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The Horsemen Cometh

Introducing the Horsemen of Reinhorn adventure module for OSE fantasy settings!

When it comes to Dungeons and Dragons, my current favorite systems are on polar ends: Old School Essentials (OSE) and 5th Edition. OSE's roots in the Basic Expert (B/X) are my initial roots in the game. In 5e, I can see its roots extending back to the B/X game that OSE perfectly captures. 5e reflects modern sensibilities, providing for numerous options and player character longevity. The designs of the two rule sets, though, are substantially different enough to warrant consideration of what mechanics are better suited to the design of a particular module. OSE, with its old school 'save or die', 'save or turn to stone', and 'zero hit points means you're dead', makes for a more harrowing gameplay experience for players, especially at low levels. While I'm not shy about adding or changing rules mechanics to fit a particular setting or module, I do enjoy that 'we're fighting for our lives' feel of OSE. When looking at The Horsemen of Reinhorn, originally designed for use with 5e, you could see the Grimm Fairy Tale roots and all the elements of a module designed to evoke horror, but I wondered if 5e was the best mechanic for this particular module.

While converting it on the fly was certainly possible, the scale of monster power is rather different between the two rule sets. For example, see what happens when a group of 2nd–3rd level characters in OSE encounter two Will-o'-Wisps, as opposed to a party of four of similar levels in 5e. Those OSE characters are most certainly facing a total party kill. A careful review and design really was necessary to keep the original feel of the module without turning it into a paper shredder of character sheets. Yeah, OSE is tough but rewarding.

After some discussions with its author, he kindly allowed me to take it and revise it for play using Old School Essentials. I think it's a bit of a hybrid. It's a plot-driven module with opportunities for sandbox play. In a way, I think it harkens back to those 2nd Edition modules like Ravenloft, where your characters had a clear purpose and an anticipated showdown with the likes of Strahd, but you had room for some emergent play through encounters along the way. The Horsemen of Reinhorn is a mix of wilderness and dungeon adventure. We've designed it with setting neutrality in mind. You can plug and play it right into your own campaign.

The Horsemen of Reinhorn is a challenging module, and while it is possible to start it using 1st level characters, we recommend characters of at least 2nd level. It's not simply a "kill the monster and move to the next room" module. There are certainly monsters to overcome, but not everything needs to be overcome using the edge of an axe. There are numerous opportunities for NPC interactions and encounters that can be resolved by roleplaying. PCs stand to gain new allies, friends, mentors and enemies in Reinhorn. If they play their cards right, they might even come out of it with a stronghold of their own.

I wish you safe travels through the Fenwood and safe return from Iron Pike Castle.

— Dean

The Player's Perspective

As a tabletop RPGer, why do you keep coming back to your favorite games?

So, you're telling me there's a chance? "Gimme a roll," he said, handing me a worn velvet pouch filled with dice that had obviously been used many times before. I remember fishing out the twenty-sided and rolling. "Natural twenty," he stated, sounding somewhat surprised. "Your character survives the sting of the poison needle trap protecting the treasure chest."

That was it, I was hooked. The adrenaline rush was real. I had spent some time imagining this character I had created, and even though the investment in real time was relatively small, I felt a bond with that piece of paper. But eventually, that first character would perish, and I'd go on to create another persona and immerse myself in that character's in-game success intently. Then another. Then another in another game system. And so it went on from that day in 1983 to today. Many games, many characters, and a lot of fun.

So, why did I keep going back? Well, we all have our reasons, right? We're all drawn to these games to satisfy some part of our personality that is curious, playful and needy. Not needy in a bad way, but needy in a way that satisfies our intellect and emotions in a way that mundane life cannot. A place to be something or someone different than your real self. An expressive place to let your imagination run free and share in a mutual and collaborative creation. Something concrete: maps, game logs, character sheets and books. But also incredibly delicate and immaterial: the shared and mutual understanding of a world that only exists in the descriptions of the GM and the contributions of the players.

I've found that it's that shared and mutual understanding of a world only visible in our mind's eye that keeps drawing me back. I'm fortunate to have found a talented and prolific DM (storyteller, referee, game master, you get the idea) and a consistent troupe of players. For the most part, they are deeply interested in the shared understanding of the game world that our DM has immersed us in. That is to say, some of us players (me) are more invested in this aspect of the game than others, but all are interested, and all hold the imaginary fabric together in an effort to experience a good story.

Imagine for a moment you've finally attained 9th level Fighter. Congratulations. You now attract a body of men-at-arms and a small keep. In AD&D, this required 250,000 experience points. Yeah, that's a lot. That's a lot of real time invested. It's a massive goal achieved. Now, what if your troupe and DM didn't really value the cohesive fabric of the game? If they lacked the shared understanding of the setting and the imaginary zeitgeist of the story? This achievement would be relatively meaningless. Sure, you attract a small guard of loyal men and a small keep, but who cares? The keep is just a footnote and the men-at-arms cannon fodder. But what if the achievement was expertly incorporated into the setting? What if the players helped flesh out the details by creating their own towers, safe houses or guild halls within the keep? What if the local baron disapproved of the keep and sent forces to burn it down during construction? What if the lands used to build the keep were on sacred orc burial grounds, and the orc shaman cursed the new lord and sent the undead into their tents at night?

The difference in enjoyment from the player's perspective is huge. I can only imagine that the same is true for the GM. They created the setting, and when players put in the time and effort to co-create the world with them, the dopamine levels rise and the pure joy of game-playing is achieved. My advice to you, my fellow players, is to help the DM create the 'container' in which the game is played. Develop your settings, put some permanence to them with player contributions, and have fun.

Music to Find Your Muse

Lots of us who run games use music to help set mood and tone and evoke the scene. I really appreciate that some designers include original music scores with virtual tabletop assets. Not all players like background scores; some find it distracting or an impediment to playing if they have hearing difficulties. Fortunately, the virtual tabletop programs that I prefer, Foundry and Roll20, allow each user to set their own music levels.

When I sit down to create, while there are times that I'll create with nothing more than the sound of the breeze or the natural sounds of the day (or night, or very, very late night), more often than not I'm playing some music that taps into the mood and tone I'm hoping to evoke. In my recent campaigns, I've focused on getting back to that pillar of adventure: exploration. Deep woods, forested foothills and foreboding mountains are in the future for my players, filled with the savage and weird. My music of choice? Bands like Wardruna, Heilung and Danheim. These bands produce renditions of Nordic folk and the like. Give me those drums, horns, jaw harps and primal sounds! Music just helps ignite the imagination. Sometimes the music makes a scene pop into my head, and I let the internal camera roll and see the scene and how it plays out, and put it to paper, and then it makes contact with my players, and who knows where they take it?

Sometimes, when I'm running a game online, I'll play music real low through my headphones. It's like a little fuse to ignite the narrative of the story, and I'll add a scene or encounter that I hadn't planned before, just rolling where the music takes me, enjoying how the players interact with it, and seeing where we take it.

The obvious analogy is that it's a lot like jazz. But I'm not going there, because (now don't hate me for it) I'm not into jazz. The only time I might sit down and listen to jazz is when I'm working on the background of a Vampire: The Masquerade NPC (or Storyteller Played Character, 'SPC', as they're called in Vampire 5th Edition) who might listen to jazz or lived their mortal days during the Jazz Age of the '20s and '30s. And I'm bound to make that vampire despised by the PCs, so they'll eat that sucker, Blood Hunt be damned! Yeah. Jazz is not my thing. But I'll settle for calling my fusion of music-inspired writing the ska-punk method.

When you're sitting down to create, what music do you choose, or do you prefer the quiet? Does it change with the genre? What bands compel your muse?