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On occasion, and primarily during the five times I’ve either run or played Against the Giants, I’ve traveled to the Underdark.  It isn’t that I abhor the idea of adventuring there, but instead it often seems too foreign and dangerous to set a functional campaign in such a place. For that reason, I’m often drawn to gaming supplements that feature realms that reflect Greyhawk’s famed Underdark, both for the chance that they can shed new light on the possibilities of the setting and also for the art involved for inspiration. Thus, it was with great pleasure the I got a...

The cover piece of Dragon Magazine #159 is actually called ‘The Privateer’, but to me and my old DM Mark, it will always be known as ‘What’s a clever captain to do?’ which is the bio write-up of the cover design that appears on page 4. That tag line has been the inspiration for pretty much everything I’ve ever done in the AD&D Spelljammer setting because no matter what I encounter, I always first ask myself that question, and trust me it makes EVERYTHING more palpably fun! [Special Note: I played a version of Spelljammer last summer and the entire...

Sometime around the year 2000 I stumbled upon a computer game in the discount bin of a Software Etc [anyone remember those?].  Now normally I don’t go in for science fiction video games, but this one caught my eye because of the box cover.  At the time, I didn’t recognize it as a Brom, but nonetheless it was enough for me to shell out the $4.99 for Empire of the Fading Suns. When I tried to play it, no matter how dedicated I was to learning the mechanics, I just couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to how things worked...

I feel like I should be toasting or something as this will be my very first post concerning classic TSR modules.  Sure, this one is a bit remote, being a UK production, but still U1: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh has a very special place in my heart. Back in late 1989 I’d gone away to university and decided that I would leave all the trappings of my youth behind.  That meant I was going to completely remake myself in a place where no one knew me.  It might have worked too, except that as I studied one night in...

In 1980, TSR once again released a new version of their Basic D&D Boxed Set.  This one featured new cover art by Erol Otus, and an eye-catching magenta box.  Its creation certainly didn’t revolutionize gaming, but it did show a steady evolution from small press niche publisher to mid-range gaming company. Written by Tom Moldvay with revisions done from the original text by J. Eric Holmes, this particular rules book used the core group of the first TSR ‘pit’ for the final time. Covered by Erol Otus, who got the call for both the Basic and Expert boxed sets from...