Pumpkin Goblins

Tristan Tanner wrote:

Something goofy for Halloween!

https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2018/10/pumpkin-goblins.html

Happy All Hallows' Eve!

Happy All Hallows' Eve!

Here's an audio-visual treat from your early 80s music class ---

I have an article --- with a new artwork by Chris Holmes --- in the first issue of a new Call of Cthulhu zine, Bayt...

I have an article --- with a new artwork by Chris Holmes --- in the first issue of a new Call of Cthulhu zine, Bayt al Azif. Read more here ---

https://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2018/10/article-in-new-cthulhu-zine.html
https://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2018/10/article-in-new-cthulhu-zine.html

Dessicators for Holmes Basic

Tristan Tanner wrote:

A spooky undead water elemental for your Halloween games!

https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2018/10/desiccators-for-holmes-basic-converted.html

I thought you guys might like this!

I thought you guys might like this! I don't know what you'll agree or disagree with, but it's a heartfelt dialogue from two people for whom Holmes was our first role-playing game, at different places and almost the same time. I'd be really interested in your own circumstances of discovering the game, in comparison. http://adeptplay.com/seminar-hearts-minds/staying-underground-dungeon-or-no-dungeon
http://adeptplay.com/seminar-hearts-minds/staying-underground-dungeon-or-no-dungeon

Morlocks for Holmes Basic

Tristan Tanner wrote:

I converted Pathfinder's odd take on Morlocks to Holmes Basic. Not accurate to The Time Machine, but neat monsters nonetheless.

https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2018/10/morlocks-for-holmes-basic-converted.html

FYI, in case you did not know, the special edition of the new Arts & Arcana book as an extra includes a digest-sized...

FYI, in case you did not know, the special edition of the new Arts & Arcana book as an extra includes a digest-sized booklet with two "new" OD&D adventures - the original tournament version of Tomb of Horrors (from 1975) and Alan Lucien's 5-page dungeon that inspired it.


https://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Arcana-Special-Ephemera/dp/0399582754

Suggested locations for the Tomb of Horrors on the "Great Kingdom" map, provided by the recent printing of the...

Suggested locations for the Tomb of Horrors on the "Great Kingdom" map, provided by the recent printing of the original tournament version, included with the special edition of the new Art & Arcana book.

https://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2018/10/locations-for-tomb-of-horrors-on-great.html

Stunner of the week --- the short dungeon that inspired Tomb of Horrors is actually much closer in design to the...

Stunner of the week --- the short dungeon that inspired Tomb of Horrors is actually much closer in design to the tomb in Gygax's lengthy Necropolis than it is to the actual Tomb of Horrors! This was revealed by the publication of the special edition of Arts & Arcana, which included a reprint of the original tournament version of Tomb of Horrors, and as a bonus, Alan Lucien's original dungeon that inspired it. Read about Trent's find here ---

https://mystical-trash-heap.blogspot.com/2018/10/d-review-art-arcana-first-impressions.html

Allan Grohe Jon Peterson Guy Fullerton

Origins documentary on ancient weapons on Netflix.

Chris Holmes wrote:

For my fellow ancient weapons nerds: I watched the beginning of a documentary series called Origins on Netflix. Episode 2 on the history of archery attributed the invention of the crossbow to Leonardo Da Vinci. I love Da Vinci but, I know he didn't actually invent anything and in seemed like crossbows were around earlier. A little research showed they were hundreds of years earlier in China. The same show described the Hittites as Europeans.

Just opened my Arts & Arcana deluxe set now, after falling asleep early two nights in a row.

Just opened my Arts & Arcana deluxe set now, after falling asleep early two nights in a row. Nicely packaged by Amazon, no corners bumped this time. It's in a massive, heavy box. The extras are in a parchment envelope affixed to the inside of the lid.

Got my Amazon shipping notification for my pre-ordered copy of deluxe Art & Arcana!

Got my Amazon shipping notification for my pre-ordered copy of deluxe Art & Arcana! Should be delivered tomorrow. Here's another preview article about it from Polygon today.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/22/18001762/dungeons-and-dragons-art-arcana-visual-history-book-review-excerpt
https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/22/18001762/dungeons-and-dragons-art-arcana-visual-history-book-review-excerpt

The preview for this prominently features our dice, plus a shot of Holmes Basic at 1:05.

The preview for this prominently features our dice, plus a shot of Holmes Basic at 1:05. And Jon Peterson among others. : )

Originally shared by Zenopus Archives

Kickstarter for a Gygax documentary, The Dreams in Gary's Basement, by Dorks of Yore/Pat Kilbane. Includes a 2:42 minute preview. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dorksofyore/the-dreams-in-garys-basement-a-documentary-on-gary
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dorksofyore/the-dreams-in-garys-basement-a-documentary-on-gary

Syfy preview of Art & Arcana.

Syfy preview of Art & Arcana. This article includes a section called "D&D goes to college" that talks about Holmes' work.
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/dungeons-and-dragons-art-and-arcana-visual-history-revelations
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/dungeons-and-dragons-art-and-arcana-visual-history-revelations

H/t Allan Grohe

H/t Allan Grohe

http://www.johntynes.com/2018/10/19/adventure-procedural-game-design/
http://www.johntynes.com/2018/10/19/adventure-procedural-game-design/

Geek & Sundry preview of the forthcoming Art & Arcana ---...

Geek & Sundry preview of the forthcoming Art & Arcana --- https://geekandsundry.com/get-a-sneak-peek-at-dungeons-dragons-art-arcana/
https://geekandsundry.com/get-a-sneak-peek-at-dungeons-dragons-art-arcana/

Gholdakos for Holmes Basic

Tristan Tanner wrote:

Been a while since I converted from a modern system. I thought these fellas were interesting, so decided to give them the Holmes treatment.

https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2018/10/gholdakos-for-holmes-basic-converted.html

A fun story about how Greg Stafford may have received the first ever sold copy of OD&D ---

A fun story about how Greg Stafford may have received the first ever sold copy of OD&D ---

http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2018/10/greg-staffords-story-about-getting-od.html?m=1

Hexcrawler's coffee table. Spotted this at a Starbucks.

Hexcrawler's coffee table. Spotted this at a Starbucks.

I had a great session today running Holmes edition at Big Bad Con, here on the left coast.

I had a great session today running Holmes edition at Big Bad Con, here on the left coast. I used the Fantasy Games Unlimited "Citadel" adventure game as the basic premise for the module and stocked the lovely tiles with a bit of my own weirdness and the sample wandering monster tables provided in the holmes book. I am pretty sure at least 10 player characters were killed in the process and each of the players seemed to enjoy themselves nonetheless. I leverage a house rule mechanic where when someone loses a PC, they get a replacement character but I place the "Santa Muerte" candle in front of them. If you ever lose a PC and you already have Santa Muerte with her eye on you, you are not given a replacement. There is just one candle and it gets passed amongst the players as they earn the attention of Santa Muerte. This works well for convention games to keep players in the session in spite of their poor choices.

The Mothman and Goatman for Holmes Basic

Tristan Tanner wrote:

A malevolent bringer of doom, or a simple observer of tragedy?

https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-mothman-for-holmes-basic.html

Zenopus note: Also the Goatman:

https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-goatman-for-holmes-basic.html

I am beginning to seriously consider Jon Wilson's idea of making acryptid themed Holmes Basic zine called Project...

Tristan Tanner wrote:

I am beginning to seriously consider Jon Wilson's idea of making a cryptid themed Holmes Basic zine called Project Bluebook. [EDIT: My apologies, I misremembered, it was Zach H's idea]

FYI --- as of today, the original Gamma World RPG (1E) is up on Drive Thru in both PDF and Print-on-Demand versions!

FYI --- as of today, the original Gamma World RPG (1E) is up on Drive Thru in both PDF and Print-on-Demand versions! $10 PDF, $20 POD, or $22 for both. It's the boxed set rather than the just the rulebook, so it includes the map. No low-impact dice, however : ) (Link includes my affiliate number.)

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249987/Gamma-World-1e?manufacturers_id=44&affiliate_id=53395

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249987/Gamma-World-1e?manufacturers_id=44&affiliate_id=53395

Social media sites come and go, but the old D&D forums are still going strong.

Social media sites come and go, but the old D&D forums are still going strong. If you missed it before, I'm now one of the mods over at OD&D Discussion. Currently you can't see all of the content unless you are registered and logged in. Leave a message below if you register and I'll facilitate approval.

https://login.proboards.com/register/1771418
https://login.proboards.com/register/1771418

Y'all have been so kind with your feedback and information, so I wantedto try and give you a heads up.

Tristan Tanner wrote:

Y'all have been so kind with your feedback and information, so I wanted to try and give you a heads up. Google+ is gonna be ending soon, and that means the OSR community is gonna have to migrate. For now, Chris McDowall's OSR discord server seems the best bet for a temporary life raft. (Link is here https://discord.gg/Ewfy7Zv )

It was fun while it lasted, folks.

It was fun while it lasted, folks.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/8/17951890/google-plus-shut-down-security-api-change-gmail-android
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/8/17951890/google-plus-shut-down-security-api-change-gmail-android

Preview of the upcoming Art & Arcana book by Tenkar inc the Holmes page showing the cover art by DCS and a page of...

Preview of the upcoming Art & Arcana book by Tenkar inc the Holmes page showing the cover art by DCS and a page of the manuscript with art by Chris Holmes
http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2018/10/first-look-dungeons-dragons-art-and.html?m=1

Sacnoth's Scriptorium is the blog of John Rateliff, author of the History of the Hobbit.

Sacnoth's Scriptorium is the blog of John Rateliff, author of the History of the Hobbit. Here he talks about the surprise of encountering evil elves when first reading the Silmarillion in 1977.

Bone Bugs for Holmes Basic

Tristan Tanner wrote:

These are just crawling all over Skull Mountain. They wouldn't be that much of a problem, but the necromancers who made them out of spare parts also decided to add a deadly dose of venom to their fangs...

https://bogeymanscave.blogspot.com/2018/10/bone-bugs-for-holmes-basic.html

Save or Die Side Adventure #14

Carl Heyl wrote:

A new Save or Die Side Adventure where I am joined by Chris Holmes for a casual conversation about house rules. There is also a little bit of Holmes Basic talk in this episode.

http://saveordie.info/?p=1687

There were actually two different versions of TSR's Lizard Logo!

There were actually two different versions of TSR's Lizard Logo! The original used the Greg Bell art from Greyhawk, the second was re-drawn by David Sutherland. The first printing of Holmes Basic uses the original Lizard Logo, the third print uses the later "imposter" version.

Originally shared by Jon Peterson

A bit of artistic arcana in D&D history: the case of the impostor lizardman.

If any Holmes fans are going to be at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia in a couple of months (11/30-12/2), I'm going to...

If any Holmes fans are going to be at PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia in a couple of months (11/30-12/2), I'm going to be running a Holmes Basic session using B1 In Search of the Unknown as envisioned by Dyson Logos in his "ReQuasqueton" map (reduced down to about 16 rooms). It's part of a larger old-school gaming effort at the convention. I'll share scheduling info as I have it.
https://rpgcharacters.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/tuesday-map-requasqueton/