I would say steal ideas from your most obscure interests and don't worry too hard about how to combine them. I think a lot of the old DnD thematic weirdness came from disparate sources of inspiration clashing together and generally being strange together.
If you take away the players' ability to metagame by not using what they already know to build the world, then it will de-facto be more mysterious, because the players are learning about the world along with their characters.
CharlesThe Plant is correct about drawing on sources your players aren't familiar with to create the mystery and wierdness. I highly suggest drawing on 3rd party sources to build your setting to be outside of what the party knows. If that's not an option at present for you, you can re-skin the D&D monsters, or look up "Homebrew 5e D&D monsters" and use the ones that look fun (note they're not all balanced well, so apply due caution if doing so).
If your party aren't familiar with the Kobold Press books, you can get the Tome of Beasts (1-3) and Creature Codex for a lot of creatures you can introduce that your players won't know the mechanics or lore of, making them new and mysterious.
You can also have your world filled with the races from the Tome of Heroes (also by Kobold Press) instead of the races in 5E's expansion books.
If you have the players pick their races from only the PHB races, then you've defined what's familiar to the players and their characters, and everything else will be new.
If you want specific adventures to run, Goodman Games has released several classic adventures like the Isle of Dread that have been updated to use the 5E mechanics. Reading through these, even if you choose not to run them, will help provide the mindset that will give you ideas for your own similar mysteries and adventures. (The Isle of Dread is a good one).
Have a dungeon where one room contains 3 trolls, and the next room contains a hydra - for no logical reason.
Yes. And the adventure’s entire plot is: kill all the things and get all the treasure. The mystery is, Why are we doing this?
For an actual answer, older adventures also tended to challenge the players more than the characters. For example, there was no investigation check to search the room, the player had to describe the details of how they searched. I’m not arguing if that’s better or worse, but it did amp up the tension a bit. You knew the failure was on you, not a bad die roll. Also, death at 0 hp really changes the feel as opposed to bleeding out over a few rounds.
Have a dungeon where one room contains 3 trolls, and the next room contains a hydra - for no logical reason.
Yes. And the adventure’s entire plot is: kill all the things and get all the treasure. The mystery is, Why are we doing this?
For an actual answer, older adventures also tended to challenge the players more than the characters. For example, there was no investigation check to search the room, the player had to describe the details of how they searched. I’m not arguing if that’s better or worse, but it did amp up the tension a bit. You knew the failure was on you, not a bad die roll. Also, death at 0 hp really changes the feel as opposed to bleeding out over a few rounds.
On the other hand, it created an hour long preamble to every room.
"We creep down the hall. Bob will be tapping the ground with a 10 foot pole while Jim will be spreading fine sand out to see for any light based traps. Jim the elf will be carefully checking the walls for hidden switches while Babbs will keep her arrow trained forward for 2 steps then turn and cover our rear for 2 steps, holding action to fire at the first thing that enters her line of sight."
And then you repeat this EVERY time you enter a new space so the DM doesn't say "you missed the trap, role to save against death magic!"
"We creep down the hall. Bob will be tapping the ground with a 10 foot pole while Jim will be spreading fine sand out to see for any light based traps. Jim the elf will be carefully checking the walls for hidden switches while Babbs will keep her arrow trained forward for 2 steps then turn and cover our rear for 2 steps, holding action to fire at the first thing that enters her line of sight."
And then you repeat this EVERY time you enter a new space so the DM doesn't say "you missed the trap, role to save against death magic!"
Ah, just get a copy of Grimtooth's Traps - very old school ;-)
ask players if they're proficient with bill-guisarme because that could affect the thac0. if they're confused, tell them to give the weight of their weapon in gold pieces. when that still doesn't have the table warmed up, simply ask everyone to list out their hirelings by profession and you'll role play having someone sorting that out.
too meta? that's fair. well, incidentally, hirelings would be a great step depending on your perception of retro. imagine not just assaulting the tomb of horrors, but actually leading the excavation of it. the party are the arcane experts, the mysterious ringers brought in to tackle what has otherwise so far just been rumors and an unassuming hillside. workers would include not just diggers and laborers but also an armorer for the paladin, scribes for the wizard, and acolytes for the cleric who insists someone be sent in to chant (briefly) over each inch... until a few traps are triggered and moral takes a dip. is the remote location enough to keep everyone from leaving? how about curiosity? or greed? is one hireling a little overly committed to seeing this through and what's that tattoo they seem to be keeping covered in bandages?
your mileage may vary.
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How could I give my campaign that feeling of mystery and strangeness of early D&D editions?
Soon to be DM.
Currently in a homebrew post-apocalyptic game.
I would say steal ideas from your most obscure interests and don't worry too hard about how to combine them. I think a lot of the old DnD thematic weirdness came from disparate sources of inspiration clashing together and generally being strange together.
If you take away the players' ability to metagame by not using what they already know to build the world, then it will de-facto be more mysterious, because the players are learning about the world along with their characters.
CharlesThe Plant is correct about drawing on sources your players aren't familiar with to create the mystery and wierdness. I highly suggest drawing on 3rd party sources to build your setting to be outside of what the party knows. If that's not an option at present for you, you can re-skin the D&D monsters, or look up "Homebrew 5e D&D monsters" and use the ones that look fun (note they're not all balanced well, so apply due caution if doing so).
If your party aren't familiar with the Kobold Press books, you can get the Tome of Beasts (1-3) and Creature Codex for a lot of creatures you can introduce that your players won't know the mechanics or lore of, making them new and mysterious.
You can also have your world filled with the races from the Tome of Heroes (also by Kobold Press) instead of the races in 5E's expansion books.
If you have the players pick their races from only the PHB races, then you've defined what's familiar to the players and their characters, and everything else will be new.
If you want specific adventures to run, Goodman Games has released several classic adventures like the Isle of Dread that have been updated to use the 5E mechanics. Reading through these, even if you choose not to run them, will help provide the mindset that will give you ideas for your own similar mysteries and adventures. (The Isle of Dread is a good one).
Hope this helps.
Have a dungeon where one room contains 3 trolls, and the next room contains a hydra - for no logical reason.
Yes.
And the adventure’s entire plot is: kill all the things and get all the treasure. The mystery is, Why are we doing this?
For an actual answer, older adventures also tended to challenge the players more than the characters. For example, there was no investigation check to search the room, the player had to describe the details of how they searched. I’m not arguing if that’s better or worse, but it did amp up the tension a bit. You knew the failure was on you, not a bad die roll.
Also, death at 0 hp really changes the feel as opposed to bleeding out over a few rounds.
If anyone shows up with a level one wizard, kill him moments before he tries to save the day with his single use of Magic Missile.
On the other hand, it created an hour long preamble to every room.
"We creep down the hall. Bob will be tapping the ground with a 10 foot pole while Jim will be spreading fine sand out to see for any light based traps. Jim the elf will be carefully checking the walls for hidden switches while Babbs will keep her arrow trained forward for 2 steps then turn and cover our rear for 2 steps, holding action to fire at the first thing that enters her line of sight."
And then you repeat this EVERY time you enter a new space so the DM doesn't say "you missed the trap, role to save against death magic!"
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Ah, just get a copy of Grimtooth's Traps - very old school ;-)
ask players if they're proficient with bill-guisarme because that could affect the thac0. if they're confused, tell them to give the weight of their weapon in gold pieces. when that still doesn't have the table warmed up, simply ask everyone to list out their hirelings by profession and you'll role play having someone sorting that out.
also, lots of monty python jokes.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
Hmm, I don't think confusing them by shouting out random 1e mechanics in a 5e game will help. I agree about the Monty Python jokes though.
Soon to be DM.
Currently in a homebrew post-apocalyptic game.
too meta? that's fair. well, incidentally, hirelings would be a great step depending on your perception of retro. imagine not just assaulting the tomb of horrors, but actually leading the excavation of it. the party are the arcane experts, the mysterious ringers brought in to tackle what has otherwise so far just been rumors and an unassuming hillside. workers would include not just diggers and laborers but also an armorer for the paladin, scribes for the wizard, and acolytes for the cleric who insists someone be sent in to chant (briefly) over each inch... until a few traps are triggered and moral takes a dip. is the remote location enough to keep everyone from leaving? how about curiosity? or greed? is one hireling a little overly committed to seeing this through and what's that tattoo they seem to be keeping covered in bandages?
your mileage may vary.
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!