Back to the beginning...again

In my New Year's Resolutions I talked about creating a new Old School campaign. Now I already run the Back 2 Basics campaign for my sons and our friends. This is using the D&D Rules Cyclopedia which is a wonderful system and I really have no complaints. I am using the out-of-print Karameikos setting so that I can run some classic modules (like B2 Keep on the Borderlands, X1 Isle of Dread and the Dave Arneson's DA1-3 Adventures in Blackmoor). This should keep us going for a while. Any play in my new setting will be outside this regular play.

Having these ready to run modules had been great because I can focus on play at the table with minimal prep work. However, it lacks a little bit of luster to me as a DM. I like to feel I'm creating something besides the play at the table. So I want to create my own setting.

As a result of this look back into my roots of gaming I've fallen in love with the Old School Renaissance. This has lead me to looking hard at all the retro-clones out there to pick from. It's wonderful that all are available for free download in a digital version, because now I can (legally) make copies for my players. The way we play now is all using the same book.

The version I am settling on is Swords & Wizardry White Box. I love how wide open it feels. I've also been doing a LOT of reading of Old School blogs and found many different ways to adapt the game to my needs. I think my goal will be to start with the White Box and add any information freely found on the web and then add original material as needed.

To me it is important to pick the system first because I feel the system flavors the setting. Since I've been reading so much of the inspirational material for D&D (books listed in the appendix of the DMG) it seems to make sense to go back to the beginning: OD&D. White Box is a good fit and feels the most right for what I want to do.

I think I'll be using Obsidian Portal again to keep track of the campaign world as it is built. I like its tools and I feel it provides an easy way to access the information. Once play begins I will be posting play reports in the Adventure Logs. I'll also be linking to any inspirational materials as is appropriate. For now the formula for the campaign = Elric + Cthulhu + OD&D.

Follow Your Bliss,
JJ