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Today on the Zenopus Archives, I look at a possibly surprising reason why monster paralysis in OD&D, Holmes and the AD&D (mostly) doesn't have any duration: a 1989 letter from Gygax suggests that he originally viewed it as permanent until removed...! See the letter and read about it here...

David Sutherland's iconic painting for the original D&D Basic Set (1977) - aka Holmes Basic - is on currently exhibit in a museum for the first time ever! It's part of "Enchanted", a survey of fantasy illustration at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, which runs through...

Holmes Ref is my slowly-accreting series of reference sheets for Holmes Basic referees. Since Holmes is in essence just a variant of OD&D (incorporating some rules from the Greyhawk supplement into those from the LBBs), it also usable with OD&D. The sheets are also modular so you may find tables...

This past Sunday was the 90th (!) anniversary of the birth of J. Eric Holmes, editor of and content contributor to the first Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set, published by TSR in 1977. Many D&D players who started playing between 1977-1982 or so started with this Basic Set, including myself. Holmes...

My 5E D&D conversion of the original Zenopus Dungeon, from the 1977 "Holmes" Basic rulebook, is now live on DMs Guild. 18-pages, $1.99. The Ruined Tower of Zenopus (DMs Guild link) Read more about it here on my blog, the Zenopus Archives. The original dungeon (which includes the dungeon map)...

There's a fun new commercial that is a "sequel" to E.T. and features Elliot (Henry Thomas) as an adult: A Holiday Reunion It's chock full of easter eggs, including (read this after watching and see if you noticed it)

Aero Hobbies in Santa Monica CA is closing later this month. Aero has been around for decades and was an important FLGS in the early days of D&D, both for the group there that created the first Thief character class, and as the place where J. Eric Holmes --- editor of the original Basic Set ---...

Hello all. I had the pleasure of being the guest on the latest episode of the old school Dungeons & Dragon podcast Save or Die! This episode is dedicated to the original D&D Basic Set (in print from 1977-1980), colloquially known as Holmes Basic after its editor, J. Eric Holmes. The link...