Rogue Games Tabbloid -- November 19, 2009 Edition

19 November 2009

Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

ROGUE FEED

“Original Edition Delta” or “OED” for short. OED nicely boils OD&D down to its essentials, clarifying some rules without eliminating the need for referee judgment calls and rationalizing other rules without eliminating the charming quirkiness of the original game. Again, I don’t agree with all the choices he’s made, but OED is nevertheless a version of OD&D I’d enjoy playing and I’ve pilfered a few ideas from it in my own Dwimmermount game.

REVIEW: Original Edition Delta: Book of Spells NOV 18, 2009 03:46P.M.

So, when Dan released Original Edition Delta: Book of Spells, I was intrigued. What did he have in store? As it turns out, Book of Spells is an 18-page product (available in both print and PDF formats) that presents, as fully open content, all the magic-user spells of 6th level and below presented in the little brown books, with select additions from Supplement I. Dan did this for a couple of reasons. First, it fills the void left by the removal of legal OD&D PDFs by Wizards of the Coast earlier this year. Second, it gives players of magic-users (and referees) a “spellbook” they can easily consult during play rather than having to flip through an entire rulebook for just a few specific pages. What’s most remarkable about the spell descriptions is that, with very exceptions, they’re no more than three lines of text long, including information on range and duration. Most of the descriptions eliminate “negative” statements and limitations, on the notion that OD&D magic should be rare and potent and that the primary determinants of what it can and cannot do are player ingenuity and referee adjudication. This results in a very bare bones presentation, but one that is strangely inspiring to those of us who see OD&D not so much as a complete game in itself as an invitation to create one’s own game from its piecemeal rules.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the old school renaissance is seeing the large number of house rules and variant interpretations of OD&D that are used in individual campaigns. From my perspective, each campaign should be as unique as the referee who runs it and the players who participate in it. Some of the best old school blogs include not only listings of house rules but also discussions of the rationales behind them. I find material of this sort endlessly fascinating, since it’s a latter day example of the kind of idiosyncratic creativity that was commonplace in the early days of the hobby. It also helps put paid to the notion that the old school movement supposedly marches in lockstep according to one rose-colored tune.

Book of Spells is an admittedly specifically book and I can’t say it’s a “must-have,” particularly for those who already own the LBBs + Supplements. However, it’s nevertheless a very fascinating take on OD&D magic-user spells, one that strips away the limitations of later editions, concessions to convention play, and other needless worries that have emasculated D&D magic over the last 30+ years. Reading Book of Spells is like reading a recently-unearthed ancient text, one free from later glosses so that it can be read with new eyes.

One of my favorite blogs is Delta’s D&D Hotspot, written by Daniel Collins. Dan’s been posting his thoughts about D&D online for a long time — far longer than most — and he’s been playing OD&D even longer. I consider him one of the more thoughtful and experienced commentators on OD&D out there and, even when I disagree with his opinions, such as giving saving throws for any spell that has potentially negative consequences, I’m always interested in his explanation of why he holds that opinion. His musings on his blog and elsewhere have often caused me to re-evaluate my own thoughts, which is a remarkable feat, given how hidebound I can be. In short, Daniel Collins is someone worth listening to.

Original Edition Delta: Book of Spells consists almost entirely of dense text, with only four illustrations (counting the cover) to break it up. It is, however, very readable and well edited. It’s also a bit expensive considering its length but that’s hardly a damning critique of what is a useful and inspiring product. I don’t expect it to set the old school gaming world on fire, but I do think it could occasion quite a lot of fruitful discussion about the power and utility of magic in OD&D, even among those who are already playing the game. That’s a pretty remarkable feat in my opinion.

On his blog, Dan’s been discussing his version of OD&D, which he calls

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

19 November 2009

humanoid tribes existing cheek by jowl with one another. Presentation: 6 out of 10 Creativity: 7 out of 10 Utility: 6 out of 10

The Secret of Bone Hill presents the town of Restenford, which is as well imagined as Hommlet, complete with unique names and personalities for even the most minor of NPCs. In addition, there are maps aplenty for the town and its buildings, making it very friendly to referees who give their players the freedom to wander about the place as they wish. Surrounding Restenford is a dangerous wilderness filled with bandits, humanoids, and other threats. And of course there’s Bone Hill itself, home to numerous undead, including such foul things as ghoulstirges, stirges who paralyze as well as drink blood. Bone Hill is a dangerous place, one that beginning adventurers ought to avoid until they’ve gained sufficient experience to tackle its horrors.

Buy This If: You’re looking for a concise presentation of OD&D magicuser spells free from later accretions. Don’t Buy This If: You prefer more expansive (and restrictive) spell descriptions.

ROGUE FEED

Retrospective: The Secret of Bone Hill

To my mind, the beauty of module L1 is the way it combines the mundanity of Hommlet with the otherworldly fantasy of the Caves of Chaos. Much as I love B2, it sometimes feels a little too de-contextualized — perhaps by design — but I find I like context for my adventures, particularly low-level ones. Hommlet and Restenford are both very good “home bases,” whereas I don’t find the Keep particularly compelling, a problem made all the more obvious to me in my own Dwimmermount campaign, where Muntburg is a close relative of the Keep in terms of depth and detail (which probably explains why both the players and myself prefer to visit Adamas, even though it’s farther away from the dungeon).

NOV 18, 2009 12:14P.M.

Bone Hill is a weird place. During the day, bugbears hold it, while, at night, they cede control to the undead who rise up from their graves. This fact gives it a peculiar vibe for me and one that I think helps the module considerably. And the number and strength of the surrounding creatures, both at Bone Hill and elsewhere, ensures that PCs have good reason to spend a lot of time in Restenford, getting to know its inhabitants and their peculiarities, rather than just treating the town as “flyover country” they can simply ignore. The result is a terrific dynamic that I’ve always liked and that has probably informed my own campaign design as much as anything else.

Published in 1981, The Secret of Bone Hill is the first module in the Lseries, so designated either because it was set on the World of Greyhawk’s Lendore Isle or because it was written by Lenard Lakofka, a long-time contributor to Dungeons & Dragons and a regular columnist to Dragon magazine. Whatever the case, L1 is, in my opinion, an underappreciated classic, a low-level introductory module that nicely occupies a middle ground between The Village of Hommlet and Keep on the Borderlands. Allow me to clarify.

If you haven’t read The Secret of Bone Hill in a while, I recommend you do so. I think you’ll find it better than you remember its being and a genuine classic of the early 80s.

The Village of Hommlet is often praised — and criticized — for its mundanity. Hommlet is Exhibit A of Gygaxian Naturalism in action. Nearly every inhabitant of the village is given a name, a personality, and a place within its little society. Likewise, the nearby moat house dungeon is subdued, with a semi-realistic ecology and suffused with a sense of foreboding rather than blatant evil. Keep on the Borderlands, on the other hand, offers very little in the way of context. The titular keep is a lone outpost of undefined civilization, beyond which there exists only the wilderness and the forces of Chaos who dwell within. It’s almost purely fantastical in conception and the Caves of Chaos are frequently cited as an example of bad dungeon ecology, with numerous antagonistic

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR [email protected]

19 November 2009

ROGUE FEED

Old School Art Podcast NOV 18, 2009 11:30A.M. The latest Ninja Mountain podcast includes a round table discussion about old school D&D art, with former TSR staff artists Erol Otus and Jeff Easley. The discussion is promoting the upcoming release of The Dungeon Alphabet by Michael Curtis. It’s well worth listening to, if only to hear the voice of Erol Otus talk about his art, his influences, and what he takes to be the important elements of old school art. It’s also quite fascinating to hear — and I know this will fan some flames in various quarters — Jeff Easley say that he (and Larry Elmore) had never played D&D before they were hired by TSR, whereas Erol Otus notes that he was a huge D&D player, perhaps too much of one, according to his comments. In any case, check it out.

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