https://oldschoolfrp.tumblr.com/
He's got some good stuff. Oh, tumbr, not blog. Says some interesting things per pict, where it came from, etc. Tons of stuff I've never seen before.
Examples:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lBa551SCZBQ&t=1069s
Woah Nellie, I forgot that. Was thinking d6 even for BECMI.
SAVE AS: F1 means like a Fighter at lvl 1. Look at that chart.
Asterisk * means pay attention special stuff. Reqd desciptioN.New Brit review guy Owen Edwards. (((note, he is fine w/ Labyrinth Lord, science-fantasy stuff too, so has a less narrow taste than many)))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKINq-YFqYk&t=981s
Commenter thuumhammer says Khosura, Baklin, and Castle Xyntillan by Gabor Lux (and honestly anything by Gabor)
Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage by Chris Perkins et al (actually has had some really good content for my 5e campaign) Incandescent Grottoes by Gavin Norman (really good OSR tutorial dungeon) Genial Jack Vol 1 & 2 by Jonathon Newell (well written and illustrated adventures inside a god whale) Blackmarsh by Rob Conley (unsure if a hexcrawl counts as a module but very good) Volo's Guide to Waterdeep by Ed Greenwood (again unsure if splatbooks count but it really paints a picture of the city and its locales) I actually picked up Huso's City of Brass at GaryCon, but haven't had a chance to read through it yet. The map is truly beautiful.Another guy Jeffgsim says
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ew-tZ9OmiaU&t=592s
Tenkar’s 3 things to hint at big danger (thx to ohfoti)
Senses Examples (his notes say: Sensory cues that raise the hair on your neck without giving away the answer) (Monster signatures that hint at the threat without naming it)
Sunday night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3DfunCCoIQ
I never realized just how many syllables in SO MANY words (old town names mostly) are skipped in British style English.
See BECMI Berserker’s yt on creating a MU time 17:00, where explains MU w a tower will want monsters to move into his dungeon to keep out trespassers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtMZDCOHFns&t=1052s
How interesting a concept. It could explain why lower deeper lvls in dungeons have harder monsters. Some magic encouragement or similar. I also imagine the harder monsters want to be further from humans to avoid fights at home.
Ideas spurned by comments from his B5 Horror On the Hill yt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKqdMus1LcA&t=1098s
NPC idea - gargoyles following him on adventures sounds rather cool… picturing this MU leaving his tower with two gargoyles in tow just simply puts a smile on my face. My next NPC also thanks you.
https://www.thevintagebookcompany.co.uk/products/dinosaurs-ladybird-series-737
Ladybird books
Dinosaurs
Castles
More
https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2013/04/vintage-dinosaur-art-how-and-why-wonder.html?m=1
I had this one below! https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2013/05/vintage-dinosaur-art-dinosaurs-little.html?m=1
And this https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2015/04/vintage-dinosaur-art-dinosaurs-start.html?m=1
Need to find that stamp book and the one from library i drew horns on protoceratops
Stamp one here https://chasmosaurs.blogspot.com/2016/04/vintage-dinosaur-art-animals-of-past.html?m=1
And from 1970s http://www.dinofan.com/dfcollectibles/dfCollectiblesImages/1087_1.gif
See wiki, very cool Forgotten Realms story
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Iniarv
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mere_of_Dead_Men
Via DodCheddar’s comment on Loki Lair’s yt on Barrowmaze. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNrICmCezgM
He was saying it seems like Barrowmaze is a retelling of the Ebondeath twin dragon story around Iniarv and Mere of Dead Mean, from FR.
Another comment was@philv2529 "Mark Evanier wrote a dungeons and dragons cartoon episode that took place in the village of Helix."
Been a blast. First time (in a "real TTRPG game") playing a straight up Wizard and not a Sorcerer. I'm manning four level 3 characters:
Forest, mixed forest, then caves.
Teenaged big brown bear, no conflict.
Ran into 4 guardsmen from town... they helped us fight some of the 5 goblins + adept. Ended up getting hurt as they went in first (and were fired on first) when we found a couple of huts.
Sent a lost traveler back to the village.
Avoided two owlbears (2d6 roll attitude and another roll for distance, both pretty heavy in our favor, meaning they almost attacked anyway).
Found the 2 strange cave fairies/pixies... they were helpful, had some +1 arrows.
A brownie. Told me about the hut (with the centipedes).
Stayed in an abandoned hut, two giant centipedes.
Two Worgs attacked. Spike growth to deter, but they kept at it. One finally ran, one died.
Found a crumbling tower of sorts, had steps up to a high pine tree. Saw gnoll writing (goblin = enemy). Wildshape as cat to get up there easily. Found a longbow.
Fought goblin ambush and 2 bugbears. Web spell saved the day, was fun. Wizard's Web + druid's bonfire spell was a nice combo. Bugbears hit HARD at this level, was scary, one fighter was down to 1/5 of his HP... half a hit away from 0.
Found a halfling who had been changed into a skunk (he could still talk) by goblins with experimental potions. How are they getting or making these potions?
70% swamp, 30% forest area. Witnessed the often foreshadowed goblin clan vs. goblin clan fighting each other. Could have went in for a fight, but instead snuck in as a robin with wildshape. Found some potions, changed to a hawk to carry out a couple. Was able to sneak out. Cured the halfling. Let the goblins kill each other, slipped away quietly.
Full Swamp area.
4 Stirges came at us.
Negotiated with suspicious but 3 non hostile lizardmen. Went fine.
The Cultists = *the highlight of the night.
The Cultists! Dark hooded figures, black ripped robes, briars around their shoulders, faces hidden in darkness the entire time. Four of them, we had spotted a fire as it got darker outside. Tried to sneak in for a closer look, startled a crow which alerted them to us. Decided to announce our presence and appear non hostile. Fire was unnatural, some ritual. They asked about their "god". We tried to part ways, they spoke to their fire, which had been rising higher before we disturbed them. A weird fire of red and green. And now a mouth appeared above the fire, ordering them to not let us go (apparently, couldn't understand). They got hostile... roll init!
My guys got some lucky rolls. Trapped them with spike growth, Chromatic orb level 2 hit for big dmg twice. Got two crits. When the first one died, the fire "swallowed him". When another died further from the fire, we saw a slight ember of flame in the would as he died. Another died close to the fire and the wound's ember went to to the fire. Etc.
Are the cultists in cahoots with someone in the swamp?
Creeping Doom. Oh yeah, this is the Druid version I first knew. Completely broken powerful magic at high levels. Creeping doom is the best broken spell ever. I also love the flavor of plant door, pass plant, transport through plants.
BATTLE SCENE w/ Creeping Doom
Let's play one out b/c I'll never get to use it in a "real game". Well… never say never as a DM.
SCENE: The orcs and ogres have assembled a small army, perhaps 3,000 in number. Nasty, motley armored, and with a great many blades of steel, missiles, and weapons of war. They come, to press against the distant villages of man... they would come through His wood. They will not live to regret it, because the Druid knows they move today. The animals speak to him of it.
He is ready. He's watched the skies and feels a storm many leagues away, he shall draw it closer now; it begins. The orcs squinting upward think the darkening skies are a not a portent of doom, but a cloak of favor to hide the hateful sun. Oh how very wrong they are. The air veritably crackles with energy... the Druid feels the power swelling slowly as the clouds gather strength. Now from on high he sees the evil band of monsters far away on their approach. They march to their doom, he thinks to himself. Never again will they trample and tear at this blessed place as long ago they might. No, they mustn't; he will uphold his duty.
With the power of the living world around him he gathers his thoughts and reaches out to the primal forces of the elements. His mind becomes cold, focused, sharp,… like a clear shard of icicle on a cold winter’s morn his thoughts converge. Slowly he raises his hands towards the sky, then as blue-white power crackles between his fingers and from his eyes, he points now to the still distant horde. A blast of lightning erupts from the clouds in a crack and thunder, smiting a flank of monsters - burning, erupting, and charring them to pieces. And again lightning flashes, thunder pounds, and fell beings die. The creatures in great fear move away from the blasts, stupidly gathering closer together. Like flies to the biting plant they move.... or is it the other way around?
The Druid closes his eyes. He clenches his jaw and breathes in slowly, ... a moment passes and the air warms... a single wasp lands on his shoulder for another moment then flies away. Suddenly the man exhales in a roar like a hundred bears in a language much like the wrath of violent tempests, but others might simply call those words CREEPING DOOM!
In the meadows below, a green eldritch light shines down from the dark clouds. The dirt stirs from a million tiny legs, and the grasses blow from a million small wings. A magical swarm of hating, angry insects and small many-legged creatures shimmer into existence, some tiny, some giant. Like a vast muddy storm swollen river they writhe and crawl, quickly blanketing, biting, and stinging vast swathes of the evil horde. Eyes and ears fill with angry ants and tiny powdery moths. Orc necks swell as they choke on screams of hate and terror, mouths instantly filled with biting tiger beetles, running cockroaches, and stinging bees. Huge beetles bigger than the ogres’ own fists bite at the ugly creatures feet, monstrous centipedes crawl up legs stinging as they will, while giant wasps with a strike like a rogue’s poisoned dagger pierce the ogres faces, swelling them till they can no longer see, can no longer taste the sweet air. Scores of two-legged villains fall dying and dead.
Those horde’s soldiers with life yet slash at the small creatures vainly, for destroying one where a hundred take its place is hopeless. They are DOOMED.
The few of the horde at the rear flanks break away before they too are covered and bitten to grisly death. They run. The lucky few that abandon their plight might live to tell the tale… back to the dank caves from which they came, they run.
The front flanks break away too, but not so lucky, straight to their death as thunder bolts flash down from the darkened heavens to explode around them. More evil falls dead. Others feel the sting not of the wasp, but their own armor burning them like the burning of red magma from hell’s furnaces. They fall, sickly smoke rising from the carcasses.
A group of large orcs with tattered leathers and warpaint stained bows in hand make it past the milieu, hate in their red eyes, they see the druid on his perch high above them. Before they can knock a single vile black arrow, their bows glow with a purple and violet, then bend and twist and warp into useless sticks… strings falling away. Our druid points at the vile creatures, his mind reaching out, “Hunt, my friends!”.
And the wolves and bears from the forest do hunt. They track down every last black-hearted monster that remained and devour them. What the beasts leave behind, the raven and vulture peck, the maggot and worm gnaw, and soon enough there will be naught of the devastated horde but white bones that bleach in the coming suns. Then the druid and this forest realm are sated; calm returns.
... [to be finished in a bit. ]
See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5Byz_06Okc , but mine would be named Brainy not Beardy, if we play his light-hearted game of names.
Even without that, I see now great combos (note, Rules Encyclopedia lists one extra spell per level than the Blue Companion set book)-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkY3i9TNZlg&t=92s
Technically he calls it NO CONSEQUENCES NO TENSION, NO GAME. Has good points-
X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO2pvoloEB4&t=635s
Ex.
B&W art time 25:20, get it.
AZmountaineer's vid on Blackmoor part 1 is very good, Dave Arneson stuff, he let them publish via Judge's Guild in the 1970s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1_RJ59BlgU&t=483s&pp=0gcJCU0KAYcqIYzv
Hidden in Shadows blog, by Danielboggs2013, seems to know a ton. See his comment on AZmountaineer/oldschoolrules yt video about it (yt link above)
https://boggswood.blogspot.com/
Maybe relevant, random google :
