Laser Cutting - What I Use

I purchased a Falcon2 22W Laser Engraver last year and it's been a blast. I have done a dozen or so project types over the past year, trying to figure out what I can and can't do. 

This is the exact model of laser I have from Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

It's 22W, which seems good for any home project I care to do. It comes with goggles/glasses, a card reader, an SD card with data files, small tools for assembly and maintenance, and a gauge for setting the laser height. It came with some starter materials for doing your first project. It says it comes with an air assist module, but this is integrated into the laser itself. I would not count this as a separate device. 

I also ordered a tent, a metal backplate, and a grill. 

You can read about my setup here. 

I did not provide an Amazon link for the enclosure tent. It seems like they upscaled this part, and I don't see my for sale. What I do see is much better than what I have.  

I hate my tent enclosure - I have three cats that think it's a bed. They have broken it 10 times already. Don't let your cats sleep on the laser enclosure. This is the dumbest safety advice I have ever given. 

However, I would strongly suggest you purchase one. Mine has a fan and duct system to blow smoke outside. 

While the box is reasonably accurate that this laser is ready to go out of the box, realistically, you'll need a couple of things: 

1. A way to vent the smoke and gases
2. A table
3. More materials

I'm not going to talk about the first two. These things are particular to your situation, which is different than mine. I will talk about the material later. 

The next couple of things you need are for measuring. Get yourself the following measuring devices: 

• Calipers
• Rulers
• Mechanical Pencils
• Speed Square

Again, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Those are Amazon links. 

The calipers are to measure the thickness of the stock. You can use a ruler, but it's a low-quality situation can be prevented by a $20 tool. I suggest metal rulers because they could dent or bend, but not as easily as wood or plastic. You might be tempted to get carpenter pencils, but you can use mechanical pencils for both marking and drawing designs. Get used to drawing and sketching now. 

I have a zillion carpenter pencils from every local shop and you probably do, too. The speed square is a very handy tool, doing angles and alignment tasks. Every workshop should have one. However, while I love mine, it could be the last item you should buy. I often use it for project assembly but never for project prep. 

You can buy MTG stuff online, 
but mother-fucker, you need to shop local.

As far as materials go, I use 1/8 inch plywood. I can buy 8-foot by 4-foot sheets from the big box store, but to be honest, I order smaller sheets from Amazon. This is about consistency, waste, ease of use, not transporting the stuff, etc. 

I use 2 different kinds of materials from Amazon to avoid cutting 8-foot by 4-foot sheets down to the 400x415 mm size of the laser bed. Plywood is usually marketed in inch increments, but when they arrive, you'll find they are metric. For sanity's sake, I order sheets that are sold as 12" x 12" x 1/8" and larger sheets that are sold as 16" x 16" x 1/8". They are a touch off, but as long as they fit on the laser bed, I don't care.

A layered effect

I like my 1/8" inch thick boards for laser cutting. It's strong and it can be layered for strength or design elements. I am not making structural items. 

The laser will happily knife through 1/4" sheets, but the smoke and time are incredible. I personally cut 1/4" wood on the tablesaw. It's faster and cleaner. 

For smaller items, I move down to 1/16" plywood, but the use case is particular to me. I don't suggest either 1/16 or 1/4 inch unless you actually have a use case for them. I made bowls out of 1/16", but the process is mind-numbing. They are cute, but not really fun. 

You will need one more thing that I am not suggesting. Laser goggles or glasses. Make sure you are wearing those. The reason I don't suggest a brand or type is that I would be guessing as to what you need. Get yourself a second pair, just to cover drops or loss from the company that sold you the laser. They will be exactly what you need, but always more expensive for that certainty. You can't fix your eyes, so make sure you have laser-safe goggles. 

The next few posts are going to hop from lasers to D&D and back again. Stay tuned. 

Out of Order in the Court!

I keep mentioning how I want to run X2 - Castle Amber as a solo adventure because the characters in my last solo adventure lost all of their gold and equipment. This state disallowed X2 - Isle of Dread. No cash for a ship. This also creates a couple of side issues. 

First, the Bills are in the playoffs. Second, the party is too small. Third, I have a bunch of laser crafts to finish. And suppose that someone should do the dishes and laundry. 

Ok. Laundry and Dishes are done. 

I'm back to the main issue at hand. 

I need more characters. So I rolled up a few to reach the 36 levels needed for X2. I'll describe a few of them after the list, because I stole their names from good books. 

Yes, this is turning into an Amazon Ad. 

• Merry the Halfling, Paladin, 4th level
• (Ana) Khouri, Post Human, Fighter, 4th level
• Lance, Human, Fighter, 1st level
• Alexei, Elf, Bard, 2nd level
• Pizzaballa, Elf, Cleric, 2nd level
• Nodonn, Human, Fighter, 4th level

I stole the following names from books: Merry is from The Lord of the Rings, Ana Khouri is from Revelation Space, and Nodonn Battlemaster is from the Many-Colored Land Series. Pizzaballa was stolen from a real person: He is a Cardinal at the Vatican. I find that hilarious. 

Let's start with Merry. In every edition of D&D that I own, Halflings are not allowed to be paladins. In 3.5 and beyond, it is possible. The reason I allow Halfling Paladins is, according to LotR lore, by any imaginable measure, Merry, Pippin, and Sam all became powerful heroes and leaders. Technically, they do not remotely match a D&D Paladin except in name, but I allow it. Here is a link to the books. This is a link to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The next two links are also Amazon ads.  

Nodonn Battlemaster is a lord from the book The Nonborn King, a part of the Many-Coloured Land Series. He is an alien, but I cast him as a human. His people, the Tanu, are the prototype for Elves. 

The last character I stole is the most interesting, in my opinion. My campaign world is post-apocalyptic, so Ana Khouri is stolen from a series of science fiction novels, Revelation Space. She has travelled to the stars before returning home to Earth. She is thousands of years old, thanks to high-tech rejuvenations and time dilation. She has been many things: spacer to soldier, mother, and assassin. 

With that background in place, she should have all kinds of superpowers. I decided against that. She does have some special abilities: She has infravision and vision like a starlight scope. She has machines in her blood that make her immune to two very particular spells: slow and haste. This is because she has been engineered for long life. She also receives the maximum number of HP per level. 

Mechanically, she started life having 18s in every stat, but as she ages and becomes more removed from the high-tech society that did this to her, all of her stats are falling. She appears typical for a human fighter of this epoch. Her highest stat is a 17 in Dex. She is agile like a dancer, but not inhumanly so. 

Having described these new characters, I can list off the remaining characters from my B2 sessions: 

• Solvo, Elf, 3rd level
• Thomas, Cleric, 3rd level
• Jude (aka Punch), Knight, 2nd level
• Rety, Thief, 3rd level
• Dorian, Cleric, 3rd level
• Sybil, MU, 4th level
• Belaphon (aka Bel), MU, 3rd level

In reading over the module, there are no particular items the player characters need. I have decided that the party has 6 healing potions. The old party will keep all of the items they used to have, but have accidentally misplaced the Eyes of the Eagle. They lost those, like I do with my glasses, 3 times a day. 

The new party members will have magical main weapons, but they lack other magic items. Two of them have an elven chain, which is AC 4 due to the craftsmanship, not magic.  

The only magic item I had my eye on was a Staff of Healing. But it felt unnecessary as the party has 3 clerics and a paladin, plus those 6 healing potions. Castle Amber has a lot of nooks and crannies to hide in for healing. A magical healing device is pointless. 

The next challenge will come soon enough. I need to plan a dinner for 13 people at Chateau d' Amberville. I shall consult with my family. 

One of the issues with this meal plan is how time-consuming it is. Each and every character is being offered 10 items, for a grand total of 130 choices, and 36 of them don't mean anything. It's like going to Panera Bread on Hangover Day. The line is long and grumpy. I need to find a way to streamline this. What I had in mind doesn't seem very good. I will get back to you once I finish this deadly meal plan. 

Erase-Rewind X2 Castle Amber

 When we last left Rety and the gang, I promised an adventure to X1 Isle of Dread. 

Erase and Rewind, because I've been changing my mind. 

The problem with X1 following B2 Keep on the Borderland is that my party lost nearly all of its resources in exchange for survival. They have no means to get a ship, short of some divine intervention. I could just make it so because it's my solo game, but I really don't want to do it. It seems like cheating. 

I have been replacing all of the modules and books I lost over the years. X2 Chateau d'Amberville was next on the list, and by providence, it arrived today. I've spent 3 hours poring over it. It's as good and crunchy as I remember it. I have to say, this was massive good luck. I don't think I waited more than 12-14 days for the POD to arrive. 

Thank you, DriveThruRPG. 

This module shaped my DM style. It's one of those modules you MUST read to understand. It has some warts, but if you're a good DM, you can make those sticky points pure magic. This is why you must read and re-read the whole module to understand where you are going. 

I want to write a review of this module so bad, but I will have to wait until I have some time off. In the meantime, check out Tim Brannan's The Other Side Blog post on Castle Amber. Tim covers all of the various iterations and many of the source materials, which are just as good as this module. 

Today, I will share how this one module changed my DM style. 

I purchased this at Kay-Bee Toys in the mall. The X2 came out in 1981. It was years before I saw it in the mall. I would guess the summer of 1985. At the time, I played in three very different groups. Group one was older players, like my parents' age. They focused on tactics and combat like a wargame. The second group consisted of all my friends' older brothers and sisters, who were familiar only with D&D, not wargaming. And then there was my Kiddie Table D&D group, us tweeners who were still learning how to play. 

The first time I played this module, it was a disaster. In the first two encounters, three-quarters of the party died. And they didn't understand what was happening. This is a 44-year-old module; you're getting spoilers. So if you don't want that, "Please stop reading now," as the good book says. 

The party wandered into John-Louis Amber's Salon. One character died of blunt force trauma, and two more were knocked out.  

I didn't know that could happen. That wasn't really an option in previous sessions or modules. I should have read the whole thing through. But I didn't. I figured the textboxes would be enough. It worked before.  

Magic in a Bottle

In the next room, the killing really began. As the party ate, they dropped like flies without ever really knowing why. They didn't know I was secretly rolling saving throws, and the food was the cause. They were baffled because I simply read the text to them, and they accepted everything I said without really making choices. No agency is deadly in and of itself. 

Confused, they wandered back to John-Louis and questioned him. This ended up in a brawl where most of the rest of the party died. The 3 survivors wander back to the foyer, desperate to find a way out. 

No one was happy, but no one was exactly angry. I muttered something like, "Next time, let's do something different." 

In the next session, I declared that events in Castle Amber had been a dream, and everyone was still alive. However, I also took the time to read the whole damn module. I was going to be a great DM, and this was the module that would make it happen. I could feel it.  

The party went on a side quest or four. At the end of each session, the characters found themselves dreaming about fog hemming them in. In the follow-up session, I never mentioned the odd dreams but ended again with the dreams of fog. I kept this up for a while. 

Through this series of adventures, the older kiddos were watching. Sometimes mocking, sometimes helping, but hardly very interested. They weren't intentionally mean. They were just 18 to 20-year-olds watching 12 to 13 play a game they had mastered to the point of near boredom. They probably would have quit playing D&D to move on to all of the things young adults do when they hit college age. 

Stuff, I was trying very hard to learn myself. I worked up the courage to introduce X2 again. 

First, I told my players I wanted to replay X2 Chateau d'Amberville. But this time, I wouldn't screw it up. They nodded in assent or maybe agreement that I had screwed it up.   

I gave them a piece of paper that looked similar to the one below and ducked outside for a cigarette. 

My five friends examined the paper, perplexed. Perplexed because no one in the 80s would smoke outside, not even a 13-year-old kid. They were left to stew for a few minutes. Just outside, below the window, were the older kids. I grabbed my bag out of the garage and pulled out a rope. 

I asked my friend's older brother to pull the rope when I opened the window. He thought it was odd but agreed. 

Back inside, I suspect the players had been going through my notes, as I planned. I adjusted my notes and handed my would-be girlfriend the end of the rope and took my place. I didn't have a screen. I just had the seat next to the window because I smoked. 

Maybe this is how Castle Amber looks.

I described the approach to Castle Amber, with the fog and darkness that they had all dreamed of closing in for real. One of the mules wandered off into the mist. 

I lit a cigarette. I used the smoke to describe the fog hemming the foyer in. As the smoke got too thick, I opened the window. 

The rope jerked. 

Howls erupted from the table. Followed by laughter from outside. The rope jerked again. 

"Something has the mule," I said calmly. 

Evil cackles came from the window as the rope jerked again and again. Who couldn't resist going overboard? Older teenagers, tormenting younger siblings and their friends, that's who. 

I told the party something evil was in the fog, mocking and laughing. 

Before long, the gang outside had to see what was happening and came in to watch. 

The party advanced to the Salon and the makeshift boxing ring. I lit up the table by having John-Louis remember them. He mentioned it was not that odd for the dead to walk the halls of Castle Amber. 

That's when I had everyone. 

The older siblings and friends wanted to play this, and there was a mad dash for paper, pencil, and dice. Suddenly, I had 11 people at my table, hanging on my every word. I didn't just hook the kids at the table. I had adults wanting to play my game. 

The party boxed again, but under slightly different rules. 0 HP would not kill you. I declared it was non-lethal damage that could turn deadly if they were too injured. Being forewarned, the party was more careful. 

John-Louis tutted at them when one of the Clerics healed a downed fighter. "Cheaters never prosper," he said. 

I knew what I missed before. I needed to paint pictures with words, and nothing drives that home like making an NPC step out of the pages. 

A Boxer, Demos Magen.

More fireworks went off in the next boxing session. The players had lost most of their money to John-Louis, and they combined all of their cash and resources to fight again, this time with a magically enhanced fighter. Bless and Strength gave the fighter the win. 

Then poof! It happened. A cleric cast cure light wounds on the Demos Magen, and it rose again. 

"Why would you want to do that?" asked John-Louis. "I wouldn't waste my time if I were you." 

The table went silent. My friend's older sister hissed and ran from the table, grabbing her bag from the closet. She pulled out a book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. (This is a link to Amazon.com and the book in question. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

"You have got to read this!" she said. 

When you are 13 and an 18-year-old woman hands you a book, you accept. She dog-eared several pages and took us all on a tangent about "Quality". I had brought Quality to my game.  

"This is so cool," her boyfriend said. "What happens next?" 

I agreed, it was cool. I was being praised by adults. Not for the first time, but in the most high-quality, public way. 

John-Louis was not impressed. He ordered the defeated, but healed Demos Magen to the corner and had it switch places with one of the guardian Magens. Two more fights, and the party was better than even with John-Louis. Pleased with the gold they won, they made their goodbyes. 

Knowing what would happen next, I gave the party a cruel parting gift. John-Louis ordered the two defeated Demos Magen to go with the party, as if they were somehow damaged, less than what they were. He was throwing them away. 

Bastard. 

The party encountered a wandering monster in the halls, a half-dozen Rakasta. The party ran to the study and crashed through the door. 

The lead Rakasta bellowed, "Get out!" 

Before the party could act, the six Rakasta from the hallway came in and ejected them. Now, I didn't roll reactions. I just thought the whole idea was intriguing and so did the players. 

Not everything has to be super deadly here, especially the still living creatures. They could be dangerous, but they are because the world they live in is dangerous. Why take needless risks? 

The party just left John-Louis and his totally dismissive attitude towards kindness, mercy, and compassion. Why couldn't the next room have people who were gruff but not cruel? 

It certainly piqued the party's interest. They were looking for the next challenge, the next would-be villain, the next hook. We played this one module for months. Since we played this one module for months. I could go on forever, but I won't. When I come back, I will have that review and a series of solo sessions in Castle Amber. 

Returning to the Party

I used the OSE rule set for my last solo campaign run. You can get a copy from DriveThruRPG. This is the super bundle; you can actually pick and choose from various titles rather than purchase the whole bundle.  

I plan on taking the party to the Isle of Dread; however, I need to reboot the group. 

In the last session for the Keep on the Borderlands, the party lost several characters: Lefty and Slammer, Celia, and Dorin, plus several other unnamed NPCs. Additionally, some of the characters have changed wildly. 

Punch now uses his real name, Jude, and has become dedicated to the priests at the Keep. I imagine this is a tiny religious group based in the kingdom to the west of the Keep. Jude is now adventuring to become a fine and proper knight, with lordly guidance. In this case, he is seeking a religiously minded lord. While this might sound more like a Paladin's quest, it makes sense in the context of how he became a Knight in the wilderness.  

Sybil took an evil, murderous turn. She has returned west with the party to seek out her family and get herself back. Rety has joined her. Sybil's father is a magic user and adventurer, and her mother is a ranger. The two women hope to find some solace from the wise and experienced parental units. Rety isn't traveling with Sybil for support, but for self-healing. At the family home, Rety spends her days on a small boat on the family pond, trying to find some way to pick up her life after the disaster in the Caves of Chaos. She lost many friends and blames herself. 

The rest of the party: Dorian, Thomas, Belaphon, and Solvo took the same path as Sybil, Jude, and Rety. The tables have turned, and they now follow Simon the Drover and his two daughters. They have been making ends meet by performing guard duties for various shipments and caravans, but the work is very boring. 

On the positive side, Hender and Sonny have tagged along, and the party is vaguely amused by Sonny's attempt at a relationship with one of the drover girls. He has no idea what he is doing, which pleases Bela and Liz to no end. They haven't had this much positive attention before. Simon is less enthusiastic about Sonny's misadventures with his daughters, but remains aloof. It's a lot like watching a puppy learn how to socialize. Or house broken. Or something like that. 

The first issue I have in setting up X1 - Isle of Dread is that the party has no ship. They also have very few funds. In fact, Simon, Bela, and Liz are the only people with any significant funds, as Rety was paying them a lot. The adventuring party could sell of some of their goods to make up the funds and supplies they lost. Rety did leave several thousand gold back at the Keep, but that leaves them dozens of thousands short to purchase a ship. 

I am tinkering with OSR Solo to brainstorm ideas. There is a lot of meta going on here, as I run down things that seem reasonable, but after reflection are somewhat unworkable. I'll let you know how that goes. 

One choice that I have solidified is that Hender, Sonny, Liz, Bela, and Simon will be on that ship, but as NPCs that won't adventure much. That leaves the core group of Jude, Dorian, Thomas, Belaphon, Solvo, and Sybil. They will need new friends to adventure with. These new adventurers will not be the remnants of the NPC party they met in the Caves of Chaos. They are done as adventurers and have set up shop in the Keep. Maybe they will come back someday. 

I really haven't been using figures for this project, but I have to tell you, a collection of plastic dinosaurs sounds great right about now. Here is a link to a good-sized set on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

I hope you join me for this new adventure coming in December or, more likely, January 2026. 

Amazon Christmas List - The Drawing Edition

Now that I am back with Amazon, I have decided to put together a shopping list of items I always have on hand for drawing and planning game sessions. For D&D or any other tabletop game, you really only need pencils, dice, and graph paper. However, once you get into it, the basics will never do. You WANT the fancy stuff. 

Let's start with the disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

I will start with the most basic item on my list: The bound 8.5x11" Sketchbook. Usually, the paper is plain, white, with a slight tooth. The paper is 128 gsm or 80# to 90# paper. Often they are canvas or black faux leather-bound. I prefer canvas, but my current sketchbook is black and leather-like. 

This particular sketchbook has micro-perforated pages for easy removal. 

The pencil set is also great for general drawing, both in the sketchbook or on graph paper. I swear by Faber-Castell, but if you don't like name-brand, look for a set that has HB, 2B, and 8B. I find those work well when drawing on graph paper. The HB is for roughing things out, the 2B is good for shading, and the deep dark 8B is great for outlining. 

As you can see from my set, I have lost the eraser and replaced it with a gum eraser and sharpener. The Faber-Castell 11 Piece Pitt Graphite Tin Set is handy for storage, and you can easily replace or swap out different items. Often, I have a piece of sandpaper rammed under the plastic carrier. 

Next are my pens. I use two different kinds: the Faber-Castell sepia brown pens and the Faber-Castell black sets. The horse drawing above was done with the sepia pens. Like the pencil set, I have a couple of these pens on hand. Usually, they are sold in collections of 4, but I have supplemented my collection. 

I do have a secret weapon not pictured above. They are Sharpie fine point pens. They are great for writing and excellent for stippling. I don't have a link to these on Amazon. I find my local stores carry them, and I don't buy them in large quantities. 

To be honest, you can totally use the Faber-Castell pens for writing or stippling, but they are a little on the expensive side for general writing. I do know the nibs hold up for stippling, but I feel that the action feels too abusive for such a nice pen. 

That is just me being me. 

Next up is the leatherbound notebook. I have several. I swear they are like crack. Exactly why I have so many is no mystery; my kids get me one for Christmas every year. The one pictured above is a basic A5 notebook. You can easily find refills for it on Amazon. Oddly, I can't find my exact one pictured above, only the refills. 

The last item is a repeat of the above, in a slightly different style. It has very rough, deckle-edged paper grouped in gatherings or quires. This makes the book not refillable. Pity, but I love mine. It feels like something from Myst. 

The tree drawing was done on this style of paper. I really enjoy this. 

And I hope you have enjoyed this list. Be on the lookout for future Amazon lists. 

 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 - Session 10 - Dragon Fire and Prune Juice

Good Evening! I am itching to paint some figures, but I also don't want to let this series go. Please excuse the unpainted and half-painted figures.  

Our party was surprised by a well-armed band of adventurers wandering the valley of the Caves of Chaos. They were more surprised that their mule had escaped the kobolds for several days running and had become a regular denizen of the Caves. 

Norin spotted the new group first and alerted everyone. The two Knights blocked up the secret entrance to the ogre cave with the stone treads and met the rest of the party at the main entrance. Rety and Celia wormed their way under the chain and wheel contraption for a better look. 

Rety, I think.

"The first one is a Thief," whispers Rety. "They have two Fighters and two Magic-Users." 

"Right," answered Celia. "And the skinny lady has to be a Cleric. Look at that holy water sprinkler."

Rety hissed in amusement. The "sprinkler" was studded with large metal knobs, and the woman appeared like she watered it with blood, frequently. 

Celia crawled back to explain the situation before Rety made a decision to call to the newcomers. They looked mean. She never got the chance. 

The other party turned away, looking to the kobold caves. 12 of the little beasties came out in formation. 6 held large shields with large spikes on the bottom. In their tiny hands, they looked like mantlets, a piece of siege equipment the Castlian brought to the Keep. The other six lugged crossbows, two each. They only ventured 20 feet out of their cave, and the shield bearers drove the spike of each shield into the ground. 

One of the women, a Magic-User, waved her arms, and an eye-bending shimmer of light appeared between the groups. Three bolts shattered against the shield spell, but a fourth winged the Cleric who was too wide of the barrier. 

As the newcomers took refuge behind their shield spell, Rety dragged her belly on the floor to get back to her team. 

He looks like a Punch. 

"Punch and Lefty, open the secret door! Slammer and Solvo, get your bows ready, but wait for my signal. Dorian, back them up, but don't expose yourself. Bel, give them a shield," she ordered. The men ran off to comply. 

"Thomas, I want you here with Dorin and Celia. I want you to lift the chains and wheels when I call." 

They nodded and took up the rope Dorin had rigged to his contraption.  

"Come on, Sybil. On your belly, with me," said Rety.

Sybil took a crossbow, a quiver of arrows, and another of bolts with her as she slid on her back. She was ever non-compliant. Rety kissed her magic ring of protection and wiggled her way back to the entrance. 

The newcomers and the kobolds hunkered down behind their respective shields, exchanging missiles. It was clear the newcomers were considering the caves to the south with trepidation. The kobold crossbowmen were working with their shieldbearers. The bearers reloaded for them, allowing them to fire every round instead of every other round. 

I deemed this effective but slow. The kobolds always lose initiative when doing this and also fire last. I also deemed the prior two sentences should have been one sentence with a semicolon connector, but no one but AI uses semicolons in 2025. Goddamn AI, bane of my existence. This is why I use a 1999 iBook for writing. 

It gave me a semicolon like I wanted. However, it left the redundant "but". 

I thought Bel would be younger.

The one thing that AI does do well is track characters and locations, so long as those locations are well labeled. Bel, Dorian, Lefty, Punch, Solvo, and Slammer were in room 22, removing the stone treads they had just put there. Punch and Lefty, trying to be true Knights, didn't swear too much. Rety and Sybil were in the cave mouth while Dorin, Celia, and Thomas were holding the rope to let them back in quickly. The 3 mules were munching breakfast quietly in the L-shaped hall, left of the intersection to the cave mouth. 

And in room 17, 3 giant rats wiggled their way out of the debris blocking the stairs. They snuck up on and surprised Dorin, Celia, and Thomas. Instead of attacking, all three went through the motions of washing their faces with their paws. A small necklace fell from each rat's neck before they fled back to room 17, with Thomas in pursuit. Dorin inspected the necklaces; each was a simple piece of twine with copper coins strung on it. 

A very militant-looking Cleric. 

Thomas entered room 17 in time to see the rats disappear back into the pile of debris clogging the stairs. He couldn't stop them. He also couldn't think of a single reason why they would enter and then flee. Cursing, he retreated back to the cave mouth. 

"I'll do the missiles, you do the shield," Rety said to Sybil. 

Sybil nodded. All of the action was happening to the left of the cave mouth. Rety moved to the right to get a better angle and waited for the fighters to appear from the ogre cave. 

In the meantime, the new Fighters unleashed arrows on the kobolds, and the Cleric and the Thief pelted them with bullets. It was a stalemate. The kobolds wore chain armor and had a plus 2 bonus from the giant shields they hid behind. Relatively speaking, they had a wall rather than individual shields. 

Rety edged to the right of the cave mouth, trading range for a better angle. When the fighting men stepped out, she struck one kobold dead with an arrow. The fighting men knew a signal when they saw one. Punch and Lefty charged, Solvo and Slammer arching arrows over their heads. 

And the trap was sprung. 

From above, 6 bolts whistled overhead, striking both of the new Fighters and one of the Magic-Users. Mercifully, it wasn't the Magic-User controlling the shield spell. 

At my table, once a spell is in effect, except if the description says otherwise, it will not fall. Unless the caster died, that is. If a caster is getting ready to prep a spell and gets hit, I declare the action is prevented. They don't lose it; they just can't cast it now and have to start over in the next round. If they have completely prepped the spell, then get hit, that hit foils the spell and results in losing it. I am semi-generous because of the relatively few spells low-level casters have. In AD&D, this is a common thing. Due to the way B/X works, it is far less common.      

The newcomers are under serious threat, but not completely screwed, yet.

Slammer. The name was taken from the book
What is Dungeons and Dragons?

In the next round, Solvo, Slammer, and Dorian fired at the hobgoblins to break up their reloading, while Lefty and Punch advanced on the Kobolds. Slammer rolls a luck 20 and 6 combo, killing one hobgoblin. The other Magic-User and Sybil threw up shield spells. Bel hung back since the team was doing well. 

The hobgoblins retreated back out of sight to finish their reload. Rety downs another kobold with a good roll. The kobolds fire furiously, 11 shots that all miss because the heroes have bunched together behind the shield spell. 

There is a difference between crossbows and arrows, one part training and one part mechanics. Arrows obviously can arch through the air to hit targets at greater ranges. Crossbows can also arch, but they lose effectiveness fast. It's harder to do and not obvious to do unless one is also an archer. The hobgoblins aren't great crossbowmen or archers. 

Elves, like Solvo, look better without helms. 

Solvo and Slammer loosed two arrows over the ridge where the hobgoblins are hiding. They missed, but the arrows gave the hobgoblins pause, and they took cover. Rety and Dorian took potshots at the kobolds. In the momentary break, the newcomers begin to move to the orge's door and safety. 

The heroes won the initiative and began moving, while Rety's team discouraged the enemy with additional missile fire. The problem with winning initiative is that you go first. There were no easy targets, and all of the party's missiles were wasted before the hobgoblins popped out to respond. 5 of the kobolds do the same. The effect was devastating. The only newcomers not hit were the mages behind their shield spells. Punch slung his shield to pick up the Thief while Lefty assisted the Cleric in a hobbled run to the orge cave. 

The party lost initiative, but only had to fend off the kobolds for the round as the hobgoblins reloaded. Rety struck another kobold, causing it to leap behind a shield. 

Back inside, Celia noticed an odd noise, a gurgling sound. She checked the water barrel and shrugged. Thomas sends her to check the other barrels in 17 and 18. Celia dashed to room 17 first, as room 18 had ready guards. 

Celia discovered the water barrel in room 17 was also intact, but an odd smell permeated the room, like oil, alcohol, and strangely, prunes. Outside, above the mouth of Rety's cave, a mixed group of goblinoids rained bolts down on the newcomers and the Knights. Rety was grazed by a spear from above, and Sybil found herself hemmed in the entrance, her shield spell protecting only her. 

"Lift!" yelled Sybil. 

The two heroes pulled the chain and wheels out of the way. The escaping party, the Cleric, Thief, Fighter, and Knights, bore the brunt of the missile fire. The Thief was killed instantly, and Lefty threw the unconscious Cleric over his shoulder. 

Celia searched around the room for the source of the smell and gurgling. It came from the clogged stairway. A fluid ran down the slope from under the debris. The smell of prune brandy*, oil, and other vile and volatile liquids accompanied it. A blue flame licked over the surface.

"DRAGON FIRE!" yelled Celia. 

A massive whomp shook the Caves of Chaos, stunning everyone near room 17. 

Sybil.

Lefty and Punch deposited their charges in the orge cave and took up a rear guard as the other retreated with the dead and wounded. Thomas flailed, clutching his ears as smoke wafted from room 17. Dorin lay still. 

Rety and Sybil emerged from under the wildly swaying chain of wheels. Sybil ran off, following the smoke, while Rety collided with Bel coming from the other direction, seeking answers or at least orders. Rety motioned for him to tend the wound and dashed to the western rooms to see what other trouble she could find. 

Bel tended to Thomas, knowing the Cleric could help Dorin. Rety continued on to the room with the secret door.  

The scorecard looks very bad. Rety, Thomas, Punch, Lefty, the two Magic-Users, and the new Fighter were all wounded. The new Cleric, a Fighter, and the Thief were dead. So were two of the three mules. Celia was missing, and Dorin lay dying. The new Magic-Users only have one 1st-level spell left each. Bel, Thomas, and Dorian have all of their spells available, while Sybil has expended one first-level spell.  

Lefty matches Punch.

Outside, the orcs came down from their perch as the kobolds, goblins, rats, and hobgoblins advanced on the main entrance to the heroes' home. Rety* and the Knights argued about blocking up the secret door. 

(*Edit - I botched reading my notes and said this was Sybil. Sybil went the other direction and is nowhere near the Knights. It was Rety.) 

Under all of the shouting, Punch muttered, "If I live through this, I'll start using my real name." 

Lefty and Rety looked askance at him before continuing their bickering about honor vs. hiding.  

In Session 11, we will learn what the Caves of Chaos have in store for the heroes and how they will react to this loss.  

*Prune brandy is just the sort of stuff that I would think goblins would drink. In the real world, as near as I can tell, no one makes actual prune brandy. Plum brandy is unaged brandy, while what is called prune brandy is aged plum brandy. That is aging in barrels, not aging the plums or prunes. I would think there would be a difference. 

I am throwing an ad here for very little reason. I strongly suggest reading "What is Dungeons and Dragons" by John Butterfield, Philip Parker, and David Honigmann. I have seen several covers, but I don't know if they were different runs or different covers for different markets. As always, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The first link leads to my 2020 review (below the picture), and this link leads to an Amazon page for the book. 

As always, thank you for reading along and supporting me. 

The Keep on the Borderlands 2025 Sessions - The One About Mechanics

This post is about some of the mechanics I use in Keep on the Borderlands. This module was contemporaneous with AD&D and came out just a bit before the Expert Boxed Set. No one would have had those rules at the time of B2’s publication, which creates all sorts of oddities. I personally use Old School Essentials by Necrotic Gnome over the original Basic and Expert rules because I was able to obtain them in hard copy. As of right now, the B/X rules are available in POD, so I will probably order these for nostalgic reasons. 

All of the links above go to DriveThruRPG. I earn from qualifying purchases.

Looking at the module, the map scales are poor. The Caves of Chaos combine both interior and exterior maps, but the transition between them is awkward. The interior maps are fine, yet the valley floor is a ridiculously tight space. I’ve covered these complaints elsewhere, and none of them are deal-breakers. I simply ignore what I want or come up with reasonable rules of thumb. About 99% of these adjustments favor the players, so they don’t object either.

The second issue is the wandering monsters. Every area lists specific wandering monsters, then claims that no reinforcements are possible. Elsewhere, the text mentions that new monsters will move into cleared areas of the caves. Some versions of the module even include a wandering monster table completely different from the earlier lists. What a mess! All of these ideas contradict one another.

Here’s what I do with these conflicting rules: I condense all the wandering monster lists down to creatures that actually appear in the module. Four times a day, I roll for wandering monsters: Sunrise, noon, sundown, and midnight. If the result matches a group that has been depleted, I treat it as reinforcements for that group’s location. 

If I roll a monster type that hasn’t taken losses, I use the reaction table. If the result is neutral, the newcomers move on. If it’s positive, they join the home team. Even if there are no losses to replace. They are evenly divided among all relevant locations. If the result is hostile, a fight breaks out between the newcomers and the cave’s inhabitants. I don’t bother running the combat; I simply roll damage for both sides. Nine times out of ten, the newcomers are wiped out, leaving their gear and treasure behind for the victors. Oddly, if there is a net loss of monsters, the survivors come out on top because they have better gear and treasures. 

The fun part is that the players get unpredictable new encounters without knowing where these monsters came from. Just like you. I’ve been rolling for reinforcements through all nine sessions so far, though I hadn’t mentioned it in my posts until now. 

There’s one catch to all this: you only roll while the game is in session. If a session lasts a day, that’s four rolls. If a time break occurs, for example, if the party retreats to the Keep, you don’t roll for that downtime. Rolling for every day that passes, regardless of player activity, would flood the area with monsters. Wandering monsters should be a randomized response to player action; if the players are inactive, no roll should be made.

The party has been here for 5 days, for 20 wandering monster rolls. Monsters are rolling into the area due to all the strife. Here are the results, in order of appearance: 

Giant Rats (4), Owlbear (1), Kobolds (10), More Rats (5), Goblins (3), Goblins (6), and a group of traders. 

The rats and Owlbear all gravitated to Cave G, more than restoring that area. The party saw this happen, but missed the rats. The goblins and kobolds went to their known haunts and became reinforcements; the party probably saw this, but didn't understand these were new creatures and not the remaining survivors.  

I decided to give the trader a chance to live by generating a party traveling with a high-level magic user. You can use the same generator here. I then deleted every character over the second level, leaving 6 characters. 

For this run through the Caves of Chaos, the players did something unusual. They haven’t really fought the kobolds. Kobolds are generally weak and tend to attract player aggression. I’ve played them as opportunists, striking only when the players seem weak or distracted. Since I’ve run this module half a dozen times before, I wanted to avoid another head-on clash with the kobolds. I already know how that plays out.

The next session will start with the appearance of the wandering party. 

If you like the goblin and kobold figures, you can find them in your local hobby shop or perhaps on Amazon, here and here. They even have an Owlbear. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Book Review - A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle

Title: A Fine and Private Place
Author: Peter S. Beagle
Year: 1960
Pages: 272 pages
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Peter S. Beagle’s A Fine and Private Place is a novel that doesn't fit neatly in a category. Part fantasy, part meditation, part quirky slice-of-life, it’s the sort of story that sinks its teeth into you. This is Beagle's first book, published about 8 years before his best-known book, The Last Unicorn. 

The links above are to AbeBooks, I earn money from your qualifying purchases. 

Honathan Rebeck was a former pharmacist who transferred to the Yorkchester Cemetery in an unknown big city for reasons unknown. While reading the book, I kept flip-flopping between Chicago and New York City in my mind, but it isn't either. It's a snapshot of a bustling city wrapped around green spaces, subways, museums, and cemeteries. It's anywhere in the 1960s. 

The setting is brilliant: Yorkchester Cemetery. It’s here that Jonathan Rebeck, who has withdrawn from the world, has chosen to live. His home is a mausoleum. He is befriended by a talking raven that delivers food and news as needed. The raven is one of my favorite characters in the book. He’s blunt, greedy, funny, and oddly wise in his way of constantly reminding Rebeck that, no matter how withdrawn from society you become, the living have daily needs. 

The cemetery is also home to the newly dead, who linger as ghosts for a while. Among them are Michael and Laura, two spirits who meet after death and fall in love. Their romance is heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. They know their time together is limited. They will eventually move on and fade to an unknown fate, but they cling to one another anyway. Their relationship is the emotional anchor of the story. 

Gertrude Klapper, a widow who visits her husband’s grave and ends up entangled in Rebeck’s strange little world. Unlike Rebeck, Gertrude isn’t hiding from life. At least not exactly. She’s practical, witty, and a little sharp-tongued. She offers Rebeck something he hasn’t had in years: real conversation, companionship, and the possibility of a future. The romance between them unfolds slowly, but it feels real, grounded not in passion or youthful idealism but in shared loneliness and the desire to live again.

As much as Rebeck has withdrawn, Gertrude only superficially interacts with the living beside Rebeck. Appearing more engaged, Gertrude is looking and failing to find more in life outside of the cemetery. But inside, she joins Rebeck's weird little clan and demonstrates rather than learns acceptance. 

The title of the novel is from Andrew Marvell's poem, To His Coy Mistress: “The grave’s a fine and private place, but none, I think, do there embrace.” Beagle takes that line and asks: What if people do embrace them? What if love and hope could still flourish after death? That’s the novel’s central question, and answered well. 

And that’s what I love most about A Fine and Private Place: it isn’t about excitement, instead focusing on characters and adventure. There are no battles, no magical systems, no apocalyptic stakes. The drama comes from conversations, small choices, and fleeting connections. It’s a novel about people learning, very quietly, how to live, how to let go, and most importantly, how to love.

The ending manages to be both sad and hopeful. Some characters move on, both literally and figuratively, while others take tentative steps back into life. There’s no neat bow tied around everything, but that’s exactly the point. Life and death don’t work that way. What Beagle offers instead is a reminder that impermanence doesn’t make love or connection meaningless. It makes them precious and joyous. 

You can also purchase this book on Amazon.com with this link. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Happy News!

This is a weird and happy update. 

Back in March of 2022, I received a bit of bad news. Amazon ended my Associate account. This ended an important source of revenue for my website. It also caused a headache; I had to go back and remove all affiliate links to Amazon. Well, as painful as it was, an agreement is an agreement. 

Last month, I vaguely mentioned this in a post, and amazingly, Amazon reached out to reinstate my account! This is great. I really appreciate the extra effort and being invited back to promote items I already use. 

So, we are back on with the Amazon Ads. As I previously stated, all ads will be clearly marked. I am in the process of going back through some (limited) posts to re-add previously removed ads. 

Since it was so painful to remove said ads, I have no intention of slapping ads into a ton of old posts. You will mostly see these appear in book reviews and posts where I specifically mention Amazon as a source. I am 100% certain you will see ads on books, just like you do for DriveThruRPG. I am much less likely to plug in an ad where a casual mention of Amazon is made. 

I like my sources of goods to be diversified, and you should, too. If I say a brand name and you see it somewhere else, by all means, use that other source. Be loyal, don't be inflexible. 

Quick Switch Sci-Fi - Invasion of Theed

Last week, I posted a bit about Star Frontiers. I've got a strong urge to play a Sci-Fi themed game. Star Smuggler is all played out. I'm still waiting on some friends to play Traveller, but our county just shut down due to the pandemic scatter all of us to the winds. I was going to introduce my Star Smuggler characters to the Star Frontiers worlds, but the rules are too far apart to port anything except name and general talents. 

Then I saw Invasion of Theed from 2000 sitting on my shelf. I got it for Christmas one year, poured over it for a bit and forgot about it.

Now, it's actually exactly what I am looking for. I had thought it was a super boxed set module, but it isn't. The set is basically a starter set. It's everything you need to play WotC's d20 Star Wars. They billed it as an adventure game, but it's more than that. 

In the box is two booklets, a start sheet, counters and tokens, a folio of character sheets and maps. I don't know if dice were originally included, but requires the standard D&D dice. Apparently, it also came with a Chewbacca figure, but that is long gone. 

I have a thing for maps and artwork, but this set's clear winning component is the character sheets. They are full color, two-side 11x17" sheets with all of the statistics you need plus gameplay hints. I had no idea they were this good. 

I now have the urge to buy a large format printer/scanner combo. 

I'll point you back to my review of the d20 Star Wars Core Book. I didn't set out to write a review, but this set is easily a five star product. Maybe even a five gold star product like Nate Treme's Moldy Unicorn. I don't give those out easily, maybe one every year or two. I'm pretty surprised at that, because I didn't think much of it when I received it back in 00 or 2001. 

As an abridged rule set, not much is missing. Since your using pre-genned characters, you don't need to roll anything to start. Oddly, the characters stats don't appear on the front of the sheet. And that's not bad. The front page mentions all of your combat abilities so it doesn't matter what the stats are. 

Another oddity of the rules are the lack of armor class and such. All actions are determined by "a roll". No "attack roll", no "saving", no "fortitude" stuff, just a target number and the word "roll". 

The DM facing material is the same way. Which makes this more of a complex board game or linear programed adventure. It seems very suitable for solo play, which is what I aim to do. As near as I can tell, every simplified rule conforms with the Core Rules, which is nice. 

May the force be with you...
... And so with you.