Finished a thing I've been stewing on for a while, a lifepath generator for a knight-focused chainmail pbp campaign: metalsnail.bearblog.dev/knight-lifep...

Knight Lifepath Generator

This is for a potential chainmail tournament play-by-post campaign I want to run. Name Use the Zenopus Holmsian Name Generator. Age Roll 2d20+10 to deter...

metalsnail.bearblog.dev

Star Wars D6 understood something important: You don't need 37 abilities to feel like you're in Star Wars. Grab some D6s, jump behind cover, shoot at stormtroopers, completely botch the roll, and start improvising. Fast, cinematic, chaotic. Exactly as Star Wars should be. #TTRPG #OSR #D6

In early D&D, most monsters had baseline stats with the exception of Armor Class, which varied. If you knew a monster's Hit Dice, you also knew its attack odds, its saving throws, and its damage (always 1d6). Then add special abilities, such as a giant's special ability to deal 2d6 damage. Easy.

📝 Graeme Davis (Warhammer Fantasy) on creating his first D&D dungeon with Holmes Basic in 1978: ⤵️

Tabletop Sentinel@tabletopsentinel.com · 3w ago

Two great 70s pastimes: hacking mainframes and hacking dungeons. @graemedavis.bsky.social took the graph paper route, a system with no docs, orcs on the outer levels and an evil wizard running as root. Both got pwn3d by teenagers. #graemeDavis #gaming #History #dnd https://l.d20.ninja/qN5A4R

Let's take a look at the history of Dungeons&Dragons Dice, a thread. #Dungeons&Dragons #Dice #TSR Part One Continued below...

Thanks for the reminder of this! I am going to run the Zenopus dungeon at Gary Con next year for the 50th anniversary of Holmes Basic and will use these backgrounds to make things more interesting.

Your writing is really evocative, Josh! 🔥 I liked when Zenopus Archives used the Normal Men monster listing (plus the hireling list, I believe) to make a list of PC backgrounds: zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/2014/08/20-b...

20 Backgrounds for OD&D

zenopusarchives.blogspot.com

There are *subtle* changes in the D&D ones that I've thought far too much about. Instead of "Friendly" in Holmes Basic...Monsters might end up "Enthusiastic, volunteers help!" Which adds a completely different dimension:

Funny, but even for running D&D all I want is a room with one big table and no distractions (screens)!

Connor Ewing@cmewing.bsky.social · 2mo ago

WE'RE LEARNING ABOUT AMERICAN POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, NOT PLAYING DUNGEONS & DRAGONS!

two against a purple worm – By Fangorn, aka Chris Baker, originally drawn for the UK publication of Holmes’ Basic D&D (Games Workshop, 1977) then reprinted in White Dwarf 6, April/May 1978. oldschoolfrp.tumblr.com/post/820141191557431296/two-against-a-purple-worm-by-fangorn-aka-chris

This is a very solid and redolent stretch of ‘90s.

Happy Father's Day to those who celebrate it! Don't forget to designate your "relative" before heading out to the dungeon.

One from the vaults! In 1977, Games Workshop got the license to print Dungeons and Dragons here in the UK. While the Basic Box Set by J. Eric Holmes, retained the original cover, Game Workshop also sold the rulebook on its own, but with a new cover by John Blanche

Somehow I completely forgot that I own a copy of Holmes’ (the guy who wrote the first take on Basic D&D) weird little dungeon fantasy novella. I should read it!

We moved from Tennessee back to Texas when I was 10. I didn't know anyone, but testing had put me into the G/T track, so they shoved me in a room during recess with a bunch of nerds doing paperwork and playing with dice. I was running -- Holmes basic bought from a comic shop -- a week later.

RPG Trader@rpgtrader.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Let's talk about what got you into RPGs! 🎲

Game idea thought up whilst jogging: OD&D but the characters are all advanced simians ala Planet of the Apes. Explore ruined cities of the Forbidden Zone, the only place magic works. Mind flayers, the descendants of humans, live there. Steal liberally from Gamma World and Dark Sun.

This SubPop ad feels targeted just for me. RPG theme to sell indie rock CDs.

I coded up in pascal a random name generator using the Holmes Basic reference sheets published on the Zenopus Archives. Some hilarious results.

When it comes to The Cure's b-sides, and this collection specifically, it really is an embarrassment of riches. One of the few groups where the b-sides are superior to many other bands album tracks. imo... #CDFriday 💿 🎧

🏰 Last day to back the final part of the Troll Lord Games Castle Greyh---, I mean Castle Zagyg, project. I'm in for the PDFs. Link in the first comment ⤵️ #Zagyg #CastleZagyg

🔥 13 years after it was first released on PDF, the Moldvay Basic D&D rulebook (the "B" of B/X) is finally released in print-on-demand at DriveThruRPG. Read more in the latest post on the Zenopus Archives, link in the first comment below ⤵️

🔥 This is the 2nd Level of Castle Zagyg as previewed by @trolllordgames.bsky.social in their latest Backerkit campaign. It looks like it was originally drawn by Gygax on four sheets of paper 🧙‍♂️ ⤵️

Photo dump from @garycon!

Depends on your vibe, but I have gotten a lot of play out of “The tower of Zenopus” aka the Holmes basic d&d example dungeon

I went to GaryCon 18 and I wrote a blog post about it. www.weirdwonder.net/garycon2026 #osr

I went to GaryCon 2026

and I didn't even get to see the Cabinet Last weekend I went to GaryCon for the first time and I had a wonderful time. I had been feeling a bit cooked ...

weirdwonder.net

The only used book store in an airport in the US *and* it has a great SF/F section. I stop in every year as well when traveling to #Garycon ⤵️

Forge of Ice in Alaska!@forgeofice.bsky.social · 5mo ago

My yearly pilgrimage to Renaissance Books in the Milwaukee airport has once again proven fruitful. A historical account of actual medieval outlaws that I’m sure will have some cool stuff I can use for RPG’s, a 1st print Moorcock HC, and two pulp hero reprints. Plenty to read on the way home!

My yearly pilgrimage to Renaissance Books in the Milwaukee airport has once again proven fruitful. A historical account of actual medieval outlaws that I’m sure will have some cool stuff I can use for RPG’s, a 1st print Moorcock HC, and two pulp hero reprints. Plenty to read on the way home!

🧙‍♂️ #GaryCon 2026 memories: One week ago at this time I was trying to become a Knight of the Round Table in TSR's Knights of Camelot. Played on a giant board in the Legends of Wargaming hall ⤵️

It's my favorite name generator! Reproduced here with a couple of extra options with permission from the legendary @zenopus.bsky.social puzzledungeon.com/holmesian-na...

Holmesian name generator

Pick a name! Choose how many you want.

puzzledungeon.com

Saturday at #garycon I took over a certain table at the Timber Ridge Lodge for a whole day. Some photos from my Wizards Warzone & Scarlet Stockade (aka Wandering DMs Design Dash created 42 hours earlier) games: #dnd