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On the rare occasions that we tried to do something with our characters that was not already covered by the rulebooks (which was sometimes considered cheating by the strictest DMs!), the matter would often be decided with a d20 roll-under ability score check. None of us realized that the rule...

I am always curious to read about what kind of characters were popular in other gaming groups. In my late 80’s AD&D 1E games several of us played Druids from time to time. We also figured that if Elves and Half-Elves could multi-class as a Cleric / Fighter or Cleric / Fighter / Mage, why not a...

There are at least two more issues: 6) IIRC Cure Light Wounds was a Level 2 spell for 1E Druids, limiting their effectiveness even in the relatively unpopular role of combat medic. This was partially remedied by the UA spell Goodberry and the introduction of Healing and Herbalism proficiencies...

Like many other 80’s kids I learned B/X D&D rules from the red and blue boxes, but then left them behind when I “graduated” to playing AD&D 1E with older kids who had house-ruled away much of that game. I read the 1E DMG cover to cover, so I knew that AD&D characters were supposed to compete...

Now that Winnie the Pooh is public domain, somebody has already made a Winnie the Pooh slasher flick. So I guess something like Winnie the Pooh RPG: Fall of the Rise of the Grimdarkening was probably inevitable.

This whole controversy got me thinking about where the OAR line has come from and where it is going next. I first noticed these at one of my local game shops, which had a full array of the first six TSR OARs. They sat on the shelf for a long time, and I would sometimes flip through them out of...

OARs #1-#5 had a $50 MSRP and now gently used copies go for up to $250 on eBay and Noble Knight Games, that is when they are available at all. So between the actual target demographics of grognards who played this back in the day and/or OSR enthusiasts, plus collectors and speculators motivated...

The AD&D 1E Fiend Folio had a whole group of six or seven “Oriental” dragons. Since the book was written in 1979 and published in 1981, it used the older Wade-Giles transliteration for the Chinese word for “dragon” (lung), which has now been largely replaced by Pinyin (long). So there were...

Denis Beauvais was one of my favorite Dragon cover artists, and my friends in my old D&D groups liked his work too. He seems somewhat underrated and does not always get mentioned among the luminaries of 1980’s fantasy artists. I particularly loved those chess match covers. I wonder if a...