Two new DUNGEON DELVE modules are now available in the DGG Store!

My gaming group headed to a cabin in the mountains for our annual gaming retreat. Each year, we play a First Edition module in a marathon session. This year, we played the classic S2 White Plume Mountain. One player, Rob Hand, outdid himself by building the entire dungeon in terrain—the giant crab lair, the mud geysers, and even the monster terrace chamber. Here are some photos of his work.

Spell-casting and spell-like abilities grant monsters in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) a significant advantage over those without such powers. However, these powers are only as effective as the Dungeon Master’s (DM) ability to employ them properly. In practice, many such abilities go unused. There is a natural tendency to expend a monster’s most powerful damage-causing spells first and then resort to physical attacks.

This article aims to show, step by step and through numerous examples, how surprise is intended to function in the First Edition game. By examining the cumbersomely worded text in the Dungeon Masters Guide (DMG), it attempts to clarify how these rules are meant to operate within the framework of the game.