New Old School Games & Art
This was originally designed for a Sword & Planet adventure for Warriors of the Red Planet. I'm still working on the encounter key, but here is the map. The idea is a remnant of an ancient civilization live in the ruins of their ancestors, they've forgotten how to use the highly advanced technology that fills the place.
I've been going through boxes in storage and pulling out lots of classic gems, old school TSR products and other gaming and interesting rare and precious items. My daughter is helping to sell on eBay to earn some money. If you are interested in completing your collection or finding new (old) treasures, we are uploading new items nearly everyday until we've cleaned out our storage.
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| Sample only, there are a variety of items |
Wizkids just announced 25 new minis based on classic D&D characters and creatures.
The upcoming #DnD 50th Anniversary miniatures feature 25 timeless characters and creatures, each sculpted in both their original and fifth edition forms.
And you can collect 10 secret rare minis. Four have been revealed so far. What could the others be?
In 1982 I would have been so excited to see these in stores. Now, I think I'm getting burned out on the nostalgia mining. Oh, who am I kidding? I'll probably buy them.
After seeing the press release I went to the Wizards website to check this out and see they have all kinds of 50th anniversary minis being released.
The Vancian spell casting system of D&D is a tried and true proven system. Since the beginning there have been complaints about it, but no better system has yet been devised.
Alright, that's a pretty strong stance. That's my opinion on the matter.
I am still fascinated by alternate methods, and have yet to see a Spell Point system I'm fully convinced is better than classic D&D Vancian magic.
Here is an idea that is perhaps one of the simplest expressions of a spell point system, it is somewhat half way between Vancian and Spell Points.
You get X levels of spells to cast per day. X is your character's level + modifiers (ie. INT 14/+1)
A 1st level caster could cast a 1st level spell.
A 3rd level caster could cast a 3rd level spell, or three 1st level spells, or a 1st level and a 2nd level.
This does give access to higher level spells before classic D&D does, but I think at a cost that somewhat balances it. You could add some sort of exhaustion system to further balance it, but I haven't fully thought that out yet.
There are many methods for rolling ability scores. And judging by the DM's Guide and Unearthed Arcana Gary enjoyed making up new ways. Ultimately my favorite method is 3d6 in order, no altering. However, today it struck me to add one option to that: swap any 2. This gives just a bit of autonomy to the player to create the character he or she wants, while maintaining the rigidness of 3d6 in order.
This thought led me to wondering if it would be possible to boil all the methods of rolling scores down to their essence. And then I wrote this up:
A. Roll them:
1. Roll in order.
2. Choose where to put them.
B. Roll:
1. 3d6.
2. 4d6, drop lowest.
3. Standard array, choose a set and place them. No rolling.
4. Point buy. No rolling.
C. Alter:
1. No altering (you get what you get).
2. Swap any 2 rolls (ie. a high CHR for a low CON).
3. Subtract 2 from one to add 1 to another.
Standard Arrays
“Hero:” 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16
“Generalist:” 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15
“Specialist:” 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17
Point Buy
All ability scores start at 6, you get X points to add where you want them. Max 18 in any 1.
Low Power Level: X = 18
Mid Power Level: X = 24
High Power Level: X = 40
