Just so DM Liz knows, “Tales from Hell” does feature in Oubliette 8, on page 4. It’s called “The Fantasy Trip”, and of course features her beloved kobolds being very bad as usual.

“Mouse Watch” was a little sub par this time, but, it turns out I had a legitimate medical excuse as I found out I had succumbed to severe anaemia, and was a little off my head by then. I am taking the old iron tablets now and feel a return to horrible form is on the cards for Issue 9.

Thanks again for your funny and honest reviews. It’s always a pleasure listening to you guys.

I think the cantrips would work just fine in this system.
Thanks for the great podcast. I find I’m moving backwards in my editions, and B/X just seems to suit me perfectly.

One note/question regarding the Evil High Priest: Would non-evil-aligned adventurers be willing to contribute hundreds or thousands of GP to an evil religion to receive healing or raising? Would knowingly supporting “the enemy” be enough to keep heroes away?

Thank you for another fine episode. Get well soon, DM Mike.

Really, really enjoyed DM Chrispy’s campaign-specific race origins and modifications. Excellent thoughts.

DM Mike’s bronze skeleton is a cool idea. Gives a bit of standard cannon fodder just enough of a tweak to make it more of a threat at low levels. It is so easy to boost monsters for just about any level, but takes a bit more imagination and effort to truly alter a monster to make it different and challenging. Bravo.
I’ve done something similar with liches in one of my ancient and lost empires. The wizard-kings would be gilded after death (coated in gold), to return as a “golden lich.” This improved their AC by a little, but was mostly a sign of prestige. In any case, it would make the players pause at the start of the encounter as they tried to figure out what was going on. As a DM, I like to connect with the players behind the PCs.

Has DM Glen been watching The Slayers anime series? Love live the fighting fish.

I always saw Hollow World as an excuse to trot out the few ancient cultures Mystara failed to exploit on the surface. I don’t mind ignoring printed material in favor of my own concepts. I do bristle a bit at paying for hundreds of pages I don’t want.

The Egg of Coot!!! I wanna know! *sob*

Mystara-flavored hex maps – I was just talking about that in my blog!

Thank you for having Bruce on the show.

Welcome back – and just in time! I had made my way through the entire run and finished as of yesterday.
I want to thank you for un-moderating me. It will be nice to comment in near-real time. In fact, here come a bunch of comments below.

I love my Van Richten’s Guides. I hope Glen manages to acquire copies of his very own.

The one time my friends and I established domains, we ended up turning on each other and trying to conquer our neighbors. That was even more fun than clearing the wilderness and founding our own realms in the first place.

When we did planar travel, it was always as a means to get from place to place – there was never any wandering the spheres at random. We would traverse a portal from point to point (usually somewhere in the Hells or Abyss), or utilize a spell/item to do the same. We never got into exploring the planes.

I always wanted to find the wizard, Gargantua, and kick him right in the material components. One of the worst back stories (and names) ever.

The worm in Beetlejuice was a sand worm (from “Saturn”) – which always reminded me of Dune.

The art in the three brown books often reminded me of a bad imitation of Jack Kirby. Wouldn’t surprise me if they were cribbed from comic books of the time.

At the moment, my attitude is – even if 5E is exactly what I’ve always wanted in the D&D game…I don’t see myself spending more money on the brand. I am sick of investing in new editions of D&D. I have shelves groaning under the weight of perfectly usable D&D books from the past 30 years and really don’t want any more. I’m just sick of buying expensive books I may or may not be using in ten years. Editions are largely an investment of hundreds of dollars – sometimes thousands of dollars – and I just don’t like Wizbro enough to invest in their bottom line. I want to be a gamer, not a demographic.

And that is why I am sick of the later editions of the game. Starting with 3.0, D&D (for me) ceases to feel like a game and starts to remind me of a program. When it takes me an entire afternoon to create a character because I am weighing all the options and estimating how they are going to build upon future concepts at every future level…I get exhausted. And that is what it is all about. We are assuming our PCs are going to be adventuring to at least 20th level and we have to cherry pick the right feats, skills, boosts, modifiers, weapons, armor, bells, and whistles to qualify for the next class level or prestige class. I want to enjoy the adventure. I want to feel the thrill of potential defeat – or even death. What kind of heroic adventure can you have without the fear of death? Oh yeah – D20 D&D. With 4E, the idea was to keep the adventure going no matter what. Never stop and never turn back. We wouldn’t want the ADD generation to get bored – I understand that.

From what I’ve seen of 5E art, they seem to be representing characters in a more traditional way. Less anime and fewer piercings, giant swords, and pseudo-Victorian costumes. Totally avoiding the “artists doing art for free” pit trap, I shall end this tirade now. I did enjoy the discussion very much. Some excellent insights. I tend to think much like Leaf…and feel like Vince. Good Chrispy Show.

Regarding “robots” in D&D, I’m surprised DM Glen didn’t chime in with the Mek from Rules Cyclopedia.

Good show.

Funny how popular psionics has become in recent editions of the game. Somebody wanna tell me Psychokinesis fits well in a classic medieval fantasy setting?

Crypt thing? I love the crypt thing. I have an entire secret society built around crypt things and their origins. I like how the crypt thing was not undead in the beginning…but, like the shadow, suffered from player prejudice and became undead in later editions. Come on – you’re a robed skeleton, forcryinoutloud.

The only die I have left from my very early D&D days is a yellow d12 that is almost a sphere due to crumbling edges. I treasure that poor thing.

The half-giant race-class discussion made for great listening.
As for the hobgoblin or goblin as PC (looking at Moldvay Basic), I would be inclined to allow it – especially since they would not enjoy many advantages beyond normal humans. After all, what can monster goblins do besides have fewer than average hit points, see in the dark, have penalties in daylight, and fight dwarves? What PC goblin is going to benefit much from that template? As for hobgoblins, what benefit is there to playing that race, unless you give them a bonus +1 to hit dice? They have no advantages or disadvantages and are essentially ugly humans with Fighter saves.

DM Chrispy’s analysis of goblinoid appearance reminds me of a long-standing lament, and that is of the art in the Moldvay Basic book. With few exceptions, the monster illustrations tend to be for entries that don’t really need illustrations, while some monsters that really need illustrations are lacking. Do I need to have a drawing of a white ape? Or a sabre-tooth tiger? A giant bee? Some lizards? Even Medusa isn’t exactly an obscure image for most gamers. And they give us skeletons and spiders. While illustrations of bugbears, goblins, and hobgoblins would’ve been really useful.

All I really do with hobgoblins is to give them a Mongol-like culture where they are superior mounted fighters and archers. Their leaders are known as Khans, as opposed to Kings. And they obviously don’t live underground much.

Once again, I think we have Professor Tolkien to thank for D&D hobgoblins. In The Hobbit, the hobgoblin is a larger and stronger breed of goblin. Later, he changed that to the Uruk-hai.

Plate mail is pretty cheap in Basic-Expert (and RC), but it is also essentially just chainmail reinforced with a breastplate and greaves (for the most part) – as opposed to the classic suit of full knight’s plate. I assume the designers just took chainmail and bumped up the cost a bit to reflect the plates.

First, I had my drow and duergar in a kind of subterranean arms race with an alchemical fungal powder that possessed explosive properties. The powder lost potency very quickly in sunlight and was most unreliable unless kept completely dry. “Gunpowder” was an Underdark thing that most surface dwellers had never heard of.

Second, I put steam-powered firearms in the hands of invading “salamander-folk” that arrived from another plane. Based upon the Fiend Folio Firenewt race, these invaders wielded dangerous firearms that used steam power to launch projectiles. These weapons were extremely hot and risked exploding if fired often. The Firenewts, of course, didn’t mind this. The firearms were also very bulky and there was no one-handed version.

So – I never used “black powder” in my campaign setting…but I did try introducing guns.

I agree that an owlbear should have some owl traits, such as superior nightvision, and perhaps even the ability to turn its head all the way around to limit the chance of surprise or backstab. What is the point of giving the thing owl parts if it is still essentially a weird-looking bear?

I confess to have been in the habit of rolling dice at the store before purchase to see if there were any “naturally weighted” dice to be had.

I am also aware of the “loaded microwaving” of dice, but I think that used to only work with older dice because they had air bubbles or other flaws inside for the microwaves to work with. I think newer dice tend to be manufactured better and microwaving them just ruins them. Though, I couldn’t say for certain – just what I’ve heard from other gamers.

Living statues are great for dungeon encounters because, as DM Vincent observes, they need no ecology and can stand around forever without players wondering how or why. I like to put living statues among a larger number of normal statues and make the players wonder whether the rest are alive as well. Paranoia is such fun.

“Weeping angels,” DM Chrispy. Of course, I wonder about the changes made to the Weeping Angels later in the series.

Finally, I often wonder if DM Glen’s Rules Cyclopedia is somehow different from mine as he seems unable to find specific entries in the book. Find Statue, Living on page 208.

I really wish I could get the B/X Companion.

The reason for all the French, and for a lot of the weirdness, is that the module was based heavily upon the “Averoigne” writings of Clark Ashton Smith – as referenced in the Bibliography. When I first purchased the module, I was expecting something out of Roger Zelazny’s “Amber” novels, but this was even more interesting in many ways.

Oh – and the module includes a pronunciation guide for the French words.

I give the harpy a variety of sound-based voice effects. Some have been able to mimic voices or sounds while others have had a sonic screech that can deal damage or shatter objects. One harpy sang magical lullabys that threatened to put victims to sleep.

I also liked combining different aspects of Greek mythological creatures and the harpy would occasionally receive the bronze feathers of the Stymphalian Birds – granting them a better AC, but a worse flying speed. I also had a unique “Harpy Queen” that had a head/face similar to Medusa.

Being so foul and dirty in Greek myth, I originally gave the harpy a troglodyte-like stench quality.

I do quite a few odd things (odd to me) with gargoyles.

Gargoyles in my setting tend to be bound to a temple or church and will be of whatever alignment the deity is. Adventurers tend to find them in ancient shrines or ruined temples.
I have gargoyles that have the ability to conceal themselves against or around stone. They can assume the color and texture of any stone they touch and often cover themselves with their wings to resemble an outcrop or something similar.
One encounter I ran involved gargoyles in a volcano. They could shift between molten and solid stone form, almost at will, as long as they were in the heat.
I also had a pair of gargoyles standing at the end of a hall, still and side-by-side in a shallow recess, pretending to be a pair of ornate stone doors.

I’ve had a group of bandits dress up as white apes to put the blame for their raids on a local group of real white apes lairing in a system of caves the bandits wanted as a hideout.

I’ve had white apes as a degenerate race of proto-humans worshiping a deity of the underworld.

I’ve had them use their “throw stone” ability to hurl sharp chunks of obsidian that shattered into deadly shrapnel on a hit.

I’ve used an enlarged white ape as a kind of albino King Kong.

A white ape that had just tussled with a fire beetle freaked a party out when it emerged, pale and glowing, from the darkness of a tunnel.

I feel most of those points fall under the category of common courtesy and I have become, over the years, very careful with who I invite to my table – since it is in my home. New players join the group with the understanding that it is on a trial basis and they can be un-invited if they simply refuse to mesh with the group. It is important for players to understand that the goal of the gathering is for everyone to have a good time with the game. EVERYone – not just one or two particularly loud or obnoxious players.

When I advertise a game, I go out of my way to be clear on the points that are important to me. Such as my house being a non-smoking environment, alcohol is discouraged – except in moderation, drugs are out of the question, we have three cats that have free run of the house, places to park, we may provide a meal from time to time – but only when announced prior to the game, the fact I have a big tin of spare dice that players are free to use (but not steal), I also have hundreds of miniatures that players are free to choose from for their own PCs (but not steal). It is also important to me that players understand my DMing style and expectations up front. I try to meet with a new player in a social situation before inviting them to join the game. Yes – I conduct player interviews.

Finally, no single player is more important than the group. If one player is making the game un-fun for everyone else, they will be invited to leave.

Longer centipedes that constrict like a snake.
Double-headed centipedes (like an amphisbaena) that separate into two independent centipedes if dealt enough damage to sever.
Spitting centipedes that launch their venom at range.

Yeah – basically giving centipedes some snake traits, I guess.

C’mon, Glen – Cyclops is on page 164 of the Rules Cyclopedia (presuming this as your reference of choice).

Cyclops can also be found in Cook Expert.

I actually have an original demon lord that is essentially a humanoid chimera. He’s a lot of fun.

For myself, I am in the habit of modifying existing monsters as well as creating setting-specific new monsters or variants. Often to suit an adventure idea – but also just when certain alterations just seem to make sense or seem “cool.” My extremely rare race of humanoid basilisk-men that often come to lead tribes of lizardmen is one example of something I just found cool at the time.

The golem is one of those creature types that inspires many, many iterations. Anything can be sculpted and animated to wreak havoc on adventurers. I myself have too many golems to easily list.

I admit to having many elemental variants and combos for my campaign.

In my own campaign, I’ve gone so far as to create a minor deity named Jeni Pumpkinseed – kind of a macabre female Johnny Appleseed figure that is a spirit of the harvest and of endings. She is a bit mad and responsible for the creation of Pumpkinseed Goblins and Pumpkinrot Knights, the latter being a sort of Halloween-themed Death Knight.

But anyway – thank you for writing and sharing.

I’ve used a “They Live” kind of premise in a game by letting the players find out that certain influential NPCs who had been guiding their actions were actually a form of demonic doppleganger. Not only did they have to expose the dopplegangers, but they also had to figure out what they wanted all this time. They acquired a strip of gauze to bind across their eyes which allowed them to see the dopplegangers for what they were. A major magic item of the adventure was a lantern that revealed the true form of any shapechanged creature caught in it’s light.

Anyway – I’d like to point out the wacky illustration of the bugbear in Supplement I Greyhawk. On page 67 is a creature that is a hairy humanoid with a head resembling some kind a jack o’ lantern. This would lead me to believe the “bogeyman” approach posed by DM Julie.

As for using bugbears, here are a few things I’ve done:
1. Bugbear shaman: Low-level priest of a goblin tribe worshiping the god of bugbears.
2. Bugbear bushwhacker: Taking advantage of their implied stealth, I often utilize bugbears as bandit-types and ambushers.
3. Pseudo-spriggans: I had a tribe of goblins that had the ability to spontaneously transform into larger and more savage versions of themselves – bugbears. Much like lycanthropes…were-goblins.
4. Werebears: The only non-human species able to contract lycanthropy, bugbears can become werebears.

I saw Mazes and Monsters when it debuted on TV. I was a gamer at the time. I recall thinking the way they played the game with the big figures was kind of cool. I recall thinking the film was terrible and ridiculously biased.

Oh yes – John Coyne’s Hobgoblin. Brian Boru lives!
I remember reading that book and thinking Hobgoblin seemed like a neat game.

A few things to consider about gorgons:

1. Golden wings.
2. Brass claws.
3. Tusks.
4. Stheno and Euryale supposedly did not petrify others.
5. Blood: Taken from the right side brings the dead to life and from the left is deadly poison.

The Basic rulebooks were focused upon the dungeon environment while the Expert books opened the game up to wilderness adventures – including seagoing voyages and an entire section on Waterborne Adventures. This is why you’re not going to find water-based monsters in the “red books,” except for Moldvay Basic, which gives us the sea snake.

But even The Underworld and Wilderness Adventures has an aquatic section.

Can’t find rules for seagoing in the Rules Cyclopedia? A quick perusal of the Table of Contents gives us Water Travel in Chapter 6. Also, in Chapter 8 you can find Naval Combat and Underwater Combat.

I realize I am speaking to the past here…but I find myself chiming in as I get through each session.

Comments regarding the trimming of treasure:

Carts? What kind of terrain are you going to put in the way? Hills? Broken land? Chasms? Flimsy rope bridges? Muddy dirt tracks? A nice slow overland journey is fraught with opportunity for disaster and attack.

Gave the party too much loot? That’s when an NPC adventuring party comes in handy. The PCs are on a quest to find a specific item or treasure? So is the NPC party! Hey – the King of Loompaland sent us to retrieve that giant emerald to ransom his daughter from the dragon. Coins do not always have to be standard. Some could be counterfeit, for example. Gems are often flawed. Objects that seem to be solid gold or silver can be plated base metal. Unless the PCs take the time and effort to appraise each item – they have no way of knowing the true value of loot they find in a dungeon.

What do the players want to do with all that loot? Maybe it isn’t so bad if they want to sink a huge chunk of change into a tower or a house. That gives the DM a spot to focus on for future troubles and misery. PCs are drawn to towers and such for adventure…and so would NPCs or monsters. If they want to buy magic items – that is a great opportunity to haggle and/or deceive them. let an NPC try to sell them great-sounding junk.

Are the PCs beholden to a ruler? Perhaps the ruler is about to embark upon a military campaign and seeks to press some or all of the PCs into service. A great opportunity to levy a heavy tax to avoid military duty.

Finally, there are always the wacky concepts along the lines of a monster that animates and controls a form of metal in the same way a treant animates trees or a galeb duhr animates boulders. Have a monster that animates and controls gold, for example.

If a player (as opposed to a PC) is disruptive or counter-productive to the group, then this should be dealt with outside of the game. Players do not receive XP, their characters do. Still, I confess that I am prone to award small, rare XP bonuses to a player, as DM Chrispy mentioned, for player-induced moments of glory or amusement.

I don’t recall taking XP from anyone. A disruptive player should be dealt with as a person – not a character. In my opinion.

Weres:

As for the werebear, I always assumed the creature design was influenced by Beorn from The Hobbit – which is why it comes off as less evil than the others. The wereboar strikes me as a Celtic myth-inspired thing. As with so many other monsters, the individual lycanthropes were taken from fantasy literature and folklore. Even the wererat can be found in Leiber’s Lankhmar stories where they were used very effectively. The werejaguar from Mesoamerican legend is also a perfectly acceptable lycanthrope. Having a variety of weres allows the DM to use a specific type in a suitable setting – like the weretiger for a jungle setting where another animal type might not be as interesting or appropriate.

I will end this ramble by mentioning the rakshasa is not a were of any type, but a shapeshifting demonic creature from Indian myth.

The Carcosa link takes me to something about LED TV.

Still, I am listening to every installment and having a great time.

Cheers!

I’d also like to let loose a hearty HUZZAH at the idea of future releases.

The fact that these guys are so accessible and so giving is heartwarming to me. It just makes me want to support them all the more.

For the most part, the kids didn’t know how to use their items to the fullest – in fact, Presto’s problems with his hat served as a running gag through the series. Not that it was all that complicated for most of the items – put up the hood of the invisibility cloak, hit things with the club, shoot things with that crazy energy bow, etc. They also never knew where to go and relied upon Dungeon Master in most cases to point the way – usually as a means of finding a way back home.

I mostly recall it being cool to see all the Fiend Folio monsters in every other episodes. But introducing Tiamat to “first-level characters” (not that there is ever any indication of character level that I ever noticed – just classes) was a simple explanation of one of the subplots of Venger vs. Tiamat and an excuse to play on the conflict to occasionally carry the day. As for Lolth – I never assumed they “killed” her by dumping her down the pit. I had assumed she fell back into the Abyss or something. Lolth was a “weenie?” Perhaps – but giving her 66 hp in the first place always seemed a bit silly to me.

I remember being surprised by Diana’s fur bikini outfit and thinking how utterly racist it seemed to put the token black character in what was essentially a primitive “tribal-looking” costume while everyone else is in normal medieval-fantasy garb.

Uni was the Scrappy-Doo of the show. Gorge-inducing, to say the least.

Having the entire series on DVD and watching it now, years after the fact, I nearly choke on the cheese of it all – but I imagine it was difficult to craft a faithful representation of the game in that format.

Just my thoughts. I enjoyed the podcast very much.

“Sleep has no save.” There’s a random d20-to-the-eye moment if I ever saw one. ;-Þ

As to the the module itself, it’s a great example of the old-school classic “funhouse” module, that is, a type that has (sadly) fallen by the wayside. Too many people trying to be Tolkien (in-depth serious RP) or Conan (hack-n-slash). Whatever happened to the influence of Carroll or Baum (wacky fun)?

http://trekp.com/posters/gw231-elves.jpg

Some comments on using higher level sets (Companion and Master)

I have played in a campaign that took 10 years. I played a magic-user named Thunhus all the time and leveled up to 21st level.
Another campaign took 9 years and I was a DM. My players played same characters to the 21st level.

We used Mentzer BECMI rules sets. We used Companinion set a lot. I liked especially dominion and war machine rules because we used to have dominions.

We started using weapon master rules (Master set) at level 1. We also used Siege machine because we were into dominions.

We also used a lot of modules. We played trough Test of Warlords, Death’s ride, Sabre River and the Endless stair.

Nowadays I dm a 4e campaing and we are at level 23. Next adventure focuses on mass combat and I have created a rules for it. The rules are inspired by Companion sets war machine rules.

Thunhus from Finland

In the real world in medieval europe, clothing was a layer of wool on a layer of linen, leather was boiled (hardened) leather on a padded jacket (basically a moving blanket), chain was riveted iron rings on a padded jacket and plate was 1/32 to 1/16 inch think steel plate with small ring chain at the joints all on a padded jacket.
Sheilds ranged from all but disposable Viking duelling sheilds (see the duel in 13th Warrior) to seriously stout wooden rounds and tear drops (kites – much better for fighting from horseback, but very useful on foot too) to proper steel traditional shapes in late periods.

Your dexterity might make you move a bit more fluid in your armor, but it did little for the actual defensive ability of the armor. If you get hit with a mace, the blunt force impact can still break bones in lessor armors (chain, leather, cloth). If you are stabbed, you are almost definately getting hurt in lessor armors (chain, leather, cloth). If you get knocked down in plate, you aren’t just jumping back onto your feet and returning the attack, you might even need help to stand again.

Watch some YouTube videos of SCA combat to get a decent idea of what D&D combat would be like.

In addition, I do not recall Liz complaining about her birthday cake picture. (hehe)

Wait a minute, was that the most important thing you got out of that podcast???

My work here is done.

I can’t promise that the Goblin Quest will calm down. It’s based on a game (which Peter participated in as one of the goblins)that I witnessed at Con-quest, a role-playing games convention in Derby. The game was called “The Body in Question”, and the players were brilliantly maniacal, moronic and devious in turn. I drew sketches all the way through of the various happenings, which was quite difficult as I was laughing most of the time. What I can promise for the next installment are fatalities and a complete lack of heroism. I just hope I can keep it all anatomically correct when I draw it.

Thanks again.

Great show, as always.

Regarding Holmes77…While artwork is a plesant bonus to any adventure or manual, nowadays, there is enough of it in already existing OOP works, tv and movies for the fledgling DM to conjure up images of what is found within the text without having to beg, bribe and/or force an artist to contribute to what is, essentially a free giveaway; something most artists are reluctant to do (go figger!)

The important thing to remember about saving throws is what they represent. Many games have things like hero points, fate points, etc.. The saving throw is meant to emulate that. Look at it from this perspective the reason for save or die is that you’re basically already dead. The saving throw represents your second shot, that last ditch effort to save yourself from certain death or serious injury.

So just like in the movies when the hero defies the laws of physics to dodge that fiery explosion or falls off a cliff and manages to grab on to a hand hold, this is what the saving throw represents.

NPC’s don’t get this benefit, the average person is laid to waste when the evil sorcerer throws his fireball, but you on the other hand you jump out of the way, hit the ground pressing yourself against the ground as hard as you can and yes you come out partially burned while the villager you were just talking to is nothing more than a pile
of ash and smoking boots.

This is why D&D has no fate points the saving throw is the “fate point” and as you progress in level fate smiles upon you giving you more favor.

Sorry for the long windedness on that. On your earlier topic about how Gary meant for the original way for the game to be played. I always roll damage for my players when they hit. I started playing that way because when I first started I thought it was supposed to be done that way. And I still do players shouldn’t be number crunching the dmaage in my opinion. They tell how wounded something is by DM description.

But where’s the love? 2 dragons for B4?

I had bought some blank d6′s, drilled in pips and used a Sharpie to mark them as d3′s. I honestly accidentally gave them to my opponent during a miniatures game. I relaized the mistake about halfway through the game, pointed out the error and swapped them for the Bicycle dice I was using and the guy ended up winning, by A HUGE margin…

My girlfriend does “dice training” by rolling each die until it max’s and then leaves them sitting with the high number up so they “learn” how they are supposed to roll.

When playing miniature games like 40K I set all my dice out with 6′s up except for a small batch with 1′s up and draw from the respective group depending on if I want to roll high or low. After the roll I place the dice to the side (with respective 6′s or 1′s up) and use different dice on the next roll.

It’s less of a superstition and more of a psych-out to throw my opponents game off as they try to figure out what I’m doing…

Doesn’t work, but it’s fun none the less.

http://jovianclouds.com/blackmoor/
is Dave Arenson’s website.

It would be good to see links in the show notes to some of the sites you recommended for players looking for games.

Cheers,

Bruce

Nice Flow to the podcast and loved the Clops talk.

The Thieves guild action was fun. I normally only do background on it if I see a need to. Otherwise much like Vince I just make a few notes.

PS-Keep Chrispy away from the Sheep!!

Liked it but not as much as the others.

Once I started reading your article my mind clicked and I suddenly saw all kinda of things that would have been much better in the past had I used that way of creating the PC’s nemesis.

Again Bravo!

In some of the campaigns I have played in, in smaller cities and towns the “guild” is sometimes non-existent or just a few thugs that have loosely banded together for mutual protection. Sometimes they are associated with a larger overall Guild that spans many towns and cities.

Some of the best thieves have an alternate identity in “normal” society. They can even work for or have friendly contacts among the authorities.

In general, in games where I DM, those that try to take up the trade w/o being a member of the Guild are eventually visited and given “an offer they can’t refuse” to join the Guild. If they purposely try to run afoul of the local guild, they will be turned in to the local law enforcement or end up in floating in the sewers or something

Not every game needs a fleshed-out Rogues Guild, but whatever one exists, unless it is a slipshod operation, the Guilds are very concerned with keeping a low profile, no matter how powerful they are. An exception may be openly corrupt cities or places where the Guild has grown more powerful that the official law enforcement.

It is really up to the DM, but these are some ways I have played such Guilds in the past.
Just my two cents worth (actually, yours, as I just picked your pocket!)

See ya!

-Jeff
“DM Retro”

The basic rules are available as a free PDF from Elf Lair Games’ Lulu store:

. . . http://stores.lulu.com/elflairgames

Here is a link to the 2010 Quickstart PDF:

. . . http://www.trolllord.com/downloads/pdfs/tlg2010quickstartpdf.pdf

The product description is here:

. . . http://www.trolllord.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=97

http://www.lotfp.com/RPG/products/lotfp-weird-fantasy-role-playing

I’ve never been a big fan of diseases in the game. Never saw the point, as most everything baneful has a counter mechanic to remove it with the disease having little to no lingering effect on the character, or in the scope of the adventure/game. (See cleric’s spell: cure disease)Monsters I only create to fill a void, or for a new adventure; I am adament about adventures having at least 1 new monster in them!

As to the B8, I’ve never read it, owned it, or likely will, now. Thanks for the heads up!

I definitely agree with Gameogre on running the NPC portion of the love interest in 3rd person, in order to help reduce that uncomfortable feeling.

Unless you’re a method actor at the game table, in which case I say go all in and make the other player as uncomfortable as possible.

In all seriousness, though, I can say that I personally prefer a more realistic game setting, so love is definitely a subject I can’t ignore as a DM. Of course, too much focus on realism and you end up with a game system that’s nothing but charts and percentages (No offense, Rolemaster!) — but if you ignore love altogether, you leave out a pretty significant story element. And once you can get your players to buy into it — to genuinely love an imaginary character — it’s all the more powerful when you turn that love into loss.

And that makes for great storytelling.

For more on the subject of love and incorporating it into your campaign, be sure to check out Connie Thomson’s (of 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming — http://www.4windsfantasygaming.com) exceptional series of articles on the topic, as featured at http://www.geeksdreamgirl.com.

Waldgeist
FREQUENCY: very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-12
ARMOR CLASS: -7or 6
MOVE: 18″ or 12″
HIT DICE: 4+4
% IN LAIR: 0 %
TREASURE TYPE: nil
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE / ATTACK: 1-8/1-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: drain age
SPECIAL DEFENCE: none
MAGIC RESISTANCE: standard
INTELLIGENCE: exceptional
ALIGNMENT: choatic good
SIZE: small
PSIONIC ABILITY: nil
Attack / Defence Modes : nil

Wildgeists are the spirits of Treants,that has died from a sudden and violent death. The Treants return as Wildgeists to avenge the one or ones that has killed it. They appear as bright balls of light ( sometimes they are mistaken as will-o-wisps ) in day or night. They will roam the area up to 60 miles away from where it was killed, looking for the one’s who killed it.

A Wildgeist has two forms. First is it’s spirit form. Appearing as a large glowing ball of light ( around 3′ dia.), a Wildgeist has no attack ability’s in this form. It’s quick ability to fly will get it out of most predicament’s. The second form is the shape of a 4′ tall wooden humanoid. It takes only 1 round to change shape. A Wildgeist uses it’s fists to attack. When a player takes damage from a blow, the players must make a save vs. spell or be aged 4-24 years.

Err ok umm Well anywho you see the issue often becomes a hassel and less joy. Although other members of the group might find it all kinds of funny.

I think its best to speak of the npc in the third person and look at the big picture. “You two have a wonderful weekend and Anella opens up to you more than she has before. Telling you of her verbal abuse by a local boy named Sven.”

In my experience this works very well without those funny moments getting in the way.

I’m off now to practice looking lovingly into my eyes in the mirror for new weekends game. Better shave to.

On a more serious and related note: I’ve had love used in my games a few times, and it is indeed a formidable plot device! Though, i’ve never done a PC/NPC relationship and kind of want to try it out iny next campaign.

Now add in love to the mix and sit back and watch the fun. What if the someone has fallen in love with the pc? Follows them about with that in love puppy look. At first the pc might eat it up but what about once the lover is put in danger or ruins some undercover plan of the pc’s? What if its a women who ends up pregnant? What if her husband/father/brothers(all six of them)/old boyfriend the Wizard come calling on the pc’s? What if they all do?

Also what can even be more fun is if the pc falls in love with that special someone! Do they get married? What if that someone doesnt (love) the pc back?

Not to mention all the strange evil things a DM could do. What if its a doppleganger now and not the lover? What if it always was a doppleganger and its in love with the pc?

The Power of Love is mighty indeed if used with a eye towards fun! Thanks for such a great article!

Take a good wizard on the edge of town and let him discover/find a new substance/portal that turns him into some strange twisted creature. Now let anyone he bites/touches/kills turn into that type of creature as well. Soon the entire area is over run by these twisted dark things and the pc’s fight to put this new outbreak down.

It’s like Dawn of the Dead meets Braveheart! Add in some artifact needed to find a cure that was intombed in some ancient wizards lair and a mad race to it as one of the pc’s slowly turns into a twisted creature and those same creatures chase the party and sit back and enjoy the good times!

Also, Tekumelyani spells are also separated by the sphere of influence of the priest’s deity: Combat spells can be found in temples of the war gods Lords Karakan and Vimuhla. Spells of healing are found in the temple of Lord Thumis, God of Wisdom. Spells involving nature are taught to worshipers of Lady Avanthe, a fertility goddess, spells that can create or control the undead are Lord Sarku’s, the god of tombs and decay, department.

tatafornow

Your humble admirer (and all around good guy!) Thorkie

First thing in the morning is always tough row to hoe.

You have a lot gaming knowledge and experience and it is great to listen to your experiences, but it is hard to follow what you are saying some times, due to all the giggling and cross/over talk.

Julie is fine as a guest host but frankly her constant giggling,insane cracking and side tangents is really starting to get annoying.

Keep up your great work!

-Havard

You are correct in your wondering. I actually toyed with the idea of having those pumpkin-headed satyrs just be goblins, but I didn’t feel like the aesthetic fit them. I should have also mentioned that my goblins also ACT like Pathfinder goblins and so they are very stupid and fool-hardy. I didn’t think that the satyr creatures look really fit that sort of personality. I’m probably still going to steal them but have them be something completely different. Luckily this campaign world is heavily influenced by old English, Celtic and Germanic folklore so there is plenty of room for them.

It is a bit of extra work, but I really do believe it is worth and it’s actually not as much work as you might think. An afternoon on wikipedia can really open your mind to a lot of neat real world ideas people used to have and you’ll learn a lot. I know far more than any one man should about kobolds in German mythology.

Yeah, I’ve been around… (creak creak).

-Glen

Vince

@Glen: Awesome voice dude, I’ve done public radio and I recognize a ‘public’ voice in there, glad to see you’re into role-playing as well. I guess it goes along with imagination and the ability to tell a story. I’m an older gamer and Ive done radio and theater as well. Glad to see I”m not alone, although we both know there are a lot more of us than we both know about.

@Vince: Dude, your dedication and leadership in setting up and hosting the two podcasts I listen to for pre-2e D&D gaming radio are something that I am very grateful for. The podcasts just get better and better, keep ‘em coming.

@the other hosts (DM’s Vince and Glen, don’t read beyond this point if you will play this module):
You are all part of the chemistry that keeps me coming back. Please keep doing what you do to give something extra for the the loudmouths I mention above to talk about. They are good radio people for various reasons, but if you guys stopped showing up the discussions would pale.

Glenn, uou were Smoke Stack Jones weren’t you?

-Havard

Anyway, I enjoyed listening to this one as well. Love the fact that you consult the Creature Catalog!

-Havard

-Havard

As experienced DM’s you guys seemed to denounce having all these subtypes of men described out in the monsters section. I think it could be really helpful to have this level of guidance for a newbie DM when they are first creating their game world about the different possible types of men that you might encounter in a D&D type world. More experienced DM’s will create NPC’s on the fly and tailor their statistics to meet the demands of the story/situation but I think the Moldvay rules (I can’t speak from experience on the other editions) do a good job of creating different flavors of “men” to encounter.

I’ve sent a more detailed reply via email, but wanted to note here for any passerby that the module is available for free download at my website. I didn’t hear that in the podcast, and if I missed it I apologize.

And I’ve just got to say that DM Vince’s character, Sir Ashton of Blackmoor (sp?), reminded me very much of LEEROY JENKINS!!!! — of WoW/Youtube fame.

Loved the rest of the Q&A too — and I was personally very happy to hear DM Vince took the time to look up Erin’s website and confirm his gender in the midst of the recording. Erin’s put a lot of time and hard work into his Chimera RPG system, and he’s also the author of the “Building the Perfect Class” article (http://breeyark.org/building-perfect-class), which I referenced in one my “Adding New Classes to Basic D&D” article here at saveordie.info.

Again, great job, everyone! Looking forward to hearing more!

–SDM

RATINGS (in dragons):

Vince: 1.5
Julie: 2
Chrispy: 3
Glen: 1

AVERAGE: 2

I’m more upset that y’all spent so much time discussing that, and not on Julie’s “adult dungeons” hehehe.

Please, next movie you review, let it be Dragonslayer.

Another great podcast, everyone!

The +2 bonus to “their attack die” applies ONLY to “normal men”, kobolds, goblins or orcs.

Characters ARE NOT to be considered “normal men”, thus, the berserker bonus should not apply to the players/characters. I extract this definition from the general writing found in Holmes blue book. But specifically from the Saving Throw and “To Hit” tables. Clearly, characters are separated from “normal men” who have their own listing.

I would be curious to hear your comments on this hypothesis. (One day soon, when I have Skype–perhaps on my birthday! I can actually make a cameo and hobnob with the Fab Four.

Love y’all, keep it up

Thorkenfindel

Dragon Ratings:

Liz: 3
Mike: 2.5
Glen: 2.5
Vince: 3.5

TOTAL: 3.25

Brilliant module, sold mine years ago unfortunately and I’ve been trying for years to get another one…

Pete

Legolas is probably best emulated by the AD&D Ranger.

Here’s the link to Encounter Magazine, in case anyone’s having trouble finding it: http://www.encountermagazine.au2.com/

Issue 3 is great, although I might be biased, because Chris Gilford does a retrospective on one of my favorite modules from my childhood, “King’s Festival”.

Mike

(Silence)

You should rectify that… like now, hehe.

Re – the zany in #1 – I love that stuff too – not very many people can or will write it, as it turns out! Jeff Rients of “Jeff’s Gameblog” is the best I know at this particular style, although some other contributors have done very well by it too. I think we have at least a little of it in every issue, but not as much as one might desire. “Hobgoblin God’s Crown” in #9 is a different kind of example of how there is always good Core Old School stuff in every issue.

Anyway, I’m at iggyumlaut at gmail if anyone on the webpage here wants to get in touch with me about submitting or other things.

Keep up the great work!

Best,

Ignatius

That’s at least the imagery I think of when I think of elves.

I’ve never taken XP away from anyone.

moment of the episode

I know in your opening blurb you dont say you WONT talk about anything but classic D&D, but it reminded me of game sessions I was in where everyone talked about anything BUT the game.

Is Lis the glue that binds the discussion together? lol

All in all, thanks for another fun podcast guys!

I imagine it has to be backwards compatible, as RC was a compilation of Mentzer and Mentzer was a revision of Moldvay/Cook.

Thanks again for sharing!

I hasten to point out that the Perfect Class article was based on Rules Cyclopedia classes, so there’s allowance for such things as General Skills and Weapon Mastery.

That said, I’ve heard others use it with B/X without any fuss. As long as every class starts at the same baseline, the system works as intended.

Cheers!

- i dont mind the long story boxes as long as the story is good. its meditative to me. if the story is weak/corny, yeah, of course it blows.

Thanks for the replies! Supplement V: Carcosa can be purchased at:

http://carcosa-geoffrey.blogspot.com/

If you get a copy let us know your opinions…

DM Mike

as for the Orc stuff.. whatever. i get the sentiment, but as you guys said, its a game. if someone wants to try to blur the lines in their campaign like the poster above, its not bad idea for roleplaying. and its not always impossible, just like Dragons, to have orcs or whoever, to have tendencies to other alignments or motives.

also, where is the link for that supplement! was really interested in taking a look at that.

Obviously the fighter won out when he ran in and started slaughtering orc babies and mothers…but for the five minutes prior to that, there was a unique kind of tension at the game table, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As for the “Orient”, as I’m sure you’ll get e-mails on (if not other comments), it’s my understanding that “orient” is a bad word when used as a noun, but that certain ‘historical’ uses are allowed, which I think this book from classic gaming would constitute.

Although the argument against I’ve always heard has been that “the orient refers to the Middle East, not the Far East” and that “oriental” describes inanimate objects, like rugs, as opposed to being a way of describing people.

Great podcast again — keep up the incredible work!

I never had a problem with the race=class thing in Basic D&D. I just saw it as a simplification in the system. However I did prefer the more complex AD&D back in the 80s but I think my idea old school system would be a mix of Basic and Advanced.

@DM Mike: Oh wow, thank you! That’s great to hear from one of the podcast-members! And yeah, I don’t think I realized how impactful “word choice” is until I sat down to write this article. It’s been one of the hardest things to deal with personally, too, as I’ve started working on my own RPG rules system…some things need certain words to define them, but then those word choices may prove restrictive to one’s imagination.

@Erin: That’s an awesome assessment of the point I was driving at — I love the examples you’ve provided! And I DEFINITELY love the tool for class building — you can be sure I’ll be using it as I develop my upcoming Basic D&D Campaign Setting (In the Shadow of the Mountain — see http://www.thesecretdm.com for more info…); also, if you don’t mind, I’ll likely be reviewing your tool for my personal blog.

@The Secret Player: We meet again, ha ha! I actually saw D&D the same way you did, right up until I wrote this article. I was having a converation with a friend about D&D’s “inherent racism”, and, while extreme, it made me consider the possibility. And that’s when the thought emerged that, sure, these were generalizations and restrictive ones at that — but the archetypes matched up perfectly with The Hobbit/LotR — and maybe that’s all they were ever intended to do. Thanks for commenting!

I’d say DM Fiat on that… Personally I’d use it as an auto-to-hit MM since Hank never seems to miss in the show. When he does, its generally intentional.

DM Mike

But I think you this statement is the best answer I’ve heard: All characters are adventurers.

Put another way, of course there are dwarf clerics and halfling thieves–they just don’t go on adventures. Just because your PC can’t be a dwarf priest doesn’t mean that there aren’t dwarf priests. It means that all adventuring dwarfs are of the dwarf class, while add adventuring clerics are of the cleric class.

And, as a side note, to your final suggestion about Thinking Outside the Rules, may I offer “Building the Perfect Class” as a tool for creating your own balanced B/X classes.

Chri, kudos on starting up a Holmes(maybe Cook) game. Of course, its across the pond so Liz STILL can’t get into a game. LOL

SDM,cool story…That’s when you know you’ve got a good role-player. I had a cursed magic item take over a PC once and the player had a great time slowly trying to bump off the party one at a time.

Tim, That’s an interesting point. Even if you don’t maintain the license plate you can still keep it on the wall or something. Wonder if SaveOrDie has too many letters?

Mike

Thing is, if you just changed the name of the classes; say “Hobbit” instead of halfling, “Fay” instead of Elf, and Delver” instead of Dwarf there would be no argument. Even if you then said that these are the typical stereotypes for the races in question.

Its all about the verbage. Which is strange but many people can’t get past such.

Kep up the good articles!

DM Mike

It seems that throughout the later editions a new game has emerged; selecting optimal character builds.

Very impressive race design — kudos! Have you already playtested this race? It sounds like a really interesting concept…I may be using this soon in my own upcoming Basic D&D campaign.

Thanks for sharing — looking forward to seeing more!

–SDM

@fjw70: Thanks for sharing! Yeah, they had obviously intended for the materials to be compatible with both versions of D&D, so after I made my transition to AD&D, I still had a vast collection of materials I could use. Although that didn’t stop me from buying more materials, come to think of it…

My first DM did a bit with a doppleganger when, in the course of exploring a dungeon, our party split up. He RPed each of us individually, then had us all come back together. It wasn’t until it was too late that we learned one of us had gotten into a battle with a doppleganger and been replaced. At the end of that combat, when the player had lost, the DM offered the player the opportunity to portray the doppleganger when the group got back together, and the player, although upset over losing her character, loved the idea of betraying all of us.

As for the “lettering” of modules:

I remember as a kid figuring out that “DA” stood for “Dave Arneson”, and how proud I was of figuring out what the letters meant. There were some I could never figure out, but thankfully, we now have the internet! Here’s a link to a wikipedia page that explains what the letters meant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons_modules

1) If people didn’t have the polyhedral dice and had to use regular dice.

2) If you started out in speed play and used d6 to begin with and then if people wanted to play again, use the optional rules. (why teach people abou tthe dice AND the rules at the same time.)

As far as the dungen gear, if players, old and new, didnt want to spend time (or forgot) to buy or write down gear I used the 3 gear kits listed in one of the basic modules. Looked but I can’t find find which one but I copied it and have it in my homerules printouts and still use it to this day!

As far as myself as a player, ALWAYS had the 50′ rope, a sack of marbles and oil flasks.

I really liked Liz’s suggestion on the doppleganger switch being discussed with a player that is looking to off his character. I would have to add that if that were the case, I’d like the player to continue (for that game session) to play the doppleganger as an enemy, but be stealthy about him attacking the other PCs. It would definately have to be one time thing though.

On the subject of trying a new system, if your going to get back to the basic of D&D, away from the rules lawyers and the min/max players – I’d say Basic D&D (for me The Blue Book)

I actually have been thinking about running a short campaign of basic/expert (if it lives that long) to teach a gamer in our group how ROLE playing is done. Without a definative set of rules or skills, he has a hard time understanding

Player: “Can I try this (insert action)?”
DM: “ok, then give me a (insertstat check)”

When I have done this in my current game setting (Not 3/3.5/4) he was amazed at the idea and though it was my own! – I fessed up eventually, explaining that it was “how it was back in the day”.

This podcast has inspired me to give it some serious thought.

Thanks and keep up the greatness!

Seriously, like you guys said, the concept of variable weapon damage didn’t come out until the ‘Greyhawk’ supplement; and it appears Moldvay payed homage to the original rules here. In practice, though, I think you’d find most people were using the variable ‘Greyhawk’ weapon damage rules by 1980.

In fact ‘Greyhawk’ was a major modification to the original little 3 books, and probably rates its own show episode to discuss how it revolutionised the D&D game…

Keep up the good work guys – I’m loving it!

Great post – thanks for sharing your deflowering.

The Red Moon orcs were meant to be normal orcs from the Red Moon tribe like you had originally thought. Labyrinth Lord rules for orcs actually include the -1 to hit in sunlight. I always thought that was a staple for D&D/AD&D orcs, no? But maybe I was just heavily influenced by Tolkien orcs.

I’d also like to see your thoughts on best Dungeon magazine adventure. Hopefully it’s one of mine!
Pete

Aha… I didn’t read the actual writeup on the orcs, so that’s my bad. I withdraw the problem with the orcs and will say so in the next podcast. Though I’d imagine such info really ought to have been in the encounter location instead of the monster writeup; if for no other reason so that lazy DMs don’t miss it LOL I just figured the Blood Moon Orcs to just be orcs from the Blood Moon tribe, and only when DM Vince mentioned the -1 in sunlight in the podcast did I realize they were not the standard run of orcs.

I reiterate I like the “Sandbox” feel of the module and to any reading its quite worth the pruchase price!

utlander,

Hm. ‘good idea. Maybe we could do a PoYI on our favorite Dragon mag/article and the next on our fave Dungeon mag/adventure?

DM Mike

On a similar note, I would be interested to hear what Dragon articles you most liked over the years, and which Dungeon issues had your favourite modules in them.

Granted none of that came in a box, but they all required one.

Glad to see you come over and answer our questions. I understand your reasons. I do know there is a lot artists out there that will do artwork for free to get their name out there.

V

Just to clarify, DM Mike, the reason for the orcs being at the Tomb of St. Garan is on pg. 27, in the description of the Red Moon Orcs (and yes, it was originally Blood Moon, but I missed a few changes when I went back!). The Red Moon orc tribe once worshipped the evil cleric Drayn Rone (one of the three brothers). Their current shaman received a vision that Rone’s Demon Gate had reopened, so he sent a band of Red Moon orcs to check it out and report back. The shaman mistakenly believed the gate was inside the Tomb which is why they camped there in the ravine. The orcs enter the tomb after nightfall, but are turned back by the tomb’s guardians, so they actually only stay in the area a single day unless they meet up with the PCs.

As to the night demons, as it says on pg. 29, they are not demons in the truest sense, which is one reason for their “wimpiness.” My goal with this module was to create an epic-feeling adventure for low-level characters. You generally don’t get to fight demons at 1st-3rd level, so I thought it was a neat change of pace from fighting orcs and ogres (and kobolds!). I’ve already got one player calling himself “Demonslayer” after this, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens when he runs up on some real demons.

DM Liz, sorry about the gender cliches. I run my players through almost everything I write for publication. I only have one female player and she only plays part time, so the encounters are typically designed for males. No reason why they can’t be changed, I just need to remember to do it in the future. Thanks for pointing it out!

DM Vincent, I’d love to include more art, but art is expensive. I’ve got like 3 sales of Blood Moon Rising so far, so I have to be careful not to spend more than I make. But if it starts selling, rest assured the next few adventures will definitely have more customized artwork!

Again guys, thanks for the review. I’ll be linking to this if you don’t mind to try to generate some publicity. I’m currently working on a short horror module and hope to have that released by October, maybe just in time for a Halloween adventure review.

Take care!

Pete

http://www.fightonmagazine.com/

The ODDities magazines are available in pdf format on Dragonsfoot–here’s a direct link to Vol. 1 to get you started:

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/files/pdf/ODD01.pdf

I’m sure that Mike and Vince will be able to set you up with more of the goods!

I have come to view them as smaller, weaker versions of gnolls; in my game gnolls are more wolf-like than hyena-like and thus kobolds are near kin to them as orcs are to ogres or goblins are to hobgoblins.

Keep up the great work – this has become my favourite podcast. Thank you!

i was probably about 5 and already well aware of D&D cause of my older brother letting me sit in on box set games with his friends (i wanted to be a Halfling!). as soon as i seen the promo on Saturday morning i was super amped up. cartoon starts and what absolutely kills it? the weak @$$ bow wrapping around monsters! booo!! hiss! if a 5-year old can figure it out that sucks – come on censor board.

haha did you put the HULK outro music in there? thats awesome. David Banner walking down the street with his embroidered pants pockets and a sack over his shoulder.

Next time you have Frank on your show, I’d love to hear a bit more about the Aquaria campaign setting, Frank’s home games and hear some more of his random stories.

DM Mike

What do you three think of the retro clones?

What a great podcast! Mr. Krask is really an interesting character and he needs to be interviewed more.

But you are correct in that it does also contain articles for things like Carcosa, Empire of the Petal Throne, Metamorphosis Alpha etc.

I’ll see what I can do about getting you a review copy.

Agreed; the more I read and re-read B1 the more I’m impressed. If possible I’d like to have Mike Carr on the podcast and get his opinion of how B1 was created and how its stood after 30 years!

DM Mike

Regarding kobolds: I remember years ago a conversation on ENWorld in which someone attached pictures from the classic Brian Froud/Alan Lee book, Faeries of the kobolds therein (this was due to a similar conversation about what kobolds look like) and Gygax himself said that he would have gone with something closer to the book than the reptilian version but that the artist wasn’t given much of a guideline. (the thread is still there, buried deep)

While this is your podcast, my only suggestion as a listener is to open it up a little to consider 1E and the retro-clones. Get James Raggi on, and Dan Proctor and Chris Gonnerman and Matt Finch, etc, etc. Sticking to such a limited format is obviously not possible as I have heard 1E mentioned more than once. Just loosen up a little, drag in the 1E and the retro-clones and cap it there. Just a humble suggestion.

All in all, very good work!

I didn’t mention Fight On! myself for two reasons:

1. I was under the impression that it was more an “Old School RPG” mag than a “CD&D” mag…though obviously it can have such articles in it.

and…

2. I’ve never read it, so I am leery of reccomending a mag I’ve never seen.

If they’d like to send us a sample copy we’d be glad to give a review!

DM Mike

My only disappointment was that you didn’t mention Fight On!, my favourite OD&D fanzine.

I also wanted to give you a heads-up that “Adventure #2″ isn’t working correctly; it streams as “Adventure #1″.

Anyhow, we are enjoying your show & look forward to many more in the future. Thanks!

-Havard

He had lots of interesting stuff to say. Mr. Kask definitely has my gratitude for magic missiles that automatically hit.

My only disappointment is hearing him speak out of ignorance about newer RPGs. To speak about it as if the players are consulting tables like actuaries and figuring out their chance of success and declining encounters is baffling.

Everyone’s allowed to like what they like and not like what they don’t like though.

“Don’t make Vince angry….You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry!”

Thanks for the kind words Matt!

Mike