Virtual NTRPGCon 2021: The Prison of Doom

Mezzo the Unknowable,
pregen for The Prison of Doom

NTRPGCon 2021 was this past weekend, and while I didn't make it there in person this year, I did participate in one virtual game yesterday morning, Jonathan Perkel's The Prison of Doom, a dungeon for Holmes Basic based on one that he originally wrote as a kid back in the 1980s. I've known Jonathan a while; we first met at NTRPGCon in 2016, and then a few years later there he played Boinger the first time I ran In Search of the Brazen Head of Zenopus, and the last time I attended in person, I played in a DCC game of his. He's also the one who started the Holmes Basic Facebook group, which these days has over 2,000 members, making it the largest community of Holmes fans.

Here is the description of The Prison of Doom from the event listing:

"Long ago, the evil wizard Madrax built a a fearsome prison dungeon into which he could banish any threat to his rule. Will you be the first to escape? 

This game will be played using the classic HOLMES BASIC system with a few house rules. It harkens back to those late 1970s and early 80s adventures where the dungeons didn't really make a lot of sense, but were lots of fun anyway."

The genre of the scenario is dungeon escape, like A4 In the Dungeon of the Slave Lords; but I'll refrain from giving any other spoilers here since he's planning on running this again at future cons, but suffice to say that obstacles were overcome, monsters were meleed, treasure was taken, and Jonathan included a number of Holmesian touches in the dungeon.

For play he used several of my Holmes Ref sheets, including the character sheets for the pregens, and the M-U and Cleric Spell Reference Sheets, all of which can be found on the Holmes Ref page here. Because one attendee was a no-show, I ran two PCs, Mezzo the Unknowable and Lafsit the Battler, with names Jonathan generated from the Holmesian Random Name Generator, also found in automated format in the upper right sidebar of this blog.

Jonathan added a few interesting "house rules" to the Holmes Basic base, which among others included dual wielding if your Dex was over 13, which worked the same as wielding a 2-handed weapon; the light/regular/heavy weapons rules from Blueholme, where light weapons take the worst of 2d6 for damage, and heavy the best of 2d6; and a bonus spell for clerics and magic-users for high prime requisites.

Holmes Day 2021

Today marks the 91st anniversary of the birth of J. Eric Holmes in 1930. Above is a picture that Chris Holmes sent me a while back for the J. Eric Holmes Photo Gallery, which I will be adding to it shortly. Chris doesn't have a specific date but thinks it is from the late '50s or early '60s.

Some "Holmesian Highlights" of the past year for me, in roughly chronological order:

On Leap Day, just before the pandemic hit, helping the Scrum Club put on its second Scrum Con, including running a session In Search of the Brazen Head of Zenopus. A bit of new news: Scrum Con may return later this year in virtual form!

Being a guest on the Wandering DMs Chat show on YT, talking about the original Sample Dungeon and my 5E conversion.

Releasing three new reference sheets for Holmes Ref, including an Equipment Sheet, "Rolling Up An Adventurer" and a Dungeoneering Reference Sheet.

Chris Holmes being a guest on the Appendix N podcast and being interviewed by the newly resurgent Grognardia.

In the summer, running an all too brief series of D&D games for my kids, exploring B1. To be continued?

The publisher of The Maze of Peril starting to sell copies from the original 1986 printing on Amazon, making it much easier to obtain a copy.

Reviewing Sunny Rolls the Dice by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (no relation to J. Eric Holmes), the most recent installment in a coming-of-age series of graphic novels, and one that prominently features D&D and Holmes Basic.

Discovering that an audio recording of "Frontiers in Brain Research", a lecture that Holmes gave at Worldcon 36 in 1978 (aka IguanaCon) was available for download on the internet. This is a real treat if you missed it at the time!

Watching the success of The Ruined Tower of Zenopus, my first "commercial" project, on DMs Guild over the year, as it earned a Platinum badge. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to review it! 

"Octopus Attack" by Chris Holmes for The Ruined Tower of Zenopus

Updating the RTOZ adventure twice during the year, first to add a map file for Roll20/VTT (essential during the pandemic), and then to add a printer-friendly map, and best of all, a commissioned illustration by Chris Holmes.

Being interviewed by Bart Carroll for the D&D Classics Column in issue #32 of Dragon+, the on-line successor to Dragon Magazine!

The Lurker in the Grotto by Lore Suto

Trying something new on the blog: writing an adventure, The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave, in installments, area-by-area. I've been lucky to have a talented artist, Lore Suto, volunteer to provide art for the series. This is still in the progress, with Area #7 being posted last week, and the next one coming soon!

Please leave comments below on anything of interest from the past year or that you are looking forward to: Holmesian games you've run or played in, or are planning to; stories of starting D&D with Holmes Basic; etc

See also: Holmes Day 2020

Note:

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The Ruined Tower of Zenopus: Running it Retro II

Sarcophagus Skeletons by David Sutherland. An illustration for Room N,
although with a bit of artistic license as there is only one sarcophagus with an animated skeleton

This is the second post in a series of notes for running The Ruined Tower of Zenopus using old school D&D rules. It continues from the first post here. This post focuses on a roster of monster stats for the dungeon rooms.

Page 5: Printer-Friendly dungeon map. Usable as-is with any ruleset.

Pages 4-13: Areas of the Dungeon. Here is a Roster of Monsters:

Room A. Goblins: MV 60, AC 6, HD 1-1, AT 1 weapon for 1d6. For 1-3 PCs: 3 goblins; 4-5 PCs: 5 goblins; 6+ PCs, 7-8 goblins

Room B. 4 skeletons: MV 120, AC 8, HD 1/2, AT 1 claws for 1d6

Room F. The veteran smuggler: MV 60, AC 5 (chain), F2, hp 11, AT 1 sword+1 for 1d6, Str 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Con 13, Dex 10, Cha 12

The thaumaturgist: MV 120, AC 9, MU4, hp 9, AT 1 spell or 1 dagger for 1d6, Str 9, Int 16, Wis 9, Con 10, Dex 11, Cha 12. Spells: Read Magic, Charm Person, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Wizard Lock, Web

Room G. 2d4 giant rats: MV 120, AC 7, HD 1/2, hp 2, AT 1 bite for 1d3 + 5% chance of disease

Room J. 1 giant spider (Holmes manuscript): MV 60, AC 3, HD 1, hp 4, AT 1 bite for 1d6 + save vs. poison

1 enormous spider (1st edition rulebook): MV 20 (100 in web), AC 3, HD 6, hp 31, AT 1 bite for 1d8 + save vs. poison at -1

1 giant spider (2nd edition rulebook): MV 30 (120 in web), AC 4, HD 4+4, hp 21, AT 1 bite for 2d4 + save vs. poison

Spider attack rules: 

1st round: If the room is entered incautiously, roll a die to select a PC, and then roll for the spider's attack on them. On a hit, the PC is knocked down (the original does not indicate whether this causes damage; it could be interpreted as a standard d6 of damage), and may not return a blow. Continue with rounds 2-4 below. On a miss, the next round instead switches to normal combat.

2nd round: If there was a knockdown, the spider gets an attack on the PC, who gets no return attack. Others may join combat now and attack the spider. 

3rd round: Spider gets an attack on the PC, who may attack at -2 while getting up.

4th round and after: Normal attacks on both sides.

Room L. 1 monstrous sand crab: MV 60, AC 3, HD 2, AT 2 pinchers for 2d6 each

Room M. 4 smugglers: MV 120, AC 7, HD NH, hp 4, AT 1 cutlass for 1d6

Lemunda: MV 120, AC 9, F2, hp 11, AT 1 dagger for 1d6, Str 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Con 15, Dex 12, Cha 17

1 giant octopus: MV 120 (swimming), AC 7, HD 3, hp 16, AT 6 tentacles for 0 + drag underwater

Room N. Endless giant rats: see Room G

1 flying dagger: MV 0, AC 3, HD 1, hp special, AT 1 for 1d6; if hit, motionless for 3 rounds

1 sarcophagus skeleton: MV 120, AC 7, HD 1, hp 7, AT 1 scimitar for 1d6

Room P.  2 ghouls: MV 90, AC 6, HD 2, hp 11, 9, AT claw/claw/bite for 1d3 each & paralysis

Option: 1d6 cultists: MV 120, AC 9, HD NH, AT 1 scimitar for 1d6

1 ghoul; as above, but with 7 hp

Room RT. Endless giant rats: see Room G

Option: 1 monstrous rat: MV 180, AC 5, HD 1-1, hp 7, AT 1 bite/1 claws for 1d3+1 each

1d6 giant rats: see Room G

Room S. 1 giant constrictor snake: MV 100, AC 6, HD 2, hp 13, AT 1 bite for 1d6

Room S2. Ape: MV 120, AC7, HD 2, hp 9, AT 1 pummel for 1d6

The Ruined Tower of Zenopus: Running it Retro

Occasionally, I have been asked about a retro version of The Ruined Tower of Zenopus (RTOZ); i.e., one for an old-school D&D or OSR ruleset. There is of course, the original adventure, still available as a free pdf on the Wizards site, but it doesn't include the content that I added. 

I would love to include such conversion notes in the adventure itself, but DMs Guild doesn't allow products to include rules for non-5e D&D systems. So instead I will post some notes here on the blog. These are written up for Holmes Ref, which uses OD&D to expand Holmes, but really should be sufficient for any old D&D (e.g., OD&D, B/X, AD&D 1E, AD&D 2E) or retroclone thereof. These notes focus on rules & assume that you have a copy of the RTOZ at hand.

Pages 1-3 don't require any retroversion. Page 1 is the cover; page 2 the introduction; and page 3 is my map of Portown and a description of the points of interest. No rules here!

Page 4: 

Doors: Force open on 1-2 in 6, optionally modified for strength (i.e., if using Strength adjustments for doors such as I included in the Rolling Up An Adventurer sheet for Holmes Ref or the bonuses given in the Greyhawk supplement). Repeat attempts are possible, but there is no chance for surprise after the first attempt. Doors can also be chopped apart with the right tools, such as axes; this takes 1 turn and makes such a racket that it necessitates an immediate check for wandering monsters.

Wandering Monsters:

Check as indicated; the rules given in the RTOZ are the same as in the original dungeon.

For the monsters, use the following stats. If running Holmes, you can use 1/10 of the MV as Dexterity for determining first strike, or roll it on the spot as suggested in the Holmes rules.

For HD, "NH" means "normal human". For Holmes, this means they have 1d6 hp and use on their own line on the combat and saving throw tables (which is -1 compared to a 1st level fighter). In OD&D, they would be treated as 1st level fighters.

The behavior and treasure for each monster can be left unchanged.

1. 1d3 goblins: MV 60, AC 6, HD 1-1, AT 1 weapon for 1d6

2. 1d3 zombies: MV 60, AC 8, HD 2, AT 1 claws for 1d8, only attack every other round

3. 1d3 skeletons: MV 120, AC 8, HD 1/2, AT 1 claws for 1d6

(Note: I use the Monster Manual move rates for zombies and skeletons, which is reversed from that of the Holmes rulebook. If you prefer, switch them back).

4. 1d6 giant rats: MV 120, AC 7, HD 1/2, AT 1 bite for 1d3 + 5% chance of disease

    1 monstrous rat: MV 180, AC 5, HD 1-1, AT 1 bite/1 claws for 1d3+1 each

5. 1d6 large sand crabs: MV 90, AC 6, HD 1/2, AT 2 pinchers for 1d4 each

6. 1d3 giant centipedes: MV 150, AC 9, HD 1/4, AT 1 bite for 0 but save vs. poison at +4

7. 1d6 smugglers: MV 120, AC 7, HD NH, AT 1 cutlass for 1d6

8. 1d3 large spiders: MV 60, AC 8, HD 1+1, AT 1 bite for 1 + save vs. poison at +2

9. 1d6 stirges: MV 180, AC 7, HD 1, AT 1 proboscis (at +2) for 1d3 & drain blood at 1d4/round

10. 1d6 cultists: MV 120, AC 9, HD NH, AT 1 scimitar for 1d6

11. 1 ghoul: MV 90, AC 6, HD 2, AT claw/claw/bite for 1d3 each & paralysis

12. 1 cleaning cube: MV 30, AC 9, HD 2, AT 1 touch for 1d4 & paralysis

Instead of an item from the 5E Trinkets table, the cleaning cube will be carrying a random piece of equipment from the Holmes Ref Equipment Reference Sheet. 

NEW MONSTERS

Holmes-style stat blocks are below. Use the descriptions from the RTOZ.

Monstrous Rat

Move: 180 feet/turn, 90 feet/turn swimming
Hit Dice: 1-1
Armor Class: 5
Treasure Type: Q
Attacks: 1 bite, 1 claws
Damage: 1d3 + 1 each

(I wrote this up previously as a "Giant Rat King" here)

Large Sand Crab

Move: 90 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 1/2
Armor Class: 6
Treasure Type: nil
Attacks: 2 pinchers
Damage: 1d4 each

Smuggler

Move: 120 feet/turn
Hit Dice: Normal Human (1d6 hit points)
Armor Class: 7
Treasure Type: 2d6 gp
Alignment: neutral
Attacks: 1 cutlass
Damage: 1d6

Cultist

Move: 120 feet/turn
Hit Dice: Normal Human (1d6 hit points)
Armor Class: 9
Treasure Type: nil
Alignment: chaotic evil
Attacks: 1 scimitar
Damage: 1d6 

Cleaning Cube

Move: 30 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 2
Armor Class: 9
Treasure Type: variable
Attacks: 1 touch
Damage: 1d4 plus save vs. paralysis

Page 5: Doesn't need any retroversion as it is just a printer-friendly map of the dungeon.

That's it for now. I'll continue in another with notes on converting the rooms (Page 6 & beyond).

The second & final installment of "Running it Retro" can be found here.

Holmes Ref: Dungeoneering Reference Sheet

Screenshot (click on image for a larger view)

Another week, another Holmes Ref sheet!

This one is a true DM's aid for dungeon exploration using the Holmes ruleset, covering Time, Movement, Light, Surprise, Wandering Monsters, Reaction Rolls etc.

DUNGEONEERING REFERENCE SHEET (click here to download)

A few notes:

---The 1/12 movement rate for combat rounds comes from two sources:

(a) the rates given by Holmes in the section "Combat Rounds, Time and Movement in Melee" on page 20, where indicates that movement in melee "is usually at a sprint; an unarmored man can move 20 feet per melee round, a fully armored man only 10 feet".

(b) the extension of the above rules on page 3 of the first printing of B2 Keep on the Borderlands, which repeats the above rates, plus give 5 feet per round for Armored & Encumbered, and states that a monster's melee move can be determined by dividing the monster's move by 12 (although this really should be 6, see below).

---Monster Movement. The column for "Monsters" on the Time & Movement table doubles the movement rate for monsters. This corrects a problem I noticed a number of years ago regarding the relative movement rates of characters as compared to monsters, as explained in this thread on ODD74.

To reiterate: OD&D had movement rates of 12" (120' in the dungeon) for light foot, 6" (60') for heavy foot, and 3" (30') for encumbered heavy foot. These are given in the Encumbrance Table on page 15 of OD&D Vol 1. 

But OD&D Vol 3 further explains that characters get two moves in a 10 minute turn, and thus gives a movement rate of 120' for a fully armored character (which is equivalent to heavy foot). Thus, the 60' rate for heavy foot (fully armored) is actually 120' in the dungeon.

Holmes, when making the Movement table for Basic, incorporated this double move into the listed rates, and thus giving an Exploring rate of 240' feet for unarmored (i.e. light foot), 120' for metal armor or encumbered (i.e., heavy foot) and 60' for metal armor & encumbered (i.e., encumbered heavy foot). 

However, the Movement table in Holmes does not include monsters, and the Monster List in Holmes does not incorporate this same double move per turn, and instead simply gives a Move stat for each monster that is as exactly given in the list in OD&D Vol 2. 

Without giving monsters these two moves, characters are going to be moving twice as fast relative to monsters. You can see this if you scan a list of monster movements (for example, in my Monster Reference Table), and note that the 240 feet/turn Exploration rate for an Unarmored men given in the Movement table is faster than any monster Move stat on the list other than Horses and some flying beasts. If you further compare the 240 feet/turn Exploration to the humans in the monster lists in Holmes, which including Bandits and Berserkers (each in leather armor), you will see that they have a move of 120 feet/turn, half of that of characters.

So to correct this, I've included a Monsters column, where it is noted that the movement for a monster in a turn should be double their Move stat from the Monster List. This doubling applies to ally of the movement rates: Exploring, Walking Normally, Running and Combat.

---The Phosphorescent Fungus is from the Sample Dungeon, Room L. Holmes also used this in the Maze of Peril. Real world fungal bioluminescene is known as foxfire. As I've written previously, "Margaret St Clair's The Shadow People, an Appendix N book that I read and enjoyed, has an extensive worldwide underworld lit by foxfire, but I don't know whether Holmes was familiar with this book."

---The Swimming rules are from the Sample Dungeon, Rooms H and M.

As usual, please let me know if you spot any typos & ask questions about anything unclear.

Holmes Ref: Rolling up an Adventurer

Another Holmes Ref sheet - actually a two-parter this time!

Go the Holmes Ref page to download the sheet

The first page is shown above and gather together the six standard abilities and modifiers, as appearing in Holmes and also including the expansions I posted a few years back (...has it really been that long?).

To make things more interesting I've included six alternate old school options for generating ability scores. 

The first, which I've termed The Bullpen, reflects the habit of early Lake Geneva players of rolling up multiple characters until they got one they liked, naturally with high stats. This was eventually immortalized in the AD&D DMG as Method IV of character generation, where 12 sets of 3d6 stats are rolled up and one is picked. A variation on this practice was also seen in Alarums & Excursions #2 (July 1975), where a character generation sheet (link goes to Playing at the World) suggested rolling three sets of stats for one character, or five sets of stats for two characters. I've added a restriction I've seen suggested occasionally (here or here, for example) that the extras are to be saved as replacement characters.

The Arnesonian method was mentioned here on ODD74 by Dave Arneson himself in 2008. That's right, Dave was a member of the forum and made over a 170 posts in 2008 and 2009 before he passed away.

The Gygaxian method comes from Method I of the AD&D DMG and Gygax's houserules for running OD&D games in the '00s.

The Holmesian method comes from Holmes early A&E article, "Warrior-for-Hire". It was intended for NPC men-at-arms, but there's no reason it couldn't be generalized it to PCs.

The Ivesian method was detailed by Wesley D. Ives in Alarums & Excursions #14 (August 1976), stated to be used in his "Homlas" campaign (page 26).

What I've termed the Swansonian method is simply an additional roll for a bonus ability for a character rolled up RAW. The first version of this kind of table by Mark Swanson was featured in the very first issue of Alarums & Excursions in mid-1975. It was presented by Lee Gold as Mark Swanson's Special Abilities, and was popular enough with A&E contributors to become known as "Swanson Abilities" by other A&E contributers. See the character generation sheet at Playing at the World linked above for an example of such a use. Jon also discusses the "Swanson Abilities" in his commentary in that post, which was the first to bring it to my attention. The Complete Warlock in 1978 included a variation on these, called "Table of Special Abilities", but includes more defects than bonuses. Gygax eventually developed a version of these called Knacks for his Lejendary Adventures RPG in the late 90s.

Swanson's original list was actually two lists, one for clerics/fighters and one for magic-users. I've instead made a single table for all characters with 50 entries, some inspired by Swanson's list but many others simply brainstormed while perusing Holmes Basic. See the screenshot below.

If you note any typos in either page, please let me know below in the comments and I will eventually correct and repost the sheets.

As with the previous new sheet (the Equipment Reference Sheet), these will eventually be incorporated into a new version of Holmes Ref. The various existing Holmes Ref sheets and compilations can be found here.

Update 4/29: Revised version posted at the same link. Corrected typos found by myself and others and clarifies some wording in places. Screenshots still reflect the original version, so check the pdf if you note a typo in the screenshot.

Holmes Ref: Equipment Sheet

Here is a new reference sheet for Holmes Ref, an expanded Equipment List:

EQUIPMENT REFERENCE SHEET (single-sheet pdf)

This is something I started working on a while back, put aside, and just came back to last week and finished.

If you are not familiar with Holmes Ref, it's my slowly-accumulating series of reference sheets for Holmes Basic referees. The full set of Holmes Ref sheets & compilations can be found here.

Notes on the Equipment Sheet:

-It's written up like a catalog or menu that adventurers might actually read in game. The equipment is divided up by shop to provide a bit more of a generic town setting if you wish to roleplaying purchasing equipment, either before character creation or later during play.

-Each list is also numbered so it can be used to roll for random items, for instance to generate mundane items found in a dungeon, for example on the corpse of an unlucky adventurer...

-Sources include the Holmes Basic equipment list, the OD&D list (which is the same except for including some larger ships and lacking Tinderbox) and the Keep in the Holmes Basic module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands. The Specialist section of OD&D, Vol 3, provides the names for the Armorer, Smith and Sage and B2 provides the names for the Provisioner, Chapel, and Loan Bank as well as prices for the Inn & Tavern and Loan Bank.  

-The weapon shop list preserves the original Chainmail weapon classes in order (1-12), which generally correspond to length.

-The general store list ("The Provisioner") includes an equipment pack ("Basic Explorer Pack") as number #11 that includes each of items #1-10 for 35 GP. For a quick start, just have your character grab this pack plus armor and weapons.

Holmes Basic Testimonials

2019 update: Today is the 89th anniversary of J. Eric Holmes birthday! Please feel free to add your own testimonial to the comments below.

If you missed it major new addition to the Zenopus Archives site this past year was the addition of a J. Eric Holmes Photo Gallery.

2018 update: This year we celebrate Holmes' birthday in the middle of the 40th anniversary year of Holmes Basic (July 2017-July 2018). As a tribute, I'll be running two session of Return to the Tower of Zenopus at Gary Con in a few weeks (I had to cancel these).

There will also be a "Ruined Tower of Zenopus - 40 years later" event, by a different author, at the North Texas RPGCon this year in June! (this game was played with Chris Holmes in attendance)

And Beyond the Door to Monster Mountain - a Holmes Basic mini-scenario available here - will be run for the second year in a row at Dundracon this coming Sunday.

If you missed it, last July Chris Holmes was on the 3rd season of the short podcast Tell Me About Your Character, talking about his third favorite D&D character (after Boinger and Zereth) in the games he played with his father in the '70s. (this podcast seems to be no longer available)

And since Holmes' birthday last year we've seen a lot of great releases:

Tales of Peril, a gorgeous hardcover compilation of Holmes' stories of the adventures of Boinger the Halfling and Zereth the Elf, debuted at North Texas last June and shortly thereafter was available for direct order from Black Blade Publishing. I've been slowly blogging my way through the book in a series called the Tales of Peril Book Club, although at the moment it is on hiatus while I prep my con scenario.

The Blueholme Journeymanne rulebook was released by Dreamscape Design, and expands the Blueholme Prentice rules up to 20 levels. It is chock-full of evocative art thanks to all of the Holmes fans out there who funded the Kickstarter for the art.

Jon of Appendix M released two issues of his zine Fantastic! Exciting! Imaginative!, which is inspired by the art found in the Holmes Basic rulebook. The content is by various members of the Holmes Basic groups on G+ and Facebook, including one article in each by myself. Join up if you want to contribute to the next one! These can be found at DTRPG: Vol 1 (free pdf) and Vol 2 ($4 pdf).

On Free RPG day I released Holmes Ref 2.0 an expanded compilation of my reference sheets for Holmes Basic referees. I hope to release a further expansion this year.

Each year I bring this post forward and invite you to add new testimonials. I've moved my posts from previous years to an archive page on the Holmes Basic site, but everyone else's comments from previous years remain below. Feel free to comment again if you've commented before.

See also:
Testimonal Thread at OD&D Discussion
Testimonial Thread at Knights & Knaves Alehouse  
Testimonial Thread at Dragonsfoot
Testimonial Thread at the Acaeum

(DTRPG links include this blog's affiliate # which gives us a 5% credit for each purchase)

Lesser Magic Items

One of the new additions to Holmes Ref 2.0 is a table of Lesser Magic Items. The material in this table originally appeared with illustrations, in Dungeon Crawl #3 (2013), a zine edited by Wayne Rossi (still available; follow the link for more info). I've now made the Holmes Ref version available as a separate sheet:

Find the Lesser Magic Items sheet on the Holmes Ref page

Reproduced below for reference is the text of my original article (with a few new edits).

* * * * *

In the introductory module B2 Keep on the Borderlands, Gary Gygax wrote, "If only two or three player characters are to adventure, be sure to have a non-player character or two go along, as well as a few men-at-arms. In addition, give the player characters a magic dagger or some magic arrows and at least one potion of healing - family bequests to aid them in finding their fame and fortune when they go against Chaos" (pg 2).

 

This is great advice, but instead of standard D&D items, why not give each new character a more unusual low-power magic item? Some examples are provided below in the form of a table. Have each character roll a d20 for one starting item. Simply re-roll if it is a type the character can't use due to class restrictions. After an item is used, replace that entry with another of your own devising. Many of the items below have charges or doses, and are intended to be used up and replaced by greater magic items found while adventuring. These items were designed with Holmes Basic D&D in mind, but should be usable with any old school D&D rules, and can also be used as standard monster/NPC treasures. 

1. Brazen Head - Appears as a human head of brass. Once per day, if fed five gold coins, it will relay one local rumor, which may or may not be true. It must be carried uncovered or it will start wailing. It will also talk randomly while adventuring, providing advice or commentary that may or may not be helpful.

2. Dungeon Dust - A jar of desiccating dust harmful to the "cleanup crew": slimes, oozes, jellies, puddings, molds, gelatinous cubes, etc. A successful hit with a handful inflicts 2d6 damage. Contains 1d6+2 handfuls.

3. Foxfire Lantern - The interior of this hooded lantern contains a living phosphorescent fungus. The lantern sheds light in only a 5' radius, but it will never go out as long as the fungus is fed rations daily. To keep the lantern lit the character owning it must always buy and carry an extra supply of rations.

4. Golden Throat - A potion that vastly improves the imbiber's parleying skills for 6 turns, giving a +6 on reaction rolls. The flask contains 1d6 + 2 doses.

5. Harpy Axe - If this hand axe is thrown and does not strike a target in range (30') it will return to thrower's hand, up to three times per day. Harpies are said to enchant these to be reusable during aerial combat.

6. Healing Salve - One dose will heal 1 hit point per character per day. Additional doses during that same day have no effect. Comes in a jar with 1d20 + 20 doses total.

7. Hearing Cone - A small cone that enhances the ability to listen at doors, +1 per charge used. The number of charges to be used must be chosen before listening. Has 1d100 charges.

8. Heat Shield - This shield has the power to Resist Fire, once per day, as the Cleric Spell. After being exposed to fire 1d20 + 20 times it reverts to a normal shield.

9. Image Mirror - Once per day this ordinary-looking steel mirror can store the reflection of a creature, which can be used later that day as a Mirror Image (per the M-U spell). The image will imitate the motions of the wielder, and as the spell it disappears if touched. After 1d20 + 20 images the mirror loses its power.

10. Loadstone - A small stone carved in the shape of a mule. If a charge is expended, the wielder's movement rate is improved by one category for the rest of the day. 1d20 + 20 charges.

11. Lucky Rat's Foot - The mummified foot of an albino Giant Rat. It allows the re-roll one Saving Throw of choice per day. It absorbs the bad luck and loses power after 1d6 + 2 successful re-rolls are made.

12. Mask of Restfulness - This soft mask is worn over the eyes while sleeping. It doubles overnight healing, but the character cannot be awoken unless the mask is removed, in which case benefit is lost for that night.

13. Nimble Feet - Boots that allow the wearer to strike first during one combat of choice each day (giving a dexterity of 19 for purposes of Holmes Basic initiative). After 20 + 1d20 combats the boots lose their power.

14. Nutcracker - This small (1') wooden construct remains inactive until a command word is spoken. Once activated, it will serve the character, including in combat. It has the following stats: AC4, 1 hp, attacks as a Normal Man with a miniature sword for 1 point of damage. Fights at +2 vs Giant Rats.

15. Miniature Item - A large item magically reduced to palm-sized. Once per day it can be commanded to return to full size or shrink. The speaker of the command word must also touch it to cause the change, which is slow (1 turn). Once enlarged it will not shrink until the next day, and vice versa. It will change 1d20+20 times before remaining full size. Roll 1d6 for item: 1= 10' Ladder, 2= Wagon, 3= Small Boat, 4= Large Chest, 5= 18' pike, 6= 10' Boulder (rollable by combined 36 strength).

16. Resolute Arrow - A sturdy arrow that never breaks whether it hits its target or not, and can always be found

17. Ring of Escape - If placed against a stone ceiling, this ring will expand to the diameter of a man-hole cover and provide a magical passage upwards to the first space above, up to 30'. The tunnel is easily climbable by anyone that can reach the ceiling. After use, a command word will cause the ring to appear at the top of the passage. It will function only once per day, and has 1d20+20 charges.

18. Thirsty Waterskin - Once per day, this ordinary-looking waterskin will locate the closest fresh, drinkable water.

19. Troll Cheese - This loaf-sized lumpy green cheese tastes "off" but is edible, and provides enough food for one person to survive for one day, although no hit points are gained if resting. Furthermore, the cheese will regenerate overnight if not fully eaten. Stomach acid prevents the consumed portion from regenerating inside the eater. Fire, including cooking, will destroy it.

20. Vermin Slayer - A sword +0, +1 vs ordinary or giant vermin such as insects, spiders, rats and bats.

Notes: 
The Brazen Head is a variation on the item of the same name from medieval lore. Holmes had another version in Room I the Sample Dungeon.

The Foxfire Lantern is inspired by the phosphorescent fungus found in Room L of the Sample Dungeon. There is a real-world glowing fungus called Foxfire.

The Harpy Axe is inspired by one of the earliest D&D games I played in. Our characters, riding on a magic carpet, battled harpies wielding returning axes. Thanks to Donald S., our DM.

Troll Cheese is inspired by a "dwarven cheese" I remember reading about in a fairy tale long ago.

Holmes Ref 2.0

One year ago on Free RPG Day I released Holmes Ref 1.0 (see blog post here), a 10-page compilation of various Holmes Ref Sheets. 

Click here to view/download Holmes Ref 2.0

This year's offering is Holmes Ref 2.0, an expanded version with 18 pages, including:

*Title Page with Monster Face Montage art
Character Creation Worksheet
*Blank Character Sheet - new version posted separately in April
Advancement Tables (previously called Holmes + OD&D "Bridge" Sheet)
Holmesian Random Names
Backgrounds for Humans
Cleric Spells Levels 1-6
M-U Spells Levels 1-3 
*M-U Spells Levels 4-6 - new, posted separately earlier this week
Monster Reference Table - revised to use dice notation (e.g. 1d6) vs ranges for damage
*Tips for using the Monster Table - from the pdf of the Monster Table, slightly revised
*One Hit Point Monsters
Magical Item Reference Table
*Lesser Magic Items - new sheet, material published in Dungeon Crawl #3 in 2013
Pre-generated First Level Characters 
*Pre-generated Third Level Characters - new sheet, not yet posted separately
*Draw and Key Your Own Dungeon - graph paper previously posted on Holmes Ref page
*Zenopus Archives logo with Monster Face Mountain Art 

Starred items are new to the Holmes Ref compilation.

The first and last pages can be used for the player-facing side of DIY DM screens.

I won't be surprised if there are some typos/formatting errors/etc, so please let me know & I'll make note of them for future correction.

The compilation and individual sheets are available via the Holmes Ref page on the Zenopus Archives site. Holmes Ref 1.0 will remain anyone who wants a smaller version.

Also available is the Portown Rumors 3-page pdf posted last month.

Enjoy Free RPG day. I'm playing in a 1E AD&D game at a local store later today.

Update: For reference, I added more links to the original posts about the various sheets.

M-U Spells Levels 4-6 Ref Sheet

Another year, another ala carte reference sheet for Holmes Ref. : )

This one is the next set of spells for Magic-Users, Levels 4-6, following on from Levels 1-3. Cleric spells Levels 1-6 are all on a single sheet, so this brings the two classes even.

Holmes Basic itself doesn't describe spells of these levels, but a few are referenced in the text, such as Conjure Elemental and Stone to Flesh, which is on a scroll in the Sample Dungeon. The spell details are all sourced from OD&D Vol 1, Greyhawk and Swords & Spells, which has a spell table with some info (mostly area of effect) not found in the earlier booklets. So this table is equally usable for Holmes Basic or OD&D including Greyhawk.

The direct link is on the Holmes Ref page.


This will be compiled into the next release of Holmes Ref...coming soon!

Portown Rumors PDF

Portown Rumors PDF - Page 1 - screenshot

I've taken the two versions of the Portown Rumors that were previously posted on this blog - the original and brief versions - and combined them into a single 3-page pdf. In this combined version you start with the 20 brief versions presented as a d20 rumor table similar to those found in classic TSR modules, which is then followed by the expanded versions in two-column format. Download the pdf here:

Portown Rumors PDF

Over on the ZA site, I've also added the link to the Holmes Ref and the Sample Dungeon pages. I also updated the Sample Dungeon page to refer to what we learned from the Holmes Manuscript.

New Character Sheet PDF for Download

Screen Shot of Character Record Sheet, updated 4/9/17, 1 PM

I tweaked the Character Record and now have a version ready for release:

Click Here to Download a PDF of the Character Record 

It can also be accessed from the Holmes Ref page.

This will eventually be incorporated into a new release of Holmes Ref.

If you spot any typos or errors let me know. Now roll 3d6 in order!

4/9/17 Update: I replaced the pdf with a slightly revised version (formatting, and a new wizard's tower). The link now goes to the revised pdf.

Character Sheet - New Draft

This is the latest draft of the character sheet for Holmes Ref. The original version is in Holmes Ref 1.0, and a previous revised draft was posted back in November. I made some significant revisions after that, but then it fell off my radar over the holidays. I just dug it out again, and made a few more changes.

Revisions: 

• Streamlined design
• Added "Holmes Basic" in a font similar to that used for the original D&D logo (Quentin Caps)
• Added icons representing Skull Mountain and the Tower of Zenopus
• New "Background" section that can be used for the optional OD&D Backgrounds, or simply for player-generated character background. Included here is a spot for "Heir", which is the designated relative who inherits your character's equipment/treasure upon death, mentioned on page 8 of the Holmes Basic rulebook

  
Feedback/comments welcome!