Monday, November 14, 2011

Need a Favor: Serious Question for all you DM's Out There

I'm doing some market research.

If you've got the time, could you give me a quick list of your top 10 favorite OSR products? Not counting rule-sets? For pay or free.

It's ok to list less than 10, if you would prefer.

Either a blog post, or leaving info in the comments here would be fine, though I would appreciate it if you dropped a quick comment to let me know you're making a post of it. Just to make sure I don't miss anything.

Thanks a million!
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Posted by James at 2:12 PM
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52 comments:

  1. AllandarosNovember 14, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    1. Vornheim
    2. Spire of Iron and Crystal
    3. The Dungeon Alphabet
    4. Death Frost Doom
    5. One-Page Dungeon Contests (treating these as one "item")

    ReplyDelete
  2. JohnNovember 14, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    I tend to buy and regard modules and mega dungeons that break creative new ground, and well done tool kits that improve running different aspects of the game (like Vornheim, or the Dungeon Alphabet).

    Examples of adventures I've greatly enjoyed: the LOTFP stuff, Spire of Iron and Glass, StoneHell, Anomalous Subsurface Environment.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JDJarvisNovember 14, 2011 at 2:53 PM

    In no particular order, my top 10 OSR non-rule-set selection of the moment:
    Death Frost doom
    Nod magazine by John M. stater
    Fight On! Fanzine published by Ignatius Ümlaut
    Realms of Crawling Chaos from Goblin Games
    Dungeon Alphabet
    Wilderness Alphabet
    Exquisite Corpses
    Varlets and Vermin
    Swords and Wizardry monstrous compendium
    Tome of Horrors Complete (S&W version)

    ReplyDelete
  4. MacNovember 14, 2011 at 2:55 PM

    I think I've onlhy really used three things. I love the Old School Encounter Reference and dipped into it pretty good in my last campaign (Night Below). I used S&W White Box as a reference in some old school D&D games I ran sporadically the last year or two. And I did several sessions of a Metamorphosis Alpha setting using Mutant Future, but by the end I regretted not just using the original MA rules for that.

    I'm kind of attracted to LOTFP and Carcosa, but there are so many other games I want to do on the horizon for the group (Call of Cthulhu, Runequest, maybe Oriental Adventures) I probably won't get to them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Stefan PoagNovember 14, 2011 at 2:57 PM

    In no particular order:
    1) Dungeon Alphabet
    2) Random Esoteric Creature Generator
    3) Carcosa
    4) Swords & Magic: Adventures on Fomalhaut RPG
    5) the Dragonsfoot 'campaign journals' section, with bookmarks on Melan's campaign, Terry's campaign and others
    7) The First Fantasy Campaign by Arneson (yeah, I know it's not really an 'osr' product, but this is the kind of thing I like)
    8) Archive of the Rotted Moon blog (stories from stonehell, campaign details, etc.; great fun)
    9) Realms of Crawling Chaos
    10) All the other blogs
    There are other things, but these spring to mind first.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousNovember 14, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    In no definite order, and I'll just name vague categories for a few things because it's too difficult to pick out the very best quickly. There is probably some free stuff out there that would belong on this list, but those are more difficult to remember and I don't know them as well.

    Anomalous Subsurface Environment
    Vornheim
    Carcosa
    Ursined, Sealed & Delivered
    Dyson's Delve
    Castle of the Mad Archmage
    The best Raggi module
    The best Matt Finch module
    The best Advanced Adventures module
    Fight On

    I haven't seen the Cursed Chateau, so don't know how it would rank here. I also suspect that the completed Inferno (the Judge's Guild module) will get on the list once it's published.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousNovember 14, 2011 at 3:16 PM

    I probably rely on blogs more than "products."

    Things I've actually used:
    One page dungeons from the constests
    Dungeon alphabet
    Vornheim
    Realms of crawling chaos
    Old School Encounter Reference

    Things I have not actually used but like a lot:
    Majestic Wilderlands
    Blackmarsh

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dangerous BrianNovember 14, 2011 at 3:26 PM

    In no particular order: AD&D DM's Guide, AD&D Players Guide, OA1 Sword of the Daimyo, Treasure Hunt Module, In Search of Treasure Module, Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom, Rune Quest Ninja, Temple of Elemental Evil, Ruins of Castle Greyhawk, WFRP Eneamy Within Campaign

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousNovember 14, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    forgot to add:
    used:
    Tricks, traps and empty rooms
    not used:
    Exquisite corpses

    There must be other things I *would* like but have not bought/downloaded/etc.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousNovember 14, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    Swords & Wizardry Monster Compendium
    Anomalous Subsurface Environment
    Random Esoteric Creature Generator
    Savage Swords of Athanor
    Majestic Wilderlands
    Fight On! magazine
    Knockspell magazine
    Dungeon Alphabet
    One Page Dungeon entries
    Pocket Full of Peril series

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Iron GoatNovember 14, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    Fight on!
    Dungeon alphabet/Stonehell
    Any of Melan’s adventures
    Nod
    Anomalous Subsurface Environment
    Vornheim
    One page dungeons (but maybe I’m a little biased)
    Old School Encounter Reference

    ReplyDelete
  12. satyreNovember 14, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    1. Dungeon Alphabet
    2. CDD4: Old School Encounter Reference
    3. Links to Wisdom wiki
    4. DungeonWords/WilderWords/WestWords (d30)
    5. One Page Dungeon Codex 2009
    6. Labyrinth Lord/Mutant Future/Terminal Space
    7. OSRIC
    8. Engines & Entropy (LL Steampunk)
    9. Geomorphs (Kellri/dysonlogos/netherwerks).
    10. Old School Hack

    Barely scratching the surface here...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jeremy DeramNovember 14, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    1. Anomalous Subsurface Environment
    2. Fight On
    3. Dungeon Alphabet
    4. Vornheim
    5. Death Frost Doom
    6. Kellri's Encounters Netbook
    7. Miscellaneum of Cinder
    8. Carcosa
    9. Jason Vey's Age of Conan & Secrets of Acheron
    10. The Land of Nod magazine
    11. Realms of Crawling Chaos
    12. Planet Eris house rules

    Sorry, couldn't keep it to 10! All of the above have been used in some form or fashion AT THE GAMING TABLE!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousNovember 14, 2011 at 5:40 PM

    Also in no particular order:

    1. Carcosa by Geoffrey McKinney
    2. Points of Light by Robert Conley
    3. Lesserton and Mor by Faster Monkey Games
    4. The One Page Dungeon Codex 2009 (and annual Competition results)
    5. Fight On!
    6. The Phoenix Barony by David Bezio
    7. The Dismal Depths by Dave "Sham" Bowman
    8. The People of the Pit by Alphonso Warden
    9. The Dungeon Alphabet by Michael Curtis
    10. "Her Dark Majesty" trilogy of modules by John A. Turcotte and published by Dragonsfoot:
    - DF18 Where the Fallen Jarls Sleep
    - DF21 Beneath Black Towen
    - DF24 Stormcrows Gather

    ReplyDelete
  15. JohnNovember 14, 2011 at 5:46 PM

    I mostly use stuff from blogs. Besides that, roughly in order of the amount of actual use I've gotten out of them:

    Vornheim
    One Page Dungeon Contest
    Tricks, Empty Rooms & Basic Trap Design
    City Encounters
    Dungeon Alphabet

    If we're counting official products, then the AD&D DMG, MM, MM2 and FF, all topping the above list.

    I'm most likely to buy toolkits or sets of tables/encounters/seed ideas. I'm least likely to buy adventures (because I never find the opportunity to run them) and monster supplements (because I've never found any nearly as useful to me as those three AD&D books).

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jack ShearNovember 14, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    Vornheim
    Random Esoteric Creature Generator
    Dungeon Alphabet
    Carcosa
    ...my own Flavors of Fear pdf ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. faoladhNovember 14, 2011 at 7:58 PM

    Of things that I actually own:

    Original Edition Delta: Book of War

    Savage Swords of Athanor (and here I should point out that I am deeply in love with Swords & Wizardry Whitebox)

    Castle of the Mad Archmage (and The Mad Demigod's Castle)

    Fight On! magazine (and Oubliette, and Encounter, and OD&Dities, and so on; really, all the magazines/fanzines)

    Dungeon Alphabet

    Blackmarsh

    Every supplement for Stars Without Number

    ReplyDelete
  18. rmckee78November 14, 2011 at 8:45 PM

    My list: http://darjanix.blogspot.com/2011/11/underdark-gazette-asks-what-your.html

    ReplyDelete
  19. Zak SabbathNovember 14, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    -Challenge of the Frog Idol

    -Carcosa

    -I am going to say "Miscellaneum of Cinder" though it's sort of just a stand-in for all of Jeff's tables he's ever posted

    -Death Frost Doom

    -Land of Nod (the free ones are the only ones I've had time to check out)

    -"Tricks, Empty Rooms, and Basic Trap Design" by C

    -Links of wisdom wiki

    I know I've forgot some stuff but I'm in a hurry...if i remember i'll post more later

    ReplyDelete
  20. NecropraxisNovember 14, 2011 at 9:27 PM

    Unordered, with some notes:

    - Anomalous Subsurface Environment (best gonzo supplement)
    - Fight On! (probably most useful pound for pound)
    - Vornheim (how to do a book of tools and techniques)
    - Small But Vicious Dog (best house rules document I've seen so far)
    - Tower of the Stargazer (awesome nonlinear minidungeon)
    - A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming (best to give newbies, good first principles)
    - Labyrinth Lord (no-art free version good for recruiting)
    - Mines of Khunmar (perhaps best dungeon map)
    - One-page Dungeon Codex (volume of adventure ideas is amazing)
    - LotFP Grindhouse Edition (tweak assumptions, keep essence)

    Honorable mentions (haven't gotten a chance to use them enough yet):

    - Tome of Adventure Design
    - Under Xylarthen's Tower (Rients)
    - Realms of Crawling Chaos (crunch done well)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Robert MorrisNovember 14, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    Vornheim
    One Page Dungeon compilations
    Tome of Horrors Complete
    Land of Nod
    various zines
    blogs

    ReplyDelete
  22. SylvaeonNovember 14, 2011 at 10:29 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  23. SylvaeonNovember 14, 2011 at 11:18 PM

    Not in any particular order:

    1. Vornheim
    2. Barrataria Games Companion Expansion
    3. Dragons At Dawn (D.H. Boggs)
    4. Realms of Crawling Chaos
    5. Ruins & Ronin
    6. One Page Dungeon Codex
    7. Footprints
    8. A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming
    9. Kiss of the Frog God
    10. Hill Cantons Compendium

    ReplyDelete
  24. Jeremy DuncanNovember 14, 2011 at 11:26 PM

    1. Anomalous Subsurface Environment
    2. Vornheim
    3. The Dungeon Alphabet
    4. The Land of Nod
    5. Hill Cantons Compendium
    6. One Page Dungeon Contest
    7. The Miscellaneum of Cinder
    8. Fight On!
    9. Small But Vicious Dog
    10. Random Esoteric Creature Generator

    ReplyDelete
  25. BadmikeNovember 14, 2011 at 11:49 PM

    Not in any particular order:

    1. Bottle City (Rob Kuntz)
    2. Fight On!
    3. Castle of the Mad Archmage (Joe Bloch)
    4. Spire of Iron and Crystal (Matt Finch)
    5. The Thing in the Valley (Bill Barsh)
    6. Stonehell Dungeon (Michael Curtis)
    7. Outpost on the Edge of the Far Reaches (Paul Fini)
    8. Land of Nod
    9. Where the Fallen Jarls Sleep (John Turcotte)
    10. Under Xylatharns Tower (Jeff Reints)

    I'm not sure if you could consider it OSR or not, but Castle Zagyg would get an honorable mention.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Rob_SNovember 15, 2011 at 12:53 AM

    In no particular order:

    Labryinth Lord
    OSRIC
    Stone Hell
    Fight On
    Red Tide
    Dungeon Alphabet (If it counts)
    Anom. Sub. Environment (ASE1)
    Vornheim
    LOTFP
    Death Frost Doom

    ReplyDelete
  27. Rob_SNovember 15, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    Oops I listed rules set. Instead replace them with

    Tricks, Empty Rooms & Basic Trap Design
    Caverns of the Sinister Shroom

    ReplyDelete
  28. UnknownNovember 15, 2011 at 1:12 AM

    What comes to mind (although I don't tend to buy many products):

    Fight On
    Carcosa
    Anomalous Subsurface Environment
    Stonehell
    Death Frost Doom
    Eldritch Weirdness Compilation
    Realms of Crawling Chaos

    ReplyDelete
  29. AnonymousNovember 15, 2011 at 5:31 AM

    Interesting question for me, as I run Pathfinder with an old school vibe. So, what did I actually use?

    Vornheim
    Starting equipment from Jeff's blog
    Tome of Horrors Complete (Does the Pathfinder version count?)
    Dave's Geomorph Mapper
    Tome of Adventure Design
    Hirelings from Dark Dungeons (Modified)
    BX Headgear tables (Modified)

    And I plan on using Death Frost Doom, Stargazer's Tower and countless OPDs.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anthony SimeoneNovember 15, 2011 at 5:39 AM

    No particular order:

    Stonehell Dungeon
    Swords & Wizardry Core Rules
    Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules
    Swords & Wizardry Monster Compendium
    Labyrinth Lord
    Points of Light by Robert Conley
    Blackmarsh by Robert Conley
    Expeditious Retreat Press (all old school modules)
    Goodman Games (all old school modules)

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anthony SimeoneNovember 15, 2011 at 5:41 AM

    P.S. Sorry, I am now re-reading what you asked for, and I listed some rules sets! It's really early here...well, ignore S&W and LL and there's my list!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Carter SolesNovember 15, 2011 at 6:59 AM

    Fight On!
    Oubliette Fanzine
    Vornheim
    Death Frost Doom
    Hammers of the God
    The Grinding Gear
    Stonehell
    Dungeon Alphabet
    Knowledge Illuminates
    Fire in the Jungle
    Anomalous Subsurface Environment
    Wilderness Alphabet

    ReplyDelete
  33. GrillWizardNovember 15, 2011 at 7:09 AM

    Labyrinth Lord/AEC
    One Page Dungeon
    Stonehell
    Dungeon Alphabet
    Fight On!
    Castle of the Mad Archmage
    Old School Encounter Reference
    A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming

    ReplyDelete
  34. Peter DNovember 15, 2011 at 7:29 AM

    I haven't read that much stuff, but a few things have been really good and useful. In no alphabetical order:

    Dungeon Alphabet
    Stonehell
    Vornheim

    ReplyDelete
  35. AnonymousNovember 15, 2011 at 7:53 AM

    1. CARCOSA
    2. Asteroid-1618 (Encounter Critical adventure from Jeff Rients)
    3. Fight On! (mostly for the adventures)
    4. Beyond the Black Gate compendium(s)
    5. NOD

    ReplyDelete
  36. arcadaynNovember 15, 2011 at 8:42 AM

    I use a ton off the blogs as well. In no particular order:

    Vornheim
    Old School Encounters Reference (Kelri)
    Death Frost Doom
    Blackmarsh
    Dungeon Alphabet
    Carcosa
    Anomalus Subsurface Environment
    Realms of Crawling Chaos
    Green Devil Face
    Age of Conan

    ReplyDelete
  37. Mallius VaneNovember 15, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    I love the zines best:

    Fight On!
    Knockspell
    NOD

    ...but especially:

    Oubliette

    ReplyDelete
  38. DaveNovember 15, 2011 at 10:50 AM

    Carcosa
    Fight On! (and not just because they publish my stuff)
    Fomalhaut
    Vornheim
    Labyrinth Lord Realms of Crawling Chaos
    Small But Vicious Dog

    ReplyDelete
  39. The Iron GoatNovember 15, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    nice to see some love for Small but Vicious Dog. I wish he would repackage that with a little higher production values and maybe try to get some more visibility. It's just plain fun to read.

    ReplyDelete
  40. JamesNovember 15, 2011 at 3:29 PM

    Thanks everyone for your help! :)

    ReplyDelete
  41. Chris KutalikNovember 15, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    Well another vote for Small But Vicious Dog.

    Also:
    1. Encounter magazine
    2. Oubilette zine
    3. Old School Encounters Reference (and Kellri's reading list from Moldavy)
    4. a metric crap ton of charts from Jeff's blog
    5. Sham Bowman's Dismal Depths esp. the Bestiary
    6. Woodgrain Box aka Bludgeons and Flagons
    Vornheim
    7. Stonehell
    8. Hill Cantons Compendium (oh no, wait did I forget to log-in with my shill account again.)
    9. Victor Raymond's OD&D board thread on how to run EPT

    ReplyDelete
  42. AnonymousNovember 15, 2011 at 4:55 PM

    Woodgrain Box aka Bludgeons and Flagons

    @ckutalik - what is this? Google gives me a T&T adventure and a Dragon Magazine comic, but I'm guessing what you're talking about is neither of those.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Chuck TNovember 15, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    Quickly throwing up my list. I promise to do a blog post tomorrow. :)
    The OSR Primer
    The original Keep on the Borderlands
    Vornheim
    Death Frost Doom
    Spire of Iron and Crystal
    The original City State of the Invincible Overlord:
    The Armory's Book of d30 Charts

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anthony SimeoneNovember 15, 2011 at 11:36 PM

    I revised my list and posted it on my blog:

    http://unto-the-breach.blogspot.com/2011/11/favorite-osr-products.html

    ReplyDelete
  45. NecropraxisNovember 16, 2011 at 10:24 AM

    Also, though not exactly what you asked for, the three unreleased OSR products that I am most looking forward to right now are:

    - Carcosa (I missed the original release)
    - Dwimmermount Codex
    - Mines of Khunmar (published version)

    I'm probably pre-sold on any decent megadungeon products, and quite receptive to "toolbox" books like Vornheim and the Tome of Adventure Design.

    ReplyDelete
  46. UnknownNovember 16, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    1- Blogs, blogs, blogs. Reading all your thoughts is the most useful part of the OSR to me. That's probably not what you meant by "products".
    2- Death Frost Doom is the only OSR product I've actually used.

    Sorry, I just kinda make up everything myself. Its part of the fun of the hobby.

    ReplyDelete
  47. BlUsKrEEmNovember 16, 2011 at 11:19 PM

    1) X-plorers
    2) Carcosa
    3) People of the Pit
    4) The Phoenix Barony (& The Tathor Gaz)
    5) Stone Hell
    6) Red Tide
    7) Spire of Iron and Crystal
    8) BX Companion
    9) Oubilette Magazine
    10) Links to Wisdom

    That was way harder then I thought it would be. I had to pare the list down form twenty some items. I decided to not include any blogs to keep my sanity when making the list.

    ReplyDelete
  48. AkiyamaNovember 17, 2011 at 10:04 AM

    Fight On! Magazine
    The Random Esoteric Creature Generator
    Tricks, Empty Rooms and Basic Trap Design

    ReplyDelete
  49. AkiyamaNovember 17, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    So far the most popular picks are:

    The top three, and very popular :
    Vornheim, The Dungeon Alphabet and Fight On! magazine

    The next seven:
    Death Frost Doom, One Page Dungeons, Stonehell, Carcosa, Anomalous Subsurface Environment, Nod magazine, Realms of Crawling Chaos

    ReplyDelete
  50. AnonymousNovember 17, 2011 at 11:53 AM

    Wow. Blogger really hates me. This is the third time I type this post.

    * Knockspell magazine
    * Encounter magazine
    * Old School Dungeon compilation(s)
    * Dyson Logos maps and geomorphs
    * The Sanctuary Ruin (and if you read this, Ludibrium Games: please add the other two modules to Lulu as well)
    * Vornheim
    * Free City of Haldane (Iridia)
    * Raedwald (this one is blurry as it will be a full rule set as well but the classes and the innovative world make it double as a rules supplement to S&W as well as a campaign setting)
    * The Phoenix Barony
    * Blackmarsh

    ReplyDelete
  51. HolmentzerNovember 19, 2011 at 12:51 AM

    way late here but my picks arent that much diff from norm, but hopefully can still be of help:

    FIGHT ON!
    KNOCKSPELL
    both JEWELS & GEMS by Faster Monkey
    VORNHEIM
    TRICKS, EMPTY ROOMS & BASIC TRAP DESIGN
    OUBLIETTE

    & though i havent used anything in it, & havent read thru the whole thing, a special "WOW" to the PLANET ERIS - HOUSE RULES

    ReplyDelete
  52. DavidNovember 29, 2011 at 3:00 PM

    Those Little Brown Books
    Judge's Guild Ready Ref Sheets
    Judge's Guild Wilderlands of High Fantasy
    The Strategic Review
    Fight On!
    Knockspell
    Monster and Treasure Assortments
    Forbidden Lore (Chainmail style combat in OD&D)

    That's my list and I'm sticking to it.

    ReplyDelete

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