This Ol’ Dungeon Podcast

Quick apology to those that already downloaded this episode once. There was apparently some corrupt parts of the original file. This version has the entire show on it. Thanks for your patience!  The planets must be ready to align, because in a moment of shocking This Ol' Dungeon history, all three hosts get fired up about this episode's focus, 'Nepal Nightmare." This adventure for the infamous Indiana Jones RPG by TSR has a lot to work from. As mentioned in the episode, the unpublished paper models for Star Frontiers by the late Dennis Kauth can be found through this link: https://www.papermodelers.com/forum/alternate-dimensions/44572-rpg-vehicles-dennis-kauth.html. Please keep the letters coming. We plan to return again mid-June. Happy gaming!

It's been a minute, but we are back at our trek through the classic Call of Cthulhu campaign, "Masks of Nyarlathotep." This time Bill is sick, so its up to Edwin and Lou to come through. we've got some great write-ins about using other adventure parties as random encounters, a question about XP systems and what they contribute to the feel of a campaign, and then a run through of the London portion of the Masks.

Lou gets to sit down once again with creator Matt De Micco who's newest creation is a fantasy setting explored through 4 interlinked non-linear adventures entitled "The Cult of the Winged Skull." You will get to hear all about the Wythmail setting and these adventures as Matt discuss this fantastic undertaking. We're talking rivaling groups of knights, clandestine sects of wizards, new monsters and PIRATES! Towards the end of the episode we also get a sneak peak at his upcoming Weird Frontiers work, and bit about his pulp-baseball RPG. If you want in on this awesome tome of fantasy adventure, check out his Kickstarter! Time is running out! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cclydesdalemassacre/the-cult-of-the-winged-skull?ref=discovery&term=winged%20skull&total_hits=11&category_id=34

In this episode we discuss different uses and purposes of random encounter charts (thanks to the suggestion of listener John Williams) and do our best to make a go of "Time Trap!" an early adventure for the TSR Marvel Super Heroes games. If you have suggestions, questions, or gaming stories you would like to share, write us at thisoldungeon@gmail.com or catch us on Facebook!

Well, curtain pulled back, February was a busy month and almost got away from us! So here we go with a fun mini-adventure that was packaged between AC2 Combat Shield..."The Treasure of the Hideous Ones." Like the adventure, this episode is low-key but full of some fun moments!

We're all very honored to have made it to 50 regular episodes! Suggested by listeners, we tried to hype-up this golden anniversary by having former hosts Briggy and Thomas back on to join the current crew in discussions that range from whether module challenge ratings give accurate information, to hosting our own "dream episode" of TOD, to giving the This Ol' Dungeon treatment to Merle Rasmussen's "Lathan's Gold." Mid-episode you also get a one-on-one interview with the man, himself, Merle Rasmussen. It's a bit of a long one, folks, but you don't hit 50 too often! We had a lot of fun on this one and we hope you will too.

Stefan Surratt is launching a cool DCC campaign called "Conquest of Chaos" filled with inspiration from the old "Against the Giants" modules. On this episode, he and Luau Lou sit down and talk about his adventures' designs as well as the finale in the G series, G3: Hall of the Fire Giant King. Its amazing how many little bits of "wow" that very early adventure has smashed between dozens and dozens of fights with giants... If you want a fresh take on conquesting jotnars you should check out Stefan's Backerkit (launching at the end of January): Conquest of Chaos. The regular hosts will be back soon with a regular episode (OUR 50th!), so stay tuned for that as well!

On Christmas Eve...Eve, I had the opportunity to do a Zoom call with my good friend Dave Townsend. Figuring that we would end up talking about gaming stuff, I asked him if it would be OK to just record the conversation and put it out there as a oneshot for This Ol' Dungeon; just in case there was someone out there that wanted a little company. He was cool with it. In this conversation between friends, we talk about gaming and the holidays, games we played with our siblings and children, 3D printing, the advent of the resin printer, and a bit more. So come hang with us for a conversation... If you would like to see Dave's amazing webstore, you can find it here: Games with Dave the RPG Store For his awesome collection of video interviews with a who's-who of RPG legends, check out his YouTube channel: Games with Dave the Youtube Channel

In this episode, Bill, Edwin and Lou discuss the use of traps in the game, compare their thoughts on the Grimtooth's Traps series, and challenge the listeners to write in with their own reflections (write to thisoldungeon@gmail.com). Have a very Merry Christmas or whatever holiday is warming your heart right now, and may great fortune be yours in 2025!

Episode 48 might be one of the most personally satisfying episodes for Lou, as he, Bill, and Edwin tackle the Judge's Guild classic, “Caverns of Thracia.” There's a lot of gushing over many of its fine qualities and a bit of suggestion as to what might make it more endearing to players and other ways this product might be used. We have our usual opening banter, much of which is devoted to the awesome Long Con RPG convention both Bill and Lou attended recently and to the upcoming (December 14th) Ethernet Version of the Crawl for the Cure (View at: https://www.twitch.tv/dcc_mayhem) (Info at: https://crawlforthecure.net/wpcftc/?page_id=74). Edwin and Lou will be participating in games for the Crawl for the Cure and MANY, MANY great gaming companies are throwing in for prizes for the raffles (all donors get put in for the raffles), so please give the channel a watch on the 14th and make a donation with a crazy suggestion for the judge or the players as they put on these “live plays” for you. There are a lot of cool industry personalities playing and running AND you get to see some great products brought to life on the actual gaming table. Check it out, running all day and into the wee hours of the night on December 14th.  Until next episode, have a great Thanksgiving and make those saves vs. sleep!  P.S. Here's a link to get signed up for PAGE con (https://phillyexpocenter.com/events/philadelphia-area-gaming-expo/) and here is one for Total Con (http://www.totalcon.com/) both conventions mentioned in the episode.

This is that once-a-year, oddball episode where Luau Lou sits down with his old buddy and artist friend, Christopher Tupa and they blather on and on about Halloween-themed topics. This episode gets a bit morbid at one point, as they discuss real life death scenes, but otherwise they try and tell some spooky stories but mostly just go down the river of nostalgia without a paddle to direct themselves... Listen in if you want, otherwise the next official episode of TOD will be in November!  Happy Halloween!   Here's Christopher's webpage if you want to check out his cool art! http://www.ctupa.com/Home.html

We have a great October Episode for you all! We have Stephen Clements of the Langhorne Creative Group (https://rumble.com/c/StephenClements) on. If you aren't already following his channel on Rumble or YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@stephenclements6158) he is one of the Internet's BEST RPG adventure reviewers-and we're going to need his help on this episode as we take on the critically panned "Ravenloft II: House on Gryphon HIll." This adventure has it all: dream sequences, body-swaps, Mr. Hyde syndrome, first appearance of Azlin the lich... We also get a chance to bring back Geek Credit and get some Halloween themed gaming material into the hands of one of our listeners! Throughout the episode we mention the UK gaming convention schedule given to us by Peter Skanes (http://bit.ly/UKIRPGBGCons) and a drive to get more users on the ever-awesome RPG Market Facebook group (much better prices than eBay for cool RPG stuff) (https://www.facebook.com/groups/rpgmarketgroup/).  As always, remember that everyone who writes into the show gets a chance to win fabulous RPG swag, rolled at random for each episode! The best way to contact us is through our email: thisoldungeon@gmail.com but you can leave a message on our Facebook page or here as well!  Happy gaming!

While Edwin is off gallivanting in France, Bill and Lou are joined by former guest host, Chris Holmes! We get caught up with Bill after his big (three month) hiatus from the program, then dig in to the classic Star Wars adventure, 'Strike Force Shantipole." This is one of those "right over the plate" adventures that West End was doing so well when they first launched the line. Meet COMMANDER Ackbar and escort his engineering team as they try to escape from an Imperial invasion with the prototypes for the B-Wing Fighters!  We forgot to do the roll on air for those that wrote it, but fear not! After the fact, a random roll determined The Lone DM to be the winner of this episode's RPG swag.  If you want a chance at some cool RPG swag, write in with comments, memories, questions or whatever at thisoldungeon@gmail.com.  We'll look forward to being with you again in October with both a regular episode and another special Halloween episode with Lou and his artist buddy, Christopher Tupa!  

Feeling bad about not getting an official episode together for the month of August, Luau Lou quickly sat down to record this episode, hoping it would appease the gods of podcasting. In this episode you get a quick run through of the AD&D 2nd edition product "Fast Play #1." This was a free handout that included the basic rules to play AD&D 2nd Ed. and a 4-room dungeon to start you off. Unfortunately, in a rush to get this recorded, Lou forgot to actually "This Ol' Dungeon" it -and so all you really get is a review. The episode ends with a list of other podcasts that put out really good gaming content.  We are committed to bringing you a full-blown episode here in September. Till then dungeoneers-take care!

In this episode, Edwin and Lou talk about solving the problem of gaming at small cons, whether "tangents" hurt or help RPG module writing, the 1000th episode of Skype of Cthulhu (listen here), and how useful the program/podcast "The Why Files?" could be to creating modern RPG adventure content..oh yeah, we also talk about this episode's feature, "Beast Quest" for the Pendragon RPG system (1st edition). As you would expect for Pendragon, "Beast Quest" offers an interesting mix of true Dark Age narrative structure and a hint of whimsy. Check it out! And in case you're wondering we did release Bill from solitary confinement into the charge of his wife.  Hopefully he has learned his lesson and will be with us on the next episode.  Don't forget to send us some emails, messages, or whatever -there's always a chance to win some great gaming material just for telling us about what you're doing in the hobby, asking us a questions, or correcting us on misspoken facts! Cheers!

Howdy Pard'ners! Have we got a treat for you! With us for this one-shot episode is an awesome new adventure writer, Matt De Micco talking about his experiences gaming, growing up with true-in-the-saddle cowboys out on the Arizona trails and how all that worked its way into his adventure and campaign setting "Massacre Grounds" -currently live on Kickstarter (Kickstarter Link). You can even see this 0-level funnel play out on Youtube with the crew from Steam Steal and Murder here: Live Play of Massacre Grounds. Matt was a lot of fun to talk to, and just blew my mind with some of the cool ways he has integrated real history and history-based fiction into his adventure! We'll be back mid-way through the month with a regular episode (covering Pendragon!). Until then, please give this adventure a look-see, if you like weird west, it seems like it is going to be a blast!    

In this episode Lou, Edwin, and special guest, famed DCC/MCC writer James Pozenel pour through the Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. rule book, discuss the major D&D villains, hear about James's writings, including his up-coming DCC compatible "NetCrawl" project -AND we see a return of Geek Credit! For those concerned listeners, Bill is alive and well (despite rumors of his death), but had a work emergency. I'm not sure where all the talk of him being replaced by Eddie Bartlett of "The No Class RPG Podcast" is coming from... You can get signed up for James's Patreon and get monthly goodies at Pozenel Patreon you can get a preview version of "NetCrawl" (along with many of his amazing works) at DriveThru Beta Version , and get signed up to witness the launch of his official finished "NetCrawl" product at NetCrawl on Backerkit   Thanks for giving the show a listen!

On this Episode of This Ol' Dungeon, Edwin and Lou talk about their first D&D characters then get into the 1984 Car Wars adventure path "Convoy!"  -This game bridges solo with group play and role playing with miniature war gaming!

The episode starts with a nice mail segment that gets us discussing creating variations on standard fantasy RPG settings and face the dilemma of what to do with horses stirred to commotion by a pursing owl bear! The feature of the month is the first Dragonlance module, DL1: Dragons of Despair. We find this module has a lot more to offer than our memories suggested. A couple tweaks at the beginning and end and Volia! -This adventure is ready to shoe into any game world you want to throw it into... Next episode we're heading to off to vintage Car Wars territory!  Catch you then!

Well folks, I couldn't let a month pass without getting out some sort of content on this channel, now could I?  So, I sent up some smoke signals and a great many of our gaming friends responded! Hopefully we will get several of them in for a show over the next season.  -But, first to reply was an awesome guy who's out to bring the RPG world a little closer, Dave Townsend of “Games with Dave.” I've been on his interview show and have enjoyed listening to it over the last year or so.  He's had an amazing array of game designers on with some really great conversations that cover far more than just TTRGPs!  You can catch his show at https://www.youtube.com/@Games_With_Dave. And join his show's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/GamesWithDave/. On this episode we talk a little about what seems to have been an OG fan-favorite AD&D 1st ed character sheet.  Here's a replica of the sheet if you want a visual for what we're talking about: https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1467647944694.pdf reconstructed by S. John Ross. I want to thank Dave for coming on and spending an evening recording with me.  Edwin, Bill, and I will be back very early in April to do an episode on the old Dragonlance module, DL1: Dragons of Despair!  If you want to write in with your experiences and thoughts on Dragonlance or any other show items write to: thisoldungeon@gmail.com . Finally, as Dave mentioned, his online store will be opening April 2nd! Its address is www.GameswithDave.com – be one of his first customers!

I (Luau Lou) always enjoy these one shot episodes, where I get to talk with creators about their brand-spankin' new creations and lean a little bit about how other folks go through that process.  This episode is doubly fun because it features the hot new publishing duo "Guts 'N Glory" a partnership of former guest host Ryan Howard and RPG art ninja, The Wonkee (Keelan Halvorsen).  They already did a great job on their Christmas-themed adventure "Oh, Knight Divine" and now they're back with a meater offering . This new Kickstarter features one adventure apiece: "His Heinous Harvest" and "Corpse Walk." These two young fellows are out to take up the mantel of old-school fantasy gaming and craft it within their own generational values to keep that style of play alive and well...  Anyhow, this was a fun discussion and the Kickstarter (if you are listening to this in March of 2024) IS LIVE!!!! Go check it out - For TWO full adventures and some campaign material this is a helluva price! Guts 'N Glory Volume 1 Kickstarter

In this episode we go the distance on a couple great "letters from the homeowners association" dealing with all sorts of things like GMs altering player characters through encounter results, variable weapon damage, and the origin of the word "grok."  The center piece is the 1983 Star Frontiers adventure, "Sundown on Starmist." I want to warn you that I accidentally call the Sathar aliens the "Sraath" for the first half of the discussion (Sraath are the worm-like humanoidsI added to my Unnatural Selections monster book in homage to the Star Frontiers game-hence the verbal choke-up). If you are a French-speaker and interested in being involved with the charity gaming event mentioned by Edwin, below is a flyer about it.  We will attempt to get you more information as it becomes released. Thanks for all the write-ins, folks!  It really is amazing how much our audience interacts with the program -WE LOVE IT!

We have a a bit of dissent over the 2nd Edition Ravenloft module, "Dark of the Moon." This werewolf-infested adventure has all the drama of daytime television with the thrill of spending a week vacationing in a gulag. On top of this discussion we cover both Snow Con and the brand new PAGE Con.  At the end of the episode we talk about a situation friend of the show J.E. Shields is going through with the loss of his son.  If you would like to contribute to a go fund me for funeral expenses, etc. you can do that here: Go Fund Me for Ben Shields Or you can support the new game-making team Guts N' Glory with their themed adventure "Oh Knight Divine" as they are supporting this charity with its sales. Oh Knight Divine  Next episode we are preparing to cover one of my favorite old game systems -STAR FRONTIERS! Stay tuned!

In this episode Bill, Edwin, and Lou talk about the element of “Gonzo” in a RPG game, read some listener mail, and give the “This Ol' Dungeon” treatment to one of the most famous Shadowrun adventure supplements, “Harlequin” from 1990. We discuss what works and what seems to need renovated within this grandiose set of 8 linked missions meant to tell a tale of revenge and subterfuge spanning what might be over a year of play. Written by a bullpen full of the industries most creative writers/game designers this ambitious product was definitely worth checking out!  We also talk a little shop about Con attendance and are hoping to promote a new con, The Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo running January 5th through the 7th.  Many of our industry friends will be appearing at this new convention which seems VERY RPG friendly!  If you're with in driving distance and have a chance, be there for its inaugural launch! Here's the site: https://phillyexpocenter.com/events/philadelphia-area-gaming-expo/ . Otherwise, all of us here at “This Ol' Dungeon” want to wish you all a happy holidays and many great fortunes in the new year.  We'll be back (hopefully relatively soon) in January with a 2nd Ed Ravenloft module!  Till that time, take care dungeoneers!

Due to flight delays, Edwin and Luau Lou are left without Bill to record this fun episode featuring a James Ward article from Polyhedron #15, called "Mass Day at New Hope." This Gamma World article is tentatively called an "adventure" but, in true This Ol' Dungeon style, we take turns trying to make this very simple encounter into a full-blown night of gaming - which is what you want for a holiday-themed piece like this.  Robotic Santas, discussions about the 3..uh I mean 4 monkeys, movie reviews, and a lot of pimipin' for December 9th's Crawl for the Cure on the DCC Mayhem's Twitch Channel (Here's the link).  But wait, THERE"S MORE! Bill sent in letter with all his response to the segments (read at the episode's end).  Well, until December, Happy Thanksgiving and keep on gaming!

In this one shot episode I get a chance to hang with Friend of the show and fellow podcaster, Matt Gullet.  Fresh from Texas's Long Con RPG convention Matt has brought his long-running adventure, "Caverns of the Dead God" to publication and is Kickstarting it RIGHT NOW! This is quite the quintessential starting adventure: a well-sketched out village, a neighboring cavern steeped in rumors, and a menacing cult that is operating in the area.  But this game has some really interesting "secrets" to it too, ones that Matt just doesn't want to spoil.  Still, he talks about its development and design intentions. Listen to the interview, but also check out his Kickstarter (which has almost blown through all its stretch goals with just a few days left)! Don't forget to follow him and his partner-in-crime, Eddy, on their podcast, 'The No-Class RPG Podcast" to get all sort of great banter on pop culture and role playing too!

It's that time of year again!  Every year, host Luau Lou sits down with artist and friend of the show, Christopher Tupa (http://ctupa.com/Art_by_Ctupa/Home.html, https://www.youtube.com/@artbytupa3222) to talk Halloweens-past and present.  THIS IS NOT A GAMING EPISODE! No, this is just an excuse for two old friends to get together and talk about their favorite holiday, Halloween.  This year the theme is "What would you have going on at an Ultimate Halloween party?" So if you want to listen to that conversation...well we're inviting you to eavesdrop! If you have some Halloween memories, ideas, or want to talk about the gaming material this podcast is normally about, just write us at thisoldungeon@gmail.com or post on our Facebook page(https://www.facebook.com/people/This-Ol-Dungeon/100052215825539/).

Happy Halloween! For this month of the macabre we went diving for a good October RPG product and turned up, "All Hallow's Eve" a starting adventure from the Mage: The Ascension RPG rule book.  Come to find out, the adventure was expanded upon for the campaign-length 1993 product, "Loom of Fate." So we all took a good walk outside of our usual gaming systems to check out this tale of the weird from the hottest RPG producers of the 90s.  There's a couple letters from the homeowners and Edwin is up for Geek Credit!  If you have questions or gaming memories you would like to share, don't forget to write: thisoldungeon@gmail.com.

We got the jump on this one!  David Matalon (screenwriter of the up-coming Totally Killer movie) has used his down time from the writers' strike to work on a project within his beloved hobby, and on October 3rd he will be releasing the all-new DCC adventure "Prisoners of the Secret Overlords." This adventure pays homage to many of the great lettered-series of the early days of gaming while just doing an absolute mic-drop on keeping that DCC flavor with the weird, wild, and gritty.  We have a great talk about his intro into gaming, his inspiration to become a screenwriter, and all the facets of this oversized-module that make it such a barbarous romp through one of the most unusual dungeons a band of reavers will ever encounter!

In this episode we take a swing at solo play modules with one of the classics, BSOLO "Ghost of Lion Castle." Solo play modules are making a big resurgence right now and it was a blast to look at how the process was done in 1984 and talk about how that experience could have been improved.  Speaking of new solo plays, Bill's company Pacesetter Games and Simulations is finishing out a Kickstarter featuring their take on solo plays with a CAMPAIGN of them-don't miss it! Kickstarter Link At the very end you get a bonus sit down with John Hambone McGuire from The Vintage RPG Podcast talking about horror in RPGs and his forthcoming project, "The Hotel Exorcist" -launching October 13th! You can get the prequel to this chiller for free off DrivethruRPG! Get the Download! The rules for 3, 2, 1, Action! are available for free there too! Don't forget to write in for a chance to win next episode when we play Geek Credit.  We'll be reviewing a White Wolf product, and possibly announcing a cool writing contest.  Keep on gaming folks!

With our full, regular September episode just around the corner, I wanted to sneak one extra One Shot Episode in while my buddy and all around "RPG Idea Wizard," Jonathan Sullivan still has his Kickstarter going.  However, we actually spend the majority of this episode talking about his early gaming experiences and what it takes to make an 3PP adventure worthy of the Dungeon Crawl Classics label. But we do get around to talking about his new adventure, "A Fairly Odd Tale" occasionally and I think you're going to love it! Check it out here... At the end I also mention, friend of the show, Levi Combs's new best of the RPG best extravaganza: "The Closet of the Eye Wizard" with only about 3 days left for backing (Closet of the Eye Wizard).  My project called "Cover Stories" (3 gm screen-shaped short form adventures) is also out there too. Remember that our next regular episode will be coming up and you can get in as a "play at home winner" for the Geek Credit section simply by writing into thisoldungeon@gmail.com or sending us a message on our facebook page (TOD Facebook Page) tell us a gaming story, ask us a question, explain to us why we're wrong or give us a product review idea (remember we want OLD adventures -let's say earlier than 2010).  Cheers!

Friend of the show Ben Burns is back to talk about all the projects going on over at New Comet Games including the recently released "Horrors at El Dorado Royale" for Call of Cthulhu and his current Kickstarter for D&D 5e as well as Swords & Wizardry, OSE, and B/X! Check out the campaign here: Adventures of Black Ridge Island. We talk about a bit about campaign and setting book production as well as a bit of a discussion of...AI ART (Did I trigger ya'?).  Ben's always a hoot to sit down with, so come along and hear about all that he's got underway (including some teasers about his next Zeta Complex product).

In this episode we have Erik Tenkar and Bad Mike Badolato -the dynamic duo themselves- straight from the "Talking Crit" livestream among their other OSR contributions such as the Tavern blog, The North Texas RPG Con, RPG auctions, Swords and Wizardry Light, and many others. We get to talk with them all about these endeavors as well as the classic B1: In Search of the Unknown, which is getting a non-canon sequel for NTX this coming year! These guys are a lot of fun, so sit back and enjoy some banter.

Jeff Jones of the RPG Ramblings podcast stops by for a discussion about game design, what it means to create something within the space of of the 1st Edition DMG, and whatever else floats across my mind while were talking. We also get a chance to discuss his Gary's Appendix series - with Issue 3 Kickstarting RIGHT NOW! Give it a listen and go check out the project, its a great one! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1580058713/garys-appendix-issue-3?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=gary%27s%20

In this episode Bill, Edwin, and Lou discuss the classic Top Secret module, TS003: "Lady in Distress."  This GenCon XIV tournament module features a cruise ship taken over by terrorists who are after a secret bio weapon smuggled on board by a rogue Spanish scientist.  BUT FIRST: Mike Carr - TSR legend and co-writer of this adventure - spends some of his afternoon with us answering a few questions about the module.  Bill is in the hot seat for Geek Credit and the mailbag doth provide...  Below we have some bonus anecdotes from Merle Rasmussen the OG Admisstrator and founder of the Top Secret game.  We are looking to have both him and Mike back for full-length episodes. Mr. Rasmussen: "(Mike) and I are long-time friends. Mike was working for TSR before I submitted modern espionage rules. We wrote letters to each other (before the internet) and I sent him a copy of my rules with the working title SPY WORLD (inspired by GAMMA WORLD). Mike sent me the note from Gary Gygax, “Accept this MS [manuscript] as soon as it is typed.” I then hired typists to complete the work. Mike and I independently filed the rules under “TOP SECRET.” When we discovered this coincidence, it was obvious the game should be titled, TOP SECRET®! I wrote a module to be included in the TOP SECRET® COMPANION. It involved terrorists using Carbonophage Microbes to destroy the carbon-carbon reinforced surfaces of the Space Shuttle. I was paid by TSR, unfortunately, they would hold my product for a year. Space Shuttle Challenger exploded seconds after liftoff killing all crew members on board. This is the problem writing contemporary role-playing games-- reality sometimes catches up. I also submitted material for TOP SECRET: NEW WORLD ORDER® that ended up on the cutting room floor. Good news! Last night I saw editing on HACKNOIA® GONZO MODERN Role-Playing Game by Jolly Blackburn and Merle M. Rasmussen. SOLARIAN GAMES hopes to publish the conspiracy, supernatural, and espionage rules. They signed a licensing agreement with KENZER & COMPANY years ago. Jolly is a fan of TOP SECRET® and spoofed my serious spy game in his Knights of the Dinner Table® cartoons calling it HACKNOIA®. I suggested we create HACKNOIA® for real. Players create characters like James Bond, but play them like Maxwell Smart. He said he couldn't write rules. I told him I couldn't draw comics. We shook on the deal. SOLARIAN GAMES must be nearing completion. They are on their third editor and they politely asked me to stop writing! " -more to come from Mr. Rasmussen in future episodes!        

Edwin, Bill and Lou are back from the North Texas RPG Convention!  We answer questions about whether we would want to be full-time game developers and what our favorite dungeons and traps are.  Then, we get into the feature segment talking about "Day of the Destroyer" - a Champions superhero adventure.  Stay tune after the closing to hear an interview with Stefan Surrat about his latest Kickstarter bundle, "The Technomancer of Candy Mountain" and "Marvels of the Multiverse" -which both sound like amazing MCC/DCC products! Here's the link to the KS (ending SOON!): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brimstonecradle/the-technomancer-of-candy-mountain-mcc-rpg?ref=75sly0

In this episode Luau Lou gets a chance to sit down with friend of the show, Skeeter Green who's about to launch his new Kickstarter project, "Underland" - an amazing adventure/system that builds a "connective" tissue between all your game worlds while introducing some great concepts and rules of underground exploration -this ain't just your daddy's dungeon, folks!  There's also a decent amount of banter about Kickstarter complications and other fun - all in (you won't believe this) less than 45 minutes! -A "This Ol' Dungeon" record breaker! Get onboard for this wonderful Zine deal! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/science-wizard/underland-part-1-for-sandw-dcc-mcc-dandd?ref=discovery

Now presenting Episode 31: an interview with EXTREME Dungeon Master, Paladin Reizo, who's about to attempt another world-record of gaming by running through the megadungeon Rappan Athuk for 30 days straight!  You can sign up to help play or GM below, the event starts in June and is going to be continuously streamed for posterity's sake. We also handle some listener mail, discuss this epic dungeon for the main portion of the show, and even get into a little Geek Credit action at the end! Be a part of the 30-Day Rappan Athuk challenge by using the following links: The Website: Sign-Ups Will Start on May 1st. Website is still being worked on and will have constant updates as time goes on. https://paladinsarchives.com/ Paladin's Twitch stream at: https://www.twitch.tv/paladinsarchives Paladin's LinkTree that has many other links to various social media such as Tik-Tok, Twitter, Youtube: https://linktr.ee/paladinsarchives Paladin's Discord Server (never expires): https://discord.gg/9BW3tFuMYp

First off, I have to apologize – there is an echo in my mic on this recording.  I think I chased down the culprit for future recordings, but alas editing only made this recording marginally better.   That being said YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!  We have John “Hambone” McGuire from the Vintage RPG Podcast and designer/co-writer of the “3, 2, 1...ACTION!” RPG on to talk about what it is like designing a system as a small publisher and we get a in-depth look at his newest offering for that game, “The Holiday Action Double Feature.”   You can learn about the system and get the catalog of books at www.321actiongames.com.  You can see a live play (with the folks at) here: https://www.youtube.com/live/pSI7OltLJCQ?feature=share   And now that you're jonesing to be a part of it, you can go back his Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/johnhambonemcguire/holiday-action-double-feature

We got a chance to do a “One-Shot” episode where we (yes, Edwin and even Bill eventually makes it in!) sat down with artist and content creator, James Shields to talk about his offerings to the RPG publishing world AND his new monster book project: M.A.C.E. Kickstarting NOW!  What makes a good monster? How do you plan a bestiary to keep monsters new, interesting, and challenging without just adding more hit points?  You can checkout his Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeshields/monster-and-character-encounters?ref=discovery&term=James%20Shields

We got the band back together finally, folks! And what a great little module for us to finally sync up for! In this episode we delve into the original DCC#1: Idylls of the Rat King. We go through this early 2003 Goodman product and take care of some long-overdue listener mail.  It's good to be back, baby!

Luau Lou here.  I have been waiting to do this episode for over a year.  As many of you know, I publishing a rule set called “The Dare-Luck Club,” themed around misfit adolescents out on adventures.  About a year into its run, I saw a product called “Don't Tell Mom & Dad” on Kickstarter that just looked fantastic and was right in that same game-space.  Since then, I've been trying to track down that game's creators, Ben Mazzochetti and Ted Gilbert to talk about their take on this genre, all the cool design features of their system, and just talk shop about the genre in general…And now it has happened!  Come hang with us and find out why YOU NEED to be playing these games!  You have got to check their book out.  Here's their web page: https://www.donttellmomanddad.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donttellmomanddad/?hl=en and Twitter: https://twitter.com/donttellmomdad?lang=en

Author, Publisher, Booksmith, and all around great guy, Trevor Stamper, sits down one-on-one with Luau Lou to talk about publishing Tales from the Smoking Wyrm, and the freedom of having your own means of book production/finishing.  Come with us and get an inside look at how Trevor and Blind Visionary Publications are working to evolve the publication of game materials into formats that are conducive to ACTUAL game play.  If you yourself are a small publisher, Trevor's analysis of how and why we need to shift the way games are written will make ya' think!  Last we talk about Tales from the Smoking Wyrm #6 Kickstarting NOW!!! Get in on Issue 6 of the Tales from the Smoking Wyrm-but do it quick the KS is about to end!

On this episode we talk with RPG creator Stefan Surrat about his MANY past endeavors as well as his upcoming Kickstarter, "Elfland: Beyond the Fields We Know."  You can learn more about it here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brimstonecradle/the-brimstone-cradle-and-the-hills-that-hunger/posts/3689811 OR just go help fund the thing (starting Jan 17th 2023) here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brimstonecradle/elfland-beyond-the-fields-we-know-dcc-rpg?ref=9ffw7v During the meat and potatoes of the episode we cover a much-loved Gygax classic, "The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth!"  I think despite its wild menagerie of dungeon encounters we all found a lot of things we like about this module and a few changes that can help it along at the table...

Levi Combs Sits down with Luau Lou (known for his belief in the bizarre and gnostic) and discuss events that happened around the Howling Crater UFO crash site.  You can learn more about this event in the newest edition of Levi's book "An Occurrence at Howling Crater" live on Kickstarter right now (December 2022)  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/planetxgames/an-occurrence-at-howling-crater-compatible-for-dcc-mcc-and-5e?ref=user_menu .

In this episode we tackle one of the great Call of Cthulhu adventures, one bite at a time.  We are looking at Masks of Nyarlathotep-the New York chapter.  We talk about whether this award-winning adventure set is really deserving of all the praise it gets and what we would do to make it...better?  Meanwhile, there's some great letter to the homeowners giving us discussion on treasure and some return to talk about meta plot and holiday gaming.  Happy Holidays folks!

In this episode we sit-down with Ian McCarty of Silver Bullette Publishing.  He tells about many of their cool products such as "The Creeping Cold", Fantastic Geographic, and the upcoming MCC adventure, "Fire in the MOHLE!"  We ponder a great listener question about meta plots in RPG worlds and then get into the meat n' potatoes of the show, a talk about "X2: Castle Amber."  -Oh and we put Ian through the ringer on another episode of Geek Credit!  Don't forget to check out Ian's Kickstarter and send us your letters to enter in for a chance to be an at-home winner of Geek Credit (send emails to thisoldungeon@gmail.com)

This one is WAY off the beaten path folks! Since the show's inception I have always sat down each Halloween season with my old friend and favorite artist, Christopher Tupa to just wax nostalgic.  This year we decided to talk about "scary toys" from our childhoods (and beyond-we're both big kids at heart).  Be warned, this has almost NO GAMING CONTENT-though some of these old toy lines could sure inspire a session or two.  You can see why I love having Christopher work on my RPG books by visiting his art page here: C. Tupa Art.  We'll catch you with a regular episode very soon...

In this fairly raw/unedited episode the three of us talk about GameHole Con while Edwin and Bill are live on the spot.  In honor of the Con's sponsor who is well known for his great collection of all things D&D, we also give the This Ol' Dungeon treatment to one of the most valuable adventures from the old days of TSR-"The Jade Hare."  This is a quick one (for us) folks!  We'll be back soon with another full-length episode!

What happens when Levi Combs comes back on This Ol' Dungeon while all 3 hosts are there to jibber-jabber?  Well, not much talking about Planescape -that's for sure!  Still, we got to learn a lot about what's going on at Planet X Games (https://www.facebook.com/planetxgamecompany/) and some great discussion about lots of design-side stuff, AND got through a pretty nice chunk of listener mail INCLUDING AN AUDIO MESSAGE of a mysterious origin!  We also got some fun bumpers from Banjo Destructo at The Heavy Metal RPG Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs01Fh2P77XDNzKWIA4_46A).  Planescape is mentioned, but we have to pledge to come back to it to give it its fair due in a future episode...

Had a lot of fun on this episode getting educated by James Holloway, the Monster Man, himself!  We talk a lot about the importance of the original Monster Manual in setting the stage for these sorts of books and have an interesting debate on whether The Fiend Folio is or isn't a big departure from what that book had set us up for back in the 1e days.  You can catch James's podcast “Monster Man” at: https://monsterman.libsyn.com/, and you'll want to sign up for his Patreon feed which has all sorts of great bonuses (like picking episode topics and getting access to the “Patron Deities” show) at: https://www.patreon.com/monsterman.  You can enjoy some of his published game content like the “Pamphlet of Pantheons,” and the “Magonium Mine Murders” and more here: https://james-holloway.itch.io/ or at Exalted Funeral in the US: and https://iglootree.com/ in the UK   You might also notice the fun little bumper sent to us by listener Banjo Destructo of the Heavy Metal RPG podcast (https://rumble.com/v1c3ux3-heavy-metal-rpg-podcast-episode-0000-dcc-rpg-and-level-0-funnels.html) who has done lots of cool bits (here's one of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvR1O_l03gc).  Give him a listen, the guy's a hoot!