I found players who don't care (in a good way!)

I read a lot of complaints from GMs/Players who would like to run through some old-school adventures but seem to be the only one in the group holding such sentiment. They end up playing 3x or 4e because, well, it's the only game they can get going, and if one truly wants to game, they'll get it any way they can.

It's better than nothing (for most). Put into the same predicament, I would do the same thing.

However, I was lucky. When I got the itch to play again, I found the Labyrinth Lord rules, devoured them, and decided to set up an old-school game. Easier said than done? Actually, it was.

Fortunately I work in a design firm filled with some movie/comic/sci-fi geeks...and not ONE of them has ever played an RPG. Sure they did the online thing for a while, but never a tabletop, pen 'n' paper, fist full o' dice role-playing game. I extended an invitation. they accepted, and we have been going strong ever since.

In fact, after a few gaming sessions, a couple of my players got so into the idea of RPGs, they went out and snatched up everything they could find, such as AD&D1e, Lejendary Adventure, Star Frontiers, Alternity, OSRIC, C&C, etc. They sat in on a 4e game and had a good time (however, it coincides with a 1e game they are deeply involved in).

What's so great is that "old-school" and "edition wars" mean zilch to these people. While my players are my age and older, they did not grow up playing RPGs and seem to shrug off the ideals that bring about so much fist waving. Labyrinth Lord was their introduction into RPGs, they are having a great time, and now they would be up for anything. Sure, they may find a game that they don't enjoy, but to them that doesn't mean others are "playing it wrong" or the game is "wrong" or rules are "wrong" or the type of chips served at the game are "wrong." It's just a game.

Also, the term old-school or new-school means nothing considering they started off with LL. To my players, Labyrinth Lord is new-school! Heck, RPGs in general are new-school to them.

So, really, these guys don't care. Just bring it on, 'cause they're ready to have whatever fun they are looking to have, if that makes any sense. :) (I would just say, "ready to have fun", but Raggi has given me a complex about using the term.)

My One Page Dungeon

This is a cleaned-up and branded version of The Lost Staves of Maurath that I sent in to the Chatty DM/Chgowiz's One Page Dungeon contest.

It was a quickie to slam together, but time was limited while getting The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord ready for test-play. Still, I wanted to submit something and I figure that this fun little cavern-crawl is better than nuthin'. :)

That being said, I had a great time writing this and I plan for more one page adventures to be released under the Classic Deep Level Dungeon Mini Adventure brand. They will remain edition-neutral with minimal monster and treasure details, but will make a great springboard for anyone looking to plug in a quick adventure into their campaign.

So a big shout-out and thanks to our favorite Chatty DM and Old Guy for the idea that inspired so many people involved in FRPGs to produce some adventure material!


*UPDATE

I've noticed that this particular post generates a LOT of noise, and I assume it's because people are searching for One Page Dungeon entries. Unfortunately, ...Maurath is no longer available from PRG as a One Page Dungeon. Fortunately, it has been available for quite a while as a full length free module. Download and enjoy!

Randall at RetroRoleplaying: a request and offer

Randall at RetroRoleplaying: The Blog is hitting a rough patch on an already bumpy road dealing with the cost of his wife's cancer treatment. He explains more on his blog.

To help with costs, Randall is offering up PDFs of the two issues of The Grimoire, an RPG fanzine he published in the 70s. These 'zines were lovingly produced with a manual typewriter and, according to Randall, "It contained a wide variety of material for D&D and boardgames."

You'll also get a pdf copy of The Second Grimoire of Pharesm the Bright-Eyed, a set of house rules for BECMI.

This stuff was produced when the old-school was new, so it should be interesting to see the dedication poured out for what was a relatively new hobby. Read about issue #1 and #2 if you're interested and then see if you can donate any amount to receive them in PDF format, or if you're unable to donate, spread the word on a blog or two.

RetroRoleplaying: The Blog

Sunday's test-play successful (so far)

My group began test-playing The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord this past Sunday. We made it about 2/3rds of the way through the adventure, and while the party was knocked around a bit, not one character died! Yes, even Jason's thief survived this first go-around. A rarity and I applaud him.

We'll complete this adventure on May 30th and then it's time for tweaking. As a side note, I should be working on Beyond the Midway Post before I do any work on the Minotaur Lord, but that one's been shelved for the time being. It will see the light of day, just not so soon.

Anyway, this adventure will be the last with my loyal test-players Buzz and Cathy. The married couple are moving 21 hours away, so I don't think think they'll make our bi-weekly (or so) gaming sessions. I guess there's always Skype! *tear*

As a going away present, a few co-workers and I found a Fine-graded copy of Captain America #100 at a local comic convention and snatched it up at a decent price. This is the only Cap issue he's missing from his collection, and he was nearly speechless to say the least. It was awesome.

Buzz and Cathy are fun players and they will be missed. Here's hoping that they plug into a game soon after settling in.

I'll post about our next session and hopefully I'll have a time frame for publication.

Brave Halfling Publishing is live!

The fine folks at Brave Halfling Publishing finally have their home site up and running. The time and dedication paid off and it looks impressive. As I've mentioned previously, with their foot firmly in the OSR as well as getting their other foot wet in C&C and 4e D&D, I'm ready to see some big things come out of these guys. It's a nice bridge from old to new-school (and vise-versa).

Good luck BHP!

Knockspell, an apology, and good news

I see that Knockspell #2 is out already. I told Mr. Finch a long time ago that I had an adventure that would be a good one for the magazine and I would get it to him ASAP. He thought that was great.

Well, life happens, and as different obstacles stood in the way and as my test-play games could not get on track, I was not able to get the adventure to him. I know Matt has probably met more than his fair share of fellers who are gung-ho about a project only to fall off the face of the earth the next day, but I didn't want to be that guy. The guy who says he'll do something one minute and then forget your name the next. That guy.

Actually, I'm sure most indie publishers have met that guy while waiting for design, artwork, or whatever. *shudder* Not fun. Especially when you're ready to push your product out the door.

Now although it's not the biggest deal in the world, still I would like to apologize to Matt for not keeping in touch with him, at least just to say, "It won't be ready." From now on, if I have something I'd like to submit (whether it's to Knockspell or to my church's bake sale), I better be on top of my project or my communication skills.

That being said, here's to much success to the new issue of Knockspell!

In other news, I am finaly test-playing The Labyrinth Tomb of the Minotaur Lord this weekend. My usual gang of players will be there sans Dynamic Dan who will be venturing to Wonderfest in Kentucky. Although I have always been more into comic books and heavy metal than models, it does look like a good time for all interested.

RPG Blog Carnival for the OSR

Just for fun, I snaked the RPG Blog Carnival questions regarding "The Future of Roleplaying" from Roleplaying Pro and answered them with the OSR in mind.

What games do you see emerging as the big players in the near future?

Mythmere Games. Between S&W and Knockspell Magazine as well as their support for the OSR, I can see their snowball getting bigger as it rolls along.

What companies should we be watching out for to release the next big product?

Brave Halfling Publishing is beginning to do everything from old-school to 4e and are now top sellers on RPGnow (for classic-type RPGs).

However, Chaotic Henchmen Productions made a big splash with Guy Fullerton's Dungeon Module F1 - The Fane of Poisoned Prophesies.

One of these two companies will produce the next adventure everyone will be blogging about.

How will technology become more integrated into roleplaying games?

It already has or else most of these indie publishing companies would not exist (including PRG!).

What industry writer do we need to be on the look out for?

James Edward Raggi. A quality writer and a hell of a chance-taker.

What blogs do you see exploding into becoming the next big thing?

I really don't know. The few I frequent include Grognardia, Greyhawk Grognard (I'm a fan of his Castle of the Mad Archmage), and LotFP, among others.

What do you see for the future of the industry?

I see a paper-thin, superficial coating of "you're not playing it right" with a meaty center of fun-for-all house rules, picked from the various RPG faves. People diving into "old-school" playing will want to get EVERYTHING - Labyrinth Lord, S&W, OSRIC, BFRPG. etc, as well as their supplements - and take what they like from each (while using one set of rules as the system of choice).

I would also like to believe that these house rules will result in more fan-produced material.

One Page Dungeon sent out

Well, I bit the bullet and drew up a quick adventure for the One Page Dungeon contest. It's titled The Lost Staves of Maurath. It's a fun little low-level dungeon crawl, so it will be cool to see how far it can go.

Those of you interested in putting something together for the contest, you still have time. Click the link above for details and get something sent in before May 14th!

The 4C System FASERIP clone

I was a big, big fan of the original Marvel Superheroes RPG from TSR. My friends and I spent hours playing our favorite heroes (and I even attempted a game as Howard the Duck).

Well, there's a free public domain release clone of this "FASERIP" system called the 4C System. You can download it here.

You can also find the forum 4C4Ever! (dedicated to the 4C System) here.

This is great for the indy publishers interested in providing new material for this classic game. In fact, once the Labyrinth Lord adventures I have planned are finally finished, Prime Requisite Games might set its sights on publishing some 4C material. We'll have to see what the future holds.

Here's to much success to 4C.

A couple of Green Devil Faces

James Edward Raggi IV over at LotFP has released Green Devil Face #1 and #2. This seems like an excellent community effort spearheaded by Mr. Raggi to enhance our game-time with early FRPGs and their clones.

The section titles are clever (Mummy Tar Trap Room of Death, The Lumberjack is Not OK, Yet Another Stupid Giant Chessboard, just to name a few). Plus, the cover to #2 is cool as hell.

Swords & Wizardry Core Rules 2nd Printing!

The all-new 2nd printing of Swords & Wizardry rules are out and available as a FREE download at Lulu!

After you get it, check out Mythmere Games' website from my posted links.

Lovin' the retro-clones! Keepin' em in print!

"Brigand Crypt" now in print

I have made Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt available for print at Lulu!

I have updated this version, as well as the free PDF downloads, to fix some glaring typos and to add a page of simple pre-generated characters that players can use for immediate play or as NPCs to help round out the party.

Now, as we who buy/sell on Lulu all know, the shipping prices there have gone (way) up. For an undetermined amount of time, I will be selling Prime Requisite Games adventures through Lulu at cost to help ease the inflated prices.

It may not be much, but any amount will help. :)

Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt now available

Prime Requisite Games is proud to announce a new Labyrinth Lord / BASIC RPG adventure available as a FREE download!

Classic Deep Level Dungeon Adventure DLD2: Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt

The legend of an ancient crypt outside the ghost town of Iron City tells of a powerful curse and those who venture there will surely meet their doom. A group of bloodthirsty brigands moved into the city, using its rotted dwellings as a base for their terrible raids on local travelers. When the thieves suddenly vanish, fears and questions arise about where they went and what was left behind.

Can your party survive the traps and puzzles that surely lie within the crypt in hopes of finding the brigands’ abandoned treasure?

Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt is a fearsome adventure for character levels 1-3. For use with the Labyrinth Lord™ rules or other Basic RPG systems.

Available for FREE at Lulu, Scribd, and Issuu.

Preview of the "Brigand Crypt" cover

Although Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt will not be released for a little while longer, we thought you might like to check out the cover art for PRG's latest adventure.

Test-play for new adventure went well

The test-play session for Fabled Curse of the Brigand Crypt was fantastic. The players had a good time even though Jason lost his thief (again).

We will mourn his character's lack of hit points here (again).

A few things need to be tweaked and a few details need to be added, but I hope to have this adventure ready for a FREE download asap.