This is a list of stuff that's been working well for me over the past year or two. Handy if you're doing some last minute holiday shopping for a tabletop gamer. Or if you are a tabletop gamer looking to spend some cash or gift cards received over the holidays. Or if you just want to indulge in some retail therapy. I'm not in a position to judge.
I skipped a "My Favorite" post last year due to my tabletop gaming interregnum. Links to past posts along these lines:
My Favorite Things 2018
My Favorite Stuff 2020 and 2019
My Favorite Stuff 2022
My New Dropper Bottle Case
Old School Essentials
I didn't realize that I never stated my opinions about this game until I sat down to write this post.
It's exactly what I wanted.
A question I sometimes see is: "Why not use the classic D&D and AD&D materials directly?" Well, that would mean spending time and money on the following to get what I was looking for:
- Cook Basic D&D down to its heart and soul. Which means purchasing the Dragons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia and throwing out huge chunks of it.
- Take what I most enjoyed about AD&D and convert it to be fully compatible with the chopped down version of Basic D&D from the first step. Which means taking the three AD&D core books and not using most of them.
- Hand our group the resulting document sometime in the 2030s.
- Shop around for a product that already did all that work for me.
- Wait for a sale on the Exulted Funeral site.
- Purchase a pair of books from Necrotic Gnome.
- Be impressed by the clear writing and organization of the Old School Essentials books.
- Download a bunch of free content from Necrotic Gnome, including a checklist of options to bring to our group.
D&D Module B4 The Lost City
I previously published a couple of posts about this module:
Preparing a Classic D&D Module for OSE
Remodeling B4 The Lost City
This may end up replacing B2 The Keep on the Borderlands as my go-to for starting a nostalgic old school campaign. It's not without flaws. It does need preparation before putting it in front of players. And it does not in any way benefit from modern concepts of layout and organization. But the swords and sorcery flavored dungeon delve at its core? An experience not to be missed.
Mothership Boxed Set
I've posted my thoughts and experiences about this game before:
Countdown to Mothership
Mothership Debrief - Another Bug Hunt
It's a delight to open a tabletop RPG boxed set in the halcyon year of 2024. Good rules. Good presentation. The starter adventure is...
...a tad undercooked.
The Middle Ages: A Graphic History by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel
This book is my new recommendation for "an introduction and/or overview of the Middle Ages" to anybody who asks. Which comes up both more and less often than folks might believe. If everything you know on the topic comes from Gary Gygax and YouTube, you should read this book.
Army Painter Wet Palette
I used to slap my paint on a ceramic plate or cheap plastic artist's palette. Like a savage or something. Now I carefully add water to the absorbent pad, lay on a sheet of parchment paper, and mix my paints like a professional. Has it improved my brushwork? Not one darn bit. But it does keep my paints fresh and perky while I break down sobbing at my inadequate skills while base coating a miniature.
That's my favorite stuff some this year (and last year). Let's see if I remember the next post in this series in 2025.
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