Source material has an undead troll waiting to murder the (first level) player characters. Ouch. I’m an a-hole, I’m not a farging a-hole. Either a simple troll or a 4 HE undead. Not both. Yikes. Continue reading That seems…excessive

Grabbing lunch at my favorite Middle Eastern spot, working on the Druid spell list, when I slowly become aware of the conversation at the table right next to mine. Four college aged men, who could have been talking about a variety of different forms of gaming. But only one I know of has Lawful Neutral wizards, and sure enough, they confirmed they were out celebrating … Continue reading Dungeons and Dragons, spotted in the wild.

Mêlée Weapons: Cestus, Garrote, Lance, Mancatcher, Polearm, Rapier, Spear, Staff, Weapon (Great, Medium, Minor, Small), Whip Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Page 27 Defeating enemies is a minor way of gaining experience. This is not a game about combat or slaying foes; these activities are simply frequent necessities in the harsh reality of the game. Characters who prefer to fight when it is unnecessary are … Continue reading Lamentations of the Flame Princess, reviewed

Not mine, soothing though my radio voice may be: https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/ (A podcast telling the story of the Roman Empire from 476 AD to 1453 ) Continue reading Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts!

Skilled players avoid risking their characters’ lives if there is another, smarter way to walk out of the dungeon with a backpack full of gems and loot. Swords and Wizardy …but when there ain’t, do risk your characters’ lives for the backpack full of gems and loot. Nobody gives a damn about the sensible villager who stayed home. Continue reading Game Philosophy

In the interests of transparency, I should note that much as I started an OSR D&D game on short notice (“bring dice” I said, four hours before the first session) by hammering together the bits of Labyrinth Lord and Swords & Wizardry that I liked, our first adventure is a brute force fusion of three pre-published OSR adventures that I hammered together and put my … Continue reading Adventure One Notes

Thanks for joining me! Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton Continue reading The Journey Begins