[Panya]

[An Introduction]

Early evening on a Spring day in Ravenwood was one of the most popular gathering times in town. The streets were no longer bustling with the day’s market wares, but the farmer’s carts were still lining the square as most of them had gone to the ‘Roost for a pint of Black Bird before heading home. Approaching the inn you are surprised by one of the Avery girls bursting suddenly out of the door and shaking a rug into the square, sending a cloud of dust and bread crumbs past you. “Ooh, sorry ‘bout that, didn’t see ya,” she says, in hurried tone. “Coming inside?” she asks, one hand on her hip and the other holding the rug, propping open the door with her foot.

[Game Masters]
- I, Panya, and Cirlot will alternate DMing and playing. I will start things off for the first adventure.

[Game Explanation]
- A classic style fantasy adventure game using Old D&D rules. We will use the clone rules in Labyrinth Lords, available Free HERE. We are modifying some of the basics to suit our play style, all house rules are in the game forum. The setting is the free town of Ravenwood, a small community sitting at a crossroad between civilization and adventure. All characters are from Ravenwood and level 1. When thinking of your background, consider the character having just completed an apprenticeship or training, being Human age between 17-19. Please don’t write into your background any previous adventures or grand heroics, that stuff begins now.

Ravenwood is your home, your community. It is a relatively small township and pretty much everyone knows everyone else: even the families in the outlying farmsteads. Your family, your characters are known. Please look in the game forum at the background information on the town before and while writing a background.

[Application Process]
- Please post a response here to the sample “Post from the DM” in the introduction above, in the same fashion and style as you would if you were playing. In character. Include a spoiler-box with the name, class, description, brief background synopsis, and some personality notes on your character. You do not need to submit or start on a character sheet. This advert will be open for at least a week, depending on how many applications there are. We are looking for 3-5 players.

[Character Creation]
- Characters will be level 1. Available classes are: Cleric, Fighter, Thief, Magic-User, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling. Rules in the Character Creation thread set out the creation process including house rules in play.

[Any additional information or requirements]
- The allowable books: Labyrinth Lord only. You can download it here.

[Expectations: Panya]
I expect from my players a certain level of interested involvement. That means not simply reacting to events as they unfold, but actively investigating leads, clues and hints. Discussion in-character of such leads, of possible options, and plans of action are important for character development. I encourage scenes where the characters are merely interacting with each other and NPCs so as to give opportunity to dig into their personalities. There will also be action scenes, in some cases initiated or avoided by the characters based on their decisions.

Also, I do not expect everyone to be a literary master but I do expect more than a one-line response of spoken text in each post. Every post, even a simple “yes” answer should be accompanied by more describing stance, expression, emotion, or even something of the thought behind it. In short, there are few pictures here, you need to show what is being done and said with words. In addition, please be courteous to your fellows and proof-read before posting, and use a spell-checker.

Addendum from Cirlot

[D&D Basic/Labyrinth Lord?]
First it should be emphasized that one need not be familiar with the old Red Box Set, Rules Cyclopedia or even Labyrinth Lord from the outset. This is not a retro game exclusively for retrogamers - rather if anything about

the promise of early adventures, the quiet contentment of hamlet life or the trials and tribulations of just being a young adult finding your place in the wild world and beyond

this premise appeals to you than this is the game for you. And that, in the end, is the point right there: the system is a backdrop to the game here, not the engine that drives it. It is a fine line that Labyrinth Lord and Original Dungeons & Dragons managed to walk exceedingly well - they provide frameworks with room enough to breathe, houserule, mess up and explore in the service of story without the balance or tone of the gaming becoming forfeit.

When all's said and done, the point is this: this isn't just a game for people who remembered the Tomb of Horrors or Keep on the Borderlands, nor is it just for people who played this game when they were young. It's also for people who are curious about where it all started, and for players just looking for a good game with solid writers, decent prose and a hint of wit and whimsy. The system isn't the point of the game, merely a part of it.

[Further Expectations]
To expand on Panya's point: I would like players capable of posting about once per day, with a minimum of once per every two days in exceptional circumstances. However, what makes or breaks a game isn't the frequency or quantity of posts but the quality: I'm looking for characters with character, and whether you use 100 words or a 1000 to tell it, I'm looking for posts that not only tell me what the character is doing, but why and how. Also, a big part of adventure is the down time - the long quiet rides through field and dale, under a sun kissed sky - and there will be times where I do not say "time passes" until the next encounter. Characters should be able carry on conversations and interact with each other without a GM prompt, and I'm looking for players who find that sort of RP fun. The intent is for this to be as much a character driven as plot driven game.

[Expectations for the GM]
Just as we have expectations and wants from the players, it's only fair you have some of us. Seperate from the the in-character response to the ad please include what you want from us in terms of the game.

That said, know that neither Panya nor I will just up and vanish without warning. If we have to be away from the game or put it on

unlikely, as having two GM's allows one of us to sub for the other.

hiatus we will tell you, up front, and give you an idea of when the game might resume. There is a lot of frustration when a promising game just ups and dies for no reason on account of the GM or otherwise, and none of us want that to happen here. Similarly, if you're going to be away for an extended period, contact one of us so we can make arrangements for your character in the meantime.