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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 10h

Thanks so much. Next year, I'll hit 20 years of writing AP reports. My plan is to keep going till they take away my keyboard :)

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 17h

Hearing you talk about it was part of what gave me hope!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

That’s what we’re going for. So far so good!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I mean, they've gotta be, right? I'm am so down for family of adventures, but I'll have to see what the other players think.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I mean, the world would a a better place.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If digging up an adventure that is 40 years old and playing in a system that is even older sound like a good time to you, check out more in my ap report here: seannittner.com/village-of-h...

seannittner.com

Village of Hommlet (10/7/2026) – Sean Nittner

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

With about of hour left to play we entered the town of Hommlet on the lookout for bandits, but pleasantly surprised by a welcome greeting. Next time the adventure will begin in earnest!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Dang it, I should have been a Ranger! Hah. We finished character creation with Dorf the Dwarf Fighter, Niz the Elf Magic User, Malachite the Half-Orc Fighter, Wisp the Halfling Thief, and Underbrush the Half-Elf Druid. One thing we realized afterwards was that we all had infravision. Hot damn!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Rolling up characters took a long time. We had three copies of the 1st ed PHP to hand around but we all had to (re)familiarize ourselves with the text. Level caps. Multiclassing. Who knew Rangers needed a Strength and Intelligence of 13, Wisdom and Contestation of 14, and start with 2d8 HP?

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I'm still a little stunned this game is happening. Finding someone who wants to run the Temple of Elemental Evil is hard enough, but in 1st Ed, probably the worst Ed, that's a miracle. Are we tracking speed factor and armor class adjustments by weapon? No, but pretty much everything else is RAW.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I could have been a cleric with a great dexterity or constitution, wear armor, turn undead, and perhaps most importantly, be able to cast Cure Light Wounds. But I said I would do it, and by the time I realized Cure Light Wounds is a 2nd level spell for druids, I was committed. Yay, animal friends!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I fell for the oldest trick in the book. Believing that because something is hard to achieve, it's worthwhile. And so I'm playing a half-elven druid named Underbrush, as my friend Jerry runs an AD&D campaign of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Let's goooooo!

A hand filled out AD&D character sheet for my character Underbrush. Behind it is the 1st edition player handbook.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

That pic is incredible. Yay for part 3!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I bet there is at least One reason.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

What's your treat of choice Jason? I don't take these threats lightly :)

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Women Eating took me two reads to understand it (or begin understanding it). Thank you so much for sending me back to it with a new perspective. I've recommended it so many times now. Adding Woo Woo to the list!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

They really dug the crafting rules and the way investing in the village grows it. Overland travel yielded some wild results for us, lot and lots of encounters, but also really valuable armor just found in a ditch :)

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Hah, I love it. I will trade you two Borks for a bar of soap and a healing potion :)

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

And I see a dishwasher there. Congrats!!!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yeah. They should know how they are being represented.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

October fog has rolled into the bay. Yay for spooky mornings.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yay. So glad to hear it. That’s on our list to play soon!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

So delighted to see your vison turn into such a beautiful artifact!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Some great insights left by @stillisgaming.bsky.social in the comments. Crows basically gave me the hexcrawling & base-building experiences I was looking for. Wandering the countryside felt both immensely dangerous and immensely rewarding... seannittner.com/the-blood-li...

seannittner.com

The Blood Library (9/27/2026) – Sean Nittner

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hell yeah, repint the Maze of Ith!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Available for viewing Under Hollow Hills?

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Coffee made by AI: This is future we have to stop Eppy.

Image from the Matrix where mouse pontificates on the Matrix trying to figure out what chicken soup is supposed to taste like.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Fuck yeah, true four years ago, true today. Nouns and verbs baby! Because of you Judd, I always try to think of what are my villains ACTIVELY DOING to be evil. It makes every game better and when the PC punch them in the face...they fucking deserve it!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Sorry, I felt the compulsion to respond in a single goblin syllable. I think you would have liked Shremp. He was such a deviant that it rolled around to him being kind of adorable (I think, the players would have to confirim). He did make @stillisgaming.bsky.social bust out laughing a time or two.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In Draw Steel, a tier 1 result might be a failure or setback, but often it is just a nominal or weak success. In Crows, a tier 1 outcome is almost always a failure with consequences. Much more akin to PbtA or FitD roll results. It took me a few reads to grok that.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's not that I don't think DS wouldn't be fun to run or Crows to play, but they both scratch different itches for me. The one thing I'd note (this caught me up at first) is that though the both use the same power roll tier results, the outcomes are very different.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I really like both games, but in very different ways. Draw Steel I just want to play. I loved 4th edition and I want to learn all the cool combos. I want to button mash the hell out of that game. Crows I love running. I love seeing the ideas the players come up with and building the world.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

But the core nugget that smart ideas pay off and paying attention to the world itself is the best way to solve your problems is equally prominent. I love that in both of them!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

In terms of gameplay, Torchbearer decisions are more load-bearing. Each choice has more weight and consequence, so you won't see the dice hit the table as often, or gear be ground through with such speed. Crows is much more easy come, easy go.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Where Torchbearer sets up your characters as being outside of society (at least at the start), Crows are very much a part of their Village. They contribute to it's growth and are connected to the institutions. Rather than being seen as lowlife, they perform a role in society.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

As Jon said it’s a smaller rules set, but there are several procedures (travel, rest, village cycles, crafting) that are pretty involved. The good thing is that you don’t need to learn them all at once. You can dive into them as they come up in game.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Also, long live Shremp, the creepiest little goblin of a shopkeeper I've ever played. Sam and Adrienne are true heroes for putting up with that nonsense.

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I've got probably a dozen more thoughts rattling around in my head (including some areas we struggled). If you're curious, the full AP report is here: seannittner.com/the-blood-li... [Warning: the post is riddled with spoilers]

seannittner.com

The Blood Library (9/27/2026) – Sean Nittner

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Spelllcasting: I love that backlash in the game reinforces the lore. Magic is dangerous. It corrupts. The stronger it is, the more dangerous it is. Very smart!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The crafting system. It turns players (or at least turned @stillisgaming.bsky.social) into a crafting monster. Every rest spent breaking monsters into parts and then turning those parts into potions!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

XP/Advancement is really fun. W were buying traits all over, gaining new expertise, allowing the characters to advance during rest. The very first thing that happened was a search for treasure roll resulted in a 2050gc prize (It helps that I rolled a nat 100 on the table) and everyone got goodies!

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Dungeon Timer does a ton of heavy lifting. It combines: - rolling Usage Dice - encounters - spell and other effects

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Sean Nittner @seannittner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is my favorite implementation of Usage Dice. In the other games if you have a d8 UD, you know it can be reduced to a d6, but it can’t outright fail. In Crows, even if you have a whole bunch of UD, there’s a chance they all roll 1s or 2s and suddenly it’s gone. I love it.

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