Had a great time at #tridentcon III this past Saturday!

Had a great time at #tridentcon III this past Saturday!

I was only made it for Saturday, but went to all three sessions.

My big accomplishment was running a con game for the first time, an OD&D adaptation of Corsairs of Tallibar by Judges Guild (1982). For a full table of 8 inc Paul Aparicio Eric Hoffman & his brother Kurt. I used the #holmesref sheets plus a new set of 3rd level pre-gens (coming soon). The group played well and finished the ~30 room dungeon just as the 4 hours were up, finding the pirate's treasure. I started the day with a sore throat and lost my voice by the end of the game. It's mostly back to normal as of today...

In the morning Larry Hollis introduced me to the world of Atomic Robo (FATE), along with John Appel and a Pathfinder-Card-Game kid Larry recruited. The setting reminded me of Agent Carter, investigating weird science just after WWII. The adventure, an original, had us exploring a deserted installation on a volcanic island in the South Pacific.

After dinner Charley Phipps ran nine of us including Paul and Rich McKee thru the first tournament section of I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City, using the official pre-gens. I was Hieroman, 1/2 E Druid. I always loved this module but luckily hadn't read it in years. The party was successful until we ran out of time just as we were pursuing a Yuan-Ti into the city.

Zeb Cook was the special guest, and ran an improv D&D game that my friend Scott played in along with Noah Stevens. I talked to Zeb briefly and had him to sign a copy of A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity, joining those of cover artist Jeff Dee, interior artist Diesel and editor Frank Mentzer.

Thanks to Erik Jensen for much labor in organizing this con for us!

So last night I ran my #tridentcon adaptation of Corsairs of Tallibar (Judges Guild) for my regular game group.

So last night I ran my #tridentcon adaptation of Corsairs of Tallibar (Judges Guild) for my regular game group. Used #holmesref as my rules reference during the game (had Holmes Basic & the Monster Manual handy as well). It was fun & handy, as it forced me to get organized well in advance of the con & showed that I'm still using too much material for the 4 hour time slot.

Over the past few years I've slowly been creating reference sheets for Holmes Basic, under the title "Holmes Ref" -...

Over the past few years I've slowly been creating reference sheets for Holmes Basic, under the title "Holmes Ref" - Reference Sheets for Holmes Referees. For Free RPG Day this year, I've made available the first Holmes Ref compilation, a free 10-page pdf. Includes one new item, a blank character sheet that matches the format of the character generation sheet. #holmesref
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2016/06/free-rpg-day-holmes-ref-10.html

I've made a new one-page pdf reference sheet, designed for Holmes but perfectly usable with OD&D + Greyhawk as well.

I've made a new one-page pdf reference sheet, designed for Holmes but perfectly usable with OD&D + Greyhawk as well. This one compiles all of the Level 1-3 M-U spells from Holmes Basic. These are same spells appearing in OD&D + Greyhawk, plus a few new spells that Gygax debuted in Holmes and then appeared in the PHB the next year. The Holmes write-ups of these new spells are simpler than the PHB versions, so they are the closest we get to OD&D versions of these spells. #holmesref
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2016/05/m-u-spells-level-1-3-ref-sheet.html

Random table of 20 rumors for the Portown setting from the Sample Dungeon in the Holmes Basic rulebook.

Random table of 20 rumors for the Portown setting from the Sample Dungeon in the Holmes Basic rulebook. There are all extrapolated from various items in the Background and dungeon encounters. A number of them will lead to encounters outside the dungeon proper, turning the town into more of a mini-campaign area. #holmesref
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2016/05/portown-rumors.html

A new Holmes Reference Sheet - Third Level Spells!

A new Holmes Reference Sheet - Third Level Spells! A single pdf sheet with the Level 3 spells from the original list in the rulebook, but with  descriptions added. I sourced the effects from OD&D but re-wrote them for brevity. The page is numbered 16a if you want to tuck it in the right place in your rulebook. Let me know if you come across any typos/errors. For fun, I also included my illo of Monster Summoning I (wizard summoning G. Cube from the 1st level monster table). #holmesref

Find this on the Holmes Ref page: 

https://sites.google.com/site/zenopusarchives/home/holmes-ref

20 Backgrounds for OD&D or Holmes Basic characters, drawn from the source material. #holmesref

20 Backgrounds for OD&D or Holmes Basic characters, drawn from the source material. #holmesref
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2014/08/20-backgrounds-for-od.html

Micro-dungeon made on the fly using Lego Heroica pieces, explored successfully single fighter of 4th level using...

Micro-dungeon made on the fly using Lego Heroica pieces, explored successfully single fighter of 4th level using Holmes Basic rules.
 #holmesref
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2014/01/mini-dungeon-monster-mountain-1.html

Twenty new monsters for Holmes Basic, each with but a single hit point!

Twenty new monsters for Holmes Basic, each with but a single hit point!
#holmesref  
http://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2013/02/one-hit-point-monsters_23.html