Alex Schroeder‘s Gridmapper is a free, online dungeon mapping tool. That’s a pretty crowded space these days, but Gridmapper stands out. Gridmpapper is a fantastic mapping tool, easy enough to use that I get my ideas down as fast as possible, but not so simple that it lacks options. I’ve experimented with lots of different
Quickly carve out dungeon maps with Gridmapper Read More »
I love weird gaming zines, and Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols[1] is one of my favorites. I bought the compilation of issues 1-6 on Lulu ($17), and it’s a delight. If you like Castle Amber (paid link), Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (paid link), or Anomalous Subsurface Environment, you’ll dig WMLP. It’s got gonzo, it’s got science-fantasy, and
Zine roundup: Wizards Mutants Laser Pistols, issues 1-6 Read More »
While I was comparing dungeon treasure stocking in B/X D&D and Labyrinth Lord, I noticed something in OD&D that surprised me: The way OD&D handles wandering monsters is delightfully unforgiving. At a glance, B/X looked pretty different in this regard, so I thought I’d compare the two. Let’s just look at level 1 in both
Wandering monsters: OD&D vs. B/X D&D Read More »
My head’s full of Labyrinth Lord at the moment (I’m working on a megadungeon), so I’m prodding the areas where divergence from B/X D&D (paid link) interest me in some way. So far I’ve looked at dungeon stocking, which is basically the same with a minor flavor difference, and dungeon doors, which aren’t the same
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After comparing dungeon stocking in B/X D&D and Labyrinth Lord, I went hunting for a detailed list of differences between the two games. I couldn’t find one (still looking!), but I did come across a post about stuck dungeon doors by Peregrin on RPG.net noting that there might be a difference there. There is one,
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I love megadungeons. I’ve often thought it’d be fun to design one, but balked because I’m not sure I have the chops and because of the sheer size of the undertaking. The solution to the first part of that problem is to just try it, but what about the second, the fact that it’s a
Patrick Wetmore on keying megadungeon rooms Read More »
The Gongfarmer’s Almanac is a free, community-created DCC RPG Fanzine — that link leads to the full run in PDF. If you don’t want to print it out yourself, see this G+ post from Jon Hershberger for other options. I ordered the complete run from him for about $7 — yes, $7 total. (They came
Zine roundup: The Gongfarmer’s Almanac, issues 1-6 Read More »
Last Gasp is a beautiful site by Logan Knight, compelling and raw and brimming over with enthusiasm and gorgeous (often NSFW) artwork. The tagline is “Art, Smut, and Role-Playing,” so you know exactly what you’re getting. I love random generators, and Last Gasp offers a stunning one: In Cörpathium. It combines a die-drop map (another
Last Gasp’s Cörpathium city generator Read More »
I was poking around on the Basic Fantasy forums when I came across a post by merias about how folks played OD&D, with a link to the Rythlondar Chronicles (originally uncovered and shared on Risus Monkey). I’m always interested in hearing about how gamers were playing RPGs before I got my start (in 1987), and
Rythlondar and gaming group size in the early days of D&D Read More »
Wayne Rossi wrote an excellent post, Clones and Rules, Inside and Out, about the apparently subtle differences between some retroclones and their sources which, in fact, produce non-subtle differences in play. Here’s an excerpt, from his comparison of OD&D (paid link) dungeon stocking to Swords & Wizardry dungeon stocking: An OD&D dungeon designed according to
B/X D&D vs. Labyrinth Lord dungeon stocking Read More »
