Originally from my blog, Halfling's Luck: http://www.halflingsluck.com

I already have entirely too many old school and OSR fantasy RPGs: Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox, Swords & Wizardry Complete, OSRIC, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Adventures in the Eastmark, Basic Fantasy Roleplaying, Iron Falcon, Dark Dungeons, Deeper Delving, Dungeon Crawl Classics, as well as original classics like the Rules Cyclopedia and AD&D 1st Edition premium reprints. I'm never going to play all of them - not even if I didn't have a full time job, a toddler, freelance writing and my own publishing company to juggle. So why in the Seven Hells would I buy another? Especially one that stepped away from my Basic/Expert wheel house that I love so dearly into the much less used "advanced edition" likes the aforementioned OSRIC?

Well, that's because Adventures Dark & Deep isn't quite a retro-clone. Almost, but not quite. Adventures Dark & Deep (abbreviated ADD) bills itself as being "based on Gary Gygax's plans for expanding the game." So it's claims to be a clone of neither 1st or 2nd edition AD&D. Instead it is a spiritual successor to AD&D 1st edition, with a distinctly Gygaxian design. Constructed by +Joseph Bloch from notes, articles and blog posts by Gary Gygax it claims to be written as what the author believes AD&D 2nd edition might have been if the game's original creator had not parted ways with TSR some time before the release of second edition.

The original incarnation of AD&D is direct, but grew as it became more and more popular. Initially we had no skills, and few ancillary rules beyond what was necessary to plunder dungeons and slay dragons - and it was a helluva a lot of fun. But it always felt a bit... thin. Something was missing. We got expansions in snippets and pieces through magazine articles which added to and expanded the game. Then came Unearthed Arcana, Dungeoneer's Survival Guide and the Wilderness Survival Guide. The game suddenly had new (often horribly imbalanced) classes and races, non-weapon proficiencies, weapon specializations, and tons of extra rules that, though they were billed as options, seemed to be taken as unbreakable canon by everyone I played with back in the day. The bloat had begun.

AD&D 2nd edition came around in 1989 and while things like proficiencies were technically optional, there seemed to be an implication that they were meant to be utilized from the ground floor. Soon after we got hugely expanded campaigns settings and the brown book series of class and race supplements. Towards there came the now infamous Player's Option series. Suddenly there were countless "options" that seemed to be anything but optional and the power creep had been ratcheted up to eleven.

ADD takes a step back, starting from the roots of AD&D 1st edition and begins an organic progression that feels right. Yes, it has barbarians, cavaliers and a skill system - but its all implemented in an even manner that feels appropriate - not as slapshot and untested as the original Unearthed Arcana options. In short, the rules feel unified and consistent. No longer is there a question of "Why should I bother to play a fighter when I can play a ranger or even a cavalier." God help the DM if someone brings the issue of Dragon magazine to the table which features the Arch-Ranger class or any other of the horribly balanced "NPC Classes."

In going beyond first edition, there comes a collection of several classes that either found their origins in Dragon magazine or other supplements - but they're included here from the get-go, which gives them both a validity and a natural sense of presence. Jesters and mountebanks didn't just appear because the latest issue hit your gamin table, they're integrated from the beginning. Because of that integration, they don't feel shoe-horned in or unbalanced. Extra classes like this give a greater sense of player option while avoiding the glut of "splat books" that many believe ruined AD&D second edition.

But more than its unification is its presentation. It holds close to the simple black and white presentation of first edition, keeping things crisp and easily presented. But Bloch doesn't rely on obtuse rule descriptons and a vocabulary rooted in High Gygaxian. He speaks clearly and directly to the reader, while not seeming boring. Because of this concise verbage, ADD packs a lot into its pages. Damn near every concievable situation is covered in Players Manual and Game Masters Tool Kit - and its done so in an approachable, easy to digest fashion.

ADD doesn't try to distract its reader with dazzling layout or full color art. The art is present and it's evocative and fitting - but it doesn't feel like its trying to steal attention away from the text. The author focuses on the game and making the most of it. The majority of the necessary rules are found in the Players Manual because players are going to need to have quick access to a variety of rules. The Game Masters Tool Kit isn't bloated by "secret rules" that players shouldn't know. Instead it talks to the reader about social encounters, unique environments, magic items, adventure design, divine pantheons and other necessary tools and rules for running the game. The Bestiary is jam-packed with almost 450 pages of adversaries and offers a few brief appendicies for unique features and designing your own creatures - not that you'd need to with the plethora of predators found in these pages.

Even while covering every nook and cranny of gaming, ADD never feels oppressed by detail. But because the game is so complete there is a subtle professional presence that breeds confidence in the reader. If someone isn't covered in these pages, a reader will be able to find a similar rule or get a sense of how they should handle a ruling in any given situation. The game breeds confidence in both player and game master. With that confidence comes a sense of excitement.

In short, Adventures Dark & Deep has replaced AD&D as my go-to "advanced edition" fantasy roleplaying game. I'm already in talks with some of my old gaming buddies to run Temple of Elemental Evil using it, and they're excited to play. Now we don't have to decide between the clean but confined rules of first edition or the bloated infinite options of second. A perfect balance is found in ADD.

Adventures Dark & Deep is available in PDF, softcover, and hardcover print on demand through RPGNow and DriveThruRPG. It was written by Joseph Bloch and is published by BRW Games. There's even a bundle which includes all three hardcover books along with PDFs for around $100. A friend of mine called that a big buy in, and he's not wrong. It's a lot of faith to put in a game to blindly drop that much cash on any game - but I can say that Adventures Dark and Deep is unequivocally, bar none, the best incarnation of "advanced" fantasy roleplaying on the market - including those published by larger, more mainstream presses. I'll be running and playing it soon - and for years to come.

Eight pages and two new races, Astronauts and Ancients is a unique add-on for Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox. It brings a distinctly sci-fi element to traditional sword and sorcery gaming. Presented in a 9 page normally formatted PDF, it also includes a specially formatted PDF that can be folded to create a printable book that fits on a single page. For less than a buck, it's an awesome deal.

The Snake's Heart takes a bold new approach to the classic dungeon crawl. Not necessarily in the dungeon itself, but in its presentation. The "scripting" descriptions really give it the feel of an 80s fantasy film like Conan the Barbarian or Beastmaster. The adventure itself is a definitely good for a solid night of adventure - well written and clear.

For two bucks, you just can't go wrong.

With the success of other publishers releasing products for Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox, there were bound to be products like this. Ivory Relics is similar in concept to White Box Treasures, by Barrel Rider Games - right down to the copy/pasting of their licensing statement on the storefront page.

However, the pixelated cover art combined with confusing descriptions of the items presented within make the product difficult to implement. Also, the items seem more in line with a very high fantasy style of RPG, like late 3rd or even 4th edition D&D. If that's what you're going for as a gamer, great - but be prepared to be taking Ivory Relics more for its ideas than the items themselves.

Spelling errors, combined with copy/pasting of a license from another company without even inserting your own company name, poorly written descriptions and slap-shot art take what could be a collection of nice magic items for S&W WhiteBox and turn it into a jumbled mess where a few ideas MIGHT be salvaged.

Pete Spahn's Time of the Dying Stars is a brisk, pulpy read with noir overtones set in the Small Niche Games setting of Amherth - more specifically, the City of Dolmvay. While this work of fiction stands on its own as an enjoyable, light read it also serves as a vehicle for enterprising game masters looking to infuse a bit of urban adventure into their Labyrinth Lord games. Spahn's stories are a kind of "lead by example," and the fiction presented here is ripe with story seeds, NPCs and plot hooks ripe for the picking. It's offered as a pay what you want product, but certainly worth a few bucks. When combined with his Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay, a campaign almost builds itself. Well worth a look.

This piece is just too darn cute to not pick up. I love it. I haven't quite found a use for it in my personal or professional projects - but it's adorable.

Small Niche Games has really hit another one out of the park with Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay. Set in the SNG original world Chronicles of Amherth. But there are several things about this supplement that make it special.

First and foremost is the level of detail and love shown by the folks at SNG. This city is detailed enough to feel very real and very lived in. Rich would be the world I'd use. It feels rich. Yet, clear effort has been shown not to fill in all the corners - SNG leaves plenty of room for enterprising DMs to tailor the material to their own campaigns. The structure, government, geography, social classes, religious structure, are all given a beautiful description while leaving more than enough wiggle room for any old school gamer.

My favorite part of this book is Appendix II: The Adventurer's Guide. The framework here is perfect and facilitates introducing your players to any number of pre-made adventures they may be itching to run or draw them into the politics of the city if the local nobles or church turns to the guild for assistance. But the players don't get drawn in without reward and the perks for guild membership and paying your dues make it well worth it to join the guild.

To boot, SNG includes rules for starting characters at 0th level play that show a surprisingly level of depth. That was a real welcome surprise.

As detailed and wonderful as this book is, what makes it truly magnificent is the fact that while Dolmvay is defaulted to Amherth, it can easily be slotted into near any old school campaign. In addition to this, Peter C. Spahn has information in the back encouraging other OSR publishers to make use of the material presented within these pages as long as they acknowledge and respect the spirit of the material and those who wrote it.

As far as presentation, the book is your standard no frills, clean-reading SNG product with a great cover that evokes that old-school feel. The maps are magnificent and the black and white art is also evocative of classic image from the fantasy RPGs of the 1970s and 80s.

I will definitely be purchasing a copy of this book when it goes physical. My only regret regarding the Guidebook to the City of Dolmvay is the fact that I didn't throw a few bucks into the kickstarter because it's sure as heck worth it.

Bring 'em Back Alive is a short adventure, worth a night or two of pulp adventuring, in the retro sci-fi world of Rocket Age. The characters are part of an expedition into the jungles of a fictionalized version of Venus that is covered by thick, dangerous jungles and inhabited by savage natives.

Like the Rocket Age previous adventure (like City of the Ancients), a great strength of this adventure is the number of NPCs offered for player interaction. From fleshed out characters like British botanist Harold Keyes and his eccentric sidekick who hales from one of the moons of Jupiter to the plucky reporter Justine Porter who is just trying to be taken seriously, there are a handful of these NPCs who are fleshed out and ready to go. But, in addition to almost a dozen others ready to be fleshed out by enterprising GMs looking to customize details of the adventure to their campaign.

The expedition itself begins in an area called the Valley of Flowers, which uses a series of randomly generated events to increase replay value of the adventure. From natural hazards, lost companions or irritating Venusian Lizard-Monkeys, there are a plethroa of opportunities for pulp heroics just in this first part of the adventure.

In the second part of the adventure the characters face deadly threats from both the flora and fauna of Venus and discover signs of the hidden civilizations within the deep jungles. The adventure closes with the surprise discovery of some ancient, lost technology and the surprise of a deadly technological threat to the entire expedition.

High adventure is the name of the game with Rocket Age, and Bring 'em Back Alive is no exception. But adventure doesn't necessarily mean violence, and brains are as important here as brawn. In fact, the adventure itself recommends giving the players a larger reward for solving their problems through ingenuity instead of violence.

In the face the adventure City of the Ancients, Bring 'em Back Alive is asking is $3. Given the replay value of the adventure, the application of the NPCs and threats presented within the pages and how they can be used for more adventures on Venus, and the sheer fun of Rocket Age as a game and setting, this adventure is well worth picking up.

Full Disclosure: I recieved a complimentary copy of this product for review purposes.

While this product was released long before Eldritch Witchery, this product feels like a B/X version of the material presented in the previously mentioned supplement. That doesn't make it a bad supplement, though, by any stretch of the imagination. Having already read EW, I can see that Brannan's previous work also had similar sensibilities.

This is more than just a class book, it's really a campaign supplement that presents a single new class with multipule options, allowing an enterprising referee to pick and choose what aspects of the material they want to apply to their campaign. The level of detail and sense of grounding in real-world history gives the material a gravity and believability not often found in role-playing game supplements - especially fantasy gaming supplements. The Witch is fantasy that never gets serious, but nor too does it get pretentious or self-important.

In addition to a detailed, multi-dimensional class, The Witch also provides an extensive collection of monsters and magical items. This not only gives the sourcebook more usable content, but having these extras helps give the Witch class a stronger presence into an existing campaign world. By having hints of the witch through these devices and devils, the introduction of the witch to an existing campaign never feels like its falling out of the sky or being introduced out of the blue.

The Witch is one of the most extensive, detailed, and well written OSR supplements I've seen in a long, long time and I'd highly recommend it to B/X or retro-clone game. Even if you never use the class, the extras on top of that make it more than worth the price of admission.

Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this product for free.

Brannan's Eldritch Witchery is more than I expected. What I initially expected to be an inflated 200+ page supplement on a class has turned out to be far more. Brannan's work and passion for the history and culture of witchcraft in a history sense and a respect for that in the translation to table-top gaming is obvious from the beginning.

Yes, Eldritch Witchery is, at its core a "class" book - but its also something far more. The author presents us with more than just some charts, stats, and a premise to tie it all together. Witches and Warlocks are presented here in stunning detail. This gives them a sense of gravity and presence in whatever campaign setting in which they are implemented. He gives the reader more than a new class. He provides a new culture, a new aspect, and indeed a new view on magic for use in a campaign.

The core of the book are the Witch and Warlock class - both of which are presented in descriptive detail. Each includes multipule variants on the original concept, allowing the referee of a game a kind of ala carte freedom. They can include as many or as few of these variants as is appropriate to their own campaign.

Brannan also provides a completely collection of spells for these new spellcasters, always keeping an earthy, grounded tone with his material. It feels like fantasy, but never over-the-top or silly. There's always a grounding in history that can be sensed and that prevents the options presented from being considered frivolous.

The new creatures and monsters presented continue this tie to real-world history and mythology, maintaining the sense of mystery and fear that surround the historic reactions to witchcraft. These are monsters that lay hidden in the woods, rarely glimpse upon by mortal eyes but often warded against by wary peasants.

The magic items section of the book does address traditional items, even ones that are now regarded as hokey or silly - like the witch's broomstick. Still the author establishes such a respect for the class and the historic background that it never comes off as so.

I think a key aspect to maintaining this tone in the material is the art presented in the material. A lot of it appears to be historic wood burnt art or tapestry art, all in black and white. It constantly (but subtley) reminds the reader that witches and warlocks are part of the world and have been for a very, very long time.

In the end, $5.00 for a 208 page supplement that will bring new classes, new spells, new monsters, and new magic items is already a bargain. But with the presence and power offered in Eldritch Witchery, you get more than that. The material here feels like it belongs in a fantasy role-playing game, creating a culture of spellcasters that is both believable and to be respected. I'd highly, highly, highly recommend it to anyone looking to bring a more earthy, traditional, and darker tone to their old school fantasy gaming table.

This black and white art is absolutely fantastic and not just because it's free. Easy to insert into a product, it was clearly desgined for use as a sidebar of art or a monster codex style entry into a supplement. A great resource for a personal hand out or published product.

This magazine is 30+ pages of pure, useable content. After a humble introduction from editor Peter C. Spahn, they waste no time before launching into the meat of the product.

We begin with Symac the Subverter, which not only offers up half-a-dozen or so new spells and a new magic item, but also sparks an interest in the evil magic Symac and could easily lead a creative DM/GM into using this article as a springboard to an excellent villian for their own old school campaign.

Next we get a trio of original monsters. Titled "Dirty Secrets of the Mage's Guild," author Tom King presents a what-if scenario in addition to his original creations. Again, advenutre ideas abound in this article.

The Sunland Society presents a collection of halfling NPCs that, while designed for use with the Chronicles of Amherth setting, can be used in almost any old school fantasy setting with little to no modification. The great thing about these NPCs (other than that they're halflings) is the fact that while they are generally heroic in nature, they're presented as three dimensional character with depth and flaw.

Next we get a single-page article by Christopher Koscluk that offers five new magical items. These are quick, cleanly written and original. They are nice twists on some classic tropes. I'm especially fond of the x-foot pole.

Now we get to my favorite article in BtL: Animal Retainers. Editor Peter C. Spahn wrote this article, and he did a fantasic job. He offers up a simple system to add some real meat to animal companions. With his matieral dogs and other animal companions go from becoming "four-legged meat shields" to NPCs of real importance and influence. And while the animal retainers do give their masters some extra advantages, it's not enough to unbalance a party.

A well character sheet is presented on pages 19-20 that would feel like filler to pad the magazine, but the layout and art design of the sheet are so well done that you can't help but want to use this sheet. It's probably the best sheet I've seen for Labyrinth Lord yet.

You want to talk about creative? Well, Neko-ku U's "Better than Starving" article presents options for what a character strapped for food can do if they're reduced to eating the (partially) edible gear they own. This single page article could add real grit to an old school game.

Dyson Logos's short adventure "Screams from Jedder's Hole" is a traditionally styled dungeon crawl with some twists. The real strength of the module, to this reader, was his section on getting the players involved and the background of the module. This didn't feel like some dungeon plopped down - it had history and a sesne of existing outside the events of the player characters. Great for a night of gaming if you're a procrastinating DM like me.

Finally we have the beginnings of a two-part review of the free one-sheet module "The Burial Mound of Esur the Red." The adventure was wrirten by Dyson Logos, and the review is by Peter C. Spahn. The adventure is free to download (links in the review). This felt less like a review and more like a DM/GM retelling his experiences while running without addressing the strengths or weaknesses of the source material. Being that Burial Mound of Esur the Red is also free, I felt like a review was unnecessary. As a free product, it's not like other GM/DMs are going to lose anything if they download it and don't particularly enjoy it.

BTL closes with submission guidelines and some advertisements for various old-school gaming publishers.

Over all, I absolutely loved BtL and hope they continue. The magazine is wall to wall usable content. The art is black and while and fairly minimal, but as a reader I like that. It leaves more room for content. This is a magazine that really needs to get legs. I'm looking very, very forward to the future of Brave the Labyrinth.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical of Starships & Spacemen. Clearly, this supplement is inspired by classic, 60's era Star Trek styled science fiction - and to be frank I always found Star Trek to be a big... well.. boring. But, I've never purchased a product from Goblinoid Games that I didn't enjoy, so I gave S&S a shot.

I'm very glad that I did. While the game is clearly designed with classic "Star Trek" style gaming in mind, it's also offers something more. While it stands on its own as an RPG with those concepts at the forefront, it also serves as a framework from which a creative Game Master (or Star Master, as they're called in this book), can build their own original galaxy spanning sagas. The character races and classes presented are merely jumping-off points for the ambitious gamer.

From character creation to starship combat to space exploration, Starshipsa & Spacemen 2nd Edition offers clear, simple rules that are easy to learn, easy to teach, and don't get in the way of having a good time.

Now, if you want to boldly go where no one has gone before, then S&S as definitely a game for you. But even if that's not your favorite flavor of sci-fi, consider giving this book a good once over. I think you'll find the ideas, concepts and rules presented can easily be adapted to create almost any science fiction or science fantasy styling of your choice.

Realm of Crawling Chaos wasn't what I expected. It's good, but not what I expected. I was looking for a source book that would allow me to (fairly seemlessly) integrate the Lovecraft Mythos into an existing Labyrinth Lord game and while you can technically do that with Realms of Crawling Chaos, the book is more geared towards starting a Labyrinth Lord campaign that works from the information presented from the get go.

That being said, the information presented is very good, very creepy, and very evocative of the Lovecraft Mythos. The art is especially good, presenting itself as a great hybrid of old-school fantasy art that's been driven insane by the Necronomicon.

My point point of disappointment was the Psionics section. While it does specifically present rules for Psionics, they're limited and not intended for player characters. Now, personally, I don't use psionics to begin with - but I feel a game master should have lots of options to choose from.

All in all, Realms of Crawling Chaos is a fantastic buy, especially for less than $5. The folks at Goblinoid Games know how to do old school gaming and with this book they know how to do it with a large helping of mind-bending creepiness.

Remember the Village of Homlet? Do look back fondly on having a pint at the Inn of the Welcome Wench? I know I do, and with Brave Halfling's Larm you get that feeling all over again. Larm is more than just an adventure, it's a campaign starting point that's fully fleshed out and ready to go. With two small dungeons and one wilderness encounter along with several "side quests", your players can easily spend their early levels here in (relative) safety while they get a feel for old-school gaming.

Well worth it.