Castles & Crusades | Castle Zagyg | Open World & Megadungeon

Playing and DMing since January 1979. I run Old School style games using AD&D, AD&D 2e, Castles and Crusades, Old School Essentials and/or Rolemaster. Setting for my campaigns is generally Greyhawk, but I also run using the Wilderlands of High Fantasy by Judges' Guild. Over the years I have DMed for over 500 players, some for as long as 10+ years. I have been DMing using Fantasy Grounds (Ultimate license) for 13 years now. I employ Syrinscape for audio to augment atmosphere in-game, full color battle maps where possible via Dungeon Alchemist and being a Patron of Heroic Maps on Patreon. My campaigns come with lighting and line of sight enabled. As I am an Ultimate license holder, players just need the free demo version of Fantasy Grounds to play. I make full use of Effects and other modifications in FG to take care of concerns over forgetting bonuses or penalties on whatever players are attempting to accomplish. As a DM with 45+ years of experience, I deliver immersive campaigns with inherent logic and veracity. Intelligent foes act in a coordinated manner, while chaotic foes or wild animals (monsters) react to what they are presented with accordingly. There is an inherent internal consistency that runs throughout my games; the same rules and standards for success or failure apply equally to PCs and NPCs across the board. I would love to DM some of the old classics for you; Village of Hommlet or the Temple of Elemental Evil, Yggsburgh and the Castle Zagyg mega dungeon, or something less far reaching in scope - whatever is interesting for the Player group. I am open to gather a group of players one at a time, or if you are reading this and have an existing group of friends looking to game without one of you having to don the mantle of DM... reach out and contact me - I do enjoy taking on a full, already constituted group of long time friends/players. The games that I run should be assumed to be unsuitable for gamers who are less than 18 years old. If you are 18 or less, please turn your search for a DM elsewhere. My games are not afraid to explore adult themes, but I am not interested in wallowing in graphic depictions and descriptions anymore than necessary to convey the scene. My games will on occasion explore situations such as mild racism, sexism, slavery, and what might be termed general human "bad behavior" and depravity, but I do force certain limits on the narrative. Torture and similar situations, if they come up at all, will be treated in a narrative form where players will be expected to use their imaginations to fill in the details if they think it to be necessary. I am a DM. I am not a storyteller. I am not going to write you a novel and walk you blindly and passively through it chapter by chapter. My goal is to provide you with a swords and sorcery setting in which you can write your own heroic story. I will put before you a world full of history, lore, NPC's, and happenings. You will make choices that will drive the story either through what you choose to do, and also through what you choose not to do. I run games in an Old School style. Old School games are distinguished by what I would say is a higher difficulty compared to today's 5e/2024 style of game. In Old School, elements like persuasion, etiquette/diplomacy, intimidation, negotiation, interrogation and seduction are usually handled by actual in-character roleplay, possibly (probably?) informed by a roll of the dice. Encounters are absolutely not in any way shape or form "balanced". Running away is sometimes the best survival strategy and for difficult encounters you will need to use strategy to win. I will make rulings where rules are not applicable or absent and will often use attribute or skill checks to determine success or failure of various actions. Combat is deadly, character mortality can be high despite a player's best efforts, and level advancement is slow. Morale and loyalty rules are important elements in combat. Followers are not blindly loyal to players, and enemies rarely fight to the last man. I do not play favorites at the table; everyone in the game will be treated with the same respect as an individual, as we are all engaged in a group activity. That said I will treat all players as adults, and behaving as such is pretty much essential. I do not care about your orientation, who you voted for and why, or your pronouns, and I expect that you will not care about my positioning with respect to any of these matters. These issues are very divisive in today's world, and have no place at my gaming table. At my table, everyone is a player - unique when compared to everyone else joining in, yet equal. If this offends your sensibilities, then by all means, please look for a DM who will more closely cater to your requirements. My very favorite games are campaigns played in AD&D, AD&D 2e, Castles & Crusades, Rolemaster and OSE. Good gaming to you all!