Reflections on classic D&D from someone who definitely wasn't there.
With my errate document for the previous version of Swords & Wizardry Complete now being obsolete due to the release of the Revised update in 2023, I sought out and obtained permission from the game's publisher, Mythmere Games, to create a new official document for users of Revised. Note that I've only included errors with the potential to impact useability; simple grammar mistakes and the like…
Since I spent a number of years successfully curating a non-official listing of errata for the previous version of the OSRIC fantasy RPG, I figured I might as well keep up the tradition now that the latest (3.0) edition is available to the the public. This time, however, I'm pleased to be starting out with the blessing of OSRIC's publishers at Mythmere Games, so all the items below should be…
After a couple years of putting it off, I finally bit the bullet and headed out Dallas way for my first North Texas RPG Convention. As I discovered, it's widely hailed one of the premier old-school RPG-focused events in the country for good reason. Wednesday Arriving early Wednesday evening, the vendors were still mostly in setup mode but the gaming was already well underway. Picked up copies of…
Since the public release of OSRIC 3.0 in late 2025/early 2026, I've seen a great deal of interest online in the nitty-gritty details of what makes this new version substantially different from previous ones. Obviously, there's new art and a fresh layout and presentational style intended to make original AD&D easier to learn, teach, and reference than ever before. Beyond that, though, there was…
Are your players complaining of too many hopeless would-be heroes or bemoaning the lack of rippling Conanesque thew on their fighting men? This method, inspired by Steffan O'Sullivan's classic DIY RPG FUDGE , is intended to facilitate the quick and easy creation of D&D PCs (or NPCs) with a guaranteed equal mix of strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, it doesn't jettison the dice entirely in…
I'm overjoyed to report that the OSRIC 3 Player's Guide is now available (for free!) in PDF! OSRIC was the trailblazing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "retro-clone" that kicked-off the classic D&D revival commonly known as the OSR back in 2006. Now, it's been extensively revised and expanded and sports a fresh modern presentation that renders the premier fantasy RPG of the 1980s easier to learn and…
Just in time for the holidays, the Alpha and Omega of old school fantasy roleplay fanzines returns with its beefiest issue yet! 166 jam-packed pages, including an article by Yours Truly and no end of creative brilliance from dozens of other passionate writers and artists. And as usual, there's simply no better value for the price. Get yours now in print or PDF ( 2 )!
The long-awaited third version of OSRIC, the premier Advanced Dungeons & Dragons retro-clone game, is currently being crowdfunded by the fine folks at Mythmere Games. The physical copies of the new version are expected to ship out early in 2026, just in time for OSRIC's twentieth anniversary. Wait, twenty years? Really? I could swear it was only yesterday.... Now, I've written before about the…
Just a brief announcement that Issue #16 of Fight On!, the premier fanzine for classic D&D, is now out. 128 dirt-cheap pages of fantasy gaming goodness, including some new content from yours truly. Get yours in print or PDF now!
First off, what do I mean by “casually?” I mean that I’ve held off on using any of these in an actual game thus far, so all my opinions are based on the text and the semi-expert (?) status I’ve acquired over my past 35 years as a classic D&D enjoyer. In other words, my thoughts on how a given new class might play relative to the standard ones is both purely conjectural and strictly personal. Now,…
Prelude After putting it off and making excuses for so long, it was finally time to make my first ever pilgrimage to Lake Geneva and attend a Gary Con. The tragic loss of Jennell Jaquays and the 50th anniversary of D&D itself are what finally broke this camel's back. Further emphasizing the importance of these sorts of gatherings, the news of James M. Ward's sudden passing hit just days before the…
Like its fellow iconic D&D classes, the ranger, illusionist, and bard, the first published iteration of the barbarian debuted in the pages of a periodical. In the barbarian's case, however, it wasn't one of TSR's official publications, but rather Great Britain's own White Dwarf, back before it existed exclusively to promote the Warhammer tabletop wargaming lines. Author Brian Asbury's barbarian…
Debuting in the winter 1975 issue of TSR's short-lived house organ The Strategic Review, Peter Aronson's illusionist class was the first of many contemporary "specialist" magic-user variants to gain significant traction within the D&D community at large. This is primarily because unlike the various healers, witches, warlocks, mystics and such making the rounds, it was the lone such sub-class to be…
Doug Schwegman's pioneering bard class, introduced in the February 1976 issue of The Strategic Review, deserves to be celebrated for its lasting influence on the game. Ever since its adoption into the AD&D Players Handbook in 1978 (albeit with numerous alterations), some iteration of the concept has been present in most every official version of the rules. That said, Schwegman's actual article is…
On a recent read through the latest edition of Swords & Wizardry, an adaptation of the original D&D from the mid-'70s, it struck me that the equipment list notably includes ring mail armor in addition to the leather, chain, and plate varieties found in the source text. This got me thinking more generally about the various armor types beyond that "basic three" that were added to the game over time,…
Mythmere Games has recently finished work on Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised, an updated take on their flagship fantasy RPG. As an enthusiastic backer of the book's highly successful Kickstarter campaign and equally enthusiastic reviewer of game stuff, I couldn't wait to dive in and take you all along for the ride. The information below is based on the first PDF release of the core rules sent…
Like a lot of old schoolers, I dig the flavor of the AD&D 1st edition bard class and even a lot of its implementation, but balk somewhat at the convoluted pseudo-dual classing shenanigans and the usual lack of player interest in such a delayed satisfaction approach. Since I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to tweaking stuff, here's my stab at a single class version that sticks fairly close to…
It's no secret that AD&D psionics have never exactly been popular. And I mean never. A vocal majority (?) of gamers have been deriding, ignoring, and generally neglecting them since day one. Before that, technically, since a version of them first appeared way back in Eldritch Wizardry. But I guess I'm feeling open-minded and generous lately, so I wanted to revisit them and give them the fairest…
The enduringly popular 1981 edition of D&D, often called B/X or Moldvay D&D, was my introduction to tabletop RPGs. That should come as no surprise, given the name I chose for this very blog back in the day. It's also the version I've played and enjoyed most recently, running a B1 In Search of the Unknown one-shot at the 42nd Dragonflight gaming convention last month. Its approachability, polish,…
***Final update, 12-29-2025: With the long-awaited new edition, OSRIC 3.0, beginning its public rollout this week, the following document will no longer be actively maintained and should be considered obsolete. I have opted to keep it publically available for historical/archival purposes and for the benefit of anyone utilizing a pre-3.0 version of the rules. For the official OSRIC 3.0 errata…
Important update: While this document may still be of some value to those using legacy editions of Swords & Wizardry Complete, the recent (as of May 2023) Revised edition published by Mythmere Games has fully addressed the following errata items. Users of this and future editions should disregard the information below and instead reference the current official Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised…
One of Swords & Wizardry's most praised features is its unified saving throw mechanic. While I personally adore classic (A)D&D's multiple save categories due to their sheer flavor and quirk factor, I can still see the time saving potential of a unified system when it comes to writing up characters, saving against difficult to categorize effects, and the like. When I actually sat down and crunched…
Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? If you're wondering what I'm been up to, I've mostly been reviewing classic 8 and 16-bit video games over at my other blog Twentieth Century Gamer . Anyway, these are the substantial errors I've noted in my own print copy of the Advanced Labyrinth Lord rulebook. I've left out trivial typos (misspellings, misplaced commas, etc.) in favor of things that might…
Here are the current Swords & Wizardry Complete, Labyrinth Lord, and OSRIC stats for my longest-running character, Silverglade Woodshadow, who I created around 1991. He started-out as a "BECMI" Elf as per the D&D Rules Cyclopedia, so this isn't an exact translation, but it's very close. The campaign was Known World/Mystara and the first adventure he ever played in was DDA1 Arena of Thyatis,…
I've played a lot of fantasy, science-fiction, and horror sessions over the years, but last night was my first foray into the realm of costumed superheroes. It was quite interesting and very enjoyable. You can read all about it here .