Starting The OD&D Open Table

November 18, 2020

Tonight, I’ll be running the first session of my next long form game – an OD&D open table.

The concept of an open game table has been something tumbling around my head for several months now. As someone relatively new to the hobby, an open table offers the unique ability to exponentially increase the number of players in my circle. There’s also the benefit of playing whenever desire strikes me, with little to no hassle of getting a group together. This has obvious appeal for any GM who has had the pleasure of rescheduling sessions to get everyone to the table.

This style of play hasn’t been the standard for quite some time, but back in the early days of the hobby, it was really the go-to way to play. As such, it seemed more than fitting to run an old-school table with THE old-school game.

For the record, I’ve never run any edition of D&D before. I’ve played some 5e, and read through the rulebooks for 3e, but this is my first attempt at tackling the game in any form. Therefore, I’ve had to overcome a pretty serious learning curve. In addition to the (well-documented) complexities of the OD&D rulebooks, I’ve had no primer for what D&D should feel like. I didn’t understand Armor Class, or what a Saving Throw meant. Aside from the obvious examples, I’m not familiar with the creatures that inhabit fantasy realms.  I had to learn what Vancian magic is. I can’t use my existing knowledge of the game and apply it to the original edition. Because I don’t have existing knowledge.

Thankfully, I’m not going in totally blind. There’s a VERY dedicated and vocal following for OD&D and its various retro-clones. Many are lifelong gamers and have an astounding knowledge of the rules, history, and general approaches to the game. I’ve found a plethora of information on many of these gamer’s blogs. It’s no secret that the original D&D game is one of interpretation, and I think that discussing the various versions that exist is as valuable as the history itself.

I’m going to be writing this series of essays on my experiences with both OD&D and the open table format. Some of these will be musings on the rules and the vast variations on them. Others will be more focused on the history and terminology. In addition, I’ll also include the occasional session recap or delve into session prep between games. Expect some discussion of old modules for both Classic and Advanced D&D, like Keep on the Borderlands and Tomb of Horrors.

This will be my first series on specific gameplay, and I’m excited to see how this all turns out. There’s obviously a trove of information on the subject, and it will be interesting to watch as I become more acquainted with the rules, genre, and feel for the old-school style.

In terms of the ruleset being used, it’s a bit of a mash-up. I’ll primarily be using the White Box (that’s the original edition without any supplements). But I’m also including some supplemental rules, like the Thief Class from Greyhawk. I’ve also got a copy of the ’83 Mentzer Basic Set, which has some clear differences from the original edition. This is mostly for on-the-spot clarifications for when (not if) I get totally lost.

For those who are curious, I’ll be running mostly homebrewed scenarios in a non-specific D&D setting. One of my players asked me what setting the game was in, and I laughed and said I don’t know enough of the lore of D&D realms to say for sure, much to my friend’s dismay. (Sorry Steven.)

Creating The Wetlander

September 19, 2020

 

Hello! Thanks for taking the time to visit the Wetlander. My name is Diego Romero-Aros. I’m currently 23 years old. This is my foray into the weird world of writing (blogging?), game design, and more.

I live in Claymont, Delaware, a suburb of the not-so-big city of Wilmington. For the better part of my late teens on, I’ve spent my time heavily involved in the local punk scene here in Wilmington. I played in the band Merger, which toured around the US and Canada several times, and also run the independent record label Impetus Records, documenting the music scene here. I’ve booked possibly hundreds of shows, put out multiple zines, been involved in many benefit shows, and more. We’ve managed to build a small buzz about the scene here, and things showed no signs of slowing down.

But the year is 2020. The pandemic has managed to entirely cut off our little music world, and it doesn’t seem like things will be headed back to normal as quick as people would like. And with most of my creative output stalled, I think my mind was aching for something to do.

Back in May, I suddenly had a strange urge- I wanted to create a mystery-focused RPG set in the modern day. It was oddly specific, and I wasn’t quite sure where the inspirations was coming from. I have dabbled in roleplaying games for a few years, but never anything serious. A few one-shots of Call of Cthulhu, a short Dungeons & Dragons campaign, but certainly nothing at the forefront of my mind. Yet, like most things in my life have proven, when I’m intrigued, I fall head-first into an obsession.

an early (and soon abandoned) character sheet for Streetwork.

And so down the rabbit hole I went. In the last few months, I’ve read more articles, watched more videos, and spent way more money than I thought I would ever devote to roleplaying games. Despite my limited experience or prior interest, I found that I have been fully enveloped by the hobby. I have worked around the clock on my mystery game, which I’ve since named Streetwork. From writing to playtesting to more editing, the game has seen a lot of shifts, and is still heavily in development.

A friend and I have decided to create a game publishing company, which we’ve named Marshland Games, after the swampy marshes of Delaware. While my friend has been invested in tabletop games of all varieties for many years, we’re both fairly unsure what it means to start a game company.

This site will delve into some of my thoughts and experiences while designing Streetwork and other games that will follow, as well as some thoughts and critiques on other games/systems in the hobby. I’ll also do some specific reviews of games, interviews, and whatever else strikes my whimsy related to the tabletop industry.

While this will primarily focus on the gaming table, there will likely be the occasional foray into punk/independent music, underground culture, activism and more.

I’m curious to see how this blog turns out. I’ve never been one for social media, and this seems like an effective way to communicate some of my thoughts in a more dedicated format. I’m especially curious to see how people respond to these posts. I want to engage in conversations more than anything, and this medium can serve me in a way that I think most other channels of communication can’t.

Thanks for tuning in, and hope you like what’s in store.

-diego