Labyrinth Lord – Referee Screen

Yesterday I received my signed copy of the recently released Labyrinth Lord Referee Screen from the Kickstarter project. Unfortunately, the post man decided it needed a curl. No real damage was inflected. The curve will flatten out in time.

I’m impressed with the quality of the screen. The finish is as good and likely better than any other screen I’ve owned. All the pertinent tables are present for easy reference. I’m looking forward to giving it a maiden run.

LL Hoard Generator with a Basic/Expert twist

Ever stumble when using a Dungeons & Dragons resource while running Labyrinth Lord™? Treasure Type vs. Hoard Class can be hard to determine on the fly Unless you have Lands of Ara’s handy Hoard Conversion Table. Then the process is pretty simple.

Rather than invent yet another treasure generation system, I applied the table to the Hoard Generator. Now you can plug in the A-V Treasure Types and produce treasure compatible with the Labyrinth Lord™ Hoard Class.

QED. Another task checked off the TODO list.

Blending: AD&D DMG and LL Magic

When I see a surge in traffic, I go look at the source. The current surge is due to Planet Algol. The link was the Labyrinth Lord Treasure Utility.

The interesting statement was:

This and This are really useful for stocking a megadungeon (and is why I’m always whining about Swords & Wizardry not using Treasure Type); did anyone ever make one for dungeon-by-level stocking according to OD&D and the DMG Appendix A?

I didn’t make one for dungeon by level stocking according to OD&D. I did tweak something to use my Labyrinth Lord data to fit Appendix A of the DMG. Far from perfect given the source tables. Good enough for today. Visit the blended material if you would like

Unboxing: Collector’s Edition White Box Set

I love getting mail. This arrival took far longer than I anticipated but was worth the wait. I splurged on the purchase. I have been wanting a complete set in better condition than the books I already owned. Now I have one. The set is an Original Collector’s Edition. It’d be cool to have the original printings. Not happening with my budget.

Box

Boxed Contents

Core 3, Reference Sheets, Supplements I - IV

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Origins – The Deck of Many Things

The Deck of Many Things is one of the most debated magic items within the Dungeons and Dragons universe. The discourse centers on the ability of the deck to disrupt the balance of the game and the lethality of many cards. Rather than debate the deck again, I just wanted to take a look at the item as it was originally depicted along with differences in the next few incarnations.

Greyhawk Supplment I

The Deck of Many Things first appeared in 1975 in Supplement I for the White Box edition by Gygax and Kuntz. The deck is described on pages 59 and 60 in my third printing copy from 1976. It is the final entry of the Miscellaneous Magic section.

This device is a pack of 18 parchment cards, 4 each of four kinds and 2 jokers. Each of the four in each kind is different. One-half bring beneficial things, and one-half cause hurtful things. The person possessing such a deck may select cards from it four times (or more if jokers are drawn), and whatever is revealed by the card selected takes place.

The deck strikes a tone of balance – half good, half bad. The description uses face cards from the four suits of a normal deck of cards along with two jokers. The simplicity allows quick construction of a deck to use in play.

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A Library with a Blue Book? Early memories from a friend

As I was browsing around for some early whitebox supplements, q popped in. After discussing what I was looking at, he had an amusing anecdote. To protect the less than innocent, names have been changed and my responses have been removed.

q has a copy of the early blue book (pre ‘basic’)
q says, “I stole mine from the village library”
q says, “I checked it out at one point, and then months later checked it out again, and I had been the only person to check it out”
q says, “I was worried they would purge it.”
q says, “So I stole it to save it.”
q, chaotic neutral

My home town library didn’t have copies of any D&D materials. Finding a rule book in the library in that era is astonishing. I applaud the library staff for including it. Granted, q wasn’t an upstanding citizen but he has his alignment down even if it came from later editions.

I survived the September of Short Adventures

I Survived - Thank you Moustache Dragon

Asshat Paladin’s A September of Short Adventures

SoSA was challenging but a good time. I’m not overly impressed with a few of my entries. Time slipped a way occasionally and I had to hammer out an idea quickly to make the post rate. Some of those “quickies” also became cool ideas I’d like to explore further.

/Matt has posted a list of entries by blog you might find helpful and plans to add a list by system as well. With the dawning of October, I can take some time to read through all of the excellent contributions.

My Entries

1. Horse Thief: A Boot Hill Adventure set in Colorado Territory
2. Besieged: A Zombie D6 Scenario set in Meadows Sanctuary
3. Daring Heist: A Boot Hill Adventure set in Colorado Territory
4. Death Gift: A Labyrinth Lord Adventure
5. Down for the Count: A Short Labyrinth Lord Adventure
6. Derailed: A Boot Hill Short Adventure
7. Rumblings of Pinnacle Peak: A Labyrinth Lord Adventure
8. Fly Trap: A Short Top Secret/Systemless Adventure
9. Stepping Stones: A Short Labyrinth Lord Adventure
10. KP Duty in the Dungeon: A Short Labyrinth Lord Adventure
11. Parasitic Horror: A Labyrinth Lord Short Adventure
12. Crooked Creek Tomes and Scrolls: A Short Labyrinth Lord Adventure
13. Fouled Fountains: A Short Labyrinth Lord Adventure
14. The Banshee of Beacon Hill: A Short Labyrinth Lord Adventure
15. You Aren’t If You Are Eaten: A Weird West Adventure
16. Swindler Soapy Smith: A Boot Hill Adventure in Colorado Territory
17. A Dispute over Spirits: A Short Boot Hill Adventure
18. The Good Ole Boy: A Systemless Short Adventure
19. Here Be the Goblins – A Lair Level Encounter for Labyrinth Lord
20. The Petrified Man – A “Soapy” Smith Adventure for Boot Hill
21. Boar Bounty: A Labyrinth Lord Adventure set in Korton Forest
22. Silence on Deck: A Labyrinth Lord Short Adventure
23. Drop the Hammer: A Modern Adventure for Survival Style Games
24. One Eye’s Wine: A Labyrinth Lord Short Adventure
25. Caution – Danger Ahead: A Labyrinth Lord Short Adventure