City State of the Invincible Overlord (Judges Guild, 1976)
TYPE
SYSTEM
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$10.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Friday – 12:00 AM UTC
Jan 3
4–4.5 Hour Duration
1 / 8 Seats Filled
About the adventure
Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owen founded Judges Guild in 1976 to sell subscriptions to gamemasters, and began work on a large map inspired by Bledsaw's own Dungeons & Dragons campaign, as a product to make sales. They finished a city map just in time for Gen Con IX (1976). At the same convention, they also sold subscriptions for packets of information about the city state. Those packets were released sporadically through 1976, slowly revealing the first published city designed exclusively for a roleplaying game. Now get ready to explore the streets of one of the most famous cities in RPG history, seeking entrance to its dungeons...
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 partially created before game play begins and finished during the "session 0" portion at the beginning of the session. You will roll your own dice using the honor system. 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 portion at the beginning.
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 needs to be submitted to me before the game. You will be rolling dice on your end (honor system).
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 Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1974-1976) rules. Game play will be largely exploration and combat, focused on tactics and killing. The session will begin with a short 15-20 minute "session 0," discussing expectations, things you need to know, and character generation, completing partially pre-generated characters. 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