OD&D: Castle Blackmoor
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$10.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Saturday - 11:00 PM UTC
Jun 22
Session Duration / 4–4.5 hours
0 / 8 Seats Filled
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Schedule
About the adventure
At the very origin of Dungeons & Dragons lies Castle Blackmoor, the dungeon Dave Arneson started running in 1970. In 1980, Dave published a large portion of his campaign notes as The First Fantasy Campaign. I will be using that to take you on a short tour of the City, the Castle, and the Dungeon of Blackmoor. Although Castle Blackmoor predates D&D, I will be using the original D&D rules (1974 ed) to run it. Play careful, because your fighters, magic-users, and clerics are dead at 0 hit points!
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
About me
You travel 60' down a 10' wide corridor. At a 4-way intersection you encounter me. The encounter reaction is friendly! From me you learn the following rumors: 1. I have been playing D&D since the B/X edition and DMing most of that time (T). 2. I once dressed as a minotaur for Halloween (F - but I wish!). 3. I was published in Dragon magazine once, in the TSR days (T). 4. I have written published modules and accessories for several small gaming companies (T). 5. I own the world's largest d20 (F - where would I store it??). 6. I am a self-published game designer, my game is the best supported game you've never heard of (almost surely T). 7. I am here to run Old School games that are fun, challenging, and rewarding, using theater of the mind and low-tech props over Zoom (T). 8. This was all a trick! Roll for initiative!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Characters will be created during the "session 0" portion at the beginning of the session. You will roll your own dice using the honor system. Be prepared to record your own character on your end. These will be level 1 characters, which are simple enough to fit on an index card. I will also have pre-gens available, in case you do not wish to make your own character or are late and miss the session 0.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need a webcam and a mic; it would be ideal to test them on Google Meet before the game. You do not need to have read the rules, but it would not hurt. If you wish to make a character in advance, you may, but it would need to be emailed to me (melissakainen at gmail) before the game. You will be rolling dice on your end (honor system). It would be a good idea to have graph paper for mapping.
What Melissakainen brings to the table
I will be bringing my imagination! My dice, game books, and maps will be right here with me. There may be improvised visual aids (drawn as needed), but it will largely be theater of the mind.
Platforms used
Safety
How Melissakainen creates a safe table
Players can expect to quickly pick up the 0e D&D (1970s) rules. Game play will be largely exploration, with killing, looting, problem solving, and roleplaying probably happening in that order. Every session will begin with a short 15-minute "session 0," discussing expectations, things you need to know, and character generation (unless you opt to play a pre-gen). During the session we will be using Open Door policy - you are free to come and go as needed during the session. After 4 hours we will stop for a debriefing to discuss the game and the mechanics.
Content warnings
Safety tools used