Temple of Elemental Evil Design Diary: Editing A Classic
Oct07

Temple of Elemental Evil Design Diary: Editing A Classic

The Temple of Elemental Evil Designer Diary: Editing A Classic by Tim Wadzinski Editing this monster two-volume set of old-school goodness took a long time. A really, really long time. The year 2020 is a blur for many reasons, and I can’t remember how many nights were actually spent editing the roughly 723 manuscripts (that might be a little high…) submitted by the design team. Many of those summer nights were spent outside on the...

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Temple of Elemental Evil Design Diary: The Labor of Love
Oct02

Temple of Elemental Evil Design Diary: The Labor of Love

The Temple of Elemental Evil Designer Diary: The Labor Of Love by Rick Maffei My work on Original Adventures Reincarnated #6 started, as projects of this type often do, with what I call the “homework” phase. Before I began writing, I read my brand-new, print-on-demand copy of The Temple of Elemental Evil from cover to cover. (Alas, I knew my original venerable copies—I own two—wouldn’t stand up to the repeated handling.) I then...

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Castle Amber Designer’s Diary #4: Required Reading
Dec05

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary #4: Required Reading

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary #4: Required Reading by Michael Curtis Castle Amber may not be the most literary-inspired adventure, but I’m hard-pressed to name another one off the top of my head that owes so much of its existence to works of literature. While you’re eagerly awaiting the adventure to arrive in your hands (hopefully purchased through your local brick-and-mortar game store if you have one, because they need your business...

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Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: Castle Renovations
Nov19

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: Castle Renovations

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: Castle Renovations by Michael Curtis One of the great benefits of working on any Original Adventures Reincarnated book is you get to play in the sandboxes other talent designers constructed. This gives you the opportunity to embellish on existing works, adding flourishes and the occasional entirely new area or three to surprise players familiar with the original work. Castle Amber was no exception and,...

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Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: The Magnificent Ambers
Oct15

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: The Magnificent Ambers

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: The Magnificent Ambers by Michael Curtis Castle Amber is more than just a funhouse dungeon, although that’s easy to overlook, especially for younger game masters. While there’s plenty of monsters to fight and treasure to be looted, the Castle features something that was uncommon for many early adventures: plenty of roleplaying opportunities in the form of the Amber family members The Ambers aren’t...

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Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Sep12

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Castle Amber Designer’s Diary: We Have Always Lived in the Castle By Michael Curtis Castle Amber is one of my favorite modules, hands-down. From the moment I picked it up at Great Escapes Hobbies in the Sun-Vet Mall in 1981 to the minute I’m writing this, I’ve loved “Chateau D’Amberville” and all its weird inhabitants. Like a good novel, I appreciated it on one level when I was 10 and another when I’m (mumbles something...

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Designer’s Diary: Hunting for Easter Eggs
Jul03

Designer’s Diary: Hunting for Easter Eggs

Hunting for Easter Eggs By Chris Doyle Publisher’s note: Read this designer’s diary after you have read OAR4: The Lost City! You will appreciate it more that way. One of the best parts about converting classic TSR adventure modules to the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons is hiding Easter Eggs. Since my early days writing for the 3.0/3.5 Dungeon Crawl Classics line, I’ve enjoyed placing Easter Eggs. Adventures are all about the...

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Designer’s Diary: Inspiring The Lost City
Jun22

Designer’s Diary: Inspiring The Lost City

Inspiring The Lost City By Chris Doyle Before I start an Original Adventures Reincarnated project, I often spend a few weeks reviewing the material to give me inspiration. Converting and designing The Lost City was no different. Off the top, here are a few of the more noteworthy sources I drew on for inspiration. I admit I’m not a hard-core Appendix N fan (sorry, boss). I’m a very slow reader, and it tends to put me to sleep. Sure,...

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Designer’s Diary: The Process of Converting a Classic Adventure Into An Original Adventure Reincarnated
Jun02

Designer’s Diary: The Process of Converting a Classic Adventure Into An Original Adventure Reincarnated

The Process of Converting a Classic Adventure Into An Original Adventure Reincarnated By Chris Doyle When interacting with the fans of the Original Adventures Reincarnated books, often the first question I get is, “How do you go about converting the module to fifth edition?” (This is usually followed up by, “How can a 32 page 1st edition module end up as a 300+ page homage?”, and “How come a pdf doesn’t come with the book?”). Today...

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Designer’s Notes: Exploring the Lost City
May07

Designer’s Notes: Exploring the Lost City

EXPLORING THE LOST CITY By Chris Doyle I consider February 2, 1981 as the date I started playing roleplaying games. That is the day when I came home from school and sitting on the dining room table was the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules boxed set, obtained from Sears via mail order. This was the set graced with purplish-hued Erol Otus cover art of an underground scene depicting a fighter and a magic-user (before we called them...

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Barrier Peaks Designer’s Notebook #3: The Future Was Then
Nov08

Barrier Peaks Designer’s Notebook #3: The Future Was Then

OAR #3: Expedition to Barrier Peaks will be here before you know it. If you need any more excitement—on top of Michael Curtis’ first Designer’s Notebook entry, and his second Designer’s Notebook entry—we’ve got another one for you. And don’t forget, you can now pre-order OAR #3: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks in our online store! Barrier Peaks Designer’s Notebook #3 by Michael Curtis The Future Was Then...

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Designer’s Diary #2: All the Easter Eggs in Creep, Skrag, Creep
Oct21

Designer’s Diary #2: All the Easter Eggs in Creep, Skrag, Creep

All The Easter Eggs in Creep, Skrag, Creep By Stephen Newton “They fastened around my waist another black and silver symboled belt, and set upon my head a chaplet of the black oak leaves. De Keradel drew from his belt the maul and put it in my hand. I shrank from its touch and dropped it. He picked it up and closed my fingers around it. I tried to unclose them and could not, although the touch of the maul was loathsome. I raised the...

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