How do you avoid the curse of RPG doom invoked when you put a number 1 on your cover? You release volume 2 at the same time! This is Adventure Anthology 2 (2024) and it is good. Again, cover by Frank Scacalossi, who is fast becoming my favorite OSR-ish artist. Again, four short scenarios for Old-School Essentials, each with a different creative team.

“Barrow of the Bone Blaggards” is written by Chance Dudinack and illustrated by Letty Wilson. Here we find a typical barrow infested with undead, but with a very untypical root cause. This is one of the funnier adventures I’ve encountered in a while.

“Shrine of the Oozing Serpent” is by Nate Treme and accompanied by Peter Pagano’s art. Here players investigate a long abandoned gnomish forge temple now inhabited by frog folk and…a grease dragon? I didn’t realize that dragons could be so…gross.

“Cathedral of the Crimson Death” reunites Diogo Nogueira and Justine Jones (previously of Halls of the Blood King). It isn’t a sequel, but it isn’t not a sequel either. Very similar vibes. Which I am good with. Give me more. Justine’s got an unbelievable death knight, an unbelievable evil bell, an unbelievable evil bishop. Her illustrations are worth the price of the whole book.

Finally, Brian Yaksha’s “The Ravener’s Ghat” rounds things out with illustrations by Sajan Rai. Rai gives Jones a real run for her money in the “Stu’s favorite art in this book” race. Explore a temple once lorded over by a rakshasa and now serves as its prison. A lot of cool stuff in this one, but my favorite is the falsehoods, which are little shadow creatures that form on sacred objects and then attack when disturbed, taking a form that mocks the object. So, like, a falsehood emerging from painting of devout monks might appear drunk and horny or similarly unholy. Overall, refreshingly dismissive of Western fantasy tropes.