OD&D is pretty clear that "there is no reason that players cannot be allowed to play as virtually anything, provided they begin relatively weak and work up to the top..." ( Men & Magic, p. 6). Thus, I'll probably work up other races to add into the basics as I go--I've always been a fan of canine races, for example. But for now, here are the niches into which the core races fit. It should be noted that these are campaign notes, not game ones. In other words, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits have the same racial abilities (mechanically speaking) as listed in Men & Magic. Humans: The most populous single species in the world, humans are currently battling to "tame" the wilds of the Wasted Lands and create a new civilization from the ashes that came before. The godswar, so many thousands of years ago, devastated the lands and drove more than a few sentient species to extinction. But humankind, ever tenacious, has once again crawled from ...

Legend has it that many, many thousands of years ago, the gods were but mortal men and women, like all of us. These men and women performed great deeds of heroism, and eventually became legends. The legends gave way to mythic undertakings as the Great Heroes in time ascended the Celestial Stairs and became gods. In time, other men and women, jealous of the apotheosis of the gods, sought their own pathways to power and glory. Not all of these roads were walked in the light; many contacted the Ancient Ones through dream-magic and blood rituals, selling their souls and the souls and lives of innocents in their quest for godhood. The Ancient Ones--their names make men shudder, women wail, and children hide shivering in horror. The Ancient Ones--Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath, Hastur, Nyarlathotep, and their kin, their legions led by their high priest and cousin, Great Cthulhu. It is said that the Ancient Ones made humans and our kin, as slaves, playthings, and food. But sc...

Well, I have turned down my initial offer, so distribution is not imminent, but is certainly still on the docket. Just means we're back to our original plan. Fear not; I still fully intend to get S&S and all of Elf Lair's products to come on store shelves within the year. There are other irons in the fire, and I am determined to do this the right way.

OD&D eventually had five original supplements, and recently with the advent of Swords & Wizardry , more and more folks are producing new OD&D supplements. For purposes of this blog, and unless otherwise noted later, I consider OD&D to consist of Chainmail, the original 3 brown books (hereafter LBBs), the five supplements ( Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Gods, Demi-Gods, and Heroes , and Swords & Spells ), as well as the Carcosa supplement that has recently been released. In addition I will be drawing some inspiration and information from the first edition Deities and Demigods, only because it has more complete information on more pantheons than GDG&H and because in some ways I like its presentation of the Cthulhu Mythos better than that in Carcosa, though I will draw from "C" as well. So, given these sources, here are the rules I am allowing. I posted these previously over on the OD&D forums . These are also subject to change as I go...

Catchy title, ain't it? Not so much, I know. It's a bit cheesy and cliche, but it'll work in the absence of a more evocative title. So, what is The Wasted Lands? The Wasted Lands is a pet project of mine: a campaign setting/"sandbox" for the Original Dungeons & Dragons rpg published between 1974-1979. And when I say Original D&D, I don't mean this: And I don't mean this: And I sure as heck don't mean THESE... No, when I say original, I mean just that: ORIGINAL Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's move on, shall we? *grin* Since I became involved with the Old School Movement, my fascination with, and love for, OD&D has grown exponentially. I study it as a scholar studies his chosen field, and I adore the base simplicity of it. I've come to hold the opinion that the current trend in RPGs--to have a rule or system covering every situation and circumstance--is just wrong. "The more fi...

Distribution potential continues to move forward...and sideways...and backwards...and kind of wibbly-wobbly off to the diagonal directions. I'm working a few angles, getting some anonymous advice from industry contacts, and trying to examine this from all directions before I decide what to do. While S&S is definitely an "old school feel" game, and I'm proud to be part of the Old School Movement, I don't want to pigeonhole the game--I'd like to reach as wide an audience as possible while still catering to the old school fans. On that front, I've worked out the final revision for S&S, and am thinking my sales model is going to change. I am going to leave the original pocket edition and "old school" pamphlets of S&S and the pocket edition of MM up for sale. The 9x6 versions will come down. This version will be re-dubbed "Spellcraft & Swordplay Basic," and will likely remain available only through the web. The version that...

I got an e-mail this morning that Spellcraft & Swordplay has been selected to appear on Amazon's Marketplace! Apparently a ton of us in the old-school game have gotten similar e-mails (perhaps even every RPG publisher on Lulu), but wow! That's pretty cool. The prices are higher on Amazon--to cover costs, Lulu imposed a 30% markup. But still, that's pretty rocking, to see my company represented on Amazon.com. Developments continue on the mysterious "soon into distribution" opportunity. I hope to be able to have a concrete announcement soon, but I will say if this happens the version of Spellcraft & Swordplay you'll see in stores will be the long-promised "Final Version." Nothing will be changed to invalidate the versions you already have--I will likely incorporate some things from Monstrous Mayhem , as it's questionable whether the distributor will carry the sourcebook. Thus, a few of the Elite Paths (probably just Necromancer and Dru...

Just a quick note to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day and a reminder to take some time today to reflect on the sacrifices our soldiers have made (and make every day) for all of us. These are guys who deliberately put themselves in horrific, constantly life-threatening situations day after day just to ensure the safety and security of the rest of us at home. Kudos to the troops wherever they may be, and eternal gratitude.

Can't say much right now, but a potentially exciting development has popped up which may enable us to get into distro much sooner than originally anticipated. Alas, if we take this deal our prices may have to go up, as the profit margins in distribution are far smaller than they are in direct sales or through Lulu. Stay tuned!

So I doubt this post will be as long as the first, as it's only been a day and there's not much new to report. The responses to the boxed sets have been truly astounding. I've been flooded with e-mails regarding the possibility of having any left over. These I must (to be fair) address first-come, first-serve, so at this point I think I'm definitely sold out. That being said, if interest continues to be expressed, I'll certainly continue looking into options for a larger run. Printing and boxes are the big hurdles--if I can find a way to pull it off while still keeping costs manageable, it may very well happen. The Space Opera game. Okay, since people seem very interested here's what I can tell you so far...but before I do, PLEASE do not take this as an announcement of impending release. This project is FAR from complete and to be considered in "development Hell" until further notice--it's NOT by ANY MEANS something people should stash away c...

Well, all, here we are: the first blog for Elf Lair Games on Blogspot. Some of you may be aware I was doing semi-regular updates on Lulu when they had a blog function, but they killed that functionality, so I've been hem-hawing about doing another. I decided what the heck. It's nice to give people a place they can keep up with the goings-on as we try to build Elf Lair into a real publishing company. At this point Elf Lair is about 70% me, and 30% Timothy Brannan , who's done a lot of behind-the-scenes work, been an invaluable sounding board, and is doing "free" writing (that is, he's working for copies at this point) for me. He may come on board as an official partner at some point, but we have to work that out, still. So, what's new? The (very) limited-edition boxed sets of Spellcraft & Swordplay have shipped, save two that I have to send out today. Then I'm going to contact the 3 or 4 holdouts from whom I haven't yet heard, and I may st...