Release Diabolic Palace Released by Spellbook Games, New Inferno Adventure (1E/OSR compatible)

[Geoff Dale]

Spellbook Games releases ‘Diabolic Palace’

Spellbook Games is pleased to announce the release of the newest title in the Inferno line, “Diabolic Palace.” Diabolic Palace is an adventure location for higher level Adventurer characters, set throughout the Hell of Inferno, and challenges both player and player-character. It is intended to be used as the palace of any Diabolic Prince, Diabolic Duke, or Diabolic Earl, or could be used for the palace of one of the more powerful Diabolic Generals. The adventure is very flexible in how it is placed in Hell for whatever need the Games Master has. The adventure provides information about placing the Palace in Hell, in any Circle. The adventure describes the wall and gardens around the palace building, an underwater dragon’s lair, a palace with three above-ground floors and two below-ground levels, one of which is extensively flooded, the denizens inhabiting the palace, and special creatures and enchanted items found there. This is the fourth adventure set in Inferno.

Diabolic Palace is written using Spellbook Game’s RPG rule set, Portal to Adventure, and assumes that Games Masters have the rules available or have alternative creatures and treasure. It is essentially compatible as is with the original Dungeons and Dragons rules and similar rules sets. Games Masters using any Third Edition rules or later, or any similar rule sets, will have substantial work to make the adventure work with their games. Diabolic Palace is completely compatible with Spellbook Game’s Inferno: Journey through Malebolge; Games Masters may find additional useful reference material in Gehenna Primer, Inferno: Treasury, and Inferno: Bestiary. Information about the Devils of Hell used in Diabolic Palace may be found in the free download, Diabolic Denizens. 81 pages of adventure. $ 3.92. Available now on www.drivethruRPG.com.

 

[trancejeremy]

I recently bought another one of your adventures, Oasis of Koessa, and while a good adventure, it's not even the least bit 1e or OSR compatible. As near as I can puzzle out, the only thing the same as old school D&D is that you use the same basic scale of Hit Dice. But then, hit points are often different than what you expect. Some seem to only have 2 hit points per hit dice, which isn't impossible, but very unlikely.

While you use AC, it seemingly goes up to 70, which I'm not sure even 3e goes as high. But it somehow seemingly is used to reduce damage, which again, goes to the strange hit point totals I've noticed.

Also, most monsters are not standard ones, nor are given old school D&D stats, so you as the GM have to make them up completely from scratch.

And lastly, your use of ability scores as saving throws is actually something found in 5e, not OSR (though I hear the new LotFP will be using those)

 

[Geoff Dale]

Jeremy: Thanks for taking the time to write. I'm glad you liked Koessa, so you would probably also like Samael's Tower and Diabolic Palace.

I have had other players tell me they had very little trouble using our adventures in their campaigns, so I suppose it comes down to what you think compatible means. I don't mean that you can open up the 1E manuals and run Inferno, Koessa, or Diabolic Palace, straight up, with all the monsters and magic items fitting exactly. What I mean is you won't find any feats or skill paths in our modules, you won't find encounters balanced so the players always win, you won't find treasures matched to player levels, you won't find powers for each character that look and act like spells.

When you read our modules, they read and work like old school modules. Wizards and Priests still work even if some of their spells are different. Bonus and penalties work the same. OK, AC is a bit tougher since my version absorbs damage rather than determines hits, but you can convert to AD&D using [10- {AC/8}]. No, some of the monsters aren't 'standard' you have to either have the Portal rule book or the Inferno Bestiary or Diabolic Denizens (free) to find their abilities, or you can come up with your own monster or swap out for something you like.


On the 5E reference, I will take your word since I have never opened a 4E or 5E rulebook and don't know personally. However, you will find that our Portal to Adventure rule book came out before D&D 5E so it really is coincidence. I would have preferred to just roll less than your ability score rather than the form [number - statistic] but that breaks the high-number-is-good paradigm and makes bonuses negative numbers and penalties the positive ones. In the older games a bonus is always a positive number.

I used to append a 1E conversion table to my adventures, maybe I should start again.

Geoff