Welp, I've done something I didn't think I would any time soon - I've began to run Old School Essentials (aka OSE). For those of you who aren't already familiar, OSE is Gavin Norman's reformatting of the classic 1981 Basic/Expert rules for D&D (aka B/X, written by Tom Moldvay). It's a light-weight and fast paced rules system which leaves a lot more room for DM interpretation than I'm used to (coming mostly from running a few 5e games) but yet provides solid enough ground to dig your feet into - and I've more or less had to hit the ground running.
See, I didn't just start an OSE game like I was planning to. I also finally got around to starting a 'Westmarches' style game. In a system I'm unfamiliar with. It's hectic but so far I've had all the resources I've needed to improvise and come up something that works!
I'll eventually get around to making a proper index of events and information as I post it, but for now I'll just get right into the meat of everything and worry about that all for later - cause I'm not often inspired to write, believe it or not! (By the rate of my posts you'll notice a pattern begin to emerge I'm sure...)
The players are all organized into a Discord server, which is split into many different sections where I've tried to organize all the relevant information they'd need to either post or make informed decisions on character creation and plan their adventures.
Below is the primer which I wrote for them, and following that I've included a diagram of the nearby locale (and the starting rumours I provided the players as well). I am by no means a great cartographer, and I will not yet share my hex map of the region in case I want to show this blog to any of my players, but know that it DOES exist somewhere in my arcane tomes of secrets.
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Mogarth is a realm dominated by wetlands and superstition. Having been isolated from the rest of the known world for centuries and under constant threat from beyond its frail borders - a different culture has arisen amongst the realms inhabitants which leads to them often distrusting outsiders. The realm is held in an uneasy peace between the handful of barons/petty lords who less than half a century ago were apparently engaged in a great civil war. The wetlands are home to a plethora of exotic beasts, and tales of both wonder and terror have made their way across the seas to the rest of the known world. ( #"Places of Origin" )
This land was only 'discovered' less than a full year ago but already word has quickly spread of its dangerous wonders. For reasons your own you decide to purchase passage on a ship and to get there you must travel through relentless stormy seas for days. Only through the ship priests' constant prayer and sacred rites to Saint Jecht for safe passage is any craft able to weather the storms. There are many reasons to come here - to start a business, 'claim' land, escape your past, search gold & glory in the rumoured crypts of ancient beast men, etc. Most NPCs here are native to the land (and therefore weary of all these death-profiteering and, some, conversion-demanding outsiders) but others are in search of gold/power/glory much like yourselves.
Arrival: You arrive in a port town with what you brought on your journey over the sea and pass by many who are still amazed by the craft you've travelled in. They aren't primitive, but simply have not seen a ship so sturdy in their lives (It's a dinged up sloop but what they don't know won't hurt them..) ( #"Port Uhkmer, Starting Town" )
- Save vs Poison or be seasick for 1d4 hours after arriving, then require rest. If you're a seafarer by background you don't need to roll the save but require rest after helping to unload the ship.
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Starting Map - The Northpoint Hills & Environs
Colour Code:
Light Green = Hills | Aqua = Marshland
Dark Green = Forest | Blue = Water | Brown = Road
Uhkmer - Starting Town | Castle Uhkain - Seat of Baron Uhkain
Xs on Rivers = Docks | 'Shrine' - Shrine Of The River Maiden
Uhkek - A trading town which deals with the dwarves to the West.
1 - Rough location of the Serpent's Grave Hills
2 - Rough location of the Abandoned Lighthouse
Wild Elf Woode - These woods are home to a small tribe of 'Wild Elves' according to locals. You are advised to keep your distance if you must travel through the woode.
Dwarf Mountains - The western mountains are home to two dwarven kingdoms and supposedly one military fortress. They are said to border the Akvari Desert.
Centaur Hills - The hills here are occasionally roamed by a nomadic tribe of centaurs, who are apparently 'friendly' to travelers who give them respect.
----Well! Hopefully this has been tantalizing enough to start with. I'm new to this whole blogging thing and have already started and never finished a few posts, so I wanted to get this one out there even though its a bit rough around the edges. I'll go further into the process of how I got to here and the tools and resources I've been using for prep in following posts.
More posts are also to come detailing the starting town and what's happened in our adventures so far (of which there have been two as of the other day). I'd also like to go over how I went about making three dungeon adventures in under two hours of prep time each (like an idiot) and what I'm doing to prep myself for running games in person with another group!
Until I write again, toodle-oo!
- Emily, quite possibly in over her head.
