The Merry Days of Dolmenwood

  "They say," said the wiry man in a gravelly voice, head drooping in his cups at The Chantry Inn, just outside the looming limestone walls of High-Hankle, "he fell in love... with a woman... a strange and beautiful woman... from the wood. And that was when it started to come undone for the great warrior, Sir Chyde. Now, mind you, this happened, oh, nigh nine hundred years ago, during the last wars of the Dukes of Brackenwold against those frosty elves of the Prince of Winter. And for nine hundred years, the tale has been told, and aye, me own dad told me, many a cold winter night, tall tales of Sir Chyde, riding his great hoary stallion into battle, cutting down elves like scythers in the harvest wheat. He told me how Sir Chyde was struck mortal in battle, and buried by the ring of stones he'd trysted at with the Woman of the Wood... But for all his love, she never visited his grave... For a hundred years, the place was consecrated as holy, as they were wont to do b...

  I know I said I wouldn't bog this blog down with rules and the nitty-gritty, but, before the party well and truly gets started, I want to give a brief explanation of what few house-rules we're using that may diverge from the basic Dolmenwood rules-as-written. Also, I'd like to give a very brief introduction to our players, and their initial characters. Highlighted Rules These were rules from the dolmenwood omnibus that I chose to especially highlight, to make the players aware of. Initiative and waiting (DPB 166) Missiles into Melee (DPB 168) Parrying (DPB 169) Retainers (DPB 134) Sages & Specialists (DPB 132) Ability Checks, Skill Checks, and Change Rolls (all very similar to other OSR systems, but slightly nuanced) Stealth (nuanced from other systems) Player mapping - Yes, we'll be using 100% oral-to-paper player mapping, the old school way... Downtime and Stabling - We will be adhering to the spell research and other downtime periods (i.e., weeks, months, etc.....