Ravenscroft village

The village of Ravenscroft lies south of Thorgan's Pass, in the remote Goblin Downs [map]. The village is known for little besides it being the staging point for expeditions into the Ruins of Dwergard and the dwarven mines of the area. Apart from the village, there is but one other settlement in this part of the downs, the farm of Drina's Bastle.

D&D 3.X: Magic Rules 2.0

In an earlier post I sketched out a new system for magic in D&D 3.X. After having debated this with my wife, that system was abandoned in favour of something a little closer to Ars Magica. This has yet to be play-tested, but as it seems like the consensus may be leaning towards pulling the plug on LL, that may happen already next weekend.

Spellcraft

Like the Craft, Knowledge, Perform, and Profession skills, this isn't a single, defined skill, but rather a group of skills that fall under the same category. Spellcraft is divided into the separate schools of magic. Thus, each time the magic-user purchases a rank in Spellcraft, he must specialise in one of the eight schools, Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, or Transmutation.

Dungeons & Dragons 3.X: Ajax Configuration

While becoming aware of the shortcomings of Labyrinth Lord, I was also thinking about what to exchange it with. There are things I don't like about 3.5/PF, but the truth of the matter is that those systems also have things I do like. And then there's the not inconsequential aspect of us owning all but a few of the 3.5 books, as well as several d20 games, including Pathfinder. I just can't justify purchasing a new system just to play-test it.

Here the result of my ruminations. If we end up pulling the plug on LL, I think I'll use something like this:

This D&D 3^rd Edition hack intends to provide a system that balances the various aspects I want from of fantasy roleplaying. The chassis of this system is 3.5, with certain mechanics from Star Wars d20 Revised Edition welded on. Magic has also been been changed somewhat so as to give it certain Vancianesque qualities. Some house rules have also been included in this post.

I need me some OSR

Last weekend I ran a one shot dungeon crawl, and I realised that my tool-box is insufficiently stacked. So, on the off chance that I still have some readers, I'll try my hand at a little crowdsourcing.

I went with Pathfinder, and while it worked, the system is far too labour intensive for something like that. To save time at the table, my wife, a friend of mine and myself did (most of) the char-gen before the dinner, but since two of the four players had never played any D&D derivation there was too much crap on their sheets for a one-nighter. The other two weren't too familiar with 3.5/Pathfinder either, and while we all had fun, it left me thinking there has to be an easier way.

While I've been lurking on the fringes of the OSR for a few years, I do not know the difference between Labyrinth Lord and OD&D. Hell, I've never even played 1st Ed. What I would like is to get a system that allow my players to create their characters in no more than 20-30 minutes, and that will support more than just hack'n slash. I have no interest in minis, but I do have a love for skills and roleplaying. So my question to you is: Which system should I go for?

Wizards to give 1st Ed some love

In case you haven't heard yet, on April 17 this year, WotC is planning to release a reprint of the 1st Edition Dungeons & Dragons DMG, PHB and MM. This Premium Edition will, according to the WotC website, be "lovingly reprinted with the original art and content, but feature an attractive new cover design commemorating this re-release." Furthermore, parts of the proceeds will go to the Gary Gygax Memorial Fund. It also looks like these books will only be released through selected game stores across North America.

Now, if I was a cynic, or engaging in the Edition Wars, I'd say this is part of a plot to win back some of the respect they lost during the days of the ignominious 4E. I'm neither, so I wont. I do think it is an attempt to get in on the OSR action, though.

The original Wizards article.