Have recently discovered the Gygaxian splendor of the original version of S4 "The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth" and am...

Have recently discovered the Gygaxian splendor of the original version of S4 "The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth" and am running it using my Holmes/OD&D expansion (basically just Holmes + OD&D).  Check out my campaign journal/play report over on Dragonsfoot for bits of Holmesiana.

The adventure is relevant for Holmes enthusiasts in that it was run the year before publication of the Blue Book, and seems to have provided some influence (most notably, the inclusion of troglodytes into both the Holmes rulebook, as well as B1 a year later).

The pregenerated characters' equipment is also listed in a style similar to that used in the Holmes rulebook.  Are there any other "Holmesisms" that folks are aware of?
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=72443

After all these decades, Holmes is still the default D&D system in my head.

After all these decades, Holmes is still the default D&D system in my head. Sometimes, this makes it difficult to figure out what other editions are talking about.

Originally shared by Joel Priddy

Holmes/AD&D/B/X: Spells Known
I often find rules in D&D that don’t work the way I expect them to, and blame my younger self for having been too lazy to learn the rules correctly back in the day. Turns out, I’m usually just remembering Holmes Basic. This came up recently, when a campaign...

I've backed the kickstarter to reprint Runequest 2nd edition being run by Rick Meints (member here).

I've backed the kickstarter to reprint Runequest 2nd edition being run by Rick Meints (member here). I've never played it before or even read one of the rulebooks but am interested in it from a historical perspective. Both the original Runequest (1978) and the revised 2nd edition (1980) both came out during the Holmes Basic era, and Holmes reviewed the game in his 1981 book about FRPGs. A pdf of the original 1978 version is also being offered as an add-on to the kickstarter.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/224590870/runequest-classic-edition

The cover art by Todd James for the latest issue of Dragon+ is inspired by Sutherland's Holmes Basic set cover.

The cover art by Todd James for the latest issue of Dragon+ is inspired by Sutherland's Holmes Basic set cover. #dcsIII
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2015/12/dragon-5-wallpaper.html

Sad news: Donald McKinney who has been a member of this group since 2012, has passed away.

Sad news: Donald McKinney who has been a member of this group since 2012, has passed away. Just this past June he wrote here: "...what I really want is to run Holmes fantasy using Classic Traveller rules. Some bits work, the rest has evaded me for over a decade. I fiddle with that when I get the chance."

Rest in peace.

Originally shared by Jeff Rients

Don McKinney, Traveller guru, longtime chairman of the Winter War gaming convention, and best man at my wedding is in the hospital, presumably because of his heart again, and not expected to recover. My thoughts and prayers are with Don and his family. :(

Something is terrorizing the streets and backalleys of Portown!

http://primereq.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-marrowbeast-of-portown-parts-one-two.html

Something is terrorizing the streets and backalleys of Portown! The dockers and the homeless are terrified, and even the Assassin's Guild is worried!

Although a big deal was made about cornering a doppleganger in a storage complex near the docks (Part One), the authorities claim that they have caught the "Marrowbeast" and all is safe once again. But the truth is, the disappearances and the murders have increased in frequency and ferocity!

But your PCs, hanging out at the Green Dragon Inn, can't get a word in edge-wise. Yes, they know the truth, but the people don't want the truth...

...and then they're hired by Gerron Dwelvenminter, dwarvish son of the famous Dwarven Miner and Archaeologist Garron Dwelvenminter to recover his father's body from an ill-fated expedition -- in the heart of Portown! Down a disused drainpipe, Dwelvenminter discovered an ancient crypt, broke it's magical seal, and fell to his death.

Coincidentally, this all happened just before reports of the Marrowbeast first surfaced - right about the same time of the first in a series of disappearances and killings...

A revised version of the Character Worksheet.

A revised version of the Character Worksheet. Now includes Movement Rates and Thieves' Backstab, and some other info has been moved around.
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2015/12/character-creation-worksheet-revised.html