As I covered in my previous post, I've been working on a retro-clone of the original 1974/1975 era Dungeons & Dragons rules titled The Fantasy Game. That post describes the first book, the Basic Player Guide, which covers rules for character creation, combat, magic, and exploration, which is roughly equal to Men & Magic, volume 1 of the three LBBs (little brown books) in the original boxed D&D set.| The Cryptic Archivist
As I posted about briefly in my last post, I am currently co-teaching a History of Role-Playing Games course at Drexel University. The course is a mix of lectures about the history and evolution of RPGs, written reports about specific RPGs, and with in-class activities to create characters, monsters, campaign locations, and play through an adventure using the original 1974-1975 Dungeons & Dragons (OD&D) rules.| The Cryptic Archivist
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
Get the Scenarios on BoardGameGeek.com| The Cryptic Archivist
Get the Rule Book on BoardGameGeek.com| The Cryptic Archivist
Get the Rule Book on BoardGameGeek.com| The Cryptic Archivist
Get the Rule Book on BoardGameGeek.com| The Cryptic Archivist
Get the Rule Book on BoardGameGeek.com| The Cryptic Archivist
Adventure Gaming magazine is available on DriveThruRPG!| The Cryptic Archivist
I recently learned1 that Canadian game designer Terence Peter Donnelly passed away on September 23, 2020. "Skookum Pete" is best known for his fantasy adventure tabletop games, The Sorcerer's Cave and The Mystic Wood (lists of Donnelly's games and other works are at the bottom of this post). Philmar/Ariel Games published both titles in the UK, with Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) handling distribution to the United States.2 The games were also published by Gibson and Avalon Hill published a new...| The Cryptic Archivist
Adventure Gaming magazine vol. 1 no. 5 cover art, addendum| The Cryptic Archivist
What is Dark Force?| The Cryptic Archivist
History| The Cryptic Archivist
This happened almost one year ago but haven't seen an announcement on any major game sites.| The Cryptic Archivist
Tracing the California Gaming Scene, part II: Erol Otus in NorCal| The Cryptic Archivist
Tracing the California Gaming Scene, part I: Steve Perrin in NorCal| The Cryptic Archivist
While riding a hotel shuttle from the San Diego Comic-Con back in the early 90s, I overheard a young man excitedly describe a game to his friends in the seat behind him. The player characters are cartoon-like alien tourists who go on hunting safaris on backwoods planets, tracking and killing the low intelligence native species there. One particular backwoods planet is called "Earth" though, due to a translation error, the alien hunters call it "Dirt." There, the low intelligence native popula...| The Cryptic Archivist
Let's face it, most game fiction isn't very good.| The Cryptic Archivist
I already wrote about my favorite die and how it started me on the path of gaming over 30 years ago. I use it in a set with some of my other oldest dice when feeling nostalgic (which is often).| The Cryptic Archivist
My favorite character is my silver-haired, half-elf jester, Wonko the Sane (yes, named after the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy character).| The Cryptic Archivist
How does one define an "intellectual" game?| The Cryptic Archivist
There are plenty of choices for games that I have played in the past but don't get to play enough - Call of Cthulhu , James Bond 007 , West ...| crypticarchivist.blogspot.com
Get the Rule Book on BoardGameGeek.com Star Trek: The Invasion of Klingon Empire (Tsukuda Hobby, 1982) Scott Muldoon and I have completed ...| crypticarchivist.blogspot.com
Get the Rule Book on BoardGameGeek.com My translated Jabro rule book, reference sheets, and custom game counters. I've completed my English ...| crypticarchivist.blogspot.com
Get the Rule Book on BoardGameGeek.com I've completed my English translation of the rules for Takara's Dougram Simulation Game Manual No. 4:...| crypticarchivist.blogspot.com
