Better Shown Than Told

The OSR is a tiny parasol held aloft by a giant elephant; it's too small of an umbrella term to cover everything. That's been obvious for a long time. 

Members of the OSR are divided between those who most enjoy fantasy role-playing games and those who best like fantasy adventure games—or "classic" adventure games (CAGs) to avoid an unfortunate acronym. 

Whenever a B/X player asks the difference between an RPG and a CAG, I always say the same thing: 

It is better experienced than explained; better shown than told.

I could spend months waxing and waning about all the subtle nuances contrasting the play-styles, but the reader's time would be better spent playing and running games. (Here's a perfect Discord server to do just that: OSR Pick-Up Games.)

That said, there are differences in the play-styles beyond a preference for a rules-light B/X or the more complete rules set of AD&D. 

While the Eight Mantras of OSR Gaming apply to role-playing games, not adventure games, the fourth mantra remains true: 

4. The OSR is a mindset, not a rules set.

The mindset of those at the table is perhaps the most noticeable difference between the RPG and CAG styles. 

More specifically, CAG games are of a mindset where "rulings not rules" isn't safe to assume, and I think that's a core difference any member of the OSR who enjoys RPGs will appreciate knowing ahead of time when playing CAGs.

Both are fun, interesting, and challenging mindsets, so rather than write about games, I prefer to run and play them. However, for more discussion on the topic, try the Classic Adventure Game server: https://discord.gg/xakPP2V8yB

The Life and Reproduction Cycle of the Medusae

Medusas who die of old age regenerate by turning into stone. They are "reborn"  with an infantile body when they crack through their own petrified statue's hollow head like an eggshell. 

Incubation lasts a year and one day, the same to reach full maturity. Infant medusas are called "nagas" because they resemble a tiny human head on a serpentine body. Their face and skull is covered in scales. 

They grow rapidly into "newts," sprouting arms from a human torso at two weeks. Buds form all over the newt's scalp and quickly grow into writhing snake tails. These tails grow eyes and develop the snake heads during as they mature into adolescence. 

An adolescent medusa is called a "snipe." It's important to note that medusas don't develop their petrifying gaze until adulthood, though a snipe's gaze can stun. The last thing it develops before its petrifying vision is the menacing rattle at the end of its tail. Until the medusa becomes an adult, it must feed its ravenous hunger by constantly hunting for fresh meat—which explains a medusa's penchant for archery. Unlike adults, adolescents must sleep.

To "hunt snipe" means to search for an adolescent medusa's den. A dangerous quarry, snipe are cunning and alert. They often set traps and defenses around their lair. With a lethal aim, they attack with envenomed arrows from the shadows. This is origin of the word "sniper"—one who shoots victims from a great distance.

Lair of the Medusa: A Random Level 4 Dungeon Part 2

It's fun to roll a B/X dungeon! It really gets the creative energy flowing. One doesn't even need a map!

Last post, I rolled a 25-room level 4 dungeon on the table in the Basic Set, p. 52. The monsters were rolled using a 20-sided dice on the table in Rules Cyclopedia, p. 94. (I rolled a 12 three times, resulting a lot of medusae!)

The treasure will not be rolled randomly. Instead, the dungeon will be designed to raise six, level-4 characters to level 5 once cleared. Cash and magic items will be designed and placed accordingly.

As for placing cash treasure; six PCs going from level 4 to level 5 require 8,000 xp each or 48,000 xp total. We want them to level about every five sessions, so we want the dungeon to take about five sessions to clear, and 5 rooms a session is a good, general, rough estimate—thus the 25-room dungeon design.

This post, I'll begin writing an outline consisting of one sentence describing the dungeon as a whole, the name of each entry (e.g., "1. Entrance"), and one to three sentences describing every entry other than empty rooms. As I haven't drawn or selected a map yet, I'm going to be very sparse on the physical details of the rooms.

This is not meant to be evocative text! This is just an outline of the most essential information; GM notes. After I finish the outline, I'll re-write all the text to bring it alive in the reader's mind.

Below are the first six entries.

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Lair of the Medusa

Areas 1-6

This maze of stone corridors and chambers lays 100' beneath an ancient ruined temple of toppled columns and smashed statues.

1. Entrance
Trap #1, Treasure #1
At the center of this round pit of stairs, surrounded by skulls and bones, is a bronze statue of a warrior holding a decapitated medusa's head in one hand. [Beneath the bones circular bronze plate. Anything stepping on the plate or touching the statue takes 4d8 electrical damage. Pressing both eyes of the medusa's head will cause the pit to descend 100' into the ground revealing dungeon's the hidden entrance—an impassible stone door. The round elevator will raise in one week. By that time, whatever is on the platform has died, thus all the bones.]
Treasure: a small chest of 8,000 gp hidden beneath a floor tile at the foot of a medusa statue. (Treasure Map I leads to it.)

2. Mirrored Antechamber
Empty #1
Mirrors, mirrors, all around; not what you'd expect in a medusa's lair. [These 7'-tall medusa wear porcelain masks that prevent the living from turning to stone.]

3. Petrified Chimera
Empty #2, Treasure #2
In the center of this opulent mirrored statuary is a roaring chimera standing on its haunches that will come to life if the medusa who petrified it is slain—potentially blocking the exit from escape. 
Treasure: Gold and silver decorations worth 8,000 gp.

4. Pit Trap
Trap #2
An illusionary floor in the center of this round chamber hides a cylindrical abyss 50'-wide and 100' deep. It can be bypassed by walking behind the statues surrounding it.
5. Mirrored Walls and Floor
Empty #3

6. Monster #1 (Medusa × 2)
These two 7'-tall medusae wear white porcelain masks and are extremely narcissistic. Trapped in the labyrinth for ten centuries, these immortal women have writhing serpents for hair and scaly green skin beneath their revealing satin dresses. They constantly preen their snakes and scales and can hardly look away from their own reflection. [The four medusae each have a class; magic user, cleric, fighter with a bow, or thief. Their class reflects the enchantments on their masks, jewelry, and equipment.]

Each is convinced she is more beautiful than the other. They ask the players to be the judge . . . "Who is the more beautiful sister? Surely this is an easy test of your veracity."

Lair of the Medusa: A Random Level 4 Dungeon Part 1

It's fun to roll a B/X dungeon! It really gets the creative energy flowing. One doesn't even need a map!

This 25-room level 4 dungeon was stocked by rolling on the table in the Basic Set, p. 52. The monsters were rolled using a 20-sided dice on the table in Rules Cyclopedia, p. 94. (I rolled a 12 three times, resulting a lot of Medusa!)

However, the treasure will not be rolled randomly. Instead, the dungeon will be designed to raise six, level-4 characters to level 5 once cleared. Cash and magic items will be designed and placed accordingly.

As for placing cash treasure; six PCs going from level 4 to level 5 require 8,000 xp each or 48,000 xp total. If we want them to level in three sessions (knowing it will likely take five), that would require 16,000 xp per session, or about 2,700 xp per session individually. Players are unlikely to find it all, and some PCs need more xp to level than others, so we'll add a little.

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Lair of the Medusa

1. Trap #1, Treasure #1 (8,000 gp)

2. Empty #1

3. Empty #2, Treasure #2 (8,000 gp)

4. Trap #2

5. Empty #3

6. Monster #1 (Medusa × 2)

7. Special #1

8. Trap #3

9.  Monster #2 (Medusa × 1), Treasure #3 (8,000 gp)

10. Empty #4

11. Monster #3 (Hell Hound × 1), Treasure #4 (8,000 gp)

12. Empty #5, Treasure #5 (8,000 gp)

13. Empty #6

14. Monster #4 (Medusa × 1)

15. Monster #5 (Troll × 2)

16. Monster #6 (Harpy × 4), Treasure #6 (8,000 gp)

17. Special #2

18. Trap #4

19. Empty #7

20. Monster #7 (Rust Monster × 1)

21. Monster #8 (Gargoyle × 2)

22. Monster #9 (Werewolf × 2)

23. Special #3

24. Special #4

25. Trap #5, Treasure #7 (8,000 gp)

Results: 

Monster: 9 (36%) 

Trap: 5 (20%)

Special: 4 (16%)

Empty: 7 (28%)

Treasure: 7 (28%)

Total Treasure:

56,000 gp

Notes:

The above process, including typing, took 45 minutes (10:30 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.)

To be continued!

Next time, I'll write a sentence describing the dungeon and one sentence describing each room, trap, treasure, and encounter.

 

A trap and treasure in the first room. Ooo, I wonder what it is!

Multiple Medusae in the early rooms, then a Hell Hound guarding a treasure vault. Wonder what's in there . . . 

A Medusa, two trolls, and four harpies are all together in the same region, it would seem. That dynamic should prove interesting to detail. 

In a different area, a rust monster, two gargoyles, and two werewolves all nearby; another interesting combination.

At the exit—or alternate entrance—we have another trap and treasure. Hmm . . . I wonder if it could be similar to Room 1 . . . Maybe to gain entrance, you have to leave the treasure alone? Or, maybe you have to take the treasure, springing the trap, and revealing the entrance . . . 

Tune in next episode! 

On Killing Monsters and Taking Their Stuff

"The OSR" is like a tiny parasol held aloft by an elephant. It's too small of an umbrella to do any good. 

However, it's all I have to work with right now! 

What I consider an "OSR encounter" is one that challenges the player's imagination, creativity, role-playing, and critical thinking skills. The less it has to do with rules in the books and rolls on the table, the more "OSR" I consider the encounter. 

As a B/X player, that's what I'm seeking when the GM introduces an encounter. Yes, sprinkle a few pitched battles in there sparingly, but in a game that's billed as OSR, I don't want to roll a d20 back and forth for an hour of play, let alone two, maybe even three. It's usually boring if not tedious, but it can be grueling when the dice are disagreeable. 

Yes, we want to kill monsters and take their stuff by attacking in combat. Yes, we want to explore a maze of corridors using the procedures detailed in the books. However, if that's all we wanted to do, we would be better served by a more robust rules set such as AD&D or a later edition.

Let's examine a common example of a dungeon encounter that can be fun, but I don't want to dominate my time at the table: 

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There is a platoon of six goblins with shields and spears at the edge of your torchlight in this 10'-wide hall. One shouts, "Death to the day-dwellers!" and readies his javelin. 

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A little "fluff" combat, especially in a level 1 starter adventure, is okay—but just throwing dice at the bad guys until their hit points run out is an insipid grind, especially for the initiated OSR player. Rolling dice can be fun, but isn't intellectually challenging, and that's something I want in a table-top fantasy role-playing game. 

Basically, designing an "OSR encounter" is an exercise in making it not just combat. 

Perhaps the most well known example of an OSR encounter is "There's a moat with crocodiles. How do you cross?" Yes, you can fight the crocs, but it can be more fun to come up with all the different ways to get over the moat other than "I hit them with my sword." 

Part of the fun in the OSR is in thinking of things like, "I hunt for wild boars in the woods to use as bait to lure the crocs out of our way."

In Stonehell Dungeon, one of the first "patrol of humanoids" encountered is a handful of kobolds. They're a great, memorable OSR encounter. 

They have mining equipment like pickaxes and hammers. They have no intensions of attacking the players—they just want to pass. Simple as that.

Sure, the players can attack and kill them all. Or, they can devise countless other ways to have a great deal more fun with them. For example, at the price of a few measly trail rations, they make good guides. Only a fool would make enemies when they could make allies!

As another example—only half as a joke—this one is a great OSR encounter from The Caverns of Steel:

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"Three steel crustaceans challenge the party to a dance off, by pointing at them with a claw and then doing a little dance. If you win, you get a loyal metal-crab follower." 

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It's too silly for my table. I'd never actually use it, but it's great example because it shows how a good OSR encounter relies entirely on the player's imagination, wits, and strength at role playing. 

A bad GM will screw this up by making it a contest of CHA rolls or whatever. Ouch. That's the exact opposite of what I seek in an OSR encounter. 

For B/X players, the OSR is "rulings not rules." We "play worlds not rules," and, "The answer isn't on the character sheet." It's a test of the players' skills and creativity, not of their characters. 

Two Tips for OSR GMs

Though I've been an active game master for more than 30 years, I don't like to give GM advice for several reasons. There's so much of it already out there. Everyone has their own opinions. What works for some tables, doesn't for others. I digress. 

That said, I have two suggestions for experienced OSR game masters of the B/X persuasion . . .

 

1. To become a better game master, play the game. 

Yes, being a good GM takes practice, but playing will increase an experienced GM's skill more than running. You'll find things you like and things dislike about the game you're playing and apply that knowledge to your own. 

A "forever GM's" skill plateaus; often, they don't even realize it. If you've been running games and "almost never get to play" for years now, it's likely that you're a "forever GM." 

Forever GMs usually—but not always—run at least a "pretty good" game. However, they're never "great" and they all judge their own ability as far better than it is in reality. 

Forever GM's are the "only childs" of game masters. Don't be a forever GM.

2. Roll a B/X dungeon straight out of the book. 

If you've never actually went through the whole process from beginning to end of rolling a random dungeon from page 52 of the 1981 Basic Set (or page 47 in 1983's Basic Set), you will learn things and you will be inspired. I promise. 

When I start writing a dungeon, if I don't draw my own, the first thing I do is generate a map, or select a blank one from somewhere like Dyson Logos' blog, or Paratime Design. A dungeon with around 25 rooms should suffice. 

I number the rooms if they're not already, then roll on the chart from page B52 for each one in order. Yes, chances are, 1 in 3 rooms are empty; that's because the game emphasizes exploration. Empty rooms help create a cadence or rhythm to the game that is part of the B/X dungeon crawl experience.  

I then roll for all the monsters and treasures. Here's where I gather all the stat blocks and rules mechanics for my GM's notes. 

After that, I go through and write three sentences or so for each room. I try to describe the various NPCs and treasures with one sentence each, no more. Short, concise, sentences help me to actually finish the process. Once I'm done, then I'll get creative! 

That whole process shouldn't take more than a day or two of casual effort. After that, you have the rough ashlar for a B/X dungeon that you can chisel into your own unique design using your creativity.

Shadowmist Vale: Cave of Grundar the Terrible

Up late working on Grundar's Cave, what's currently the 11th adventure in my grim-dark fantasy campaign, Shadowmist Vale. It's a third-level dungeon with some bugbears and goblins, a troll, and, of course, the titular hill giant.

Grundar the Terrible, in my imagination, looks like a bearded, 12'-tall Lobo from DC comics. He wields the wicked Greataxe +2, Ochiron's Demise. Its black blade casts Continual Darkness on hit, turning its victim's eyes into pools of blackness and blinding them. It can only be recharged by killing a friend or family member. 

In another cave in another hex, there's a related hill giant, nicknamed Grunt, who's blinded and scarred from a stroke of his evil brother's greataxe. PCs who cast Continual Light on his eyes, curing him, could gain a powerful ally.

A sulfurous miasma hangs about the cavern like an ochre haze. Hot Springs bubble and steam. The opaque greenish water is scorching hot, but it’s not boiling. Air bubbles rise from below.

Careful! There are water weirds swimming in them!

Creature Catalogue p. 79

In Room 3, there's Vorkha the orc Thief who's stolen Gauntlets of Ogre Power and a Sword +1 from Room 11, the giant's treasury. She's soaking wet, having swam from the pit in Room 7, where her two accomplices, the gargoyles Crong and Razaad, are too afraid to follow her through the secret escape route. They can't gather the courage to swim underwater or to sneak past the bugbear guards on the precipice in Room 6. So, they sit locked in terrified indecisiveness.

Shadowmist Vale

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Other than the Undercrypt, the dungeon in the center of the wilderness map, I haven't talked much about Shadowmist Vale on my blog. I currently plan for my first release to be titled Shadowmist Vale: The Road to Ebonshire. The mini-campaign will feature at least 15 adventure locations for players to "explore or ignore," as a friend says. Some of the locations are sizable dungeons; others are small spots. Ebonshire is a free city-state in the 6-mile hex flower. Though it is self-governing, it stands in the long shadow cast by castle Black Gate Castle, abode of the fearsome and shadowy Lord Gulthor.

I've moved and re-named the locations on the map so many times, and some of them are placeholders, but here's the map as it is currently:

A hex flower of 6-mile hexes

Grundar's Cave yawns open in the foothills of hex 17.04, just north of what I'm calling the Dark Forest for now. It's a placeholder name, like a lot of them. 

There's nothing I like about my map. It's just for my planning purposes. The finished map, I expect, will share some similarities with the GM's Map for the Barony of Twolakes Vale from CM2 Death’s Ride.