Apparently my special interest now is writing about the annoying mundanities of AD&D city/town life - taxes, tolls, intentionally misleading encounters, and irritating and expensive NPCs. To this end, I've been reading all about henchmen in the DMG. Boy, it is a lot more difficult to recruit these people than I gave it credit for!| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
Look at this guy's face: He's mad! Why? Probably because, per the AD&D DMG, dealing with NPCs "should be expensive and irritating": The exam...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
Nestled into ancient ruins in overgrown woods, this ramshackle structure could be home to a druid, a hermit with forbidden …Continue reading →| Dyson's Dodecahedron
Originally built to honour the noble line of House Virell, the DreadWarren was abandoned after a plague decimated the region. …Continue reading →| Dyson's Dodecahedron
This is the twelfth map in the Index Card Dungeon II set. This map sits underneath Map 5 (Tower Dungeons) …Continue reading →| Dyson's Dodecahedron
Illo by Mikołaj Ratajczak This is the eleventh map in the Index Card Dungeon II set. This map sits directly underneath Map 10 (Lost Dungeons) and Map 9 (Ancient Sewers) above that. A single set of …| Dyson's Dodecahedron
This post was originally going to be completely different. I had planned to take this opportunity to announce that, going forward, I was no longer going to be purchasing or reviewing any of the “One D&D” products. I had given WotC the benefit of the doubt and bought and read through their 2024 editions of the core D&D rulebooks, and...|
Mød De rejsende, når de samles på en scene for at spille Dungeons & Dragons live. Fantasy Festival, Esbjerg, 20. september Svalegangen Teater, Århus, 24. november — Billetter Hotel Cecil, København, 13. januar 2026 — Billetter DE REJSENDE LIVE Oplev et live Dungeons & Dragons rollespil, når de tre spillere Elias Eliot, Maria Månson og […]| Stemmen fra ådalen
Have you been to Moria yet? That’s right, the OG megadungeon, the greatest of the dwarven halls, Khazad-dûm, where Gandalf stood alone, upon Durin’s Bridge, to block the passage of […]| Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
Since I wrote about indentured magic-users and clerics being encountered among the city guard/watch, I've been poring over the rest of AD&D's city/town encounters. Yes, yes, that's the part of the book with the infamous harlot table:| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
Here's something that I mentioned very briefly in my post about the AD&D DMG's section on "taxes" (including duties, excises, fees, tariffs,...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
You ever just realize everything about something you love changed when you weren’t paying attention? It’s happened to me twice when it comes to tabletop Roleplaying Games. In 2014 Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition released to the public and took the ttrpg space by storm. It was a throwback, self-referential, nostalgic game that built on […]| Gnome Stew
The Bramble Marches is a campaign I've been working on that's meant to include TSR-era exploration and end-game content into 5e D&D. A friend of mine has actually done more with it so far than I have. ;p| Trollsmyth
And back to my series of classes for my mad mashup of various sources, but based on a B/X core. | Trollsmyth
And back to my series of character classes for my mad mashup D&D game based on B/X but including rules from all over. This time, a bit of Hindu myth that really, really harshes on what lots of folks consider a core element of the Old School vibe.| Trollsmyth
Last week’s post covered most of the silly names in Power Behind the Throne, and sharp-eyed readers called out a few more in the comments. This week, I’m moving on to the adventure itse…| Graeme Davis
This is the tenth map in the Index Card Dungeon II set. This map sits directly underneath Map 9 (Ancient …Continue reading →| Dyson's Dodecahedron
The Graxworm is a massive dead dragon of mythic scale, several miles long and large enough to contain a town in the mouth. Creatures have set up here to “mine” the massive corpse for it…| Dyson's Dodecahedron
These weapons are intended as a replacement for the weapons in the official rules. They have been modified somewhat to work with Bold Against Monsters (BAM) and ShadowDark, but could be used with T…| Dungeon Master Assistance
Behind The ‘Monstrous Manual’: PART 3 | Tony DiTerlizzi
100 weird holes for your dungeon.| The Dododecahedron
Something amusing I found while poring over the AD&D city/town encounters:| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
The blogosphere is celebrating Stanley Yelnats's birthday by posting hole . It's a blog bandwagon! A holewagon. The following post is my hum...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
Illo by Mikołaj Ratajczak This is the seventh map in the Index Card Dungeon II set. This map sits directly underneath Map 6 (Dungeon Ruins), which in turn is below Map 2 (Northern Ruins). There are…| Dyson's Dodecahedron
“Slaying the Dragon” by fireflythegreat is licensed under CC BY 2.0. This is an optional rule for Bold Against Monsters (BAM). Also, heroic actions can replace Weapon Masteries in D&…| Dungeon Master Assistance
An excellent module haunted by some unfortunate flaws.Review Originally Published May 22nd, 2001The Forge of Fury is the second in WotC’s Adventure Path series of modules for D&D – d| thealexandrian.net
Let's pretend it's still 2024. It may now be the Year of the Snake, but in my heartit's still the Year of the Dragon!| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
No, I'm not actually going to describe one hundred thousand encounters with a dragon. How would I even do that? If you want an exhaustively ...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
These are class reference sheets for BAM. Download the free PDF HERE. If you aren’t familiar with BAM, it is my rules light 5e comparable RPG named “Bold Against Monsters” that I …| Dungeon Master Assistance
Let me introduce Bold Against Monsters. (You can call it BAM.). This is a new D&D 5E compatible rules-light Role Playing Game that I – the Old Dungeon Master – just finished writing…| Dungeon Master Assistance
DISCUSSINGIn the Shadow of the Spire – Session 46A: Among MadmenAt the last possible moment, Zairic twisted aside so that the arrow lodged in his shoulder instead of his heart. Letting his b| thealexandrian.net
Dungeons & Dragons er et fantasy rollespil, som nu har over halvtreds år på bagen, og det er ikke et, men flere forskellige fantasy-rollespil, som måske bedst forklares gennem termen Dungeons &…| Stemmen fra ådalen
The Premium Edition of Stern Pinball's Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye, is coming to Arcade Galactic in Utah.| Arcade Galactic - Video Arcade & Pinball Gaming at Valley Fair Mall in West V...
Das Spielerhandbuch – das wohl essenziellste Buch und Eingangstor in die Welt eines jeden Rollenspiels. Schließlich enthält es die wichtigsten Regeln zum Spielen und zur Charaktererschaffung. Nach zehn Jahren erhält das Spielerhandbuch für Dungeons & Dragons eine neue Edition voller Änderungen, Verbesserungen und Neuerungen.| Teilzeithelden
When I first read Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth (and other Appendix N literature) and became familiar with Mazirian the Magician, C...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
Goodman Games has done it again! The latest entry in the Original Adventures Reincarnated line finally out and should be available in stores shortly after I publish this review. For OAR #9, Goodman Games chose to modernize the classic dungeon module, The Caverns of Thracia. Like the previous conversion of Dark Tower, this mega-dungeon is another of Jennell Jaquays’ (aka:...|
This is not a Dragonlance post!| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
Something I often struggle with when creating a sandbox is the level of detail to give to each location, and at what point in the process to do so. My sandboxes tend to be big - probably too big. The 100-hex sandbox was my attempt at codifying a procedure for creating a play area that felt big enough to contain the bare essentials that I would want for a campaign without going overboard. | Blog of Forlorn Encystment
Here's one that came to me when I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep. I've written before about my social in...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
Listen, I’m a snob in many areas, but especially in how I have fun. If a game is pitched to me as “popular”, I’m wary of it. “Everyone’s doing it” is one o…| DREAMING DRAGONSLAYER
I am happy to announce the upcoming publication of the book chapter "'Dr. Holmes, I Presume?' How a California Neurology Professor Penned the First Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set," co-authored with Zach "Zenopus" of Zenopus Archives. It will be published in Fifty Years of Dungeons & Dragons, scheduled for release on May 14, 2024.| The Cryptic Archivist
Tracing the California Gaming Scene, part II: Erol Otus in NorCal| The Cryptic Archivist
Let's face it, most game fiction isn't very good.| The Cryptic Archivist
Chess960: chess with a random setup| Homebrew Homunculus
TL;DR: Have several tables of backgrounds; characters with low ability scores roll on better tables.| Homebrew Homunculus
Why Ascending?| Homebrew Homunculus
A strange mummy wanders the sandy wastes, not bound to a tomb | Homebrew Homunculus
I guess the Trollkin class set my mind on the track of "slightly monstrous adventurers with death-avoiding abilities". I googled "OSR skeleton class" and found only this: https://www.necropraxis.com/2014/02/06/skeleton-class/ so consider this class inspired by Necropraxis's. Essentially I've codified a bit more what it means to be an undead PC, and made the class rather more party-dependant.| Homebrew Homunculus
These are some of the kookier ideas I’m kicking about. The Elven one, I think, is a really flavourful and small change that makes them more Moorcockian/ Melnibonéan, which I dig. The Cleric change is something that makes sense to me fluff-wise, but I’m not sure if it might break the game too much - please let me know what you think. The Magic-User one is the most kooky, and has the biggest impact on how the game plays, so I've saved it for last. Any of these can be implemented separate o...| Homebrew Homunculus
The rule| Homebrew Homunculus
D&D B/X is, I would wager, the most popular basis for OSR games. Therefore, B/X style ability modifiers are the most common. In case you didn't know, ability modifiers in B/X range from -3 to +3 and are determined like this:| Homebrew Homunculus
Observation 1: Most of the Thief skills in B/X D&D improve in increments of 5%, which makes using a percentile die rather pointless. You can take the percentile (and x-in-6) Thief skills table, convert all the values onto a d20 target number, and it looks like this (TN rounded up):| Homebrew Homunculus
A contest on G+ to come up with a new way to speed up combat in D&D caught my interest, two responses in particular.| Homebrew Homunculus
Edit: It turns out most people just want the rules and not the editorial - If you don't want to know why you should use encumbrance and will just take my word for it, skip to the last section, or see the printable PDF of the rules here and the new inventory sheet here.| Homebrew Homunculus
I was inspired to adapt | Homebrew Homunculus
Go to Part 4| Homebrew Homunculus
You’re probably aware of the multi-attack abilities fighters have had over the years. There’s the “Melee attacks per round” table, where Fighters in AD&D could have 1/1, 3/2 or 2/1 attacks per round. That fractional value of 3/2 means your number of attacks alternates each round: twice in one round, then once in the next, and so on. Sure, it’s not hard to understand - but it’s still an additional thing to remember in the heat of battle, which I don’t want in my game. Newer edi...| Homebrew Homunculus
Attacks. Each jouster wields a shield (+2 AC if proficient) and a lance (1d12, use Strength for attack and damage rolls). On each pass, each jouster rolls an attack with their lance.| Homebrew Homunculus
The AD&D wilderness inhabitation tableshave infected my mind. They have wormed their way in, forcing me to make sandboxes I may never use. Now that they've burrowed deep beneath the surface, living (rent free!) in my brain, so too have I begun to dig beneath the surface. I'm increasingly interested in analyzing and rationalizing the implications of these tables, picking apart the little oddities that likely exist only because Gary Gygax simply wasn't thinking that much about it.| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
This post is part of the papal conclave Blog Bandwagon/Blogclave . As the world turns its gaze towards the Vatican, the blogosphere turns it...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
Thinking about +Joseph Manola's post on time and distance, I'm going to give my PCs 1-3 months downtime between every adventure. A few loose rules for downtime actions.| Permanent Cranial Damage
Carrion is the endless city. Time began in Carrion, and in Carrion shall it end. When the world was new, the Hornèd Mother's child, the ...| permacrandam.blogspot.com
A framework for divine magic in classless NSR games.| The Dododecahedron
The new 2024 D&D Players Handbook is out, ready for you to purchase at your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy®. But what is the new Player’s Handbook? Is it […] The post What’s New for the 2014 D&D PHB? appeared first on Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy.| Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy
Dear Mr Dragonslayer :) How do you handle resource management in an open table campaign? Your wrote a great article on “returning to base” each session in an open table campaign. We are…| DREAMING DRAGONSLAYER
Capturing this now for a few reasons: This is the most organized I’ve ever been as a GM or DM — in fact, it’s the first time I’ve had a regular set of tools that I’ve …| Echo Station 5-7
Welcome back friends to the With Both Hands Digest! I logged off of Twitter/X for Lent and that ended up turning into a sabbatical from WBH as well. I spent my time engaging in spiritual disciplines, thinking different thoughts and doing different things from my normal routine, and I| With Both Hands
The character class you never knew you wanted (and probably still don’t).| The Dododecahedron
As you've probably noticed, I've been spending some timeusing the tables found in Appendix B of the AD&D 1e DMGto populate my sandboxes, which I will definitely use in a real game at some point...| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
The knock spell first appears in original D&D's Book I: Men & Magic. It is a 2nd-level magic-user spell. The description is as follows:| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
My most recent foray into using the AD&D DMG to stock a hex map sparked some discussion about the frequency of "totally deserted" castles.| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
D&D 5e has thirteen damage types. This post is concerned with the most fundamental of these damage types - the most primordial ingredients in the great soup of D&D combat. No, not bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing - the elements!| Blog of Forlorn Encystment
I typically propose very minor alterations to D&D: how to fix summoning , how to fix shapechanging , how to fix weapon damage . I'm not real...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
Alright so look I didn't test this for probability and I don't care how fair this and honestly if you're worried about cheaters tell them to go to hell. This is definitely funnest with a real Rubiks Cube. But if you absolutely want something fair, use this: https://ruwix.com/puzzle-scramble-generator/| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
DISCLAIMER: The concept of Random Advancement classes was made by one Zak Sabbath, and indeed his work is referenced below. However, I will not be linking to it. While I believe the work he started transcends him and can be used without being tainted, I will not be linking to his blog or books so as not to give him views he does not deserve. I don't support rapists.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
ForSave VS. Hollowing. Happy Holidays, Anton.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
So, what if Magical Girls were Power Rangers? They already kinda are but let's apply the latter's action tropes.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
So, Magical Girls. I've written several classes for them, but what if that's not what you want? You just want like, a taste? Well, one of my players unlocked it, you see.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
This blog isn't pink and gay enough, right?| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
Persona. Awesome video game series. It involves kids who do traumatic things to summon that trauma out of their heads to fight demons, and it's awesome. How is that not OSR-ified already? Or you can use this class to do Jojo's Bizarre Adventure stands, or like any other thing where someone summons a Fuck Off Monster out of themselves. Because honestly, that shit is dope.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
Djellos, the genies of the Elemental Plane of Candy.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
To put it simply, Vagairies are like elves or fey, if they were also Missingno.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
Yea I know this is stupid, shut up. We got too much pretty girly stuff on this blog.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
Cardcaptors are people who aren't competent at normal spellcasting, necessarily, but discovered the workaround of befriending spells instead of creating and casting them. A Cardcaptor not only needs to be everything else expected of a magician or adventurer, but they must also be an empathetic and kind person if they want to go far. Their spells, their cards, are all full individuals with personalities, wills, temperments, and desires. Should they be sensitive to them and believe in the heart...| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
So, cosmology. It's very rare in most campaigns for the planes, theology, and origins of the multiverse to be at all relevant beyond what mortals THINK is true, but in my games this stuff comes up all the time. That, and the typical OSR fashion is to simplify things and cut the fat, and I figured, fuck that, why not go against the grain and go so stupid-cosmic that Planescape has to get on my level? So, without further adieu: Aura's Stupid and Unnecessary D&D Cosmology.| In The Land of Twilight, Under The Moon
I wanted to do a quick demonstration of how I use reaction rolls to determine the nature of relationships between factions in a sandbox camp...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
I’ve been thinking about Dungeons & Dragons classes lately. And I think fewer classes is better for the game.| YUM/DM
I am back again to stock a third ring of hexes using the AD&D 1e DMG! You can find Parts 1 and 2 here and here . As with previous installm...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
I am back to do more sandbox stocking with the AD&D 1e DMG! I'm continuing from Part 1, here . I start by filling in the terrain in the nex...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
I thought it would be a fun exercise to try stocking a sandbox using the procedures presented in the appendices of the AD&D 1e DMG. I'll be ...| forlornencystment.blogspot.com
Messing around with the good old Octyrannopus gave me an idea: maybe it could camouflage itself, like a cuttlefish? That seemed like a fun effect that I could readily simulate for my regular campaign players. The first step was to … Continue reading →| Echo Station 5-7
I got this because I’m a sucker for D&D merch and interesting notebooks, so it might as well have been aersolized narcotics. I didn’t have super high hopes for it — my last TTRPG tie-in notebook (not D&D-branded) started falling … Continue reading →| Echo Station 5-7
In the last devlog, I talked about the practical design problems I sought to solve in my campaign by creating an adventurer city, and of course one of the reasons Pathika is going to be shared publ…| Pathika
Un petit détour par la Féérie, ça vous dit? Penchons-nous quelques instants sur cette aventure D&D, Par-delà le carnaval de Sorcelume !| Journal d'un Curieux
I have an essay on how to win at D&D, Kickstarters for your consideration, the Based Book Sale, along with some literary thoughts. Captain_Hook's Brolog: Wargames are not 'Playing Toy Soldiers' An excellent reflection on how good games make a tradeoff between simulation and gameplay. Doctor Universalis by| With Both Hands
A room-by-room analysis of Brad Kerr’s The Sinister Secret of Peacock Point.| The Dododecahedron
I just launched my zine quest kickstarter for A Blight Upon Sombreval, a dark fantasy, haunted manor style adventure for old-school and classic RPGs and their modern cousins: love for you to check …| Aboleth Overlords
Unfolding the World – Agony and Ecstasy I've said in the past that great men are often ridden by their obsessions. Based on this story from J. Daniel Sawyer, pain can also serve as a spur to accomplishment. The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from stopping; not| With Both Hands
How unreliable rumors can encourage skillful play.| The Dododecahedron
For challenge 6 of glogtober I choose the prompt 'Secrets of the stones', and wrote what I think is my first dungeon. I think it sorta vaguely matches the prompt however. Content warning for implied suicide and unhealthy relationship dynamics.| The Whimsical Mountain
