The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford: OSR DnD Adventure Review

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[@garwynrosser8907]

"It must be a dragon" is the rumour that goes about But I always used this as a descriptive for a creature that no one really understands. If I have a hunter or wizard in the game they will dismiss it and muse about several near approximations of said creature to keep players guessing.

[@andrewdambrose580]

FWIW, this is basically the story of Fafnir from Norse mythology. Dwarves find treasure, one kills in order to keep it, and inevitably becomes cursed as a dragon. No complaints, happy to see more mythology coming out as adventures. Just as soon as Ben said the thing about the dwarf brothers, it was like, Okay, I know what this is now

[@thewise3551]

Jesus, spoiler alert. Dude.

[@wesleymarshall3741]

I don’t see much need for a spoiler alert for a plot that’s well over a hundred years old. Either one already knows the plot relating to Fafnir, and recognizes this from the description given in the video, or one doesn’t already know and recognize this. If a player decides to Google for this information then that’d be on them for ruining their own fun.

[@wesleymarshall3741]

Addendum, yes Norse mythology is certainly more than “over a hundred years old”. I’m thinking of how Wagner made this much myth much more commonly known with his ring cycle.

[@mechanussunrise]

@@wesleymarshall3741 Its still good to give a spoiler alert since not everyone expects that.

[@iremainteague5653]

@@mechanussunrise expects what? its not like Norse mythology is a tv show. Spoilers for this topic make no sense. Are these middle schoolers or something?

[@spudsbuchlaw]

This might sound odd, but I'm trying to remember a questing beast video on a OSR game I was interested in, and want to find but cant remember much about. The primary thing I remember was that it had the standard 4 classes, but Clerics weren't really a class, but rather, you gain clerical power by doing clerical things. I love that organic progression, and wanted to read more about it. Other than that, I'm uncertain as to the details, other than I'm pretty sure Ben reviewed it...

[@arheru]

Wasn't it Neoclassical Geek Revival?

[@paavohirn3728]

@@arheru I think so!

[@Madkingstoe]

One of the first campaigns I DM'd about 25 years ago was very sandbox; while using an illusionary disguise one of the players ended up backstabbing a lizardman king and becoming the new leader of the tribe while also inheriting alot of the wealth and magical items they owned. The other players had no interest in aligning themselves with lizardfolk, with playing politics, or with associating with a backstabber - not to mention they immediately felt underclassed and underpowered compared to the player who was now a fully equipped king. I tried my best to keep the story going, but the split focus and imbalance tore the campaign apart. I have to disagree about giving players way more power and influence than they expect at lower levels. It may work out in some cases where you have a group of responsible players who have played together for a long time, but in most cases it will distress the groups balance and harmony.

[@user-dd9dh9kw5c]

well at that point you have to either retire the king or pit them against eachother.

[@DuaneHewitt]

I am currently running this for my group and they became very upset when the limbs started flying. I feel that it brought Back a sense of peril which had been missing from the game.

[@billrubine1318]

I ran it too. The dwarf got his jaw chopped off and passed. But then the party had the vorpal weapon and the Holy weapon. That created a new group dynamic cause everyone felt they needed a powerful mud weapon. I wonder how you all would deal with that? I added a side quest and gave them all powerful items. We Will see how that works out

[@DuaneHewitt]

@@billrubine1318 I am going to dampen down the weapon a bit if the party gets a hold of it. I attribute the initial potency to decades of attunement while interred.

[@billrubine1318]

@@DuaneHewitt my group is heading for the dragon next g If I ran it again I would cast the dragon as Col Kurtz like in apocalypse now. I will try to do it this time but there is no time for a proper build up. A lone surviving dragon cultist will be Dennis hopper. But if I did it again then Brul would be a Kurtz like genius of greed.

[@DuaneHewitt]

@@billrubine1318 Lol the dwarf cleric had his jaw severed and couldn’t cast spells until he got it healed

[@DragonBoi3789]

That 'leprechaun like' creature is actually known as a Clurichaun! Theyre similar to leprechauns except they're horrendous drunks and haunt taverns and breweries.

[@UncleRiotous]

I picked this up a month or two back in pdf and loved it. I can't figure out how to fit it into my Dolmenwood game (they're currently playing through Hideous Daylight) but it's really good. I wasn't that impressed with Silver Axe but this felt much more solid to me.

[@ianglotfelty3639]

I’d love to see a review of Orbital Blues from you. Would you consider making one?

[@worldbigfootcentral3933]

Dwarf gets greedy, goes nuts, kills people, turns into a dragon. Ring of the Neibelung

[@chrisderhodes7629]

This seems like it would fit really well in Dolmenwood, yeah?

[@Wesley_Youre_a_Rabbit]

Oh so NOW there’s a physical version lol I bought this a few weeks ago and had to send the PDF to a printing & binding company. Lol my impatience has always been my bane

[@youtube-critic]

Great review Ben. It was you that I discovered Dolmenwood. Thanks.

[@AndyReichert0]

interesting!!!! this is basically an OSR version of Lost Mines Of Phandelver!!! the gist is the same: secret treasure, goblin castle, dragons, and a wee town. the only difference is that the goings-on are much more folklore-ish rather than D&D-ish in this one, which I see as a plus!

[@markgnepper5636]

Great stuff friend 👏 👍

[@bureaucratbayonet]

Let's go Brandonsford!

[@jrr___7902]

*Dislike Button*

[@Wesley_Youre_a_Rabbit]

This is the new way to publicly show dislikes? Lol

[@Wraithing]

@@Wesley_Youre_a_Rabbit I read it as a public plea to use more Velcro, buckles and zippers. Wonder if toggles are okay? 😂🤣