It's a new month, which makes it time for a new scheduling grid! Please let me know when you're available/unavailable for the upcoming weeks. I hope to see y'all at the table soon!

(✅=definitely, ✅❓=probably, ❓=maybe; ❌❓=unlikely; ❌=no)

Lizardfolk and frogfolk raids on the neighboring Ivernesse lands have gone too far. Troops and adventurers are gathering at the town of Morlay, in the shadow of Rainier d'Ivernesse's Ghost Tower, to strike at the creatures' swamp lairs — and perhaps to claim the 100,000gp bounty on the devil-knight Malacoda. Will the Company of Crossed Swords join them? Or will they disregard Rainier's call, as he is no friend to the Company (some business about "the Boss" having once kidnapped his son), and stay focused on plundering Glantri's dungeons and ruins?

Please let me know what days work best for you. Thanks in advance!

PS: There will also be a Saturday low-level game at Rockbar in the West Village on the 30th, running through B2: Keep on the Borderlands. Everyone is welcome; you can bring a low-level Company member or roll a new 1st-level character at the table.

(✅=definitely, ✅❓=probably, ❓=maybe; ❌❓=unlikely; ❌=no)

It's time to loot some dungeon levels and regain some life levels! Please let me know what days work best for you. Thanks in advance!

(✅=definitely, ✅❓=probably, ❓=maybe; ❌❓=unlikely; ❌=no)

The ring of the silver sun: An ivory ring inlaid with a silver sunburst. It acts as a ring of protection +1 and shrouds the wearer in silvery continual light. Once per month, it can protect against a single level-draining effect by unleashing a blast of positive energy; this exhausts all of the ring's powers until it's had a month to recharge.

The lucky sword of One-Eyed Felice: A short sword +1 with a pair of dice engraved on the forte. It scores a critical hit on a roll of 7 or 20.

Antidote potion: Neutralizes poison.
Curative potion: Cures disease.
Potion of diminution: Shrinks you to 6" in height.
Potion of healing: Heals 2-7 points of damage.
Potion of innocuous polymorph: Polymorphs you into a chosen animal that has no more than 1 hit die.
Village hero’s potion: Raises a level 1-3 fighter, dwarf, or halfling to 4th level for the potion’s duration.

Arrow of law: +5 "to hit" and damage against demons and undead.
Arrow of pass-wall: As the pass-wall spell.
Arrow of the ram: As the ring of the ram.
Arrow of silence: As the silence 15' radius spell.
Climber’s arrow: Embeds itself into wood or stone and trails a climbable rope.
Firework arrow: As the pyrotechnics spell.
Magefire arrow: Turns into a single magic missile, as per the spell.
Nimbus arrow: Illuminates the target as the faerie fire spell.
Quickjump arrow: Teleports the archer to wherever the arrow strikes, as the dimension door spell.
Rust arrow: Destroys a target's metal armor.
Threefold arrow: Splits into up to three arrows to attack that number of targets.
Web arrow: As the web spell.

I am currently out of town, but I would love to run another session when I get back! Please let me know how the following dates look for you:

(✅=definitely, ✅❓=probably, ❓=maybe; ❌❓=unlikely; ❌=no)

1) As a reminder, each character can only benefit from 2 magic rings at any given time. You can swap rings in and out (though this will take actions in combat), but if you do own more than 2 rings, you'll need to specify which ones you're wearing at any given time.

2) I am thinking of porting over the AD&D rules for rings of protection, in which their AC bonus is not cumulative with magic armor AC bonuses. In addition to demanding a bit more effort to hit the -3 AC cap, it should encourage spreading the party's defensive magic items a bit more widely among its PCs.

Several days later, after his most recent delve into the Chateau d'Ambreville, Pritchard begins the long trek back to Glantri City to sell Chaos-cult relics to de Troeven. Passing through Malinbois that afternoon, he nostalgically decides to stay the night at the town's best inn, the Wolf and Roses, to dine well and sleep well before proceeding on the morrow.

Late that night, unable to sleep, Pritchard strolls through the silent town. He finds himself in Holy Grove, a patch of woodland beneath the Chateau de Marais' hill, where several shrines stand amid the trees. A familiar path leads him to a one-room stone structure with a single doorless archway, holding a statue of Trianoma in her aspect as adjudicator.

This was Blanchfleur's favorite shrine, that she would visit late at night in the darker parts of their marriage.

And indeed, perhaps by chance, Blanchfleur is there. She kneels prayerfully before the statue, wrapped in furs against the evening's chill.

Benefits:

• Gain one level of experience.
• Telepathic connection with the quasit, including the ability to borrow the use of its senses while concentrating.
• While within 10' of the quasit, regenerate 1hp/round.
• While within 10' of the quasit, gain limited magic resistance (approx. 1 in 4 chance of resisting magic; more effective against weaker magic-users, less effective against stronger ones).
• The quasit can do quasit stuff on your behalf — polymorph themselves, regenerate, claw and bite, etc.

Drawbacks:

• Benefits of the bonus level and telepathic connection are lost if the quasit is more than 1 mile away.
• If the quasit dies, lose 4 levels of experience.
• If you die while the quasit is still alive, it swallows your soul and you cannot be brought back from the dead by any means.

Personally I wouldn't risk it. But the benefits are juicy, and if you're too powerful to worry about danger then you're probably fine!

Time for another session! The last one was a hard act to follow, but there's nothing wrong with a small cozy session with just a few players.

I'll be out of town for the first half of April, so we have a narrow window of possible dates. Please select from the following:

(✅=definitely, ✅❓=probably, ❓=maybe; ❌❓=unlikely; ❌=no)

Wow. All these guys must be hard up for cash back home.

Quickly realizing that the great majority of the Company of Crossed Swords is sleeping in his living room, Roland seizes upon the fleeting opportunity that has presented itself. There's probably no better time to rid Rouvière of the army of bandits and orcs encamped on its doorstep at the Chateau d'Amberville, and/or one of the archdevils themselves.

Recalling the rumors he's heard from many a rumor-monger that the (dis)organized adventuring community of Glantri are willing to set aside current and former grievances and band together to try to take on one of the archdevils, he quickly dispatches messengers to the various heads of various adventuring companies, as well as to Marchosias de Marais in the hopes of gauging and gathering the interest and courage of the irregular forces of Glantri to march on one of the accessible archdevils - namely Firkas or Malacoda - hopefully under the mighty banner of the Earldom of Rouvière!

I need to get someone on fashioning a coat of arms….

Afterward, Audrey spent the late afternoon wandering through the Temple's gardens, as it was a rare warm March day. Nonetheless, she wound up seated on a bench as shadows lengthened, brooding.

"Hey, Audrey! I've been looking for you," called a familiar voice. Clotilde, a fellow spear-priestess of Seff, strode over. Audrey was not surprised to see her; the adventuring company Clotilde had attached herself to, the Wyvern Hunters, were currently in Glantri City on some business or other.

Whatever topic Clotilde had intended to raise, she set aside on seeing her spear-sister's expression. Unlike Camellia, she had little use for tact. "You look like someone died," she said, seating herself beside Audrey. "What's eating you?"

Meanwhile, at some point during this period, Martin is getting drunk at the Pig and Rose, one of his favored watering holes in Glantri City. It is a lower-class dive with cheap drinks and a lively but rough clientele. He has been swapping ribald tales with René, a front-line fighter of the Company of the Scroll. René often buys Martin drinks and happily lets the older adventurer ramble on with old stories of the Company of Crossed Swords' adventures.

While Martin pauses to down another beer, René says, "Have you heard any news about the archdevil bounties? Word is that they'll be going up come the spring. Some adventuring companies who've been wary of fighting the big devils have been giving it another thought."

We have finally reached the big three-oh-oh. I hope this'll be an opportunity for folks to get together and do a gaming thing! Please let me know when you might be free. Thanks in advance!

Looking to schedule the next session. Please let me know your availability, either here or on the email thread. Thanks in advance!

I'd like to propose for consideration, "Wartime triage". Having fought in the most recent war (and having been an active fighting man for running on 2 decades), Roland has become quite a skilled combat triage medic. He can now heal [character level] hit points per day through medical ministrations - bandaging, suturing, etc. This amount can be divided any number of times totaling up to [character level]. At eighth level, sure, this is significant, but as a first level ability it would've been essentially one extra point of healing.

Additionally, what is your current stance on the state of the Chateau? What are your plans here? In what way did you seek to involve the Company in those plans?

Also, while in Glantri City, Roland will purchase a fashionable hat for Hadogenes.

First, he's received a summons to attend upon the Council of Princes Thaumaturge. This isn't the first time; he was summoned a year ago to provide his expertise as a foreign witch-hunter on the nature, likely future actions, and potential vulnerabilities of the rogue devils menacing the countryside. Like then, this invitation seems reasonably civil in nature, politely requesting his presence within the month to further discuss the devil problem and its ramifications. But it's still something best not declined.

Second, he's invited to attend a gala hosted by the sorcerer Frédéric de Troeven. Supposedly the wealthiest person in Glantri today, de Troeven owns large swaths of land in Glantri City's poorer quarters, and their tenements' rent fills his coffers. Rumor has it that several of Glantri's wizard-princes are deeply in his debt. His sprawling estate on Wizards' Hill once belonged to a branch of the d'Ambrevilles; he's said to have been a frequent guest at the Chateau before the civil war.

Does Pritchard attend these events, and if so, does he make any noteworthy preparations?

30,000gp for the head of the devil-knight Malacoda
40,000gp for killing the devil-knight Furcas
50,000gp for killing the devil-earl Halphas

The bounty notices are marked with the seal of the Council of Princes Thaumaturge.

The pouch is small and light. It contains a single dark red gemstone, perhaps a ruby or garnet.

Come the morning, Claire Bloodblade barges into Roland's chambers. "Cellar's empty," she says. Indeed, the Keep's cellars have been stripped bare in the night of their usual supply of grain, tubers, dried meat, cheeses, water, beer, and wine. Fortunately, this is separate from the hamlet's granary and other storage areas, and there are no reports of other thefts in Rouvière. But Roland has no breakfast, and the disappearance may prove awkward to explain.

Does Roland conceal the disappearance of the Keep's stores (presumably into Furcas's pockets)? How does he go about restocking, and does he procure any additional supplies in accordance with his devil's bargain?

It reads as follows:

Dear Captains,

It has been many years since our brief partnership regarding my family's ancestral properties and estates. Since then we have both embarked on other ventures. Today, your return to the Chateau is the talk of the town.

I would be pleased if you would be open to renewing that partnership. My ambitions are not what they once were, and I firmly believe that by placing my knowledge and talents at your disposal, we might benefit together.

You may find me in Glantri City at my family's winter apartments on the Rue de Magnole. I trust that you will accept our hospitality, and I hope to find common ground.

Répondez s'il vous plaît,
Étienne d'Ambreville

Let's figure out a schedule for the next couple of weeks. Please post your availability, thanks!

Please post your late January availability here, thanks!

I will be out of town for the holiday season, but I hope to get some gaming in when I get back! Please let me know what your schedules look like for January. I'll let y'all know what the best days look like once I head back. Thanks in advance!

I'd love to game with you another time or two before the year ends! I'll be out of town for the back half of December, so I'll only be looking to schedule for the first couple of weeks. Please let me know your availability!

The Cleric spell list is fairly parsimonious, and Audrey's spell list includes some spells we must have created before. These include:

Sanctuary. (Much as the AD&D version, cast on a party member. Foes must roll a save vs. spells in order to attack that character. If the character attacks, the spell ends.)

Sanctuary Ward. (I have no idea what this means. It's higher level and I can only guess it's a Sanctuary spell affecting more than one character. I'm fine with jettisoning this one.)

Dispel Magic. (This is a magic-user spell, but I must have researched it as a Cleric spell at some point.)

4th level special ability. Generates 1d6 energy javelins that cause 2d6 damage with a successful hit. They act as magical weapons, but do not gain a plus to hit or damage.

(Reasoning: I wanted the ability to hit magic creatures before we found a magical spear. The damage boost compensates for the lack of hit bonuses and generally smaller damage of spears in general.)

8th level special ability. Summon Valkyries.

We never really established this one, having used it only once or twice. I believe it summons a small number of spiritual valkyrie-like warriors who were not able to leave the area in which they were summoned, had some decent strength and hit points. They were meant to be rear-guard, emergency guardians or protectors in case things really went badly. We never determined whether they could, say, carry dead bodies or anything along those lines.

I'm pretty sure the 4th level ability is as described, but obviously can be adjusted. The 8th level was more theoretical than anything.

We're heading into Thanksgiving season, so I know people will be busy, but I'd still like to get another game or two in this month. Please let me know if/when you're available!

Last night's Glantri session was a success, but His Majesty the Worm remains on the table. Please let me know your availability for the next session! We'll figure out which game to play based on head count.

Hope to hear from you soon!

It's been a very long break, but I know y'all would love to get back in the saddle! (Of the Worm. A worm-saddle.) So let's try to swing a game in the next couple of weeks!

Please let me know your availability, whether yes or no or maybe!

Witch Hunter Stamp

Wire mesh bird cage w/ dead bird (possibly magical)

Spell components: Thundercalp, Defy Depths, Necromancy Gust of wind, Wall of elements, Totem, Darklight, Stinking Cloud, Fleshcraft. Protect from elementals, Woodweave

850gp

We had a very small group for session 10 wherein Vil's personal quest was completed. I'm hoping we can squeeze in another session before the end of the month.

Please let me know the yes/no/maybe of your availability!

It's been a decade since the Glantri campaign faded away. That seems like exactly the right time to bring it back! So we're looking to set up a one-weekend reunion special in a few months.

The plan is to treat it like a mini-convention with four gaming slots: Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon. No one is expected to attend every slot, but as long as even a single player turns up for a slot, I'll run a game!

As we always tied the passage of time in Glantri to real time, this means that a decade has passed in the campaign setting. We'll get to figure out what's happened to everyone's characters in the meantime. Random tables may be involved!

Red Box New York has always had an open-table policy, so feel free to bring new players! Everyone is welcome.

Please post your availability below. If you're not sure what your availability looks like for any given weekend, that's fine! Just use a question mark (❓) for the moment, and fill it in with a yes or no once you have more information.

I'm hoping to see lots of familiar faces. I look forward to seeing you!

— Eric

I'll be occupied for the last week of July, so I hope we can get a session or two in before then. So let's start scheduling!

Retroactively, we can say that the spell was never cast; it didn't have much effect on the outcome in any case. Whoever cast Change Size this session (presumably Þorgrim?) can retroactively regain the 1 Resolve they spent on casting it.

Setting up the grid early to give folks time to get their schedules sorted. Please post your availability!

For various reasons, back in the Glantri campaign we ruled that the party should always leave the dungeon at the end of the session. This isn't quite gelling with the intended His Majesty the Worm playstyle. It's also always had the downside of needing to scramble at the end of the session to get out of the dungeon, often keeping us playing late when there's an encounter on the way back out.

I'd like to try removing that rule for the moment, to see how things go if the guild makes camp in the dungeon at the end of the session if you don't have a big enough treasure haul to make it worth heading to the surface. This will let us use the Camp Phase mechanics, will spare the guild from unnecessary expenses, and will allow us to end sessions on schedule. You can still leave the dungeon if you want to (eg, you want to Carouse, buy more equipment, turn in contracts, etc); it just won't be mandatory.

Some issues may arise if characters are only present for part of a given delve, but we can work that out. If you miss a session partway through the delve, your character is out of frame or has gone off doing their own thing, and they can join back up at the next session you can attend.

Let me know what you think!
—Eric

PEND / MOLE / SEND / TOME

SEND / MOTE / LEND / MOPE

MEND / DOTE / LENS / MOPE

I'm going to be out of town during April 15-24, and I'd love to squeeze in another session before then. Please post your availability!

First off, here's the puzzle for anyone who doesn't remember. There's a change I'm misunderstanding something, too, since I wasn't at the session where it was discovered, in which case please let me know.

The puzzle is a grid of 4x4 slots surrounded by 16 letters. My guess is that if we can find a setup where every row and column spells a word we can use that to solve the puzzle and profit in some unclear manner.

The letters are: DDEEEELMMNNOOPST

My thoughts on this puzzle are…

• Vowels are probably the key to cutting down the possibility space here. There are only Es and Os.
• Most of the vowels are probably in the center, because that's how words tend to work.
• Least one word must start and one must end with a vowel in each configuration (rows & columns). That's because if no rows have a word that starts with a vowel, the first column will contain no vowels.
• We have 6 vowels and 4 words per configuration, so probably 2 of the words have a single vowel and 2 have two vowels.
• Os and Es are both friendly to double-use (DOOM, PEEL), but given the above two facts I sort of feel like if we have a word like that the other word might need to have the two vowels on the outside?
• I have no idea if diagonals matter. Probably not, is my guess
• I think that rows and columns might be interchangeable? Like, if we set four words as rows and they work together to make all four columns be words, then they'd also work so that if we made them columns they'd just make the rows be words, right? Am I visualizing this correctly?

To make this a little less daunting, I've been trying to make rows of 4 words that use up all available letters. If we can do that we can move them around in order and see if there's any configuration where they all magically align to make the columns all say something. I tried it with the following words but didn't find anything:

STOP
MELD
NEED
OMEN

You do not add your associated attribute to a minor action. You only add your associated attribute to your "major" action on your turn. (E.g., if you have Swords 2, you get +2 to your Attack on your turn, but you do not get that +2 when you attack as a minor action on someone else's turn.)

I'm calling this out here because it's a major rules issue, and because typing it out should help me remember it for monsters' minor actions. :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ipdQe7axzP9JU8wsQTsMXfquxjRCzhnJ/view?usp=sharing

1) Every character starts off with two languages. One of them must be Vulgaris, the "common tongue" of the City. That's because a guild whose members don't have a shared common language is a struggle to run and play. Pick your second language from the list on page 29 of the rulebook.

2) If you're on the Path of Cups, you can spend 1xp on the Loremaster talent to add another language to your list of languages. If spent during the City Phase, you can say you're picking up the language in your spare time; if it's during the Crawl, you can say that you've known it all along and it's simply never come up before.

As y'all have started discussing character concepts by email (exciting!), I've started a thread here to chat about character ideas. Easy to access! All in one place!

Best,
Eric

It's awesome seeing y'all again. The Glantri campaign, for all its bumps and hiccups, was a great time for me, and I know you have fond memories of it too. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at the gaming table again.

That said, things aren't exactly what they used to be. We're not entirely the same people we were ten years ago. Our lives have changed. There's no guarantee that what worked back then will work again, or that old friendships will come back together just as they were.

But I'll give it my best effort! I think we're all still similar enough to our 2016 selves that we'll click again at the table. I expect to have fun and make more good memories.

I guess what I'm saying is that it's normal if Red Box II, 2025 Edition isn't exactly as we remember it. We'll start small, we'll keep the table open, and we'll find a new equilibrium that works for us.

Take care, and see you soon!
— Eric M

Not sure how broad a net to cast here, so let's pop in three weeks' worth of options. Please post your availability and I'll tabulate the results!

EDIT: Also, please specify how often you'd like to play! Twice a month, once a month, etc.

It makes me miss all of you! I hope you're all doing well!

This is classic D&D experience. An open table game exploring a massive dungeon. If you are interested, let me know!

-Michael

I'm curious if this place is still active at all. If not shouldn't it be revisited?

Stranger Things, OSR, D&D 5E are all pointing to an old school style play… it is a revitalized style that was once forsaken, but maybe time to come back? Who currently admins this site? Would anyone mind transferring admin to me?

I want to bring Red Box D&D back to NYC. I want to provide a place for old school D&D to flourish. A place to show that there is more to D&D than just adventure paths, optimized builds, DPR and feats. A place where your skill and mettle matter more than the numbers on a piece of paper.

If anyone who owns this site is still around… consider transferring admin to me. I'd love to push this further.

-Michael

Say you were an absolutely terrible game master who was exceedingly negative. What would be 3-5 essential responses this GM could fall back on to push the game in a Thracia kind of direction? What materials would you suggest, if any?

This thread will be for the events of the two-day journey to Starbase Keppler. In-character log entries yield XP.

So far, these are the activities underway:

• Sp. Chloe Brown is researching positronic catnip, which will be ready just as you arrive at Keppler
• Ens. Di Luna has programmed electronic counter-measures into the ship's computer to prevent Katzenjammer-Drone from hacking it.
• Sub-Lt. Golmak has connected 5 neural interfaces with the Katzenjammer-Drone consciousness, which are in the repair dock, which is currently swarming with cat-drones.

Golmak is available to answer questions about Keppler.

Have at it!