Review: Hulks and Horrors

Hulks and Horrors, written by John S. Berry and released by his very own Bedroom Wall Press, is a neo-retro game, designed specifically to be a game of "dungeon crawling in space". Its mechanics are partly derived from B/X D&D and, as a result, compatible with most D&D-esque games to a great extent. It provides an exploration-based game structure focussing on crawling through abandoned hulks, space stations, and ruins found in uncharted sectors.

Alternate Clerics

When it comes to house rules that signal a particular flavour and reinforce atmosphere and genre conventions true of a setting, Clerics and the workings of divine magic are one of the most often reworked parts of D&D. In most first and second generation OSR rules sets, Clerics work almost exactly like Magic-Users, except they do not need spell books and their spells come from a higher power, which also implies the existence of gods (or at least creatures with godlike capabilities) who are willing to grant power to their followers.

In this post I talk about some alternative ways of handling Clerics and their magic. In no way it is intended to be a detailed analysis or comprehensive list of options; nevertheless, I appreciate links and others ideas posted in the comments, for this post is not about inventing something new but appreciating the richness of house rules people have shared.