D&D Classics Is Live! Hot Damn!

Hot damn! Wizards of the Coast has pdfs for sale again! I can’t tell if the price point is the same as when it was all taken down in 2009 (I seem to recall a lot more $4.99 products and a lot fewer $9.99 products), but it all still looks very resonable, and in any case cheaper than what you have to pay on the secondary market.

Honestly, I had stopped buying anything from Wizards of the Coast awhile ago and I had basically written them off (played 4e and liked it but didn’t love it; have no interest at all in 5e/Next; am now only really interested in older editions), but it looks like they’re back in the game. This was pretty much the only way they were going to get me to give them my money again, and they’ve done it.

If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go demonstrate with my wallet that this was a sound business decision (on the other hand, I promise you right now that my productivity for the day is just shot to hell). To start with, I think I shall purchase…

C1: The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan
HR7: The Crusades Campaign Sourcebook
Manual of the Planes (AD&D 1e)

But I have a bunch of other stuff in my wish list that I’ll be getting in short order–lots of classic modules and 1e hardback/sourcebooks. Oh, and I fully intend to buy every single Planescape pdf they release.

The Perfect Captain

I haven’t had a chance to really fully explore this site yet, but it looks like they have some really interesting-looking games, and better-yet, they are free.

Hat tip to Really Bad Eggs, a really good gaming blog I have been following obsessively ever since I picked Flashing Blades back up a few weeks ago.

Endurance Reading: The Hour of the Dragon

An old friend of mine started a new blog where he reads and reviews pulp and classic sci-fi and fantasy, starting with Robert E. Howard’s The Hour of the Dragon. Tune in!

The Mighty Thor vs. Thrym, King of the Frost Giants

My son and me, arrayed for a glorious night of trick-or-treating that the bards will tell of in tale and song for all the ages.

Using Dwellers of the Forbidden City with Labyrinth Lord

Anyone know much about what tweaks need to be made to use an AD&D 1st edition with an older edition retro-clone like Labyrinth Lord or Swords and Wizardry? I’ve got a copy of Dwellers of the Forbidden City and I’d love to run it, but I am not sure what the differences would be in terms of monsters. I suppose converting to Swords and Wizardry would be the easiest because there’s that big document of monsters for S&W floating around the internet, so I assume anything in DotFC is written up in there anyway.

But is there any kind of general consensus as to switching around between different retro-clones and other retro games? Just curious.

How many careers actually involve ORCs?

Ohio’s compilation of statutes is called the “Ohio Revised Code,” or “ORC” for short. HILARIOUS! Because I am a lawyer.

That is all.

New D&D Monster: Foul Hound

Foul Hound

No. Enc.: 1d6
Alignment: Chaotic
Movement: 180’ (60’)
Armor Class: 7
Hit Dice: 3+1
Attacks: 2 (tentacle lash)
Damage: 1d6 plus disease (see below)
Save: F2
Morale: 9
Hoard Class: None
XP: 135

Foul Hounds are large wolves with eyes of baleful green flame and clusters of long, ropy black tentacles emerging from their mouths. They serve evil druids and priests of nature as a boon from the dark gods, and are rarely found in the wild.

The tentacles of a Foul Hound drip with disease, and an adventurer hit by one must save versus poison or be smitten with a horrible fever and die within 2d10 days. The victim may be cured by a cure disease spell, but while sick, takes a -2 penalty to hit rolls and heals from all damage at half the normal rate.

Foul Hounds are also known for their eerie, terrifying howls. An adventurer who hears a Foul Hound’s howl for the first time must save against paralysis or be frozen with madness and fear for 1d6 rounds.

Illustration by David Deitrick