Recent content by Simon Miles

I wrote a Blog Post about this a while ago. Our fave is OSRIC because it's stripped down but not soulless. The changes they have made are sensible (some were changes we had already made ourselves) and it improves on the original by having an index that works. Blog - What is OSR? - 01 Sep, 2024 -...

Surely the DM needs to know the setting but the players have to discover it? Although I suppose the characters would know something of their setting. Something for session zero I suppose..

The majority here seem to be fans of the Tropes and I would tend to agree. There is always space for something different though. I think a good setting needs to have some loose ends, some gaps where something odd could manifest itself.

Yes. I didn't get into the whole alignment thing but you are quite correct, the d&d format has alignment to the core. I have tried doing without it but I have found it leads to poor characterisation and inconsistent characters. Instead I have slightly reinterpreted the definitions, good =...

This is an ongoing development for me. I started with the classic boxed text and then the description underneath in a single paragraph, like the old TSR stuff. I even remember when the boxed text was a new idea! But this is clunky, it delays play. The text gets ignored and the details are lost...

Seen this... Www.dunrominuniversitypress.co.uk

Reading these replies there seems to be a conflation of Cosmology and Mythology. The fundamental idea seems to be a spherical, Earth-like planet (ish) orbiting a sun. That's fine and most of those answering that it doesn't impact their game seem to assume that it's all a normal Big Bang style...

I like the cut of your jib! I do like these vast mega-dungeons that seethe with eldritch horror and creeping doooooom. The problem is that (in my experience) the players get fear-fatigue pretty quick. No matter how many nightmares their characters have or Fear Saves (or San Checks) they have to...

We are a (very) small non-professional publisher based in the UK. The initial draft of all our products has been done in Word using two columns of 11point, 14 for subtitles and such. Our favoured font is Footlight MT Light, but this is a personal preference as it looks a little bit more Olde...

1e - base system with Unearthed Arcana but the Barbarian and the Cavalier nerfed a bit. 2e- variable spends in Thief Skills 3e - erm, nothing really... 4e - never read it... 5e - I like the idea of unlimited Cantrips, but using the UE Cantrip lists. And that's it... I just REALLY like 1st ed...

I remember that White Dwarf magazine in the UK doid a feature on Vampires, way bakc in issue 40 or 50-something I think. It was for 1st ed D&D but had a different slant on the classic vampire, making them more in keeping with the culture that created them. For instance, rather than a stake...

A little bit of self-promotion here but Barnaynia is a fun location. It's pretty Greyhawk/Forgotten Realms at low level but as you start travelling around it gets a lot more esoteric. due to the nature of the World: The Fabulous City of Dunromin - The Ultimate Fantasy City play setting for...

Osric. Although there's plenty of other stuff if you want it...

Yes indeed, and A4 contained what is, for my money, one of the greatest pieces of art ever used in a TSR Scenario - the black and white Myconid pouring a potion. Brilliance by Ero Otus.