MONSTERS AND ORGANIZATION This section illustrates a part of the art of DMing that is perhaps lost on a lot of people now, but which post-3.x D&D actually tried to bring back a bit (to its credit). Monsters use tactics and behave in logical fashion.  The section deals heavily with the idea that  DM must be prepared for all eventualities, and should prepare in advance the course of action a given monster or group of monsters will take in the event PCs take any number of logical possible approaches to them. While a DM must be able to think on his feet and it's true PCs will often think of things the DM did not, this section isn't concerned with detail-oriented breakdowns of every PC strategy. Rather, the idea is, "how will monsters react if surprised/ambushed, if openly engaged, or if an effort to parlay is made."  These are the three basic things that can happen in an encounter. Also of importance here is what will happen if the PCs leave and return to enc...

Elf Lair Games is pleased to announce our newest release, just in time for Halloween! "By the pricking of my thumbs Something wicked this way comes!"   Written by popular RPG writer and blogger extraordinaire Timothy S. Brannan, The Witch covers the Witch character class and the various traditions of witchcraft one might encounter in an old-school fantasy game. This sourcebook contains plenty of information for players and game masters alike, including new spells, powers, magic items, and monsters. Compatible with original Basic Edition fantasy games, or your favorite retroclone! The Witch can be purchased through our DriveThruRPG storefront.  Currently it is only available as an e-book, but we plan to put it up for sale as a softcover book very soon. The ebook is only $5.00; the softcover print edition will likely be priced at $25 and discounted through DTRPG around $19.95.  Purchasing the print edition will get you a FREE copy of the PDF. 

It is no secret that I am a fan of the game Skylanders .  I even got caught up in all of the hype about collecting the figures and everything.  I am embarrassed (a little) to discuss the lengths I went too to get some of these figures.  There were other parents right there next to me, so I figured I was in good company. Well just when we all thought the madness was dying down, Activision is releasing the new Skylanders Giants this weekend.  New game, new figures, and your old figures can now go to level 15 (previously only 10).  Here we go again. I don’t think it is a stretch to  guess that my favorite character in the game is Hex , the dark elf witch of the “undead” element.  Early this year I stated her up for Dungeons & Dragons 4e and Pathfinder using their respective witch classes. Given there is a new Skylanders game AND my new books are on the way I thought I Would stat her up once again for The Witch and Eldritch Witchery . And ye...

The answer to the above question is simple: D&D lost its way and ceased to truly be D&D, when it got so complicated that it required this: And it never went back:

Before I dive into this section, I'd just like to mention that I'm now using my fancy new Premium Reprint version of the DMG, and I'd still encourage any old school fans out there to support this effort. Unlike the 3.5 reprints, these are pretty reasonably priced and quite frankly, they're really nice quality . Even if you've already got the books, I'd still recommend these, just for the overall quality and to support the effort of WotC re-releasing the best versions of the game from days gone by. NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS Personae of Non-Player Characters This has always been one of my favorite parts of the DMG, and is also the cause of one of my favorite "disconnects." The section in question consists of a set of tables designed to help the DM create NPCs on the fly. The tables cover everything from alignment to personality. Even sanity and interests and collections are covered.  The tables in question are (entries in parentheses indicate sub-tab...

I'd hoped to write the next installment of reading AD&D today over my lunch break, but got caught up talking with some friends. This week, I promise, it's coming. To tide you over, here's the text of the conversation between Bill and I. Jason: Second edition AD&D reprints in May Bill: Oh, hey, man. Bill: You know, I've never even read through the 2E core books fully. Have had them on my hard drive for a while now. Jason: Heh. Jason: 2E is not bad. It's really not all that different from 1E Jason: Just better organized, a bit more intuitive in some ways, and they removed the monk, assassin, and half-orc from the core book. Bill: That's what I gathered from the parts I did read. It all feels a bit more sterile than 1E, though. It's like it is missing that gloomy weirdness that made 1E 1E, you know? Bill: There is a certain...self-awareness...to 2E, I guess. Jason: Yes, it's definitely more polished in its ...

Tascela, Princess of the Tecuhltli (City of Xuchotil) From "Red Nails" "She was tall and lithe, by far the most beautiful woman in the room. She was clad more scantily even than the others; for instead of a skirt she wore merely a broad strip of gilt-worked purple cloth fastened to the middle of her girdle which fell below her knees. Another strip at the back of her girdle completed that part of her costume, which she wore with a cynical indifference. Her breast-plates and the circlet about her temples were adorned with gems. In her eyes alone of all the dark-skinned people there lurked no brooding gleam of madness." - Red Nails , Robert E. Howard Tascela is an immortal witch from Robert E. Howard's "Red Nails", his last Conan story. She is so old she does not remember her youth though she knows she learned her magic from a Stygian priest.  For this reason I choose to make her a Witch and give her the Demonic Tradition.  Her familiar has died ...

Because I am sometimes a complete tool who spends money on things I don't need, I picked up the reprints of the D&D 3.5 books on Friday. Really, I wanted to support the effort of WotC releasing, well, anything not fourth edition. I sat down to page through the DMG and noticed, to my surprise and delight, that the example of play listed in the DMG is the exact same scenario as the one in the first edition DMG. The major changes are the inclusion of the 3.5 iconics (Mialee, Lidda, et. al.) and the difference in rules. I thought this would create an absolutely fantastic opportunity to highlight the change in style assumption between old school and later edition D&D gaming. I will attempt to do so without value judgement, just highlighting what I view as the difference in play style between the two editions, and hopefully explore how D&D has evolved from one to the other over the years. I should put forth the caveat here that while AD&D first edition is hands down m...

Note: Here is a monster you can use with the upcoming Eldritch Witchery from Elf Lair Games. Impundulu The Impundulu, or Lightning Bird, is a type of vampiric servant used by evil witches. The bird is born when lightning strikes the ground.  To all others it appears as a lighting strike, but to the witch it has chosen it appears as a bird.  Once so chosen the bird will manifest to all as an Impundulu. The bird can also assume the form of an attractive man to lie with the witch each night. The Impundulu may also attempt to seduce other women, and feeds on them as a vampire, but it is not an undead creature, but rather one of the Calabim, or Demons of destruction. The Impundulu must charm his victim to gain access to her home and bed, once there he will drain 1-3 (1d6/2) points of Constitution in blood each night. After three nights he will cease his attacks.  The victim could well be close to dead at this point. Any victim lowered to 0 Con dies. V...