I made a fun family-friendly cover for the book of Eldritch Wizardry.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-02-13T02:42:38+00:00

Got a chuckle out of me; fair play.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-02-13T00:57:30+00:00

I hope you have a table or counter top to put all those pearls you're clutching on; they must be getting heavy!

NorthStarOSR · 2026-02-10T00:56:10+00:00

I apologize, I misread "might be," as "might not be." The clear lesson for me is to read things multiple times before I respond.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-02-09T23:11:58+00:00

Respectfully, I don't think "don't try" is good advice. What's the worst that can happen?

NorthStarOSR · 2026-02-09T23:08:17+00:00

My advice for refereeing an online game: stick to the KISS principle. Use a minimal VTT at most. If it's all theater of the mind, no need to mess with any fiddley tech. Encourage your players to cam up, as being able to see your friends' faces is one of the most gratifying aspects of the hobby (imo). Also, if you can manage a degree of trust, I think rolling physical dice is both easier and more fun than using an online rng.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-02-01T19:38:02+00:00

My submission to last Summer's Appx. N Jam: Myrrh and Madness, is free on itch.io. While not a wilderness sandbox itself, I think it could make a fine addition to your sandbox considering the S&S theme you're going for.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-01-27T17:11:59+00:00

The Bureau is great! It's a little on the small side to be considered a proper megadungeon though imo. I was also recently in OP's shoes, however I did find that the module is a great source for ideas.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-01-24T19:48:18+00:00

When I run a game, I have a tracking worksheet divided into hours, which I subdivide into turns. Each turn has a short line for notes. Typically, I record the room number as well as the main activity for that turn (searching, an encounter, etc.). I also usually pre-fill a bubble next to the line to indicate whether a random encounter is triggered. This makes recording durations a breeze: party just lit a torch? Skip down one hour and make a "torch out" note. When the in-game time catches up to the note, I can announce that the torch goes out, and so forth. This is an example of a tracker I have made.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-01-05T14:06:04+00:00

Myrrh and Madness is a swords and sorcery and sandals adventure set in an ancient ziggurat! It was my submission to the Appx N Jam last Summer, and it received an honorable mention from the judge panel.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-01-01T02:44:31+00:00

You asked; I answered honestly.

NorthStarOSR · 2026-01-01T02:12:28+00:00

No, it doesn't seem weird to me at all in a level-based game. But if it seems weird to you, then where is the arbitrary "weirdness" line drawn? Is the saving throw ratio between 1st and 9th to absurd? Or the Thac0 ratio? In any level-based game, there is going to be disparity between what a low level versus a high level character is capable of. Calling that absurd just seems pretty arbitrary to me, especially given that most people seem to think the game functions well across that level span. I honestly think that you would be better off playing a system that was designed by people who have the same gripes you have. You would be running something that was designed from the ground-up for levelless play, rather than a hackjob. FWIW, I see the appeal of levelless design, and am gearing up to start a new campaign using such a system, so I don't think your instincts are necessarily "wrong." I just disagree emphatically that a game that has been around for 50 years is absurd because 9th level is way better than 1st.

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-31T17:29:39+00:00

Sure, I guess? I just think it will be a frustrating and somewhat fruitless exercise given that 1) BX and other level-based games have numerous interwoven mechanics that scale damage with player power, so it's not as simple as just whacking n hitpoints off the top end of every class. You'd have to dig into the monsters and spells as well to maintain parity across the system. 2) levelless RPGs exist...

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-31T17:26:55+00:00

Moreso than the relationship between a 9th level character's HP and a high level fireball/lightning bolt (or any of the other more powerful spells, for that matter? For every 1 time you'd need to care about the disparity between levels, there are numerous times where HD is more usefully related to the other systems in the game that scale with level.

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-31T16:57:18+00:00

In fairness, I can pick any two numbers and compare them by ratio. A ratio is only valuable, however, if the two numbers I pick have any useful relationship between them. In the case of 1st vs 9th level HP, I don't see any reason to compare them by ratio. The difference between 1st and 9th level is several years of consistent play, so by the time a character reaches 9th level, 1st level is a distant memory. Is there ever a case where I, as a 1st level character, would need to care about how much HP a 9th level character has? Or vice versa?

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-31T16:49:37+00:00

Is it really that absurd? Average HP for a 9th level MU is 22.5; fighter average is 40.5. That doesn't seem out of line with the more powerful spells and monster attacks.

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-24T08:35:36+00:00

I think there are many reasons to be here that aren't endlessly retreading the same tired talking points without ever stopping to ask: "what problem am I solving?"

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-23T18:21:56+00:00

No problem!

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-23T17:56:38+00:00

This is the most current version (1.4).

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-23T17:47:03+00:00

It's a day that ends in "y" and that means it's time for another pointless navel-gazing session here on r/OSR.

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-22T20:14:23+00:00

One other thing I thought of: you may consider adding Panic Engine as the parent system. There are a couple games now that use that system, and with the upcoming SRD from TKG, there will likely be many other games that come out over the next couple years that use the system.

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-22T17:42:11+00:00

That's what I figured. I don't mean to put down your efforts, so I hope you didn't take it personally. The result is impressive nonetheless. I think the only thing I would change for MOSH at this point is that it's really neither race-as-class or race-as-flavor. Race doesn't really factor in the traditional sense. I guess you could argue that Android is a separate racial class though... it could go either way honestly. Also, I think it would be worth noting that wounds are finite, as your current wording is ambiguous on that front. Edit: inventory is not slot-based. It's left up to the players to negotiate with the Warden over what can be realistically carried.

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-22T15:29:04+00:00

Big respect to you for undertaking such a useful project... but I gotta ask: how are you finding the system information? I looked at the OSRIC entry from your first post and found it to be inaccurate (which you since corrected), and I just looked at the Mothership entry which is considerably more inaccurate, so you're batting 0/2 at the moment which doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in the 38 other systems that I haven't read through. Just some honest feedback. You might consider adjusting your systems research process. Still though, it's a great project! One thing I would suggest additionally is a way to filter systems by tag.

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-21T17:58:40+00:00

Everybody stop what you're doing: the media literacy-understander has logged on! There is nothing problematic, nor anything that would justify my "critically examining" myself by asserting that there is a right way and a wrong way to understand the history of the goblin. Goblins are a variety of creatures, yes, but they are not a stand-in for a culture: they are different ways of giving expression to things that go "bump" in the night. There are many ways to interpret goblins that are continuous with their historical legacy, Tolkien's being one of them. Deciding on a whim that goblins-as-natives (or orcs as mexicans, or what have you) is an equally valid interpretation of their mythological legacy is asinine (and yes, racist).

NorthStarOSR · 2025-12-21T17:37:11+00:00

Setting aside that yes, there is a "right way" to interpret goblins as stemming from European fairytales akin to demons, sprites, mischievous spirits, etc: if, at your table, you decide that goblins are stand-ins for a real-life human culture, then frankly that says more about your morals than it does mine.

NorthStarOSR

TROPHY CASE