My Works

 

Temple of the Weaver


















Ruins of Ardust
Sacred Wings Monastery






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Hexcrawl Example of Play

Gygax's 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide contained an "example of play" section giving a transcript of table talk as the players moved through the Monastery Cellars & Secret Crypts provided just a couple pages earlier. This section was instrumental in my learning how to referee a dungeon crawl in the Old School way, but I've never seen something equivalent for a Hexcrawl. So I'm going to post my own Example of Play, in case others go searching for one as I once did. Our party consists of Amber the Lawful Fighter and Betty the Chaotic Cleric. The two have returned to the starting village, used the gold they looted from the goblin-occupied castle to stock up, and decided to accompany their new Dwarf NPC companion back to his home in the eastern Rock Halls. The sun is rising on a new day, a crisp Autumn breeze from the north contrasts with the oceanic winds to the west, and the party prepares to set out.  DM: "All right, you have six directions you can
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Taking the 3 LBBs Seriously

I had the opportunity to play OD&D for the first time ever tonight as a DM, and it was an incredible experience. Easily tied for the greatest D&D experience I have ever had. I ran it on the philosophy that the rulebooks, no matter how unhinged or unfinished, are completely correct in everything they say. It not only required enormous worldbuilding work to justify why Martians are in the desert, Arthurian Knights in the woods, and Dinosaurs in the swamps, it also tested every skill as a DM when the players interacted with this zany gonzo world in utterly unexpected ways. It proved to be the most unpredictable game I have ever been a part of, and I love it for that.  On a game design level though, the experience was illuminating in one especially important regard. The 3 LBBs (and OD&D in general) reference the Chainmail wargame rules regularly; its referenced in combat, in monster determination, in castle encounters, and the rules assume it is standard. The "Alternate Co
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Thoughts on Open Tables & Megadungeons

As we enter the sixth and final month of my open table game of Arden Vul, I think its time to put some of the many lessons I've gained to paper. The experience has been illuminating, to say the least, but as my first foray into this style of gaming there is so much I would do differently if I could start again (which I will, in due time, just not with Arden Vul). The game I ran was designed to follow the implicit philosophy of the first edition Dungeon Master's Guide, made infamous in OSR circles by the "BrOSR" movement. While I'm not enamored of them or their work, they do raise an important point: the original game implicitly assumes something akin to an open table megadungeon campaign with 1 day passing in game for every day that passes out of game. In the background of the megadungeon campaign is a simulated world in which characters are expected to live full and meaningful lives, with rules and guidelines being provided in AD&D for everything from harlotr
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