Some Thoughts On Mentzer Edition Dungeons & Dragons Along With the Box Sets

"From the back of the box:

"Your first step on the road to Adventure!"

This is a game that helps you imagine.

"As you whirl around, your sword ready, the huge red fire-breathing dragon swoops TOWARDS you with a ROAR!"

See? Your imagination woke up already. Now imagine: this game will probably be more FUN than any other game you've ever played!

The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game is a way for us to imagine together - sort of like reading the same book, or dreaming the same dream. But it's a book that YOU can write, without putting a word on paper - just by playing a D&D game. This New Popular Edition has been completely revised to include ONE-PLAYER GAMES as well as group games for Players and Dungeon Masters. YOU can start playing RIGHT AWAY!"

Mentzer edition Dungeons & Dragons is a whole cloth departure from the normal of original Dungeons & Dragons. Everything from slick editing, to whole cloth rules slimming & tucking from Holmes Dungeons & Dragons, to a fresh coat of Larry Elemore cover paint. Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons is a slick package. In Eighty three this box set was a revelation after playing my way through original Dungeons & Dragons. Thanks to Rpg geek for the trip down memory lane. 



Mentzer Dungeons & Dragons was & is a very different animal then original Dungeons & Dragons. The core is there but its tilted in a very different way that make the game primed for the 'Known World' that would come with it. Everyone talks about Rules Cyclopedia from Aaron Allston, &  Frank Mentzer. To tell the truth with the whole cloth Wizbros PC rebranding the Dungeons & Dragons brand from the ground up with politically correct paint I don't think Aaron Allston, &  Frank Mentzer get nearly enough credit these days. To tell the truth its actually Hasbro that's pushing this agenda. The Wizbros just are trying to keep their jobs at this point. I've already got my copies of these box sets so I can literally do whatever the Hell I want with my box sets.  Hasbro has no control over my or your table top.  



1983 - Dungeons & Dragons Set 2: Expert Rules  completely changed the neighborhood Dungeons & Dragons game. The cross over with the whole of the other Mentzer box sets meant that on going campaigns could continue for years! I said years & that was exciting to us. 

Sure I'll hear different folks talk about various aspects of Mentzer or Companion rules but never the fact that these rules are so easy to cross over with various incarnations of the OSR clones. The easy of use is so attractive to me even to this day. But we'll get to the why & how coming up. 

Exploiting The Hollow World Setting & OSR Games

"THE KNOWN WORLD: IT ISN'T FLAT, BUT IT IS HOLLOW. 

Within the sphere of the Know World is another world, the Hollow World. There your characters will meet ancient Nithians, long disappeared from the surface world and thought extinct: Blacklore Elves, living in a magical valley and served by automatons-devices that take care of everything, from serving their food to trimming their grass: Azcans, terrifying, war-mongering natives whose taste for battle extends even into their favorite game-the loosers always die- and many more. Monsters abound as well, from dinosaurs to aurochs. "




I love abusing The Hollow World box set by Aaron Allston, Karen S. Boomgarden, &  Bruce Heard. It is such a fun setting to drop PC's into & best of all its adaptable to both Advanced Dungeons & Dragons as well as BECMI Dungeons & Dragons . But can this wonderful setting be attached & used for other old school & OSR D&D style settings.

Different caverns & tunnels of the Hollow World have planar gateways into other D&D settings even though many of these are monitored & very dangerous. There's also the 'spell of preservation' issues along  lots of other weird bits & pieces.  Plus one has to deal with the Council of Intrusion ( the council is a party of immortals whose job is to eject any demons, devils, aliens, or cosmic entities from Mystara) if you were going to do a large scale otherworldly invasions you might be in trouble. But smaller parties,lone travelers, adventurers, etc. are not even going to be noticed. This got me thinking about Trey Causey's Dreams From the Sorcerer's Skull blog post 'Atomic Age riff on Operation Unfathomable'. What happens when some modern day adventurers blunder into 'The Hollow World' from a Fifties Atomic Age Operation Unfathomable? The Immortals are not going to bat an eye for one.

illustration by Nik Poliwko

The spell of preservation is going to cause all kinds of havoc with said adventurers. But let's take this further shall we.. If the door swings both ways then, what happens when Hollow World adventurers are exposed to the wilds of such a setting? Jason Sholtis's setting already has a science fantasy flavor about it & the Blacklore Elves might not be that shocked. But the races from the Hollow World? Well that's another matter entirely.  The Azcans who make it back to their lands inside the Hollow World after experiencing Sholtis's science fantasy fueled nightmare vision will prepare for war!

Let's not even mention  the Nithians or the Milenians both of whom have experience with the entire spectrum of occult techo science fantasy magicks & artifacts. What's really gonna be shocking is the array of inhuman & other worldly entities that rule the Operation Unfathomable setting itself.  But let's take the planar gate way bit even further & use Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. The Hollow World lines up with Underborea & we have several serpent men scientists or ophidian adventurers visit. This isn't going to be a major issue as the serpent men already have a foot hold within Mystara. Well that's not a problem because of the Vaults of Pandius B4 Lost City Sourcebook. Adventurers from Hyperborea are going to feel right at home with the prehistoric beasts & lost nations of The Hollow World.



The kings & queens of Hyperborea would see the Hollow World as an incredible resource to be exploited & also a possible location for trade. Maybe conquest but I doubt it because of the military resources of  the Nithians or the Milenians could be a nightmare to deal with. But I can also see the setting being a perfect opportunity for some brave & very foolhardy adventurers from Lamentations of the Flame Princess stumbling right into the Hollow World & then dying. This is especially true of England Upturn’d campaign adventure By Barry Blatt & its use of the English civil war. This is very desperate England & a party of adventurers could make some dangerously inane diplomatic decisions. 

By the same token but a completely different side of the coin an adventuring party from  Albion from Lion & Dragon might have a very different experience. They've got experience with many kingdoms & lost lands. Albion is going to play it very cagey & learn as much as they can about the lands, religions, cultures, etc. before they set up trade or commit to a military objective. Albion is in the grip of its own civil war & can ill afford to deal with a planar war.

Finally there's the fact that with the Amazing Adventures fifth edition book winding down in less then forty hours I'd be remiss to mention that the Hollow World could easily be plugged into Jason Vey's baby. The Hollow World has a lot to offer AA! & could open up an entire can of worms for adventurers. I don't want to think of the ramifications of this meeting because its beyond the scope of this blog. But with the kickstarter winding down this classic setting seems primed for another look by AA! Rpg fans.

Moving back into the Hollow World for a moment the 

HWA1 Nightwail (Basic) adventure could be used to rope in otherworldly adventurers into the setting. Because its a relatively mundane adventure. NWA1 could be adapted for any of these settings & systems. 

Wrath of the Immortals by Aaron Allston, Mystara, & The Immortals Box Set By Frank Mentzer

"Immortals. Warriors of the outer planes ...
Wrath of the Immortals unveils untold secrets of how to create and role-play Immortals in the World of Mystara and other dimensions. The frightening powers of the Immortals, their strange worlds, and their secret alliances are revealed at last, but is it in time?
And then, the final confrontation! In the name of the Immortals, the two greatest empires of the Known World clash in a brutal war. The world has gone mad... will both disappear from the face of the earth?"

Yes I totally stole this from Wayne's books but I order from him so


Was D&D Immortal Rules Set (1986), by Frank Mentzer, set too radical for its time period?!Personally I love the gold D&D box set & I've actually used it extensively. For me its not simply another beauty to sit on a shelf. The PC's are heroes through their adventures (if they survive) & Mentzer's box set is the culmination of this. Wrath of the Immortals, written by Aaron Allston in '92 caught me like a sucker punch. I wasn't expecting this box set & no I don't think that replaced the D&D Immortal Rules Set (1986), by Frank Mentzer so much as enhance it.  No I'm not talking about the world changing Mystara events of Wrath of the Immortals. 

It wouldn't be until years later that I'd learn the full extent of the controversy that surrounds the Wrath of the Immortals box set. I picked up the Wrath box set in K.B. Toys for around seven dollars or so in '93 or '94  when they were blowing them out. I totally ignored all of the world altering events in Wrath as optional. Some of the really neat bits of the Wrath of the Immortal box set was: "Create new worlds, wondrous artifacts, and entire new races!
• Complete rules to create and role-play PC and NPC Immortals
• Details a host of awe-inspiring Immortals in the Known World, the HOLLOW WORLD and the outer planes
• Reveals all on the mysterious Pandius, City of the Immortals
• Contains a 128-page referee's guide with Immortal-level spells, abilities, character classes, and monsters; a 96-page campaign saga covering the entire war; two new, updated poster-sized maps of the Known World and the empires."

Then there's the excellent cartography & maps that came with the  Wrath of the Immortals box set.
So yes there is the fact that there is a six year BCEMI Dungeons & Dragons campaign called Immortals Fury  within the box set but its going to radically alter Mystara completely if played through. But Havard brought up a point way back in 2010 in the Enworld thread I referenced; "If you are going to change things, you might as well make the changes severe. 

Still, this is a fantasy setting we are talking about. If the players are set on it, there is no reason not to have changing everything back possible, should the players want to.

I am certainly planning on having Alfheim restored and Alphatia return to the surface eventually.

My main beef with WotI and the products set after it, is rather the changes that "fixed" problems of the AC1000 era, but failed to replace them with other situations. For instance, if the Black Eagle has been removed from Karameikos and Clerics are allowed in Glantri, how does that make the setting more interesting?

Havard"

So in this regard I can actually see running the Immortals Fury campaign & then doing a completely soft reboot of the Mystara setting for home campaign play. But which box set is superior? Well referencing The Dragon's Foot site thread Original Immortals box set vs. Wrath of the Immortals thread. 

Dragon's Foot member rabindranath72 had this to say; "They are quite different, both in scope and execution. Frank's work is much more complete (and complex, I would add), detailing the whole cosmology of the D&D universe. It also presents a rather different treatment of the Immortals. 

WotI is much simpler, both in its descriptions, and in the rules. It presents a list of many Immortals, which are shown with their powers and the abilities they grant clerics, whereas in Frank's work this tie with clerics is not so explicit. 
I would say that they are quite different works, and worth having both. 

Cheers, 
Antonio"

Taking into account both box sets allows the dungeon master to cherry pick what & which systems are going to work best for them. In my mind Frank Mentzer's Immortal set has incredibly broad strokes of world building & even Immortal PC design. But Wrath of the Immortals, written by Aaron Allston from  '92 has some really solid additions to the Mystara setting. Mentzer's take has a very different and very interesting cosmology and Immortal characters. The sample Known World Immortals and their tie-in clerics are  a handy little short cut into the Mystara world campaign setting. With all of that being said I think that the one thing that no one mentions is the fact that The Hollow World set is a must if your going to run Fury of the Immortals!



Not only is it a great reference but there are several key events that tie directly into the Fury of the Immortals adventure. Now that being said I think that there's also the fact that the PC's could become major influences on the Hollow World setting in light of the events of Fury of the Immortals.  Do I think that Wrath of the Immortals, written by Aaron Allston from  '92 is still relevant? Well if coupled with Frank Mentzer's Immortal box set then it becomes a great addition to Mystara.  

A Very Brief Look At The Immortals Box set by Frank Mentzer & Aaron Allston's Wrath Of The Immortals Box Set

"Ever wonder what happens to powerful heroes after their adventures legendary, and they have passed in to the realms beyond? Now you can find out with the D&D Immortals Set. 

The Player's Guide to Immortals lays out the basic information needed to convert you mortal player characters to Immortal status. It also explains new game mechanics, as are many aspects of the character's new existence. 

The DM's Guide to Immortals details the rules for playing in the realms of the Immortals. With descriptions of the Astral and Outer planes, details of creatures found therein, and other information and ideas for Immortal adventures!"


I've always loved the Immortals Box set by Frank Mentzer for BECMI Dungeons & Dragons. There are some incredible ideas here for weird & over the top style adventures & campaign play. I grabbed my copy when KB Hobbies were blowing these sets out for three dollars each way back in '87 or 89. 

Over the last twenty four hours I've spent a good deal of time away from the bounds of social media checking out & rereading through Frank Mentzer's Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Box set. Let's get the basic history & background out of the way first from the box set's Wiki entry; "The Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set was last revised in 1983 by Frank Mentzer as Dungeons & Dragons Set 1: Basic Rules. Between 1983 and 1985, the system was revised and expanded by Mentzer as a series of five boxed sets, including: the Basic Rules (supporting character levels 1–3), Expert Rules (supporting levels 4–14),^[1] Companion Rules (supporting levels 15–25),^[2] Master Rules (supporting levels 26–36),^[3] and Immortals Rules (supporting Immortals—characters who had transcended levels)."   I've seen this set described as being an almost separate game experience & mode of play from the other BCMEI box sets  of Dungeons & Dragons. I've got to concur & many of the ideas presented in the books of the Immortals set have a very different tone for PC generation. But background for adventure & campaign creation is very Mystara centered including rules for creating new characters and their form, abilities, powers, and home planes. But on the whole the Immortals Box set is controversial to say the least even today in certain circles of D&D & OSR gamers. The Drivethrurpg entry on the box set  really does boil down the whole controversy into its essence;" Part of the reason for the controversy over the Immortal Rules is that it isn't really D&D. It's really a totally different game that can be played after D&D character ascend to immortality.

The Immortal Rules start with a character converting his XP into Power Points (PP) at a 10,000:1 ratio. His characteristics convert to talent scores and he picks up new powers. Overall, the Immortal Rules offer a nice, clean translation but the play is still very different.

Oh, and there's another 36 levels of play to advance through, just like the 36 that made up mortal-level play in Basic D&D!"
Part of the issue with the Immortals Box set books is that it turns the PC's into full on resource managers which is fine for clerics & magic users. But in the Immortals Rules every character is a resource mover & shaker. Immortals are not gods but very powerful adventurers who wield the divine spark of immortality & their divine powers. Think of them like Marvel or DC's cosmic powered heroes or the heroes straight out of mythology. But they seem a bit clunky.

When it comes to the depth & breath of the Immortals box set I'd start with the adventure elements, rules on planes, & the monsters section then start working up a campaign outline. Then I'd dive deeper into the old school scene & grab my copy of Wraith of the Immortals box set. Frank Mentzer's Immortals Box set has it over the Wraith of the Immortals box set in terms of the cosmology of Dungeons & Dragons Mystara, its treatment of the immortals, & the immortals tie in with clerics. But Wrath has a much more streamlined PC generation system. Mentzer's  includes  things such as apotheosis (attaining divinity), godly powers, belief systems, epic quests, and the amazing monsters, artifacts, and realms of magic. So it becomes more of a cherry picking of what the players & the dungeon masters like. 



According to Dragon Foot member harmyn on the Dragon Foot site writes  ; "I have both and find both very useful in their own way. The two ways they play out as immortals show how the game was seen in different ways. I have much love for Franks very different and very interesting cosmology and Immortal characters. I find the sample Known World Immortals and their tie-in to clerics to be a handy little short cut. 

If you can get them both, I highly recommend it." I fortunately have both sets & so I have to concur that this the route to go. Aaron Allston nails some of the rules down for some solid play ideas & guidelines especially in keeping in line with Mystara. But Frank Mentzer sets the bar like something straight out of a Doctor Strange comic book from the 70's or the works of William Blake. I'm completely skipping over Pandius, City of the Immortals but I'm running out of time tonight so Aaron Allston's Wrath Of The Immortals Box Set is going to have wait till tomorrow along with lots more details on the box set's contents on tomorrow's blog entry. 

Review & Commentary On The Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure Box Set By Jeff Grubb, Aaron Allston, & Thomas M. Reid

"Karameikos ... a classic fantasy setting where bold adventurers can become Legendary heroes. Whether you have played only the First Quest audio CD game or have enjoyed the AD&D game for years, you'll find high adventure in the kingdom of Karameikos. Discover a magical land sure to challenge the bravest hearts and sharpest swords. Hear this realm come to life in two extraordinary quests featuring dramatic sounds on compact disc! Inside you'll discover . . . * an interactive audio compact disc featuring thrilling sound effects, character voices, music for two adventures in Karameikos * a 32-page Adventure Book "

"There are always frontiers where adventurers can carve out their own piece of the wilderness where monsters lurk around every corner. The Kingdom of Karameikos is one part wilderness & two parts of the mirror darkly of the Mideveal Dark Ages Europe. Here adventurers still have the chance to pit themselves against the worst that the world has to offer & still bring their families glory.
Take one part Tsarist Russia & stir with a mix of fierce goblins & monsters dark & dire. Here you will find The Kingdom of Karameikos."Over the holidays I received The Kingdom of Karameikos box set as a gift from a friend for Christmas. The box set was a surprise & generally is incredibly well put together By  Jeff Grubb  (Author), Aaron Allston (Author),  & Thomas M. Reid (Author). The history of the setting centers around ; 
"King Stefan Karameikos, a Thyatian who gained rulership over the nation in AC 970 by trading his ancestral lands, the Duchy of Machetos, to Emperor Thincol of Thyatis in exchange for autonomous rulership over the Imperial Province of Traladara.The nation was originally called the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, and theoretically owed fealty to Thyatis, but following the great war between Thyatis and Alphatia, which greatly damaged Thyatis and resulted in Alphatia's sinking, Duke Stefan sold out his homeland and friend^[1] and declared himself King, and Karameikos gained greater prominence in the Known World. "

I was generally surprised at how useful the entire box set seems to be with swaths of   Karameikos history, language, and culture, which completely describes the minute details of the this Kingdom in the Known World. There are not one but two low level adventures that can be used with AD&D & as the reviewer Rick Swan concluded in  Dragon magazine #216 (April 1995); "He stated, "You're a newcomer to the AD&D game. You've played the First Quest game. You've read the Player's Handbook and understand about half of it. Now what? Well, you can 1) close your eyes, buy one of the zillion or so supplements, and hope for the best; 2) design your own adventures from scratch (good luck!); or 3) invest in the exquisite Karameikos campaign set."^[1] Swan concludes: "If you're a beginner and Karameikos fails to make your heart race, you might as well go back to crossword puzzles.""

Yes its that good & solidly done. Yet it seems to be seldom mentioned today!?
With so much setting  history & detail I don't get the look over that this box set gets?! I've seen it mentioned  that the  2E the crunch is very low and converting it to OD&D isn't  hard. So the gaming utility of the Karameikos campaign set is incredible in my humble opinion. 


The low level PC adventures don't end with the three in the box set. Indeed the classic B11 King's Festival By Carl Sargent can be played with the  Karameikos campaign set to set the stage for an epic campaign of incredible proportions. 

This is a classic adventure by Carl Sargent & the fact that someone has decided to borrow a cleric adds a bit of a flare as the PC's quickly get in over their collective heads. "Someone has "borrowed" a cleric, and without him, the fabled King's Festival cannot go on. Unfortunately, it looks like the orcs have him, and your characters must rescue him." All in all this is a solid adventure with deep connections to the Karameikos region. There are also connections to the Dark Knight of Karameikos fantasy novel by Timothy Brown, an interesting article by David Keyser piggy backs everything back into  the  Karameikos campaign set . The Vaults of Pandius has quite a nice array of support material for the  Karameikos campaign set including adventures.  I was surprised at how quickly a mini campaign came together when I added in B12 Queen's Harvest to the mix by Carl Sargent. Using both King's Festival and Queen's Harvest together adds some of the best introductory adventuring for players starting out. 

 The Karameikos campaign set for Mystara feels like coming home for me. The fact that its so compatible with even the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition books as well as really useful for the Basic set of Dungeons & Dragons is an added bonus in my opinion. On the whole I think that  the Karameikos campaign set should get far more attention then it does. I give it five out of five stars in my humble opinion marking it as one of the high water marks of the second edition eras. 

Commentary On Several Free Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia Resources

Tonight's besides getting ready for the holidaze but I'm getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday but I was able to take a moment to grab some time with my D&D Rules Cyclopedia. Every rule from the Basic to Masters boxed sets is covered in a very easy-to-read format within this volume but I came across even more great free downloads to make it even a bit easier to use. Within the D&D Rules Cyclopedia is the "Balancing Encounters" table which, although optional for the DM, allows him/her to always create fair encounters that will challenge players.


I've spoken at length about the fact that the Rules Cyclopedia covers war and army rules, strongholds and dominions, the affairs of immortals, PCs becoming immortals, creating magical items, artifacts, other planes of existence, and AD&D conversion rules. I also find myself going back to it for AD&D first edition material from planning out adventures to creating adventure locations lately. I will probably use this title more in my AD&D campaign than any of the AD&D manuals I am supposed to be using

Yet while the holidays seem to be looming once again I find myself thumbing through the book. Planning rosters of adventurers, NPC's, monsters, menaces, and more. Tonight while searching through Dragon's Foot I ran across several really nice free downloads that can make a dungeon's master's life a bit more reasonable.


These include BECMI house rules in a second version that seem to make a bit more sense. A series of 1 edition that make dealing with combat a bit less nightmarish and they include a combat summary as well. Finally for planning out those rosters of adventurers there's a free party roster sheet. These can also be used to create a wide variety of NPC's at the drop of at hat.


Did I also forgot to mention that most of the major D&D monsters are in the book and that its back in print not to mention that there are rules for nonlethal combat for adventurers who want to do a bit of subduing of other adventurers who might come under the influence of some dangerous monster?  Here are several resources that might come in handy for BECMI dungeon masters

There are several Free BECMI downloads 
BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia House Rules, version 2.0
1E House Rules, version 3.3 with a quick reference combat summary
DM's Party Roster Sheet

Commentary On Building DYI Custom Player Character Classes In Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia D&D

I was away from the internet for about a week and whist away I started doing a number of things that I used to like read books and really get into the D&D Rules Cyclopedia. I'm really fascinated by the construction of character classes and their application within campaigns. They're one of the  backbones of creating unique campaigns and world settings for me as a dungeon master. So imagine my surprise when I stumbled across these two resources for BECMI black box! This basically means that your now in control of your own world setting completely within Black Box BECMI.

This takes all of the pressure off to create your own unique world that belongs to you. It also means that once you create the PC's you want and need then you can expand upon your own ideas. This is one of the backbones of DYI D&D.
This was one of the design conceits to the Rules Cyclopedia, "This was the second revision to the D&D rules.^[4] These guidelines allow a player to develop and play characters from levels 1-36, and includes a special section on skills.^[1] The book also contained an overview of the Known World (Mystara) and Hollow World campaign settings.^[1] It also has rules on how to convert characters between the Dungeons & Dragons game and the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons second edition game."
So why is this important? Because it takes the black box BECMI series  over to the next level into a solid customization game set, this means that with a bit of elbow grease you can really make this game your own.


The reviewer Rick Swan really hit it on the head about the Rules Cyclopedia;"Rick Swan reviewed the D&D Rules Cyclopedia for Dragon magazine #184 (August 1992).^[1] He calls the book a "stunningly comprehensive volume", explaining that it "includes more detail than most GMs will ever use [...] but if you want it, you can probably find it here".^[1] According to Swan, "Best of all, the material is a joy to read, thanks to the breezy style of Aaron Allston, who must've been genetically engineered to write RPG rules. This is a must for serious fans."
With these additions its not hard to figure out the 'ins & out's' of creating your own material and PC's from the ground up. This gives the DM one more tool for the home court campaign setting advantage & yet more options for players who are going to be far more seriously invested in the campaign world as a whole. This actually goes back to the OD&D war gaming roots where the players were active participants within the world building process. This creates a far more unique and in some respects dangerous situation for world creation balance.

Building the Perfect Class
& Building a More Perfect Class

Have I personally tried these rules yet? Well no because of my time factor at the moment I haven't be able to get to them. With that being said I know that there are host of people among the OSR crowd who are fans of black box BECMI  D&D. Hence why I'm sharing them, as an OSR blogger and DM I want you to have the most time playing and sharing the hobby.These rules look like another option to have in your tool belt! More to come and as always keep those dice rolling.

More Commentary On The 2016 Smooth Transition From Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia D&D to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Using A Free Resource

I stopped in to see some old friends yesterday to take break from the storm of weirdness that the 2016 Election has been. I dropped right into the middle of another old gamer controversy!

This has been a time of turmoil and grief with the age old arugments rearing their heads. The conversion from D&D Cylopedia rules over to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons! The great controversy of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia by by Aaron Allston and published by TSR, Inc  way back in 1991 when I first acquired this tome I was sneered at by the AD&D first and second edition crowd. Also some folks at TSR thought that this book was the worst thing to come out. Why?! Because it gives you everything you need in one package to play black box D&D up through thirty sixth level.
Now why did the AD&D crowd have a problem with it? Because the charters were 'basic' and the book was meant for 'experienced' D&D dungeon masters."However, the book's introduction on page 5 states that it is "intended to be a reference volume for those who already play the D&D game ... this book is aimed at the experienced user ... [it] lacks many of the examples and patient explanation you'll find in the D&D box sets"."
Everyone knew that you switched over to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Well some of us didn't give a crap and freely switched back and forth using AD&D 1st edition regardless. The real problem were the guidelines from the Rules cyclopedia they suck. Seriously they're a bit of a convoluted mess and hard to deal with.


Now fortunately the Vaults of Pandius website have a set of conversions for the D&D Rules Cyclopedia that make sense. These can take a PC over black box to AD&D with little issue.
Yesterday I literally saw this issue cause a small dust up between friends. Sigh. There has always been revisionism between D&D players and DM's. There's nothing new about it but fortunately there have always been cooler heads at the table. 


Ian R Malcomson 's rules conversions are by no means complete because they can't cover every twist and turn of the process. But they do give a great base line to deal with most of the major conversion issues. There has always been a stick with one or the other D&D system attitude that many groups that I've played with and DM have simply ignored. In the end its going to be your players and your decision as a dungeon master as to what system to play. But in the meantime here's a solid set of conversion rules.

GRAB THE CONVERSION 
GUIDE LINES HERE

Commentary On The Free Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia Resource - Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia Errata & Companion

I was quietly sipping Scotch & watching the elections last night with my copy of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia by by Aaron Allston and published by TSR, Inc. Its a great and wonderfully comprehensive book but there are issues with D&D black box.

Welcome to Wednesday and don't panic I'm here to help with some commentary on ' The Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia' first of all this isn't Mentzer Basic. This is another revision of the classic rules and came out in 1991, "

The Rules Cyclopedia contained all the major rules, compiled and revised from the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules, as well as the Expert Rules, Companion Rules, and Master Rules boxed sets.^[1]

However, the book's introduction on page 5 states that it is "intended to be a reference volume for those who already play the D&D game ... this book is aimed at the experienced user ... [it] lacks many of the examples and patient explanation you'll find in the D&D box sets".^[2] The same year, a revised introductory Dungeons & Dragons set was released to introduce new players to the game.^[3]

This was the second revision to the D&D rules.^[4] These guidelines allow a player to develop and play characters from levels 1-36, and includes a special section on skills.^[1] The book also contained an overview of the Known World (Mystara) and Hollow Worldcampaign settings"

So whist the results,commentary, celebrations,etc. played in the background of the television. I dug down into the bowels of the Dragon's Foot  site and came across a most glorious thing. A complete or nearly complete errata and companion piece done by Dragon Foot member Mr. Reaper. For those of us who are into this set of rules its very well done. It doesn't have a pdf but is available in two forms on the website.  I have to say this is one very handy reference book to add to the OSR pile of resources.  I'm sort of pin balling back and forth between OD&D, Basic, the Rules Cyclopedia,and cross comparing its been an eye opening experience to say the least.
There is a very good break down of the differences between classic  Mentzer BECM D&D and Allston Rules Cyclopedia D&D.

The fact is that the Rules Cyclopedia is meant for experienced D&D players, Mentzer D&D is the easier pick up and go play game. Anyhow my thanks to Mr. Reaper for compiling this awesome companion volume.


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Retro Review X12 Skarda's Mirror By Aaron Allston For OD&D & Your Old School Campaigns

Want a mid level side adventure to challenge your PC's? Have them pass through a magical mirror to save victims who are trapped in a "pocket universe" within the mirror; the hard part is getting back out again!

"It's mirror of life trapping, isn't it?

Well, yes and no. People go in, and they don't come out. Nor can you talk with anyone inside. Somehow, that's not quite the way you remember those mirrors work.

This Skarda fellow showed up a few years ago with a band of raiders, and no one in the land has been safe since then. Whole villages have disappeared into this Skarda's mirror. Your band is approached by relatives of one of the victims?and adventurer like yourselves.

You have to get into that mirror of whatever-it-is, find this man, and get him out in one piece. The reward is more that adequate. Only problem is, no one out here can tell you what to expect once you get in? or even how to get there."
Welcome to  X12 Skarda's Mirror By Aaron Allston an adventure  intended for use with the Dungeons & Dragons Expert Set and Companion Set rules.The module includes pregenerated player characters and players' aids.

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So begins one of the more dangerous and challenging mid range modules  for PC's. Skarda's Mirror is one of my favorite mid level modules to throw PC's into, I've specifically used this module over the years because its the second appearance of Karameikos. My version of Karameikos is not the official version at all. Treasure hunt, Night's Dark Terror, Skarda's Mirror, and a few of the UK series made up a campaign set in Karameikos that was based around pulp driven Slavic & Russian mythology rather then a the official Known World setting. Skarda's Mirror emulates certain Slavic mythological conceits about magic mirrors and draws on those traditions in my campaigns making Skarda's Mirror a great add on for a pulpy sword and sorcery setting.

There are three reasons to use X12 for a sword and sorcery style campaign :

• The adventure presents a good solidly grounded side adventure that has dimensional and planar travel for a mid level party. It touches on many of the Appendix N Michael Morecock style of themes without ripping off those dark fantasy sources. 
• X12 is flexible enough for a DYI sword and sorcery campaign and can be easily be used for a wide variety of retroclone systems without wrecking your campaigns. 
•  X12 Skarda's Mirror By Aaron Allston presents an adventure that will actually challenge a party and draw the PC's deep into the adventure's internal world and its workings.

This module is great as a mid range adventure that you can throw PC's into because it contains some plot elements that can easily be transported over to an Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea game. Once again Wiki has a fairly good breakdown of the adventure's plot;"The wizard Skarda and his band of raiders once terrorized the rural settlements of the Grand Duchy of Karameikos, kidnapping everyone and taking their treasure. By chance, he was discovered by famous adventurer Lord Retameron in Specularum. In the aftermath of the raid, Skarda (alias Mallek) was left trapped in his burning house. A search of the wreckage found papers describing his role in the raids and outlining a coup against the Duke, and a magical mirror of great power. Retameron kept the mirror and brought it to his tower. One night, both he and his wife Halia gazed into the mirror and disappeared, and in their place appeared large baboon-like creatures with huge teeth that attacked everyone in sight" The plot reads something like a cross between a Michael Morecock novel and a dark European fairy tale and that's exactly how I've run it in the past. There's a good deal of investigation work, fair bit of dimensional travel, puzzles, and dealing with the a  bit of exploration.
Another dark adventure element is the popping up of the kingdom of Specularum and the wizard  Skarda whose journals popped up from time to time in D&D adventures dropping dark magickal hints and secrets of the wizard's delving into the forbidden places and dark secrets of the Outer Darkness. The wizard's connection with the factions and assassins of the Veiled Society have been a source of endless hand wringing over the years for players.


At the time when I was running X12, I was devouring a ton of sword & sorcery, so I warped those trapped within the bounds of the magic mirror and mixed them up with odd bits of Russian mythology giving the warriors a pathetic undead sort of state and the places within the mirror some very Silent Hill like style aspects. For a game such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, I'd take the wizard and his dark forces and pull them more into the plot of  Hyperborea by making them trapped within the mirror since the time of the Green Death. Then with a bit of rework, I'd tie them into some of the plot lines and adventure hooks left within the Beneath The Comet adventure. You find out more of my opinion on that one right over here.

Notes about X12's Immortals role for Hyperborea
Because there is a tie in with the Immortals of the Known world, I changed up the gods and their agents within Hyperborea to be a bit more Morecockian and hands on with their agents because of the plot elements of  the Immortal from the Sphere of Thought. This actually dove tails into the New Big Dragon Games BASIC PSIONICS HANDBOOK which is actually my preferred psionic system for AS&SH.


So I'm talking about X12 and one of the changes that I would make is to have the army of The wizard Skarda and his band of raiders a real and very dangerous threat to Hyperborea or your old school campaign setting. Also because of the dark fairy tale nature of X12 I'd tie the whole thing in with a Red and Pleasant Land because the Romanian feel of the piece. It just gives X12 that little extra push into Lamentations of the Flame Princess territory. Actually the entire adventure could easily be ported over to the Romania border towns of the Fifteenth century with little issue giving this an alternative history tie in. Because of the wars of history the wizard Skarda and his band of raiders become a real danger riding out of the bounds of myth and legend sweeping into the world as a scourge of blood and violence upon a campaign unleashing horror upon an unsuspecting world.

 X12 Skarda's Mirror could also be used as a Dungeon Crawl Classics one off adventure and has many of the elements that I've seen presented in that gaming system's adventures. An isolated setting, challenging and deadly monsters, some puzzle solving, and having to think your way out of a situation while the death rate around you is high.


This isn't a perfect module but its well worth downloading and is one of the lesser known mid level adventures making a solid way of introducing a side trek into the Other world and having some very dangerous elements show up within your campaigns. X12 Skarda's Mirror By Aaron Allston is well worth downloading and presents a great mid level adventure that can be used for a wide variety of applications in a campaign as an OSR resource.