Giant Monster Arm
Giant Monster Arms appear as arms only. No one has ever seen the body to which one is attached.

Typewritten Character Sheets
AD&D sheets that scream old-school like few others.

Octopus Wednesdays #1
By numbering this entry ‘#1,’ Zulgyan serves notice that there will be followup octo-posting.

Six Traveller Campaign and Adventure Ideas
I would love to get a Traveller game going. But who has the time?

The Discreet Charm of City Ruins
Don’t think that this Michigan resident is not laughing at Detroit being mentioned in an article with this title.

Want to Play a Mouse with a Sword?
I wouldn’t mind checking out the Mouse Guard RPG, to be honest. I could even swallow the $35 price tag to do so if I really felt like it. But even if someone gave me a free copy, where on earth would I get the time to go through 320 pages?

The Folly of “Realistic” Rules
Remember: GAME, not SIMULATION.

A Different Perspective: Changing the dynamic with a different metaphor
I’ve been wondering about incorporating playing cards into my games a bit more. (One thing that jumps immediately to mind is the NPC motivation system from the original Twilight:2000…) But this article takes the idea to a whole nother level.

Divine D12 Hair Stick
Very nice.

Retrospective: Player Character Record Sheets
These AD&D character sheets remain my favorites of all time. I still have one copy of each in pristine condition.

Another Look at Ability Scores
There’s a lot here to like.

The Joy of Six
Not sure if this blog post started me thinking about using only d20s and d6s in my White Box game or not, but it’s worth a read.

Conjure Vermin
Because sometimes d100 rats is exactly what the situation calls for.

West Marches style campaign – update
I’d sure like to set up an ongoing “West Marches style” game. (Yes, the concept is only about 35 years old, not some new-fangled thing like the kids think.)

I hate gaming at home
I’ve been contemplating this very issue lately.

Sword & Shield of the Scaled Ones
Very cool.

I Never Much Cared for Erol Otus’ Work
Heresy at Rust Monster Ate My Sword. For the record, though I dug the vibe I wasn’t the biggest fan either. Still, it’s become iconic of an era.

What’s Your Game Style?
Alignment graph of gaming styles.

The Hunt for Gollum
I haven’t watched this yet but I’ve heard good things.

Perception, Senses, and Searching in Roleplaying Games
This is something I’ve been struggling with lately as I try to eliminate the basic roll to find secret doors and such.

Castle of the Mad Archmage Update
Level 5: The Deeps

Thoughts on Skills and Thieves and
More on Tasks
It’s clear that the thief class just doesn’t work for a lot of folks, but it’s also clear that a simple and good solution is tough to find. If it were easy, there wouldn’t be hundreds of proposals out there. I happen to like my own take, but I rarely see someone else’s idea that I don’t think has a least a couple of good ideas.

Called Shots!
While not written specifically for old school rules, this is an interesting read on an issue that never seems to go away. I’ve got some thoughts of my own on called shots that I’ll probably post about sooner or later.

The Battle of Jee’ait Bay
Table-top old school sea battle. With giant sharks. And pictures.

Dungeon Delve WTF
Sounds like WotC discovered that loads of 4e players dig old school playing, so they capitalized by making…something else.

The Real Problem With Players Controlling “Story”
Being able to ensure, due to mechanics as much as due to whineyness, that your character will never lose is an incredibly boring predicament to find yourself in.

Retrospective: Gamma World
I’ve not played Gamma World, but have long been intrigued by the concept. At some point I’d like to try to get a Mutant Future game going.

Good news on The Hobbit front: “Sequel” idea nixed
Thank Gimli son of Gloin!

Here are a few interesting links for a Friday afternoon:

First a few posts on the Old-School/Retro-Clone/Fundamentalist issue:

• Old School vs. New School at Lord of the Green Dragons
• Clean Up on Aisle 5 at Lamentations of the Flame Princess
• Old School or Troll School? at Trollsmyth
• Rejecting the “Old-School” at The Citadel of Eight
• Heavy Thinking for a Thursday at Old Guy RPG Blog
• Rules and the “Old School Renaissance” at Beyond the Black Gate

I don’t have much to say about this issue right now except that I don’t really see a lot of “canonization,” “revisionism,” or “fundamentalism” in the current old-school renaissance, but I see what might be the beginnings of some such activity. I believe that nearly all of it is unintentional and not really worth pointing out. I think that the “issue” is, at this point, much ado about nothing, but I also do see some points in what the critics have to say. I guess it will bear watching.

Additional linkagery:

• Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets – New Spell: Winged Flight
• Trollsmyth – Fair is Fair, but don’t Expect any in the Land of Moldvay/Cook
• Save vs. Poison – A Special Reference Work, Indeed
• Bat in the Attic on Old School Publishing – The Risks We Take and The Compatibility Issue
• The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope – Stonehell: The Hexperiment – South

Also, The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope points out the book The Lost City of Z, which I believe I’ve got to check out for additional inspiration in my Forbidden Jungle.