In Which I Steal a Line from James Maliszewski and Make Big Plans for March 27

OSRIC is Mine!

I know I probably should have waited for the Black Blade/Usherwood release. It's going to have a heavier paper stock. But, I was ordering something from Lulu anyway, had a 25% discount code and had been waiting for the latest OSRIC update to go through. I decided I had waited long enough and went ahead and ordered the B&W HC! It arrived yesterday! I'll steal another line, this one from Dilios in 300: Glorious!

And now, after a year of waiting, two serious health crises in my immediate family, the passing of both of my wife's parents and a ton of other real life stuff, March 27 is the day! Barring something really, really bad or really, really good, I'll be kicking off my Labyrinth Lord Campaign! I have three confirmed players and need to check in with three maybe's. But at last, it's on! Which means, I need to get my ass in gear!

Of course, now I'm wanting to run OSRIC!* Damn you, Gamer ADD!

*and S&W, AD&D, etc., etc., and etc. But Especially OSRIC!

Combat Maneuvers and Modifiers

Mostly traditional, with a few tweaks and additions. Along with a borrowing or three from 3e. The following list is geared toward my LL/AEC Houserules. 

The Following is declared Open Game Content.

Combat Maneuvers and Modifiers

Attacking Invisible Enemies: Attacks against invisible opponents are -4 to hit and they will receive a +4 bonus to any saving throws. The attacker must have an approximate idea of where the invisible creature may be, to even attempt an attack. More experienced/powerful PC’s, NPC’s and Monsters, have a chance, based upon Intelligence and/or other abilities, to approximately locate an invisible opponent.

Charging: A creature who is more than 10’ away from their target, may Charge one time per Turn, moving at double their normal movement rate and attacking in the same round. They receive a +2 bonus to hit, but suffer a -1 penalty to their AC and lose any Dexterity bonus to AC when charging. If the defender has a weapon which is longer than that of the attacker’s, then the defender will attack first. Certain weapons (spears, lances and halberds) may be “set” against a charge, and will inflict double damage if a hit is scored upon a charging attacker. A rider upon a warhorse and wielding a lance, will do double damage for the weapon, on a charge. A creature may not charge if they are at their maximum amount of encumbrance, unless they are on a warhorse which is not at its maximum encumbrance. When Charging while on a mount, the Character must be at least 60’ away at the beginning of the Charge.

Close To Attack: Unless charging, a Character may close to within melee range (10’) and then attack on the next round.

Defensive Fighting: A Fighting-man, Paladin or Ranger may opt to fight defensively, lowering their AC by -2 but sacrificing a -2 to hit. Attack rate is halved, when fighting defensively.

Firing Missile Weapons into Melee: If a ranged weapon is fired into a melee in which an ally is involved, the attacker will be at a -4 penalty to hit as his ally is providing cover for his enemy. If he misses his target by 1 - 4, he will hit the ally instead. The attacker may reduce this penalty to -2, by taking the time to carefully study the situation and wait for an opportune moment. This will reduce his rate of fire by half. He will then only hit an ally if he misses by 1 - 2.

Flanking: If two attackers manage to flank a single opponent, the attackers receive a +1 bonus to hit.

Mounted Attack: A mounted Fighter, Paladin or Ranger, attacking enemies on foot, receives a +1 bonus to their to hit rolls and to their AC. If attacking while riding a trained Warhorse, or similar creature, the bonuses are at +2.

Prone Defenders: Attacks made against a prone defender are at +3 to hit and the defender loses any Dexterity bonus to AC. Attacks made from a prone position are at -2 to hit.

Frenzied Attack*: A Fighter or Ranger may launch an all-out attack during a round, putting themselves in harm’s way in an attempt to damage their opponent. They will attack at +2 to hit, but will suffer an AC penalty of 3. A Critical Hit or Miss, made during a Reckless Attack, might be truly awesome or utterly disastrous.

*At the LL's discretion, the first time a Fighter or Ranger uses this combat option, he may be required (or allowed) to roll a percentile check. On a result of 05% or lower, the Character is a Berserker! 

Retreat: If a creature is moving away at greater than one third his movement rate, opponents will get a free attack at +2 to hit and no AC adjustment from Dexterity or a shield may be used by the defender. A character may perform a Fighting-retreat at one-third his movement rate, but his rate of attack will be halved. This may be combined with Defensive Fighting, with no further penalty to the rate of attack.

Rear Attacks: Attacks from the rear are at +2. The defender loses any Dexterity bonus to AC and no protection from a shield is possible.

Spears and Halberds: These weapons, wielded by attackers in the second rank of a battle formation, can attack past the first rank.

Stunned Opponents: A Stunned opponent is at +4 to hit and loses any Dexterity or shield adjustments to AC. His rate of attack will be halved.

Terrain and Cover: Some terrain, such as high and low ground can give a bonus or penalty to attacks. (Usually +/- 1.) Cover will provide a bonus to AC of 2 to 10, depending upon the amount of cover.

Two-weapon Fighting: A Fighting-man, Ranger, Paladin, Thief or Halfling Hero with a Dexterity of 13+ may fight using two one handed weapons, the secondary weapon being no larger than a shortsword. Fighting with two weapons does not grant an extra attack, due to the abstract nature of combat rolls in D&D. Instead, a +1 to hit, or a -1 bonus to AC is given. The Player may choose which bonus he wishes and it will be assumed to go towards his attacking abilities, unless he states otherwise. In two-weapon fighting, the off-hand weapon is used as a parrying device, more often than to make attacks. When a hit is scored, the player rolls a d6. On a 1 or 2, the off-hand weapon scored the damage.

Weaponless Defenders: A character being attacked by an enemy wielding a melee weapon, who is not wielding one himself, or otherwise equipped, such as in the case of natural weaponry is at +2 to hit.

In Which I Run Stonehell, Knock Some Rust Off My Game and Kill Four PC’s

The Poison Gas Trap activates on a 1-2 on a d6. Oops! Four failed saves? Everyone back to town. You can just clone your dead to save some time, or roll up new ones as you prefer.

I attended my first meeting of the Birmingham Area Tabletop Gamers group, yesterday. Glen, Shane Ivey of Arc Dream Publishing, Kendra and my friend Lee, who showed up after the Poison debacle and took over the two hireling Fighters, decided to play some Old School and try out LL/AEC. I ran Stonehell. 1st level characters, 4d6 drop the lowest and arrange as desired. Three of the players ran two characters each, while the fourth ran one. It was pretty fucking awesome! The intrepid players moved past the incident mentioned above, which happened about 45 minutes into the game and headed back in. We played for over four hours and got quite a bit accomplished.

Highlights of the game, included Shane’s 1/2 Orc Fighter’s habit of taking humanoids prisoner and enslaving them. “Go spin that wheel!”

Lee got the first Natural 20 of the day. I used the idea from Matt Finch’s Primer, to use ad hoc rulings for critical hits and misses. Also, in lieu of the old AD&D rule of Fighters getting an attack per level against monsters of less than 1 HD, I gave the Fighters the ability to Cleave, when taking a foe out, once per round per level.

So, Lee got a Nat. 20, taking out a Goblin. He then got another Nat. 20 on the Cleave, taking out another one! I gave him a third attack for the first crit., which he used to take out yet another goblin and for the second crit., ruled that he had managed to kick the corpse off his blade, shoving it into a fourth goblin and knocking it prone. He was a whirlwind of death and it was a really cool moment!

Getting to run Stonehell, gave me an even deeper appreciation of Mr. Curtis’ work. There’s so many nice little touches and the whole thing comes together so very well! The fantastic organization, makes it a breeze to run!

While they learned their lesson about traps, managing to neutralize a particularly nasty Green Slime threat, they were still very negligent about searching for secret doors and whatnot.

The party only got into real trouble one time, other than the poison fountain, that is. A battle with some goblins and wolves. It got a little hairy, but they pulled it out, without any casualties.

I wasn’t nearly as rusty as I feared I might be, but it’ll take a few more sessions before I’m really back into the groove of things. Getting into Character(s), keeping things hopping and spontaneous creativity, is a breeze, for me. It’s remembering the little details, remembering to use the little details, as well as the finer aspects of timing, that’ll take me a few games to work all the kinks out of.

Everyone had a good time and hopefully, will show up and want to play again next month. I’ll be there, running an open table, for anyone wanting to risk the hazards of Stonehell Dungeon! Now, I just need to get my home Campaign going, I’ll be set! I think I’ve got my initial group of three set up, but due to a death in the family and subsequent out of town trip, it’ll probably be another two or three weeks, before I kick it off.

Orcus Wants You!!! Now Recruiting Adventurers!

I’ve started recruiting players for my upcoming campaign and after one day of work, I’ve got two yes’s and two maybe’s. One of the yes’s is my wife, of course. None of the rest have any real playing experience, which I think is kinda groovy! My other yes is a co-worker and I have a few other people at my workplace, I aim to ask about playing.

Three player’s is the minimum number I’ll start with, so all I need is one more commitment. I would like to have five or six players, with seven being about the max. My start date has been pushed back to mid July, which is cool. I could use the extra time, anyway. 

If anyone out there lives within driving distance of Montevallo, AL. (about 45 minutes from both Birmingham and Montgomery) and you’re looking for a game, shoot me an email – dmkastmaria(at)gmail(dot)com. I’ll be running on Saturday Afternoon’s, with a two week on, one week off, schedule. I have a son and cats, so if either of those freak you out, this isn’t the game for you. :)

I’m running Labyrinth Lord/AEC and will probably get around to  posting a short houserule doc, shortly. This will be an Old School Sandbox, so you’ll be free to wreak havoc and raise hell! No smoking in the house, though you can join me on the back deck, for the occasional smoke-break. I’ve been DMing for 28 years and my games tend to feature a lot of violence AND a lot of Role-playing. All combat and damage dice, will be rolled in front of the players.

For the vast majority of my DMing career, I’ve written all my own material. For this campaign, I’m using about a 50/50 mix of my own and OSR stuff by others, at least in the beginning. Only the gods know where the player’s will take things and what will happen then! I’ve got all this Old School gaming goodness, you guys have been creating and it would be a shame not to use any of it!

I still have quite a bit of work to get done, so I’d better get busy!

More Publicity for the Thrift Store Gods

"...information is the source of all wealth" – Robert Anton Wilson

So, a few weeks ago, I was cruising through the thrift store, when I saw this:

A shrinkwrapped copy of Avalon Hill’s Acquire. The thrift store wanted $3.88 for the game. Not my cup of tea, but thanks to a few years of heavy wheeling and dealing on ebay, I knew what it was really worth. I snatched it up.

After listing it on ebay, I made enough profit to cover the costs of this Acquisition:

With about .40 cents to spare.  They look really nice in Hardcover. :)

Labyrinth Lord – The Advanced Edition Companion Is Now Available!

For those of you who ignored my warnings and risked the wrath of Orcus, by NOT joining the Labyrinth Lord Society, you now have your chance to read the Advanced Edition Companion – A Player and Referee Guide of Advanced Edition Options for Labyrinth Lord!

The Hardcover is available from Lulu for $32.95. The perfect bound Softcover, also from Lulu, is $22.95. If you order today, you can use the coupon code SHADOW, for a 15% discount! Is that timing, or what?

The PDF is available from RPG Now for $5.95

Lastly, a free no-art version may also be downloaded from RPG Now.

Here’s a blurb from the back cover, just in case someone out there isn’t familiar with what this book is all about:

“The advanced first edition game as you remember it.
Labyrinth Lord gives you the play experience of the old editions of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game! The Advanced Edition Companion is a handbook of advanced player and referee options. Play the race and class possibilities from the "advanced" first edition 1978 rules. Introduce the essential first edition monsters, spells, and magic items to your Labyrinth Lord game. All of these options are fully compatible with the core Labyrinth Lord rules, so that you can continue to play race-classes right along with all of the advanced classes and races.”

I picked up the $5.95 PDF, earlier, this evening and IT IS SO DAMN COOL! With art by Steve Zeiser, Sean Aaberg and Jeremy Pea, combined with Dan’s Mad Design Skills, this thing is a visual feast! The content, of course, is superb! The PDF runs to 161 pages, packed full of OSR Goodness. Congratulations and Thank You, to Daniel Proctor and everyone who helped bring us this most Excellent Game!

The Constant Harrying From the Undead Minions of Orcus May Have Been A Factor…

  For Members of the Labyrinth Lord Society, it’s a Red Letter day, as we awoke to find our Exclusive Preview of the Advanced Edition Companion from Goblinoid Games in our inbox. The Exclusive Preview contains the full, non-art edition of the AEC, which, will be available to all for free download in a couple of weeks, or so.

The AEC, contains rules for incorporating a lot of First Edition material into your LL campaign and, while Orcus will eat me if I reveal anything, yet, I think I can safely relate that it’s bloody Awesome! I can’t wait to pick up the illustrated version.

The AEC is designated Open Game Content and it was Daniel Proctor’s intent to make available, as Open Content, First Edition material that was kept closed in Osric. I heartily applaud his decision!

I’m still shooting for April, to start my new campaign and need to get my butt in gear and finish my prep work. I’ve changed my little “What I’m Dming” widget. Up until a few weeks ago, I was planning on running S&W, but, I then decided to put AD&D and Labyrinth Lord back on the table, as possible options.

One of the purposes of my blog, is the promotion of the OSR and I want my game to further the same end. When I bring up the OSR to old gaming buddies, I always get the same reaction.

“The OS What?”

I’ve been their first exposure to the OSR, the Retro-Clones, or the fact that there’s a wealth of new material, being produced for old school games.

My dear friend, Darren, was lost to WOW, many years ago. I’ve never played WOW and know little about the game. He recently told me that at one time, he had one of the top 10 Arcane Mages on his server and that that was when developing an Arcane Mage meant something. Sounds impressive and I’m sure it is. He’s never played any of the WOTC editions and when we spoke the other day, told me he was tiring of WOW and wanted to get back into playing D&D. I think that’s a wonderful thing. An ulterior motive, in my discussing the OSR with him, has been to inspire my friend to get back into gaming. You know, real gaming. My only regret is, that we no longer live in the same city. I’d like to look into having him telecommute, via webcam. I moved to the Birmingham area, several years ago, so, all my gaming friends from back in the day, live too far away to invite to my game.

I have another friend, Lee, who is currently playing in a 4e game. After telling him about the OSR and my upcoming game, he’s very interested in playing. Lee is a True Gamer. Thank Orcus for True Gamers, for they make the lives of DM’s easier, in many ways. When they’re sane, that is.

My wife plays, which, makes my life easier than even a True Gamer, could.

Most of the rest of my last group of players are unavailable. One fellow got married to someone with unreasonable expectations, concerning his time and attentions. Another, moved out of town. A third, had some pressing personal situations and had to drop out, which, happened at the same time I went on a gaming hiatus, over two years ago. Hopefully, he might be available, but I haven’t spoken to him, yet.

I need three to six players, total, with five being the optimal number. Less than three has just never felt right and more than six starts getting unwieldy. Which means, I’ll probably need to recruit a few players. There’s a very good possibility, that the new recruits, will never have heard of the OSR. Hell, there’s a possibility, that I’ll attract some players who’ve never played a TSR version of the game. If my intent is to promote the OSR, then, going with one of the retro-clones, makes sense. A game that’s currently in production, that can be downloaded for free, as well as purchased in print and features plenty of support material, would be ideal. S&W and LL both fit the bill. So, after narrowing my choices down, to two, I just needed to decide which game would better serve my purposes.

Either one would do just fine. It’s all D&D and they aren’t THAT different. I like both games, a lot, but, in the final analysis, one of the most attractive features of S&W, is a major factor in my decision to go with Labyrinth Lord.

What I really want to play, is kind of an AD&D lite. I can houserule S&W to that point. A large part of my attraction to the game is tinkering with it and producing the kind of D&D I want to play. My main concern is, that after gathering some new players, some of which, could quite possibly be totally unfamiliar with old school games, I’d rather not tell them this:

“It’s a really cool game and you can download a free pdf. Just ignore a large chunk of the creation and class info, as I’ll be changing all that, anyway.”

If the group was already established, or, I knew it would consist of gamers who were already friends, then, that wouldn’t be as important a consideration. I may be making too much of it, as it is. Still, I would prefer for any new players to be able to download the rules and get everything they need to manage their characters and form a solid expectation as to what we’ll be up to. I’ll still be doing a little houseruling. Not too much, though. Also, I really, really like Labyrinth Lord and with the addition of the AEC material, it’s pretty much in line with the type of game, I want to run. Goblinoid Games did a wonderful job and have given us a most excellent version of the game. The presentation is also, most pleasing. The art, font and layout of the books themselves, exude a feeling of Old School goodness and really are a joy to read.

So, that’s that and it’s time to get some serious work done on my game. As an aside, while changing out the “What I’m DMing” widget, I was tempted, as a joke, to put up this picture of Fantasy Wargaming, for a few days. 

Join or Be Flayed!

In the past 24 hours, I’ve been accepted into both the RPG Bloggers Network and The Labyrinth Lord Society! The LL Society gave me a cool membership certificate, which, shall be printed out on quality paper and inserted into a sheet protector, before finally finding a home in my DMing binder. Sometimes, the little things can really help make up for a horrid day.

Showing Off My Copy of Stonehell

After finding a really good deal on Cardstock and Sheet Protectors, I bought a Binder and printed out a nice, durable copy of my recently purchased PDF of Stonehell, as well as the first supplement. Granted, I ended up spending more than I would have for a print copy, but, I enjoy this type of little project and the copy I put together is very user friendly. I used a b&w laser printer for everything except the front covers of the main book and supplement, for which I used an inkjet. I’ll be posting my review of Stonehell in the next day or two. For now, I’ll just say it’s damn good!