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Yesterday for the first time I ran a dungeon with Roll20's Dynamic Lighting turned on. Wow! I was impressed. I had heard the prep for it was onerous, but it wasn't bad at all; only ~15 minutes per level to put the walls on the map. I had RL timers going for torches and the lights went out...

Here's a more complex room to consider. This very topic came up recently on the OSR D&D reddit. A poster there made an "OSR-style" edit of a room from The Temple of Elemental Evil. I strongly prefer the original here (although it is a bit wordy):

I disagree that a description in an idiosyncratic shorthand like "Glazed brick walls (iridescent black)." is easier to read than the same information in a syntactically complete sentence, e.g. "The walls are made of brick and glazed an iridescent black." I'm quite certain the latter is both...

The joke was imagining the DM actually treating the abbreviated descriptions as boxed text and reading it verbatim. I know they wouldn't, but I still don't like this style of room description. I think it's easier and faster to read complete sentences.

I'm talking about how quickly RL venomous predators kill their typical prey. A mouse is to a rattlesnake as a D&D character is to a D&D poisonous monster.

Mmm...I don't like this at all. I appreciate the emphasis in recent OSR adventures on usability, and the willingness to experiment with format, but I don't think this particular trend will last. Player: I open the door. DM: Earth roof Player: Uh...? DM: Why use lot word when few word do trick?

In old school D&D straight combat is actually not very scary. The scariness comes from save-or-die effects, most often poison. I will add btw that save-or-die poison actually makes complete sense (there's usually someone who complains this is unrealistically lethal). The venom of real...

Kidnap the Archpriest is an OSR adventure loosely based on the real historical kidnapping of Pope Martin I by order of the Byzantine Emperor Constans II.

OK, but are you implying that those who like orcs in D&D are indulging repressed racist beliefs? I don't think so. I think "The black brute is lurking in the dark, a monstrous beast, crazed with lust. His ferocity is almost demoniacal. A mad bull or tiger could scarcely be more brutal. A whole...

Absolutely yes. In Indian mythology Devas ('angels') are traditionally depicted as light-skinned and Asuras ('demons') as dark-skinned. And of course, almost every society considers fair skin more attractive (at least in women). Skin-whitening creams are popular all over the world, including...

I think the association between fairness and beauty (and beauty and goodness) runs deeper than racism. Last I checked it's considered scientifically plausible that blond hair, blue eyes and even pale skin evolved primarily due to sexual selection rather than any environmental advantage.

Just skimming through the thread - Canadian white people ask each other about their ethnic background all the time. Actually they seem more interested in this topic the higher status they are. Just a couple weeks ago I went to lunch with my boss and his boss who flew in from Montreal - a...

Does anyone have any experience or advice running an open table campaign where many players drop in and out of the same sandbox campaign setting? This has been a bucket list experience for me for a while and I know enough players now who would be interested. One issue is whether time is...

No worries - yeah with 20 XP you can give a point for most everything the PCs do, and then just worry about increasing the award based on significance/difficulty. To avoid giving too much XP at the end of adventures, you could use an even simpler guideline of 1-2-3 XP for easy-medium-hard...

No problem! I think the ideal way to disrupt the Pavlovian response to combat is for it to be dangerous enough that if the PCs charge in without care they might easily lose more XP than they gain. I.e. instead of removing the cookie, mix in some electric shocks. This is difficult to do with...

As I just mentioned in a different thread, I don't think of XP as a simulation of learning, rather a metagame currency that gives game success and failure more immediate bite, making it more exciting. In principle I'm not opposed to awarding XP for skillful haggling or camping discipline, if...

For me XP is neither a simulation of skill acquisition nor a reward for behavior I want to see. It's an award given (or taken away) to amplify the highs and lows of the game, enhancing excitement. It should make the players feel better when they're feeling good, and worse when they're feeling...

I fear that the difference between insignificant and significant encounters will not seem as definite to the players as the difference between zero and some XP. In which case it might feel arbitrary or even railroady when S'mon decides not to award XP. 1 XP vs. 2 XP offers just enough...

I would much prefer doubling the numbers to allow 1 XP for easy encounters/minor achievements. This precludes the weirdness of 0 XP combats and is only slightly more complex. I also kinda like 20 XP to level for symmetry reasons. So 20 XP to level. 1 XP - Easy encounter/minor achievement, 2-3...

Moldvay Basic with AD&D 1e monsters and magic items.