Tag Archives: Uncategorized

Help a Former TSR Editor Keep Her House! Update and Part 2

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As readers of this blog probably remember, we had a short but effective fund-raiser for former TSR staffer Karen Boomgarden about six weeks ago. Karen and family were going to have their house foreclosed on them due to long term unemployment. They had a chance to qualify for unemployment foreberance but had to be current on their house payments to due so. (See these posts for more information: Help a Former TSR Editor Keep Her House!, Update: Help a Former TSR Editor Keep Her House!, Progress Report: Microlite74, RetroRoleplaying Forum, Real Life. etc.). For those who are not familiar with … Continue reading →

Microlite75: The Adventurer Class

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I’ve had a request for an optional Adventurer class for Microlite75. The Adventurer class meant to be the only class used (at least by Player Characters) in the game. It is intended to be used in more swords-and-sorcery style campaigns where magic is fairly rare and actual wizards and other magic using specialists are even less common. It’s a generic class that can do just about anything. Here is the Microlite75 description: Adventurers can wear any kind of armor, can use all weapons and may use shields. Physical Combat Bonus is equal to their class level/3, round up. Magical Combat … Continue reading →

Traveller Starter Set Examined

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As I noted last night, the Classic Traveller Starter Set is available for free in PDF form from RPGNow.. As I had owned the original Traveller boxed set, the Traveller Book, etc. for years by the time the Traveller Starter Set arrived on the scene, I never really looked at this set back in the day so I did not really know what to expect when I downloaded it. I was pleasantly surprised by how complete the Traveller Starter Set is. It contains everything you need to play published adventures or even create your own, including rules for starship, subsector, … Continue reading →

The Devil Rides Out (and into my Horror Campaigns)

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A friend of mine send me a link to this long article on Dennis Wheatley’s occult fiction novels. I haven’t read these in ages, but the ones I read had quite a bit of influence on every horror campaign I’ve ran — probably equal in influence to the Cthulthu Mythos stories. The Devil Rides OutHow Dennis Wheatley sold black magic to Britain William Blake’s verdict on Milton was: “Of the Devil’s party without knowing it”, and much the same could be said of Dennis Wheatley. He virtually invented the popular image of Satanism in 20th-century Britain, and he made it … Continue reading →

Trick or Treat: October Cancer Fund Update

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Just a quick update to remind readers that our October Cancer Fund drive is still going. Any donations sent before November 2nd will be eligible for our donation giveaway: * Traveller Items: Working Passage Fanzines, The Imperium Staple Fanzines, and Classic Traveller items * D&D Modules: RPGA Modules R1 and R2 from 1982 I’d like to again thank thank the folks who donated these items and agreed to extend this drive through the end of October. In case you are wondering what this is all about: My wife is recovering from oral cancer. We are some of the 40 to … Continue reading →

Old School D&D vs New School D&D: The Combat Divide

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From talking to players in my old school campaign and players at the local game shop, I’ve decided that, locally at least, the main divide between liking old school D&D and new school D&D seems to be the player’s opinion of combat. Players who like fast, narrative combat are interested in older version of D&D while players who like using miniatures and battleboards for tactically detailed combat are interested in newer versions of D&D. This divide seems to be nearly universal among local D&D players I’ve talked to and seems to be a better “determining factor” for interest in older … Continue reading →

Armor for All Classes in OD&D

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One thing that really seems to sit wrong with some players in older versions of D&D are the armor and weapons limitations on classes. Some players really want their magic-users to wield swords and wear armor. While I’ve never felt this way, I did come up with a system back in the late 1970s that allows any character class to wear any type of armor while doing a fair job of maintaining the “balance” of each class. Base Armor Class: Each class has a base armor class that is in effect anytime the character is conscious and not tied up … Continue reading →

RPGA Modules R1 and R2 from 1982 Added to October 2009 Cancer Donotion Drive

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I received an email from a former gamer who wishes to remain anonymous offering a copy of the first two RPGA modules (R1 and R2 for AD&D) for donors to my current October 2009 Cancer Donation Drive. As these modules were limited editions available only to RPGA back in 1982, I’ve never seen these modules in their original form, although they were reportedly the basis for the first part of generally available I12 module (Egg of the Phoenix) which is one of my favorite mid-1980s modules. R1 (To the Aid of Falx) was written by Frank Mentzer and is in … Continue reading →

Rare Traveller Fanzines (Working Passage & Imperium Staple) Available (for Cancer Fund Donors)

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Scott R. has donated copies of Working Passage and The Imperium Staple (Traveller fanzines) as giveaways for the RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund. As many of you know, my wife is recovering from oral cancer and that I worked on the original Microlite74 as way to cope during her recovery from 6 weeks of radiation treatment last year. We are some of the 40 to 50 million people in the US who do not have health insurance and do not qualify for government aid as we live in Texas and have no children. The cancer treatments and related expenses have cost over … Continue reading →

Original Dungeons and Dragons Goodies Available (for Cancer Fund Donors)

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As many of you know, my wife is recovering from oral cancer and that I worked on the original Microlite74 as way to cope during her recovery from 6 weeks of radiation treatment last year. We are some of the 40 to 50 million people in the US who do not have health insurance and do not qualify for government aid as we live in Texas and have no children. The cancer treatments and related expenses have cost over $110,000 so far. While over half of this has been absorbed by hospital foundations and the like, we still owe a … Continue reading →