I Cast Light!: 2026

WHAT TO KNOW: Advice for Players

In the spirit of the Prismatic Wasteland blogwagon here are a few suggestions for players, that in my experience, avoid slowing down the game. Nothing earth-shattering, but I think it's worth bringing up because these items represent perennial issues that have detracted from the game across generations (I'm sure I could find similar suggestions in the hallowed annals of Alrums & Excursions).

In the spirit of I CAST LIGHT!, the advice is coming from playing 2-3 years of weekly megadungeon-based games that span 2-4 hours each with other busy adults. But even if we had 8 hours and no other responsibilities, the following advice would apply saving time and preventing slow down.

Spells- know them: Know your magic spells- targets, saves, ranges (touch/distance). A sub-species of this is knowning how your class abilites work as well. And no, you won't remember them by just writing down the name.

Most MU classes won't have a lot of options so its not like you'll have to copy several spells down at the beinging of the game. In fact, OSE has a helpful one-page spell sheet. And honestly, if you are playing BX D&D, most any source of spells will work. At each level, you'll be adding only 1 or 2 new ones. Pre-writting your spells becomes even more helpful if you are an illusionist or druid class as those spells tend to be lesser used and discussed. This is also true for spell-like effects like Dolmenwood's enchanter class.

At the very least, screen-shot your DM's book and save them in a folder with your character's name on your phone. Done.

Equipment List- have one: Know your shopping list. Print one out and staple it to your character sheet OR ask the DM for one. Second, only to spells as the tedium that will suck the life out of a game of D&D quicker than a vampire. This is because you'll have a table of 3-5+ people going one at a time asking "okay I need X, is it available? How much? How much does it weigh?." Bleh.

Its uninteresting, especially so since after a delve or two, most PCs can afford all sorts of basic equipment. Its more interesting to understand if they can carry it.

For DMs, here is a good post about the cost of basic equipment using a copper standard to make comparing prices easy. I highly recommend having some scarcity based on city versus country. But also, as a DM you'll want to have costs of silvering weapons, holy water, flammable oil, and if potions/scrolls can be bought.

Downtime- discuss 24+ hours prior: Let your DM know what the PC wants to know in game, prior to the session getting together- not 24 min after the session as started. If you as a player don't know what an option during downtime is, then ask the DM what they will allow. But even if you have a menu to choose from, it still best to let the DM know what needs to be generated. It might take time to generate the answer or an NPC, or perhaps the downtime action might have an immediate effect on the world and so would be best played out immediately.

DMs even if you don't like carousing, its still useful to have a little menu about what PCs can accomplish in a week's worth of non-adventuring activity. Like how long to get armor made, how long to get fresh rumors, how long to ask my MU mentor to look something up, potions to be made, or get that special thing from that city, and all the associated costs.

Goals- discuss them 24+ hours prior: This is a group activity. The players should have an idea about what they want to do and where they want to do it as a party. Is it going to be a typical back-to-the-dungeon session, which the DM might have material for? Or is the party going to chase down the rumor of the Wailing Witch in the swamp to the east? Since you, the player, might not, or should not, know the state of the world, you might not know that rumor is not in a section of a fully fleshed-out world. Perhaps the witch's cave needs at least some hasty scribbles on a Dyson map. Hard to do 10 mins into a session, but easier to do if given 12 hours.

DMs don't be afraid to just say its a dungeon session if you've not had time to prepare for some other thing they want to do. Especially if not given the time to prepare in a manner you feel comfortable. D&D is a hobby where both "sides" need to work to make the fun. Its never enough just for the players to show up.

In summary: players kindly take a little bit of the logistical, decision, and knowledge ownership of the game off of your DM's shoulders and give back to your DM the time to prepare in advance. Yes, your DM is a stellar weaver of adventure, but I can guarantee that whether they do 30 mins of prep or 8 hours, they still would love to have ample time for creativity. And if you have spells in hand and torches, rope, and 10-foot pols already picked out, your next adventure can start out with a bang!

Or at least the news that the local lord's worthless children want to join you on a dungeon delve...

THIS IS WHY WE PRAY: So This City Will Stand By The Gods' Will

I saw a Reddit post where a DM tried to figure out how a city in their campaign could exist and feed itself. But in the end, after many hours with Excel spreadsheets, it couldn't. And they were disheartened.

But I thought instead it was actually a great justification for fantasy adventure gaming's active and close gods who meddle in mortal affairs. Most of the time we ignore this, but why? Why not give a very strong reason your mortal population is praying to the gods.

How can a city exist when it can't produce enough food or have access to water?

The city exists because the gods allow it and will it to. And this is why we pray.

This is why we pray...

To ensure continued mana from heaven on the holy days, to ensure each tree yields 10 times its bounty, and the statues of St. Neptune pour forth water into pearlescent basins with fish we no longer see

And sacrifice, because the 100 children let the gods know we remember loss even under their divine continuation-- St. Hades will see their souls rest easy

And wail and lament because our tears are a liquid offering to St. Demeter to bring the oceans of Typhoon back...and sew their parents' mouths shut, so in their weakness, they do not blaspheme

And chase non-believers from our streets, our homes, and our hearts as instructed by St. Hera

And build our statues in gold, toil to polish the silver temple roads, and walk the gods to the once-shore as St. Zeus to allow them to observe the departing sea

And tear down lesser gods, foreign gods, and our seers fight the god beyond-- they will not help the city, they will not love us as St. Venus-the-last-of-the-Sea does

And listen to the serpent maidens, allow the god-mad equoids to roam the streets, and avoid the shadow of Tartarus-- they are the voices of the gods, the hounds of the gods, and they grasping jealousy of the gods

And this is why we wear the mask of St. Ares to let him know we are his legion and move as one as his sword and brace as one as his shield

And observe the celebrations of the verdian moon, Elysium, so that its guardian, St. Diana, will allow us passage to its lands of blue and green- the colors of heaven

HUMANS ACT NOT HUMAN: The Scariest Monster That Has 2 Arms 2 Legs and 0 Magic

How many △ do you see?
(The Void, 2016)

One of the prompts on Prismatic Wasteland's blogging list is: "the scariest monster you can imagine that has 2 arms, 2 legs, and no magic abilities".

As cliché as it is, I think it's humans acting in strange ways. Which is why I think cults endure as such common and strong antagonists. A couple of recent examples that spring to mind are Midsommar and even Obsession, or Firefly's reavers. Oh, even The Purge might be a good example.

I think the creep factor comes from someone looking normal and relatable, but losing the ability to:

predict their behavior or their threat level (i.e. a tick or ticking-time bomb)
match behavior to age or profession (i.e. children are the killers)
display empathy/sympathy on a human-to-human level (i.e. why don't you care I'm hurting)

That last one in particular, when it's expressed as non-supernatural sadism- like in Reservoir Dogs when Mr. Blonde cut off the ear of a tied up cop or Midsommar's bear scene. Even many slasher films, which have many non-supernatural deaths dealt with common everyday items. Scream is a good example, the killers aren't really supernatural, they are just willing to kill their friends. I also think of Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" -the indifference of the crowd willing to stone to death one of their own simply because they drew a different lot.

Pet Cemetery (2019)

SHADE AS A CLASS: Or Things To Do When You Are Dead

Not Dead...Yet...

Related to this very long ago post, but demonstrates why blogging is peak when its just half-scribbled notes to yourself. Maybe also related to skeleton as class.

Basically, I was thinking of an OSR game where one wouldn't die, but maybe could become a shade when at 0 or negative HP. But what would a shade do? Then it hit me that perhaps the PC would then be made of a bunch of magic spells. Hear me out.

Shade As Class

"Shuffle off this mortal coil": The player character manifests in 1d4 turns beside their body. They are exactly the same; however, they now have gaseous form permanently cast on them. They make no noise and cannot be harmed by non-magical, non-silver weapons. If the PC is "killed" in shade form, they are taken to the Underworld. They can also be invisible at will.

"To be or not to be...": You can use the following abilities any number of times per day equal to your level +1:

Ghostly Illumination (as Light), it only emanates from around you, and it is like moonlight
Poltergastic Touch (as Unseen Servant)
Haunting (as Ventriloquism)
Visage of Death (as Cause Fear) or, if CHA is 13+, Alluring Presence (as Charm Person)

"Death waits for no man": However, if your character is higher than level 4, your soul is too valuable to not be gathered by Death immediately. And so your friends will have to journey to the Underworld to retrieve you.

Light of Law banishes you: You cannot manifest your presence in sunlight, nor enter a church.

I am thinking this gives the newly deceased some ability to still participate in the game, but does not allow them to become too overpowered by being untouchable. And avoid the desire to start body-jumping by not providing any sorta posession ability. Buuuut...

A likely OP possession ability: A target may make a save vs. Death to avoid you taking them over. You may then act as them for as many rounds as your level +1. Treat them as having half the stats as normal as you are so unfamiliar with the body.

MAGIC NEEDS MINI-PROBLEMS NOT MINI-GAMES: A Defense of Vancian Magic

Self-Portrait with Magic Scene by Pieter van Laer, 1635
Honestly, a really great painting- a meme before memes

With love, and in the style of the original post over at Among Cats and Books. And yes, yes insert the usual caveats for personal preference ect. ect. And if you're curious about my other thoughts on magic, check out my Practical Magic series.

Vancian Magic Is Based Because Magic Just Fucking Works

Dungeons and fucking dragons has Vancian magic and its been a joy and wonder in this game forever!

Not only have you this class-based restriction bullshit, so you are fucking special when you pull off shit no-one else can do, but every fucking spell is a standardized mechanic. You can just do! You're expected to just do it!

When you want to cast fucking fireball and blow the shit out of the lich's bullshit undead army- you just do it! "I cast fireball!" Boom! ~23 points of damage to however many boneheads you can cram in a 20' radius sphere 240 feet (!) away from you. A buddy that's a lot of undead dickheads.

That's right! Humans can fight or flee, but magic-users have an extra two "effs"-- fucking fireball. Oh wait, I guess I can also fly at the snap of my fingers! So three "effs". Amazing. Just like that. I want to fly- I can! I'm 2/3rds on my way to practically being a dragon- flying and spitting fireballs- which is in the title of this game and now I guess I know why!

Just like Fern or Frieren, I shout "Zoltraak!" and light. a. dude. UP! Or just like in Final Fantasy, press "FIR3" and wooosh! Love it. Oh! In the last issues of Tower Dungeon, Lilicen absolutely blows the shit outa some leech thing. Gives me motivation to make it through 5 levels of d4 hit dice. That is an adventure and some bullshit!

I'll stop now. No one comes to this blog for that kind of energy- it's a young person's game.

Magic Doesn't Need Mini-Games, Magic Needs Mini-Problems

Turning magic into a mini-game is no different than trying to make lock-picking a mini-game via dice stacking or fighting a mini-game via Souls-like tactical rolling/combat. These sub-systems have always been proposed and rarely widely adopted. Just look at AD&D's spell rules, which did require a component use, but often ignored by a majority of players. But I think the big flaw here is not the specific system, but the solutions incorrectly identify where the boredom is. Its not in the "tool" or the mechanism of action/resolution; it's in the problems the tool is applied to.

I've been building terrain and painting miniatures recently. Using a hot glue gun is not interesting. Using a hot glue gun to build a ruined church out of cardboard and popsicle sticks IS interesting. Figuring out how to make things look like I want is the compelling piece- what I DO with a tool. Same with fireball or sleep; they are the means, not the end. And we shouldn't try to make them the end.

Players find it exciting to see the choices they make have impact and result in reward. Magic-Users especially, because their class power is a series of hacks and short cut. Playing an MU requires players to make a selection of spells at the beginning of a session, with limited slots, then maximize those spells when the opportunity arises during the adventure. When used creatively for maximum gain (i.e. treasure), a very joyful moment is created, even if that moment is a correctly anticipated threat.

We need to write mini-problems in our adventures with magical solutions in mind. Using magic is boring when the choice is minimal, and the outcome is no different than a more mundane solution. It's boring to simply fireball a group of 5 skeletal guards in plate mail; it's far more exciting to fireball a group of 20 skeletal guards in plate mail. In the former situation, the fighter and cleric might easily defeat 5 enemies; in the latter case, destroying an overwhelming number of enemies is a highlight. But we can do better than simply dealing a lot of damage.

A DM can use the existing spell lists to reverse engineer what sorta of problems an adventuring group might face in the underworld✤. Just consider what obstacles might be present that could be answered by the top triad of first-level spells light, charm person, and sleep✤✤.

Floating disc seems worthless until you are hauling out a 400-pound gold idol to Moloch worth 4000xp at 1st level without having your dwarf and fighter carry it. Hold portal seems terrible until you can block an “offal” of 20 zombies with a door. Detect magic is underwhelming except when determining which clear pool is the magic one and which one is potentially acid. Invisibility is fun when, like Frodo, you are going to steal a piece of treasure from a sleeping dragon✤✤✤.

Daniel Gardner, 1775

A Ritual Or Component Should Be an Enhancement, Not A Requirement

Wolves on the Coast certainly demonstrates how ritual magic can be incorporated into an RPG, but a vast majority of players do not desire this setup. True, a DM could also set the magical problem to be more singular and climactic, but a player-desired hallmark of wizardry is also frequency of use.

Players chafe at even Vancian magic because it is a limit. Just look at the evolution of the magic-user into 5e's warlock and sorcerer classes as examples. Designers seem to be attempting to create mechanical matches to more recent media that informs D&D. Or that some sorta spell point system or the GLOG's spell dice pool are attempts at allowing greater frequency of casting. Other broader examples include, most players even chafe at tracking encumbrance, light, arrows and other limiting factors to "the doing of adventure". In modern playstyles, bags of holding are given out quickly, darkvision is incorporated more broadly, and even a component pouch is just assumed.

It is often said that positive incentives are better ways to encourage behavior than negative ones. So instead of assigning negative bonus values to strength scores to encourage magic-users, a system should incorporate positive bonus values to intelligence scores instead. Or for encumbrance, instead of penalizing movement/actions for carrying too much, provide bonuses to movement/actions for carrying almost nothing at all.

So instead of components being required to cast a spell, let's collect them to enhance a spell a MU can already cast. This provides the "eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog" aspect of ritual magic and strongly incentivizes collection. As always for things like this, d4 Caltrops comes to our aid with a beautiful list of components derived from D&D monsters. This is not the first I've thought about this method of play before, and in my previous post about "dungeon cooking", I wanted to put a lot of the work on players.

But perhaps another way of going about it might be to assign a defined effect when a spell is powered by a related component. Here are the MU 1st level spells plus fireball:

Santiago Caruso

Narcissus Flower: Charm Person- Everyone treats you as a friend, but if you catch your own reflection (2:6 around mirrors, pools of water) you will be wholly preoccupied for a week with it
Caged Pixie: Detect Magic- Alters the spell to also detect secret doors, but 3:6 chance the captured pixie disolves in a puff of pink smoke
Bound Sprite: Floating Disc- The disc is now be held in place but can be moved vertically; is dispelled if liquid is poured in; bound sprite dissolves in a puff of smoke at end of spell
Withered Gecko Limb: Hold Portal- Attaching to the target portal will cause creatures of 3HD or more to open in 2 rounds of effort; more limbs does nothing; 4+ animates the door
Fire Beetle Glands: Light (Reversible: Darkness)- Light becomes a soft ball that can be thrown, kicked, or swatted around for the duration of the spell; illumination as spell, range as spear
Arrow That Has Slain: Magic Missile- A singular missile deals 2d4+1 dmg; component is destroyed; 3:6 to recover an intact arrow from a slain opponent
Spell Cast on a Risen Skull: Protection from Evil- Holder of the skull becomes the target of the spell; profane; all non-chaotic PC holders take 1d6 dmg
Elf Tongue: Read Languages- Target can speak unknown languages in a trance & can't remember what was said; can be purchased in goblin & ghoul markets
Two Giant Spider Eyes Affixed with Silver Wire: Read Magic- Allows the casters to read magic from sun up to sun down; non-fire light, however brief, ends the effect
Zombie Heart: Shield- Caster is protected against level drain from 3*HD or lower undead but takes 1d4 damage instead due to biting cold; profane, all non-chaotic PCs take 1d6 dmg; must be worn; consumed at end of spell; protect in lieu of normal description
Crushed Midnight Moths: Sleep- Can affect 4+1 HD creatures, however, everyone but the caster must save vs Spell or fall asleep
Small Statue: Ventriloquism- When placed in a room, all but the caster must save vs Spells or become nervous, wry and convinced the statue is possessed for the duration of spell
Hellhound Liver: Fireball- Reroll all "1"s; MU takes 2 dmg for each re-rolled "1"

By assigning effects, there is already prealignment on what a component can do while still leaving a lot of choice to the player. Some tables are great at DM-PC negotiations, but sometimes it eats up too much time in a "mother-may-I-situation". Also the above components could be known in starting spellbooks, but also be something MUs have to research.

✤The problems might be free-form like these from Goblin Punch or these from All Dead Generations.

✤✤ I also don't think this is a bad thing to do with a standard dungeon equipment list either.

✤✤✤ I think its also noteworthy that designing this way shows how even low-level players have access to cool solutions to very fantastical problems!

CRYPT CRIBS OF THE CORPSE CHILDREN: A Dungeon Patch (with a Geomorph)

A geomorph:10 X 10 for the win!

Geomorphs

Josh over at Rise Up Comus has been writing about dungeon nodes as “dungeon patches”, or small clusters of dungeon rooms that can be easily written and assembled to form a larger dungeon complex. Building on the idea of sewing patches into a larger dungeon level (/quilt) idea, I’d like to reintroduce the concept of the dungeon geomorph (see the one below). In fact, one of my favor megadungeons, Nightwick Abbey, is built using this same principle, but I think it was Dyson Logos who made them popular in the OSR around ~2009- it inspired Dave’s Mapper.

I like geomorphs because they keep everything in a condensed unit that has a high variety of connections, such that when you assemble them, interesting loops and paths emerge. They are helpful when you have ideas about an area of a dungeon but maybe not a clear idea of how it will connect to another area because you can easily “pick up and move” chunks of the dungeon like Lego bricks. You can also rotate them. And in terms of layout, each geomorph section itself conveniently fits on a page with its own key. Making them highly usable at the table and easy to trade with your friends!

CRYPT CRIBS of the CORPSE CHILDREN

Design Note: Its close to Halloween; I’ve never run vampires, and I wanted to have a theme that felt a little offbeat from where you’d normally find vampires. Also, I too was scarred by that baby from Trainspotting. I’ve generally keyed this one to BX/OSE standards: 2x monsters (one with treasure), 1x trap (+treasure), 2x empty (+treasure, hidden), 1x weird

Background: The Baron and Baroness wanted to give the most to their two children. Previous loss of children weighed heavily on their souls, and so they wanted to ensure no harm came to their newest ones. During the plague year, both parents fell ill with the fever, and in a fit of madness, the story goes, struck a deal with a mysterious entity from the forest. The entity promised to keep the children’s hearts safe and forever without harm. But this emptied the children of growth, empathy, compassion and…mercy.

1. The Gallery of a Tragedy (Empty): On the north wall between the two doors are four paintings that depict the family. The first shows a couple in stately morning. The second shows a pregnant woman, sharing an anxious look with the man to her left, yet her hand is out stretched to a kneeing game warden hands are outstretched from the bushes. The third shows two cribs in a nursery; charms against plague are hung about, prominent are a silver rocking horse and gold dragon. A dark figure with cat-like eyes is hunched at the very edge of the painting. The fourth depicts two twins center and looming large in perspective to everything around them, their parents are peering from a doorway centered between to larger wooden doors east and west (reference to the secret door in room #06). Several hounds are painted in a death-like repose.

2. Dining Room of the Heart (Weird): The room is humid; a metallic taste enters PC's mouths, they can feel their hearts beating in their chest more acutely, and it's bathed in a red light emanating from a family portrait on the west wall. In the center is a dining table the ideal height for children. Several seats are knocked over or contain a headless skeleton with it skull on the table.

✤ Hearts Beating: The PCs will feel their heart more in this room and after each action they take, their heart thumps louder and louder. The rug squelches with a red liquid.

3. The Scolding Room: This bedroom is clean but covered in rust-colored mold. Along the wall are rows and rows of thin, reed rods, each labeled with a small slip of paper. A long chain lead and manacle is attached to the bed- a skeletal hand is in it.

✤ Fire is a "no": If torches are brough into this room, the door will slam, and a voice shouts "no matches allowed! No matches allowed!" and the torch light or candle light be blown out.

4. Bedroom of the Nurse Hounds (Trap + Treasure): The room smells of wet dog. A cabinet, a tub, and a bed are the only features. A glint flashes under the bed, which looks as if it has been shredded and chewed on, as if an animal was trapped in here a long time ago.

✤ Glint: If someone or something is placed under the bed, a save vs Device/Trap must be made or take 3d4 dmg as spectral hounds bite the would-be-thief. Pressing on the mattress will reveal the feel of several hound skulls. Glint is a golden ball studded in sapphires (750 sp), carrying the ball (heavy, 2 slots) will provide a +1 save vs Poison

5. Grandmother Ghoul (Monster): A gaunt figure rocks in her chair and knits a cloak of human hair from a basket at her feet. On a large circular table is a pile of bones stripped clean and a pewter plater cover in strips of meat and skin. A large key dangles out from a rotten, bloody silk nightgown and cloak of blond hair.

✤ Gaunt Figure: As ghoul with 3HD*; can cast silence and sleep (both recharge on a 1:6 every 2 combat rounds). Hates noise for it will wake the babies. Will stalk the PCs if they run.
✤ Key: Opens the door to #06

6. Crypt Crib (Monster + Treasure): Two stone sarcophagi shaped like cribs stand among a tattered playroom. One has a lid pushed aside. Also in the room is a silver-plated rocking horse, covered in blood, and a gold-plated rocking dragon with a corpse tied to it. A gold glint peaks from under the closed sarcophagus. All other toys are shattered and broken. The walls depict a 360-degree view of the town and lands that surround the manor, but covered in dried blood, viscera, and ash such that it seems as if the town is burning down; the church appears to be the only untouched building (seam of a secret door to #03 is found there)

✤ Two stone sarcophagi: Corpse Children as vampires of 4HD* (but turn at 7HD). Approaching the sarcophagus will cause the children, Hart and Valentine, to attack by suprise. Hart will leap out of the close sarcophagus. Valentine will drop from the ceiling the next round of combat. Each wears a diadam of set with a polished bezoar carved as a coiled snake (advantage of poison saves).

⭐︎ Corpse Children Hart & Valentine: If fed fresh victims, they can teach a chaotic wizard how to summon a familiar and once that is done, summon a minor demon. Requires fresh for each instance. Do want their hearts back, but can’t leave the nursery as long as "granny" is around (nothing is actually keeping them there other than habit)

✤ Silver rocking horse, gold rocking dragon: Each of these items is plated with the previous metal, but worth 750 sp each if carried out. Encumbers 1 person.
✤ Gold Glint: A Gold ball: Worth 900 sp, heavy and takes up 2 slots. If cleaned by holy water, it is enchanted with protection from evil that will only activate for the lawfully aligned when held.

7. Playroom of Snares (Trap): The room is under continual darkness and the floor is littered with toys, bones, and other shredded bedding, sheets, and pillows. Traversing the room risks a 3-in-6 chance of springing one of the many bear traps under the pile of toys (save vs device or take 1d8 dmg and be held until an open doors check is made)

✤ Bear Traps: Open doors check needed to pry open, but attatched to cow-bells that will ring when triggers and messed with (roll an encounter check each time)

THE OSR IS DEADLY: But Not Deadly Enough To Kill Long-term Play

Purple is total generated; black is deaths
(aka poor decision-making; get gud)

60% of the time, your PC's 100% alive!

I appreciate this video from Mystic Arts because it does a good job of addressing the OSR, contrasting the playstyle with 5e, and outlining what the MCDM's Crows brings to the table.

But one thing in the video bothered me is the claim that OSR systems are simply too deadly for long-term play because characters would get killed too frequently.

Now, I get that systems like Mork Borg might not be geared for the long-term, but there is really no way one can look at OD&D or AD&D or even BX with its 14th-level cap (OSE for the young crowd) and conclude none of them have longevity. But more to this blog's point, is that it has not my own experience.

Look, we have the numbers! In Miranda Elkin's Nightwick Abbey, which has spanned roughly 138 sessions✤ with OSE characters, the death rate for the first 50 sessions was about ~40%.

And when looking at sessions 51 to 100 (which I haven't put in an infographic), the death rate drops to less than 10%. Most likely because enough PCs have advanced to 4th or 5th level, they can protect low-level party members. 2-12 points of damage can be weathered by most characters, so you, the player, can decide to keep risking your character or leave the dungeon.

So, if 100+ sessions is indicative of long-term play, and in today's modern world, its a very solid benchmark, then BX/OSE, an absolute OSR standard, is able to support long-term play even with a higher-than-modern-D&D death rate✤✤. Yes, you will encounter early deaths, but that disrupts the opportunity to roll with the campaign. Especially if you link new characters to old ones- but this can be done with a sentence that contains a motivation and doesn't require any sorta "system" to support it.

Here is another example, again in a campaign with Miranda. The PCs are listed in order of creation, but you can see how several died at level 1, a cleric survived, suffered an injury (Death and Dismemberment table see below), and then two more PC died. That cleric healed, has converted to a "new god", and has leveled up after their return. A higher death rate in Cuccagna than Nightwick for me, but I also applied a little more risk and bravo to the various fighters versus this cleric.

But notice, the campaign play didn't stop. As a player, I was still very intrigued by the wizard-born lands of Cuccagna and so I rotated through characters, eventually coming back to a one-handed cleric (now converted to a Dolmenwood enchanter to better represent a shift).

Death stop several PCs, but did not stop the campaign.

How to cheat death ☠.

Here are some quick, dirty favorite ways of mine to help players get over the "sticker-shock" of old-school system character death at low levels.

Run two PCs: Yes, just run 2 PC at the beginning of the campaign. Don't allow players to choose the same class either. This also give each player more to do and a more diverse array of party skills. One dies. Eh, you still are gaming with the other. This is also why a hireling system is good to incorporate.

Start PCs at Max HP at Level 1: Again, not groundbreaking, but does allow most PCs to receive 1 average porc-ax to the face for ~3 dmg and live. A good signal to the player they've reached a decision-making point in the game.

Use a Death & Dismemberment Table: Like here. As I said in the earlier post, despite the scary-sounding name, these systems end up saving PCs more often than killing them. And if you do enforce downtime to heal, players again end up having 2-3 characters of various levels in their "back pocket". Often now with very interesting backstories.

Go out with a BANG!: I've not used this method, but I like ktrey's swansong abilities to add a little extra to a PC death. So maybe your death...(rolls dice)... results in a very fertile grave that attracts a dryad.

✤This campaign is still going, albeit with a slightly different party configuration, so the numbering system started over.

✤✤Another quick bit: "Won't my new low-level PC be underpowered?" No. Given that leveling in retro-clones, requires double the XP of previous levels. Low-level character often quickly catch up to higher-level party memebers. And in most new-school OSR systems, leveling is scaled at a way there are even quicker way to advance.

SOMETHINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO DISCUSS: Lee Gold's 13 Prompts for OD&D And 1 About Greyhawk

Bosch from the Haywain Triptych

I thought Jim Murphy's video about playing OD&D with the 3 "Little Brown Books" (or Delving Deeper or FMC) plus Strategic Review Vol 1 No 1 for the random dungeon generator was an interesting take a campaign idea. Not really for nostalgia, but simply to try and tackle D&D with only the resources folks might have had access to in 1975 a year after D&D's release. One addition I might make to this list would also be to add Alarums and Excursion #1 edited by Lee Gold.

The first reason is the inclusion of Mark Swanson's "Special Abilities" for 1st & 2nd level characters. And the second reason is in the back of the issue, Gold publishes 13 questions about Dungeons & Dragons as prompts for folks to respond to when submitting a piece for the magazine. The interesting thing is that this APA essentially functioned as a collection of paper "blogs", with each author titling their own section and responding to other submitters.

Here is Lee's "MELEE MAYDAY" "if you didn't find any comment hooks anywhere else"

If a Caveman (essentially Neutral) puts on a Helm of Chaos and then picks up a Neutral or Lawful Sword, does he receive damage? How about if he does it in reverse order?
How much is a +1 Sword with an IQ of 9 worth? On what basis, in general, do you decide the worth of magical treasure?
If a character is Charmed, is the spell stopped when

The spellcaster who throw it attempts to lift it? (Does the Charm get a save throw?)
The character who threw it is slept? runs away?
The character who threw it is killed?
The character who threw it is killed?
A Charm, Hold, Dispel Evil, Remove Curse, Dispel Magic is thrown from the other side? (Does the Charm get a saving throw?)
If not, what happens when these things take place?

How do you handle Elves? The rules say "Elves can begin as either Fighters or MUs and freely switch class whenever they choose from adventure to adventure but not during the course of a single game. Thus they gain the benefits of both classes and may use both weaponry and spells.

How do you allow Elves to go up levels?
When do you allow Elves to use weapons? to throw spells?
Do elves who have topped out at both fields gain any special advantages? What if they've topped out at one field?

If a player has a Hobbit (who never misses with missiles) with a low dexterity, how would you handle it?
Are there any minimum requirements of strength, dexterity or constitution you insist on for the use of certain weapons?
Are there any additions to the shopping list you have come up with? Particularly any new weapons?
Do you allow Neutral Clerics? How do you handle allowing them to use the underlined spells (e.g. Cure/Cause Wounds)?
Do you allow creatures other than Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Half-Elves, and Humans? How do you handle Were-creatures? How do you handle such half-breeds as a half-centaur/half-unicorn?
Do you allow characters to speak languages of alignments other than their own? How do you handle their communications in such a tongue with those whose native alignment tongue it is?
Protection from Normal Missiles allows the recipient to become "impervious to normal missiles. This implies only those missiles projected by normal (not above normal) men and/or weapons." Does this mean that fire by elves or dwarves or hobbits will penetrate? Does it mean fire by men higher than first level will penetrate (given the statement on I, 19) that "normal men equal 1st level fighters.)
If you use the Alternative Combat tables, do you run a battle between a party and, say, Bandits, letting both groups use Attack Matrix One, or do the Bandits use Attack Matrix Two on the grounds that (I, 12) "the term 'monster' includes men found in the dungeons."
What other loopholes in the Rules have you noticed?

And what do you think about GREYHAWK?

FINAL FOLK HORRORS: More Fun With Skirmish Gaming

In my last post, I talk about looking at Sun Rot through the lens of OD&D and how recently I've been looking more into miniature-based skirmish games. But don't worry, I am still exploring the fever-dream isles of Cuccagna and running my own campaign in Miranda Elkin's Nightwick Abbey.

This is the finished Folk Horrors I set by Ana Polanšćak. I am really excited about receiving the Folk Horrors III, which finished its KS back in June. I particularly like the cow-headed bellmen (well, here I did kitbash one into some sorta hive/fungus mutant). And a lot of these miniatures would just make better "goblins" or wicked druids. I think they really will do well in a Dolmenwood campaign.

The skirmish/minature games that interest me right now, from most complex and classically wargame to least overhead and more narrative:

Mordheim: I would love to get some regular play, but I don't have the time to completely learn its rules and it would be up to me to field two armies and make terrain for it. I'll have to put in some time to see what I can pull together.

Trench Crusade: If I can't go with an old classic, I can buy the starter box for a (potentially) new one? I threw in for The Carcass Front. The quickstart rules seem to be pretty easy to understand and it looks like out of the box there are two cool armies and a couple of campaigns. Since I usually have to be the guy to start stuff with my group, this seems like an all-in-one for me.

1490 DOOM: Since what's in the Trench box might be too much for people and I do like Mordheim's emphasis on height, the 3-model king-of-the-hill battle over 2 x 2 feet seems like a nice cross-section.

Forbidden Psalms 28: So, FP28 seems like a good all-purpose skirmish game that has a fun, messy 'Borg vibe. I think Turm 24 covered in MAG 28 convinced me it would be a good ruleset to have on hand. A little bit bigger than 1490 DOOM at 5 miniatures per warband, but easy enough to whip them up. And because it uses Mork Borg's stats and procedures, its simple enough to convert back and forth between them.

Sun Rot: I said a lot already, but I think I am falling in line with its thesis about providing a simple mechanism for roleplay, but one that generates interesting outcomes for both the player and GM. For me this is great to just through cool minis on top of cool terrtain and just play something. I also have always had an idea in my head about a minis game where you can just look at the model you are using a build a character visually, outside of Psalms, Sun Rot might be the next best thing.

And what's a wargame without terrain?

Well earlier this year I also go into learning how to make terrain from a fantastic video by Summon Lesser Maker. Its about crafting Mordheim terrain cheaply. But why I think its helpful is less from a budget perspective and more that you might already by most of the materials at home and can begin as soon as you have glue and cardboard.

SUN ROT: Inq28 And OD&D Kiss?

While work has kept me from doing a lot of thinking on BX D&D, it hasn't kept me from exploring a latent hobby of mine very close to D&D, which is miniature wargaming. Below is not a review, but first impressions of a game whose energy grabbed me- Sun Rot.

Miniatures from Gardens of Hecate's Folk Horrors set
The center and right ones have some kitbashing applied

Inq28: The Grotesque & Narrativesque

Now is perhaps one of the best times to get into the "wardollies" hobby because of the Inq28 scene, which, to me, is pretty much the OSR for the Warhammer crowd. This scene is currently filled with the same DIY-heat that produced a lot of the "wow" of the OSR scene back in the day.

Inq28✤ was formed out of fans scaling GW's Inquisitor series to 28 mm. Along the way other games such as Mordheim and Necromunda, also fan favs, had a resurgence of interest much like ODD, BX, and AD&D did with Dungeons & Dragons. And like AD&D, Mordheim and Necromunda were pretty much kept alive for ~20 years solely through fan support.

Unlike GW's current mostly competitive stance, this scene focuses more on narrative wargaming, where competition takes a back seat to emergent story, phantasmagorpic playing boards, and grotesque kitbashed miniatures (meant in the romanticism sense). I don't think I can do it justice so I invite you to look at the awesome 28MAG to see examples of what I am talking about. The movement even put on an art show where folks built their own godling after looking at each piece.

If you are thinking, "well, is tournament play still happening in these games?", the answer is "yes!" but again the focus is more on the experience of collective play with others and getting to tell rad stories about success or failure. If that seems odd, perhaps its best to look at Turm 2024.

Another point of similarity is that new games have also been spawned from the scene that carry the spirit of, say Mordheim, but are not compatible with that system. This includes games like Forbidden Psalms (a 'Borg), Necropolis 28, Turnip 28, 1490 DOOM, and many others. A huge ogre in this field is Trench Crusade, designed by the same creators as Mordheim. But a game that really caught my eye is Sun Rot.

What all these games have is a lot of pretty sick, DIY, let's-be-creative-humans, don't-worry-about-the-rules, chunky, scrappy, fun-focused energy oozing with a grim-dark, occult, gothic aesthetic of ruin!

From Matt Ross/smashbash

Roll Dice. Flip Cards. Escape Fate.

Sun Rot is described as:

GM-led, rules-light, cooperative adventure board game — perfect for newcomers to narrative tabletop gaming

In Sun Rot, a player(s) control(s) 2-3+ PCs, each characterized by a class card and a class deck. There are also two smaller communal decks for basic attacks and non-combat actions. The class card, by RPG standards, is more similar to a monster stat line: movement, health, & special ability. The class and communal decks have a variety of outcomes (which can range from "you hit, attack again" to "your target and one enemy have their fates combined"). On a player's turn, they get 1 movement (3 tiles or inches) and two additional actions. To perform an action, declare it, roll a d6, and on a 4+ flip a card from the class deck or one of the communal decks. A PCs saves on a 5+ to prevent something from happening to them- generally an enemy attack (which requires no roll). There is also an item deck. When killed, monsters drop items.

The goal is to traverse three boards seeking a portal that will allow the PCs to escape this current reality for a better one? A different one? A perfect one? But they do have to keep their Oracle NPC alive and half their party to traverse this astral gate.✤✤

Now, here is where the game really starts to assert itself. You get 1 movement and 2 actions. So what are the actions that you can do? And who can do them between your fighter, cleric, wizard, and... astrologer?

The fighter's class deck mostly has cards that damage, as does the wizard's. But what about the astrologer? This class' deck is about manipulation and rarely, or never, I've not counted, mentions damage. Also, there is no mention of range or even melee for that matter. So does the fighter start with a sword and bow? Does the wizard have a maximum range? Is it LOS? Can magic be used in base-to-base contact with an enemy model? You can pick up items, but when are they placed on the board? How many can a PC carry? Can they be sold? Is there a currency? The game doesn't mention one. Nor any sort of experience mechanic.

Sun Rot: The party split west (trying to find the music) and
north (trying to fight the celebrants and save the merchant)

Recreating OD&D From First Principles(?)

Sun Rot says the answers to those questions are what your table agrees upon right then and there. The only goal would be to make a ruling that feels fair to the table and is applied consistently going forward until requiring revision. And everything is up for grabs. Since you have a non-combat actions communal deck, your PC might try to negotiate with NPCs who appear on the board or even monsters. You can climb structures if you want, break doors, look for items, or just sing a song.

There is nothing in the rules that outlines any of those actions. But there is also nothing that forbids them. There is only a resolution mechanic: roll dice, on a 4+, flip cards. And has a goal, two in fact, keep the oracle alive and find the portal. So my advice when starting to play Sun Rot might be to have a blank sheet of paper labeled: [Your Name's] SUN ROT HOUSE RULES.

First act of my Sun Rot scenario

A wargame-turned-RPG sounds very much like the path that Fantasy Chainmail took through the alchemical processes of Arneson's Blackmoor. And after writing and playing my own scenario with a friend, I think it might be the closest I will come to the same feeling those in '74 must have felt when trying to run their first game of D&D.

I felt like we could make the game go, but it was interpreting what the cards meant that created huge sparks of enjoyment. Often times when my friend wanted to do something that was not clear, I would just ask "What do you think?". From there we would quickly figure out what would be most applicable.

The cards also provide a prompt for negotiation too. That's the thing about Sun Rot, the GM might have laid out the scenario, but even they don't have specific rules for how cards in the class, communal, or event decks work until they are drawn. This creates surprise for all parties.

And that, I think, gets to the heart of what Sun Rot really is- a framework to encourage kitbash across miniatures, terrain, and even the rules of the game into a system that works for you. Much like how OD&D is a "kit" that helps you, in 1974, mix and re-mix all the historical and fantasy literature and movies that were present in its era into a new type of game.

But because Sun Rot (and OD&D) have so little mechanically and by way of explanation, you are forced to turn your attention back to the game and the fiction you are establishing. In this way, you are forced to consider, perhaps, thinking in terms of your character more than the ruleset: "My fighter is trying to get the NPC to give me the ring" rather than "What do the rules say my fighter can do?".

I'll close this with bit from an interview Matt Ross in Glaive v3 which is both a fantastic interview and a great magazine:

"We got back in with Lost Mine of Phandelver. Aside from the OD&D stuff, I think that's probably the best introduction to D&D. Ever."

"...I don't think the game part of D&D is what makes it good, you know? I still playing D&D but a hacked version. Light anybody who's been playing it for a long time, once you've played it, you know enough and you don't have to be like 'and this is what a bugbear's start are' or whatever."

"I remove all the bloat and try to do my dice rolling up front... I think D&D is most fun when you have an old school mindset."

✤ I realize I completely butchered this history, but I want to get on with the blog post

✤✤ Again, there is a little more to it, but this post is not about the exact rules per se.

RADOM WIZARDRY DUNGEON: Improving Undead Kobolds with the Dungeon Design Course

DESIGNING (THIS) DUNGEON'S THEME

In the last post, I talked about how easy it was to make a simple dungeon that could fit on 2 sheets of paper, but random stocking can only get you so far. Intentionality can really help a dungeon sing! That is what Designing Dungeons is all about: gluing fragments of ideas, vibes, and inspirations together just enough to get the dungeon to the table for play.

Let's look at Chapter 3, Refining Theme, and Chapter 5, Dungeon Checklist to see what we can do. We need some factions and a dungeon lord. And let's review the minimal key (see link above) to see what we have to work with:

10 kobolds with their vorpal bunnies in #19
6 undead kobolds in #21
Rooms 20 to 23 are more isolated
Deafened character in #02
Skeletons with a silver idol

FACTIONS:
Okay, let's say the 10 kobolds were originally part of the same group but have now been split into two. The living kobolds in #19 are composed of the greedy leader who is seeking out the treasure here. Since a lot of it is invisible or hidden, the leader has a literal keen nose for sniffing out coin- will help but have to cut a deal and also likes vorpal bunnies

The 6 undead kobolds in #21 were a search party who encountered, I dunno, the Pillars of Orcus, which can convert the living to the unliving. When encountered, they are curiously trying to cover themselves to hide their milky white eyes, decay, and such. They speak weirdly in unison as if inhabited by one mind because they are- something has invaded it (Black Lion)

Deafened character in #02 could be an inexperienced cleric sent on a mission to clear this area. Let's say it was a shrine fallen to ruin. I'm gonna use "The Black Lion- the ever-hungry black maw" which is a small god that I often throw in dungeons I write. This cleric is "deafened" because they are caught in a spiritual battle with the Black Lion- perhaps bless will help; otherwise, messing with them for 3 turns will cause them to attack.

LORD:

The Silver Idol in #14 (which can be glimpsed across the river and bridge from 04 to 06) is one of the Black Lion itself. Perhaps the 4 skeletons are devoted acolytes whose flesh was devoured by the Lion as an offering. These skeletons are 2HD, turn as ghouls, and if PCs intervene with the cleric in #02, they will start hunting the PCs.

DESIGNING (THIS) DUNGEON'S CHECKLIST

A reason to explore: Treasure, a magic ring, destroy a profane idol

A reason to talk: Cut a deal with a kobold treasure hunter

A reason to fight: zombies, undead kobolds, vorpal bunnies (?)

A reason to flee: Very evil skeletons that hunt PCs (Could be stronger, maybe the silver statue animates)

A reason to breathe easy: Nothing really sticks out

A reason to experiment: Hell gate that turns things undead

A reason to be surprised: Hell gate that turns things undead

A reason to return: Ehhh, nothing really here but the Hell gate could work

So, we have a small dungeon, randomly generated and improved that scores about a 5.5 of 8 on the dungeon checklist. Not too bad for really quick work generated over about 2 breakfasts.

With the improvement of theme, the dungeon moves from a very generic fantasy dungeon, so one where we might have friendly kobolds with treasure noses, an evil cult, a hell gate, and the threat of possession all in the backdrop of hidden treasure, collapsing ceilings, and rickety bridges over bottomless pits.

In my opinion, this is a pretty nice quick dungeon! And if you liked this, please vote for our:

HOW TO VOTE

The ENNIES are a fan-choice award, so who goes on to win is based on voting.

If you got something out of the course - if the procedures have helped you overcome writer's block or if you found some useful resources for your own GMing practice - I would very much appreciate a vote!

1. Go to the ennie-awards.com's voting booth

2. Click on Best Online Content

3. Select Designing Dungeons Course: Or, How to Kill a Party in 30 Rooms or Less, Joshua McCrowell & Warren D as #1.

4. Press submit!

5. Receive my eternal gratitude for your support.

Voting continues from July 10th to July 19th.

If we win, my collaborator Josh and I have a very silly acceptance video prerecorded. It will be worth a vote for me just to laugh at our little video.

RANDOM WIZARDRY DUNGEON: Punched Up With The Dungeon Design Course

YOU DON'T NEED MUCH TO RUN A DUNGEON...

In the Designing Dungeons document, we advocated for creation focused on play rather than publication. And this often doesn't require extensive notes and your dungeon doesn't have to spread over even a whole sheet of paper, but I would encourage something greater than just 5-10 rooms.

Here, I used the Wizardry instruction book as a source of inspiration for both the dungeon's size and the monsters that might populate it. Also used this random generator that reorganizes the AD&D Appendix A tables. Wizardry being a key inspiration behind the hit show Dungeon Meshi, which is a recent reference for dungeon crawling.

A fun and usefual thing about the Wizardry dungeons is they exsist on a 19x19 grid- which can help communicate maping to players. Here is the map I came up with:

And to go with my map, I scaned through the enemies from the game that seemed to correspond to the first level of the dungeon. I loved the sprites from the old game so I arranged them into a little encounter table:

And here is the total key that I ended up with- barely two pages. I worked here with paper and pencil because I think sometimes it nice to completely get away from the digital.

...BUT YOU MIGHT WANT A LITTLE MORE

So cool. I have a looping ~24 room dungeon with monsters, traps, treasures, and even some pits and collapsing bridges over water. Not bad for randomization- but it can be punched up.

Even sticking to the confines of the two pages there, you can see that on the second page, I still seemingly have 4/5th of it blank which can be filled in with stuff.

What I would first reach for would be two chapters in the Designing Dungeons course:

Chapter 3 Refining the Theme: Random generation can provide some suprising results, but they often are just hinted at. In the dungeon above we have two concentrations of kobolds and a lot of undead kobolds. Maybe two different factions? Is there a kobold necromancer? And what's up with the vorpal bunnies? We also need to determine perhapes a dungeon lord (maybe the kobold necromancer) and a "key" treasure.
Chapter 5 Dungeon Checklist: I think the checklist is one of the greatest tools to quickly help ensure a dungeon is up to snuff. Each of the parts of it will allow a DM to punch up common, well-worn elements of dungeons design, like kobolds, to something more interesting that random generation often over looks- like a reason to talk, to experiment, and to be suprised.