Black Pudding #4

Black Pudding #4 is alive! Get yours today.

This issue features a 15 page OSR style play book. These are more-or-less the rules I have adopted for my own game. They harken back to older versions of the game, such as B/X, riffing on Labyrinth Lord, The Black Hack, and Swords & Wizardry... but with some "modernisms" such as ascending armor class.

Oh, and new classes to boot. And tons of meatshield NPCs. Boom.

Dwarfs of Lightning Spires

Here's a sheet for the dwarfs of the Lightning Spires, the eastern dwarfs of my OSR campaign setting Yria.

Following up on this post.

Yria Campaign Reference Sheets

I put together a bunch of reference sheets for my own OSR house rules. These rules are generally based on old D&D such as the 1981 version by Moldvay, Cook, and Marsh (B/X). But also on Swords & Wizardry White Box. This is incomplete, but since I am pausing this project for a bit I figured I'd share the whole current series for those who might be interested. Roll some dice!

Yria OSR Reference Sheets: Basic Stuff

I started putting together my favored OSR style rules, arranging them into sheets I can print and put into a ring binder for use at the table. The goal is to have a single binder with all the stuff I need to run games the way I like to run games. A lot of these sheets double as player handouts, so the players get a huge benefit as well. For example, you can just have a copy of the Fighter class if that's what you are playing. And so forth.

The project is currently called Yria Fantasy Campaign, named for the setting in which I place most of my OSR-style games. That could change. I favored Doomslakers OSR as the title, but people keep calling it Doom-SLACKERS... it's not "slackers". It's Doom-SLAKERS... as in "to slake the doom". *sigh* I always hated the slacker movement, so there's a negative vibe for me.

Anyway... back on point.

Yria is, of course, based on classic D&D via the various retroclones that emulate that game. Specifically, I'm using Swords & Wizardry White Box as the skeleton, with ample meat from B/X (Labyrinth Lord). I'm using ascending AC, so un-clench all you to-hit-table-haters.

The first sheet is pictured here. It's the very basic, common tools a Judge uses at the table. Stuff like reaction rolls and surprise, resting, healing, and opening doors.

I thought about going with a universal d6 system for all of that stuff, or going with ability checks like The Black Hack does. But in the end I decided this was such a small, simple list of tools that I could keep a ton of the original flavor without complicating or confusing the matter. It's really not that hard to remember when to roll a d6 and when to roll a d20.

Next up, a look at character creation. Also, all of this is subject to extreme change. And yes I do plan to compile the whole affair into some sort of book in the end.

White Box

Here are the two character sheets I did for Charlie Mason's White Box. White Box is a clone of original D&D. It's a very simple, stripped down game that is probably the easiest version to modify.

Wytchfynder

WYTCHFYNDER

AC 6 [13]; HD 2; DMG 1d6 or spell; MV 30; SV 15; ML 9

These black-garbed, frowning men are fixed points of moral authority in a world of sinful magic. They will always try to eliminate magic where it is found. They can detect magic within 20’ on a 3 in 6 roll. On a result of 4, they are convinced magic is present even if it is not.

Wytchfynders issue a divine decree that stuns the target for 1d6 rounds on a failed save. They may draw a magic circle trap around a subdued target. No one can break the circle from the inside unless they cast Dispel Evil or Wish, but it can be broken easily from the outside. The exorcism process takes 1d6 turns and deals 1 point of damage per round per wytchfynder. At the end, the victim must pass a saving throw or else be compelled to confess all sins (real or imagined) and be unable to use magic of any kind. By questing to reverse this damage and earning at least 1000 XP in the process the magical ban can be lifted.

Wytchfynders use sabers in combat and may cast 3 first level cleric spells per day. They are easily fooled by illusions and have a -3 penalty to save against them.

Tower of Boon Companions

Small Niche Games has released a new Swords & Wizardry White Box adventure featuring my cover art. Check it out!

Return of the Mad Hermit

I did the cover for Pete Sphan's latest Whitebox One-shot adventure Return of the Mad Hermit. Check it out!