Salton Seekers: My Frankensteinian Labyrinth Lord Campaign

Okay, so I'm doing a soft reboot of the Basic D&D campaign I started earlier this year. My group of old friends and I sorta stalled on the roleplaying for a while. But we're all basically back on a more normal adult responsibility schedule, so I'm deciding to kick things off again.

Also, while I love the pure nostalgia factor of using the B/X rules, I have so much stuff for Labyrinth Lord, from the referee screen to game supplements, that it made sense to shift over to using LL. As any OSR follower worth their salt knows, there's enough differences between B/X and LL to necessitate moving from one rule set to the other.

I'm still using the city of Salton I created as the foundation of the campaign. I'm letting players keep characters or create new ones, with all characters moving up to level 2 (based on prior play and XP gained). Just need to transfer characters to LL sheets!

As for the campaign world itself, I was primarily using the Dwimmermount world of Telluria as the basis for the campaign, and using some homebrew stuff tacked on (including Stonehell Dungeon). I've decided to move things over to a world I call "Æarth." I know, clever aren't I?

To pull back the curtain a bit, here's a list of older and new OSR products I'm using so far to cobble together my Frankensteinian campaign:

• Dolmenwood (from the pages of the Wormskin zine)
• Barrowmaze
• Isle of the Unknown
• Frostbitten and Mutilated
• Blackmarsh (and possibly the larger Points of Light campaign setting)
• Stonehell Dungeon
• Maybe Dwimmermount again, if the characters head far enough south...

Okay, that's all for now! I'll be posting some session recaps as we go along! Happy gaming, y'all!

Tales of Telluria Session 1: The Adventures Begin!

Identities hidden to protect the not-so-innocent...

So, here's the scenario: we got the old gaming band back together. These guys are good friends I've known since my youth, and include gentlemen that were around in the early days of my gaming career.

We decided at last that it was a crime we haven't roleplayed together in ages. This had to be remedied ASAP. So, we set a date and got together. Me? Well, I got into my traditional role as DM. 

Yeah, I said DM, not GM. Because we're playing D&D, baby! Moldvay/Marsh/Cook Basic/Expert D&D, to be precise! Yeah boy! It was beyond awesome to have the old crew around the table again! It's been far too long, criminally so! 

But all regrets aside, here's what I'm doing with the old crew: I'm running an episodic campaign. Whoever can jump in during the sessions, that's who's there. Players/characters can pop in and out on the fly. If a guy can't make a session, his character gets "separated from the group," whatever. The excuse doesn't matter. 

I printed out 70 pregenerated characters before the session (generated from this excellent site). Ten characters of each class. The guys decided to pick characters at random. Here's who they got:

• Derek is Devalla of the Mountains, second level female magic-user
• Dan is Eam the Spiritual, second level male halfling
• Pat is Nufar the Searcher, second level female cleric
• Jim is Cope, second level female fighter

The campaign is set on the world of Telluria, the setting for the Dwimmermount megadungeon. The campaign has started out in the town of Salton. A day's ride west is none other than Stonehell dungeon.

Oh yeah, I'm throwing it all into the pot, folks!

ANYway, three ladies and a halfling walk into a tavern after checking in at the adventurer's guild. The tavern is The Wanton Cockatrice, and the crew is there for a good time.

Cope the fighter puts her high Charisma to immediate work, looking to fleece some poor sucker out of some gold. She puts the moves on Finz the veteran fighter (an NPC), who she convinces to buy drinks for everyone in the place. 

Eam the halfling earns some gold plucking on his mandolin, while Nufar and Devalla drink up (Devalla does so in a disgruntled manner, because she is generally disgruntled... by the way, she's a magic user with 18 Strength, 18 Intelligence, and 18 Dexterity... what can I say, that's how the character generator created her...)

Well, suffice to say the usual roleplaying tavern shenanigans ensued, interrupted by sudden iridescent flashes of light and rumblings from outside. The party scrambled outside to see flashes of rainbow-colored lighting emanating from the red crystal dome of a wizard's tower across the river to the north. The place has been the dwelling of a powerful magic user who has hermited himself there for years. 

As the artificial lighting struck the surface of the river, a great bubbling arose from the depths. Then, pale, grotesque humanoid fish creatures pulled themselves from the water onto the docks.

The group sprang into action, entering into combat with the monstrous, disgusting things! Once the creatures were dispatched, the proprietor of the Wanton Cockatrice, a beefy fellow named Dirk, told the group that the wizard in the tower, the former adviser of Salton's Lord Brereton, had holed himself up in the tower years ago. During that time, events such as this would plague the town. The party resolved to get some sleep and investigate the tower in the morning. 

Ah, but in the middle of the night, there were more screams of terror! The party awoke to see dark, hulking forms running through the streets outside the Wanton Cockatrice. Whatever the creatures were, they had broken into homes and murdered local citizens before disappearing.

The group suited up and headed out, and spoke with some members of the town guard, who led the party to a collapsed well in a nearby public square. The well had caved in not long after the shockwaves emanated out from the wizard's tower. The party, worth their adventuring salt, decided to head down to investigate. The town watch lowered them into the collapsed well. 

The group found themselves in a winding passage, lined with burial niches. Perhaps they had stumbled upon an ancient Thulian Empire burial chamber? They lit up torches and lanterns and headed forward into the dark...

They eventually came to a larger chamber with several columns carved with bas-reliefs depicting scenes of conquest. None of them being Thulian scholars, they weren't sure if the carvings were from that empire, but the supposition was likely, given the fact that Salton is located at what would have been the eastern frontier of that old kingdom. 

There were eight niches in the walls of this chamber, filled with bodies wrapped in ancient linens, and adorned with ceremonial costume jewelry. These were more elaborate burials than those found in the niches in the passageway they had just left, though the fake jewelry spoke of pretended nobility. 

The group decided to cut open one of the "mummies" to see if there was greater wealth inside. The action of slicing open the wrappings exposed the group to a noxious, powdery substance. Saving throws were rolled, and a few of the group failed. Those who didn't make their saves began to cough up blood!

Then, the desiccated corpses in the wrappings began to stir, and ripped free! The cleric turned a few of the undead abominations, and the remaining things were defeated with a combination of weapons and magic!

We decided to stop there, after a long night of gaming and drinking! Overall, the group felt good to be back at the table! I, for one, felt great! After years of gaming with "strangers" who became friends, it was wonderful to be roleplaying with my original crew!

Session two of the campaign will happen next month! Can't wait!

P.P.S. One complaint I have is regarding the Labyrinth Lord screen I was using during the session. Now, I know there's some minor differences/modifications from B/X, but that's not my problem. Here's my gripe: I really wish DM screens had reminders of rolls for demihuman detection skills (hidden doors, etc.) and other abilities like what you have to roll to open doors, etc. But maybe that's just me. It makes me miss the unified SIEGE Engine mechanic of Castles & Crusades.

Something Wonderful is Brewing...

Oh yes, my friends! Details coming soon!

End-of-Week Willingham (2/2/2018): Dragon Slaying in Living Color!

Love this Willingham illo! Of course, the one at the front of the Moldvay Basic book is black and white, but with some color added it becomes even more epic, no? 

Incidentally, the image in my old, much-used copy of the Moldvay Basic book was colored in at some point by a prior owner. That is so cool, isn't it? I mean, someone else at some time in the past, perhaps back in the early 80's when the book was "hot off the presses," was so enamored of this image that they felt compelled to bring it to colorful life! Here's a shot of it:

I love D&D, folks!

End-of-Week Willingham (1/19/18): Adventurers on the Job!

I love this illo, from the first page of the Expert set that puts the X in B/X! There's some doughty adventurers as seen from the perspective of some dungeon creature or other! Those hardy folks don't look worried at all! As a matter of fact, they look eager to take out their opponent! I love it!

End-of-Week Dee (1/12/18): Well...

Continuing on with my current obsession with Moldvay Basic D&D, I've featured an illo from Jeff Dee this week. You've seen his art in both basic and advanced D&D tomes, no doubt. Keep watching this blog, kids. I'm planning some interesting things. Well, I think they're interesting. It remains to be seen if YOU think they're interesting. Stay tuned...

End-of-Week Willingham (1/5/18): Drow Warrior

If you're a fan of the Moldvay/Marsh Basic/Expert era of D&D, you're familiar with the art of Bill Willingham. I have to confess that I've recently delved back into B/X...indeed, thoughts and plans are swirling around in the old noggin with regard to that particular set of rules...

More information to come...in the meantime, enjoy a Mr. Willingham's drow warrior!

Game Session Report 10/21/16 (Part 2 - Fragmentary): Descent into the Depths of the Earth

I know, I know...I said in my first post of 2017 that I didn't want to finish blogging about my two sessions of RPG action with the neighborhood newbs...but I started a post and dammit, I want to publish it! 

Specifically, I want to post it because of my inane...observations. And because I have no time to blog here usually, so wasting my precious words is a crime to my sensibilities. 

See below for the fragment I wrote up before despair overtook me and my will to write on...

Let's return to the recap of my newbie players and their first RPG session, shall we?

So, a gang of goblins (probably the same that attacked the priests of Libra) came running out of the excavated barrow and attacked the party. The group made decently short work of the creatures, but player Laura (aka Noo the cleric of Leo) had the presence of mind to consider capturing one of the goblins in order to interrogate it.

Now, this brings me to an interesting observation: these folks, being newbs, have actually displayed a lot of aspects of more experienced players. Specifically, from the very first battle, they decided it would be a good idea to have a captive to interrogate.

And, if it came down to it, they wouldn't balk at a bit of torture to get information.

Now, does this say something about human nature? Granted, we're talking about an imaginary torture situation of a non-human creature, so there's really no need to be disturbed by the players decision. But I find it really interesting that no matter who I've gamed with, no matter the experience level of the players, they usually see the need to get captives and glean information, and consider torture a necessary evil.

Again, human nature? Or is there too much torture on the TV and Internet to learn from? Too much waterboarding and Gitmo Bay news footage to teach them what to do?

Oh my god, I'm Tipper Gore!

Anyway, they did indeed capture a goblin and started to interrogate, and of course threatened it with torture. The goblin told them it was a part of a tribe that moved into tunnels below the barrowlands. When the archaeology team ventured into their tunnels, the goblins reacted, attacking the humans and capturing them. 

The goblin offered to take them to the captives in exchange for its freedom. They decided to take a chance and believe that the goblin was sufficiently cowed to guide them truthfully and accurately.

That's all folks! Little did I know at the time of the writings above that the newbs would also resort to the good old lamp oil Molotov cocktail tactic in the dungeons they entered! It was instinctual, I tell you! They just came up with it out of nowhere! No prompting from me at all!

Am I way too excited about this? Let me know, please!

Game Session Report 10/21/16 (Part 1): Hello Dorkness My Old Friend...

...or maybe for a few hours on Friday!

...it's good to game with you again!

Yes, On Friday night (October 21st) we had "roleplaying with the newbs" night! Over the last few weeks my wife and I had heard through the grapevine that some folks in town were curious about D&D. My wife leaked the word that I am a veteran roleplayer, and...Boom! A game night was scheduled!

I expected people to be a bit shy and tentative about the experience. I expected some of them to be nervous about word getting out that they were playing D&D. All very normal and valid concerns for the casual gamer, given the stereotyping and ridicule of gamers that still exists in the world.

I assured them I'm a discreet game master! No need to fret, folks, your secret is safe with me!

Everyone arrived at our place, and introductions were made as needed. We had a good supply of food and drink to share. I called everyone to the kitchen table, where I had my DMing gear already set up.

There was much joking and rib-poking as the players went through the pile of pregens I provided. I made a short speech about the rules and gave them a tour of their character sheets, but I could tell they just wanted to play.

"We'll get the hang of it as we go along," they insisted. "Let's get started!" Eager, they were, indeed!

So, I set the mood and the stage: Castle Westguard, a wilderness outpost of the Great Kingdom in Southland (thanks Rob Conley, for the setting). The lord of the walled settlement, Lord Griff, needs hearty adventurers to explore the barrowlands to the northeast. Why? Because an archaeological dig seeking artifacts from ancient kingdoms has gone missing, of course!

Lord Griff needs those willing to sacrifice life and limb for the promise of treasure. "Go, find the lost archaeologists," he decreed, "and you'll be rewarded 10 gold pieces each!" The party was ready for adventure, indeed, and they set out without hesitation!

Our party of first and second level pregens (created via Wizardawn) consists of:

• Matt, playing the wizard Magic Mike (of course).
• Laura, playing the cleric of Leo named Noo.

(note, I made the on-the-fly decision that the gods of this world are the twelve gods of the zodiac, based on the suggestion of one of the players...)

• Jennell, playing the female dwarf Elvira.
• Ed, playing the fighter Donald.
• Lesley, playing the male dwarf Tases the Archaic.

 As they marched through the barrowlands, they came upon a grizzly scene: three dead bodies of priests (of the god Libra) laying outside the excavated entrance to one of the barrows.

The party decided to investigate, and discovered one of the priests was still alive. He was badly wounded, so Noo the cleric decided to heal him. Once he recovered enough to speak, the priest introduced himself as Brother Thomas, and he thanked the party profusely before telling them that he had been part of a group of ten people sent by Lord Griff to excavate barrows. The ten were a mix of scholars, priests, and guards.

The scholars had been following an ancient text that pointed to this particular barrow as having deep significance to a long-dead civilization. They had broken open the entrance and entered the circular chamber within, the walls of which were lined with niches that contained mummified bodies wrapped in linens.

One of the scholars had walked onto an elaborate mosaic of colored stones in the center of the chamber. The floor had given way underneath the man, who had plunged a hundred feet or so to his death. The majority of the group decided to descend the shaft to recover the body and explore what was below.

Thomas and the other two Libran priests had remained on the surface. They waited for hours for the return of their fellows, and even engaged in some prayer to pass the time. It was during their prayers that they were attacked by a group of small, horrible green-skinned creatures bearing rusted swords and shields that looked as if they were made of stretched skins.

The creatures, of course, were goblins. They attacked the priests and slaughtered them...except for Thomas. Once they had finished their bloody work, the goblins disappeared back into the barrow, and presumably went back down the shaft to the depths from whence they came. And, of course, it seems none of the others on the archaeological dig team had ever come back up from below...

His story complete, Thomas then asked that one of the party escort him back to Castle Westguard. The party, as a whole, told him that wasn't going to happen, because they needed to find the rest of the archaeological team. Thomas balked at that, but before he could continue to argue, the gibbering voices of goblins once again boiled out of the dark entrance to the barrow...

TO BE CONTINUED...

The System Mastery Grail

I want to "master" a system. A roleplaying system, to be precise.

I read a certain post over at The RPG Corner a while back, and it's been on my mind ever since.

What do I personally mean when I talk about mastering a system? For me, the ultimate type of system mastery would be memorization of nearly all the core rules of a system. I have a strong desire to be an "encyclopedia" of a system, or should I say a living "core rulebook."

Now, this isn't because my ideal game system would have a rule for every situation, or that I think all players and GMs should strive to memorize a system. Memorization is NOT a prerequisite for good roleplaying. This is just a particular quirk of mine, I suppose. I have always been most comfortable at the table-top when I could rattle off rules without having to refer to a book or a referee screen.

Right now, I feel like I have a different, "lesser" type of system mastery when it comes to Castles & Crusades. I may not have every character class ability or racial ability memorized, for example, but I have a solid grasp of the core mechanics for ability checks, saving throws, combat, and the like. And this, to me, is perfectly fine and is more than enough for me to run a good game.

BUT I would REALLY love it if I could muster up the time and brain power these days in order to memorize character class abilities, racial abilities, poison creation rules, etc.

I am currently not what I would consider a "living core rulebook" for any system. Perhaps in my teenage years I was a near-master of AD&D or the Palladium RPG system. But this is just not possible for me at this point in my life, at least not when it comes to games like Castles & Crusades.

But of course, in typical "me" style, that darn system mastery urge won't go away.

So I've been looking at Basic D&D (B/X to be precise) as my most likely candidate for system mastery. I think the rules are short enough for me to have a good shot at memorizing most of them. And more importantly, it's D&D and I've got years of using that system under my belt.

But it seems that system mastery may come at a price: most likely, mastering a system takes all of one's mental and temporal gaming resources (or at least, this will be the case for ME). So forget about becoming similarly erudite in any other system. Unless you have unlimited free time (that's not me), have an eidetic memory (my memory is still pretty good, but not photographic by a long shot), or some combination of the two.

Now, combine all this with my sometime-desire to run games in genres other than fantasy, such as cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, Cthulhu mythos, etc. This makes me think it would behoove me to master a more "universal" game system that lends itself more readily to different genres of play. Yes, yes, you can of course remove the fantasy from the D&D engine if you tried, but that's just more work for which I don't have time.

The only universal game system with which I have current experience is Savage Worlds. I suppose the Palladium system is universal, but I've got a "been there, done that" relationship with Palladium from my teen years and I really have no interest in picking it back up. I've never played GURPS, but I've dabbled in the rule books and was never really drawn to it.

So would the solution for me be to dedicate myself to mastering a simple-enough universal system, so when I get the genre "switch itch" I wouldn't have to change game systems as well? That is appealing, not having to learn a new system all the time, as well as not having to ask players to learn new systems.

Anyway, here are some questions for you:

1. What would you define as system mastery?

2. How important is system mastery to you?

3. Is there a system (or systems) that you can confidently say you have mastered, or that you would like to master?

A final thought: all of this makes me wonder if the system mastery desire is part of the reason many OSR gamers, especially GMs, seek to create their own versions of the old D&D systems. A system that you tweak yourself may, by extension, become one that you know very well.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing from you all out there!

What's my hang-up when it comes to traditional D&D, eh?

I need to get something out. Maybe someone(s) out there can be my temporary RPG headshrinker... like a virtual Lucy van Pelt setting up her psychiatrist booth at a moment's notice, whenever there's a nickle to be earned from some Charlie Brown type.

I know I've written several posts recently about my internal flailings pertaining to D&D, but I felt like I needed more catharsis.

Anyway, here's my issue: I can't seem to shake the desire to do straight-up, traditional D&D. What I mean is, every time I think about running a sword & sorcery game using the Crypts & Things rules, or running a cyberpunk or post-apocalyptic future campaign using Savage Worlds, eventually something inside me moans "Oh but that's not D&D! You need to GM D&D!"

Am I fighting against simple inertia? What's my hang-up on D&D? I continually ask myself what I'm looking for, why I can't shake this feeling. What is the genesis of this yearning, this "fear" of branching out from D&D? Does anyone else out there feel this constant internal push to stick with the "original fantasy game?"

My latest yen is to run B/X D&D (with the B/X Companion and Complete B/X Adventurer from JB at B/X Blackrazor included) in the Dawnforge campaign world. It haunts me! Argh!

Look, I know most of you don't really know me and all the inner workings that make me an individual, so I know you can't really diagnose the specific origins of my obsession. I guess I'm just looking for a bit of "misery company." At the very least, you know that I struggle with Gamer ADD, and I'm sure that particular bogey man has something to do with this.

I am still relatively early in my return to the table-top after a long hiatus, so perhaps something inside me has determined that I am not yet done re-exploring my D&D roots, at least when it comes to being a game master. I currently have no problem being a player in games that are not D&D-centered. Therefore, I'm not sure how long it will be before I can run anything but D&D-esque games. There's also the fact of my life situation as a busy husband and father with full-time job and a mortgage, which lends a certain desperation to my gaming activities, as I have little time to prep and play RPGs.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. In the meantime, I'll be struggling internally...

You're no hero...yet. But you're already a veteran.

A couple concepts that seem to be held sacred by many in the OSR include:

1. Low-level PCs are inexperienced bumpkins.

2. PCs are not heroes.

The perpetuation of these supposed "Old School RPG truisms" is getting old. I've been stewing about this for a long time. Let me finally chime in on the matter. This isn't going to be a huge diatribe. I suppose I just need to vent, and get my two cents out there, for all that they're worth.

Low-level PCs are Inexperience Bumpkins

Certain windy old pundits will tell you that low-level PCs are just up-jumped peasants. This idea has even taken concrete form in the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, with its 0-level characters. I don't care if this is how someone likes to play, but I take issue with those that hold this up as some sort of "gold standard" of old-school play.

I would argue that low-level PCs in D&D-related games, especially 1st-level PCs, have already been through some trials that push them beyond the pale of normal folk. I believe that this was the intention behind every iteration of D&D, back to the LBBs.

Look at the B/X level titles. Take, for example, the fact that in B/X the first level fighter is called a "veteran." OK, veteran implies he's seen some combat, right? Even level titles like acolyte, medium, and apprentice (cleric, magic -user, and thief respectively) don't necessarily indicate the lowest possible level of those professions. To be accepted into a religious order or a guild, doesn't one usually have to be somewhat accomplished in their chosen profession to be chosen in the first place?

So when a player portrays a 1st-level character as one jaded by harsh experience, that's just as valid as a player who wants their 1st-level character to be a wide-eyed innocent.

These low-level PCs may be inexperienced in terms of game mechanics, but that shouldn't have to equate to players acting out characters as totally inexperienced within their chosen professions/ classes.

PCs are Not Heroes

The windy old pundits will also tell you that PCs are not heroes. I think what most OSR folks mean is that PCs are not SUPERheroes, as portrayed mechanically in later iterations of D&D (especially 4E).

What is a hero, really? An evil person can be a hero to individuals of the same persuasion, no? Look at the DCC RPG. For each alignment, a cleric turns whatever is "unholy" to his/her alignment.

And the moniker of "hero" is more often than not foisted onto a person without their agreement/consent. Indeed, a true hero is someone who denies the fact of said heroism. This denial can come from true humility or one's refusal to be labeled by a society with which they take issue.

I find it interesting that there are still those that will try to tell you the game is just about being "looters." If you read the forward to Moldvay Basic, he holds up the (albeit cliched) example of the adventurer (dare I say hero?) slaying a dragon and saving a maiden. Does that sound like someone who thinks a game is just about killing things and taking their stuff?

But playing a stereotypical hero shouldn't be the default way to play any more than being a glorified tomb robber. Play what you want to play, and let the DM sort it out!

Again, you can play your character any way you want. If you want your old-school character to be a traditional lawful hero, go for it. If you want to be a brooding anti-hero, do it. If you want to be an amoral sort, do it. But just don't let someone tell you that you can't be a hero. Be whatever you define as being a hero.

Conclusion

Look, if there are those that want new characters to be those unheroic peasants at low levels, I say play on. Just don't hold that up to the rest of us as the "one true way." That's utter garbage.

Vacation and Roleplaying

Vacation roleplaying with newbs in a rural Pennsylvania cabin? Priceless.

I've been on a short vacation since last Friday (just got back to work this Tuesday...yes, mourn for me). And for about a week before that I was gearing up for said vacation. So posting has of course been absent for over a week, but it was worth it. I know people say this all the time, but I really needed the recharge of that vacation. Part of the reason it was a great time was the fact that I had no Internet access. The web is a huge time suck for me, especially when it comes to gaming stuff (including, of course, reading and writing blog posts).

I brought my copies of B/X with me, as well as Jonathan Becker's B/X Companion, so that I could read up on them again. I've recently posted about how I would prefer to play original Basic D&D rather than use retroclones, and I decided I wanted to do some re-reading of B/X (and the new stuff from JB, including the Complete B/X Adventurer, which I just got in the mail!).

It wasn't even a consideration in my mind that I would be doing any roleplaying that weekend. My wife is understanding of my hobby and even takes an occasional interest and asks how a session went, but she has expressed no interest at all in actually roleplaying. It's just not her thing. And I'm okay with that.

Well, you can imagine my surprise when SHE brought up the idea of roleplaying this weekend. I was sitting on a sunny afternoon reading through Moldvay's Basic Set, minding my own business, when the impossible happened! Now, if my wife is not a roleplayer, the other two folks in the cabin (friends of hers from college and owners of the cabin) are even further removed from the hobby. But my wife persisted, and I was shocked, but found myself willing to run a short session and teach some total newbs the ropes of the game!

Quicky character sheets...er, character SLIPS.

So, I pulled some stats from a copy of the B1 module I had on hand, whipped up some quick characters after asking the players what they wanted to be, and we got down to it.

I outlined the class options, and my wife chose to be an elf, which she named Sally. Her female friend chose to be a thief she named Bob (and by the way, Bob was a woman). The husband of Bob the thief wanted to play a wizard, who he called Willy. So, the party created, I started them at the mouth of a dark tunnel. Their characters had heard rumors of treasure in the depths, but also of great danger to those who would venture below.

The players seemed to instinctually discuss marching order, something I've seen experienced gamers forget about all too often. They soon came upon some goblins. Willy wanted to talk, while Sally the elf wanted to smash them with her flail (my wife insisted on having a "ball on a chain" and rolled her eyes when I pointed at myself and told her she already had one in real life).

Anyway, they killed a couple goblins but one fled deeper into the tunnels. The party pressed on, intent on riches. They came to a large cavern where there were more goblins waiting, having been warned of the coming of adventurers by the goblin that had gotten away from the first combat. The party dove into the fight, and the goblins surrendered after a few of their comrades fell. The party decided to take the goblins as prisoners and tied them together with some rope. The goblins promised to lead them to treasure.

The party found a chamber filled with pools of lava, on the far end of which was a pile of treasure. They sent the thief, the character with the highest Dexterity, to cross the lava and get some booty. She came back with the goods, and the group was happy! The goblins urged them to go down another passage to find more goodies, and the part obliged. They opened a door to find a huge creature hunched over a fresh humanoid corpse, eating away. The creature noticed them, and stretched up to reveal a ten-foot-tall minotaur!

The beast attacked and the part was forced to fight. It was a fairly desperate battle, with the wizard and the thief getting low on hit points and my wife being plagued by some bad dice rolls. However, they eventually killed the creature, and decided it was high time to leave the caves. That's where we decided to end the session, as we needed to get ready for dinner.

We had a fun time, very light hearted and we laughed a lot. I told them that that's the point of the whole thing: have fun and try not to take things too seriously. I clarified that there can be serious moments in a session, but things usually also get pretty funny. For super newbs (people who barely know that roleplaying exists let alone have any interest in the hobby), my wife's friends were pretty open to the whole experience.

I give big props to my wife for suggesting we play in the first place! It's definitely outside her comfort zone. But she loves me and wanted to surprise me, and said she "thought it would make me happy." She was right on that count! I'm a lucky man indeed!

The session taught me some things: I could stand to be more easy-going and light-hearted about my gaming. I mean, I'm not super serious during sessions, but I could be less tense about pleasing players. If they're into the game, things will naturally fall into place and people will have fun. And since I didn't have a lot of time to prepare, I decided to let loose and let my winging-it instincts run free. Granted, they were newbs and the cliched scenario I came up with was pretty generic stuff. But I took my audience into consideration.

I also moved things along quite fast, moving things along when things seemed to be getting a bit bogged down. As players, the group was less cautious and thought out than most RPG veterans. But that "recklessness" on the players' part was refreshing. I knew I had to keep them from getting bored more easily than RPG vets, and remembered that I had to be sure to include scenarios that required each character's class abilities, so everyone would feel useful.

This experience also reaffirmed my ever-growing love for Basic D&D. We got going in no time, and it was fairly easy to show them that roleplaying is sort of like "a board game without a board, and with more imagination thrown in."

Anyway, it was an all-around good time! Any gaming is good gaming in my book, and surprise gaming is a rare treat!

Question of the Day: Can you use B/X and Labyrinth Lord together?

Hi all, don't have much time to post today. But I wanted to ask another question, this one inspired by my re-readings of late. I've been delving once again into the pages of both the original B/X books as well as Labyrinth Lord. But since I have such limited time, one thing escapes me: true knowledge how the two would work together in actual use during a game session.

What I mean is, say I'm using the B/X books for reference and the players have copies of LL for reference. What problems would we run into, if any?

So, the question: can one safely use B/X and LL simultaneously during a game session and not get into trouble?

Thoughts after reading Moldvay’s Basic Set

So, as part of my desire to read up on Classic or "Basic" D&D, I’ve read through Moldvay’s Basic Set. Here’s how I sum up my thoughts after reading it:

The nostalgia that I felt was heavy duty (again, I never played it when I was young, but it still reminded me in some ways of reading through the AD&D 1E books).

The only real difference that I could see between Moldvay Basic and Labyrinth Lord was the rules for attribute adjustment. It might be clearer to state that the only rules difference that matters to me is attribute adjustment, which I think is absent from Labyrinth Lord (then again, I haven’t read Labyrinth Lord from cover to cover, so I could be wrong). But really, I don't think that there are any other differences of any considerable size.

If I wanted to play by these rules or something like them, I’d rather play Labyrinth Lord.

This last statement is how I felt after finishing my read-through. I feel like Labyrinth Lord has a much better organization, appearance, and some small changes in the rules that make it much more accessible, at least to me at my current stage of life.

The big factors that appeal to me when thinking of running a Classic D&D game are:

Limited class options make it easier for the GM to remember class abilities and faster for players to create characters (even faster than Castles & Crusades/C&C, which is pretty quick when it comes to character creation).

Saving throw progression and other similar mechanics don’t require the thought process that goes into systems that require the GM to create target numbers for attribute checks (an issue I had with D&D 3E, but C&C mitigates much of the thought process with the SIEGE Engine system). If I ever thought there was a need for attribute checks in a Classic D&D game, I like the thought of making players roll under the appropriate attribute score. I’ve always felt that D&D attribute numbers were sort of useless, and their modifiers or lack thereof had more effect on the game (perhaps that was just my style of play back in the day…)

The four human races and the demihuman race-as-class options lend a certain archetypal/mythic aspect to the game that appeals to me. I have ideas for developing my own setting for use with Classic D&D rules, and using that in a future campaign.

How Classic D&D lends itself to a certain style of play that is appealing to me (i.e. simpler, faster, rules-light, archetypal/”mythic”). I truly believe that system influences style of play.

Actually, there’s one other big thought on my mind, as you can probably tell from all my references to C&C above: I still prefer C&C for my number-one go-to game. I love that system and its combination of AD&D and d20 D&D concepts. It’s the rules set that makes me want to do the least amount of house ruling. To me, at this point in my life, I find that “limited need for house ruling” is a big factor for me when it comes to a game system. This is mostly due, I think, to my limited free time for gaming. I would prefer to spend my time prepping for game time and actual play rather than rules tinkering. And less house rules means that players can depend mostly on published rules and not have to worry about tons of house rules that I might foist upon them.

While I was reading Labyrinth Lord, I found myself doing a lot of house ruling in my head. There were a lot of tweaks I found myself wanting to make. And in considering the changes, they were mostly efforts on my part to put C&C functionality into Classic D&D. Such as thinking about how to do attribute checks in Classic D&D in a manner that was satisfying to me.

I KNOW that this is a big heresy when it comes to Classic D&D play. I know there’s a rabid contingent of people, many many people out there, who would balk at my attribute check fixation. Trust me, I do so myself. In our C&C games, I try to minimize attribute checks when possible, resorting to asking my players to roleplay out the actions they want to accomplish as much as possible. Even if they are asked to make an attribute check, I still ask them to roleplay things out (and depending on how convincing they are, I will often give them bonuses to the associated rolls).

And come to think of it, instead of resorting to Classic D&D rules to get the Classic D&D “style” of gameplay (archetypal), I could very well just run C&C but restrict races and classes to what would be close to what is available in Classic D&D.

I am thinking of potentially asking my group if we could sometimes run Classic D&D one-shot sessions. Just so I can get a fix. One other aspect of Classic D&D that I like, funnily enough, is how deadly it can be. I would like to run a game that is more deadly and less about epic adventure. Again, this is just my own perception of game systems, but I find that AD&D/C&C (at least for me) lend themselves to more epic adventure style of play, where characters are more hardy at lower levels and therefore have a much greater chance of living to reach high levels and forging great destinies.

Anyway, there you have it, folks. For good or ill. Please give me your thoughts. I guess I’m on to read Moldvay Expert, and then on to Labyrinth Lord (for a more through read than I’ve ever given it).

Readin' Up on Basic/Classic/Just Plain D&D

I was recently chastized for referring to Moldvay and Mentzer's sets as OD&D, and perhaps rightly so. Mea culpa. Again, I never actually played OD&D or Moldvay/Mentzer in my gaming career. I started out with AD&D from the get-go. I may have collected things such as the Rules Cyclopedia and the Big Black Box, but never played those versions.

[Just as an aside, I would personally like to call Moldvay / Mentzer's versions D&D, rather than Basic or Classic D&D. Basic doesn't seem to fit to me, since Moldvay had an Expert set, and Mentzer had the Expert / Companion / Master / Immortal sets to follow up his Basic. I would prefer to call the iterations Original D&D, D&D, and AD&D...but I suppose that might not be clear enough. Ah heck, I guess I'll stick to Classic D&D, then.]

It's only now that I'm dabbling in Original and Classic D&D. I purchased Lamentations of the Flame Princess as well as Labyrinth Lord and Swords & Wizardry. As stated above, I have a copy of the Rules Cyclopedia at home, and even managed to snag some PDFs of the books in Moldvay and Mentzer's sets. So now I have piles of original versions as well as clones...and I need to start studying up!

I know in the past I declared Mentzer's version of Classic D&D to be my go-to once I was ready to run some plain-old D&D, either using the RC or the books from the sets. Well, now I'm not so sure.

So, I've decided to start really reading up on the old Classic material. I'm picking a starting point as of now, and that is Moldvay/Cook/Marsh B/X. I'm not really sure where I will go from there. Any advice would be very welcome!

And BTW, where's Holmes fit in with all this? I frankly have no real interest in considering Holmes. I've glanced at his version, and seemed like just a jumble.

Anyway, I'm off to start studying. If I have time, I'll post some impressions. Wish me luck on my journey of discovery...

EDIT: I suppose I should have included a status update of where my head is at currently with regard to "preferred" editions, eh? At this point, Labyrinth Lord seems to have risen above the rest of the pack, both original editions and clones, in my estimation. But I would like to read Moldvay to see how things were originally published. Mentzer and the RC call out to me, perhaps just from nostalgia. But from my prior superficial scans of the contents of LL, the Mentzer-era stuff doesn't seem as "shiny" anymore...at least at the moment.

As for Swords & Wizardry, it's sort of slipping further down on the rungs of my affection. I like some aspects of it, but these aspects (spells, some class options) may be things that I steal for use with a game founded on LL. And I have no interest in gaining access to the original books that S&W is based upon. Is that heresy?

When it comes to Lamentations of the Flame Princess, it too is probably something from which I will steal ideas. For instance, I may use Raggi's d6-based thief skills instead of percentiles. That would probably be the major borrowing.

See how this can all be quite maddening?! Curse you once again, Gamer ADD!

A Yen for OD&D

As you may know, I've been a part of a group that's been campaigning using Castles & Crusades since early this year. I've been a player and a GM in the group, and I have to say it's been an incredible experience. We're a small group, but what we lack in size we make up for in creativity, camaraderie, and lots of RPG experience. This group has fulfilled my long-time goal of finally gaming with new people. Until this year, I had only gamed with childhood friends. And it's been the true vehicle for the return to table-top roleplaying that I have yearned for since around 2007.

All that being said, there's the eternal spectre of Gamer ADD. I think I am a more-than-moderate sufferer of this dreaded condition.

So, perhaps I've fallen under the influence of JB over at B/X Blackrazor, but I've decided that, once our current C&C campaign runs its course, I would like to propose an OD&D game to my group.

This is my chance to finally game using OD&D rules, which I never really did...unless you count my recent, short-term use of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Deluxe Edition rules when gaming with a couple old friends on a few occasions. OD&D represents a more "mythic" play style to me, where characters are more archetypal, more "primal" if you will. This taps into my strong belief that game system plays a large role in determining style of play (a topic I've been meaning to post about for some time now, but haven't yet gotten around to it).

First of all, I'm pondering what system(s) to use. Do I use the original games, or do I use a retroclone? There's a certain something to the thought of playing with the originally published rules. But then again, there's the often greater clarity of rules and presentation of retroclones. At the moment, I'm considering a foundation of Labyrinth Lord with some aspects of Swords & Wizardry thrown in for good measure. But my goal now is to read up on original B/X as well as the retroclones I like (Labyrinth Lord and S&W) to see which has the functionality I need. Oops, almost forgot: I've also got the Rules Cyclopedia as well as the books from the Mentzer Basic and Expert sets. So, I've got some readin' and decidin' to do, as well as battlin' with nostalgia over practicality.

Any suggestions/advice would be welcome! (this includes my request for advice on dwarves from this recent post)

As for the world in which I would place the campaign, I am thinking that I will do a homebrew world. Roleplaying has been a way to fulfill my creative urges. There's a level of creativity in designing adventures and plot hooks. But then there's another level in worldbuilding that I've been missing. I have been worried about lack of time, but I think I have some ideas to get this going.

But again, all of this is just very preliminary. I have no intention of abandoning my current campaign, and expect our C&C goodness to keep rolling for a good while. Still, there's something to be said for a little daydream-brainstorm for future adventures...

Are YOU with D&D?

Hi all. I haven't been able to post over the last few days due to work and family. I am becoming much busier by the day at my new job, so that unfortunately means that my blogging during the day will be slowing down/sporadic. I have to sacrifice something in favor of spending time to actually game/prepare to game. As always, I do what I can when I can. Anyway, enough of all that. On to the real topic of this post:

Has anyone read the "I'm with D&D" post over at The Other Side blog? Take a look if you haven't, and let me know your thoughts. What is your stance on the many editions of D&D? Are you an egalitarian, or a staunch partisan? I for one have a "play and let play" stance on things for the most part. Any kind of D&D is D&D, alright! What's most important to me is that people are actually playing! Now, does that mean I love the 4E incarnation? No. I am not a huge fan of editions 2 through 4 of D&D, actually. And I have just truly started to delve into OD&D, and find some issues with that venerable beast as well. Give me 1E any day! But if people are as passionate about other versions, so be it. Who am I to tell them what should be their game of choice? I could write posts that go on about what I find offensive about a particular edition, but always with the caveat of "this is my opinion." If you love it, play it.

I've been called "mealy" for my opinions. So be it. Mealy I may be, but at least I'm not a "flaming" uber-nerd who's sole purpose is to extend one's ire for a D&D edition to actually attacking those who play said edition. That's a level of meta-dorkness to which I will not descend.

Currently, I am playing using Castles & Crusades, which has been dubbed a 1E/3.5E hybrid. But I am also increasingly interested in Labyrinth Lord, a clone of Moldvay/Cook/Marsh B/X. I see C&C as a means to do more "story-driven" roleplaying, whereas LL to me would be used at my table for a more "traditional" version of D&D that focuses on the sandbox-y, dungeon crawl "slay and loot" approach. I know some of you are groaning right now at my mention of story in conjunction with D&D. I might need to do a separate post on my thoughts regarding the use of certain editions depending on what style of game you want to run. This post may also include my thoughts on playing strong archetypes versus more "individualized" characters, etc. I may have to rethink my stance on other editions, and accept that each has their merit based on what style of play you seek to foster.