Agate-Eyed Skeleton (New Monster)

This is a new monster for Holmes Basic, one which is featured in Areas 20 and 24 of The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave adventure (which is indexed here).

Eye Agate. Image Source.

Agate-Eyed Skeleton

Move: 120 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 2
Armor Class: 7
Treasure Type: agate eyes (100 gp each)

Alignment: neutral

Attacks: 1 bony hands
Damage: 1d6

Agates are purported to promote restful sleep, and certain funerary practices incorporate this belief by burying the dead with such gemstones. Some secretive groups go even further, replacing the eyes of the deceased with eye agates, and if these are of sufficient value (100 gp per eye), the strange energies of the underworld may transform the thusly treated remains into an agate-eyed skeleton, an unusual variant of animated skeleton. 

The practices that produce such skeletons means that they are typically found in groups in burial chambers. If undisturbed, the skeletons will remain at rest, but anyone gazing upon their agate eyes must save versus magic or fall asleep for 1d6 turns. Unlike a Sleep spell, characters so affected cannot be awakened prior to this by any means short of a Dispel Magic.

Damaging Skeletons. Any attack that inflicts damage on a skeleton, and does not destroy it, will cause it to immediately animate and attack with its bony claws. Once arisen, characters viewing the eyes no longer need to save versus magic. Furthermore, even if the skeleton is destroyed, 1d6 other skeletons in the same area will animate each round until all in the area have joined in. The assault will continue until the intruders have been destroyed or have fled the area, although a successful turning (as a ghoul) by a cleric will send the skeletons back to their resting places and prevent any further ones from animating.

Moving Skeletons. Any attempt to move a skeleton will, after a one round delay, result in the same effect as damaging the skeleton. However, if during this round the bones are placed in a specially consecrated ossuary, which may or may not be located nearby (DM's discretion), the skeleton will not animate and both agates can be safely removed.

Removing Agates. If a character attempts to remove an agate without disturbing the skeleton, there is a small chance of success. The base chance is equal to the attempting character's dexterity (e.g., a 10% chance for a dexterity of 10). Thieves add their chance of removing traps to this (e.g. a thief with a 15 dexterity and a 15% chance of remove traps would have a 30% chance). If this roll is failed, the eye is removed but the skeleton then animates as if damaged and will incessantly attempt to retrieve its eye, to the point of relentlessly stalking the offending character. Removing a second eye agate from the same skeleton will automatically cause it to animate.

It is rumored that placing such gems in the eyes of skeletons before casting Animate Dead will also produce an agate-eyed skeleton.

Grotto Iguana (New Monster)

This is a new monster for Holmes Basic, one which is featured in Area 18 of The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave adventure (which is indexed here).

Image Source

Grotto Iguana

Move: 90 feet/turn
Hit Dice: 3 + 1
Armor Class: 2
Treasure Type: nil

Alignment: neutral

Attacks: 1 bite + 1 tail whip
Damage: 2d6/bite, 1d6/tail whip

In certain wet and warm caverns of the underworld, strange vegetation thrives under the glow of phosphorescent fungus, and in such places dwells the grotto iguana. Herbivores like their smaller surface-dwelling cousins, these giant lizards can purportedly live for over a century, slowly growing to the size of a horse.

Forming loose-knit colonies, the smaller iguanas will, if threatened, flee and hide among the crevices of the grotto, while the larger individuals will defend themselves with a strong bite and a whip of their long tails, which can be used against a second opponent if necessary. They also scrape their tail on the ground, making a noise that will summon others to their aid.

If approached cautiously, and provided with generous amounts of fruits and vegetables, the largest individuals can be induced to serve as underworld pack animals (treat as a draft horse with a carrying capacity of 5,000 gold pieces).

Things Better Left Alone is a limited time release

Per an announcement by Pacesetter Games on FB, the recently released Things Better Left Alone will only be available for a short time longer:

"This is the last chance to secure your copy of Things Better Left Alone! If you would like to secure your piece of D&D history, click the button below! If you are out of the loop, continue reading to learn more!

In conjunction with the Dr. John Eric Holmes estate, Pacesetter has produced a massive, 76-page adventure module based on Holmes' home campaign adventure from the mid-1970s. This dungeon was also featured in The Maze of Peril novel by Holmes. We were provided with his original hand-drawn maps and notes to create this amazing adventure. It truly is a window into the early days of Dungeons & Dragons. 

Dr. Holmes is the author of the first Dungeons & Dragons basic set; the first mass-marketed version of D&D. We used those rules (which include rules for 1st to 3rd level characters) to create a new set of rule books that allow play through 10th level. These rules are not required to play the adventure module (which is set for 4th-6th level characters), but are available as well. The adventure module is compatible with any classic version of D&D (BX D&D, BECMI, AD&D). But if you would like to play using original the Holmes system, we have the books.

The Physical + PDF version costs $30, and the PDF only is $20! We will be closing off sales in the next day or so. As of now, there are no plans to reprint this adventure. However, due to the great success we have had, we are in talks with the Holmes estate on where to go next 🙂 Perhaps an expansion? Time will tell!"

 

See my previous post for more info on this release. 

Order it here from Pacesetter Games:

Things Better Left Alone from Pacesetter Games

Pacesetter Games: Things Better Left Alone

 

Things Better Left Alone. Cover at by Wonkee.

Things Better Left Alone is an adventure written by Bill Barsh and published by his company, Pacesetter Games, based on four original dungeon maps drawn by J. Eric Holmes, as well as the associated keys, which are mostly written directly on the maps but also include one additional page of notes.

These maps include the areas which Holmes drew on for his novel The Maze of Peril. I wrote about the correspondence between the story and these maps back in my Tales of Peril Book Club (sadly unfinished); specifically, see Scene 6 and Scene 7. If you'd like a copy of The Maze of Peril to read along with the adventure, the publisher is still selling copies from the original print run on Amazon.

This adventure was authorized by the Holmes family and includes art by Chris Holmes and Wonkee, as well as scans of the original maps and notes on which it is based, as well as modern renderings of the maps.

The adventure went on sale today in conjunction with the North Texas RPG Con. Print copies can be purchased directly from their booth at the con, but are also available on the Pacesetter games website, where there are two options: Print + PDF plus PDF alone. The PDF can be downloaded directly after purchasing. Find it here on DriveThruRPG:

Things Better Left Alone in Print or PDF

Well Worm (New Monster)

"Front View of a Nematode Monster..." 
Source: Cobb (1914)

This is a new monster for Holmes Basic, one which is featured in Area 19 of The Forgotten Smugglers' Cave adventure (which is indexed here). It originally appeared as part of my list of One Hit Point Monsters.

Well Worm

Move: 60 feet/turn swimming
Hit Dice: 1/8 (1 hit point)
Armor Class: 7
Treasure Type: nil

Alignment: neutral

Attacks: 1 bite
Damage: 1 point

Well worms, the bane of farmers, are a form of giant roundworm that can infest any type of still water. With a soft yet exceedingly slimy body up to two feet in length, ending in a nasty tripartite jaw ringed with grasping feelers, and the ability to launch themselves up to three feet out of the water, removing even one from a body of water is a daunting task, and they are frequently found in significant numbers (2d20 worms). Being generalists in diet, they can thrive in a number of harsh habitats, even underground, and can slowly creep across land to find new waters. Having evolved to live in the foulest of water, they are immune to poison.

It is rumored that the slime of the well worm is desired by wizards for use as an ingredient in certain magical oils that render one immune to capture by grasping and entangling attacks.

RIP RUSS

 

One of Nicholson's full-page illustrations from the Fiend Folio,
depicting a party facing off against the Githyanki. Image Source.

It was sometime in the spring of 1983 that I came into possession of the fifth AD&D hardcover, the FIEND FOLIO. As I recall, I learned from a friend that Kay Bee Toys in the local mall had them on sale for a single dollar (!), a price low enough that I was able to convince my parents to get me one immediately rather than waiting for the next holiday.

A monster stat block & illustration from the Fiend Folio
See more here

While the format was similar to the MONSTER MANUAL, which I had received as an Xmas present just months before, the striking and strange-to-me interior illustrations made it feel like it had slipped in from an alternate timeline. Which it essentially had, being the product of the UK division of TSR, and compiling monsters submitted by readers of WHITE DWARF magazine. The artwork giving it this feel was heavy with dots, lines and cross-hatching, and largely the work of two of the UK-based artists, Alan Hunter, who we lost in 2012, and Russ Nicholson, who passed away last week, and is the subject of this appreciation post.

Death Knight by RUSS
Image Source

Of the two, Nicholson is much better known these days, having contributed more illustrations to the book, and more of the best-remembered monsters such as the Coffer Corpse, Death Knight, Demon: Lolth, Flind, Githyanki, Grell, Norker, Penanggalan, Retriever, Revenant, Skeleton Warrior, Son of Kyuss, Svirfneblin, and Xill, to name just a few. His prominent "RUSS" signature on his illustrations also helped cement his name in the mind of fans of the Fiend Folio.

Svirfneblin (Deep Gnome) by RUSS
Image Source

Nicholson excelled at both types of interior artwork found in the early monster tomes: the static "monster portrait" accompanying each stat block and the dynamic "action scene" depicting characters encountering monsters, such as the one at the top of this post. Both types were found in the original Monster Manual, and the Fiend Folio takes it up a notch with more of everything (sadly, the MONSTER MANUAL II would almost entirely eliminate the second category, making it much less thrilling to peruse, and starting a trend that has unfortunately continued). In addition to numerous monster portraits, larger fill-ins and the title-page monster, Nicholson also contributed two of the seven full-page pictures, which depict parties facing off against Githyanki and a Grell, respectively. All of these images remain indelibly burned into my mind's eye.

Image Source

His art in the Fiend Folio was an outgrowth of his work for the early years of White Dwarf. As a youth, I was only ever able to locate one of these issues: #29 (Feb/Mar 1982), found secondhand at the Game Workshop store in Baltimore, which was the first one in the US.  It featured one exquisite Nicholson, an illustration for the first Griselda story, "Lucki Eddi", a fiction series set in the Runequest world of Glorantha.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.
Image Source.

Unfortunately, I don't recall encountering any other publications with his art as a youth. He is also well-known for illustrating the interiors of the first two Fighting Fantasy books, but those mostly eluded me, and I only ever came across one slightly later entry, at our local library. 

Illustration for the Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea RPG
Image Source

Naturally in the internet age I've been able to rectify this and have seen many more of his works from a long and productive career. In the last decade, at least before his health faltered, Nicholson was very active on the internet, both on G+ (where he even joined my Holmes Basic G+ Group), Facebook and on his own personal blog, The Gallery: the Art of Russ Nicholson, where he frequently shared large groups of scans of his art, old and new. And he remained very productive in new RPG art, often for newer publications, such as the DCC RPG rulebook and the Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea RPG (see above). I was always impressed by how consistent in style his newer work was with his classic illustrations.

A few years ago at virtual Gary Con, I had the pleasure of playing in a game where the entire party was a Githyanki, a fantastic AD&D scenario called "Secret of the Githyanki" run by Julian Bernick. I played an anti-paladin with a silver sword. And the entire time I pictured us and the setting looking just like Nicholson's pictures in the Fiend Folio.

Farewell, RUSS.

Was the Holmes Basic Rulebook Sold Separately?

 

Source: Tome of Treasures

There have been a few discussions on Dragonsfoot lately, including this one, about whether the early D&D Basic and Expert rulebooks were sold separately from the boxed sets, which spurred me to post some pictures that show, for Holmes Basic and B/X (Moldvay Basic and Cook-Marsh Expert), that the answer is yes.

For example, above is a section from a 1978 TSR Catalog hawking the "BASIC SET of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS", "complete in a full color bookshelf-sized box", for $9.95...but also the rulebook "only" for an even $5. (Incidentally, I'd love a better scan of this catalog entry if anyone has or can make one that is higher resolution and/or not water-stained).

As reported by Jon Peterson back in 2021, the almost $5 price difference actually played a pivotal role in Dave Arneson's lawsuit against TSR, as "Arneson learned that he was not being paid his expected 5% royalty on the $10 cover price of the whole Basic Set, but instead only on the copy of the Basic D&D rulebook that shipped in the box, which then sold separately for $5". Read Jon's article for the full story.

Here's another piece of ephemera, also from 1978, again showing the availability of each item separately. It's the first page of an Order Blank - an order form - for the Dungeon Hobby Shop from April 1978, which shows the boxed set and separate rulebook available for the same prices, and also provides the TSR Stock Numbers - 1001 for the boxed set, and 2001 for the rulebook. These are the same numbers printed on the products starting with the 2nd printing, dated Jan 1978.

Source: image from Ebay auction

Four years later, and the 1982 Dungeon Hobby Shop catalog has both products still available for sale, but at a deep discount because they have been superseded by the revised Moldvay Basic set. The boxed set now has a product code of T1001, a $10 original price (5 cents higher than above), a $6 sale price, and is described as "Original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Basic Set. Contains all the rules need to play D&D game adventures". The rulebook has a product code of T2001, a $5 original price, a $2.50 sale price, and is described as "D&D Booklet (Original). The original booklet found in the D&D Basic Set. This product is no longer in print!".

(Incidentally, 1982 is when I received my Holmes Basic Set. Did my parents get it for me because it was on sale?)

Image Source: Battlegrip.com

Here are two pages from one version of the 1981 TSR Gateway to Adventure catalog which show the separate entries for the B/X boxed sets (stock numbers 1011 and 1012) and the stand alone rulebooks (stock numbers 2014 and 2015).

And these stand-alone rulebooks weren't only available for mail order purchase. As T. Foster reports on Dragonsfoot (here): "I can confirm that I purchased the 1981 Expert rulebook as a standalone for $6 at a Waldenbooks store" and "I also purchased the Holmes Basic book as a standalone at a Toys R Us store sometime around 1986 - no idea why they still had it on the shelf when it had been officially out of print for ~5 years..."

The next iteration of Basic, aka Mentzer Basic, arrived in 1983 and changed the rulebook more radically, splitting the material between two booklets, one for Players and one for DMs. This change meant that the rulebooks needed to be sold together, so TSR didn't offer a stand-alone rulebook for this iteration of Basic.