I’m interested in running some old-school D&D with higher-level PCs. A lot of the OSR’s knowledge has been derived through analyses of, and practice with, low-level play. My experience running OSR games has been that as PCs reach “mid” levels, say level 5 or so, a lot of the principles that held true through the earlier stages of the game become less effective. This has contributed to my losing confidence and the eventual petering out of more than one campaign.

So I figure, hey, maybe just run some modules in that range and see what happens.

Easier said than done! The guidance in most old-type D&D on kicking a campaign into gear at higher levels is, uh, sparse.

Here’s how I’m going to do this:

  1. Pick a ruleset.
  2. Pick a module.
  3. Determine starting XP.
  4. Character creation.
  5. Generate magic items.
  6. Determine starting wealth and gear.
  7. Play the game!

The System

I like OSE. I’ve run it a fair bit. It runs well RAW and keeps things simple, so I don’t have to worry too much about house ruling or interpretation.

The Module

I’ll probably go with a classic like Barrier Peaks or Dark Tower. Something with a starting level between 5 and 7. Since I don’t trust my grasp of adventure design at this stage, I’d rather learn from something that appears to have stood the test of time. Any recommendations here are welcome.

While I’m not purposefully focusing on dungeon modules, it seems like a good way of gauging what these characters can accomplish in contained tactical space before throwing them into the more fluid social space of a campaign world.

Starting XP

I specify XP and not level because old school games tend to have different classes advancing at different rates, so this seems like a better equalizer than level.

I’ll base the starting value on the amount of XP required for a Magic-User to reach the bottom of the module’s suggested level range – so if the module says level 5, each PC starts with 20k XP, which means magic-users will be at level 5 whereas thieves will be at level 6. Demi-humans and M-Us with low prime requisites will start below-level. Oh well!

Character Creation

Basically by the book, but with more hit dice rolled and more spell slots to fill. M-Us and elves are welcome to hand-pick their spells, although personally I think it’s more interesting if they roll at least half of them.

Players who want to speed things along can use OSE’s Expert NPC generator (with 5% chance of magic item per level checked) and call it a day.

Magic Items

I think it is fair to assume that an adventuring party at mid-level has accumulated some magic items. If didn’t create your character using the generator linked above, plug your class and level into that same generator, checking the 5% magic item chance option. Keep any magic items the generator spits out. You can swap these with other PCs.

If it becomes relevant, a d6 roll on the table below can indicate how a magic item was obtained. I may ask you to roll for a couple of these right away.

Magic Item Acquisition

  1. Decisively “retrieved” from a dungeon or powerful guardian
  2. Stolen and actively sought
  3. Purchased at exorbitant price and/or under suspect conditions
  4. A gift from a powerful NPC
  5. On loan from a powerful NPC
  6. Fortuitously discovered or inherited

Wealth and Gear

PCs can start with any gear they can carry off the standard gear lists, no worries about the costs.

They also start with 5% of the starting XP value in cash. This can be spent on hirelings, pack animals, fancy gear, etc.

PCs have probably built up a great deal more wealth than this, but it is not available to them at present. Of the remainder, about half has been lost to various adventuring expenses, bribes, vice, charity, bad investments, caprices, resurrection services, and/or accidents. The other half is stashed away, tied up in investments, or has contributed in some way to the enlargement of the PC’s power and social standing. We won’t account for this precisely, but can talk about how it’s been spent if it becomes relevant.

So there it is! That’s how I want to do this. Any links or resources I may have missed on spinning up a campaign like this are, of course, more than welcome.

Also, drop a line if you’d be interested in playing?