into it.

 Happy adventuring and Merry Christmas 

Five 80's VHS 'classics' Sword And Sorcery Films For Your Old School Campaigns

Once upon a time back in nineteen ninety something I used to work part time in a off corner video rental store. The place was right around the corner from China town. It always seemed to be raining back then for some reason but the neon glow of the 'Open' sign was a very welcoming sight to a cold winters day. There were some Sword and Sorcery films that always seemed to have fantastic covers at the video store but folks always complained about 'em. Yet they were always rented over and over again on the weekends.
So here are five right off the top of my head.
Your mileage in your OSR campaign  as always with these may vary. I bare no responsibility for assault on your sanity. Excuse me while I go put some tapes away in the stacks.
Hundra 1983
 On The Back Of The Box: 

A WOMAN WHO COULD NOT BE TAMED!

Born in a tribe of fierce warrior women, Hundra has been raised to despise the influence of men. An archer, fighter and sword fighter, Hundra is superior to any male. Hundra finds her family slain and takes a vow of revenge until one day she meets her match.

Sorceress 1982
 Back of The Tape :

AN AGE UNDREAMED OF; AN AGE OF FANTASY AND MAGIC...

To maintain his powers, the evil wizard Traigon must sacrifice his firstborn child to the god Caligara. His wife, however, has other ideas and runs away after giving birth with her twin daughters. Before dying, she hands the girls over to the warrior Krona who promises to raise them as great soldiers. Twenty years later, Traigon returns and begins hunting down his daughters once again. Will the twins, with the help of the Barbarian Erlik and the Viking Baldar, be able to defeat their father?

Ator The Fighting Eagle 1982  Back of The Tape : 

HE WAS BORN TO WIELD THE MIGHTY SWORD OF THOREN.

The son of Torren learns of his heritage, goes to avenge the deaths of his fellow villagers, and rescue his sister/love interest from the evil Dakkar and his spider cult. Ator battles giant spiders, swordsmen cloaked in shadow, re-animated dead warriors, and horribly hideous witches.

Hercules 1983
 Back of The Tape: The film is an odd retelling of the story of Hercules (Lou Ferrigno) battling the wizard Minos (William Berger), who uses "science" in an attempt to take over the world. Hercules must stop him and rescue his princess love in the process. Part of the adventure finds Hercules battling giant robots brought to life by stop motion animation. The musical score by Pino Donaggio.

Thor The Conqueror 1983
Back Of The Tape : 

THE ONE WHO DARES THE BLOODTHIRSTY BARBARIANS!

After both his parents are brutally murdered by his fathers rival Gnut and his men the new born Thor is placed in hiding by the physical embodiment of the god Teisha. Raised in secret under the guidance of Teisha, Thor comes to maturity and goes on a quest to avenge the death of his parents and return peace to his lands, in the process he discovers a woman to take as his wife, finds and uncovers his fathers sword and masters the art of combat.

1980 Sword and Sorcery Cult Classic ~ Hawk The Slayer For Your Old School Sword And Sorcery Campaign

There are films that I've taken a huge amount of heat for from so called film buffs. We're about to talk on one of those. A film that is considered a cult classic. Way,way, back in the early 1980's I encountered Hawk The Slayer on VHS. Everything I kinda love about 80's cheesy sword and sorcery is in Hawk.  In college I wore out a VHS tape of Hawk and pretty much based(stole) ideas from the film to run a successful OD&D campaign. 

The Plot according to wiki: 

The wicked Voltan kills his own father when the latter refuses to turn over the magic of the "last elven mindstone". Before the old man dies, he bequeaths a great sword with a pommel shaped like a human hand to his other son, Hawk. The hand comes to life and grasps the mindstone. The sword is now imbued with magical powers and can respond to Hawk's mental commands. Hawk then vows to avenge his father by killing Voltan.

Voltan's evil touches the whole countryside. Some time later, a man named Ranulf arrives at a remote convent. Ranulf tells the nuns that he survived Voltan's attack on his people, which resulted in the brutal deaths of women and children. Ranulf was seriously injured in the attack. The nuns nurse him back to health, but his hand cannot be saved. Voltan appears at the convent and kidnaps the Abbess, demanding a large sum of gold as a ransom. The High Abbot sends Ranulf to find someone who might help.

Hawk discovers Ranulf with the help of a local sorceress, a woman whom he defended from an accusation of witchcraft. Ranulf has been captured by brigands, but Hawk rescues him. Ranulf convinces Hawk to rescue the Abbess. After a long and dangerous journey, Hawk locates his old friends: Gort, a dour giant who wields a mighty mallet; Crow, an elf of few words who wields a deadly bow; and Baldin, a wisecracking dwarf, skilled with a whip. The five men arrive at the convent, protecting the nuns and devising a way to lure Voltan into a trap. They use their combined skills to steal gold from a slave trader with which to pay the ransom.

Hawk doubts that Voltan will free the Abbess after the ransom is paid. He explains that Voltan treacherously murdered Hawk's wife, Eliane. Hawk and his friends decide to rescue the Abbess, but they fail. Hawk kills Voltan's son Drogo, who had previously assaulted the convent. Enraged, Voltan confronts the heroes in a final battle at the convent. A rogue nun helps Voltan capture the heroes; Voltan repays her by murdering her. With the help of the sorceress, the heroes escape, but the dwarf is mortally wounded.

In the subsequent battle, Hawk exacts his revenge on Voltan and the Abbess is rescued. An evil entity decides that Voltan will be restored to life to carry out further evil. Heeding the sorceress' advice, Hawk and Gort travel south to continue their battle against evil.

Behind The Scenes of Hawk 

Jack Palance really owned Voltan and was great in the role. I love to watch him chew up the scenes as the vile villian. Each and every minute I expected him to go off on some underling or minion. The fact that he was getting a complete screw job by the powers of darkness always seemed like an added bonus. 

Possible Sequals and Dangling Plot Hooks

Time and again there were possible reports of sequels and spin offs and such. The first of these appeared in Cinefantisque magazine. 

According to wiki : 

A possible sequel was referred to in the US Magazine Cinefantastique (Fall 1980 Issue). The director is quoted as saying "...I'll be going on a trip looking for locations for the next one. Whether ITC does it or not, we will be making HAWK - THE DESTROYER in February [1981]'. The film was not made.

Hawk The Hunter was annouced a few years ago but so far as I know no much came of it. Too bad I was really looking forward to seeing this get off the ground. 

 There are three possible connection points in the film : 

The gathering of wizards that the sorcerss speak about in the film. 

The patron that Hawk and Gort speak of. 

The return of Voltan himself by the powers of darkness. 

 Hawk The Hunter I'm sure might have picked another route entirely. 

Using Hawk The Slayer For 

Your Old School Sword and Sorcery Campaign 

The world of Hawk The Slayer is a pseudo European sword and sorcery world that borders a strange middle ground style of world. The power of church binds the world of Hawk but this is world where sorcerers and witches also hold sway. The movie still has quite a strong cult following today. 

The Elves of Hawk's world are a dying people and almost seem to have more then a passing touch of the Fey about them. The world of the fey also seems to ripple through Hawk. There are also dwarves, hill giants, and more. Mythic creatures are rare in this wold even though the realms of the other are traveled by Hawk and company.
I've always loved how Hawk gathers his party. Nevermind the whole 'you meet up in a tavern' nonsense. Your sorcerss sends you to the side of each of your party and they join you giving a bit of  exposion along with their appearance.

Make no mistake that this is a 'B' film but its a very well loved 'B' film. Its been getting quite a bit more attention from the  OSR over the last couple of years. 

Ten Reasons to Use Hawk The Slayer As Source Material
For Your Old School Sword And Sorcery Campaign 

1. There is a lot of room to situate your own adventures within the world of Hawk. I simply looked at one of Voltan's dangling plot hooks and ran with it. Its really that easy. 
2. The fact is that even though there are Dwarves, Elves, The Mind Sword, etc. this is actually a pretty low magic world. There is evidence of several mythological facets that are starting to really die out in the world of Hawk. 
3. Every weird trope is used in Arduin and several of the magic items are even statted up already within the pages of Dave Hargrave's world. 
4. Even though the movie is well known there are several factors that were never used in the movie that are actually available in the script. A very though DM could download the original script and go from there . 
5. There's a lot of history between the party of Hawk and using the original characters from the movie to do your own spin off campaign based on that history is very easy and kinda interesting. Case in point is actually Crow. We get very little about his people, his own background, and family. Could there be some hooks lying in the background of this mysterious but well loved Elf? There are hints that the Elves here have extensive relations with the royal houses and humans of this world. 
6. The powers of darkness here seem to be on the rise and the pseudo Christian style church is taking on the chin. Voltan seems almost like a Johnny come lately villain. Were there others who paved the way of his man's darkness and with him out of the way are there others waiting to take his place and spark a war with his return from the weird hell of this cult classic? 
7. Voltan's son spoke of the instiblity that his rule created in the surrounding kingdoms could Hawk's vaccum from the throne create the perfect opportunity for one of these upstart kingdoms to move into the void. 
8. Heroes certainly seem to be in short supply. A band of characters getting embroiled in the local affairs might be just thething to jump start some of the populace. 
9. There are rumors and myths dropped throughout the movie about other treasures, relics, artifacts,etc. This seems like the perfect hitch to get a party of cut throats together to go exploring a dungeon in the world of Hawk! 
10. What about the disappearance of Hawk himself? Could a party of PC's be needed to find the just and rightful ruler of this world? Where has the hero of the downtrodden gone?