dungeon doll

I hope everyone's holidays have been good! I've been sitting cozy by fires and playing lots of Demon's Souls. It feels a little bit weird writing a year-end blog post seeing as my blog didn't even exist for all of 2024, but I had some thoughts I wanted to organize. Firstly, thank you for all the support and excitement I've received for this blog, especially over on Bluesky, and within the diy/osr blogosphere. It's been really encouraging! Thank you everyone <3 New years resolutions? Not exactly, but I do have a few things I'd like to do for the blog next year. Write more. Write more for games. Write more personally. Make more things people can use in their games. Play more games. Post about those games. Get better at writing session logs. Games I want to run in 2025: Keep running Hagfish Hall. Ideally finish it, if that's even viable? Right now it's 100 rooms across multiple levels, with some potential to expand further. Classic Traveler. Wolves U...

If you missed it, you can find session 1 here ! My group returned to Hagfish Hall this week, for our first full-session delve. I also tried out some downtime mechanics, and made my first checks for dungeon restock. The systems for both of these were adapted for od&d from the Serpent Song Hymnal , by I Cast Light! . Without further ado...   The Party Last week, the Long-Night came and went. Cennich was decorated with paper lanterns, and all gathered round their hearths to tell ghoul-stories. A member of the courier's guild, clad in red trim, brought a small sleigh of parcels for the people of Cennich. Some of these were for our party. [i prompted this as a creative exercise prior to play]. Daevon , a Veteran. Received a mace from a colleague, alongside a paranoid letter warning about the dangers of skeletons. Isabella , an Acolyte. Received a zweihander from an unknown source. Dandelion , a Medium. Received a bright yellow scarf from her cousin. The Delve Date: December 26. Fres...

Over the last little bit, I've been really wanting to try out the Shock system from Worlds Without Number in od&d. I think it would pair well with weapon-as-initiative , and add some punch to larger weapons. Basically, in WWN, every weapon has a shock score, written as #/AC, representing an amount of automatic damage dealt even if the weapon fails to hit a target, as long as the target's AC is equal to or less then the listed one. In od&d, all weapons deal 1d6. I like to play it so that two-handing a weapon deals 2d6 drop-the-lowest. Generally, I don't like to restrict which weapons can or must be two-handed, because I personally find the choice of two-handing vs. holding a light source vs. holding a shield to be very compelling moment-to-moment during game. If you wanted, you could also treat the Shock score as a minimum damage dealt for weapons, even on a hit, to reduce underwhelming hit rolls. The values listed below are adapted from Worlds Without Number, ...

I got to run od&d for a small group of friends this week, in a dungeon of my own devising. We made characters, talked a bit about game expectations, and did a little group world-building exercise, so the delve itself was on the shorter side, but I think everyone seemed to enjoy it, and I'm happy with how it went. In addition to the rules in FMC, we used weapon-based initiative and a simplified version of The Clock . Additionally, I chose not to restrict weapons or armour by class. This was my first time writing a session log other people will be reading, so I'm still trying to find the style a bit. I expect as we play more I'll find my flow a little easier. Swamp - Susan Van Camp The Party Daevon , a Veteran. Polearm, chain + shield. Isabella , an Acolyte. Pike, leather. Dandelion , a Medium. Sword, chain + shield. On a whim I decided that character alignment would be kept secret from those who did not share alignment with one-another. This may or may not come up again...

A little project I've been working on between exams and such. od&d character rules for playing Bloodborne-style hunters. Use with your favorite set of resolution tools. Moby Dick by Gérard DuBois Character Creation Roll a Perk. If you're not satisfied, roll a second perk, then roll a flaw. Re-roll flaws that correspond with one of your Perks. (Taken from this article from Idraluna Archives) Choose a class: Hunter, Physician, or Warlock. Roll starting Hit Points (1d6+2 for Hunters, 1d6 for Physicians and Warlocks). Note saves. Perks & Flaws d20 Perk Flaw 1. +1 to melee attack rolls -1 to melee attack rolls 2. +1 to melee damage -1 to melee damage 3. +1 to gun attack rolls -1 to gun attack rolls 4. +1 HP per HD -1 HP per HD 5. +1 to detect secrets -1 to detect secrets 6. +1 to follower morale -1 to follower m...

There's a whole centimeter of snow on the ground, so it's time for me to post some winter themed monsters. My last set of monsters were for the dungeon, so these ones are for the wilderness. Oh and a heads up, some mention of dead children below. Without further ado: Elves of Winter 1 HD, AC as leather. Fae spirits which possess the bodies of children lost gathering firewood. Gangly, with pale flesh and vacant eyes. Walk atop the snow effortlessly, without sinking in. Sharpen icicles to a razor's edge to throw, or fashion into crude spears. Will-o'-the-winter 4 HD, AC as chain. Incorporeal, and immune to non-magical missiles. Appears as distant warmth--the light of a hearth, smoke from a chimney, a campfire just out of reach. Seeks to lure weary travelers to a frigid death. Only once death is certain will you see their true forms: wretched, princely spirits. Skin like ice, eyes aflame. Sack Man 5 HD, AC as chain, Damage 1d6+2. Carries a heavy burlap sack. Stands 10...