It's hard to do horror in D&D

I love the Ravenloft setting, but I have to admit that it is really hard to pull off horror games with Dungeons & Dragons. The biggest issue is clerics. They can heal everyone, possibly resurrect the dead, and curb-stomp the undead. Even if clerics are heavily limited, mid to high level fighters and mages can handle the vast majority of monsters.

I can see why level-draining monsters were added to fight this, but I think that mechanic is very unfair (not to mention a terrible paperwork mess). In any case, I've done what I can to make it scary for the players, but oftentimes, it is not an easy sell. 

1st edition demons were scarier

Maybe it's just me, but the demons as presented in 1st edition were the scariest. Heck, a number of mid to high level spells were all about summoning and controlling them. Maybe it was just the artwork, or Gary's writing, but it seemed more dangerous than the editions that followed.

2e really did drop the ball by renaming everything, and 3e was just too numbers-heavy to give any feeling of dread. 4e was a joke, and I still haven't picked up 5e (so maybe 5e finally fixed them). In any case, I loved the whole set-up and feeling of danger created by the writing in the 1e books.

Also, the Demons boxed sets made my Mayfair Games were fantastic. I have both, and if you ever have a chance to grab them, do yourself a favor and do it. Not only do they add tons of cool demons, there are great examples of investigators going crazy, etc.

Greyhawk - my favorite edition

I know this is probably sacrilege  to the OSR, but I don't really care for the Greyhawk box set with the Darlene map. Yes, it is wide open so you can do what you want. There's not really anything going on, which a lot of DM's probably love. However, it feels very bland to me.

I'd have to say my favorite version is the Player's Guide to Greyhawk, which was published for 2e. It's still pretty open, but a lot has happened. The world actually feels alive. The Greyhawk Wars changed a lot of countries, the Circle of Eight was broken and rebuilt, and Iuz became a god. The Scarlet Brotherhood is also a great villain.

Another thing I like about this version is that even the evil countries fight each other. Ahlissa and the Scarlet Brotherhood are fighting in Onnwal. Heck, most of the evil countries would fight Iuz if he got near them. There are active wars going on (the new Shield Lands and Geoff are the best examples of this), but large parts of the world are relatively peaceful, or at least a good spot for adventurers. Heck, the area right around Greyhawk City is loaded with stuff for players to do.

In any case, if I get to run another Greyhawk campaign, this is the version I'm using.

I also have the Living Greyhawk book, and I like it. I don't think it's as good, though. Maybe the writing style is too dry, or stuff changed even further as the timeline moved. I'm not really sure, but I don't like it as much.

Someone made a white box Dark Souls conversion

The OSR blog "games with others" has three posts on Dark Souls and the Original D&D rules.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I think it's really cool, though I don't know about starting as a 0-level character. If nothing else, there's lots of usable bits for people interested in dark, gritty games.


Also, a cool 5e conversion is HERE.

Dark Souls and Greyhawk

I was thinking about running Dark Souls atmospheric game set in Greyhawk. The characters wouldn't be undead, but the area would be dark, filled with monsters and undead. I would probably run this with one player, who would be a follower of either Pelor or Pholtus. I'd probably make a new class, similar to the Paladin, but with no holy mounts and more fire-based magic.

In any case, is there a region that would fit easily for this? I'm thinking of either the Hellfurnaces west of the Sea Princes, or somewhere around Iuz. Any suggestions?

Still haven't picked up 5e yet

Most of the reviews of 5e that I have seen have been pretty positive. I've flipped through the Players Handbook and it did look pretty good. I haven't seen the DMG or MM yet, and I'm kind of hoping there will be a discounted set of all three books before I actually buy in.

It's kind of weird, as I bought 3e, 3.5, and 4e all on the day they were first available, and had read them within a week after that. I just really don't have that fire anymore. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this stuff. :)

5e DMG preview

5e sounds like it's going to be very good

I still haven't picked it up, but I'm planning to. From everything I've heard, 5e is going to be a very good version of the game. It appears to combine some of the best aspects of every edition. While I was not a fan of 4e as a whole, it did have some good ideas, like the wizard blast ability. I'm glad to see little things like that have remained.

D&D 5e Starter Set now available

The website for the Starter Set is HERE. It should be in your local gamestore and probably B&N. I'm not really interested in this, but it's only another couple months until the real game comes out. Looking over the Basic Set (available for free HERE), they are doing a whole lot right with the new edition.

The Wizard's Amulet for 5e (free)

Frog God Games/Necromancer is giving away a pdf of The Wizard's Amulet adventure revised for 5e. See here: http://froggodgames.com/5th-edition

5e and rpg forums

Rob Schwalb, one of the lead designers of D&D 4e, had a blog post where he basically says 4e catered way too much to the munchkin math geek crowd and he's glad that 5e is going back to its roots, where the impact of the number-crunching min-maxers should have a much lower impact.

Reactions to this blog are interesting. Over on The RPG Site, it's been mostly positive. A lot more old school D&Ders post there than you might expect.

The reaction on RPGNet is the complete opposite. They are raging about this. They HATE that he called their pet D&D version basically a bad game compared to its predecessors. If you have an account there, don't make the mistake of defending Rob's post, as you will probably get banned. (Not that the mods are biased or anything).

Please take the time to look through both. If you have only been active on RPGNet, I strongly recommend you give The RPG Site a chance. The forum runs a lot like RPGNet did 12 years ago. Mostly gamers, with little moderation.

D&D 5e Basic will be a free pdf (as well as a normal product)

News release is HERE. I really didn't expect WotC to release the Basic Set as a free pdf. This was a very, very smart move on their part! I'll still probably buy the real set, as I'm not big on gaming with just a pdf, but this will allow anyone who wants to to read the rules and learn how to play. This is pretty much the smartest move they could have made.

Dungeons & Dragons 5e Product Line announced

The big news is here in the Escapist: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134601-Dungeons-Dragons-Unveils-Full-Product-Line-Release-Dates-and-Details-Update. Only TWO months away! I really didn't expect it so soon. This is great news for tabletop gaming, and I really hope that WotC produces a fantastic game.

It's pretty cool that they are going to use Kobold Quarterly to publish the first available adventures. This could get very interesting if other companies can go through official channels to release products.

A Proper Spellbook

A guy named Aaron has made a prop spellbook for his D&D games. It looks fantastic! I really wish I had thought of this. Then again, he is apparently much more artistically inclined than I am, and I doubt mine would look half as good.

Reddit thread where he announced it is HERE.

PICS ARE HERE

Seriously, take a few minutes and check this out.

D&D 5e next summer

Announcement HERE

I'm not surprised. If anything, I would have expected it sooner. Wizards has to be hurting on sales, since they will have gone almost two years without a "living" edition of Dungeons & Dragons in print.

Fencing

I sorta remember some fencing rules included in A Mighty Fortress for 2e. I no longer have the book, unfortunately. Not sure what happened to it, but it was very good. In any case, I was wondering if anyone had some fencing rules (rapiers, main gauches, cloaks as shields, etc) that were simple but worked fairly well.This would be used for BFRPG or B/X, so conversion should be fairly easy, if necessary.

Notes for Napoleonic D&D.

Here's some basic notes to work with. I may actually sit down and write this, depending upon time.

Napoleon D&D Notes

Member of British, French, Spanish, Prussian, Russian, Austrian, or Ottoman army, or a guerilla of some type (often Spanish). Part of a scout or irregular unit of some type. May be infantry or cavalry. The focus would be on garrison work, patrols, scouting parties, and secret missions. Big battles might occur, but are rare.

Females ok. They even wear uniforms. 

Characters are human, and do not start the game knowing how to use magic. They can be affected by it, and might learn it during a campaign.

Officer, sergeant, or private? Catholic, Protestant, or Atheist? Royalist or Revolutionary? Noble or Commoner?
Fate/Luck Points. One point per session. Each Fate Point allows one reroll.

Duels. Maybe.

Fortitude/Reflex/Will saves.

Ascending AC, though there is very little armor to be had. Dex and Wisdom both modify AC. Maybe also include bonus AC as you level, to represent battlefield luck.

Cover! It has to be in game, and described well.

Hit points = Constitution plus one per level. (maybe adjust this for more epic style).

Shrug it Off. Regain hit points nightly. No worries about infection, etc. OR go grim and dirty. Gangrene is much more dangerous than the bullet wound.

Max level 10.

Characters are basically fighters, but have a Hide skill.

Only armor available is the cuirass, for cavalry. Helmets are also available for some regiments.

Weapons include: musket, rifle, pistol, club, saber, bayonet, cannon, lance, dagger, pike, spontoon.

Big Battles: Handwave final results. It’s not a wargame. Focus on the situation immediately around the players and how it affects them. This would be a perfect place for players to act as skirmishers on a flank, or to take a small, but vital objective, such as a cannon emplacement overlooking the battlefield.

Monsters may be encountered, though usually in out of the way places. A witch in the forest, a demon hound in the hills, or maybe a naga leading Indian troops. Most of the enemy would be regular humans, though. Just add a bit of magic here and there to spice it up.

Napoleonic D&D continued

I'd definitely keep the majority of a campaign limited to scouting or garrison work. After all, that's what soldiers did. Big battles only happened every few months, if that.

For a campaign, I could see a big valley or something similar in Spain or maybe Germany. An area on the border of France where fighting may happen at any time. I don't know if I'd have any major battle occurring, except as the finale of a long campaign.

Also, there were quite a few sieges during this period. That's an instant campaign zone, followed by the big capture. Have infiltrators, scouts, guerillas, spies, and smugglers all in one neat package.

Rifles were starting to get introduced, so maybe they could be an elite rifle squad (see the Sharpe series).

 

Napoleonic D&D

I've been reading some Napoleonic stuff lately, and I really love the atmosphere. I'd love to play a D&D style game, but with everyone as a member of a small unit. Just fancy uniforms, rifles, and bayonets.

Maybe they are scouting in Germany, and begin traveling through an old forest. Then they enounter an old hag, who just happens to use magic. Or the fae could appear. Or even something crazy like a naga could show up, as the leader of a group of Indian troops.

Sadly, I know of no OSR rules that do this. I know the armor system would have to be reworked, or everyone would be getting killed in the first battle.

Also, just which, if any, magical creatures would show up, and whose side would they be on?

Subtle Magic

I have played a mage who only uses stat-buffs and wizard eye and similar, non-flashy spells. It's actually extremely effective. While a fireball certainly can kill a bunch of stuff, giving the fighter a big bonus to his Strength can often increase damage output for the whole party much more efficiently (especially in 3e).

 I also really loved wizard eye. I could scout out a good chunk of a ruin before we even set foot in it, which helped us a lot (and frustrated the heck out of the DM). This helps mitigate the 15-minute workday problem a bit, since the scouting will be useful for the entire day, and only take up one spell slot.

I recommend those of you who like mages consider trying this out for a session, just to see how different, yet very effective, it is.