OSR Review & Commentary On Courtney Campbell's Megadungeon issue #1 From Hack & Slash Publishing For Your OSR or Old School Campaigns

Just got off the phone with my wife to thank her for her gift. The second gift arrived this morning & that's Courtney Campbell's Megadungeon issue #1. This is another old school or OSR  fanzine but this fanzine is day & night compared to James V. West's Black Pudding. Megadungeon isn't your average OSR fanzine.



Everything in Megadungeon issue #1  is keyed to the creation, philosophy, & work of the megadungeon as a key adventure & campaign location setting. Everything here is dual -statted for B/X and 5e.  There is a lot of thought here about every aspect of the mega dungeon but that's what one comes to expect from the author of the Hack & Slash blog.
What's actually useful is whole package which is geared for creating your own megadungeon for your games. What makes the whole cloth package for B/X Dungeons & Dragons style games.



If you want a sample of the type of quality that one expects from Courtney C. Campbell then grab the 'pay what you want' title  Tricks, Empty Rooms, and Basic Trap Design document here.  
 Courtney Campbell's Megadungeon issue #1 takes this quality & turns the dial up to eleven for megadungeon design. 



This is done through dungeon adventures, NPC's, & adventure locations but with a wide breath & length of the author's wit & insight into the subject of the megadungeon philosophy at the table top level. This is never boring & plugs into the Basic & Expert style of Dungeons & Dragons. This makes Megadungeon issue #1 both accessible & never boring to me. The ideas & philosophy in Megadungeon issue #1 are tuned in & turned on to an OSR campaign especially along the lines of Labyrinth Lord or the 1981 D&D Basic Set edited by Tom Moldvay, and its accompanying Expert Set by David "Zeb" Cook. But what makes it different is Courtney Campbell's exacution & wrap around OSR presentation.
There's are five areas where  Megadungeon issue #1 shines! These are very easy to pin down for the dungeon master because they are so steadily guided but not mocked in this fanzine. The author knows his audience & takes that into account: 

1.  Megadungeon issue #1 features solidly made  pair of introductory areas to what could be an excellent megadungeon and  cartography. 
2. Easy to drag & drop in NPC's 
3. Excellent dungeon & mega dungeon adventure design philosophy. 
4. The point between excellence & not preachy OSR writing. 
5. A solid on point fanzine & nothing more.
   

All of this adds up to making Courtney Campbell's Megadungeon issue #1.  a solid five outta five product. My wife knows quality OSR gifts when she she's em folks! Thanks for this! Grab this one for your OSR & Old School adventures! 

OSR Review & Commentary On James V. West's Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One From Random Order Creations For OSR & Old School Campaigns

So I've been away on repair work today but that didn't stop my other half from making sure I had my OSR plate full with a bit of James V. West's  Black  Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One From  Random Order Creations. So no one sent me this nor gave it to me. My wife bought it for me because she's a bit worried that I'm going into OSR with drawl. I'm not but thanks to my wife for thinking of me from across the pond. So all of the first four issues of the OSR fanzine Black Pudding is put into one gonzo & well done collection.

  All of the wonderfully weird character classes featured in Black Pudding are here with the savage gonzo factor of James & other guest authors put into the savage dungeon master style of Mr.West's artwork. 

Monsters, treasure, adventures, spells, hirelings, character sheets & even micro adventures are here.
Do you wanna sample of the sort of weirdness that I'm talking about? 'Pay What You Want For issue #5 of Black Pudding here. 

Here's the over all thing about James V. West's Black  Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One . Everything in this fanzine is gear to actually be used in an OSR campaign especially along the lines of Labyrinth Lord or the 1981 D&D Basic Set edited by Tom Moldvay, and its accompanying Expert Set by David "Zeb" Cook. And why Heavy Helping works as a collection is because there's a weird ass gonzo consistency to the entire book grinding for a an OSR or old school campaign feel throughout the volume. The layout & writing is well done & very much up to James V. West's usual standards!



Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One  feels like peeking at some old school dungeon master's campaign journal that they spent years building. But Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One  is actually useful at the table top level.
Why is Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One  actually useful at the table top level? There's a myriad of reasons but let's hit on my top five really: 

1. There's a butt load of new PC classes that evoke that natural gonzo factor but peer past that & you see actual thought here. Some of that thought is deranged but in a good & old school way. The PC classes work on their own merits. 
2. Those beautifully weird character sheets that have everything going for them. 
3. A solid vision throughout the Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One  book echoes the fanzine approach that works. 
4. The mini encounters evoke some of the material that we've seen in early issues of  'The Dragon' magazine back in the TSR days. 
5. Even though this material is geared for Labyrinth Lord I can see Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One  easily being used with other OSR or old school systems. 

There's even a bunch of one page dungeons, NPC hirelings, and much more in the form of lots & lots of random tables. These are a staple of OSR products but in Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One  they are an asset not a hindrance for campaign play. There's even material here to improve or expand upon the great & classic PC classes of cleric, fighter, wizard, & thief. Then there's magic house rules, followed by the classic Black Pudding fanzine covers. Black Pudding Heavy Helping Vol. One  gets a healthy five outta five.