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AD&D Resources
- The First Edition Society, publishers of the Old School Reference & Index Compilation (OSRIC). If anyone tells you AD&D is out of print and unavailable...they're wrong--you can buy it from the link above, with better organization, a different title, and continuing support!
- OSRIC homepage and forums
- Goblinoid Games, producers of Labyrinth Lord. LL is, to my mind, the cream of the crop of Retro-Clone games. The only one that gets the perfect reproduction of rules combined with the feel of the original. It's B/X (Moldvay/Cook/Marsh) D&D, not AD&D, but see below...
- Goblinoid Games online store
- Labyrinth Lord Hardcover. It's also available in a less expensive softcover. See store, above.
- Advanced Edition Companion hardcover for Labyrinth Lord. This turns LL into the version of first edition AD&D that we all remember playing as kids. An outstanding work. Also available in less expensive hardcover in the store.
- Dragonsfoot, the home of AD&D on the web!
- Previous Edition Downloads, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.
- AD&D House Rules for my home games.
- The Mad Irishman's Character, NPC, and record sheets (Exact reproductions of the ones you remember from the old days!)
- Blank "Absentee" sheet for when players can't make it. Quick stats!
Greyhawk Resources
- The Greyhawk Grognard, a now-defuct but still existing blog with an amazing set of resources for Greyhawk gaming.
- Greyhawk Online, an incredible set of resources for the first (TSR-released) D&D campaign setting (unless you count Empire of the Petal Throne)...
- A poster-sized Map of Greyhawk that I modified to include The Free Town of Yggsburgh (Gygax's final addition to the setting, albeit with the name and serial numbers filed off--now defuct due to his widow unceremoniously yanking every one of his licenses from the very people he repeatedly stated he wanted to have them). This required a minor geographical shift, moving the castle from northwest of the Free City to southeast, to reconcile the two settings, but it works well enough if you're willing to piddle a bit with timelines (and what good DM isn't?).
- Those First Steps, a basic introductory adventure scenario. Designed to interface with Dark Chateau, a Castle Zagyg (Greyhawk) module by Rob Kuntz (Gone with the rest of Gary's licenses), and then to lead into the Castle itself, but it can easily be used as an introductory scenario for any game; you'll just need to change the object of the quest, or create your own maps for the mansion.
Original Dungeons & Dragons Resources
I have recently become enamored of the original, 1974-76 editions of D&D...the ones that came first in a woodgrain, then in a white, box and consisted of three little brown books with five subsequent supplements: Greyhawk, Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, Gods, Demi-Gods, and Heroes, and Swords & Spells. The game was meant to be used with Chainmail, and is, in my opinion, enhanced by ownership of those original miniatures rules. This section will provide resources for this excellent game.
OD&D Clone Rules
- Original Edition Characters for Labyrinth Lord. Turns LL into OD&D, and is probably more faithful than the more popular Swords & Wizardry.
- Swords & Wizardry, the first effort at Retro-Clone OD&D rules. They're pretty good, but there is a bit too much tinkering and interpretation for my taste--they pick and choose which of the OD&D rules they want to include, add some house rules, and as a result I think they lose the flavor of the game, and prefer LL's effort.
- Swords & Wizardry: Whitebox strips S&W back to the rules from the original 3 little brown books, and is a bit more faithful than its "core rules" counterpart above. It's a good effort, and I own it.
- Brave Halfling Publishing, the distributor of Swords & Wizardry: White Box,, as well as a supporter of Labyrinth Lord products.
- Noble Knight Games, distributors of Labyrinth Lord
- Consolidated Rules. A gent by the name of Bruce Mohler has done what is probably the nearest "true" retro-clone of the D&D rules. It's not 100% above board as he actually calls it "Dungeons & Dragons," and doesn't use the OGL, but it is a re-presentation and faithful, too. There are some omissions; monsters don't have hit dice listed, for example, making it difficult to run a game with only these rules, but they do make for an excellent resource.
The Age of Conan
Websites and Blogs
- The OD&D message forums, the best community around for discussion of the original rules.
- The Wasted Lands, my OD&D-centric blog with a "sandbox in development."
- Philotomy's OD&D Musings one of the best sites around for the theory and philosophy of OD&D, as well as a wealth of practical advice on how to use the original rules.
- Grognardia, one of the most respected OD&D and general old school gaming blogs out there.
- Mythmere Games, a startup group who have done an admirable job with their attempt at a clone set of OD&D-style rules, Swords & Wizardry..
Other OD&D Resources
Keep coming back! I hope to have more soon!
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