is this a rule that people follow? especially calculating the exact weight of things?

I'm preparing a session that rips most of the plot form this adventure and while I love the fact that the antagonists are smugglers in league with a merchant in the town, and that the villains are in a way proactive with setting up Ned's trap in the bedroom... I just don't buy this setup? Why would he need to pretend he was jumped? Why risk by getting him gagged and tied? What if nobody even enters the room?

It seems overcomplicated for what it needs to be and like... if they had the time and knowledge to set him up in the house- wouldn't they have the time to let the smugglers below know about the PCs and let them just set up an ambush the second they enter?

I still kind of want to use him in some way but the more I think about the situation the more unwieldy it becomes. Maybe he should enter the house a bit after the pcs have already explored it and pretend like something happened down the road to lead them into an actual ambush there? What if he volunteers to join them right there in town, claiming he was "good with the council" to lend any aid he can? Or find something they "claim to possibly still be there?"

I'm in a picke here.

This is an almost ten hour video about the first of our beloved Gold Box games. Staggering amounts of work have gone in to this and I am not even half way through.

This is a read-through review of the original Ravenloft module (for AD&D 1e) on my blog. I mostly review Warhammer RPG material there, but since Hallowe'en is approaching I thought I'd take a look at the grandaddy of gothic horror adventures!

Feedback here or on the blog post itself very welcome.

That the name of the Cooshee from the Complete Book of Elves is derived from Cù Sìth, the Scottish fae hound. I'm incredibly embarrassed that in decades of reading AD&D rulebooks and folklore, I never made that connection. Everyone mock me now.

Phanaton:

The dense jungles on the western side of the southern half of the Isle of Dread are home to the phanaton, a race of halfling-sized primates. The lemur-like Phanaton look like a cross between a raccoon and a monkey, and have a thin membrane of skin that stretches from under their arms to their legs and allows them to glide much like a flying squirrel. They are adept climbers and are able to navigate through the jungle quickly by jumping and gliding through the canopy. Phanaton are omnivores whose diet consists mainly of fruits, nuts and insects, although it is said they can and will eat anything (except elves).

Phanaton live in villages of about fifty to one-hundred individuals. Their homes are often constructed high in the trees, and are connected to one another by platforms and bridges made of vine and rope. These villages are difficult to see from the ground or the air, as they are built within the thick canopy of the jungle. Phanaton will defend their homes from some threats, but if the danger seems too great they will often flee in all directions, leaping and gliding from tree to tree in an attempt to confuse their attackers, while the warriors perform hit-and-run counterattacks.

The diminutive stature of the phanaton is misleading, as warriors are surprisingly strong for their size. While they are adept at using stealth and ambushes (often in conjunction with constructed traps), they are also dangerous in direct combat with larger opponents. Phanaton prefer blowguns and small thrown weapons and will sometimes employ poison collected from tree frogs and toads. When attacking larger foes, they tend to try to overwhelm them with their superior numbers.

Phanaton speak their own language and seem to be able to communicate with dryads and treants, who will often come to the aid of the phanaton against outside threats. The language of the phanaton consists of high-pitched hoots and clicks, which has an almost musical sound. Some phanaton have learned elven or fey, and some have picked up a few words in common, however they are distrustful of outsiders and will generally hide. The exception to this is elves, who they seem to regard as fellow forest creatures. Their written language is crude and involves claw marks on wooden slats or a rough paper made of tree bark, and is used primarily as a primitive counting system. Some part of phanaton communication is scent-based, the subtleties of which are often lost on non-phanatons or creatures without a sharp sense of smell, however phanaton are said to have a noticeable musk.

Phanaton groups tend to be familial, with several villages within a territory sharing broad physical characteristics in fur coloration and pattern. The most common of these are the ring-tailed, however Avahi (wooly), Indri (mountain), Mizra (giant mouse), Phaner (fork-marked), Varecia (ruffled), Aye-Aye, and Hapalemur (bamboo) also can be found in smaller numbers. Open conflicts between groups of phanaton are rare.

Aranea:

The aranea are intelligent giant spiders with innate magical abilities that live in the jungle on the central east coast of the Isle, bordered by the mountains on the south and west, and the sea to the north and east. Aranea are all female and their means of reproduction are unknown, although it is theorized that they are an evolved form of rhagodessa and mate with males of that species.

Aranea are web-spinners and are adept at moving through webs, so their homes are interwoven into the dense jungle trees. They will also create several false lairs, while taking great care to disguise their true home. They tend to be solitary but will band together for mutual defense, and will often use other creatures as guards for their lairs. They also employ complex traps that utilize their webs to harry and delay trespassers. The bite of the aranea is venomous, although there is a range in severity depending on the age of the individual.

Aranea are highly intelligent and are skilled at manipulating lesser minds. They tend to work in less than obvious ways, guiding other creatures to perform tasks without betraying their motives. They are also one of the few creatures who can navigate the central mountain range and can therefore be found almost anywhere on the island, although take great care when moving outside of their home jungle. They avoid the Central Plateau and most open terrain as it is difficult for them to move stealthily without cover from trees or mountains, however their innate magical ability with illusions helps them in this regard.

Aranea are carnivorous and prefer warm meals that they store in their webs. Phanaton are especially prized as a food source and as such they will usually attack each other on sight. The aranea are usually not openly aggressive towards other creatures unless all other options have been exhausted, or they are defending their lair.

While aranea are solitary by nature, a group of three will form a covey which grants them enhanced magical powers (similar to hags). This is usually in the form of more powerful spells that they can only cast together and are usually illusions or divinations. Only one covey will form at a time, although if a single member of a covey is slain another aranea will take their place. If two or more members of a covey are killed, it will take some time before a new covey can be established, and a surviving member of the covey may or may not be in the new one.
Aranea of a covey also gain the ability to take an alternate form, usually that of a human, elf or half elf woman (including drow or half-drow). This form is fixed and does not change (although it can be magically disguised) and the aranea does not gain any of the special or spell-like abilities of the form, though they retain all of their normal abilities. They also have a hybrid form, which is the same type as their alternate form with spider-like features including multiple eyes and mandibles. Aranea in their alternate and hybrid form retain their venomous bite.

Aranea weave intricate carpets and tapestries with the silk they produce or harvest from other spiders. It is said they can imbue their magic into the items they weave from their own silk. They will often use these items to bribe or reward other creatures to perform whatever tasks will further their nebulous aims.

I think this is the right subreddit.

I just re-watched LadyHawke. That's definitely a D&D adventure.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings is some of what D&D was based on.

What movie you've seen would be a good Dungeons and Dragons adventure?

Not long ago I shared my custom sheets, today, I bring you the generic version

Note: One of the pages had a typing error, I couldn't change it so I'm redoing the post

I have begun running a 5e converted (faithful) rendition of The Ruins of Andril. I stumbled upon the 1eonline copy of the dungeon on accident, and a ranger beat a dc 25 perception check to spot it from afar- so they have sidetracked themselves to investigate it. 5e is otherwise quite irrelevant.

I have made the following changes:

Room 10's death trap seems absurd. I should leave on a body or on the wall a message showing a previous adventuring mage crossing off all but two spell schools- and to make it so having an abjuration spell cast on you simply makes you immune to the dimension door effect.

I have swapped Thoth for Ptah and made the ruin's origin up-in-the-air as to if it is an ancient ruin native to this world or a dimensionally travelling site of great calamity and trauma.

I have made the whole area a wild magic zone with a 5% surge chance on all spells of 1st level or greater.

I have made Divination spells able to be succesfully cast with a die roll- but the visions happen regardless.

I had the party able to detect movement at the top of the monument. Nobody has detected either the Gynosphynx or the Lamia specifically yet. Hundreds of gold was left as an offering to the illusion of a ghostly male spirit- but half of the party couldn't make it to or finish the session so powerful PCs were left above ground to guard the entrance. Thusly, the loot has not been stolen yet and simply lies there.

I did not devote proper time to fully statting out the Algoid as a 5e conversion but I did mind blast the party with my established psionic rules. The algoid is immune to fireball, but I could not argue that it was immune to fire in general and a combination flame blade and radiant bolt defeated it before it got to follow up its stunning mind blast with wicked physical blows.

___

Has anyone any experience with the dungeon?

Link: https://1eonline.info/d/ruins.andril.htm

PS: I scale 1e/2e damage up one die size or double the dice. Even before reminding the party of this conversion rule, the party was "blown away" when they identified the one volatile barrel of drink and I showed them its description and associated damage/disease. I am sharing a lot with them on floor one- but I need to be strict and brutal with every room on floor 2 and beyond.

In preparation for my upcoming 2e AD&D game, I am fleshing out the factions on the Isle of Dread. I have a series of short write ups for the individual factions of the Organized/Intelligent groups, and will post NPCs of Note at a later date.

Lizardfolk:

The lizardfolk (or the Z’llstak in the Reptilian language, aka the Sleestaks) inhabit the swamps on the south part of the island, east of the great southern lake and west of the mountains that form the east coast of the island. They live in small family groups of a dozen or so, and make their homes in flooded limestone caves or primitively constructed mud mounds. They are hunter-gatherers and do not trade or barter even among themselves. Their tool use is primitive and what they have is crudely constructed of wood, stone, or bone.

The religion of the lizardfolk is basic but similar to other lizardfolk throughout the world, hinting at a possible link to an ancient reptilian empire. They revere two primary god-like figures, an Egg-Mother representing fertility and a male figure who is a hunter and devourer. This encapsulates the dichotomy of the lizardfolk world view, calm and nurturing within their society, but savage and violent towards outsiders. Similar to their religion which is a simplified version of lizardfolk deities found in other parts of the world, they speak a devolved and primitive form of Reptilian that shares concepts and idioms with variations of the tongue spoken elsewhere.

Lizardfolk share a kinship with all animals who lay eggs, thus snakes, turtles, crocodiles and birds are considered to be like them. This is not to say those animals aren’t prey, as lizardfolk are known to eat anything including their own kind, but egg-laying creatures are sometimes kept as hunting animals or even pets. Creatures that are born live are considered alien and are only seen as prey. (This includes the few reptilian animals that are born live.) Frogs and frog-like creatures in particular are hated.

This respect to egg-laying creatures extends to dragons. While none make permanent home in the swamps the lizardfolk inhabit, there are dragons on the Isle and they are encountered from time to time. The lizardfolk consider the dragons to be avatars of the great-devourer and will offer tribute and reverence, which the dragons sometimes accept. (It is worth noting that this bond does not seem to extend from the dragons to the lizardfolk, as the dragons often treat them as they would any other prey.)

The lizardfolk do not have a written language beyond crude pictograms, however they have an oral tradition that passes down their history through the generations. They are one of the few denizens of the Isle that have some distant memory of the ancient empire of the Kopru, although it is not known if the lizardfolk have a historical connection to those creatures or if they inherited the legends from another source. Pictograms of figures similar to both the Kopru and the demon patron Demogorgon appear as a monster in lizardfolk iconography, often opposed by both the Devourer and the Egg-Mother.

Lizardfolk have few natural enemies on the Isle of Dread, as few creatures other than swamp denizens want to venture into the dens. The exception is with the Cavemen that inhabit the caves northwest of the swamp, as hunting parties from either group will sometimes encounter the other. The result of these encounters usually result in combat, as mammal-flesh and man-flesh are considered delicacies to the lizardfolk.

Cavemen:

This includes various groups of primitive human-like creatures that inhabit the caves located near the approximate center of the Isle, south of the main range of mountains that separate the northern part of the island from the southern expanse. They tend to live in family groups of between one and two dozen individuals, with the groups led by the strongest. They have no written language beyond crude pictograms and speak a primitive language that can only convey basic concepts such as “food” and “danger”.

The cavemen use primitive tools, fashioning most out of chipped stone and bone. They will use wood or bone clubs and fashion spears by sharpening stakes and using fire to harden the tips. Despite this low technology, the cavemen are adept hunters who frequently bring down big game like cave bears, smilodons, swordbeaks and even mastodons. They do so by ambushing these giant animals and driving them into prepared deadfalls, usually pits or ravines that have been lined with giant wooden stakes. They then track the wounded animal until it collapses from exhaustion, and finish it off with spears. As their prey can range many miles before collapse, these hunting groups often encounter other denizens of the Isle of Dread such as the lizardfolk and the rakasta. Cavemen tend to avoid conflict when possible, and will often abandon hunts if they encounter other groups.

Cavemen hunters are adept at reducing a kill to its component parts and transporting it back to their homes. Often all that remains of their prey are the tracks and patches of bloodstained grass. Virtually everything the cavemen use in their daily life is constructed from the animals they hunt. The cavemen do not work or carve stone, however they do pile boulders into primitive defensive walls around their homes, and will often create crude traps such as rockslides both for hunting and defense.

Though the cavemen do not speak a true language, they do sing and make guttural chants. These primitive ceremonies define much of their daily life, as almost all work is performed along with song. Individuals often hum or drone when working alone or in small groups, and larger groups use the songs to keep workers in sync with each other. While most of this singing is utilitarian, it does become performative and emotive during the few ceremonies the cavemen have. Funeral acts are an example of this, as cavemen mourn their dead and will often sing dirges as they bury them in cairns made of piled stone. Dead are usually interred with a few personal items like weapons or adornments, although it is unclear if this is evidence of a belief in the afterlife.

As their name implies, the cavemen make their home in caves however they rarely go very deep into the cavern complexes. Most of the group will live near the entrance of the cave, and if there are a few lower caves they will be used to store preserved meat and other valuables. Deeper caves will usually be burial chambers, and tunnels that go deeper are usually avoided except when the group is hiding from great danger. It is suspected that there are caves in this area that connect to other parts of the island, but these have not been explored.

Rakasta:

The rakasta (or “Cat Men”) call home the hilly plains in the central area of the southern part of the island. They are similar to but distinct from other feline humanoids found elsewhere such as tabaxi and the leonids, in that they lack a patterned fur or heavy manes. They are nomadic and live in great tents that they adorn with various carpets and tapestries. The rakasta speak and write in their own language, and worship a version of Bast. It is unknown how the rakasta came to live on the Isle of Dread, but it is theorized that they are the descendants of an ancient shipwreck that was transporting tabaxi or leonid slaves.

The rakasta have an affinity for the sabre-toothed tigers that are native to the island, and often train them as mounts. Only the mightiest of the rakasta warriors can tame the tigers, and so tiger riders are the elite caste. Rakasta males who have not tamed tigers are of a lower social level, with females being considered the lowest. The rare exception to this is a female rakasta who tames and rides a sabre-toothed tiger, who is then considered a member of the tiger rider caste. Spellcasters among the rakasta are also rare, but are usually considered outside the typical caste system and act as advisors or healers.

The hills the rakasta call home are bordered by the caves of the cavemen to the north, the jungles of the phanaton to the west, and the swamps of the lizardfolk to the east. The rakasta are not on friendly terms with any of their neighbors but rarely enter into their respective territories or pursue conflicts outside of their hills.

Rakasta culture is based primarily on a warrior mythos in which an individual is judged by his success in battle. Disagreements between individuals are usually resolved through combat (sometimes lethal), though less serious offenses may only call for a test of strength. Leadership of the group is determined by a combat trial, always among tiger riders, and generally takes the form of a crude jousting competition where the two combatants will ride close to one another and attempt to strike at each other with their war claws.

The rakasta keep their tents richly appointed with fine silk tapestries and carpets, bronze artifacts, intricate leather work, and silver and gold jewelry. Some of these treasures seem to date back hundreds of years and have a nautical theme to them (lending credence to the shipwreck theory), others have been provided to the rakasta by the aranea as payment for unknown services.

Anyone use here Obsidian to manage their games and use Fantasy Statblocks? I was thinking if there is some database with 1e/2e monsters out there.

do you get players to roll on a rumors table? do you get them to roll on a quest table? do you just give them a quest? many quests? do you just hand them a map and say "go"!

what is your preferred way of launching a campaign?

In a sandbox game, the rumor table presents the hazards and opportunities of the region; however, the decision of whether to go and where to go rests entirely in the hands of the players.

https://rustygatepress.substack.com/p/quick-thoughts-on-rumor-tables

What the title says! I really want to play ADND 2e, but have only really found one good discord server, but no dice (haha). Any obvious place that I'm missing? Thanks!