Category: fantasy

Session 9 – The New Guy

Two days after the slaad attack and assassination attempt, the caravan is startled by the approach of a half orc paladin astride a mighty charger.  Mordred, his name, a paladin in service to the Church of Torm, his profession.  He immediately approaches Aramis, the party’s cleric and fellow servant of...

Medieval Update

Completing a full set of terrain and matched armies for use with OHW is the big goal for 2015.  So far the terrain is about half done, and the armies are half done.  This weekend, the second army got bumped up a few slots on the all-too-long to-do list....

A Note on Random Dungeons

Long time internet based D&D dungeon designers know all about Dyson Logos and his brilliant series of dungeon geomorphs.  They also know about Dave Millar’s amazing contribution to our little hobby, Dave’s Mapper, which builds a random dungeon using geomorphs created in Dyson’s style.  The Mapper has geomorphs created by...

End of the Undead

The Army of the Necromancer King is complete.  Long unlive the King. Click for the full glory of the Necromancer King’s Army. The One Hour Wargame rules require at most six units on the field.  Before each scenario, you roll to see what forces you have available.  For medieval...

From the Archives – Free 3rd Edition D&D Module

Way back in the height of the days of third edition and the OGL, I wrote a short series of modules suitable for use with first level characters.  This series was intended to fill the gap in first level adventures left by most publishers.  It was also a way...

An Adventure 10 Years in the Making

My ten year old daughter ran her first D&D adventure yesterday using the Moldvay ruleset.  She is either a real hard case or an old softy.  The jury is still out. Out three heroes, Father Zeke Brimstone, the mighty warrior Angel Algerbio, and thief Ezio, find themselves on the...

Return to the Megadungeon: The Dragon Sublevel

A couple of years ago, this blog presented readers with the first ten levels of a miniature mega-dungeon.  The series ended abruptly when the hard drive on which it rested gave up the digital ghost.  Over the last few months a few loyal readers have asked for an explanation,...

Charging For the Use of Rods, Staves, and Wands

The concept of ‘charges’ for rods, staves, and wands has never really sat well with me.  It makes sense from a play standpoint; it limits the power of otherwise game-breaking magic items, and it fits well with the sub-game of logistic optimization.  The need for players to balance out...

Roll All the Dice – Starting Equipment

Whereas; Purchasing equipment for those first level D&D characters is sometimes a tedious exercise in juggling weight and cost and when can we just get to the dungeon already, Whereas; Most of a character’s generation is already random, Whereas; Choosing the right niche item “just in case we meet...

Tyrrany of Dragons – A Fluid Situation

Last session saw our band of adventurers complete their scouting/invasion of the Cult of the Dragon’s local cavern headquarters.  In addition to slaying the local warlord and his pet roper, they captured low level boss-cleric Frulam Mondath.  At the cost of one party member, second line dwarven fighter Henry...