OSR Commentary In Praise of L1 'The Secret of Bone Hill' & The Lenore Isles By Lenard Lakofka

 So let's pick this right up from visions of the Fantastic Heroes & Witchery rpg past on this blog from this entry here.  And I've been really thinking of packing in a campaign coming up. And this where my mind turned over to the TSR classic era Greyhawk campaign box set. 

Within Greyhawk's campaign there's 1981'a module L1 'The Secret of Bone Hill' written  by Lenard Lakofka, a long-time contributor to Dungeons & Dragons and a regular columnist to Dragon magazine. The 'L' series of modules are underappreciated classics in my humble opinion. And the Lenore Isles are a mini campaign within a campaign setting. The Lenore Isles are also where I love to set U1 Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. And on the Dragon's foot site there's the excellent L4 Devil's Spawn by Lenard Lakofka & the L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide. And in point of fact grab everything related to the Kroten campaign all of it is excellent stuff.  The point here is that L1 is a stepping stone to a campaign setting within a campaign setting. And while it belongs to a distinct area of Greyhawk, the Lenore Isles are thier own campaign setting unto itself. In point of fact the Grognardia blog L1 entry  points out the following;"The Secret of Bone Hill presents the town of Restenford, which is as well imagined as Hommlet, complete with unique names and personalities for even the most minor of NPCs. In addition, there are maps aplenty for the town and its buildings, making it very friendly to referees who give their players the freedom to wander about the place as they wish. Surrounding Restenford is a dangerous wilderness filled with bandits, humanoids, and other threats. And of course there's Bone Hill itself, home to numerous undead, including such foul things as ghoulstirges, stirges who paralyze as well as drink blood. Bone Hill is a dangerous place, one that beginning adventurers ought to avoid until they've gained sufficient experience to tackle its horrors."

What L1 teaches is how to do a mini campaign right! As a DM fleshing out a setting with living & breathing NPC's, compelling places, and solid adventure encounters goes a long way to making a solid campaign. 

L1 presents a solid setting with an excellent NPC cast, and everything that a DM needs to bring a mini campaign on the fore! And L1 is a perfect module to bring OSR player's PC's into a Castles & Crusades,Fantastic Heroes & Witchery rpg, or even an ACK's  mini campaign. This is the beauty of how Mr. Lakofka created his Lenore Isles. 

In Memorum For TSR Writer, Wargamer, & Module Designer Lenard "Len" Lakofka (1944-2020)

 


Well, Lenard "Len" Lakofka (1944-2020) has passed & we had the odd email here & there. He was a very nice & personable person whose works always graced my table. He was one of the original TSR alumni & pioneers of the original Dungeons & Dragons leading right next to other greats. 
 L1 The Secret of Bone Hill is in my opinion the essential Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh module. Len on the other hand did a Hell of a lot for the OSR through the release of L4 Devil Spawn &  L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide. 

I found Len Lakofka's modules solid & were well recieved at the table top with my players. There isn't a month that went by when I didn't look forward to his  monthly feature, Leomund's Tiny Hut, appeared in Issue #30 of 'The Dragon'. The Dragon issue 30 was released in October of 1979 & Its October 23, 2020 that Len passed. Pass the dice, miss the player, another one us has left the table. Rest in peace Lenard "Len" Lakofka you will be missed at our table tonight. All my best, condolences, & respects to the  Lakofka family this evening.