Simple DND

Came across this website. As its name suggests, it promises to simplify D&D, boiling down the Red Box to its very basic components for fun and easy play. I haven't had a chance to read through it all yet, but I like what I've seen so far and it really suits my idea of what classic roleplaying should be.

SIMPLE DND

Gamers' Common: A Manifesto

Of Dice and Men brings up the concept of Gamers' Common. Originated by Frank Mentzer, it is an idea designed to get around the Edition Wars and bring all roleplayers together, regardless what game they happen to be playing. What it means is writing game supplements using terms that are common to most games, or at least understood by all gamers; things like Rounds, Hit Points, Experience etc. It then falls to the game-master (and players!) to choose what rules set they want to apply. This might seem like a bit of work, but isn't any different than trying to convert a really good adventure that might not exactly fit your current game, edition or preferred OSR. More importantly, it leaves things open-ended enough to allow for GM improvisation and adaptation. I don't believe that you should play anything straight out of the box.

Two of my all time favourite role-playing supplements are The Chronicles of Talislanta (available all free and legal here) which outlines the continent of Talislanta, the primary setting for the game of the same name; and Titan which describes the world of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy and Sorcery! gamebooks. Neither has a single rule in them, but both are utterly bottomless in terms of ideas and inspiration.

I thought of both of them when I came across of Mentzer's idea of rule neutral supplements. I've been struggling to find a focus for this blog for a long time and my own game writing has been all over the freakin' map.

I find the D&D Edition Wars to be tiring and pointless* and my own pet favourite games (Talislanta, TWERPS and WEG D6) are a little too esoteric to fill out a regularly posted blog. Homebrewing is fun, but again appeals only to a very small niche market (basically, myself). Still, I want to share my ideas, or at least put them down in one place so I can refer to them later. Writing in Gamers' Common allows me to do this, and I don't have to cross reference anything to make sure I converted the THAC0 correctly.

So I am leaving the rules behind and embarking down the GC path. I might occasionally dip into a rules specific post from time to time (if I ever bother to finish that TWERPS GI:JOE supplement, for example), but otherwise I am going to concentrate my energies on being as general as possible.

*For the record, I am an OSR Grognard at heart, but I am a believer in playing the game in front of you. If the GM puts the time and effort into running a 4thE game, play that and don't bitch how AD&D or the Red Box or Labyrinth Lord or Pathfinder does it better.  

Musings on Magic

I recently realized that I’ve never played a D&D Wizard and reading through Labyrinth Lord and D&D5 lately I’ve begun to realize why … the magic system is not my bag, man. Though it claims to be ‘Vance-ian’ , it is actually not. Yes, in the Dying Earth, Vance’s wizards had pre-loaded spells but that is as far as it goes. (If you’re keen, read through the Dying Earth RPG or Talislanta 4e for MUCH better interpretations of Vancian magic.)

D&D reduces spells to bullets and Wizards (at least higher level ones) to heavy artillery. I’ve seen attempts at making it seem a bit more ‘mysterious’ or adding complications such as material components, but nothing in any form that anyone would actually want to play.

There is nothing actually WRONG with the D&D magic system, if that is the way magic works in the D&Dverse - then that is the way it works in the D&Dverse. At least it is internally consistent. It just isn’t to my taste.

The hang up for me is Saving Throws. The more powerful the character, the better their chance at resisting magic. That seems wrong. No matter how powerful Conan became, he ALWAYS feared magic and Superman’s second most exploited weakness is his vulnerability to magic. Yet in the D&D system, both these guys would have saving throws up the whazoo.

The thing is, that from Merlin to Gandalf to Doctor Strange, Zantanna, Harry Potter and Ponder Stibbons … I’ve never seen a magic system work that way. In almost every other interpretation of magic that I have come across if a spell fails it is because the wizard screwed up, not because their target was somehow able to shrug it off. If the spell gets casts, it works.

So for my own homemade system, I’m developing a system where the wizard must make a series of rolls over a couple of rounds to ‘weave’ a spell together. If they make all the rolls, then the spell is successfully cast and there is nothing the target can do about it. I think I could make this work for LL/D&DBasic as well, but it would take some heavy tinkering and I’m thinking that it must have already been done by someone.

Adventure Time! Snow Golem

I've redone the Snow Golem because I wasn't happy with the original D&D stats. Now they are Labyrinth Lord compatible.
Snow Golem
Snow Golems are sometimes created by wizards inhabiting high mountains or Polar Regions to be used as guardians to their lairs. If their creator passes away or forgets about them, the golem will eventually become autonomous, at which point their alignment and temperament will become randomly determined.
Snow Golems can only be harmed by magical or heat/fire weapons. They are also completely immune to cold based attacks, though they can be temporarily blinded by a well-thrown snowball.
If they are in a snowy environment, Snow Golems can repair themselves by packing in new snow, and have even replaced heads and limbs. If attacked by Fire/Heat, snow golems melt by getting smaller (half damage at half hit-points). Snow Golems are the enemies of Fire Wolves.

Labyrinth Lord
No.Enc. 1
Alignment: Neutral
Movement: 120’(40’)
Armour Class: 5
Hit Dice: 6
Attacks: 2 (Fist/Snowball)
Damage: 2d6 / 1d6
Save: F6
Moral: 4
Treasure: None
Questamundo
Rank: 5-10
Body: 15
Mind: 2
Spirit: N (equal to rank if autonomous)
BP: 40
Alignment: Neutral
Damage: +6
Armour: -6

Because you're all dying to hear my thoughts on the Next Edition, right?

A couple of my players have expressed an interest in taking the D&DNext playtest for a spin, while I am leaning more and more towards converting the D&DBasic campaign into full-on Labyrinth Lord.

New Editions have always bothered the crap out of me because it is like trying to convince someone else to love bean casserole. You might LOVE bean casserole and could eat it six days a week, but if someone else thinks it tastes and smells like an old, lumpy gym sock, nothing you do or say will ever convince them. While it might be fun to debates the merits for a while or tell them that your homebrewed version tastes better, in the end you are just going to have to let it go. Just because they prefer tuna casserole doesn’t make them an asshole.

Nor do I like new Editions because of the cost. My carefree days of disposable income are long behind me, sucked away by mortgage payments, medical concerns, hungry animals and lots and lots of bills. There is no way I am shelling out $100plus dollars every few years to add yet another Player’s Guide/GM Manual/Monster Manual to my shelf next to all the other editions.

And whether you play the new edition or not, suddenly everything else on that shelf is now obsolete. You’re now driving a Desoto and its damned hard to find parts. If you insist on clinging to your diesel guzzling ways, soon you’re reduced to scavenging through files of Raistlin/Tasslehoff slashfick, hunting for homemade conversion guides on a wayback’d geocities sites.

Not to mention that it is this sort of idiocy results in things like edition flame wars, OSR self publishers and copycats like Pathfinder. They all have their merits (except edition flame war trolls), but they all lead to dissatisfaction and degradation of the original product and causes WotC to shed customers like dandruff off a Con-goer.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Hasbro/WotC releasing* miniatures, computer games, board games, apps CCGs or whatever else they want with the D&D logo stamped on the front. Come to think of it, I’d LOVE the idea, because I think that in the end it would help bring proper (imaginative) role-playing back to a whole new generation (lost to ‘passive’ computer rpgs like WoW and Skyrim). Sure they’ll probably use tablets and interactive cards or figures, and who know what other tools to play. Some old schoolers are going to bitch about how the new kids ‘don’t play like we used to’, but those old schoolers are now in their thirties, forties or more. The game MUST evolve or it will die, and I’m not afraid to say that I have caught the whiff of gangrene settling in. Nor do I believe that D&DNext is anything more than a temporary bandage.

But please WotC, for us old school guys pushing forty, the guys who care enough to write bullshit pieces like this for a blog that no one reads, stop fucking with new editions and give us a game we can all rally behind! No more total reboots or attempts to be clever (Next!) or cribbing from MMORPGs. Just give us a straightforward (backwards compatible, or is that too much to ask?) game and STAND BEHIND IT. You give us that, and we’ll stand behind you.

*I can’t help but wonder if Hasbro isn’t promoting D&D harder more because of the wingnut Christian climate in the States right now. Maybe they are afraid of another ‘Mazes and Monsters’ style backlash which could lead to a boycott of other Hasbro products. Just a thought.

The Enchiridon

I’ve wanted to do this for a while; systematically going through each Adventure Time with Finn and Jake episode, and generating stats for the fantastic creatures, items and people in the series. I’ll be doing it for three different systems!

Questamundo (my homebrew system)
TWERPS (The World’s Easiest RPG) and
D&D Basic (Red Box)

Hey, it’s not the kind of stuff that works in everyone’s campaign, but it certainly works in mine.

Episode: Pilot/Adventure Time
Sweater

Any character wearing a sweater is immune to effects of normal cold. They still take full damage from magical cold.

Snow Golem
Snow Golems are sometimes created by wizards inhabiting high mountains or Polar Regions to be used as guardians to their lairs. If their creator passes away or forgets about them, the golem will eventually become autonomous, at which point their alignment and temperament will become randomly determined.

Snow Golems can only be harmed by magical weapons. They are also completely immune to cold based attacks, though they can be temporarily blinded by a well-thrown snowball. They take double damage from heat/fire based attacks.

D&D Basic
Armour Class: 7
Hit Dice: 50
Attacks: 2
Damage: 2d10
Number Appearing: 1
Save as: Fighter 5
Alignment: Neutral

Questamundo
Rank: 5-10
Body: 15
Mind: 2
Spirit: N (equal to rank if autonomous)
BP: 40
Alignment: Neutral
Damage: +6
Armour: -6

TWERPS:
STR: 15
-Strong. Immune to cold based attacks.

Tomb of Horrors/Ready Player One Challenge & the Epic Fail

Armed with their own reference copy of the module, can a simple third level, Basic D&D Fighter survive the infamous adventure, 'Tomb of Horrors'? As postulated in the novel Ready Player One.

Warning: Contains Spoilers to the Tomb of Horrors Adventure Module.

Character

Thacko II, Son of Thacko!
Level 3 Fighter
Str 17 (+3)
Dex 15 (+2)
Con 17 (+3)
Int 9
Wis 8(-1)
Cha 8(-1)

HP: 29
AC: 3

Begin Again the Quest!
Thacko II, Son of Thacko, continued the quest that claimed his father by ignoring the false entrances and moving directly through the teleport gate to Room 11. Since this time I am allowing for automatic Secret Doors finding, he proceeds through the tunnel to Room 13, taking 14hp total damage from traps and falls while retrieving the Ring of Protection +1. He also steals the crystal box (worth 1,000gp). He now has 15hp left, but has fulfilled one Condition of Victory!

Proceeding down the next tunnel, he enters the Chapel of Evil and loots the pews, collecting all the coins. He decides to leave all his loot here since it too heavy to carry now and he will have to back-track to collect the Gem of Seeing anyway.

Unfortunately, he must sacrifice his Ring of Protection to trigger the secret door and leave the chapel. Easily passing through the pit-doors, he ignores the sounds of music and … here we come to an insurmountable end for young Thacko.

Conclusion
To proceed in any direction from this point in the Tomb requires at least one of the following A) The Gem of Seeing, B) some sort of Magical Fire and/or C) Detect Magic a Dispel Magic spells. Since it is impossible for a third level Fighter to have any spells, and he has no gems to go back and collect the Gem of Seeing, he is essentially stuck here. Even getting out of the tomb means facing the Mutant Gargoyle, which means any third level fighter is now effectively dead.

Therefore, I must declare that without some serious tinkering, the premise of the book is declared untenable! A lone, 3rd level fighter with basic equipment cannot hope to defeat the Tomb of Horrors.

Conditions of Victory Met: None. You can collect the Ring of Protection +1, but you later have to destroyed it. And it has been a long time since I’ve bothered to convert silver and electrum pieces, but I don’t think he’s collected the full 20,000 yet.

So Now What?
I'm going to reread that section of Ready Player One to see if there are any further clues as to how the character manuevered through the Tomb, but by this point we are wandering farther and farther away original spirit of the module.

Speaking with BFX, we've come up with two ways to modify the premise to make it gameable:
1) A party of third level characters finds a hand drawn map of the Tomb. Some of the dangers are marked, but certainly not all of them.

2)One night in a tavern, the third level party plies an old, half-mad adventurer with ale to tell of the time she and her friends braved the tomb. Allow the players to read over the module once, then take it away from them. To be especially devious, make them read it the week before.

Tomb of Horrors/Ready Player One Challenge: Attempt 1

Armed with their own reference copy of the module, can a simple third level, Basic D&D Fighter survive the infamous adventure, 'Tomb of Horrors'? As postulated in the novel Ready Player One.

Warning: Contains Spoilers to the Tomb of Horrors Adventure Module.

Character
Thacko: Level 3 Fighter
Str 17 (+3)
Dex 12
Con 13 (+1)
Int 9
Wis 10
Cha 12

HP: 19
AC: 5

Saving Throws
Poison/Death 12
Wand 13
Stone/Paralysis 14
Dragon Breath 15
Spell/Staff 16

Equipment
Short Sword d6
Leather Armour AC 2
Shield AC 2
Torch(es)

Conditions for Victory
While in the Tomb, You Must Collect:
-20,000 (or more) gp!
-A Bag of Holding
-Flaming Sword+1
-Ring of Protection +1
-A Gem of Seeing,
-a full set of Full Plate +3!
Collect all of the above and make it to Room 25: the “Pillared Throne Room”.

Begin the Challenge!
Room 3
Ignoring the false entrances, Thacko made his way past the pit traps and went through the archway to Room 5 with the glowing stones pressed On and was transported to Room 11.

Without any gems, he could not yet get the ‘Gem of Seeing’ (needed to complete the Conditions of Victory) from the broken statue. Moving into Room 12, he ignored the false doors and moved into Room 10. Since he needs the Ring of Protection in Room 13, he goes through the hidden crawlspace, but the hidden door will not open (roll failed) and he is forced to turn back.

Going through the second crawl space, he cannot open the secret door here either (roll failed).

With no way forward, Thacko’s quest is effectively at an end. To return to the entrance he will have to negotiate through the Complex of Secret Doors and if he survives that, face the mutant gargoyle in Room 8.

RIP, Thacko, First of your Name.

Conditions of Victory Met: None!

Thoughts: Ready Player One must make the assumption that the character is able to open Secret Doors if they know they are there. It is something I’ve allowed in my own campaigns (depending on the door), but haven’t really encountered it in any pre-made module before, so I’m not sure exactly how to proceed.

On one hand, there are some very definite rules in TOH for discovering Secret Doors, (1in6 or 4in6 chance), and finding them is very much part of the adventure. But on the other hand, there is now only a 1 in six chance of any Ready Player One Challenge making it past Room 13.

Given the premise presented in RP1, I suppose I’ll have to allow automatic Secret Door discoveries, but it feels like a fundamental cop-out to the meatgrinder spirit of Tomb of Horrors.

If anyone has any strong feelings on this one way or another please let me know. Tomorrow I shall attempt it again with Thacko II, Son of Thacko!

Ready Player One: Tomb of Horrors Challenge!

I have just started reading Ernest Cline’s dystopian love-letter to 80’s Pop-Culture, “Ready Player One”. I want to finish it before commenting further and its reflection on geek culture.

What tickled my OSR fancy however (minor spoiler warning) was that the book postulates that a third level fighter, working solo can get through the infamous D&D meatgrinder adventure, ‘Tomb of Horrors’, provided they have a copy of the module in-hand to refer to while they did so.

Challenge accepted, sir!

The Rules
-You may play Tomb of Horrors with any Edition. (RP1 is heavy geeky, but not geeky enough to mention what edition of D&D the adventure is based on. Given the context it is pre-1985, which means Basic D&D or AD&D1.)
-UPDATE: Retro-Clone games such as Labyrinth Lord, OSRIC, etc are permitted as well. -You must play by all the rules of that Edition and abide by all rolls of the dice.
-Characters must be third level, basic classes only.
-No multiclass, homebrew or prestige classes permitted.
-The only permitted character races are Human, Elf, Dwarf and Halfling, regardless of edition.
-Character begins with basic, non-magical equipment only. What the starting level, base character equipment is, is all you get.
-True adherents will start with a third level human fighter, equipped with a short sword, a bronze shield, a suit of bandied leather armour and a torch.

While in the Tomb, You Must Collect:
-20,000 (or more) gp!
-A Bag of Holding
-Flaming Sword+1
-Ring of Protection +1
-A Gem of Seeing,
And the big prize, a set of Full Plate +3!

Conditions for Victory!
Collect all of the above and make it to Room 25: the “Pillared Throne Room”.

No one reads this blog, but I’m really curious to see if anyone will join me on this mighty quest!

And if anyone has ever came up with rules for/played out a scenario where they have played classic arcade games with a demi-lich, let me know. Or better yet if anyone can whip up a quick jpg, becuz it would make for a bitchin' van painting!

Silent Trap

A new idea for a trap ... silence.

Apparently the longest a human can stand complete and utter silence before going crazy? 45minutes.

Roll for SAN.

Old Skool Skeleton Fight

If you've never seen it, this clip is a Old Skool classic and a must for OSR gamers.
It still gives me chills, its so good. I would easily throw the skeletons up against any CGI monster they have farted as us so far.

The movie (Jason and the Argonauts, 1963)is a treat for Harryhausen fans, but the plot drags like leg irons and makes absolutely no sense. However, if you're not content with youtube clips, I recommend doing what I did and DVR it, scanning for the good bits which include the Colossus, the Harpies, the Hydra and the climactic Skeleton fight. I guarantee that each one will inspire you to throw some of these oldy, but goodie monsters.

Repost from Dreams of Mythic Fantasy Blog

HERE
Because it contains two things that I am insanly excited about. The first is Anamolous Subsurface Environment which I have wanted since I first read about it, plus

Lich Dungeon a new dungeon by Frank Mentzer!

Adventure Time!

by Fred Weasley, Deviant Art
I became aware of this show through a piece of swag my wife brought home from a TV conference a couple of years ago, Her hat is AWESOME! but I haven't really started watching it until I remembered to plug it into my DVR.

Having caught up a bit now, I have to declare the show MANDATORY watching for any OSR roleplayer, especially if your tastes run a little gonzo. Each episode revolves around Finn, last human in the Land of Ooo and his magical dog, Jake as they have a seriously surreal adventure. A GM you can't pick out a good idea or two to use in their game is not paying attention. Already I've got notes in binder on how to use things like;
The Wall of Flesh
Crystal Guardians guarding a crystal apple tree
A giant Lich Lord

The show's wiki is here.

April Blogging A to Z

Cutting it close, but I've officially signed up. Yesterday I tried to sit down and do some work on my RPG stuff but found myself having a tough time pulling it together. Then this morning I remembered this contest and it occured to me that it might be a good way to focus my wandering chemo brain.

I’m going to officially work on The World of Nood, which is the current setting for my D&D/Basic campaign entitled “In Search Of”, but I’m toying with duel-streaming it with the Clawed Lands, a more serious setting I’ve written about here once or twice.

This year's OSR challenge hosted by "The Other Side Blog".

Game Log III: Escape from the Unknown

New Character: Sokrates the Barbarian. Heralds from the Land of Barbonia and worshipper of the God Koom. Played by Mikey

After looting the Barrel Golem, the Wild Stallions found a door heading north that lead to a natural cavern with an opening high on the cliff wall. There they found a grappling hook embedded in the ground, with someone climbing up, or possibly down…

Thinking it was the Halfling Harb, they readied to cut the rope and carefully peered over the edge, to find themselves face to face with a young warrior named Sokrates climbing his way up. Sokrates had heard of the treasures of Rogaine and Zell, and had come seeking his fortunes.

Happy to have another fighter in the party, the Wild Stallions accepted the young barbarian with an apparent speech impediment and went father into the dungeon, where they were nearly squeaked to death by a swarm of bats lead by two Mobats.

Fed up, wounded and nearly out of supplies, the party headed back to the cliff face and saw, in the fading sunlight, a red glow surrounding a white castle far down the valley. They spent the night in the cave, climbed down the next morning and headed back to Bastion.

After a quick resupply and hearty dinner (mobat and carrion crawler, specialty of the Twig and Berries Inn), they deliberate their next course of action; go back to the Caves of Questeron or seek out the White Castle?


Girdling their loins, they decided to set off to the investigate the White Castle, effectively ending their journey In Search of the Unknown, and opening the way to investigate the Palace of the Silver Princess.

After bravely making their way into guardhouse, they bravely killed a half starved giant rat and were stumped by a portcullis.

The End (for now).

Game Log II: Wraith of the Cave Monkeys

Dire Cheese Stats (D&D Red Book)
AC 4, HD 2, hp 12, AT Bite d6. Loot nil. XP 30

The party fished themselves out of the pool after falling through the pit trap from the roof above. Torches and lanterns soaked, they had to rely on Bulger’s low-light vision and Bowden’s sole Light spell to try and find shelter in the natural cave system.

What they found where ghouls lurking in the next cave, though they were able to pull Bulger out after the dwarf was paralyzed. Shortly after they had finished with ghoul’s, Ted the cleric realized that she could have tried to Turn them (noobs are fun).

They were much less lucky at the next encounter. Coming to a four way juncture, they tried the eastern door which opened into a dark, warm cavern heavy with the musty smell of something living inside. Bulger crept in axe at the ready, covered by Bill the thief and her bow. Just as they crossed the threshold, they were swarmed by a pack of Cave Monkeys (Rock Baboons), some armed with crude clubs.

Bill was quickly swarmed and overcome, while Bulger held his own. Back at the door Ted and Bowden did what they could against the raving monkeys. After downing a couple of simians, Ted tried to rescue Bill and dove into the room. Wounded, Bowden slammed the door to buy time to down a Healing Potion. It turned out to be a fateful decision as in that few seconds, both Ted and Bulger went down under rabid simian fury.

Suddenly, everything depended on the first level mage without a single spell left to cast.

There were three Cave Monkeys left, hammering at the door. Bowden quickly gathered all his rations and threw them down the western corridor. Then he wrenched open the door, hiding behind it as two of the monkeys burst into hallway. Winning initiative, Bowden dove through the opening and slammed the door shut behind him, trapping himself in a room with his bleeding companions and the remaining savage Cave Monkey.A few rounds and a handful of lucky rolls later, the monkey was dead and Bowden was being hailed as a hero by his companions.

They spent the next two days resting in the room, using the last of their rations, sneaking back to the pool for water and eating roast monkey. Finally, they set out again, heading west and encountering no further resistance until they accidentally triggered a spiked pit trap (though, at only d4 damage, it was determined to be more a spiked ditch trap).

They then found themselves in a vast cavern with a curious statue at the south end. Approaching, they saw it was a man made of barrels. Curious, Bulger poked the barrels, causing the fearsome Barrel Golem to spring to life and attack. During the battle, both Bill and Bowden were struck from behind with rocks, though everyone was too caught up in the battle to investigate at the time.

Defeating the Barrel Golem, they began to loot the room. Harb, used the distraction to sneak into the room and pull something from inside the destroyed Golem’s body before racing away.Barrel Golem
AC 2, HD 6, hp 40. D d8, Loot: special , Xp 100.

In the golem cave, Ted found a Ring of Protection +1, Bulger found an expensive silver amulet, Bill found a +2 Spear while Bowden found a Sleep scroll.

Now, with only one Healing potion and no rations, all they have to do is find a way to escape…

In Seach of In Search of the Unknown: Game Log 1

After Google utterly failed to work, we went audio only on skype and finally got a game going. Cast of Characters
Bludger the Dwarf, played by Dave.
An aged one-eyed dwarf who after years of being an NPC caravan guide, decided to try his hand and become a proper PC.

Theodosia Calcifer III ("Ted"), played by Doc X.
A cleric of Gucci, the god of fashion and manners who has left home seeking to remove the stain on her family name left over by her cousin Bill.

Billasia Calcifer (“Bill”), played by Ace
A young thief, rumoured to have made her money in sheep-pimping. No one is sure if this is true, but she does have a nice collection of sweaters. Exiled from the family, she has tagged along with Ted, much to the cleric’s dismay.

Bowden T. Baggers, played by Vlad
A young wizard recently sent out from the Tower of Magery to gain experience. A bit of a rube.

Mostly strangers to each other, a group of adventured gathered in the common room of the Twig and Berries Inn, each in search of the same treasure. Bludger the one-eyed Dwarf picked a fight with a group of farmers. In the melee, he grabbed the tablecloth from Ted’s table ("the centerpiece is still standing!"), angering the cleric and causing her to knock him unconscious with her mace. Bowden and Bill leapt into the fray, the theif promptly relieving the Dwarf of his money and wineskin. To avoid angering the famers further, a Halfing who introduced himself as Harb Sharptoes invited the group upstairs to the common room; he had a proposition.

Harb promised to take them to an abandoned stronghold located not to far from the city of Bastion, once home to the warrior Rogaine and his companion, the wizard Zell the Unbeknownst. The next morning they set out, but Harb quickly led them into an ambush. Harb’s two companions where killed, but the Halfing escaped.

The party, now calling themselves the Wild Stallions, returned to town for the night. The next day, they set out again, only to wander from the path and entered a shallow cave, home only to a young Owlbear. They were victorious but mauled and badly wounded. Returning to town, they sought healing from the shrine of St. Cudgel of the Blessed Bludgeoning (and stocked up on healing potions). They then befriended a slightly burnt out alchemist called Rufus, who attempted to access some potions they had found and purchased the body of the baby owlbear. The next morning, after hearing some reports of a full gown Owlbear attack on the south gate where three guardsmen were killed, they set out again, this time arriving at a door located in a cliff-face overlooking the town.

Entering through the splintered door, they walked down a long corridor, only to trigger a Magic Mouth trap. After getting into an insult contest with Bludger, the mouth faded and they continued deeper into the stronghold where they came across some bodies. Looting, three of the bodies stood up and the Wild Stallions battled the skeletons. Exploring ever deeper into the stronghold, they found a room overgrown with fungus and infested with Jumping Maggots. Barely escaping with their lives, they took refuge in a kitchen, only to be attacked again by a savage Dire Cheese.

After a rest and a lunch of cheese sandwiches, they were ambushed by a party of Orcs and almost lost Ted the cleric to a hail of arrows. After some uneventful looting, they accidentally triggered a pit trap and where dropped into a underground lake some 20’ below.

Still to come, more adventures of the Wild Stallions!

In Search of In Search of the Unknown

So the group took a vote and it came out unanimous for old skool D&D! Huzzah! I’m going right back to the roots and will be running B1-In Search of the Unknown using Red Book straight up.
This is all the background they are getting...

Background
The Nether Regions are spread wide and long across the southern parts of the continent known as Arthurland. The Nether is a wild region full of ancient magic, lost treasures and wandering monsters. Each of you has come alone to Bastion, the only city in the Nether, following the legends of Zell the Unknownst and Rogaine the Bald. Rumour has it that they disappeared many years ago battling Orkish Hordes to the south, leaving behind a hidden stronghold, abandoned and just waiting to be plundered.

Our adventure begins as you enter an inn called the Twig and Berries located in the poorest part of town called Poxhill. Inside a wretched collection of scum and villainy gather around a miserable fire, eating thin gruel and drinking watered down margaritas.

What do you do?...

The Dungeon Builder's Guidebook

Busily writing the Playing Card Dungeon (seriously need a jazzier name) book and a buddy lent me a copy of the Dungeon Builder’s Handbook, an AD&D sourcebook written by Bruce R. Cordell.

Its chock full of good ideas and I’m eagerly reading through, but it is becoming very clear that the book is an artefact of a different time. The entire first chapter outlines how to justify your dungeon and its ecology. The book seriously wants you to being building your dungeon not with corridors, rooms and traps, but with building a viable foodweb!
"Realistically, portraying the ecological interation within a dungeon setting requires you to consider the dietary needs of the creatures living therein.."
The game is called DUNGEONS and Dragons. All you ever need to justify a good dungeon are the words “ancient insane wizard”.

Still, the book is very useful and a lot of fun. Recommended for anyone planning an old school dungeon hack.

Wayne's Books!

Most excellent sites I stumbled across the morning.
Wayne's Books

OSR Conservation Project