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Sale

DriveThruRPG is running a massive site-wide sale for Black Friday. I spent three days making a list of adventures, bestiaries, and supplements that I am happy to recommend and that are going for a good discount. I tried to stay away from super-popular recommendations, and focus instead on forgotten and overlooked publications I found useful.

Adventures are broken into three brackets: levels 1–4, levels 4–9, and levels 9 and higher. Bestiaries and supplements are a separate list. For the latter I focused on sandbox and world-building material. For little fun, each list has an assigned die that you can roll to determine what too look into first. :)

As always, spend responsibly!

Low-level adventures (levels 1–4) — 1d12

  1. Gatehouse on Cormac’s Crag (4–6 adventurers of levels 1–3)
  2. Advanced Adventures #22: Stonepick Crossing (6–10 adventurers of levels 1–3)
  3. The Oneiric Hinterlands (4–6 adventurers of levels 1–6)
  4. Advanced Adventures #1: The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom (6–8 adventurers of levels 2–4)
  5. Advanced Adventures #27: Bitteroot Briar (4–8 adventurers of levels 2–4)
  6. Bonepicker's Tower (4–8 adventurers of levels 2–4)
  7. The Lost City of Barakus (4–8 adventurers of levels 2–6)
  8. Bottomless Pit of Zorth (4–8 adventurers of levels 3–5)
  9. Advanced Adventures #17: The Frozen Wave Satsuma (6–8 adventurers of levels 3–5)
  10. Peril in Olden Wood (4–6 adventurers of levels 3–5)
  11. Original Adventures Reincarnated #9: Caverns of Thracia (includes reprint of the original; 6–10 adventurers of levels 2–6)
  12. The Halls of Arden Vul Complete (4–8 adventurers of levels 1–12)

Mid-level adventures (levels 4–9) — 1d12

  1. The Tomb of Abysthor (6–10 adventurers of levels 2–8)
  2. Advanced Adventures #31: The Lost Lair of Drecallis (4–8 adventurers levels 4–7)
  3. Advanced Adventures #21: The Obsidian Sands of Syncrates (6–10 adventurers of levels 4–7)
  4. Advanced Adventures #12: The Barrow Mound of Gravemoor (4–6 adventurers of levels 5–7)
  5. A Shadow Over the Greatwood (4–8 adventurers of levels 5–7)
  6. Advanced Adventures #46: The Dismal Glade of the Spider Goddess (6–10 adventurers of levels 5–7)
  7. Advanced Adventures #41: The Forgotten Grottoes of the Sea Lords (6–10 adventurers of levels 6–8)
  8. S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (6–8 adventurers of levels 6–8)
  9. The Black Monastery (5–7 adventurers of levels 7–10)
  10. Original Adventures Reincarnated #7: Dark Tower (3 books, first reprints the original; 6–10 adventurers of levels 7–11)
  11. WG4 The Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun (4–8 adventurers of levels 8–10)
  12. Dawn of the Overmind (4–6 adventurers of levels 8–10)

High-level adventures (levels 9 and above) — 1d10

  1. Tomb of the Twice-Crowned King (6–10 adventurers of levels 8–10)
  2. EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror (5–8 adventurers of levels 9–12)
  3. G1 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (9 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  4. G2 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl (9 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  5. G3 Hall of the Fire Giant King (9 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  6. D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (7–9 adventurers of level 10 or higher)
  7. D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa (at least 6 adventurers of level 9 or higher)
  8. D3 Vault of the Drow (6–9 adventurers of of level 10 or higher)
  9. Cyclopean Deeps Volume and Volume II (4–8 adventurers of levels 10–12)
  10. S1 Tomb of Horrors (6–8 adventurers of levels 10–14)

Bestiaries — 1d8

  1. All the Worlds' Monsters Vol. 1, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3. One of the earliest published bestiaries. Has that true vintage typewriter look and nonsensical monsters.
  2. Book of Lost Beasts. A collection of AD&D 1e monsters to supplement the Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Monster Manual II.
  3. Dwellers in Dark Places. Awesome collection of more than 300 original OSRIC monsters.
  4. Malevolent & Benign and Malevolent & Benign II. Collects all monsters published in the Expeditions Retreat Press OSRIC modules. Each book contains 150 monsters, so 300 new monsters in total.
  5. Monstrosities. Nearly 500 monsters. Each monster comes with an example encounter/nano-adventure. Includes tables with monsters by challenge level, guidance on creating new monsters, tables of monsters by terrain, and tables of random encounters (3d6, so normal distribution curve).
  6. Tome of Horrors Complete. More than 700 monsters (no duplicates from Monstrosities). Again, each comes with a small encounter. Includes mundane animals as well. See Swords & Wizardry bestiary analysis here.
  7. Hacklopedia of Beasts. Detailed bestiary with a lot of reusable details like size comparison charts, combat tactics, habitat & society, ecology, and yield.
  8. The Monster Overhaul. Inteded to be a generic monster manual for a generic OSR system. Includes a little bit over 200 monsters, many with associated random tables.

Supplements — 1d6

  1. How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox. Practical step-by step guide on how to create your own sandbox. Written by Robert Conley, a Wilderlands legend. (Watch out for his Majestic Fantasy Realms as well, forthcoming.)
  2. Tomes by Mythmere Games Tome of Adventure Design, Tome of Worldbuilding, and The Nomicon. A great set of books to create infinite worlds and adventures.
  3. Book of Lost Tables. Includes 348 random tables for generating random wilderness terrain, random wilderness encounters, random dungeon terrain, random dungeon encounters, random urban terrain, random urban encounters, character parties, and more. Very much in the styled of AD&D 1e tables.
  4. Seven Years Of Fantasy Weather Volume 1: Medieval England, Volume 2: The Iceland of the Sagas, and Volume 3: Indea. Awesome series of weather supplements covering, as it says on the tin, seven years.
  5. Realms of Crawling Chaos and Swords of Cthulhu. Two great source-books to add Cthulhu mythos to your D&D game.
  6. HârnManor and Medieval Manager. Detailed procedures and guidance on creating and managing a manor, including simulating economy. The latter includes conversion to gp for ease of use.

Even more recommendations

Here are previous sales recommendations: 2024, 2023, 2022. Don't hesitate to reach out should you have a great recommendation yourself.

#BlackFriday2025 #Sale #OSR #SW #OSRIC #OSE

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Troll Lord Games is discounting their whole catalogue for 50% off. I am not sure for how long will the discount last.

Here are some of my past recommendations:

Spend responsibly!

#Sale #TLG #CC #OSR

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Goodman Games has put up their whole 3E and 4E catalogue up for sale, with most of the publications going for $1. See my previous “throwback sale” recommendations here. Spend responsibly!

#Sale #GG

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Two weeks ago I shared twelve recommendations for the DriveThruRPG July sale. “SebaTauGonzalez” on reddit asked for rules-specific recommendations:

The Sale guide is great, thanks! Do you know of something similar but for core rules? Current or past.

I'm repeating my answer to him below. I assumed they are already familiar with all the major retroclones and original games, therefore I focused on a bit more “exotic” recommendations:

  • The Majestic Fantasy RPG. An OD&D game based on Swords & Wizardry Core. Interesting mix of many different things based on several decades of play.
  • Tekumel: Empire of the Petal Throne. The original was built on OD&D chasis. I don't run it as-is, but rather use it for inspiration (e.g., early skill system, interesting take on fighters, etc).
  • Seven Voyages of Zylarthen. Basically a heavily house ruled OD&D with few interesting twists.
  • Adventures Dark and Deep Core Rulebook & Bestiary. An alternative imagining of what AD&D 2E might have been if Gary remained in control. A lot of classic, but good stuff.
  • Against the Darkmaster Core Rules. Retroclone of Middle-Earth Role Playing game. Good if you are looking for a crunchier game.

The sale ends in a day and a half (end of July).

As always, spend responsibly.

#Sale #OSR

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DriveThruRPG is running a big sale until end of July. There are few special items that are 75% off, but most are around 30% off.

Here are twelve big-ticket items where discounts make the most difference:

  1. Original Adventures Reincarnated #7: Dark Tower (5E or DCC version). A three-book set reviving an old classic by Jaquays. Worth getting it just for the original.
  2. The Halls of Arden Vul Complete. The best megadungeon to date. Massive, enduring, and evocative.
  3. The Northlands Saga Complete. a compilation of ten adventures set in stereotypical cold north. Probably enough for several years of gaming. Tenfootpole has reviewed first four adventures back in the day (NS1, NS2, NS3, NS4).
  4. Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set. This is the classic done right.
  5. Bard's Gate. A massive city packed with urban encounters and adventures (8 included, from levels 1 to 10+). Very dense book.
  6. The Blight. A rotten, overpopulated, sick mega-city. Whole campaigns can be played in it. Heavy horror vibes.
  7. Arduin Trilogy. Compiles Arduin Grimoire Vol 1, 2, and 3. A ton of wild stuff to extend your OD&D game.
  8. Tomes by Matt Finch Tome of Adventure Design, Tome of Worldbuilding, and The Nomicon. A great set of books to create infinite worlds and adventures.
  9. Classic Gaming Negative Space print bundle. Includes On Downtime and Demesnes, Artifices, Deceptions, & Dilemmas, and Bestial Ecosystems Created by Monstrous Inhabitation trilogy covering downtime, environs, and monstrous ecosystems.
  10. Hacklopedia of Beasts. One of the best bestiaries in the market.
  11. HarnManor. Detailed procedures and guidance on creating and managing a manor.
  12. The Guide to Glorantha. If you are interested in Glorantha, then this two-book set is the best starting point to get overwhelmed and give up.

Unsure which to go for? Roll a 1d12! Want to pick an adventure module? Then roll 1d6! You prefer a supplement instead? Then roll 1d6+6!

Looking for cheaper OSR recommendations? Then I suggest the following lists: select Advanced Adventures, Black Friday selections, and GM's Day selections.

Spend responsibly!

#Sale #OSR

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Onyx Path Publishing is having an anniversay sale on DriveThruRPG, with everything discounted for 50% off. I used to opportunity to pick up some of Scarred Lands and Sword & Sorcery products I had on my wishlist for long time:

All of the above are 3E/3.5E products, but I am primarily interested in ideas, concepts, and maps that I can cannibalise and repurpose. I also got beastiaries because I was advised that many monsters in Slumbering Tsar were from Creature Collection books. Perhaps they will be of use one day, when I get to converting the 800 page tome. Who knows.

#Sale #ScarredLands

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Frog God Games is running another flash sale, this time for Lost Lands books:

The croak-tastic celebration of Frog God Games turning 15 is still hopping right along! That’s right; we're throwing a party, and you're invited. From April 15–21, 2025, we’re slashing prices on The World of the Lost Lands, our official campaign setting, by a whopping 50% across all formats.

Three books on sale are:

Stoneheart Valley is worth getting just for The Tomb of Abysthor, great mid-level adventure. Very challenging one!

The above are discounted for 50% until April 21st.

#Sale #FGG #OSR #SW

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There are currently two Greyhawk specific bundles on DriveThruRPG:

  • Exploring the World of Greyhawk (7 books): World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting, The City of Greyhawk, WGR4 The Marklands, From the Ashes, Greyhawk Wars, Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins, and WG7 Castle Greyhawk
  • Adventures in Greyhawk (7 adventures): T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil, T1 The Village of Hommlet, S1 Tomb of Horrors, WGA4 Vecna Lives!, Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad, WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure, WG9 Gargoyle

Total discount for each bundle is around 36%. I am not sure how long will the bundles be available for.

#Sale #Greyhawk

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The Northlands Saga Complete is a compilation of ten adventures set in stereotypical cold north. Probably enough for several years of gaming. Tenfootpole has reviewed first four adventures back in the day (NS1, NS2, NS3, NS4). Swords & Wizardry versions were collated in 2015 and published in the big omnibus titled Northlands Saga Complete:

Almost a decade later few more adventures were published, one for Swords & Wizardry, and two plus player's guide for Old-School Essentials:

The above are currently discounted for 75%, and the sale lasts until March 31st. Great deal if you need Scandinavian themed adventures and locales!

P.S. Just a few days before DTRPG massively increases its print cost, which in turn will be reflected on POD products. Make your orders in time.

#Sale #FGG #OSR #SW #OSE

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DriveThruRPG is running 40% sale off many titles in celebration of GM's day.

The whole TSR catalogue (OD&D, D&D, AD&D 1e, and AD&D 2e) is discounted as well. Below are several series that are worth getting but are rarely talked about.

AC (ACessory) modules were 11 publications for the basic line. AC1, AC9, and AC10 are great supplements for any basic game or its retroclone:

GAZ (GAZetteer) sourcebooks for the basic line detailed different parts of Mystara:

DMGR (Dungeon Master's Guide Rules supplement) books were published during the heyday of AD&D 2e overproduction. Still, I found something useful in each:

Finally, builder's guidebooks and sites did not have a code, but feature useful material:

Spend responsibly!

#Sale #OSR

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