Player Expectations...

or "it's got to have elves".

One problem I expect with CSotA is the setting really has no room for elves. It's a post demon holocaust version of our world. I could go the Wizards route (which is also that of Terry Brooks) in that demi-humans were in hiding and/or evolved from humans.

But that's "eh". I'm more likely to have them alternate world people trapped here but to be honest, I'd rather not have them at all.

Still, removing elves, dwarves, and hobbits might be too much for a bunch of players with no old school experience.

Nothing makes you work...

like a deadline.

I just sent out the following email:

I'm looking to start a Classic D&D game. In this sense Classic means
anything sold as D&D, not AD&D, prior to 3rd edition, or things made
to work like that. Specifically that means the modern recreation
Labyrinth Lord, which is a fairly good restatement of the Moldvay/Cook
Basic/Expert set (commonly called B/X) as opposed to LBB (original),
Holmes Basic (the Blue Dragon), or Mentzer (BECMI). LL is currently
available for free online but anyone with some basic D&D experience
will be fine.

Things that are being done that are more retro than modern:

1. The big megadungeon at the center of the campaign (actually a
couple) famous for dangers and wonders. You will not, however, start
there necessarily.
2. Strong influence by fantasy written by authors established prior to 1980.
3. Several customizations to recapture the spirit of this quote from
Dragon 109: "In the Good Old Days, the days of the original three
books of the Dungeons & Dragons game, the number of variants on the
rules was roughly equal to X,where X was the number of players in the
game.". In fact, a modified version of the method in that article has
been used to create some alternate classes. Ideas and methods from
the other members of the Classic Family as well as a crucial Tunnels
and Trolls system will be added to the core.
4. This is a sandbox game. You will be presented with some basics
about the world and a starting point. Plot hooks are there but there
is no script or central plot.

The game will start Friday, February 13th at the MSC at 7:30 and
generally run 2.5-4 hours. Player handouts (about 3-5 pages) will be
ready a week from today.

The City States may have visitors.