Larry Elmore’s famous red box Dragon has one horn

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DmMt2iDJLuU&t=1745s

Time 28:30. Wow, yep I don’t think I noticed before. Kinda weird. 

And this same fellow… born jan 1974, a video game art guy (call of duty)… loved dnd as a kid. His dad made him throw away all, satanic panic. Which lead to him missing them all and him becoming a collector later. 

Since the Jennel jaquays interview (and before) been reliving the 1974 od&d into 1989s and allows adnd 1e etc and dragon mags at the table AS they come up on the timeline. Wow, epic. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0MgGJIa573M&t=1122s&pp=0gcJCS0MAYcqIYzv He mentions half of that from about time 17:00 to 18:40. 

And check out that TIMELINE of all tsr stuff. I need it. 

Jennell Jaquays didn’t use roll straight down the line

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9yS8KuVg-20&t=1050s

She says at 17:00 that they quickly “got over” rolling 3, put it at top, roll 3, put it at next stat. Right, very quickly they used roll 4, pixk best 3, place where you want, so that you could CHOOSE THE CHARACTER you wanted.  

TSR and OSR top 20 lists

 https://figcat.com/lists/osr-and-old-school-dnd-adventure-modules/#the-list

And https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/12ualp8/i_compiled_a_list_of_the_most_frequently/

The Garden of Ynn sticks out bcuz like th dns cartoon’s Garden of Zinn. Review and author responds here… $3 on drivethru https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=4134

1e, B/X, OSR , power creep elimination was a goal

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5DsYWvslEyE&pp=0gcJCS0MAYcqIYzv

Time 7:00 explains well the issues from 1e Unearthed Arcana (Barb was OP, weapon specalization and dbl specialization) and in OD&D they at some point allowed +4 to hi and +6 dmg in a 18:00 fighter… silly bcuz 20% higher chance hit and approx Dbl dmg. 

Undead tools & Lich-Dragon from Dragon mag #234

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ugpPReoVTBY

Via Dragon magazine #234 from October, 1996. 

Dracolich named Daurgoth - Greenwood wrote. Wants to take over. Breath weapon actually turns ALL corpses into undead!!

Chalk of Barriers - 5000 gp. chalk that can prevent undead, any undead, from crossing the line. Doors, windows… and do a whole room (all walls) vs. strong undead. Weaker undead would explode if forced to cross line. CHARGES PER STICK OF CHALK- 30 charges equalnto 30 ft. of use. Normally het 1d4+1 in a box of chalk. Made from undead skeleton bones, by a necromancer or similar. 

Shroud of Sol/Sun - faery queen gave to elves. Absorbs sunlight one day. Open up and yse it for one hour. 

Great B/X BECMI starter module

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9CSI4ZuCZYc&pp=0gcJCS0MAYcqIYzv

QUEST FOR THE SILVER SWORD

Captcorajus does review. THERE ARE a half dozen more related box modules, in THUNDER RIFT. 1992 era. 

Short w lotsa cool magical happenings. 

Magic scare then +1 int for MU/wizard and elf, this is B/X Basic styke module, eh? . 

Ice spider thing freeze (but ur alive) … pcs would have to thaw, correctly guess.

Ice sword  

Ice throne  

Air pollution removed by area of Plant root

 https://m.youtube.com/shorts/UDE2LGfWnDI

It’s all the other things living in the soil near the roots that remove petrol related pollution. So the more they r exposed, the more of the microbes grow that help, the more air flow near roots the better. 

Australian researchers. 

FF #4 - Starship Traveller

 Starship Traveller

Starting Starship Traveller tonight!

Initial thoughts: Very Star Trek influenced... like a ton. Captain, science officer, medical officer, engineering officer, security officer + 2 guards. Beaming down to planets. Etc. 

A TON of stats you gotta roll up, for ship and crew. I got near max on ship weapons, but then the LOWEST for ship shields, meaning you die easily. Hell. Avg stats for the crew mostly. 

Well, I stumbled around and saw a few interesting things but couldn't find the black hole I wanted... it forced me to try something and wham, dead. 

TRY 2 NOW:

• The Ganzig reptilian guys ... reminds me of the name Danzig. Maybe someone is a ... dark/punk/goth/metal fan. 
• 
  

Against the Cult of the Reptile God - Shadowdark Campaign 2nd night

Against the Cult of the Reptile God

Playing with a group online. Shadowdark. 

First night was fine, bar fight, rolling char.s. 

Second night sure was fun! Our DM like me, never got to do the classic 1980s modules in the 80s, but sure wanted to. Now we're doing one and more to follow I do believe. 

The DM: He's great at describing scenes and characters... short and sweet, but very evocative. Also easy going, patience for all, and keeps things moving and entertaining. I'm damn lucky I found this group. Now if we can balance out the players so everybody gets equal "turns", we'll be in bang up shape. 

Convert TSR modules to Shadowdark (old AC to newer ascending AC)

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=08LZ-52WvAU&t=324s

For each hitdice, that’s a +1 to hit. 

AC is basically 20 - (the TSR era AC) = modern ascending AC. 

So like 0 tsr AC is 20-0=20 new school AC, I think. 

Ideas - Our Campaign rules vs. 5e dnd vs. any version really

 How about, to make higher levels more challenging in 5e, you CANNOT get surrounded? Feels more real. What happens? 

Let's codify it for real. 

NEW RULE TO TEST:

1. If you are a melee guy (spellcaster pc requirements should be 4+ guys maybe) and are surrounded by 5 or more bad guys, they can use a group swarm feature to basically mob attack you and wrestle you to the ground. 
1. So you become prone or... maybe incapacitated for a while. 
2. No saving throw or something very strong like that. 
3. No insta-lose, but put in a bad situation if you neglect tactics... like in real life you could not possibly survive when being hit from 5 guys at once. This ain't Shaw Brothers 1978 Kung Fu after all. :P
4. What's the counter? We need counters, besides just being in the perfect position to begin with. 
2. This strongly encourages positioning with friends to your back. 
3. You have to weight whether you want to flank... heck level 15+ PCs in 5e D&D don't need to flank, their to hit is super good. But the MONSTERS do need to flank. Is this going to prevent the DM from ever getting a flank? 
4. Is it going to be so restrictive that every fight looks like 4 PCs with their backs to each other? 
1. Or will they be encouraged to spread out so they don't get an AoE spell on top of the whole group? Assuming AoE / area attacks is common at that high a level. 

OSR module makers, yt and drivethrurpg

 https://starryknightpress.com/ seems smaller, I like their cover art a lot. 

https://www.darkwizardgames.com seems a little bigger, has a company company vibe, has a yt channel. Definitely going for the DCC feel of things, at least that's what I gather. The yt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC14Rz35BI0

And super nice, a TON of freebies for the next 2 days:

 🎁 FREE 1E / 5E MODULES & DOWNLOADS (LIMITED TIME): 📝 DOWNLOAD ALL 27 CHARACTER SHEETS FREE HERE: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.p... 🎲 Grab my FREE PDF of 64 1E AD&D Pre-Generated Characters (Tournament Style) here: https://www.darkwizardgames.com/downl... ⚰️ Grab the FREE PDF of my funhouse dungeon Hanging Coffins of the Vampire Queen (FREE through 10/21/2026): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.p... 🪄 101 Magical and Mystical Items 1E (FREE through 10/31/2026) 🔗 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.p... 🧙‍♂️✨ Fantastic Quest of the Whimsical One 1E (Erol Otus Cover) (FREE through 10/31/2026) 🔗 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.p... 🦑🌊 Voyage to the Forbidden Zone 1E / 5E (FREE through 10/31/2026) 🔗 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.p... 🐉👸 Palace of the Dragon's Princess 1E (FREE through 10/31/2026) 🔗 https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.p... 🔥 Check out Dark Wizard Games™ modules & releases: https://www.darkwizardgames.com ⭐ See Dark Wizard Games™ TESTIMONIALS from folks that LOVE our modules: https://www.darkwizardgames.com/testi... 📧 Subscribe to the Dark Wizard Games™ Email List for new releases, Kickstarter announcements, FREE stuff & more! (Sign up and you'll also get download links for a few FREE PDFs): https://fa9dd761.sibforms.com/serve/M... 👍 Like our FACEBOOK PAGE:   / darkwizardgames   🏘️📸 Old Town Los Gatos historical photos credit / source: San Jose & Santa Clara Valley Orchards / History Facebook Group:   / 26643994001968224   ⚠️ DISCLAIMER: Dark Wizard Games™ is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with TSR, Wizards of the Coast, or Hasbro. All product names, trademarks, and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Any opinions and commentary expressed in this video are my own. This video is presented for commentary, discussion, and entertainment purposes. 🎬 WATCH MARK IN FILM, TV & MUSIC VIDEOS: Mark Taormino is not only a "hack" OSR writer... he's also a hack actor who has nearly 100 IMDB credits working in movies, tv, music videos (Lil Wayne "Krazy," Kesha "My Own Dance," Sabrina Carpenter "Tears" and many more), commercials etc. Here are some clips from a few projects he has been a character in since 1988.

FF - Citadel of Chaos. Cool but hard.

Fighting Fantasy books. #2 is the Citadel of Chaos. Playing now.  

You apparently need some items to get past certain parts. I am low on time, so after a few misfires, I'm going to get a walkthrough to get past the stuck parts. 

More info/art: https://officialfightingfantasy.blogspot.com/2021/03/blast-from-past-citadel-of-chaos.html

Using a medium bit of: https://spikesnlead.co.uk/2024/03/26/citadel-of-chaos-walkthrough/

Interesting analysis (jp): https://note.com/snichnd/n/n94cb09832d87?hl=en

Probably shoulda just used "long but fun path guy" again: http://www.arek.bdmonkeys.net/FF/sols/sol1.html

So during my unhelped run(s)... it is amazing how they try to use common sense or logic to make the choices matter. But also keep you on your toes and not be too obvious ever. Sometimes it is just luck.  Examples of logic:

1. Abruptly sit down with monsters and more or less demand info. If you are polite, they don't trust you. Yep, I thought like an orc and so made it past that part. 
2. Later there are shapeshifter monsters... you have a semi-broken magical gadget that sort of shapeshifts, so they like it. 
3. ... 

OK I finished it, had some help with several parts. Pretty cool. I'll say I enjoyed the beginning the most, maybe because I chose so well at the start and figured things out. Midway and to the end I was getting my butt stomped. 

Near Final thoughts:

• The magic was cool, but very much had its own rules. Was as unreliable as any hard choose your own adventure type option, sadly. Sadly? I think that's how these games work, I was just going in thinking it was D&D spells that ... well what was I thinking, saving throws and save or suck [why isn't this called "save AND suck", because if they made their save it's going to suck for you the caster... anyway] is a thing. Then again that is why I always pick magic missile (always hits) and fireball/lightning bolt (does half even on a save... in most games). 
• When I fought him the first time, I somehow got into a sword fight, and it was kind of boring. Sooooo... even beating him, not satisfying. Watched Spellsinger, read comments... everybody said this fight was so cool. What'd I miss? Well let's see....

FINAL BATTLE REDO:

• OK, now this is much cooler. So many scenarios, even dying is fun. A couple of standouts in no particular order:
• Gorgon (medusa) 
• Claw beast
• The boss, Dire, uses a spell to turn his pupils white, leans back his head and moans, then his eyes are all silvery. It's a hypnotic gaze spell.
• He copies you to fight you.
• You throw a fire spell at his feet, he jumps back. Then he mutters a spell, his pupils become fire, he steps into your fire, grabs burning things, hurls it at you as a small fireball type spell.