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The Classic Adventure Gaming Podcast - World Building and Sandbox Play (Episode #7)
Video Review of Hyqueous Vaults
Todd over at Hexed Press has put up an in-depth video walkthough of the 10th anniversary OSRIC module Hyqueous Vaults. This offering by the Hyqueous Vaults Creative Team has been widely praised by reviewers and the community since its publishing in 2017. If you've never read or ran the module before, the PDF is free! Check out what Todd has to say about it, and while you're there don't forget to like and subscribe.
The Classic Adventure Gaming Podcast - Recruiting an Adventure Game Table (Episode #6)
Now that holidays are over and I have a bit of time to catch up, in the final breaths of 2023 Gus dropped episode #6 discussing the recent CauldronCon put on by our very own Settembrini earlier this fall. A crew of attendees discussed what made the weekend such a great experience, with general discussion re: convention gaming in general. Lots of useful discussion for those who may be thinking about running a game at a con soon.
CauldronCon looks poised to become the old school convention across the pond, similar to Nortex here in the US. Hats off to Settembrini for this triumph, and to everyone who went, played and ran games, and had a grand old time.
Also, Episodes #4 and #5 dropped over the busy holiday season - if you haven't had time to check them out, they're a great listen now that we're through the rush and tackle our projects awaiting spring. Episode #4 is a discussion with Abrethil from the Autarch Discord regarding making use of mass combat in your Fantasy Adventure Games, while Episode #5 is an interview with Jeff from BuddyScott Entertainment Group about his writing process and how he finds inspiration for his ubiquitous "smiley-faced modules" - which are absolutely killer at the table, don't let those smiley faces disarm you! Jeff talks about how to move from a flash of an idea into a playable adventure in a short enough time to support a fast-moving campaign.
CauldronCon looks poised to become the old school convention across the pond, similar to Nortex here in the US. Hats off to Settembrini for this triumph, and to everyone who went, played and ran games, and had a grand old time.
Also, Episodes #4 and #5 dropped over the busy holiday season - if you haven't had time to check them out, they're a great listen now that we're through the rush and tackle our projects awaiting spring. Episode #4 is a discussion with Abrethil from the Autarch Discord regarding making use of mass combat in your Fantasy Adventure Games, while Episode #5 is an interview with Jeff from BuddyScott Entertainment Group about his writing process and how he finds inspiration for his ubiquitous "smiley-faced modules" - which are absolutely killer at the table, don't let those smiley faces disarm you! Jeff talks about how to move from a flash of an idea into a playable adventure in a short enough time to support a fast-moving campaign.
Kickstarter Launched for The Coming of Winter (1E)
The crew over at Merciless Merchants has a kickstarter going for a trio of 1E adventures set in snowy environments - perfect for gaming through the short days and cold weather ahead. From the info, it looks like some good mid-level (3-5) romps against insect-men, a frost giant, and barbarians.
They're very reasonably priced at $15 for the three delves in PDF, or $25 for at-cost POD fulfilled by Drivethru, or $28 for a PDF/POD combo.
Merciless Merchants gets consistently high marks from some of the toughest reviewers in the scene, and unlike a lot of high concept offerings theirs are always ready to play at the table. So if you want to put a chill down the spines of your players this winter, all while supporting a quality module farmer who's one of the better kept secrets in the hobby, check out their pitch and see if these would slot into your play calendar.
The Classic Adventure Gaming Podcast - Recruiting an Adventure Game Table (Episode #3)
Episode #3 of the CAG podcast is out! In this episode we discuss the different personalities we've seen take most easily to the differences between contemporary RPGs and Fantasy Adventure Games, and talk about how to recruit for this style of play online and in face-to-face games.
The next episode coming soon will debrief the entirely successful CauldronCon ran recently in Germany by Nexus, an AD&D and Wargaming club. Congrats to them for putting on an inaugural event that all attendees agreed was tremendous.
Enjoy!
Site Admin
The next episode coming soon will debrief the entirely successful CauldronCon ran recently in Germany by Nexus, an AD&D and Wargaming club. Congrats to them for putting on an inaugural event that all attendees agreed was tremendous.
Enjoy!
Site Admin
OSRIC Player's Guide by Seattle Hill Games Released
Seattle Hill Games, producers of FMAG, have turned their attention to OSRIC and produced an absolutely gorgeous OSRIC Player's Guide available on Amazon for less than $8 - perfect for ordering a couple of extra table copies for players to reference during a pick-up game, or just to enjoy for the attractive layout and new art. The book is only the sections players need - classes, spells, how to play (chapters 1-3 of the full OSRIC text).
This is a project that's been cooking for a while, and we'd like to congratulate SHG for getting this one across the finish line. OSRIC's previous Player's Guide has been out of print for some years, so this is a welcome addition to the OSRIC product family.
Thank you SHG!
This is a project that's been cooking for a while, and we'd like to congratulate SHG for getting this one across the finish line. OSRIC's previous Player's Guide has been out of print for some years, so this is a welcome addition to the OSRIC product family.
Thank you SHG!
The Classic Adventure Gaming Podcast - Dungeon Design Episode (#2)
If you've wondered why the 1E core books seem to hold very different presumptions of the players and DM than later editions, and noticed they don't address aspects of play now considered critical to the RPG experience - the new Classic Adventure Gaming Podcast might be for you.
There are multiple styles of play in our hobby, and OSRIC/1E doesn't require the use of any particular style. Back when it was the biggest game in town everyone used it as best they could to produce the style of play they enjoyed the most. That still works today. Everyone can use the 1E rules as they wish.
But it was the last edition produced intending to create an experience distinct from that predominant in the hobby today: an Adventure Game, as opposed to the experience most people today would think of when they hear the term "Roleplaying Game". Many of the eternally-running arguments in the hobby today result from people using the single term "RPG" as shorthand for two distinctly different ways to play using the same books. And, while the majority of people in the hobby want the play experience current editions succeed at delivering, there is a minority looking for advice on how to make, run, and play what this podcast differentiates as an Adventure Game: player over character, skill over dialog, challenge over drama.
If you wish to learn more about this style of play we humbly suggest giving the podcast a listen; if you like what you hear, please share it to those you may know who're also looking for battle-tested advice that runs against the grain of most hobby conventional wisdom offered today where games are discussed. Episode #2 on dungeon design concepts is newly released, and more episodes will follow every few weeks on topics ranging from hex crawls, to running adventure games on VTT, looking for good fits at the table for this style of play, and more.
Enjoy!
Site Admin
There are multiple styles of play in our hobby, and OSRIC/1E doesn't require the use of any particular style. Back when it was the biggest game in town everyone used it as best they could to produce the style of play they enjoyed the most. That still works today. Everyone can use the 1E rules as they wish.
But it was the last edition produced intending to create an experience distinct from that predominant in the hobby today: an Adventure Game, as opposed to the experience most people today would think of when they hear the term "Roleplaying Game". Many of the eternally-running arguments in the hobby today result from people using the single term "RPG" as shorthand for two distinctly different ways to play using the same books. And, while the majority of people in the hobby want the play experience current editions succeed at delivering, there is a minority looking for advice on how to make, run, and play what this podcast differentiates as an Adventure Game: player over character, skill over dialog, challenge over drama.
If you wish to learn more about this style of play we humbly suggest giving the podcast a listen; if you like what you hear, please share it to those you may know who're also looking for battle-tested advice that runs against the grain of most hobby conventional wisdom offered today where games are discussed. Episode #2 on dungeon design concepts is newly released, and more episodes will follow every few weeks on topics ranging from hex crawls, to running adventure games on VTT, looking for good fits at the table for this style of play, and more.
Enjoy!
Site Admin
Heroic Legendarium - A New OSRIC Supplement
T. Foster has completed an OSRIC supplement entitled Heroic Legendarium, currently available in PDF/print at Lulu and in PDF at DTRPG (print coming to DTRPG very soon). Having seen this progress over the past few years, I'm pleased it's now available to the public! HL offers up new character races, classes, spells, domain management rules and more - including thoughtful takes on ideas presented as forthcoming in a Gygax-penned 2E that never came, such as the Savant. Lastly, these additions to the game are listed as OSRIC Reference Content, providing a path for anyone to use the material in their OSRIC-compatible work through compliance with the Open OSRIC license (see license text for specific details, but essentially - refer back to TF's book in your OSRIC product and list HL as a necessary accessory to your own work).
T. Foster has more info on the new rules supplement on his blog. Unlike the content of a lot of rules supplements, I've always found Foster's work to integrate well - neither underperforming core material nor overshadowing it. So if you're interested in new expansion material for your OSRIC campaign, especially material designed to augment the thinking gamer's preferred styles of play, this new supplement may be just what you've been looking for.
T. Foster has more info on the new rules supplement on his blog. Unlike the content of a lot of rules supplements, I've always found Foster's work to integrate well - neither underperforming core material nor overshadowing it. So if you're interested in new expansion material for your OSRIC campaign, especially material designed to augment the thinking gamer's preferred styles of play, this new supplement may be just what you've been looking for.
Wizardawn Now Downloadable
About 10+ years ago, I created a little blogging site called "Djeryv's Dungeon Door". It not only contained my ramblings on various role playing subjects, but also gaming tools I was developing as I learned my way around web application development. Since I was a fan of the Ultima computer games, the site was littered with various images of pixel game art, often representing particular dungeon situations. That blog and site no longer exists, as I eventually updated the code to use newer CSS standards and rebranded the project "Wizardawn". I don't think I ever told anyone this, but the name "Wizardawn" came from an unusual quest to think of a term or word that Google couldn't find. When I searched for this word, it had zero results...so that became my new brand name.
The site's main goal was to give me tools in which I could quickly make adventures for my grade school son...who just turned 18 a couple of weeks ago. I was already making some rudimentary web applications for work, where my first was a timesheet application. I didn't have the same amount of time as I did in my youth and I didn't feel like combing through books or drawing up maps to make adventures. So I decided to take things like the Dungeon Masters Guide and take the random tables to turn into something that can be automated. As you can probably tell from the Wizardawn site, I went pretty ballistic. Every game that I support there were games my son and I were dabbling in. To be fair, my younger daughter did play at times as well...but my son still plays D&D or Labyrinth Lord today. They just do it over Discord I think as I can hear him in his bedroom talking with his friends and physically rolling dice for outcomes. The one game on that list that I never played was Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game (sorry Chris).
The games I created (in the Wizardawn Games section) never really became popular in the
gaming world, but they were all created with my son in mind. At his age, he was fine with the small rule books and easy mechanics I assembled...and I tried to touch on the common genres of fantasy, sci-fi, and post apocalyptic. It seems that this mindset has stuck with him now that he is an adult. Where a friend of his will run D&D 5E games, my son runs Labyrinth Lord or Swords & Six Siders. When they want a D&D-style Star Wars game, they play the one I made because the rules are familiar and the mechanics similar.
So with web hosting sites needing to update some server software, Wizardawn was going to essentially break. So I asked to get Wizardawn back from & Publishing and spent the a weekend going through the code to make sure it works on the newer versions of software being implemented. Although the base web code was updated to work with current systems, the database query portion was created in an inefficient way. Hell, I was younger and new to programming. So although the query system works fine, it is prone to abuse and attack. So as an example, one could make a megadungeon with 1,000 rooms and refresh the page over and over to monopolize the database and keep it from functioning for others. To keep this from happening, the entire website would have to be recreated from scratch, which is something I am not going to undertake.
So I decided to let anyone and everyone download Wizardawn if they want to hold onto this resource for themselves. I created a single ZIP package that you can put on a Windows 10 computer (it may work on earlier versions, but I have no way to test). The unzipped contents provide you with a self contained web server and database that runs the Wizardawn website in its entirety...on your personal computer. I believe that even those that are not good with computers (even though it is 2020 now) can put this on their computer and run a single executable. For those that just want the entire source code and database, it is all in this package. If you want your very own Wizardawn website, this is how you get it. To be clear (again...for the technology challenged), you do not need an Internet connection to run this personal version. It is on your computer...where you can literally just run it off a small USB drive if you want.
Wizardawn is essentially gone now, as a public facing resource. Wizardawn, however, is not lost. Although the site is not optimal for public use, using it on your own computer does not have this issue as the public cannot use it. Only you can. Download it. Use it. Update it. Share it. Do whatever you want with it. It belongs to everyone now. You can find it in the "Wizardawn" section under the "Tools" option, which is HERE.
Saving Throw - The Fundraiser Fanzine
You may know Jim Kramer from his Usherwood Publishing modules & supplements, or his work helping produce works like OSRIC and Knockspell. You probably didn't know Jim had multiple brain surgeries to remove tumors, and the battle has gotten much harder. To help Jim and his family during this difficult time, a group of his friends, collaborators, and first edition enthusiasts banded together to make this fundraiser fanzine, where all royalties go directly to Jim and his family.
You can support this effort by purchasing the PDF at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/288750/Saving-Throw-fundraiser-fanzine-for-James-D-Kramer?manufacturers_id=15505
This 60+ page issue of Saving Throw contains:
Introduction by Ron Redmond
Island Tables - random generation and inspiration tool by Steve Smith aka "EOTB"
Sorcerer's Stone - dungeon level by Keith Sloan
Trolls of the Simpolo Swamps - leech-mated trollish variations by Joseph Browning
Perladon Manor - adventure module by Gabor Lux
By The Runes - fiction by Dan Rasaiah
Magic Item Intrinsic Material Values - variant magic item value rules by Guy Fullerton
Goblin Garbug Cavalry - new monster by Andrew Hamilton
The Tiled Labyrinth - mini-dungeon by Guy Fullerton
Lotus Blossoms - magical and special properties of these exotic flora by Keith Sloan
Burly the Baker - ready-to-use NPC and cantrips by Gary Francisco
Darkworld Troll - new monster by Bryan Fazekas
Offig's Tomb - treasure map by Steve Smith aka "EOTB"
Lizard Man Lair - outdoor module and new monsters by Steve Smith aka "EOTB"
Mephitic Geysers of the Intaglio Rift - treasure map by Allan T. Grohe, Jr. ("grodog")
The Mere Beneath - dungeon level by Guy Fullerton, Allan T. Grohe, Jr. ("grodog"), and Henry A. Grohe
Sarendra's Crew & Kelurrin's Crew - ready-to-use NPC parties by Allan T. Grohe, Jr. ("grodog")
Rescue from the Sanctuary of the Leopard Goddess - dungeon module by Matthew Riedel
Featuring illustrations by Jimm Johnson, James D. Kramer, Wind Lothamer, Gabor Lux, Denis McCarthy, Peter Szmer (soon), Del Teigeler, and Alex Zisch.
For the lucky price of $13, you get two treasure maps, three referee tools, five new spells, six modules, at least nine new monsters, twelve ready-to-use NPCs, and more. Plus the knowledge that your purchase helps a family during a difficult time.
Note: The publisher plans to make a print version available soon. When it becomes available, the'll send drivethru coupon codes to everyone who purchased the pdf so they can get a print version at a discount.
Note #2: The publisher is still in the process of gathering artwork for some of the articles, so don't be surprised by any of the blank spots. They'll notify everybody when they've updated the pdf with new art, and you can download the latest version from your library.
Multiclasses as Classes
Mike Stewart wrote an article in Footprints #2 (August 2004) called 'Multiclasses as Classes'. As he wrote:
"I took the allowed multiclasses from the AD&D Players Handbook and recreated them as single classes with the capabilities of their multiclass progenitors, combining the same variety as ever with the ease of bookkeeping of the Basic/Expert D&D system. This work is the result."
So this took the game's original concept of multi-classes and gave it a singular class feel while providing a simplicity to the design. The 'Tools' here now provide you an option to create these types of characters for either the AD&D or OSRIC game systems. Mike's alternate rules replace those in the original books in regards to multi-classes. So if you choose to use these classes, then get a copy of Footprints #2 so you can reference the needed information. Some of the classes do not limit the level of spell casting that certain races can perform. The one pointed out in the article, is the ability for half-orcs to achieve a maximum of 4th level in cleric. The article, however, structures the classes in a way that half-orcs can cast higher level cleric spells. So although the article does not limit the spell casting for demi-humans with these classes, the 'Tools' here will limit these demi-humans as per the original rules.
The AD&D Half-Ogre
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.New OSRIC Wiki
Years ago, I was involved in the collaboration on building a useful Wiki for OSRIC. Due to an unfortunate technical incident, the tower crumbled and never rebuilt...until now. One of our community members, Pres-Gas, has taken the torch and has run it to the finish line. Although the site still needs some tweaks, it is in a very useful state and should really help those with their tablets and laptops at the gaming table. The link to the Wiki is below, along with a quote from Pres-Gas' announcement. Good job!
Pres-Gas: "There is still some work that needs to be done; some extra formatting and theming. The actual reference data is all there for your gaming usage. The editors of the wiki also hope to add some other goodies in there that are related to OSRIC or inspired from it. Stay tuned! I would like to thank Steve from DF and kensanata for the inspiration to create something to host for the community. I also would like to thank specifically PapersAndPaychecks, EOTB, grodog, rredmond, MageInBlack and cfreemanday (from either K&K or DF forums) for their support and encouragement."
Pres-Gas: "There is still some work that needs to be done; some extra formatting and theming. The actual reference data is all there for your gaming usage. The editors of the wiki also hope to add some other goodies in there that are related to OSRIC or inspired from it. Stay tuned! I would like to thank Steve from DF and kensanata for the inspiration to create something to host for the community. I also would like to thank specifically PapersAndPaychecks, EOTB, grodog, rredmond, MageInBlack and cfreemanday (from either K&K or DF forums) for their support and encouragement."
