For campaign information I am using Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign, plus Dave Arneson's and Dave Ritchie's DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor, DA2 Temple of the Frog, DA3 City of the Gods, and DA4 The Duchy of Ten, all of which contain both adventures and setting information for Blackmoor.
For adventures I am starting with a home brew adventure which is set in the year 1021 NC, in which the PCs are hired by Sildonis ("The Wizard of the Wood") in order to travel from Blackmoor Town to The Northern Downs to surreptitiously enter an abandoned Keep. Within the Keep is a magic crystal that Sildonis wants to use in the ongoing war with The Egg of Coot (one of the last servitors of the Outer Beings, a humanoid which has lost all human shape; the war continues until 1023 NC), and the PCs must find it in and amongst lots of plant based adversaries such as Yellow Mold, Purple Moss, Jupiter Bloodsuckers, and Archer Bushes, all of which reside within or on the grounds of the Keep. There are also a number of Crystal Statues for the PCs to get past, all remnants from the Keep's previous occupants, plus a reclusive chaotic Cleric and three of his Acolytes.
Play began on the 20th of January 2024.
The PCs:
Gregor Williams, the Human Fighter.
Kay Rocklin, the Human Merchant.
Stefan Paske, the Human Sage.
Ari Wildfellow, the Halfling Thief (not from the town of Blackmoor but from the nearby Halfling area of Booh, dragged into the quest whilst visiting Blackmoor town).
All PCs have enough money for their own equipment plus some horses for transport (obviously helped by the fact that there is a Merchant with money and haggling power in the party), but there is only enough money to hire one henchman to aid them. It is agreed that this will be a Ranger with some missile weapon skills - Abbie Megarry, and that they will mind the horses whilst the PCs are dungeon adventurers.
The PCs began their adventure by being called to the edge of the Super Berry Wood by Sildonis. There he met them and he began by warning them that the woods are heavily enchanted and that time passes at a different rate in the woods, so he will meet them here or send a familiar to meet them, and he will always know through his magic when they near the edge of the woods. He told them of their quest and they accepted it, as he will reward them financially upon completion. He also gave them 200 gp for start up expenses, plus the go ahead to keep any other treasure or items that they find on their quest. He also told them that his familiars will keep an eye on them whilst they make their journey to and from the Keep, and that his familiars will guide them if they get lost. Sildonis did not tell them the properties of the crystal, but only that it holds beneficial magic and that they are to bring it to him.
Before they started their journey they spent some time at The Comeback Inn within the town of Blackmoor. There they picked up on two rumours (I allowed one random rumour per two PCs, rounding fractions up) - one true (the Keep contains a treasure even more valuable than a magic crystal) and one false (the Keep is a refuge for a small clan of Goblins).
The PCs began their journey along The Elf Road, meeting a travelling Merchant along the way who warned them of the organic, plant based dangers within the Keep. Whilst on their journey the PCs luckily travelled in only pleasant Spring weather, and they also did not get lost as one of their number - Gregor Williams - has Courier as a secondary skill, which drastically reduced their chances of them losing their way. Once into The Northern Downs the PCs experienced a wandering encounter with two Giant Warrior Ants who were scouting for intruders near their lair. The Ants were defeated after attacking the PCs thinking that they were a threat to their nearby lair. Eventually they reached the gates of the Keep and we called the session quits for the day.
The above gaming session lasted for four-ish hours, but do bear in mind that it incorporated settling players new to the OSR into the feel of the game rules and play style, including making some rough maps of their journey from off The Elf Road, through The Northern Downs, and to the gates of the Keep. It also incorporated setting the scene with the Blackmoor campaign area (some of this was done by email, but I embellished on it at the actual session), character generation, equipment purchase (always time consuming), and some role play with the town merchants (in order to haggle for prices, as one of the PCs is a Merchant himself), Sildonis, The Comeback Inn, and the travelling Merchant who warned them of the organic, plant based dangers within the Keep. Last but not least there was their very first potentially lethal OSR combat encounter with the Giant Warrior Ants.
The second session from January the 27th will be posted before the end of this week. Further sessions will be posted within a couple of days after they are played.
Bill
Edit: The players have yet to make use out of any gunpowder technology. They refused to buy an Arquebus when offered one in Blackmoor town, knowing themselves that gunpowder technology at a medieval level can be unreliable. We shall see if they take up firearms at a later date.
The players are all new to OSR gaming as I have ended up forming a new group for the Blackmoor campaign. One of my long term players from my previous campaign (which was set in Greyhawk) has moved away (not too far away but enough to be a bit of a schlep getting to my place), whilst the other two players from my previous campaign have work or family commitments that are currently conflicting a bit with the schedule at my gaming table. It has been nice to introduce some new players to the OSR. I picked them up at my local games store!
It's an adventure that is set up specifically for newbies. I had another possible adventure to run that's suitable for low level PCs played by players with a bit more experience.