It’s 1977. D&D is wild and wonderful and everyone’s doing their own thing. So much so, in fact, that in that same year two people published alternate versions of one of the core mechanics of old-school D&D: earning XP for treasure. In 1977, Dave Arneson, co-creator of D&D, and Jon Pickens, who later became an […]
Debauchery & Dragons: Carousing for XP, 1977 to 2015 Read More »
Alex Schroeder‘s Gridmapper is a free, online dungeon mapping tool. That’s a pretty crowded space these days, but Gridmapper stands out. Gridmpapper is a fantastic mapping tool, easy enough to use that I get my ideas down as fast as possible, but not so simple that it lacks options. I’ve experimented with lots of different
Quickly carve out dungeon maps with Gridmapper Read More »
While I was comparing dungeon treasure stocking in B/X D&D and Labyrinth Lord, I noticed something in OD&D that surprised me: The way OD&D handles wandering monsters is delightfully unforgiving. At a glance, B/X looked pretty different in this regard, so I thought I’d compare the two. Let’s just look at level 1 in both
Wandering monsters: OD&D vs. B/X D&D Read More »
My head’s full of Labyrinth Lord at the moment (I’m working on a megadungeon), so I’m prodding the areas where divergence from B/X D&D (paid link) interest me in some way. So far I’ve looked at dungeon stocking, which is basically the same with a minor flavor difference, and dungeon doors, which aren’t the same
B/X D&D vs. Labyrinth Lord treasure stocking Read More »
After comparing dungeon stocking in B/X D&D and Labyrinth Lord, I went hunting for a detailed list of differences between the two games. I couldn’t find one (still looking!), but I did come across a post about stuck dungeon doors by Peregrin on RPG.net noting that there might be a difference there. There is one,
B/X D&D vs. Labyrinth Lord dungeon doors Read More »
I love megadungeons. I’ve often thought it’d be fun to design one, but balked because I’m not sure I have the chops and because of the sheer size of the undertaking. The solution to the first part of that problem is to just try it, but what about the second, the fact that it’s a
Patrick Wetmore on keying megadungeon rooms Read More »
I was poking around on the Basic Fantasy forums when I came across a post by merias about how folks played OD&D, with a link to the Rythlondar Chronicles (originally uncovered and shared on Risus Monkey). I’m always interested in hearing about how gamers were playing RPGs before I got my start (in 1987), and
Rythlondar and gaming group size in the early days of D&D Read More »
Wayne Rossi wrote an excellent post, Clones and Rules, Inside and Out, about the apparently subtle differences between some retroclones and their sources which, in fact, produce non-subtle differences in play. Here’s an excerpt, from his comparison of OD&D (paid link) dungeon stocking to Swords & Wizardry dungeon stocking: An OD&D dungeon designed according to
B/X D&D vs. Labyrinth Lord dungeon stocking Read More »
Step 1 Remove box from shelf. Step 2 Open box. Step 3 Remove sealed bag of dice from box. Step 4 Cut open dice bag. Step 5 Remove dice. Step 6 Clean dice with soap and water to remove crayon residue. Step 7 Ink dice with Sharpie. Bonus step (optional) Realize your white paint marker
How to reduce the value of a Moldvay Basic set by 50% in 7 easy steps Read More »
Via a private share on G+, I followed a link to OD&D Setting, a free PDF by Wayne Rossi of the excellent Semper Initiativus Unum blog. It’s excellent. In 11 pages of logical observations, it pulls apart the components of OD&D‘s (paid link) implied setting — the encounter tables, the Wilderness Survival map, etc. —
OD&D’s implied setting Read More »
