Quick Thought of the day: The NPCs you encountered were already fully fleshed out.

 

Here’s something I don’t hear discussed very often: Gary Gygax, never actually expected DMs to invent every NPC from scratch. Because sometimes you just need a quick glance at something for an NPC. Not saying that every NPC will turn into something, but heck, it's nice to have something ready on paper. 

D&D Wants You to Play a Death Knight. AD&D Didn’t...

In this episode of the Black Notebook Podcast, I compare the modern playtest’s approach with the original AD&D vision. Why did classic D&D keep the Death Knight firmly on the other side of the DM’s screen? Has modern D&D changed what monsters are supposed to be? And does turning legendary villains into player options make the game better, or does it take away some of the mystery? 

Why Every D&D Party Needed Hirelings...

Hirelings were never just background characters in AD&D 1st Edition. They carried torches, guarded the camp, hauled treasure, and sometimes saved the entire party from disaster. In this episode of The Black Notebook, I look at why hirelings were an expected part of the game, how they changed the way adventures played, and why so many modern groups have left them behind. If you've ever wondered why old school parties seemed so much larger than today's adventuring groups, this episode explains why.