#Basic D&D

[oldschoolfrp]

The calendar tell me it's July 27, Gary Gygax's birthday, so I rolled up a character -- 3D6 rolled six times in order referencing Holmes' 1977 basic D&D rules (his tidy edit of Gygax and Arneson's original 1974 little books):

Srength 8

Intelligence 13

Wisdom 10

Constitution 8

Dexterity 10

Charisma 8

In old school D&D this is a perfectly viable character with no penalties, before 50 years of stat inflation was built into the rules. He could be almost anything, but will be most capable as a magic-user, receiving a +5% bonus to earned experience for having a 13 in the prime requisite ability.

Magic-users and thieves get only a D4 for hit points in early editions, and as often happens I rolled a 1. Survival past the first few levels will be extremely unlikely, but it always was for those classes. He'll need to hide in the middle of the party and hope for the best.

3D6 x 10 for starting gold pieces results in only 60, but he doesn't need much gear. He'll carry some basic tools and a bundle of empty sacks to help carry treasure after his one and only spell is spent.

With Int 13 he has a 65% chance of having a specific level 1 spell in his book, and will have a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 8. He can roll in any order, and can reroll from the list if they fail to meet the minimum. On the first pass through the list he fails to know Detect Magic, Magic Missile, or Hold Portal, but his book holds Charm Person, Dancing Lights, Protection from Evil, Read Languages, Read Magic, Shield, Sleep, and Tenser's Floating Disc. From that list of 8 he can choose one spell each day to use, only one time per day. In combat Sleep and Charm Person will be useful for reducing the number of opponents.

[thecreaturecodex]

Bekkah

"Alien Cat, step 2" © Cary Narveson, accessed at their ArtStation page here

[The bekkah seems to only appear in the Creature Catalogue, not having come from a Basic D&D adventure nor being reprinted in the Mystara Monstrous Compendium later on in AD&D. It's also not entirely clear what it looks like; the text just refers to it being black, but there's a picture of a sabertooth lynx with the Big Cat entry that might be it, or might just be the giant lynx. The third eye is unique to the art I'm using, but it fits in well with me giving it greensight, inspired by the medieval bestiary lynx being able to see through solid objects. As is often the case for big cat monsters, the damage is high for a creature of its CR; I compensated by bringing down the AC.]

Bekkah CR 11 LN Magical Beast This great black cat is the size of a bear, with a short tail, long ears and oversized paws. It has eerie gray eyes, a third of which sits in the center of its forehead.

The bekkahs are supernatural black-furred felines native to the deepest jungles. They are apex predators, and do not brook intrusion into their territories by other large carnivores. Humanoid hunters are tolerated as long as they do not overhunt, and they pay the bekkah proper deference. This deference is usually in the forms of offerings of meat, although especially desperate or evil societies may do so through humanoid sacrifice. Bekkahs do not go out of their way to hunt humanoids, but are willing to consider them prey.

A bekkah’s combat style does not differ much from those of mundane big cats. They stalk prey and attack from ambush, grabbing their foes in their enormous paws and tearing with claws and teeth. The special offense of the bekkah is in its roar, which carries supernatural fear. A creature that hears a bekkah may be rooted to the spot, unable to flee and thus singled out for a brutal pounce. Bekkahs do not kill needlessly, and if attacked by a party may kill one as a warning to the rest and then retreat with the body to feed.

A bekkah is rarely found unless it wants to be; they are very difficult to track and have magical defenses against divinations. They usually lair in the densest vegetation, which they can pass through without difficulty, anywhere from tangles of roots to the canopies of large trees. Their territories are demarcated with scent marking, deep grooves carved in tree trunks, and oversized paw prints left on trails. Bekkahs are solitary, with males leaving their territories every several years in order to find a mate. Females are good mothers, raising one or two cubs for three years before they leave to find their own territories.

Bekkahs speak Sylvan, but have little to say except to fey creatures and to each other.

Bekkah CR 11 XP 12,800 LN Large magical beast Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., greensight 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +17, scent

Defense AC 23, touch 13, flat-footed 19 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +10 natural) hp 138 (12d10+72) Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +9 DR 10/magic; Immune fear, paralysis; SR 27 vs. divinations Defensive Abilities elusive

Offense Speed 50 ft. Melee 2 claws + 19 (1d10+8 plus grab), bite +19 (2d8+8) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks pounce, rake (2 claws +19, 1d10+8), roar

Statistics Str 27, Dex 19, Con 21, Int 6, Wis 16, Cha 16 Base Atk +12; CMB +21 (+25 grapple); CMD 35 (39 vs. trip) Feats Ability Focus (roar), Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness Skills Acrobatics +14 (+22 when jumping), Climb +18, Perception +17, Stealth +13 (+25 in forests); Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics, +4 Climb, +8 Perception, +4 Stealth (+12 in forested environments) Languages Sylvan SQ woodland stride

Ecology Environment warm forests Organization solitary or pair Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Elusive (Su) A bekkah gains a +20 bonus to the DC to follow its tracks, and is treated as being under the effects of a nondetection spell as a supernatural ability. Roar (Su) As a standard action once every 1d4 rounds, a bekkah can unleash a terrible roar. All creatures within 120 feet must succeed a DC 21 Will save or be shaken and unable to move from its current space for 2d4 rounds. A creature that succeeds this save is immune to the roar of that bekkah for the next 24 hours. This is a mind-influencing fear effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Woodland Stride (Su) A bekkah’s movement is not impeded by natural vegetation.

[crash-likes-cookies]

So for anyone interested in the differences of earliest DnD, I found this thread and made it visually easy to access.

(all credit for this goes to Adam Dray, check the link for the entire post)

[inbarfink]

[3liza]

incredible to me that in the age of spending minimum $100 for groceries for one person every three weeks where i live, people are still online like "dairy is bad for you because it has a lot of calories". at this point im calculating calories per dollar at the grocery store and youre still stuck in "fat bad" mindset from 1980. you are an absurd person to me. laughable

[lillaray]

Yall seen teen beach movie?

I inserted some lifers into it (^_^)

(Click for better quality)

[wishfulsketching]

Little continuation to this sketch

[crumb-crumblet-s-crumbington]

shattered glass B-127

[glasskoi]

there's a bartender ace au that i want to make real sooo badd...

[deadpoolsmom]

as far as one piece antagonists go Crocodile truly gets absolutely scooby-doo’d at unmatched levels

He immediately falls for a phone scam and from basically little garden to rainbase he doesn’t even know the strawhats are alive (and clowning towards him at incredible speed). As soon as he does, they’re in his house tearing at his walls and bringing marines into his villain lair.

He uses a literal floor trap door over a gator pit to catch them, gets phone scammed again, full scooby-doo chase scenes after Chopper through the streets while still missing him, and suddenly his prisoners have escaped his impossible cage, and his giant bananagators are dead. and Nico Robin saw it all happen.

He then spends rest of the arc complaining about those meddling kids and their dog “strawhat pirates and their weird pet” and at no point does he even know how many strawhats there are.

Like yeah he keeps having plans on top of plans to stop everything Vivi can do but also she keeps coming up with a new thing to do (Tom and Jerry ass dynamic).

Part of it is that he’s underestimating them and keeps grandstanding villain monologuing but also teens keep killing hundreds of his grand line bounty hunters and he straight up does not know what is happening.

Cause he IS trying to kill them he’s sending top assassins after them and ripping out luffy’s organs, the whole time he’s yelling HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?? DIE. as whack-a-mole Luffy keeps inventing new ways to hit him.

[glow-in-the-dark-death]

To Be Wooed

I blacked out and wrote this. This is so silly to me.

Enjoy!

Look Danny didn't mean to kill the Joker it was an honest mistake, he was still recovering from escaping the GIW and whatever they had used on him had still been in effect when he honest to Ancients ran into the fake clown.

Of course it doesn't look like an accident with how he left the Joker

But it was!

Really it really was!

Whatever the GIW did was out of his system, but that still left a very dead and coreless Joker.

Yeah...apparently Joker had a core, but not anymore because he ate it like it was pop rock candy, if the weird cousin spicy version of it. He still feels like he has some of it stuck in his teeth.

Anyways! Not the point!

Joker! Very dead at his feet, what is he supposed to do-

THUMP

Oh Ancients he's going to die again that's the Red Hood!

"Uh...I can explain, well not really. But it was an accident! I promise and-"

"You killed him?"

"I'm really sorry? He bumped into me, it was an accident I swear!"

"Go on a date with me."

WHa-what?! Did he just hear correctly why would he ask him out out of nowhere it made no sense and..oh.

Red Hood's been touched by Death not like him but enough to count, and enough to have some ghostly instincts.

Okay ghostly courting he can do that, he totally can, no sweat!

Shit who is he kidding he may have the instincts but he was never actually taught how he's supposed to use them or anything.

Well he's always been good at making it up as he goes, and at least his instincts will help push him in the right direction.

So he should just do what feels natural to him.

"Yes I'll go out with you. If I were to make jewelry and knives out of his bones would you accept them?"

"...For me to wear and use. Yes."

~

Danny freaking out about just killing and kinda eating someone: I'm in so much trouble!

Jason behind him fixing his appearance: "Well hello there handsome come by here often?"

~

Joker bumping into Danny: "ahAHA you will make a good experiment!"

Danny is high as a kite and getting the munchies: "I didn't know I could order food with my mind!"

Joker: "Whut-"

~

Jason seeing Danny absolutely wrecking Jokers shit: *Ghost Instincts Activated*

~

Jason falling fast for Danny without even knowing his name: "Can I pretty please kiss you?"

Danny realizing what's going on but still being clueless: "Does that mean you will accept these gifts made from Jokers bones?"

Jason's Ghost Instincts rising to a fever pitch: "I'm going to woo the fuck out of ya and then we'll get married then we'll fu-"

~

Danny's Ghostly Instincts being connected to his 'Protection' & Jason's to his 'Revenge' showing these kind of specific gestures towards them is incredibly romantic.

~

Jason and Danny's relationship basically:

~

~

~

#They're like Morticia & Gomez absolutely smitten for each other

#Jason brings a crying & beaten up GIW who has been stalking Danny

#Danny almost swooned

#They start flirting with each other while standing on top of the GIW dude

#Jason's goons are happy that their boss found 'The One' apparently but can they please stop eyefucking each other while they're there and-

~

Just an Idea

[oldschoolfrp]

Zargon awaits beneath The Lost City -- Kevin Glint updates the look of a classic encounter from module B4, first drawn by Jim Holloway:

Quests from the Infinite Staircase (July 16, 2024) will include 5e conversions of 6 D&D/AD&D adventures from the 1980s:

B4: The Lost City by Tom Moldvay (1982, originally for Moldvay's version of Basic D&D)

UK4: When a Star Falls by Graeme Morris (1984, originally for AD&D)

UK1: Beyond the Crystal Cave by Dave J Brown, Tom Kirby, and Graeme Morris (1983, AD&D)

I3: Pharaoh by Tracy and Laura Hickman (1982, AD&D)

S4: The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth by Gary Gygax (1982, AD&D)

S3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks by Gary Gygax (1980, AD&D)

[thecreaturecodex]

Ash Crawler

"Rat" © deviantArt user Lakoh, accessed at his gallery here

[A new year means new projects, and one of these new projects is inspired by my picking up a copy of the Basic D&D Creature Catalogue from a used book store. I've mentioned before that Basic D&D feels something like a parallel dimension for someone who grew up on AD&D. So what better way to start than with a decidedly odd take on the tabletop staple of Rodents of Unusual Size?]

Ash Crawler CR 2 N Magical Beast This creature is a grey, hairless rodent the size of a small dog. It has a flattened, hog-like snout and sharp teeth. Its tail is twice as long as its body.

Ash crawlers are extremophile rodents that live in arid, fiery environments, such as volcanoes and in the wake of wildfires. They are attracted to the heat of fire, and may approach campsites and bonfires in order to bask. They are omnivorous, feeding on seeds and tubers that survive fires as well as flesh. They can digest charred meat and scavenge in the wake of fires as well as hunting for themselves. They are curious creatures, and use their prehensile tails to forage, play and fight. Ash crawlers sometimes live in small family units if food is common, but split up to live independently in leaner times.

Ash crawlers often nest in caves and the hollows of burnt trees, and it is if cornered here that they are most likely to fight man-sized creatures. Ash crawlers shed frequently, and their shed mixes with natural ashes to create deep ash drifts that they burrow inside. Creatures stomping through these ash drifts, such as those looking for treasure or hoping to shelter in the cave, run the risk of being attacked. Ash crawlers pull opponents to ground level with their tails, and then latch on with their strong jaws.

An ash crawler is about six feet long, but two thirds of that is their long prehensile tails.

Ash Crawler CR 2 XP 600 N Small magical beast Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +5, scent

Defense AC 14, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+1 size, +2 Dex, +1 natural) hp 19 (3d10+3) Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +2 Resist fire 20

Offense Speed 20 ft. Melee bite +6 (1d4+1 plus attach), tail slap +1 touch (trip) Special Attacks rake (2 claws, 1d3+1)

Statistics Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 9 Base Atk +3; CMB +3 (+11 to maintain a grapple); CMD 15 (19 vs. trip) Feats Stealthy, Weapon Finesse Skills Escape Artist +5, Perception +5, Stealth +12 (+16 in ash) SQ ash crawl

Ecology Environment warm land Organization solitary or family (2-6) Treasure incidental

Special Abilities Ash Crawl (Ex) An ash crawler can move through ash drifts without penalty, and when in an ash drift, ignores miss chances due to concealment. Other creatures treat ash drifts as light undergrowth.

[soaked-doors]

pov the reaper that’s dragging away your boyfriends soul says something so freedomphobic you hit his corpse with the nika stare

[adanddavid]

This is the book that got me into D&D and TTPRGs.

115. Tom Moldvay - Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules (1981)

So, in early 1981 we got a new version of the Basic Set which included character sheets, dice, rules and the B2: Keep on the Borderlands adventure module. I've covered Keep on the Borderlands before as it came out officially in 1979, so the only truly new thing in the set are the new Basic Rules. This rule book is basically an update of the 1977 J. Eric Holmes rules but there are some considerable changes.

One of the most immediately apparent changes is the fact that it's just a better and easier read. The rules are similar but better explained with more practical examples and some cool illustrations, also including a nice directory of monsters and magical items to be used in adventures spanning levels 1 to 3. One of the effects of this set, coming out. as it did, during the height of D&D fame, was to make Keep on the Borderlands one of the most popular of all adventure modules and certainly one of the most widely played. 

There is another major change for the game, however. While Holmes' version created a continuity between D&D and AD&D, telling players that when they "graduated" from third level they should look to AD&D rules to continue playing their characters, this version distances D&D from AD&D by directing players to the Expert Set of D&D therefore not directing players to the Advanced version at all. With this set D&D is now a completely distinct game from AD&D, which even if that was the official position by Gygax in the pages of Dragon magazine, for example, was not really the case in practice. Next up, we will look at that Expert Set that came out at the same time as this Basic one. 

[bridgekc]

did anyone order a luffy mermaid au?

in this universe, he’s usually a person with legs cuz of the human-human fruit, but he also falls in the water all the goddamn time and reverts back to fish.

he still gets all weak in the water cuz of the devil fruit, so he’s kinda just a useless floppy fish sometimes 😅