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Dagna Copperhand The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Dagna Copperhand is a dwarven metalworker and traveler currently lodging at the Dancing Bear in Dulwich. Practical and blunt, he supports himself through repair work while seeking opportunities to explore old ruins and underground passages. He takes a particular interest in stonework and mechanical devices, keeping a battered notebook filled with sketches of unusual hinges, locks, masonry, and other discoveries. Comfortable beneath the earth and meticulous about his equipment, Dagna values companions who prepare carefully, honor their agreements, and give him time to examine interesting craftsmanship.

Forest of Gray Spires The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

The Forest of Gray Spires covers the plateau south of the Duchy of Ashlar, forming a formidable natural boundary to the settled lands. Its name comes from the limestone spires that rise among the trees, giving the landscape its distinctive appearance. Much of the forest remains unexplored, and knowledge of its interior is limited compared with the roads and communities of the duchy.

The combination of dense woodland and towering stone formations makes travel difficult. Routes must wind around rocky obstacles, and the trees can conceal changes in the ground until a traveler is close upon them.

The spires themselves provide striking landmarks, although reaching one through the forest may prove considerably harder than spotting it from a distance. For Ashlar’s inhabitants, the forest marks the edge of familiar country. Beyond the places regularly visited by hunters and woodland workers lie stretches for which dependable information is scarce. Stories brought back by travelers mingle with older accounts, making it difficult to distinguish an accurate description from an exaggeration repeated over generations.

Among the tales associated with the forest are accounts of demonic elves, cyclopes, and intelligent apes. Such stories contribute to its dangerous reputation without providing a clear picture of what lives throughout its vast interior. Different tellers offer conflicting explanations, and few can claim firsthand knowledge of more than a small portion of the woodland.

The Forest of Gray Spires remains one of the great uncertainties surrounding Ashlar. Its position helps isolate the duchy, while its unexplored reaches leave many questions about what lies beyond its settled borders. To those living farther north, its wooded plateau and strange limestone formations represent a wilderness whose extent is easier to appreciate than its secrets are to understand.

Notable Locations
• Valentin's Folly
• Ruined Tower of Zenopus

Dulwich The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Dulwich is a prosperous walled town of nearly five thousand people, built upon a narrow strip of dry ground between the Forest of Gray Spires and the treacherous Salt Mire. Though only a few centuries old, it stands atop the remains of older settlements, whose weathered stones have been reused in its sturdy timber-and-stone buildings. Muddy streets wind between crowded homes and workshops, with cobblestones appearing in the wealthier quarters.

Above the rooftops rise the spire of the Lawgiver’s Hall and the squat towers of Dulwich Keep. The town’s wealth comes chiefly from lumber cut in the surrounding forest, though potters, wool merchants, dyers, smiths, armourers, and other craftsmen have made Dulwich an important trading centre within the Duchy of Ashlar. Dulwich has a population of 4,734, "roughly" 4,634 humans, 15 dwarves, 3 elves, 11 half-elves, 8 half-orcs & 63 halflings.

Guilds control nearly every trade, and entire streets are devoted to particular crafts, filling the town with brightly dyed cloth, smoking forges, roaring kilns, and heavily laden wagons. Yet farmers, shepherds, woodcutters, and common labourers remain poor, and resentment is growing toward the prosperous guildsmen and wealthy merchants. Dulwich is ruled by Wido Gall, whose family controls much of the surrounding farmland, commands the town guard, and has governed since the town’s founding.

Wido seeks to extend his authority over nearby Longbridge and its valuable tolls, bringing him into conflict with merchant leaders such as lumbermaster Ossi Karppanen, who demand a ruling council and independent courts. Both factions seek the support of Vuokko Laiten, the young high priestess of Conn, whose sudden elevation has placed her in a position to reshape Dulwich’s future. Beneath the town’s prosperity runs a growing current of fear and unrest.

Captain Tuula Tenbaran, called the Iron Maiden because of her metal mask, struggles to contain protests, crimes, and gang warfare between the brutal Shadow Spiders and the popular Black Cats. Skeletons have reportedly risen from the cemetery, people vanish near the poorhouse, and whispers speak of unnatural activity beneath the town.

Notable Locations
• The Vilimzair's Arms
• Dulwich Keep
• Lawgivers Hall
• The Dancing Bear
• Garrick’s Supply House
• Nalthra's Jewelry
• East Gate Inn
• The Golden Skull
• Eronen's Safe travels
• Saini Alanen's House
• Cemetery
• Marketplace
• The Crooked House
• Three Bells Inn
• Patisserie Shoppe
• The Ozloc & Dragon
• Moneychanger's Shop
• Smithy
• Stables
• Tenements
• Thieves Guild

Notable People
• Lord Wido Gall
• Eero Kallio
• Saini Alanen
• Vuokko Laiten
• Marja Pellinen
• Tiera Vartia
• Nurlon Rekunen
• Tobin Reedfoot
• Nilta Rautia
• Asta Korhonen
• Dagna Copperhand
• Jaakkima Aikio
• Olli Vartanen

Beyond the walls stand Valentin’s ruined Shadowed Keep and the haunted Shunned Valley, offering adventurers ample work amid Dulwich’s political rivalries, restless dead, criminal intrigues, and increasingly fragile security. Dulwich also serves as a natural refuge for travellers and adventurers passing through southern Ashlar.

Regional Locations
• Forest of Gray Spires
• Valentin's Folly
• Ruined Tower of Zenopus

Retired adventurers, moneychangers, sages, jewellers, and well-stocked merchants provide services rarely found in smaller settlements, making the town an ideal place to rest, gather rumours, research forgotten ruins, and prepare expeditions into the dangerous lands beyond its walls. Its bustling marketplace offers most ordinary supplies, while inns such as the East Gate and the Three Bells cater to wealthy merchants and pilgrims, and rougher establishments like the Golden Skull attract gamblers, sellswords, and thieves.

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Playable Classes The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

• Arcane Bard
• Barbarian
• Bard
• Beast Master
• Cleric
• Drow
• Druid
• Dwarf
• Elf
• Fighter
• Gnome
• Half-Elf
• Halfling
• Illusionist
• Moon Drow
• Paladin
• Ranger
• Sorcerer
• Thief
• Wizard
• Wood Elf

Drow The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Divine Drow

Arcane Drow

Elf The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Divine Elf

Arcane Elf

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

News Section The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Date Posted	News Title
8/21/2026	Concerning the Old-School Essentials 2026 Core Books
9/10/2025	Rest in Peace Charlie Kirk
8/25/2025	Critical Role Falls Short For Me
4/6/2025	We Focus on TTPRG's Here

We Focus on TTRPG's Here The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

As far as real world issues goes, we've never had to address these issues here and for that I am extremely thankful. We are not anything special here, just a group of gamers trying to have a good time and I think we've grown quite a bit which makes me happy. I hope that we can continue to grow and expand as time goes on!

However there is a lot of turmoil going on in the outside world and I want to make something clear and this may hurt "some" people feelings and if it does . . . I honestly don't care.

We will not discuss matters of justice and equality here. We (and I, specifically) believe firmly that heroes of high fantasy settings would have never looked at anyone or anything and wondered . . . what do they identify as, are they gay or straight, what race, color or sex a person is/was, no, they wouldn't because it never would have came up and it will not come up on this blog or within my games . . . there are two genders, no more, no less. None of that other stupidity matters because we are all adults here and we treat people like adults & expect to be treated the same.

We don't care about any of that silliness here, this is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign blog . . . it does not matter who you are, what you believe in, what color you are, what sex you are or were, none of that matters here and it will not be discussed here, so keep it to yourself. We accept "males" and "females" as new players in this group.

If you feel the need to push any of that in peoples faces where this group is concerned then please go somewhere else, we are here to play tabletop games and nothing that happens in the real world matters here. You won't find people yelling at the world about what pronouns they are, or if they identify as a lamp shade in this group. We are not for it or against it - we simply don't give a shit. This is a GAMING BLOG covering a Dungeons & Dragons setting and the story that it holds. No one here cares about any of the above mentioned things, keep it to yourself and let's focus on the adventures that happen here.

If you disagree with this, feel free to leave this place and never come back. I hope you take the time to reflect on your beliefs and understand that what you believe in, should be none of anyone elses business, and people will not be forced to address you by your silly pronouns, or be forced into thinking the way that you do - keep it to yourself. Once again, this is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign blog and that is all that should matter to anyone who visits this website.

People that sit around our real world or virtual table are all grown ass adults and we don't give a damn about your pronouns or your real world politics. Now, with all that out of the way, we hope you enjoy your visit here and please feel free to say hello in our comments sections. We would love to meet you. If you disagree with what I've posted here, then don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Interested in Being a Player? The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

It's "very" important that you get familiar with this campaign blog "there will be a test later" . . . nah, just kidding on the test part lol, but trust me when I say, this blog was created for you, the player, so make use of it. This will be my first "modified" Old-School Essentials system that I've ever ran "since for pretty much my entire gaming life, I've ran classic D&D exclusively straight out of the books" but, this time I am to the original system "just a little, nothing major".

▶ We will use Discord for Audio "only" & Roll20 for everything else. "please be familiar with Roll20"
▶ We are planning to play every other Saturday night 7-10pm EST "maybe a little longer depending on player schedules"
▶ We may be able to squeeze in the Friday before at times (players discretion)

Player Requirements
― Within a few days after each session ends, I will do a livestream on my TTRPG YouTube channel where we will do a recap. This livestream will have each person from our group who wishes to join using webcams. This is where we basically do an indepth recap of each session and interact with chat. Attendance is not mandatory, it is requested however but if you choose not to attend that is ok too. It will be a chill livestream of us sitting around together talking about our last play session and talking with chat, nothing too serious.
― I will need a picture of your own choosing to represent your character (for the blog ascetics of course) I will do a reskin of it to make it more realistic looking and add it to the blog.
― I'll need a short background, describing your character but you can elaborate as much as you want. Backgrounds help me tweak the story a little more to include your characters back story in our campaign.
― We use a slightly modified Old-School Essentials system. DM james will talk about this with you.

• Class Page: We have a wide selection of playable classes to choose from.
• House Rules: We do have a few "quality of life" house rules to help make the game run a little smoother and be slightly more forgiving than it is in it's current form. These rules may change over time.
• About Our Campaign: Here you can read all about our homebrewed campaign.
• Journals Page: This is where my players can find everything they need to know about our campaign.

▶ We are looking for mature adults as players.
▶ We are an east coast group.
▶ I do not fudge on dice rolls, whatever gets rolled, is rolled.
▶ We are not looking for rules lawyers that will debate every rule the DM says.
▶ Mistakes will be made by players and the DM, deal with it.
▶ We want friendly, chill players that simply want to have a fun night of gaming.
▶ I plan to run a very relaxed, friendly game for my players.

• You can reach me on Discord, make sure you introduce yourself and let me know who you are and how you found our Discord when you join.
• Facebook: I rarely use Facebook but feel free to friend me up.
• Email: If all else fails, my email is jamesefullard@gmail.com

▶ Important: Don't just blindly ask to join us, take the time to really go through the campaign blog & go through the links provided on this page. It's important that you understand exactly what this campaign involves, what rules we use, what house rules use along with everything else. If you don't bother reading about this campaign and just go straight into asking blind questions that are either "already" answered here or somewhere else on the blog, you're going to get turned away . . . "just saying". Everything on this campaign blog was put here "for you―the player to use" so please make use of it.

Rules
• Other Games During Game Time: Look, be respectful and while we are playing D&D, don't have World of Warcraft pulled up in the background etc. etc. Either you want to play in our campaign or you don't. If you'd rather playing games while we are playing, then I will find someone else to play with us instead.
• Be Mature: We are all adults, please ... let us all act like adults when we play.
• Real Life Politics: When we sit down at the table, it's about the "game" and nothing else, no stupid pronoun silliness, no "X" cards, no DEI stupidity, none of the hard left liberal crap. We are just grown ass adults. If you need to know more, check out our news page link.
• Please Show Up to Game Night: I understand "real life" is a bitch and we will have cancelations at times, but with us only playing twice a month without counting the "possible" Fridays before, we really need you to show up. I usually cancel games if someone does not show up. I hate playing with missing people.

▶ Make sure you as a player have read, explored & understand this "entire" page before requesting to join this group If everything you read here seems fine to you, please return to the Roll20 page and request to join our group.

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

About Our Game Rules The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

I wanted to write up an article describing the game rules we will be using. We are using a "modified" Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy system but I guess you can say that we lean way more towards AD&D 1st edition than Old-School Essentials. Basically we are using Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy with "some" house rules and some "slight" adjustments to the classes to bring them up to scale with 1st edition since most of the adventures I plan to run are from 1st edition anyways.

The new Old-School Essentials books have released but, I feel the original Advanced Fantasy is just fine, I'll just import a few house rules in from the new books. We are going with the class system, not the race/class system from 1st edition & we will also be using the racial classes as well "like Elf, Dwarf, Halfling to name a few", basically the same as what is in the Old-School Essentials books but with a lot more choices to choose from since classes were pulled from other sources like the Carcass Crawler zine.

All magical items that are used in our games will come directly from the Old-School Essentials core books. All playable classes will have levels caps kept in place as they are listed in the books. All spells used in our campaigns will come straight out of the Old-School Essentials core books. I just found it exhausting to keep up with all the rules in 1st edition and you don't realize just how unorganized those rules are until you read the Old-School Essentials books. The reasoning behind me using this modified version of B/X classes is because for some reason, I seriously love the old style gameplay & I also wanted to expand on the core playable classes.

Old-School Essentials classes are not anywhere near as powerful as new edition classes, even AD&D classes so players can't simply have characters charge in and run through all the enemies that they face. It's a mix and match of materials that we use, but it is very easy to understand and gives players a classic feel to the type of gameplay they will experience.

The goal is to keep the core of our system Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy but with a few 1st edition house rules and some slight adjustments to the class sheets. As I said earlier, the bulk of our rules will be straight from the Old-School Essentials books but we do have a few minor adjustments that we made. I am sure we will encounter bugs that will need to be ironed out and fixed but overall I think I have it pretty well hammered out. I want to run my games as classic as I can but give my players a little more expansive style of play at the same time.

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Opening Introduction The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Session One: Confused Beginnings The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Links, Charts & Tables The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Secondary Skills

Starting Money

Attacking From behind

Coin Conversion

Difficulty Checks

Movement

Our Initiative System

Two Weapon Combat

Locations The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Underdark

Herald The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

House Rules The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

▶ Level One Hit Points: We give all level 1 characters max hitpoints. This is done "only" for level One. This gives the characters a fighting chance, especially the Wizard who could easily have 1-2 hit points. Yea I know, it is babying them at level 1. We try to make sure our players have a good time and not worry about tripping and taking lethal damage from a pebble. From level Two and higher, hit points are rolled normal.

▶ Death's Door: A character that is reduced to -1 or fewer hit points (no more than -10) is unconscious, bleeding out, and at risk of dying. They will continue to lose 1 hit point per round and if they reach -10, they dead. If a character is brought back up to 1+ hit points before dying, they will still require 1d10 rounds to regain consciousness and recover their footing before they can once again function normally. A PC who dies and is later Raised or Resurrected loses 1 point of CON permanently. This will also result in losing any bonus hit points previously acquired due to having an exceptionally high CON.

▶ Wizard Starting Spellbook: The way we handle a Wizard's starting spellbook at character creation is, the player chooses one spell (any spell) from the 1st level list of Magic-User spells in the Old-School Essentials books as the starting spell for that character. Their spellbook does have a cap on the number of spells it can hold. As the DM, I also "gift" the following spells to the Wizards spellbook―Read Languages, Identify, Write & Detect Magic.

▶ Spell Recovery: We use the spell recovery rules located here.

▶ Post Combat Arrow Recovery: 1, 2, or 3: The arrow is lost or broken. 4, 5, or 6: The arrow is found and put back in the quiver.

▶ Critical Hits & Fumbles: On a critical hit (nat20) that character does max weapon damage "then adds whatever modifiers it has to that max damage", on a fumble (nat1) that character automatically misses and that character loses the rest of his/her round caused by something happening (DM's choice, character drops his weapon, he slips and falls . . . that sort of thing).

▶ Clerics & Level One Spells: In Old-School Essentials, Clerics do not normally start out with an opening spell at level One which I find a bit harsh so we have house ruled in that Clerics will gain one level One spell at level One. Level two and beyond the Cleric follows the spell chart as it is written. Basically, to put it in simple terms, I have a kind heart . . . "occasionally".

▶ Initiative: For Initiative, each side uses 1d10 instead of 1d6. This reduces the chances of a tie and more easily allows for the implementation of the Dexterity Initiative Adjustment.

▶ Spell Casting During Combat: Spells interrupted during casting due to damage received, being accidentally jostled, etc. are lost, regardless of which side won initiative. Spells voluntarily aborted while being cast are not lost. Once casting begins, the caster may not perform any other actions during that round, whether the spell is completed or not.

▶ Elves Resistances: In AD&D Elves have a 90% resistance to spells/abilities that charm or unnaturally cause sleep, and Half-Elves have 30%. We use this rule in our modified system.

▶ Ranger Highlander Rule: Where a Ranger is concerned in a group, we use the highlander rule where only a single Ranger may be in the group at the same time.

▶ Armor (Putting On): See this ruling.

▶ Critical Hits & Fumbles: Critical Hit or Nat20 (Double Damage) + Modifiers. Fumble or Nat1 (Automatic miss and loss of rest of the round), some minor thing happens, they trip and fall, lose balance or some other similar thing.

▶ Exceeding Level 14: In our modified Old-School Essentials system, human character classes have a maximum level of 14 & demihuman characters have specific level limits according to a specific race. For our system, we use an optional rule requiring characters to earn double experience points to advance beyond their maximum racial limits.

▶ Alignments: We use the 5 alignment system that was used briefly in B/X in 1977. You can view those alignments at this link.

The Known World Campaign Setting The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Archives The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Organizations & Groups The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Independent Towns & Villages The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Independent Cities The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Castles & Strongholds The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

The Ruined Tower of Zenopus The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Interested in Being a Player?

About Our Campaign

Our Core Game Rules

Playable Classes

Dulwich

Opening Introduction

Session One:

Kingdoms & Nations The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Duchy of Ashlar

Pantheon The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax

Ready For Content The Known World & Raging Swan Press The current year for our homebrewed campaign setting is set during 672 CY (Common Year). Inspired By Gary Gygax