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Post by Zenopus on Feb 1, 2015 12:04:28 GMT -6
Update: I finally turned the 20 backgrounds into a single-page pdf reference sheet. See here for the viewing/download link.
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 31, 2015 16:30:24 GMT -6
Great work, Scott! I'm glad to see posts by Gygax included; I didn't know he participated on that list. But it's not surprising given the number of other boards/lists he was involved in (DF, EnWorld, Pied Piper forums, Troll Lord boards, etc).
Where are you finding these posts?
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 26, 2015 9:31:47 GMT -6
I don't know who coined the term or exactly where/when it first appeared, but to me "demi-human" is an AD&D-era ism. "Demi-human" also appears in Moldvay's and Mentzer's Basic D&D, but not in Holmes. OD&D has language like "man-types" and "player-types". Correct, no use of the term demi-human in the first edition Holmes Basic rulebook, first published in mid-77. Holmes uses "men-types" (in the entries for Vampire and Spectre) or "humanoid" ("any human/humanoid figure they touch" in the entry for Ghouls) or "non-human" (in the Sample Dungeon, "humans and non-humans from all over the globe meet here"), but nothing just for elves/dwarves/halflings. This suggests that Holmes hadn't seen the term demi-human before. The first print of B2 does use Demi-Humans, but that's from early 1980, several years after the AD&D books. Some proto-AD&D-isms first appear in Swords & Spells (like the term "0-level" for normal humans) in 1976, but I checked & didn't see any uses of demi-human. The Monster Manual and some of the early modules would be other places to check to narrow it down.
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 21, 2015 23:02:05 GMT -6
I was just reading a blog post by Zenopus on the Holmes Manuscript he's been reviewing. It pointed out that in Holmes you only took falling damage into a pit trap on a roll of 5-6. The bigger problem was getting back out. So I picked spikes and hammer. Besides, they're handy in keeping some doors open and others shut (: I like that mechanic idea for pit traps. Might have to try it. I am guessing it may have not made into into the final printed rules version? (as I don't recall it, but I am no Holmes expert, just a fan). It is in the published rulebook (pg 10 and 40), and actually comes from Vol 3 of OD&D! See the Sample Map, Room 8 on page 5, and the second paragraph on page 9. For the poll I picked the grappling hook which seems versatile when combined with rope. You could use it to climb up walls (including out of pits), and even throw it ahead tied to the rope and pull it back to test for traps. It could be a weapon in a pinch, and you might be able to spike or jam a door shut with it, depending on the shape.
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 16, 2015 21:11:29 GMT -6
Material - A metal sword is going to be vulnerable to a Rust Monster or Grey Ooze, but a wooden club or staff will not. Wood but not metal is dissolved by Ochre Jellies. Both wood or metal are vulnerable to a Black Pudding or Green Slime, but a stone weapon would not be.
Bronze does not rust, so bronze weapons could be ruled immune to Rust Monsters.
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 16, 2015 12:13:33 GMT -6
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 12, 2015 21:37:26 GMT -6
We see that GDG&H has the benefit of the Hyborean mythos, while DDG does not. DDG has the benefits of the American Indian, Arthurian, Babylonian, Cthulhu, Japanese, Nehwon, Nonhumans' Deities, and Sumerian mythoi, while GDG&H does not. D&DG also has the benefit of a wide range of the early TSR bullpen, Otus, Tramp, Sutherland, Roslof, DSL, Darlene plus non-TSRs Jaquays and Eymoth (Ken Rahman). The earlier supplement really suffers from a lack of artwork. Hundreds of fantastic gods and monsters with just a few bits of public domain art. D&DG trivia. When the Cthulhu/Melinibonean mythos were removed, a new full-page piece by Otus was added, depicting the Egyptian judgement of the dead. So if you only have the earlier version you may have not seen this fantastic piece before:
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 10, 2015 19:29:49 GMT -6
Swords & Wizardry has a great simplification for monsters. Base Attack Bonus = HD. Compare the numbers for this with Fin's above; they are pretty close. So if you are running a module with a stat block you can just use the listed HD as the BAB without trying to remember how the HD corresponds to a different number. Edit: Sorry morandir, I missed that you wrote the same exact thing at the end of your post before I wrote mine. You can also simplify the Fighter-Cleric-MU BAB, giving them something like Fighters +1 per 2 levels Clerics +1 per 3 levels MU +1 per 4 levels.
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 10, 2015 16:30:46 GMT -6
As a player I find it even faster to just have my entire natural 'row' written on my character sheet: 19 18 17 16 15 14 etc. Roll my d20, add any bonuses and tell the DM I hit AC9 or AC4 or AC0 etc.
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Post by Zenopus on Jan 2, 2015 10:23:44 GMT -6
Are the cities fixed in location? The famous sea cliffs/caves of Portown were to the west of town. This could be fixed by moving Portown across the river mouth to the peninsula. Much like this Map of Marblehead, Massachusetts (Lovecraft's Kingsport): zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2012/11/kingsport-as-portown.html
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Post by Zenopus on Dec 20, 2014 23:46:20 GMT -6
I've never seen the original game, but I've read the Holmes article, which is pretty cool as it adds fantasy elements to the game. Here's all of the info I have on it, from the Holmes Bibliography: " Lost Civilizations: Fantasy Supplement for Source of the Nile", article, THE DRAGON #24, April 1979, pages 5-6 [/u] (THE DRAGON #31, November 1979; pg 16) that: -However, the TRIBUTARY 2 magazine was apparently never published as this page states: "Tributary 2: Demons of the Nile (not published) fantasy supplement for SotN"[/ul]
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Post by Zenopus on Dec 6, 2014 13:20:26 GMT -6
Here's the scoop on Holmes' contributions to the venerable zine Alarums & Excursions: Prior to the publication of the Basic rulebook, Holmes submitted a number of articles to A&E. Some are stories that feature Boinger, Zereth and/or other characters from Maze of Peril. They are not polished stories like the later Dragon articles, but are much more like the better campaign journals that are written up in places like this board. "The Adventure of the Lost City" is the longest of these, having two parts in two different issues. These are the fiction submissions (from the Bibliography posted here):
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Post by Zenopus on Dec 5, 2014 21:12:44 GMT -6
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Post by Zenopus on Dec 2, 2014 15:25:20 GMT -6
Stocking stuffer! Great idea.
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Post by Zenopus on Dec 2, 2014 13:31:18 GMT -6
Well, that was fast. My Want List alerted me that it is back in stock. 40 copies currently & the Fall sale is ongoing on so the price is still $8.96. (BTW, I have no financial interest in these selling or in NK).
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Post by Zenopus on Dec 1, 2014 22:56:35 GMT -6
GAH--I totally missed this thread! ...waiting with hope in my heart that more will indeed soon be in stock. You can add it to a Want list at Noble Knight and they'll email you as soon as it comes back in. Thanks, bjb. I actually didn't know about that. I've added it & will update this thread when it is back in stock.
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Post by Zenopus on Nov 29, 2014 21:59:06 GMT -6
Awesome. Please post a review after you finish it!
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Post by Zenopus on Nov 25, 2014 22:33:30 GMT -6
That's what I like to hear! 8 copies 4 copies left in stock now, so you are not alone. All copies are sold out now, but it says "On Order, More Expected Soon".
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Post by Zenopus on Nov 25, 2014 10:23:45 GMT -6
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Post by Zenopus on Nov 25, 2014 7:33:01 GMT -6
For the record, Gary added two statements to the Holmes rulebook regarding the treasure types. The second statement is the last sentence in the paragraph quoted by Ways. It refers back to earlier guidance given at the beginning of the monsters section: "The TREASURE TYPES TABLE (shown hereafter) is recommended for use only when there are exceptionally large numbers of low level monsters guarding them, or if the monsters are of exceptional strength (such as dragons). A good guide to the amount of treasure any given monster should be guarding is given in the MONSTER & TREASURE ASSORTMENTS which are included in the game." I did a little analysis of the first level of the M&TA treasures in this post, which showed that "over time the average GP of the treasure for 1st level encounters (e.g. 3-12 Kobolds, 1-4 Berserkers, 2-8 centipedes) should be about 318 GP."
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Post by Zenopus on Nov 10, 2014 6:08:45 GMT -6
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Post by Zenopus on Nov 4, 2014 8:20:42 GMT -6
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Post by Zenopus on Oct 29, 2014 20:31:54 GMT -6
Thanks. The map on the Palisor wiki page you linked actually has the Last Desert smack in the middle, which is where the were-worms were supposed to be. Per the History of the Hobbit, the earliest drafts of the Hobbit they were "the Wild Wire worms of the Chinese" in the "Great Desert of Gobi", possibly a reference to Mongolian Death Worms, aka Olgoi-Khorkhoi - a name which actually sounds sort of ME (cf. Olog-hai).
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Post by Zenopus on Oct 29, 2014 18:46:50 GMT -6
Nice stuff, tkdco2. A campaign idea I wrote about might fit in with your Palisor ideas: The Endless Caverns of Tu. I recently found a copy of the MERP supplement Perils on the Sea of Rhun. It's got a lot of background for the area around Rhun and to the north, and several interesting & connected scenarios. This could be used to connect the area from the Lonely Mountain to Palisor in the east.
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Post by Zenopus on Oct 10, 2014 23:29:58 GMT -6
Since you are including Sample Dungeons, there's also the 'Dungeons of the Ground Goblins' by Steve Jackson of Games Workshop, first published in a magazine in May 1976 and then re-printed several times, including promotional fliers by GW around the time they had the license to publish TSR material - giving it quasi-official status. See more here: sites.google.com/site/zenopusarchives/home/modules-and-scenarios/other-sample-dungeons/the-dungeons-of-the-ground-goblinsThere are also a ton of scenarios in the Judges Guild Journals (particularly the contest winner issues), the earlier ones being for OD&D.
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Post by Zenopus on Sept 11, 2014 10:29:48 GMT -6
Lots of great music recommendations here! I've been meaning to get some Popol Vuh for years, ever since seeing Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Since you like glam rock, I'd recommend T.rex {...} Hawkwind Great picks. Unicorn is my favorite Tyrannosaurus Rex LP, and the self-titled T. Rex is my favorite post-name change. I always thought it'd be fun to throw a bunch of Marc Bolan references into a game. I think one could develop an entire campaign setting based on Bolan's early work, from songs like "Wielder of Words", "The Travelling Tragition", "Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles", "Pavilions of Sun", "Children of Rarn", "Planet Queen" (one song of each of the first six albums). Especially Unicorn. Sounds great.
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Post by Zenopus on Sept 10, 2014 20:42:57 GMT -6
Yes, the 1977 versions do have the AL stat, which could also be called "THAC9". And it's found in each monster entry. There are no hit dice listed, so it's one way to estimate the HD of the monsters listed, the other being the the saving throw category (ST/F 10-12, etc). Carnivorous Apes are found nowhere else in OD&D, and here we see they have AL: 6 and ST/F 4-6 - which means they should have HD 4 (versus 5 in the MM). More Trivia: The key also indicates that AC will be written as "armor class of the monster; this number is followed by the base number required by a 1st level fighter to score a hit, thus: AC2/17" - the second number being ascending armor class exactly as used in Swords & Wizardry! But then unfortunately the entries themselves fail to include the second numbers... (The original version of the module B1 also notates AC in the same fashion). So the M&TA sheets had some early innovations...
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Post by Zenopus on Sept 10, 2014 12:19:03 GMT -6
Since you like glam rock, I'd recommend T.rex, particularly the "Beard of Stars" (1970), "T. Rex" (1970) or "Electric Warrior" (1971) albums. Beard of Stars is probably my favorite - don't miss the electric guitar freakout Elemental Child - but Electric Warrior is probably their most classic.
Hawkwind - their prime early years correspond to the years of Chainmail/OD&D - "In Search of Space" (1971, particularly the track Master of the Universe), Doremi Fasol Latido (1972, tracks: Brainstorm, Time We Left This World Today), Space Ritual (1973, double live & usually considered their ultimate album), Hall of the Mountain Grill (1974, track: Psychedelic Warlords), Warrior on the Edge of Time (1975, influenced by Michael Moorcock's writing & he even recites some poetry).
Yes - The Yes Album (1971) or any of their others from the first half of the '70s.
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Post by Zenopus on Aug 21, 2014 18:29:12 GMT -6
I'm not sure how much you can blame the players since TSR never really talked about this. I can't think of a single article about what to do with players that don't show up or how to manage a campaign with a varying number of players. I was one of those people that started playing D&D cold. I had never played or even seen D&D being played before I bought the Holmes set and started being the DM. I don't remember exactly why but from the very first session I was under the assumption that the same people played every time. If one time we had a different group of people, we'd more likely just play a completely different game. Also, the Examples of play going all the way back to OD&D Vol 3 give the sense of a small or moderately sized party acting cooperatively, with a Caller relaying the group's actions to the DM. I think few actually used the Caller but the examples do reinforce the 'party' style of play.
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Post by Zenopus on Aug 18, 2014 9:51:41 GMT -6
I was away/busy for a while but I'm back now. Glad everyone likes these! I meant my list as a starting point for discussion. I'm happy if everyone goes off and makes their own version. I doubt it would be possible to make a standard list that will appeal to everyone. (Just look at how much core classes are debated here and there are only 2-4). But I am also happy to discuss/tweak the particular bonuses I used. Maybe we can talk about how specifically we would tone some of them down. The Orcish background giving you a +1 to hit underground seemed excessive to me, but I suppose it depends on how you handle combat in darkness in OD&D. I don't recall OD&D having a ruling on this, but if you used the -4 penalty of later editions, that's basically giving the Orcish effectively a +5 bonus. Unless, what you meant is that the Orcish only gets +1 over whatever penalty you normally assign to fighting in darkness, in which case moving up from a -4 to a -3 isn't so bad. Here's a comment I added to my blog yesterday: "My Orcish types were also influenced by Holmes Basic, in which an Orc (1 HD) has a +1 to hit as compared to a Normal Man. Since OD&D doesn't actually have the separate Normal Man (they attack as 1st level fighters which is the same as an Orc), it might be better just to represent the Orcish types as having a -1 to hit in daylight - which is how I had it originally." The d6 damage without a weapon comes from Greyhawk variable damage where Orcs do damage that is "1-6 or by weapon type". It is like Fire Resistance, although in the potion/ring gives total resistance to normal fires, and reduced damage only for magic fires, so it is significantly more powerful than this ability. I did briefly consider including a Witch, since there is the picture on the same page as the Amazon in Vol 1, but "Witch" has traditionally been considered an additional character class (or a female 8th level MU) and I decided to steer away from using any traditional character classes. However, it would be easy to add more backgrounds to supersede some character classes such Ranger, Monk, Bard, etc
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