It seems the Mad Scientist is working on something secret in his laboratory of horrors... I wonder what it will be? Is it anything to do with Warriors of the Red Planet? Something even more nefarious? Stay posted...
Beyond the Black Gate
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Long time no post
Wow it’s been a long time since I’ve given this blog some attention. I think now and then about getting back into it, but then again most of what I’ve wanted to say about old school gaming has been said. I game a lot now, almost weekly, with a group of my old high school buddies, and another group of fellow writers. We mostly work with 5E D&D these days, which is maybe just old school enough to keep us old timers engaged, while being being new enough to be exciting and adventurous.
I still have a lot of fondness for the OG stuff though, especially B/X, and often think about giving some attention to Warriors of the Red Planet. We’ll see what happens. It’s the Age of Covid, and really anything is possible. Stay safe out there, and good gaming.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
B/X: Ability score adjustments
This is kind of an interesting idiosyncrasy of B/X. Its also one of those odd rules that seemed to make it's way informally into a lot of the 1E campaigns I played bitd, though I remember everyone playing a bit fast and loose with which abilities points could be taken from, as opposed to following the strict guidelines given in B/X.
Its also a mitigating factor to the "3d6-in-order" style of character generation, which some folks seem to lament as not giving characters "high enough" ability scores. Given that only a 13 in a class's Prime Requisite is needed for an xp boost and maybe even a bonus to fighting, saves, or AC, not too many points, on average, even need to be shifted around. And it can make it easier to get those rarer 16's or 18's.
Monday, August 14, 2017
Adventure Lookup
Looks like more than 200 1e/B/x/osr adventures in the database so far. Should come in handy next time you need an adventure specifically in a ruin in a forest for 5th level characters and featuring giants.
Sunday, August 13, 2017
Azag Mozu Megadungeon: An introduction
It's been a couple years since I worked on Azag Mozu, but with hectic summer schedules it can be tough to get a whole group together consistently, and it's good to have a side-campaign in your back pocket for those game days when not everyone can make it but you still want to roll some dice. So here's the introduction to the Megadungeon (it fits on two side of a single sheet of paper) to hopefully give a lot of info in a short period of time. In contrast to the somewhat baroque dark fantasy of my Forgotten Halls mega, Azag Mozu is more a mix of Mesopotamian / Assyrian / Hyperborean / Cthulu influences.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Gnolls (per B/X)
- Tom Moldvay, Basic Rulebook
How did I forget about this?
Was the concept so horrible to envision that my mind erased it as a defensive measure?
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Lazy Blog Post - Classic B&W D&D Art
Many modern RPG releases are big and glossy, full of color, with top-notch professional art. And yet, some still leave me cold nonetheless. When I need to warm up again, I go in search of the whimsey, panache, and unforgettable, unique quality of classic black & white D&D art.