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Stephen Wendell
Paris, France
In 2018, Stephen Wendell followed his great grandfather from Tennessee to the Great War in France a hundred years before. He recounts his ancestor's war stories in A VERY MUDDY PLACE. Stephen is also the author of the Littlelot series of children's books.
Recent Activity
Preface to Littlelot and the Rescue of Gwenevere
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Following is the preface to Littlelot and the Rescue of Gwenevere, the first story in the Littlelot series of adventure books for children and the grown-ups who read to them. A young reader himself, Littlelot feeds his imagination on legends, myths, and classic tales. So inspired, he tells the stories... Continue reading
Posted Apr 30, 2023 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Paris: Bordel, Bazaar
In French, as in English, a “bordel” is a brothel. A “bazar” in French, or “bazaar” in English, is a chaotic marketplace. Both terms are also used in French as slang for a place in disarray, one more so than the other. Walking in Paris on a bright spring day,... Continue reading
Posted Mar 26, 2023 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Blue Flame, Tiny Stars: Now Available on DriveThruRPG
If inspiration for everything I write comes from a source, this book is about the source. “Stephen’s delightful memoir makes you want to travel upstream to your own formative D&D headwaters, dig out your old graph-paper maps and worn dice, and rediscover the gateway to what the author calls ‘the... Continue reading
Posted Dec 14, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Dare Admire Things in Advance
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“The men who dare admire things in advance of the rest of the world are not common.”—Jean François Millet From Alfred Sensier, Jean François Millet: Peasant and Painter, translated by Helena de Kay (London: Macmillan, 1881), 131, originally published as La Vie et l’Œvre de J.-F. Millet (Paris: A. Quentin,... Continue reading
Posted Nov 2, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Littlelot at SCBWI BookStop
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BookStop is open! Hosted by the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, BookStop showcases hundreds of books for your young reader. Picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult—something for every age. Littlelot is there with Gwenevere. They’re browsing for their next good read. Continue reading
Posted Oct 19, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Frozen Memory: A True Story
I will always remember the sound: The shrill pitch. Anguish. Utter loss. It must be twenty-five years ago now. Still, a shiver runs down my spine, makes the hair stand on the back of my neck, goose pimples raise on my arms. I have to set my jaw to keep... Continue reading
Posted Oct 3, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Blue Flame, Tiny Stars: A Memoir
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Last year, I recorded a series of anecdotes on DONJON LANDS about my early experiences learning to play Dungeons & Dragons with my best friend. On the occasion of my 40th anniversary playing D&D, I’ve edited the anecdotes into a short book. Blue Flame, Tiny Stars is set for release... Continue reading
Posted Sep 2, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Littlelot and the Rescue of Gwenevere
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In 2016, I published my second book. The first in a series, its title is The First Story of Littlelot. Neophyte self-publishers tend to accrue regrettable decisions. Either by careful choices or dumb luck, I am fortunate to have few of these regrets. One of them, though, is that title—a... Continue reading
Posted Sep 1, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Temporarily Offline Wednesday
DONJON LANDS will be offline for some time on Wednesday, July 27, while I migrate the content management system. If all goes well, the process could take a few hours. If less than well, a couple days… Continue reading
Posted Jul 26, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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Thirteen Graves
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Continuing from “A Forsaken Peninsula,” we take the next step through Designing a Wilderness (Cook and Marsh, X54). Reading Map This is the fourth article of a short series outlining a B/X D&D campaign. Atlantis of the Clay Warlock of the Pale Moor A Forsaken Peninsula Thirteen Graves Monstrous Denizens... Continue reading
Posted Jul 26, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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Man vs. Machine: Chainmail Jousting Live Tournament
“If ever Dan challenges you to a game of Chainmail Jousting, don’t do it. Just don’t do it! He has a system…”—Paul Siegel, Wandering DMs I was properly warned. But when I got an email from Wandering DMs co-host Dan Collins earlier this week with the subject line: “Jousting Sunday?,”... Continue reading
Posted Jul 20, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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A Forsaken Peninsula
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How many times I’ve stepped through the process I cannot count. Maybe there are other ways. Maybe those ways are better. But the D&D Expert Rulebook’s Designing a Wilderness (X54) has the advantage of brevity and, after long use, familiarity. Furthermore, even after all these years, the lettered steps never... Continue reading
Posted Jul 19, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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Warlock of the Pale Moor
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Inspired by the map and the myth from last week’s “Atlantis of the Clay,” let’s make a campaign. To keep the task manageable, we’ll do only a broad overview. A DM can fill in details to suit. I intend to follow the steps for Designing a Wilderness provided in the... Continue reading
Posted Jul 12, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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What’s funny is that, whether we flip it over and turn it sideways or just take a Dutch map straight up, the Blackmoor map bears a strong resemblance. I keep looking to match up coastlines. Quixotic. Dan Boggs gets the northwest Blackmoor coast to line up with a short stretch of the Netherland’s west coast. It’s a convincing angle. http://boggswood.blogspot.com/2021/05/how-big-is-blackmoor.html
Toggle Commented Jul 10, 2022 on The Blackmoor Finger at DONJON LANDS
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Atlantis of the Clay
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A few months ago I was looking at some old Dutch maps—as one does, when I ran across an article called “Maps of Meaning.” In it, authors Meggy Lennaerts and Jan van der Molen of the University of Groningen Library tell the story of German cartographer Ubbo Emmius, who advocated... Continue reading
Posted Jul 5, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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The Phalanx and the Shield Wall
In three issues of The Strategic Review, Gary Gygax describes the spear and its kin: the javelin, lance, and pike, for fantasy adventure gamers (Vol. 1, No. 1, 1975) and details several other pole arms, giving use, length, and a drawing of each (Nos. 2, 4). He revisits the topic... Continue reading
Posted Jun 28, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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Phalanx Fighting
In his Letter from the Editor (L’avant garde #46, June 1982), Steve Ruskin introduces the following article with a backhanded compliment: “And it looks like our young friends of the Pandemonium Society are progressing (or regressing) into wargaming. This time Phenster & Co. have dug up Gygax’s pole arms treatise... Continue reading
Posted Jun 21, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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Blue Flame, Tiny Stars Coming to e-Book
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This month makes 40 years I’ve been playing D&D. Last year I wrote down all the stories from my earliest experiences with the game, playing Holmes Basic with my best friend. I am now at work editing the anecdotes together into a short book. Blue Flame, Tiny Stars will be... Continue reading
Posted Jun 14, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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I’m with you, Michael. Target Has Precedence feels more elegant than pounding on the modifiers.
Toggle Commented Jun 13, 2022 on Missile Fire into Melee at DONJON LANDS
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Help Defeat Real-Life Demons, Game Therapy UK
Are you a military veteran? Are you also a Game Master? Would you like to run role-playing games as a therapeutic tool for fellow veterans suffering from psychological trauma? Game Therapy UK is starting a pilot project you might find interesting. It’s a volunteer project. They are to offer several... Continue reading
Posted Jun 7, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Missile Fire into Melee
In “Shooting into a Fight” (L’avant garde #39), Phenster addresses an age-old dilemma in D&D combat. I cover how the problem is handled in early editions and give my own solution in “Firing into Melee.” On first reading, Phenster’s description of the “Friendly Fire Number” may seem complex. I attempt... Continue reading
Posted Jun 7, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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Handmade Leather Dice Bag
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A friend asked me for my mailing address. He wanted to send me something. Strange how we don’t generally have folks’ mailing addresses anymore. Trans-Atlantic shipping can take a while these days, and, wonder as I might, I couldn’t think of what he might be sending. So I waited. My... Continue reading
Posted Jun 3, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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Help Defeat Real-Life Demons, Game Therapy UK
Are you a military veteran? Are you also a Game Master? Would you like to run role-playing games as a therapeutic tool for fellow veterans suffering from psychological trauma? Game Therapy UK is starting a pilot project you might find interesting. It’s a volunteer project. They are to offer several... Continue reading
Posted May 31, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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My Favorite Character, Literary Podcast
Old friends doing new things! My Favorite Character is a literary podcast, in which Jennifer Spirko gets together with creative types to talk about the heroes and anti-heroes they love most. In the first episode, Jennifer interviews one of my own favorite characters, her husband Rob, who is—I’m on record... Continue reading
Posted May 28, 2022 at Books by Stephen Wendell
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Shooting into a Fight
Shooting Into a Fight by Phenster Sometimes you want to shoot a missile weapon into a melee combat. The rulebook says that you CAN'T do it in one place and that you CAN do it in another place but with a chance you might hit a friendly character. Plus, friendlies... Continue reading
Posted May 24, 2022 at DONJON LANDS
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