initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: OSR Products on Lulu
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OSR Products on Lulu. This is just a list for reference of RPG products I've bought on Lulu.com, shared here for the enjoyment of others. I don't endorse any of these unconditionally, but there is some good stuff here. Albert Rakowski, Towers of Krshal. Albert Rakowski, Underworld Kingdom Volume One: Explorers of the Unknown. Albert Rakowski, Underworld Kingdom Volume Two - Dark Gods, Dark Magic. Albert Rakowski, Underworld Kingdom Volume Three - Untold Monstrosities and Eldritch Artifacts. Geoffrey McKi...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: How did these people get into the dungeon?
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015/08/how-did-these-people-get-into-dungeon.html
Friday, August 7, 2015. How did these people get into the dungeon? OD&D volume 3's Monster Level tables include numerous human-types in the dungeon, mostly a mix of fighting-men, magic-users and Chaotic clerics. Of the humans in volume 2, only Bandits and Berserkers appear. The rest are listed by their level titles from volume 1, and run the gamut from Warriors (level 2 Fighting-Men) to Wizards (level 11 Magic-Users) and Evil High Priests (level 8 Chaotic clerics). Supplement I: Greyhawk changes things a...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: Dungeon Markets and Other Neutral Spaces
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2014/06/dungeon-markets-and-other-neutral-spaces.html
Monday, June 30, 2014. Dungeon Markets and Other Neutral Spaces. Guillermo Del Toro's 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Michael Curtis's Stonehell megadungeon has a small kobold market on level 1, but it doesn't really have the same kind of flair that the Troll Market did. The 13th issue of Fight On! Does have a neat table for the "Goblin Market" that I think hints at the kind of wonder that Del Toro managed to create. The character of the market is one of neutrality. It's a natural place for NPCs t...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: The Mountains of Yuggoth
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-mountains-of-yuggoth.html
Thursday, July 23, 2015. The Mountains of Yuggoth. It came to the earth from lead-grey Yuggoth, where the cities are under the warm deep sea.". HP Lovecraft, "The Horror in the Museum". The sun shines there no brighter than a star, but the beings need no light. They have other, subtler senses, and put no windows in their great houses and temples.". HP Lovecraft, "The Whisperer in Darkness". Do windowless cyclopean towers lie beneath the forbidding black seas? July 23, 2015 at 11:34 PM. They Might Be Gaze...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: Chainmail and OD&D Morale
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015/04/chainmail-and-od-morale.html
Friday, April 24, 2015. Chainmail and OD&D Morale. In an RPG.net thread about OD&D, Mike Mornard posted an observation about Chainmail morale. As applied to a typical D&D scenario. Well, for starters. CHAINMAIL has "morale due to excess casualties," and it also assigns troop equivalents to manlike fantastic creatures (kobolds, goblins, etc.). So, goblins attack as heavy foot and defend as light foot. For morale checks, then, I'd treat them as Light Foot. Now, let's say they make it. So when the party is ...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: A different D&D movie
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015/08/a-different-d-movie.html
Tuesday, August 4, 2015. A different D&D movie. There's going to be another D&D movie, this time set in the Forgotten Realms. Let me tell you - that's boring. The Realms is too stocked with iconic characters who will never translate well to the screen, and there's no iconic plot that would work as a film. No, I've thought about this and I know what would make a good D&D movie. You sell it as high fantasy meets ultra stylized heist, Lord of the Rings. Oh, and the name? August 4, 2015 at 7:50 AM. This woul...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: Goblins are slow, Velociraptors are fast
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015/07/goblins-are-slow-velociraptors-are-fast.html
Sunday, July 19, 2015. Goblins are slow, Velociraptors are fast. I got to run a hangout game of OD&D with Greyhawk last night, and the above was the list of books I used in prep and while running the game (less the Arduin Grimoire which I wound up using because it was handy). I'm actually lookng at finally writing the module I've been meaning to write and wanted to run some players through the dungeon; it was successful. I have to give a positive mention to Geoffrey McKinney's Carcosa. OD&D with Greyhawk...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: July 2015
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015_07_01_archive.html
Thursday, July 23, 2015. The Mountains of Yuggoth. It came to the earth from lead-grey Yuggoth, where the cities are under the warm deep sea.". HP Lovecraft, "The Horror in the Museum". The sun shines there no brighter than a star, but the beings need no light. They have other, subtler senses, and put no windows in their great houses and temples.". HP Lovecraft, "The Whisperer in Darkness". Do windowless cyclopean towers lie beneath the forbidding black seas? Sunday, July 19, 2015. I used his "Spawn of S...
initiativeone.blogspot.com
Semper Initiativus Unum: March 2015
http://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015_03_01_archive.html
Tuesday, March 24, 2015. Fading Gems in Classic D&D. I'll preface this by noting that I prefer to use OD&D volumes II and III to roll up treasure for my classic games, no matter what rules I am nominally following. This has led me to notice a small but extremely meaningful change in gems, specifically. If you can't find a diamond like the one in the film Titanic. Which I figure would be in the 100,000-500,000 GP range), I think it diminishes gems as a vital part of the hoard. Tuesday, March 17, 2015.
