Free OSR Resource From Dragon's Foot - Footprints Issue #22 For Your Old School Campaigns

Footprints #22 of the venerable pdf magazine is out, and its actually one of my favorite old school resources. The magazine has changed and evolved over the years and it now sports the 'ideas and adventures for advanced fantasy gaming';this is exactly what it is and does. This issue is no exception. First I absolutely love the cover on this issue. And that's really one of the places where the places where a revamp for the look of the magazine has been coming. Believe it or not the contents page has the look of the TSR era Dragon and my heart ached seeing it for a moment. 

Go Right Over
HERE

But then after looking through this issue's contents it became even more apparent that this wasn't simply the graphic layout and content but there's more to it.
The Dragon's foot page reveals more of this new direction

Contents
% In Lair Column  By Ron 'rRedmond' Redmond - This is really a great article about the old school gaming experiences and tackling of the Footprints magazine by Ron. It really gives some personal insight into the who's, what's, why's of his experiences with Dragon foot and the OSR.
It also sets the tone for the rest of the mag as a whole. Some of the tone in this article sets up the backbone for the rest of the articles to come.

Charge It!(article) by Ian Slater is a really solid take on 'correcting' and offering an alternative method for charging magic item from the 1st edition DMG, and it breaks down both math and method to the madness. A really well thought out system with some nice twists that can really be applied in a number of ways. A solid addition to this issue right out of the gate. 

Feelin' Trapped? (article) - Continuing the trend with excellence is this article on random trap generation, Tony Chaplin does an excellent article which again gets back to early Dragon magazine articles. This is stuff that you can add into your own DM tool box and do so with little problems because of its quality. 

Pulling Strings (adventure) - Ahh The depth of this issue is in the adventures as well as the articles and 'Pulling Strings' really is an excellent adventure by Darren Dare  for 2nd edition AD&D but man this is a really solidly done adventure featuring some of my favorite old school monsters. I might have to back engineer this one into something like AD&D 1st or OSRIC. Very well done and love the maps and look of this one. 

Treasure & Tables (article) - Stuart Marshal turns in a really well done article on OSRIC random magic item generation, this one covers all of the bases and its very useful. The article has some very nice applications for adventure generation and provides a quick as well as effective method for magic item creation. 

Systems & Swordplay (article) - Is another Stuart Marshal effort for OSRIC to address the problem of weapon specialization inside the game. This article does a good job of giving the DM the means to deal with this problem that players sometimes make take center stage in combat situations. No more, this one takes the headaches right out of this. 

Many a Quaint and Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore (article) - Michael Haskell does an excellent job of setting up the back drop for wizards and magic users and their time between adventures. This one has it all and its worth the price of admission on the strength of this article alone. Very cool stuff with some horrific applications that reminds me of historical articles I've read about historical characters like John Dee and others. Wizards should often be the catalyst  for adventures and this article gives a DM a nice excuse to slip in plot hooks and twists between adventures. 

Prelude to an Adventure (fiction) - Now this is a good piece of fiction that drops in some ideas for the 'who, what, & where' aspects of old school adventures and their preludes. Nothing happens in a vacuum. And this story highlights that in spades. 

Blacktop Vale (adventure) - This is a solid adventure and Steve McFadden turns in all of the stops with this OSRIC or AD&D 1st edition style adventure. The maps, story, backdrop are all pure sword and sorcery with a pulpy heart that I loved. Again this is worth the price of admission. 

Bottom line this is a solid issue with content that can adapted into any number of old school or retroclone systems. Hell I can see these adventures being adapted for Labryth Lord with the advanced companion, I can see the material being retrofitted into several other systems. Including easily being used for Fantastic Heroes and Witchery, or even OSRIC or AD&D 1st edition. 

Is it worth the download? Hell yes and its very well done issue at that. Grab this issue and get moving to the gaming table. A really nice free download. 

Free OSR Adventure From Dragon's Foot Catacombs of Death By For Expert-Companion Level D&D And Your Old School Retro Clone Systems

This is a sort of rare beast of a high level  adventure from Dragon's foot by author RC Pinnell because of the upper level of the PC's needed and the deadliness of the adventure.
The plot is something straight out of the pages of an old Dragon or Dungeon magazine in a good way, its got all of that hard core wilderness/ and dungeon action surrounding a nice plot of sword and sorcery action. But this one is an upper level crawl and lives up to its premise in spades. An old friend requires your help to rid themselves of a curse, but can you survive the Catacombs of Death. An Expert-Companion adventure for character levels 12-15.

Grab it Free Right Over
HERE

The author lays out the ground work for Catacombs of Death straight out of the gate.
This adventure is designed for characters at the upper range of the "Expert" levels of play--12 to 14. Players running demi-human types should have attained at least Attack Rank C, as provided in the Companion Manual of instructions, that their characters may be able to experience the adventure on a more or less equal footing with the human types.
This is not an open sand box style of adventure instead this is a carefully plotted adventure that follows PC's into the mid range of character development and the pit falls that go along with later life of such characters.
The encounters are a challenge for these characters and the adventure centers around several locations of very dangerous aspect and a rather nasty dungeon.
Action, NPC's, and plot are interwoven throughout the Catacombs of Death, the author making no secret of the lethality and challenge of its plot and story line. This isn't an adventure location but a set of interwoven plots in the style of the older adventures for Basic D&D and retroclone systems.
Think of this module in terms of the Expert module such as the Slave Lord series because there is a very similar vibe running throughout the adventure, a set of circumstances that will haunt the characters for years to come surrounding events already set into motion.
This is an adventure about old vendettas, ancient history, and hair trigger circumstance all putting the PC's at the center of its Egyptian style setting material.
There is a ton of new monsters, set pieces and more right between the pages of this one. It really is a well done but upper level adventure & used well can prepel characters into a whole other realm of character back story and development. But those playing this one are going to be changed forever by what happens out in the sands in the Catacombs of Death. Take a look and download this one

Using Catacombs Of Death
 For Your Old School Campaigns 
Using Catacombs of Death for your Old School Retroclones is going to require a bit more of a challenge because of the very nature of the module, this isn't a sandbox or kitchen sink adventure but one that requires some preparation and careful thought by the DM.
Because of the very nature of its story and plot a careful working by the DM is needed. A nice idea is to work the events from the back drop into the PC's career early into a campaign and then use Catacombs as a send off or mid range adventure for upper level characters.
That being said there are other ways of dealing with the circumstances surrounding the adventure.

Another idea is to have another high level  rival party hook up with the adventurers and one of their number set the plot and events of Catacombs of Death into motion. This adventure is interesting, complex, and full of adventure and surprises. There are a myriad of uses for it but for a game such as Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea some real solid adjustments of level and a handful of solid conversion work needs to be done by the DM. The material will fit a such a game but it would require some work on the DM's part.
This is a module well worth the time, energy, and circumstance to take a look at and its very well done. For a free module is blurs the line once again between fan and pro. 

Free OSR Adventure - The Tavern Of Daednu By The Oliver Brothers For Your Old School Campaigns

Grab It Right Over
HERE

Everything about the Tavern of Daednu is well done and very interesting. This is a small twenty page module that is big on encounters and if done well could well be a first rate horror style introduction adventure. The module paces itself well and solid.
With a bit of work this module could be adapted into a solid location adventure into your old school campaigns. Everything about this module screams add me into your game. Since this is an AD&D 1st edition module, you can easily add it right in. The plot and NPC's here are very generic but with a few clever twists this module can be a party's introduction into the darkness that lays at the heart of your horror or weird sword and sorcery campaign.

According to the Dragon's foot intro: 

The Tavern of Daednu seems a pleasant place for adventurers to spend the night, but all is not as it seems. A short adventure for character levels 1-3.
According to the adventure the structure for the module is laid right out in the open from the  introduction: 

"The Tavern of Daednu is a short

adventure for 3-8 characters of 1st-3rd

level. The scenario works best with

characters of low level who are veteran

players. They will of course be suspicious."

Don't let this fool you as a DM, with a bit of work this module could make a fine introduction adventure for a Lamentations of The Flame Princess game or a even a game of Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. The weird adventure elements here are compelling enough to keep PC's interested and busy from the ground up.
The adventure reminds me of Solomon Kane and some of the older Weird Tale influences here and I like the feel that I got from this one reading through it a few times. 

There are two levels to the inn and with a bit of clever slight of hand this adventure location can be used over and over. The writing here is interesting, the plot can be reused a couple of times, and personally I think that  the PC's should escape with their lives with this one. Only to have the place show up again later on in their adventuring careers. This is the sort of adventure location where adventurers should cut their teeth and be thrust into the darkness only to escape knowing that its waiting for them.
Grab this adventure, twist it around, and drop it into your campaign for a sword and sorcery twist on the usual basic AD&D game module. 

The New Free OSR AD&D 1st Edition Module From Dragon's Foot -The Barrow of the Moon Druid By The Oliver Brothers For Your Old School Sword and Sorcery Campaigns

Grab It Right
HERE

Sweet mother of Tiamat, I go to sleep last night and wake up to brand new module on Dragon's foot for AD&D first edition for a basic set of level of level 2-4 players! I'm not sure who the Oliver Brothers are but man I'm going to keep my eye on 'em.
The Barrow of the Moon Druid is very exciting on a number of levels. First this is a free download and that right there is one of the exciting things about this module.

Introduction 

Right off the bat just from thumbing through the pdf of the The Barrow Of The Moon Druid, one get's the sense of the pulp and dark fantastic about this module. The artwork evokes a sense of 1930's Weird Tales mix in with a 1970's TSR style module.

The introduction goes into the dark and twisted background: 

What lies inside the ancient barrow of the moon druid Arasgain? Only those of stout heart should endeavour to survive the perils inside. An adventure for character levels 2-4.

Right in the introduction the of the adventure, the authors lay out the parameters of the adventure. This module can easily and conveniently be inserted into the backdrop of the DM's old school campaign with little to no fuss. Here's the module's back blurb and it spells out how to use the module : 

As your party travels the Old Road which cuts a path through the dangerous moorlands,

you spy an old barrow sitting off in the distance. An old gnarled tree, the only tree to be

seen on the moor, sits atop the barrow watching over the round door set back deep in

the mound. What possible treasures lie within the barrow mound, the one said to be the

burial location of the Moon Druid? Who within the party will be brave enough to enter

The Barrow of the Moon Druid?

Contents :
The Barrow of The Moon Druid is both a location based adventure & a tradition crawl with some twists into the back drop. The is a place with a deep and abiding pulp style history and the darkness of the location colours the landscape and ideas of the module.
Encounters are balanced, concise, and deadly for an AD&D 1st edition or
OSRIC style module. Looking over this one, a clever DM could adapt this one to OD&D with some slightly of hand and number crunching. 

Here the Barrow adventure itself is laid out in pretty clear detail but with lots of room for DYI conversions into the back drop of module.
The maps are clearly and very well done. This is a twenty seven page module with two parts to the adventure location The Barrow Part I and The Moon curse Part II with some defining NPC's and events that surround the whole of the adventure worked in solidly into the background and history of the place.  This also sets up the new  monsters and it has definitive nods right back to First Edition AD&D Deities and Demigods. Note that the Oliver brothers know exactly how this book was intended to be used and do so with style in this adventure. This is pretty damn complex plotted lower level adventure module.
All of this ties neatly and somewhat nicely into the backdrop of the module which incidently has a Celtic/Sword & Sorcery feel. Elements of this module could and should be used for a Lovecraftian cult, and its black miracles. Yes this is that well done.
 There is a boat load of new material packed into the setting,history, monsters of this adventure.
All in all this is an essential hardcore sword and sorcery AD&D 1st edition module with all of the trimmings with the potential to be used extensively as a 'drop in' adventure location.

Using The Barrow of the Moon Druid

By The Oliver Brothers

For Your Old School Sword and Sorcery Campaigns 

I've said before that this is a fantastic old school module and do I think that it could be used for a sword and sorcery campaign? The answer is a resounding,'yes'. The adventure is done in such a way as to be fully contained within itself and this is its core strength.
The Barrow of the Moon Druid could easily be converted into a number of AD&D style clones with little issue. My idea would be to use it is a part and parcel for a Hyperborean Celtic back point for Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea campaign. Because of the system of that retroclone its so easy to do a conversion and given the motives of the NPC's there's a clear line of sight to drop in the module into the mix.
For other retroclones such as Lamentations of the Flame Princess and other retroclones of weird aspect, some element base conversions are going to be needed. That being said the bench mark of this module with the character levels works very well for an OD&D style campaign with the usual conversions as necessary.
All in all this is one very well done module whose authors dedication and passion for the hobby shines through. You can see the amount of work that goes into these and the sense of fun that appears behind the work . All in all, I personally think that this is a free download worth your time. Happy gaming and keep em rolling. 

Free OSR Mega Resource From Dragon's Foot ~ L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide and Package For AD&D First Edition And Your Old School Retroclone

Get It Right
HERE

This is a one hundred and fifty seven mega resource for free! This AD&D resource details  The Town of Kroten and the near by environs in glorious detail. I'm taking a short break from AS&SH to do a review. According to the introduction :

This manual describes the Town of Kroten and the

nearby area, which is located on Lendore Isle in the

World of Greyhawk. Details include nomenclature used

by the author, world background, and local features.

Also included is a detailed description of the Town of

Kroten, excepting three key areas: The Fane of Syrul, the

Fane of Pyremius, and the Castle Kroten itself. These

areas are described in L5B: The Kroten Adventure
 The whole book is by Len Lakofka and company. The book is very well written and easily incorporated into any Greyhawk campaign or any retroclone looking for a drop in campaign. The towns and locations are well fleshed out but not to the point of not being able for a DM to put their own thumb print into  the region.
There are metric ton of new NPC's, spells, idea, adventure hooks, and fully thoughout history to drop into your own game.
 Those wishing to use the full Kroten experience are going to want to get into the five free adventures that make up

 L5B: The Kroten Adventure



 Available Right Over
HERE
 This book clocks in at about 96 pages and features some solidly and professionally done adventures that can be dropped into existing Greyhawk campaigns or the start of one taking place exlusively within the Kroten region of the Lendore Islands.
The adventures are interesting as well as deadly in their own right.
They consist of the following: 

This manual details five adventures set in and around

Kroten:  Crypt Adventure

 Fane of Syrul  Fane of Pyremius  Castle Kroten
 There is a further one but I'll let the DM discover that one on his own. This is wonderful package further supported by more free product!
The adventures could provide months of fun for an experienced AD&D party. There is  quite a bit of room for customization and the background for horror as well as depravity is already woven into the fabic of these adventures. These are extremely well done.
 The last book is the 

L5C: The Kroten Campaign Companion



Get it right
HERE

This manual provides a wide variety of optional new

material for the game. The new items include:  Rules specific to artisans, magic items, alignment,

thief, and races.  Gambling games.  New weapons and armor.  New gods and cleric abilities.  New spells.  new magic items.  new monsters
 This isn't simply another cast off guide book this is a whole suppliment unto itself. This book gives an indepth look at the whole campaign and everything that goes along with it. There is metric ton of stuff that can be added to your games and its pretty much an essential part of the package. A lot of time, effort, and production went into this book and it shows. The author does a very nice job mapping all of the elements of the campaign and adventures right out for the DM. Its definitely in the spirit of the old TSR adventures of pick what you want, add where needed, and go play tonight in its design.

The last piece of the puzzle for this mega campaign is the L5 Map Pack!
It contains everything you need to get started on the road to adventure! 

 
Get Them
Right
HERE
On the the whole this twenty four page map pack provides exactly what the DM needs to run this material. Its solid, well done, and could potentially be used for other adventures if neccesary. The maps are over all very well exacuted and much better then some of the paid products I've seen over the last two years.
The scale is well done and they are easily used with either counters or minis. I wasn't at all disappointed in the quality of this free download at all.

Using The L5A: The Kroten Campaign Guide and Package
For Your OSR Campaign

 

On the whole I was rather please with the efforts of the author and his associates. This a very, very, nicely done free package of material that really echoes the old TSR ethos. Strength through old school design and exacution. Used correctly this material could keep a game going in Greyhawk for months easily. The area is really nicely laid out for the DM to simply download and run.
This material is adult enough to really give experienced players a run for their money.
There is very little to keep a DM from using this material for Osric or any retroclone close to AD&D 1st edition. The monsters and encounters are well thought out and advance quite nicely as the DM moves along in the adventures. There is more then enough hooks to side track and then expand an adventure or location with the regions. All in all its a very well designed package and I was happy to stumble on it this evening. 

Review and Commentary On The Free Dragon Foot OSR Adventure -.Horror of Spider Point For Your Old School Horror Campaigns

Get It Right Over
HERE

Just In Time For Halloween The Horror Of Spider Point Adventure.
The explaination for it is right over here: 

Being dropped into the middle of a strange and eerie island, your adventurers have to fight for their lives to escape the evil that inhabits this weird island. Full adventure time plan, guides for the use of music,maps, hand outs and detailed information for the DM are included in this special adventure. A perfect introduction into the Ravenloft world or just to add some darkness into your current campaign world.

 An adventure for players from levels 7-9, and players 2-6. 

The adventure is up to the usual standards of Dragon's foot. The adventure clocks out at forty three pages and its a really packed affair with all kinds of encounters and spooky goings on! Couple of new monsters and some solid action packed challenges! 

But wait there's even some support! A free map pack that goes along with it! 

Get It Right Over

HERE 

 The Map pack was also done by the author and reflects the circumstances of the adventure!

According to Dragon's foot :

This special pack contains enhanced maps and player handouts for the Horror Of Spider Point adventure module. Well worth downloading.

 It clocks in at twenty four pages and they do come in handy as well when running this one. 

Using The Horror At Spider Point Adventure 

For Your Old School Horror Campaigns

The Horror at Spider Point makes a perfect mid campaign adventure when you want or need a solid horror story adventure and want to challenge the party.

The encounters are tough but balanced and very well thought out.

This one has plenty of atmosphere and old school ethos rolling throughout the adventure. Plot wise its got a few twists and enough weirdness to stand on its own merits.

The map pack is really helpful for running this beast and as a mini campaign it will fill a weekend with little issue or problems.

Considering this one is free its a real steal and solidly thought out. Even though its advertised for AD&D first edition this one should run for any retroclone with some minor adjustments. 

Highly recommended And well done!  

The Free Old School Campaign Resource Footprints #18 From Dragon Foot For Your Old School Horror Campaign

 Get it Right Over
HERE

This particuliar issue clocks in at over forty five pages of sheer old school goodness.
Contents include the following: 
The Cult of the Devourer (article)
A Riddle (article)
The Mired Cathedral (adventure)
Magic Items (article)
The Holy Sword (article)
Tribal Spellcasters revisited (article)
Creatures of the Tulgey Wood (article)
The Sorcerer (class)
An Unhealthy Obsession with Equipment (article)
This is a very useful issue. Those of a horror bent should pay attention to the The Cult of the Devourer (article) 
which features an entire overview of the cult of Juiblex. This is an almost insane among of detail on the demon lord (or is it something else), his cult, spells, and much more.
The Mired Cathedral is another nice offering with a definitive horror bent.  The creatures of Tulgey Wood has some of the classic Alice in Wonderland monsters which are very subtabile for horror and mayhem. The Tribal spell casters revisited was very cool and somewhat inspirational.  The Holy Sword article was nice for those crusading do gooders and witch burners paladins!
Grab this one for some horror and Gothic fun!