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Jumping in a bit late here but what if rather then thinking of this as two distinct categories of adventure "To be run" and "to be read" we note that they are all meant "to be run" ... but some writers/brands/systems aren't actually good at knowing what that means, or have an idea of it that...

I don't really think any of the old two column TSR modules can be described as having great layout or presentation. Art tends to be sparse, text dense to the point it has trouble with readability and writing is often too dry or excessive (depending on era) - though it's the strongest part of...

I think you might find ASE quite instructive, not necessarily because it offers a guide for the sort of aesthetic your project seems to have but because it demonstrate something about designing Mega Dungeons. I would also read the blog about ASE's creation "Henchman Abuse". What I mean is that...

I'd add that the primary distinction between B/X and the BE part of BECMI is the instructional elements and the way the game is presented through examples, samples, and advice. The rule changes are minimal but the play style that the game aims for is different to a significant degree. This is a...

Does it matter a lot? I'd assume that's a setting question and even in a Gygaxian vernacular fantasy setting its going to depend on the Inn. Generally I'd figure in big towns its more expensive then in roadhouses ... unless they happen to have a monopoly on a safe place to sleep. Personally...

Less I'd say. I am also unconvinced by the "think of the children" argument - if any new referee is going to be able to get creative about what happens when there aren't explicit instructions ... it's a ten year old. That these are suggestions about non-combat resolutions at all, that...

Taking a look at this set (just the adventures part) with more of an old school perspective - I also enjoyed the maps, they were new school maps - small, with limited distance markings and such, but they are functional and charming enough in a very brightly colored way. I think they really sold...

I play OD&D ... so as a human, unconnected to the cosmic struggle between order and chaos, I'd be neutral ... like everyone else.

While the While this might be a way to play a dungeon crawl, it's certainly not the only way (as others have suggested). The key to making a dungeon crawl feel like something beyond a string of fights is to focus on the crawl aspect - that the PCs have entered a fundamentally dangerous space...

I generally get my inspiration for locations - for location based adventures, which Shadowdark uses generally, from reading about real world locations. My favorite source is the Wikipedia list of UNESCO world heritage sites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_World_Heritage_Sites Other...

Do you want them to in the specific location you are using them in? I'm not one for monsters being entirely absolute or set - variation within monster types seems reasonable. Even if one keeps the "shadow" as a being of negative energy from D&D these could manifest differently. They might be...

One of the things that Snarf noted but seems slightly under-acknowledged in these responses (understandably for non-1e folks) is the degree to which early editions use magic items to increase PC power rather then stats (which of course can/are often be increased by items as well). Stats matter...

I am enjoying the way the words "character build" summoned a discussion of character building. It's not my thing, but I appreciate that it both is other people's thing and is great. Stay Gold! But to Flying Toaster's comment... I don't really see a contradiction here - I think the "OSR" as it...

Sure I'll give a go: "Old School" - RPGs from 1974 - 1989 (maybe), though the actual old school play has little consistency across the era, and various regional scenes - there's a huge variety of games in this era doing a lot of different things. "Classic" - Here a way of describing a possible...

I think it's been really useful and sanity making for me to draw lines between "OSR", "Post-OSR", and "Old School". The borders are fuzzy but it's useful because the OSR particularly has a reasonably solid play style, while Classic/Old School varied a lot from 1974-1988 (or whenever one marks it...

The most OSR logo is to just write "OSR" in sharpie marker on the cover. I am joking ... sort of. OSR isn't a brand, and while I like Robinson's old logo well enough (as well as Dyson Logos' Raccoon logo ...) it sort of feels contrary to the whole ethos to brandify/commodify the conceptual...

I think there's a bit of a tension here - while certainly one aspect of the OSR project was to look at old rules, in general the approach to this I recall and still think is great is to play with the rule and try to consider how it works, why it's there, and what fun it offers. So with this you...

This is one of the reasons I like to get away from "What did Gary/Dave/other Dave/etc play at their table" is precisely this. It is both unknowable to a degree (or constantly changing) and not recorded in a rules document. I think for AD&D it's even more of an issue because it (especially the...

I agree with this - I don't like love level drain myself, though it's easier if HP are rerolled at the start of each session ... but also it's a terrifying effect reserved for especially horrible undead. Don't let them touch your PC... The other issue is that levels in AD&D and similar editions...

So as the author of this. First, there is no "superweapon" in the Prison of the Hated Pretender. There is a broken down magical device for predicting the future that is tied to the wards of the tower. The Pretender (as detailed a bit in the follow up adventure) ruled through strange magical...