OSRIC

First Edition Fantasy Roleplaying Game

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The AD&D Half-Ogre
News Story By: Mangar the Dark

One of my favorite demi-human races, introduced by Dragon Magazine, was the half-ogre. Although released in 1979 (Dragon #29), the edit by Roger Moore in 1983 (Dragon #73) was the one I latched onto as it was more fleshed out than the previous iteration. Now this particular half-breed isn't a very complicated racial choice, as they can only be fighters or clerics (and only up to 4th level for clerics). We usually just had that one player who wanted this brute of a fighter with their (easier to obtain) 18/00 strength score. So today you can now generate such a racial character here in the "Tools" section, with the AD&D character generator. Keep in mind that you may want one of the Dragon Magazines that discuss this race, and again I suggest either Dragon #73 or the Best of Dragon #4 as that is the most current version of the half-ogre for the AD&D system. The Blue Bard
By: Anthony Huso
OSRIC Supplements

I play AD&D. My goal is to help you play AD&D, Rules-As-Written, not only so that a wonderfully byzantine time in gaming isn't lost, but so that you can have as many stories and as much fun I and my crew have had over the years.

A Book of Miscellaneous Spells

A Book of Miscellaneous Spells is a free resource for players of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game and OSRIC, consisting of over 120 spells including some previously seen in & Magazine and Dragonsfoot's Workshop forum, as well as never before seen spells. This resource is designed to give players and DM's of AD&D and OSRIC games new spells and ideas to incorporate into their game or provide inspiration for new avenues of adventure. This resource includes spells for clerics, druids, magic-users, and illusionists. Ol' Man Gorgnard Reviews 04 - OSRIC
By: Glen Hallstrom

OSRIC? What the heck's an OSRIC? Let's find out.

OSRIC (Original PDF)

A complete fantasy role playing game in one volume, which includes: 413 spells 285 monsters 331 magic items Official OSRIC character sheet template Character creation rules for 7 races and 9 classes Complete rules and tables for adventuring, exploration, and combat Over 100 original, never before published, illustrations OSRIC
By: Stuart Marshall
OSRIC: Twelve years, and still no kickstarter.

Helping you to publish original material for use with the game Gary Gygax wrote.

Mundane Magica

This 36 page supplement includes the following articles: Revisiting Non-Violent Magic Items Takes another look t the article Non-Violent Magic Items from The Dragon Issue 73. Non-Violent Magic Items Adds another 100 non-violent magic items to the collection. When is a Weapon not a Weapon? Offers some non-typical weapons and armor. Book of Low Level Lairs Volume I

You have a newly minted 1st level party? You need ideas? What adventures will you run for them? Look no further! This adventure collection includes 18 new mini-adventures for parties of levels 1 to 4. Everything from brown bears to giant porcupines to kenku and lizard men! All mini-adventures that can usually be run in a single session. Pick the ones you need, string them together as you see fit! The bonus? Two new cleric spells suitable for low level parties! Download this adventure in the next 20 minutes for the low, low price of $0.00! As old school gamers we use our imaginations to fill in all the gaps. But let's be honest, having a good visualization, like Chris Letzelter's firenewt cover, helps with the imagination ...

Magic-Users in Groat's End
By: EOTB
It's a game of chicken when the DM is the crazy one

The Lady Cynewise Human M-U, 12th level I 18, W 13, C 6, CH 16, AC 6, HP 18, AL LE middle-aged, foppish appearance, very stable, helpful, inquisitive, extroverted, friendly, sensitive, brilliant, vengeful, greedy, truthful, craven, spendthrift, amoral, saintly (in the context of lawful evilness), interested in: legends, collector of porcelain/china/crystal Notable equipment: Ring of protection +2, Bracers AC 8, ring of invisibility, wand of paralyzation, staff of command, other magic as determined by the DM Decription: Cynwise is eternal in the eyes of your average Groat's End citizen. Well over 200 years old, she both founded the town and removed herself as its titular ruler outside of living memory. Now she's more like a force of nature: outside the law, inside the walls, and beyond anyone's ability to resist. It's unknown how she manages to live on, by appearance in the prime of life, beyond all reasonable mortal allotment. While from a distance her alluring facade seems perfect, at arms length its unnatural strain subtly but surely contrasts with her demeanor - presented to the uninitiated as warm matronly concern. Those who fear her shadow falling across them if alone know her more fully: superior, demanding, punishing...(click above for more!) Gunderholfen

Gunderholfen... Ancient, abandoned dwarf hold, battleground of arch-liches, cultist base, wizards' playground, heroes' bane and treasure-seekers' tomb. Gunderholfen is a classic, old school exploratory sandbox-style mega-dungeon consisting of ten levels, a mini-campaign setting and one demi-plane. This mega-dungeon and mini-campaign setting is designed for character levels 1-10+. It is compatible with any OSR system. Play it as an integrated, complete mega-dungeon campaign or just pick out individual levels to run as separate dungeons. Gunderholfen includes the following: - 10 main dungeon levels consisting of 22 sub-levels and numerous sub-areas, with approximately 930 keyed locations, all detailed in 40 maps. - 1 demi-plane level. - A mini-campaign setting insertable into any existing campaign that includes a detailed overview of Longfelt, a nearby city complete with NPCs, including possible patrons for PCs, places of interest, encounter tables and rival factions. - 32 encounter tables with full monster stats for each level of the dungeon and the surrounding lands. - Extensive ready to play lists of NPCs including 10 pre-generated NPC parties that can be used as foes or allies. - 1 fully detailed mini-side adventure. - A brief overview of the history and background to Gunderholfen. - Rules for a new class of priest including 18 new spells. - Many new monsters and magic items.

Campaign Planning - Towns and Villages From an Adventurer's Point of View
Article By: EOTB

After many days travel, an unknown town beckoned just ahead... A 1E campaign with both depth and breadth is every DM's goal and player's unicorn. That fewer players experience it than DMs aim for it speaks to its demands, chiefly upon that stingiest of resources: time. One area frequently sacrificed for expedience is secondary depth of areas only passed through. If play already has a focus, detailing the scenery along the way - the differences and quirks that make one place different than another - is an ephemeral and time-intensive luxury. And yet, the vividity every DM chases lies in these unnecessary details: what occupies daily life; how an area is affecting its gravity well of influence; who rules, and how. Creating this high level detail also gives both players and DMs more tools to leverage in other random encounters, for all participants enjoyment. If such aspects require less mental elbow grease to weave together, the color brought will prove invaluable even if none see further table use. This is the first in a series of resources to do exactly that: a series of tables you can use to quickly generate the details of a region's localities, from cities down to thorps. What adventurers may obtain from them, and how; as well as intrigues, wild cards, political relationships and dynamics, and more. The details are sufficiently high-level for use in both sorts of campaigns: those where play is largely sandbox, but also more plot-driven, episodic varieties; most campaigns tending towards a mix of the two. Sandbox-mode DMs should appreciate the suggestions obtained to impinge upon and interfere with PCs plans, while DMs running PCs against a desired objective can easily make one day seem different from the next as the PCs fight towards their ultimate goal. This installment details determining the size and political influence of each locality, and also the services adventurers most often seek out such areas for: spellcasting and related services of all types. This is an area of major color at any DMs fingertips, as party spellcasters often lean towards practical blast'um magic while outsourcing any party spell needs during the relative downtime of town visits. Later we will detail features such as the local underworlds, hireling availability, civic happenings, and more. Lastly, always remember that you can stop rolling at any time, or discard any result; the tables are a creativity aid, not a creativity replacement. Without further adieu: TABLE GROUP 1 - RANDOM DETERMINATION OF SOME TOWN FEATURES OF INTEREST TO ADVENTURERS It is suggested that if all the localities in an area are known, if not detailed, that the DM start with the largest first, as it's power and weight may flow down to the communities around it. These may also provide a prism through which to view rolled circumstances of smaller towns - if the mayor of a hamlet has a corruption problem, perhaps the nearby town's thieves guild's specialty of gambling plays a role? Or to use this installment's focus, perhaps a secluded hedge caster in a small thorp is a former apprentice on the run from the fallout of a mage guild civil war his master fared poorly in, in the nearby city. Etc., etc. Locale Size Table 1.A - Population Thorp or Dorf 2d4 x 10 Hamlet 1d4 x 100 Village or Wych 1d4+5 x 100 Town 3d6+1 x 500 City 12d8 x 1,000 If a city or a town, satellite communities totaling an additional 1d6x10% ratio of the town or city's population exist within a 10 mile radius of the main location. These are either overtl y politically controlled by the main location, or at worst in such a close alliance as to make no practical difference. Roll 1d4 for the number of communities, adding 1 to the result if a town, and 2 if a city. Each satellite must be of a class lower than the main (e.g., A village is the largest class of satellite a town can have). Divide the overall satellite population between the number of locations rolled as you see fit, assuming some variety of larger and smaller satellites. Any leftover satellite population after rolling the size of each dependent locations are freeholders living within the area in either individual homes, or small clusters not meeting the threshold for a thorp. GODS/RELIGION What gods are worshipped or even accepted in an area is of great interest to a party, as the best rates can only be expected of faiths to which a party member is in good standing. Likewise, safety and security may not be guaranteed to some clerics in every area. Table 1.B - Number of Gods Worshiped (modified by Table 1.C) 01-15 0-1, with chance of additional 1d4 secret faiths: 95% (town)/25% (other) 16-50 2, with chance of 1 additional secret faith: 50% (all/any) 51-75 3, with chance of additional 1d3 secret faiths: 95% (town or city)/25% (other) 76-85 4, with chance of additional 1d2 secret faiths: 95% (town or city)/25% (other)) 86-95 most major, some minor 96-100 most major, most minor Table 1.C - Gods Worshiped Roll Modifier -75 Thorp or dorf -50 Hamlet -25 Village or Wych N/A Town +50 City The zeal of a population naturally affects a party's experience with it. The focus of a town's devotion may preclude meeting some needs but offering rare capability in others; while its intensity may manifest in several ways, up to persecuting those visibly non-adherent. Table 1.D - Populace Devotion 01-10 highly devout overall, religion is a significant part of daily life 11-25 as above to one/some gods, other gods worshiped less vigorously (presumes multiple faiths, otherwise treat as devout) 26-75 no great devotion to any god - 50% chance one or more with dominant social presence (This is a vanilla AD&D city) 76-95 visible religious presence, but town overwhelmingly secular 96-100 religious power weak and feeble (if multiple gods, 50% chance due to repression from one powerful church) TEMPLE SERVICES The first and most important question for any adventurer in considering a town, is whether it is possible to return an unlucky comrade back to life there. Table 1.E - Raise Dead Available? (modified by Table 1.G) 01-50 yes 51-100 no* *if a city does not have any raise capability, it is likely a recent and sudden loss; the DM should determine why NOTE: this doesn't necessarily mean by cast clerical spell (although standard clerical raise dead is likely the most common method). It may not even mean a return to life by divine/infernal power, but something else at DM discretion. A locale could have only a 2nd level cleric but have a magic item, relic, available wish, unusual inhabitant, etc. Though this particular table is not priest-specific, it's placed here given the clerical associations. Divine/Infernal Aid determines priestly spellcasting power in the town; note magic items or other resources can supplement low-level casters as DM needs require. Table 1.F - Divine/Infernal Aid (modified by Table 1.G) 01-50 blessings up to speaking with the dead (1d3 levels, or DM choice)* 51-95 as above, plus the nullification of poisons and up to complete healing (1d3+3 levels, or DM choice) 95-100 miracles of any sort (all) * if a city has such low priestly spellcasting level available, it is likely due to recent and sudden loss; DM should determine why Table 1.G - Raise Dead and Aid Availability Size Modifier -40 Thorp or dorf -30 Hamlet -20 Village or Wych N/A Town +45 City MAGIC-USERS AND SIMILAR CASTERS* *EXCLUDES ANY SORT OF PRIEST Whether its identifying some mysterious treasure, a needed divination, or looking for an agreeable mercenary teacher: traveling MUs and Illusionists often seek out local peers and mentors. These tables allow you to quickly detail a location's arcane scene in quick order. Table 1.H - Number of casters in locale (modified by Table 1.I) 1-15 zero (50% additional chance of incognito citizen with 2d4-1 levels of ability; higher levels at DM discretion) 16-50 1 (20% chance as above) 51-75 1-3 (20% chance as above) 76-85 2-4 86-95 2-6 96-100 5 or more (DM choice) Table 1.I - Number of Casters Roll Modifier -75 Thorp or dorf -50 Hamlet -25 Village or Wych N/A Town +50 City What if casters don't get along but PCs have multiple needs that don't overlap? Or what if they do and conflicting opinions are gained, of which both experts are absolutely certain? Either tension or hilarity may ensue, depending upon the group of players. Use these tables to get a quick rundown of how the magic users in town think of each other. Table 1.J - Comity Between Casters 01-20 friendly/respectful 21-40 mostly friendly/respectful, with exceptions 41-60 mixed; highly variable 61-80 competitive/disrespectful 81-95 tense and simmering 96-100 hatred Knowing how arcane spellcasters structure themselves (or don't) easily identifies the effort required to locate services in an unknown area, if nothing else. If a strong formal organization is outlined then anyone in town can probably point visitors in that direction. Of course, if that organization is aligned against PC interests, players may be forced to search for underground casters, if any exist to be found. Likewise, if a DM knows a powerful guild lies here it may be lightly detailed with specialties, for any possible future consultations or hook-baiting. Table 1.K - Caster Organization (modified by Table 1.L) 01-10 none; individual 11-25 loose cooperation 26-75 informal association 76-80 regulated by others 81-100 encompassing guild (or magocracy, if applicable) Table 1.L - Caster Organization Roll Modifier -75 Thorp or Dorf -50 Hamlet -25 Village or Wych N/A Town +15 City Apart from how the casters act towards each other is how they interact with the town at large. While in 1E there is a convenient default, the DM should not feel hesitant to vary this dynamic when circumstances suggest. Table 1.M - Caster/Non-Caster Dynamic 01-05 normal population considered lower class or servitors; casters may have special legal privileges (DM choice) 06-20 deference accorded; if casters are present who are evil, or otherwise dangerous, population may be resentful but fear confrontation 21-70 magical abilities are considered a prestigious specialty and relations are normal (this is your average D&D town) 71-90 casters accepted but must fit in; i.e., threatening casters aren't tolerated 91-98 magic use held in general suspicion; e.g., if Widow Diddern's cow dies mysteriously, known casters might face pitchforks and torches. 99-100 Casters face legal or religious discrimination CASTER SERVICES This can either be checked per caster, or per town as a basic local ceiling further detailed by the DM (note that a ceiling may be defined/established by a single available caster and not represent average ability of other casters in the locale. A town with five reclusive casters of 2nd level and one willing caster of high level could be described as a "wide variety of magical services available") Table 1.N Attitude toward work for hire (modified by Table 1.O*) 01-20 no one wants to be bothered by adventurers 21-50 might perform identify or other minor spell - for a respectable price, and only if the caster has nothing else to do! 51-70 services as above, and will discuss greater matters; reaction determines results of such discussions 71-80 caster(s) known to cast for hire; not picky 81-90 reality altered for vast sums or powerful magics (if smaller than town check again at 25% chance; if failed re-roll on main table, ignoring further rolls of this type) 91-100 Wide variety of magical services available * if checking individually do not modify roll results; if determining town ceiling (only) use caster services roll modifier Table 1.O - Caster Services Roll Modifier -5 Thorp or Dorf -5 Hamlet -5 Village or Wych N/A Town +25 City Prep Time - How Long is the Cooking? With the full set of tables yet to come, I can usually detail a great variety of detail for several small locations in about an hour - a village with a satellite of a couple hamlets/thorps; all the information I need for different areas to feel palpably distinct from one another. If detailing a region with a city and many satellites, perhaps an evening. This info gets put into a database of notes about the campaign world, so it can be reused as applicable. While the players' visit might be just passing through, the work need not be. Yes, especially if the players are the same, it will need freshening with new events and concerns, but the structure need not have changed unless the campaign area itself has. Good gaming until next! Rage from the Waves

What horror from the depths is leaving ships adrift, cargo untouched, stealing the crews for some unspeakable fate? Lost ships. Missing crews. Disappearing cargo. The King is not pleased, and it's your job to find out what happened and bring a stop to it! To do so you'll have to unravel a mystery that's stumped the king's advisers. Clues? one ship that made it back with a stabbing spear of unusual design and some odd blood on the deck. Four to eight characters of 4th to 7th level will figure out the mystery. The adventure includes two completely detailed businesses, a full set of deck plans for a carrack, a second set of partial plans providing design variations, and an island with room for additional adventuring if you so desire. Add to this over 80 fully documented characters for use in this and other adventures, including several ship's crews, and you have an adventure that is also a resource.

Goblin's Henchman
I Don't Have It With Me

RPG Blog, which is mainly AD&D centric. Some RPG spreadsheets. Free Town of Groat's End - Twisting Stair Dungeon
By: EOTB
It's a game of chicken when the DM is the crazy one

Since the party is going back to town, I needed to put one together. Here's a map for it, and I'll finish detailing out the town over the next few days in blog posts...

& Magazine
By: & Publishing Group
Filling in the Gaps for Old School Gamers

*&* is published four times a year and is part of the & Publishing Group. The magazine's tagline, "Filling in the Gaps for Old School Gamers," summarizes the mission of the periodical: to feature fan-driven content for older editions of AD&D (primarily first edition) including fiction, editorials, and a variety of game aids such as new monsters, spells, and character classes; rules variants; adventure maps; and original adventures. The Clerics in Groat's End
By: EOTB
It's a game of chicken when the DM is the crazy one

Comonoc the Spry Cleric of Xan Yae, 11th level S 4, I 15, W 18, D 3, CH 15, AC 10, HP 39, AL N Psionic Ability 150 (75 att/75 def) attack modes: psionic blast, mind thrust defense modes: mind blank, mental barrier Disciplines: (minor) domination, ESP, object reading, precognition; (major) energy control Spells normally memorized: (7/6/5/4/2/1) command, CLWx2, light, remove fear, sanctuary, augury, hold person, messenger, slow poison, withdraw, wyvern watch, cure disease, dispel magic, magical vestment, meld into stone, speak with dead, implore, CSW, divination, PFE 10' rad, commune (if unable to memorize commune then golem or insect plague instead), true seeing. old, sane, precise, violent, diplomatic, cheerful, active intellect, hard-hearted, intellectualist, scrupulously honest, interested in husbandry and athletics Comonoc is an emaciated, legless whisp. He's well-regarded by the poorer masses because of his frequent assistance to sick or injured children and his financial support of the soup kitchen. Although the town isn't particularly fervent, Comonoc is influential while working quietly towards his own ends, which are invested in the status quo. He often changes the course of events small and large without anyone being the wiser...(click above for more!)

A Book of Miscellaneous Spells II

The & Publishing Group is pleased to announce the publication of Andrew Hamilton's second collection of Old School Gaming spells - A Book of Miscellaneous Spells II! This book of spells is designed for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) and OSRIC but is compatible with most Old School Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) games and their retro-clones. This volume contains more than 110 brand new spells for the four AD&D spell casting classes. This includes more than 30 spells for clerics, druids, and illusionists - plus 78 new magic-user spells of all levels. [Yeah, Andrew has a thing for magic-user spells!] That's enough, right? Right? Wrong. This collection includes spells for the Witch NPC class (from Dragon Magazine issue #114), one of Andrew's favorite NPC baddies. Plus it contains spells for clerics of the Cult of Juiblex. Never heard of this cult? It will be a nasty surprise for your players! If that isn't enough, look for the spells for Frost Giant and Gnoll shaman! Bad guys need more power to combat those dratted forces of Good! This gives it to them ... All told, this volume contains more than 150 new spells for use with all the D&D games of the 70's and 80's and their retro-clones. Cultists of Yox
By: EOTB
It's a game of chicken when the DM is the crazy one

As grodog mentioned at his blog, I'm hip-deep in keying out the dungeon level of Twisting Stair #1 for use in my home campaign (and for a prospective Roll20 online campaign). It's coming along nicely, although not quite finished in a shareable state. One thing I like about the Twisting Stair zine is how it drops a tidbit without fleshing out the details. I find it just enough to jump start my creative process while leaving me completely free to follow my imagination. One example of this was the "Cultists of Yox" found on the Wandering Pairings random encounter table. As a little teaser of what turned out to be a major faction in my adaption of the 1st level Twisting Stair dungeon map, here my take on the Cult of Yox...

HU1 The Night Wolf Inn

The Night Wolf Inn is a sand box experience for 1st Edition RPG Gaming. It is a tavern and a universe unto itself; a place of powerful dweomers, secret doors, lost gods, hidden dimensions and dangerous artifacts. The Inn's mysterious backstory holds the sandbox experience together. The Night Wolf Inn fits snugly into any campaign, occupying only the space of its buildings and lawns. It is also intended to be fully customizable. Includes: Fully detailed maps and locations of the Inn featuring four floors, outdoor property, and extra-dimensional spaces. Partially detailed launch points into over twenty pocket dimensions and parallel worlds. Many new magic items, treasures, artifacts, monsters, demons, gods, NPCs, races, languages, and myths. Beautiful art. Player and DM versions of relevant maps. Player handouts. Quick reference cheat sheets. The Valley of Eternal Rest

For millennia the Valley of Eternal Rest has been the home of the recently departed. More cultures are represented here than exist on any world, and each has their own rites and customs for how the dearly departed are to be housed for all eternity. Can your party survive a venture into a valley of such antiquity where so many lay at rest? Or worse, do NOT lay at rest! Can your party survive even one tomb? This is & Magazine's first effort to develop and publish a co-operative adventure, making the material our readers' material. The expanded version contains material that didn't fit in the version of this adventure originally published in & Magazine, Issue 2. As we compiled this module, we tried to leave the description of each tomb and element in the author's words. While this creates a bit of a "Frankenmodule" with many styles and approaches stitched together, we wanted it to belong to the contributors as well as the readers. We thank all our readers and contributors, and hope that you find the result interesting, entertaining and useful. As always, your feedback (and continued contribution) is important to us so please let us know what you think. This generic adventure location is designed to be easily inserted into any campaign, and consists of a number of small tomb complexes located within a valley that has been used as a burial ground for several cultures over several centuries. The location is designed for use with the 1st edition rules, and is intended to challenge a party of 6 or so PCs of levels 4 to 7. This adventure is designed to be flexible enough to place into an ongoing campaign as a sandbox element, a destination for a quest (as the party seeks a McGuffin or gold), or to break individual tombs out to seed them across their own campaign world. Because the Valley of Eternal Rest has been used by many cultures and races over a long period of time, there is no single architecture, style, or content.

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