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Wilderness and dungeon levels

 Being able to assess the risk of adventure locations is a vitally important aspect of old school play, especially the sandbox style. In dungeons, this is a relatively simple matter: the danger increases as you descend deeper into the dungeon. Dungeon levels are typically numbered, starting with 1 for the first level, typically the most easily accessible, and progression to higher numbers with each level farther from the main entrance. Monsters found on a given level will tend to have the same number of Hit Dice as th e dungeon level (e.g. on the third level of the dungeon, 3 HD monsters are most common) and more loosely, traps and other hazards become more deadly. The amount and value of treasure also tends to increase with dungeon level. There are some twists on this formula; some dungeons may have additional entrances that lead directly to deeper levels, and some dungeons may be "layered" horizontally rather than vertically, but the overall principle is that players will b
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BX Monsters A to Z: Green Slime

 We'll roll with the slimy theme for another post, because the next monster is the ever-popular Green Slime. Stats-wise, green slime doesn't look like much. It doesn't even have a proper AC (it can always be hit). It's a bit tougher than a typical 1st-level character, at 2 HD, it moves at a glacial 3' (1'), it doesn't do hit point damage at all, and you'll only encounter a single one at a time. For all that, though, green slime is a deadly threat to the naive and unwary.  It "attacks" by dripping from a ceiling or wall onto a victim, or by being stepped in if on a floor. A fiendish DM might place it in other locations which characters will be tempted to unwittingly touch it. The description says nothing about whether the creature needs to make an attack roll at all; certainly I wouldn't require one for stepping in/touching the slime, but I might make a roll vs. AC 9 for a drip attack. In any case, the slime can dissolve wood and metal in 6
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B/X Monsters A to Z: Gray Ooze

 Slime time! Our monster today is the gray ooze from the Basic Set. Despite the sheer bulk of the black pudding, the gray ooze may well be the most dangerous of the slimes and oozes I've covered so far. Gray ooze is said to look like wet stone, making it difficult to see. One might well expect a bonus to surprise opponents because of that, but apparently it's only a flavor detail here, not something to be represented mechanically. That might be just as well, considering... The monster's stats don't immediately impress: its AC of 8 makes it easy to hit, and 3 Hit Dice, while a lot for Basic-level parties, doesn't take too long to whittle down. If you can stay alive long enough, that is, because this thing is bringing some serious hurt. A gray ooze secretes powerful acid that inflicts 2-16 points of damage on a successful attack. After that, it does 2-16 points per round automatically, in addition to automatically destroying non-magical armor. (Magical armor can hold
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Keep 'em separated

 One of the tropes of D&D, and fantasy RPGs generally, that I've come to dislike the most is the cosmopolitan society depicted in so many settings and adventure modules. It's arguably reached its apotheosis in modern iterations of Dungeons & Dragons and its close kin, in which not only dwarves, elves, and halflings, but orcs, lizardfolk, elemental-kin, half-demons, and even more outlandish beings regularly coexist closely with humans and each other, socializing, working, cohabitating, even interbreeding freely. Even in older products, as well as more recent OSR and OSR-adjacent material, however, the trope is in evidence. Try to think of the last human village or stronghold described in an old TSR or newer OSR product which actually featured a human smith instead of a dwarf. Setting aside that most wildly overused cliche, though, you'll generally find that almost every predominantly human settlement will have enclaves of non-humans, and NPCs prominent enough to warr
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Yet another look at the thief and his job

 As so often happens, just as I zero in on The Way that I think will solve some glaring issue in the game, along comes a fresh insight or three to send me back to the ol' drawing board. I don't even recall precisely how this insight came to be in my head or whence it originated (it's drawn from more than one source, most likely), but here it is: Fighters in D&D get better at fighting as they level up. They can hit better ACs more often, thus dealing more damage, and they gain hit points in good amounts (dice willing, of course!). This enables them to take on stronger and stronger challenges in combat, as is their job. A 1st-level fighter struggles against orcs and goblins, but eventually becomes mighty enough to make these nothing but light exercise, and to feel confident going up against trolls and dragons. Magic-users in D&D get better at casting spells as they level up. They can cast more spells, they can cast better spells, and they can cast the same old spells
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My ancient drawings

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 Going through a box of stuff in a spare bedroom that mostly serves as a clutter repository, I came across a folder of old D&D stuff. This particular stuff dates back to the early 90s, when I had dreams of writing and submitting an adventure module for publication. I would have been somewhere in the 18-20 age range at the time.  Anyway, the folder included some drawings I'd done for said module, and while I don't think anyone would ever mistake me for a great artist, I'm kind of surprised that they don't look nearly as bad as I would have expected. To the best of my recollection, I haven't done any drawing at all since these ones (which, as we've established, was a LONG damn time ago.) Anyway, I thought, what the hell, let's share these with my small handful of blog readers! Bear in mind, they've been sitting around in a folder for a few decades, getting all faded and yellow and smudgy-looking. I've run them through my photo editing program to da
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B/X Monsters A to Z: Gorgon

 And for its next trick, B/X Dungeons & Dragons will split one monster into two! In Greek mythology, Medusa was the name of a specific, unique being, one of the three Gorgon sisters (the others being Stheno and Euryale). In D&D, though, medusa and gorgon are separate and very different creature types, united by the common theme of petrification attacks. The D&D medusa is based on the mythical Gorgon, Medusa, while the D&D gorgon is based on... livestock. The gorgon is described as a magical, bull-like monster covered in iron scales. (Random digression: What happens when a gorgon and a rust monster fight? Inquiring minds want to know!) It has large horns, with which it gores opponents, and has the ability to charge for double damage. Gorgons are usually found in small numbers (1-4 appearing) in foothills and grasslands. Befitting its hide of iron scales, the gorgon has a very solid AC of 2, and 8 Hit Dice, making it nearly as robust as an elephant but even harder to take
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