Down in a Heap

The conversation about splintering shields continues with contributions from Menion of Confessions of a Wee Tim’rous Bushi, Jason of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast, and Daniel of the Bandit’s Keep podcast and YouTube channel.

More Dragon talk; calls from Joe of Hindsightless; TSR novels, epic play, and a call from a new podcaster, B.J. of the Arcane Alienist.

Ring-a-ding-ding: 18 calls from six different listeners on a variety of topics. Bog mummies, cereal, dragons, movies, and a heap of thoughts on Shields Shall be Splintered! Thanks to Joe, Jason, Spencer, Daniel, Taylor, and Evil Jeff!

A look at the common OSR house rule inspired by Trollsmyth’s blog post of the same name. What are your thoughts and experiences with this rule? Should henchmen be able to, or is it “sorry Nodwick, PCs only”?

It’s a fantasy adventure game so you have to have house rules, right? Well, I do. I go over the house rules and clarifications for Swords & Wizardry in the Saturday Morning Cartoons game, plus a call from Daniel of Bandit’s Keep.

The return of random thoughts: calls from Jason of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast; Controversy Corner - Dragons; Old Man Confessional; The next tier - My Top Movies 21-40.

Evil Jeff from Minions & Musings joins me for the final installment of the B/X Deep Dive. We take a look at the DM info from the Expert booklet: building a wilderness area, wilderness exploration and encounters, DM advice, and more!

Time to clear the backlog of messages. Topics include: showing compassion, the origins of the Thief class, addressing the whiff factor in BRP, and Swords & Wizardry among others. Thanks for the calls 👍

I’m committing to Swords & Wizardry by Matt Finch as my fantasy adventure game of choice in 2021 for the new Saturday Morning Cartoons time slot. I try to explain why I chose S&W over the plethora of other old school options.

Jason of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast left a few messages regarding the latest B/X Deep Dive. An Anchor “conversation “ ensues, covering roll vs. attribute origins, skill-based vs. class & level systems, B/X Companion, and more!

Joe from the Hindsightless podcast calls in with good thoughts on the example exploration in Moldvay Basic. What color is it? Some thoughts on descriptions in play and the interchange between players & GM.

The first heists! See what Rasmus Rask, Marlowe Phillips, Finrick the Halfling, and Thorvald the dwarf are up to now. Plus a couple calls from Evil Jeff of the Minions & Musings podcast.

I read the sample dungeon exploration from Moldvay Basic D&D and am joined by Evil Jeff of the Minions & Musings podcast for our reflections. There’s something about Black Dougal...

Year 3 gets off to a bang as Evil Jeff from Minions & Musings joins me once again to look at the DM Info in Moldvay Basic rules. Building a dungeon; wandering monsters; DMing as a fine art; recommended reading and more!

Yep, two years of Down in a Heap. I discuss goals and plans for the third year, but please make suggestions for topics and improvements. Plus a couple calls from Joe and Jason. Thanks for the support, contributions, & feedback!

I’m joined by Jason of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast after we’ve watched popular YouTubers “The Dungeon Dudes” episode on Ten Terrible DM Traits. See where we agree & disagree, and why is this popular....?

Follow the exploits of the “intrepid?” Thieves: Rasmus Rask, Marlowe Phillips, Finrick the halfling, and Thorvald the dwarf. Campaign background plus session 0, 1, and 2 recaps.

A few calls from Ray Otus of Plundergrounds activates my sluggish brain cells. Where does your emphasis lie on a Player : Character continuum? Calls from Jason of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast and Joe of Hindsightless as well. Enjoy!

I do some searching on YouTube to see what are popular topics in the D&D gaming sphere. Plus a call from Safer of the Safer Fantasy Crafting podcast.

I’ve often considered myself to be a crap player, especially by the standards some assign to good play. Why is that? A little self examination and a call from Joe of the Hindsightless podcast. Happy Turkey Day -watch some MST3K! 😀

Loads of calls from Jason of Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast, Ray Otus of Plundergrounds, Joe from Hindsightless, Colin from Spikepit, and Daniel from Bandit’s Keep. Thanks!

Random thoughts: a naming “coincidence?”, Challenging Conventional Gaming Wisdom, Buying Lost Hit Point Opportunities

Part 9 of the ongoing deep dive into B/X D&D focuses on treasure: types, approaches, and (trumpet fanfare!) magic items! I’m joined again by Evil Jeff from the Minions & Musings podcast. Enjoy.

Calls from Joe, Jason, and Evil Jeff plus a opening look at the supplement for Thieves’ Guild: City of the Sacred Flame published by Gamelords in 1983

Some therapeutic raking and recounting as I attempt to salute one of the good ones: my oldest friend Bill’s Dad, Irv, who passed away early this morning. Plus a feeble attempt at game talk. 2020 really does suck...