The Key to Akbeth's Tower at Gary Con

Knife fight in the Bazaar! Looking for The Key to Akbeth's Tower in a Gary Con XI OD&D game run by Demos Sachlas. Part of a tournament scenario originally run at Gen Con in 1977, and later published by Judges Guild.

I recently mentioned that I'll be running the first part of the Gen Con X tournament at Gary Con this year, a town...

I recently mentioned that I'll be running the first part of the Gen Con X tournament at Gary Con this year, a town adventure in which the PCs need to locate the key to a long-dead wizard's tower. While not strictly Holmes, the tournament used OD&D+Greyhawk and was held the year the Holmes Basic Set was released at Gen Con.

So far, I've requested a 4-hour time slot on Thursday, from 10am-2pm, but I'm not sure where it will end up. I'd also like to run it a second time, probably during an evening time slot. I'll be using the original 4th level pre-gens, and perhaps run the other two rounds in subsequent years, using the same characters. Should be a lot of fun!

Just finished re-reading "Three Hearts and Three Lions" and something caught my attention at the outset of the...

Just finished re-reading "Three Hearts and Three Lions" and something caught my attention at the outset of the battle with the troll, when it surprises the party:

"Alianora screamed. Even then Holger thought he had never before heard real fear in her voice. "God have mercy," Carahue choked. Hugi crouched and snarled. Holger dropped his sword, stooped to get it, dropped it again as sweat spurted out of him."

I always wondered where Holmes got his rule about a 1 in 6 chance of dropping what you're holding, if surprised...could this have been an influence?

Thought you guys might enjoy this new video on Pellucidar - JEH gets a shout-out part way through, around 2:30

Thought you guys might enjoy this new video on Pellucidar - JEH gets a shout-out part way through, around 2:30
https://vimeo.com/279127290

My review for "Into the Borderlands" just posted on Dragonsfoot, for those who are interested.

My review for "Into the Borderlands" just posted on Dragonsfoot, for those who are interested. I think they did a pretty good job with it!
https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=79608&p=1924910#p1924910

B4 Campaign Sourcebook

At last - I'm ready to circulate the 48-page "B4 campaign sourcebook", a collection of mostly new material celebrating Tom Moldvay's "The Lost City" including:

Retrospective: The Lost City
Memories of Tom Moldvay
About the Artist, from “The Art of Jim Holloway”
Printing History, with notes from the Acaeum
Origins of the Lost City
Worship of the Ancient Gods
The Cynidicean Mosaics
Holmes and the Lost City
Notes on the Underground City
Expanding the Adventure
New Monsters
The Emirates of Ylaruam
The DM’s Guide to Cynidicea
Review: “Mystara: Return to the Lost City”
Review: “Masque of Dreams” (including some previously unpublished artwork by Michael Kaluta!)
Review: “Elder Evils”
2013 Gen Con Championship

There was also a 24-page section detailing the Underground City which I will be releasing as a separate pdf, as I'm working on significantly improving my original, 30+ year old notes.

Module B4 was published for use with B/X, but lends itself magnificently to a Holmes Basic campaign (there are even instructions in the module for running it entirely using the Blue Book - see Zach's article for more info).

Here's the link:
https://sites.google.com/site/bxgrimoire/B4%20campaign%20sourcebook.pdf

Gen Con X souvenir program

I got a chance to flip through a copy of the Gen Con X souvenir program at Gary Con, which was part of a display for The Collector's Trove in the Legends of Wargaming room.

The Holmes Basic Set is advertised on page 19, obtainable at booth #s 26, 27, and 28. There's also a map of Lake Geneva which I think might have been drawn by DCSIII (there's one of his little dragons in the lake!)

Any interest in a pickup game of the Gen Con X tournament dungeon at Gary Con this year?

Any interest in a pickup game of the Gen Con X tournament dungeon at Gary Con this year? At least one or all three parts, using the original pregens with Holmes/OD&D rules...this was the adventure by Bob Blake used at the Playboy Resort back in 1977 (now of course the Grand Geneva resort, where we'll all be).

https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=70763
https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=70763

I DM'd my Holmes/OD&D group through the Gen Con IX Dungeons this past summer.

I DM'd my Holmes/OD&D group through the Gen Con IX Dungeons this past summer. Although designed for intermediate to high levels (part 1 for levels 6-8, and part 2 for levels 8-10) the dungeons could be pilfered for ideas to suit an expanded Holmes campaign.

Linked below is my review on Dragonsfoot, for those who wish to know more about this obscure tournament scenario.
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=75329&sid=9031f511b9c0297c34579524439222a1

"Isle of the Abbey" by Randy Maxwell was originally published in Dungeon magazine #34 (March/April 1992) for 4-6...

"Isle of the Abbey" by Randy Maxwell was originally published in Dungeon magazine #34 (March/April 1992) for 4-6 characters of levels 1-3. It was also featured as the cover illustration for that issue.

Although written in the Rules Cyclopedia era, the adventure is a self-declared homage to the blue book. The author only used rules, monsters, and magical items from the Basic Set (Mentzer or the black box) but I took it a step further and performed a Holmes edit (attached).

You'll notice a B1/B2 feel to the font and layout. I also included some players maps near the end. The best part? All you'll need is your copy of Holmes to run this adventure. Enjoy!
https://3f932073-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/holmesgrimoire/IsleoftheAbbeyforHolmes.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cr4w8xNRJORP9QhExHR6wYVRApfg-jAgoWit90VbDjIzUSYlQvXJrFZZRigpbtk6L0oXtV3LydZe0dIxuibst0zls3Zo3LEcFiPcrgfE9W4Fahr_RmorGmgoE1uXYOYf5-hVWibiJh0TFahAiIVZGUkgzXziT2E_S1UZFeyjVDJwOgJBFYCqCt6zJlEHJ9vy1VRgKSNyqMkQv6IGugWbYsZxSpJ9frGzreXXrw-PoZzSlWpj40%3D&attredirects=0

Having just finished running my Holmes/OD&D group through the original "Lost Caverns of Tsojconth" I felt compelled...

Having just finished running my Holmes/OD&D group through the original "Lost Caverns of Tsojconth" I felt compelled to make this classic more accessible.  Click on the link for a 16-page version of the Lost Caverns in the style of B1 "In Search of the Unknown"

This would serve as a great adventure for 6-8 PCs of levels 3-7.  All you need is a copy of your D&D rulebook edited by Holmes, as I have included sections describing new monsters and treasures (including the rules for intelligent swords from Greyhawk).

I borrowed text from the AD&D version to flesh out some of the room descriptions.  I also felt the need to come up with some wandering monster tables, but feel free to modify to suit your individual campaign.  Enjoy!
https://sites.google.com/site/holmesgrimoire/TsojconthforHolmes.pdf

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

In my search for intermediate-level adventures to continue my Holmes-based OD&D campaign, I came across the Gen Con...

In my search for intermediate-level adventures to continue my Holmes-based OD&D campaign, I came across the Gen Con X tournament dungeon, originally published by Judges Guild.

There's something about this adventure that's very "Holmesian" - the dungeon in particular.  Gen Con X was right around the time that the Holmes Basic Set came out, so that's probably no coincidence.

Interestingly, there's a set of tournament rules included, in which it's stated that a dagger strikes 2 times per round!  The tournament was played in 1977, so a connection to the rule in Holmes seems quite likely.
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=70763

I'm running my version of "Skull Mountain" for the B2 veterans - Iposted the first installment over in campaign...

Demos Sachlas wrote:

I'm running my version of "Skull Mountain" for the B2 veterans - I posted the first installment over in campaign journals on DF, in which they decide to investigate the seemingly unguarded back door...
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=69643

Over the past few years, I've been assembling an expanded version of the Holmes rulebook, incorporating all of the...

Over the past few years, I've been assembling an expanded version of the Holmes rulebook, incorporating all of the material in the original LBBs and Greyhawk, as well as material from Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, and the Strategic Review.  I was originally inspired by the Grey Book, but was disappointed that the Grey Book didn't live up to its original premise.

As part of this, I've tried to round out magic-user spells to 9th level.  There are only nine 7th level spells and eight 8th level spells in OD&D, while there are ten 9th level spells.  The Holmes rulebook includes a few new 1st and 2nd level spells that later appeared in the AD&D 1e Player's Handbook, so I thought it would be in the same spirit to include some "new" higher level spells.

For this, I chose Drawmij's Instant Summons, Mordenkainen's Sword, and Statue for the Book of 7th Level Spells - all of which later appear in BECMI as 7th level spells (although called Teleport Any Object, Sword, and Statue), and Incendiary Cloud and Otto's Irresistible Dance for the Book of 8th Level Spells (later appearing as Explosive Cloud and Dance as 8th level spells in BECMI).

The final version also includes the OD&D rules for magic item creation and clerical spells and clocks in at 16 pages.  I'm attaching a link to the pdf and would be interested in any feedback.
https://sites.google.com/site/holmesgrimoire/Holmes%20Grimoire.pdf