The Maze of Peril at Noble Knight

I noticed yesterday that Noble Knight Games now has Holmes' novel The Maze of Peril in stock (11 8 3 1 0 15 9 copies as of 11/26/12) for $9.95 plus shipping. NK presumably ordered these from the publisher, Space and Time in NY, who still sells copies of the original 1986 printing. S & T charges only $6.95 + $1.50 shipping, but requires a check or money order, so you may find it more convenient to order from NK, who take PayPal, credit cards, etc.

If you are not familiar with the novel, it's a 150-page OD&D-ish adventure featuring the duo Boinger the Halfling and Zereth the Elf, who had earlier appeared in Holmes' three short stories for Dragon Magazine - though Maze of Peril is set earlier, as the pair meet for the  first time in the beginning.

A few reviews of the book:

A lone review on Amazon (1998)

Dragonsfoot review (2006) - by myself, points out the many similarities with Holmes Basic

OD&D Discussion thread (2008)

Grognardia Pulp Fantasy Library review (2010)

Carjacked Seraphim review (2010)

Delta's D&D Hotspot review (2011)

And here's the NK blurb:

"To those with the courage and ability to survive, the maze pays equal tribute in its fabulous mysteries and treasures from countless civilizations. Now the Dagonites plot to keep these riches for themselves. Boinger the halfling and his companions must discover the Dagonite stronghold, challenge their warriors and wizards, rescue a friend, preserve the waterways of Amazonia, and maybe even save the world. [this portion is taken from the back cover of the book]

Inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and written by Dr. John Eric Holmes who was the editor of the basic set blue book which is generally referred to as the "Holmes Basic" and is widely considered to be the best set of rules for introducing a new player to the original D&D rules. By his own words, Mr. Holmes stated that he was rather upset after reading the original small books from the first box set and he still had no idea how to play the game. Because of this he spoke with Gary Gygax and offered to rewrite the rules into a form that would be good for beginners and Gary readily agreed."

The Monster Manual is a Holmes Supplement

Mock cover for a "Basic Set Monster Manual"

This topic just came up again on Dragonsfoot, and reminded of a post I made on OD&D Discussion early last year before I started this blog, which I've just revised: 

The Holmes Basic set was first published in mid-1977. The AD&D Monster Manual first appeared after Xmas in late Dec 1977. The rules for AD&D were still in development at the time, and the Monster Manual refers to a number of rules from OD&D or Holmes that were later changed by the AD&D Player's Handbook (mid '78) or Dungeon Master's Guide ('79).

• The entry for Orcus in the Monster Manual indicates that his "tail strikes with an 18 dexterity which does 2-8 hit points each time it hits" (pg 17). To me this implies an attack compatible with the Holmes rules for initiative where first strike is determined by dexterity. There is one other monster in the Monster Manual that has a dexterity score in its description: Brownies have "18 dexterity" (pg 11).

• Yeenoghu can cast "magic missile (3/day, 6/missiles/cast), each doing 2-8 points of damage and having a +2 to hit" (pg 20). In AD&D magic missiles strike unerringly, but Holmes Basic requires a "to hit" role - "Roll the missile fire like a long bow arrow" (pg 15) - so Yeenoghu's bonus to hit with a magic missile refers to this rule. This was discussed in the comments on a Grognardia post. This may indicate that Gary intended the OD&D magic missile to require a "to hit" roll. The original description of Magic Missile in the Greyhawk supplement is entirely unclear as to this, as it just describes the magic missile as "equivalent to a magic arrow". Tim Kask has stated on DF that the OD&D version did require a roll, and was purposefully changed for AD&D.
  
  
• The Monster Manual basically has a five point alignment system like in the Holmes Basic rulebook, which in turn was derived from an article in Strategic Review #6 (Feb 1976). A few monsters in Holmes do not conform: the Displacer Beast is "neutral (evil)", and others have two alignments (e.g. Dopplegangers are "chaotic evil/neutral"). Likewise, the Monster Manual has a few monsters with "neutral (evil)" or "neutral (good)". But neither has the full-fledged nine-point alignment system that later surfaced in the Players Handbook.
  
  
• As described by T. Foster here, no monster in the Monster Manual has an AC 10. I note that new "armorless" monsters like the Gas Spore and Nymph are AC 9, and previously described monsters like the Gelatinous Cube, Gray Ooze, and Ochre Jelly are AC 8, just like in both OD&D and Holmes Basic.
  
  
• T. Foster lists other details compatible with OD&D: "spell-names that were changed in AD&D (e.g. raise dead fully vs. resurrection), the max. levels listed for demi-human leader-types match the level limits in OD&D (AD&D's are usually 1-2 levels higher), and ... casting-level equivalents that match the OD&D rather than AD&D tables". The last is further described by Papers&Paychecks in this thread, where he points to Nagas as a good example of the "casting-level equivalents that match OD&D". For example, the Spirit Naga has "4th level clerical ability" which is "2 - first and 1- second level spells per day" (pg 73). This is consistent with OD&D, as well as the implied progression in Holmes, where 3rd level clerics get two 1st level spells.
  
  
  

My conclusion is that at the time the Monster Manual came out it was most compatible with the Holmes interpretation of the original D&D rules. But what this really shows is that some AD&D specific rules were developed after Gary finished working on the Monster Manual. Let me know if you notice any other instances that align with Holmes or OD&D.

2021 Update: The errata for the Monster Manual indicates that the language regarding the tail of Orcus was different in the first printing. Thanks to jeffb on ODD74, I've learned that the change was just to add the damage for the tail ("...which does 2-8 hit points each time it hits"). Which means that the language regarding the tail's dexterity being 18 was there int he first printing.

Delving Deeper PrePress Demo Game

     I'm taking part in a play-by-post pre-press demo game for the upcoming Delving Deeper RPG (retroclone of OD&D). My character is Mot the Magicien. This is my first pbp, other than some intra-session posts in my regular game.

     If you are interested in following it, you can read the start of the play here on the OD&D Discussion Forums. The DM is waysofearth, editor and co-author for Delving Deeper, and one of the players is Cameron DuBeers, also a co-author. Ways has posted excerpts of the Character Creation rules for DD here.

Arneson's Sketch Map of Blackmoor, Annotated

      Over at the Acaeum, sauromation asked about how Arneson's hand-drawn sketch map of Blackmoor (in which the settlements are not labeled) in the First Fantasy Campaign corresponds to the fine fold-out poster hex map that came with the same product. Above I've taken my best stab at annotating the sketch map using the labels from the poster map. The positions of the waterways and the settlements actually exhibit a great deal of similarity between the two, although there are definite geographical differences. It's tempting to call this an "earlier" map of Blackmoor, but I'm not sure if there's any evidence of this (please let me know if there is). It could be earlier but could also be a  sketch that is contemporary with the fine map.

Where on the Great Kingdom map was "The Weird Enclave of Blackmoor"?

One of my earliest impressions of the Holmes Basic Set, from before I even understood any of the rules, comes from the memorable Foreword by Gary Gygax, which was reprinted from the original Dungeons & Dragons set and begins:

"ONCE UPON A TIME, long, long ago there was a little group known as the Castle and Crusade Society. Their fantasy rules were published, and to this writer's knowledge, brought about much of the current interest in fantasy wargaming. For a time the group grew and prospered, and Dave Arneson decided to begin a medieval fantasy campaign game for his active Twin Cities club. From the map of the "land" of the "Great Kingdom" and environs — the territory of C & C Society — Dave located a nice bog wherein to nest the weird enclave of "Blackmoor," a spot between the "Giant Kingdom" and the fearsome "Egg of Coot."

Dr. Holmes, the editor of the Basic Set, was wise to include this section as it is a marvel of evocative campaign names: Castle & Crusade Society, Great Kingdom, Blackmoor, the Egg of Coot. It made me immediately want to learn more about these locations, see that map of the "land", and of course play a game where I could visit those places.

[Jan 2014 update: The Holmes manuscript doesn't include this Foreword, so its inclusion was most likely added by Gygax/TSR]

Now, many years later, I can finally see the original Great Kingdom map, thanks to Playing at the World by Jon Peterson, a fantastic new book that traces the origins of D&D. This book includes a reprint of the original map, drawn by Gary Gygax and published in an article in Domesday Book #9 (late 1970 or early 1971):

Great Kingdom map by Gary Gygax, Domesday Book #9 (1970/1), reprinted in Playing at the World (2012).

     

This map bears some striking similarities to the later World of Greyhawk map (1980), particularly the Sea of Dust in the lower left corner, surrounded by mountain ranges and the Dry Steppes directly to the north, and the centrally located Lake of Unknown Depths (Nir Dyv). Unfortunately, the map does not show the location of Greyhawk, Blackmoor or any of the names from the Foreword - these locations were added later by Gygax and Arneson. However, in First Fantasy Campaign (Judges Guild, 1977), Dave Arneson provides an hand-drawn map of Blackmoor that may provide some clues:

In First Fantasy Campaign, Arneson writes, "In starting my campaign, I reserved a small area out of the center of the Great Kingdom map of the IFW's Castle & Crusade Society (a now extinct Medievals group" (pg 11). Assuming that his map of the enclave of Blackmoor is an inset near the center of the Great Kingdom map, we can fit the two together. If the "Great Ocean" of the Blackmoor map is the western edge of the "Great Bay" of the Great Kingdom map, the other details of the Blackmoor map could be placed as follows:

Annotated map showing speculative locations of Blackmoor and Greyhawk

I've also tentatively placed Greyhawk in a position similar to that of the World of Greyhawk map: just south of a peninsula stretching into the Lake (see the picture below). This annotated map might work well for a OD&D campaign set in Greyhawk or Blackmoor. See this OD&D Discussion thread for more ideas for such a campaign.

And finally here's some info on the original Greyhawk Campaign map from Gygax's letter A&E#15 (Oct 76). Note that the map referred to here is not necessarily the Great Kingdom one from 1970/71 printed above; Gygax may have made another version(s) before 1976.

"The game world is a parallel earth, but the continents are somewhat different. Most of our campaign activity takes place on what corresponds to North America, on the eastern half of the continent. The "Blackmoor" lands lie far up on the northeast coast. "Greyhawk" is in the central portion. There are a few other independently run campaigns located on this map. There are also some other dungeons related to the "Greyhawk" campaign located at some distance from the free city of Greyhawk. Players in our campaign may freely play in "Blackmoor", but to get there they must adventure cross country. With one or two other campaigns, we do not allow any cross-campaign play other than this, for these is too great a disparity of DMing. The territory within 500 or so miles of our main dungeon is mapped out at 5 miles to the hex. Territory within 50 miles of Greyhawk city is mapped more closely, and monster locations are indicated. The entire world is mapped out in rough form, with notes regarding typical encounters in given areas as well as particular special places, for hardy souls who wish to go forth to seek their fortunes."

See also these follow-up posts:

The Land of the Great Kingdom and Environs (2014)

Megarry's copy of the Great Kingdom Map (2017)

Locations for the Tomb of Horrors on the Great Kingdom map (2018)

Chainmail Announcement from Domesday Book #9 (2021)

Proofing Deeper, update

I didn't post much here last month; I was on vacation in the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Orcas Island, Seattle, Olympic Peninsula), and my spare time after returning was spent on proofreading Delving Deeper, Volume 3 (which covers monsters and treasure). I posted a few months ago that I was assisting with this. I finished this last week and all of my proofreading notes for the three volumes are now with the editor. So, if you are waiting for this product, I can confirm that progress is being made. 

By the way, the Delving Deeper page has the following updates:

Pre-Order Sales have ended, regular sales will begin after all of the pre-orders have shipped.

and

Delving Deeper RPG pdfs will be available to everyone who has pre-ordered in a few weeks. The hardcopy boxed sets will start shipping a few weeks after that. Only after all the pre-ordered hard copies have shipped, will the free version of the PDFs will become available to the public for download. Posted 07/06/2012

Obscure Art Friday: "Chainmail" by Gary Gygax

Today is Gary Gygax Day (his birthday), so here's an extremely obscure artwork by the Dungeon Master himself. It's his (signed) version of the cover of Chainmail (first published in 1971), which was illustrated by Don Lowry. Gygax's art is from his Diplomacy variant "Crusadomacy"; a link to this was recently posted on the Acaeum by Lurker Below. The date of this article is not clear. The document is a scan of a photocopy, and is annotated as being from "PZFST 5.7" (Panzerfaust). The text of article indicates it was originally published in Domesday Book #5 (~July 1970), which is confirmed by the Acaeum's description of its contents. The map in the Crusdomacy scan is also drawn by Gygax and is dated 1970. 

10/24/12 Update: Per the Jon at Playing at the World, "The original appeared on page 114 of Jack Coggins's self-illustrated The Fighting Man (1966), at the start of the chapter "Crescent and Cross" about the Crusades."

Bonus Gygax: Wizards still has available a page to download a four-page pdf of Gygax's Appendix A: Random Dungeon Generation from the reprint of the original Dungeon Master's Guide. This is essentially a stand-alone section that could be used with any version of D&D. The reprints were released last week, and purchase supports the Gygax Memorial Fund. I haven't purchased them since I have 2+ copies of each of the originals, but at least two members of my gaming group have each bought the full set. Since Wizards spent so much time retyping the entire the text, I'm hoping they will make the full pdfs of each book available for purchase in the future.