Just a perfect gem. This is our go to rule set for out OSE game. Cannot recommend this enough.

I have been using the Adventures Dark and Deep rule set in my campaign for some time - we migrated from 1st Edition Dungeons & Dragons to this rule set. I really like the expansion of ideas from items that are are 1st edition, and some clarification of rules. These are well written and illustrated. I have the full rule sets (Game Masters Toolkit and Bestiary as well, and also almost all of the other BRW material). Very happy with my purchases.

Very good adventure! Love the faction play in it, treasure is interesting, enemies are challenging, some rooms have weird/mysterious things in it that will keep the players guessing (in my game, I didn't elaborate on those and let the player ponder and make wrong guesses, but you could certainly riff on those to expand on other things).

Played it in my S&W campaign and, to make a follow-up on my earlier comment here, I don't remember the XP... I do remember that R1 and R2 had more magic item and monster XP than I thought. But anyways, my players were starting to be serious in the domain game at that point and in the end, they did not care at all about the loot and didn't get much.

They were just really excited by the premise! And to get to see many big dinosaurs (with which to make polymorph shenanigans, as S&W has vague spells and our ruling of Polymorph Other makes it really strong if you can capture strong HD but kinda passive creatures). Then, after the adventure, when they realized the time warp, they just got crazy about it. They love it. Had to put a limit saying its magic was fading (either due to the gem breaking the barrier or the Dinosaur Lord death because yeah that happened too).

Anyways... The lesson is, loot don't matter that much when you creative players and a creative adventure to break the routine. Thanks for the fun it brought to our table. Cheers!

This was a great resource for the nautical themed game I DM. I needed a bit of filler between story arches and this was a perfect fit. Here’s is what I used from it:

1. Tension between the crew of NPCs and the players.
2. Gambling
3. Cafeteria brawl.
4. The list of names and stats of the NPC crew. I plan on using the Storm & weather encounter. Well worth the money.

Another fantastic piece of work from Joe Bloch. There are a few good reviews online if you are curious about the content. There is a fantastic level of detail, an extensive new spell list, some fantastic illustrations, campaign types, dreamlands, races, insanity system, etc. I'm familiar with his work through his articles for Dragon magazine and his continued free OGL work in the World of Greyhawk. This book can add some excellent elements to a Greyhawk campaign (Or..any other campaign world) if you wish to make it more Cthuluhawk or add some dark elder god components to your world.....oh and almost forgot...DEFINITELY worth buying in hardcover

This was a fun one. Any quibbles I have with it are minor, but the praise I have for it is major. In a series of scenarios, this adventure will make sure your players know what it is like to deal with the dangers of the seas. There should be more adventures that really put players in representative experiences for different terrain types that emphasize what being there is like. Highly recommend. Here's a walkthrough and review video: https://rumble.com/v3suo79-pirates-of-the-airdish-main-from-od-and-d-rpg-review.html

Imagine "Oriental Adventures" being done better, with better stats, better character options, better monsters, and then imagine it is a huge book with beautiful art. That is what we have here, by the master of going back and fixing old settings and adventures.campaigns, Joseph "Greyhawk Grognard" Bloch. You have to get this book if you have even a pssing interest in 1e, 2e, the OSR, or playing D&D in Asian cultures. This book literally fixes the Monk, the Mystic, and the Thief-Acrobat as well as making other classes more palatable, such as the Bard! I rarely say a book is a must-buy, but this is a MUST-BUY!

If you want to add some Mythos to your OSR you cant go wrong with this book. lots of useful tables, spells and classes.

I've been playing the original first edition AD&D rules system since 1982 and LOVED it! With that being said I have to applaud BRW Games and Joseph Bloch for this amazing rules system. It has everything that an old school gamer like myself absolutely loved about the original AD&D game. I cannot highly recommend this product enough. 5 out of 5 stars.

Well, you do get a ton of dungeon jam packed into this product. Unfortunately, it's not particularly inspired, evocative or easy to use. Indeed, mega-dungeons like this help give the whole genre a bad reputation. There's just not much here to get you excited about running it. The back story is vanilla and cliched. The maps are fine, but nothing special. Most rooms have virtually no description; just a name, which more often than not simply describes the contents such as "Skeletons," "Orcs," etc. Any tween from the 80s could come up with that. Even worse, there aren't full stat blocks, just lists of hit points. So you'll need whatever old school monster book/stats you rely on to run encounters then have to calculate all the XP yourself.

As for the dungeons themselves, they're just okay. There are feeble attempts at creating factions, but much of it doesn't make much sense. And he doesn't really lean much into the Mad Archmage trope with a few exceptions. Traps and tricks tend to be underwhelming too. There is a lame effort to insert orc "work crews" into the dungeon that I just ignored. The sample rival NPC adventuring parties are a bit better done and showcase some of the character classes created for Adventures Dark & Deep, the author's OSR imagining of what 2nd edition AD&D might have been. I also like the "Dungeon Dressing" tables, though they could be expanded.

There is a book of illustrations, but they're pretty amateurish. Better than nothing, but since the room descriptions themselves are generally so lacking, cool images would have helped immensely. There are some new monsters and magic items, but again, nothing especially interesting or inspiring.

All of this is disappointing because in watching the author's youtube videos I was really excited to get this product. But it's just kind of meh. You can at least crib thre maps and adapt the dungeons for something else, which is what I'm doing, basically linking this to the far more interesting Undermountain.

So if you want to put in the work, you do get a lot of potential with this for a decent price. But if you're looking for something exciting to run right out of the box, there are far better megadungeon options out there.

Well, I'm blown away. I'd just like to say this is the most beautiful book I've purchased in a long time. On recieving it, the beautiful cover, the spine matching my old 1st books, and the incredible sense of nostalgia when I opened it - all entries laid out in 1st ed style.. I could have been back in '85 with that same sense of wonder as I opened Unearthed Arcana for the first time. And the content.. superb. If I could only ask for one thing, it would be more. Another volume please! Thank you for the time and care and obvious devotion put into this work, Mr Bloch.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/100-days-of-halloween-adventure-module.html

Adventure Module V3 - Toil and Trouble

PDF and softcover book. 20 pages. Color cover, black & white interior art.

Designed for 4 to 6 characters of 3rd to 5th level.

For this one I have both the PDF and softcover versions. Also, we are given our first real and proper introduction to the "Witch Queen" none other than Natasha. It has everything a good adventure should have. Plots and intrigue, a ruined tower, cultists, caves, giant bugs, new monsters and new spells.

In this one, you have to stop the Dark Star coven dedicated to Natasha.

Again the witches of Natasha are presented as clerics or you can use the BRW Witch class.

I also admit I find the modules colored in Red, Blue, and Green to be very esthetically pleasing.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/100-days-of-halloween-adventure-module.html

Adventure Module V2 - Red in Tooth and Claw

PDF. 12 pages. Color cover, black & white interior art.

Designed for 4 to 6 characters of 2nd to 3rd level.

This one takes place six months after the first adventure in the series. Following the pattern laid down at the time of the earliest adventures this one now includes some hex-crawling with some random encounters. These are encountered before the party returns to Volage. Indeed this module is very explicitly a hex crawl to investigate the area around the Hamlet of Volage. So there is no true purpose or "victory condition" nor should there be. The purpose is the exploration of the surrounding area. Though there is the threat of the Dark Star Coven. Details have to be uncovered before the next adventure can take place. There is a nice little teaser about the "Queen of Witches."

I will admit I not 100% sure why it has to be 6 months later except to allow a season to pass.

The most fun here are the werewolves in the woods.

Originally posted here: https://theotherside.timsbrannan.com/2022/10/100-days-of-halloween-adventure-module.html

Adventure Module V1 - The Hamlet of Volage

PDF. 13 pages (+ covers). Color cover, black & white interior art.

Designed for 4 to 6 characters of 1st to 3rd level.

This is where we get our "V" in the V series; the Hamlet of Volage (not to be confused with the Village of Hommlet a few miles over). This adventure introduces the players (and characters) to Volage which in the middle of a battleground between two warring covens of witches. The Cloven Hoof Coven (Diabolic) and the Dark Star Coven (Demonic).

Though the adventure does not start that big. It begins rather with a rivalry between local families and accusations of witchcraft.

Much like the adventures this is an homage too, we get a nice selection of memorable NPCs. Tables of rumors (some true, some false) and a village.

In this first adventure, you have to deal with the witches (here a subclass of Cleric) of the Cloven Hoof coven. Their patron is Dispater. Nice, great choice. Though there is a note that if you have BRW Games product Darker Paths 2 - The Witch you can use that for these NPCs.

There are some new spells and two new magic items.

It feels like it can be played in an afternoon or longer setting, maybe 6 hours. Faster if the PCs figure out what is going on.