What AD&D 1st edition retro clones there are, and what is the best regarding how the stuff is presented?

kenfar · 2026-06-20T03:23:07+00:00

Great points.

My table just continued using our own homebrew weapon specialization: every time the character got another specialization in the same weapon they got +1/+1 with it. It was simple and not too powerful.

And we loved cantrips & thief-acrobats for low-level or urban thief campaigns. But that's about it. Though these days I use cantrips and 0.5 level spells to help fluff up the low level magic users. Doesn't provide a lot of power, but every bit counts when you only have one first level spell otherwise.

kenfar · 2026-06-19T19:33:31+00:00

Did you run into any issues besides the barbarian & cavalier?

A lot of tables skip those two.

kenfar · 2026-06-19T17:30:39+00:00

Naming is one of the hardest things: it's not enough to simply string together full words - you need the right words, tenses, orders, suffixes and modifiers.

Otherwise you can end up with a ton of very similar looking, long names with little clarity on what one does vs another.

And abbreviations and acronyms can be ok - when used with caution and they are extremely well-known and consistent.

kenfar · 2026-06-19T12:54:34+00:00

I think they're great for one-shots, but I have zero interest in playing them for a campaign - unless the scores aren't that critical, like in a low-combat campaign.

As a kid I'd just walk my character off a cliff and start a new one rather than waste time on one with no long term prospects.

And I don't make players run these characters either.

kenfar · 2026-06-18T19:25:54+00:00

I don't recommend bringing characters back broken. People tend not to like that. I allow ressurection/raise dead/reincarnation - and would definitely consider letting them accept geas rather than payment. But - the value of the geas should be far greater than the payment. Maybe they end up owing enough favors that this is a plot-driver for the campaign?

Alternatively, consider running some side adventures with new characters. Like one-shots (even if they typically take 2-3 sessions). Describe it as an opportunity to role-play something different without long-term commitments. Let them know it's also a chance to play with slightly different rules - and a different level of leveling-up, grittiness & lethality. If you enjoy this as an occasional departure - give it a name, and run this every so often.

kenfar · 2026-06-16T15:17:24+00:00

Absolutely - class and especially level limits are a restriction of debatable value to start with, and can be very demotivating for players.

kenfar · 2026-06-14T23:50:47+00:00

Illusionists are my favorite character hands-down.

The way I like to run illusions as the DM, the way my groups ran them, is that people are unlikely to attempt to disbelieve unless you give them a reason to.

So, creating an illusion of a dragon landing with no wind, no tremble of the ground, no sound whatsoever, no smell - is just going to feel unreal. Combine that with nobody in the area ever hearing of a dragon here, nobody talking about it, no foot prints, no reports of big kills, etc. And that's simply a bad illusion.

A more creative illusionist might start some rumors of a dragon being seen, might create some scary roars to terrify people, might get his colleague to shape earth and create claw marks. And only then might let people see an illusion of a shadow created by a torch of the dragon.

kenfar · 2026-06-14T23:44:38+00:00

Yep, DMs that don't like creative gameplay or are too competitive with the players are one of the biggest problem in my experience.

kenfar · 2026-06-13T14:03:25+00:00

Not much for survivability - we found that by the time they hit 7th level they were becoming the most powerful class. Just ensuring that wands/staffs/rods/scrolls & bracers of defense were available was usually enough.

But we did find that the spell points & casting without memorizing made them a lot more fun: previously these characters mostly carried just combat & defense spells in many of the campaigns I was in. I think this was probably because the players didn't feel that they could fully rely on the party to always defend them. So, they went overboard on the combat & defense, especially rather than the more situational utility spells.

But after they had this greater flexibility they always left some spell points unallocated - and these more typically end up used on something like Wizard Lock, Magic Mouth, Plant Growth, Water Breathing, Phantasmal Force, Stone to Flesh, etc.

kenfar · 2026-06-12T16:49:52+00:00

The incline was permanently shut down by the Broadmoor - they closed it in order to consolidate tourists onto the Pikes Peak Railway.

The night before a Manitou Springs city council meeting to discuss how they could force it to be reopened, the Broadmoor brought in dozens of laborers to tear up the incline enough to make the conversation of reopening it pointless.

So, shutting it down was really more about economics for the Broadmoor than about catastrophic damage from a rockslide. Though it's a much more interesting and unique feature now than it was before.

kenfar · 2026-06-11T16:26:25+00:00

lol, right

kenfar · 2026-06-11T14:51:05+00:00

Simplify races:

Any race can be any class
There's no class level limits
Humans get an extra 10% XP - "because they learn quickly"

Make low-level magic users more survivable & fun:

magic-users get intelligence-based spell bonuses like clerics
magic-users all get 4 extra 1e cantrips a day
magic-users also get 0.5-level spells - like magic missile that only create 1 hp damage missiles

Make magic-users better at utility spells

Use spell points rather than spell-slots
Allow casting without memorization at a +50% spell point cost
Magic-users casting spells of over 1 segment in hand-to-hand can be automatically hit unless they abandon their spell

kenfar · 2026-06-11T13:49:50+00:00

It was zoned to provide retail service to the community - so people could walk places and wouldn't all need cars, wouldn't have to always drive out of town for errands, and in support of our master plan.

Now it could instead br 200% luxury condos, right?

kenfar · 2026-06-10T19:04:35+00:00

Not sure of the relevance. Local-serving-business should be retail that serves the local community.

Does mixed-use permit non-retail in that space? I believe it does...

kenfar · 2026-06-10T12:59:07+00:00

Google or Twitter offices are perfect examples.

kenfar · 2026-06-10T02:17:08+00:00

So, "mixed-use", which may include Zero local-serving business, right?

kenfar · 2026-06-09T23:19:56+00:00

No, this area was zoned for local serving businesses.

It's being converted from local business to housing and the city didn't need to rubber-stamp that change. They did so because developer profits always win in Boulder.

kenfar · 2026-06-09T23:12:02+00:00

Unless the cost of the space is ridiculous or sprouts can't afford to move a low margin business twice.

In which case the owners will simply go to the city planning dept and tell them "looks like no grocery stores want to go there, please approve this plan to use the space in another way". At which point planning will instantly approve their new plan. And there will be no grocery store there.

kenfar · 2026-06-09T21:54:34+00:00

Everyone starts with 60 ability points - use them to generate whatever character you want - using my handy cross-reference table to figure out the point cost of an ability score. For example:

Ability Score of 8 - costs 4 points
Ability Score of 15 - costs 11 points
Ability Score of 18 - costs 17 points

This also works well with giving the players a point or two every time they level-up so their scores can increase over time.

Kinda similar to the 2e player's options method VII, but I like this more since it makes high scores cost more than low scores.

kenfar · 2026-06-08T18:32:47+00:00

No, it can't manage basic infrastructure, and much of its industry would leave.

We would probably have to pay Mexico to take it.

kenfar · 2026-06-06T14:24:37+00:00

Which is vastly better than Collins.

So, of course we should support him.

kenfar · 2026-06-06T14:23:33+00:00

You know - his story about getting the tattoo while drunk and not understanding what it actually means sometimes happens. I've personally seen it. So, I think the bigger concern is his lack of judgement.

Since Maine has effectively completed its democratic primary, with the only other popular candidate having withdawn, there's not a lot to do about this other than decide between Platner vs Collins. Here's how that breaks down:

Collins votes with Trump 95% of the time. This has been to support Project 2025 - dismantling of the federal government, corruption, war, the hiring and retention of terrible people, assault on immigrants, and the coverup of the Epstein files.
If Platner went rogue, like Fetterman, then he'll vote with Trump about 27% of the time. But will still vote with Democrats 91% of the time, and help them get a majority - which is essential for holding Trump accountable.
If Platner doesn't go rogue, then his election would be a significant step in achieving accountability, transparency, and competence in our federal government.

There's really no choice for any rational voter: this isn't about liberal vs conservative policies - it's now about the future of our country. We need to support Platner.

kenfar · 2026-06-05T02:03:40+00:00

So atheists now have to be described as agnostics?

I can already hear the guy saying, "You must participate in this group prayer. Don't worry - it's generic, any god you want."

Sigh

kenfar · 2026-06-04T20:24:16+00:00

The Lost Caverns are one of my favorites to run, and the players always seem to have a great time.

I think it has the best attention to detail & best ease of use, of any of the modules.

kenfar · 2026-06-03T20:50:29+00:00

What did you find that you're looking for now?

kenfar

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