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When designing a “lair assault” like this be careful to avoid the common pitfall of setting the wrong ratio of modern-to-medieval. Some of the terms you use such as “bunker” and “cut off” indicate you might be courting too much modernism. Our game is grounded in medieval technology, but merits...

To broaden your perspective, I recommend Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. It's told from a woman's perspective and is quit good at illustrating witty alternatives to combat.

Is the BECMI rules cyclopedia the one with no page numbers and the wacky monk class?

"In Howard's story it was the bizarre nature of the Tower's alien inhabitant." A ha! I overlooked that as a literary device until you mentioned it. In plain sight and I missed it. A strange/never-before-seen creature with an intriguing story does indeed do the trick. How shocking that...

Concocting the twist is my next hurdle. I need to dream up something unexpected that can jump out at the PCs during their exploration. Suggestions?

No worries, this is evolving. For vibe, I’m thinking something like The Tower of the Elephant by Robert E. Howard. Ideally, the players would equip themselves for a “night raid” and break into the cult compound under cover of darkness to have a look around. Keep in mind, the cult enjoys...

"Need to beef up what attracts the young people." The draw is developing power over perception (Illusionist spells). In game terms, the cult is constantly developing a crop of budding illusionists. Those who don't make the cut become fuel for the others. "As least two other NPCs should be...

One summer afternoon in 1981, I was walking around the neighborhood with Denny, another rising 5th grader, in search of something to do. He asked if I had ever played “D&D”? When I said no, he offered a confusing explanation and referred me to Alfred, one of the “big kids,” for a...

More fantastic ideas, this approach really works. In keeping with suggestions from Squeen and Beoric, I've started a separate thread in Project Workshop to document further dialogue on this topic. http://www.tenfootpole.org/forum/index.php?threads/fane-of-the-false-prophet.208/ Thanks Gandalf

Starting this thread to capture an adventure idea that erupted elsewhere. Feel free to chime in with comments/suggestions. Here's what we have so far. Intro: Another cohort of young people recently abandoned their apprenticeships to join that secretive cult at city center. Why does the Lord...

Wow! Thanks for the great feedback on the "secretive cult" Adventuring Idea. What say ye of these hooks? An agent of the church approaches players in secret with an offer. If they will infiltrate the cult and report back on its structure and purpose the church will provide them with all...

Adventuring Idea: Another cohort of young people recently abandoned their apprenticeships to join that secretive cult at city center. Why does the Lord Mayor allow this? Why do none return? What’s going on beyond those cyclopean doors? Perhaps it’s time for an obscure group of “expendables”...

Labyrinth Lord works well. I posted a recent round of Barrow Maze sessions with LL under Actual Play Reports. http://tenfootpole.org/forum/index.php?threads/barrow-maze-with-labyrinth-lord.92/ But the award for clean, clear, crisp design goes to Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I'm not a...

Best to continue the honesty. "Dangerous Puhson was (and is) carrying a torch for 5e, which is different, and is doing so surrounded by old-school gamers, which is pretty amazing." That's not accurate and he's not amazing. 5e already has a bonfire; it's far more popular than 1e. He's not...

"The newer versions, with character builds, less limitations etc. are about appeasing players and giving them what they want. 3E, 4E and 5E players are sort of like the Veruca Salts and Augustus Gloops of the RPG world." Very true. The last time I played 5e, my halberd-wielding, 1st level...

My groups have always split the experience so that each PC gets an equal share and each "follower" gets a half share. Remember the motive here is "capture the flag." Once that's done, who carries the flag is of less importance. Also, I like your mention of henchmen and allies. That's an oft...

"1. Familiarity. If you've been running RAW AD&D for decades, then its many rules have become second nature to you and probably don’t bother you. " Here's another one of those "assumptions" I referred to earlier. The 1e rules DO bother me, but so do the 2e, 3e, 4e, 5e, etc. They all have...

GP (and magic items) = XP is highly recommended. It really focuses the game. And, its does not make level advancement "rapid" so much as "steady." Without that mechanic, level advancement is slow.

"2. Nostalgia. There's no arguing with this. AD&D may capture another time for you, probably your teenage years. Remember when you rode to town to buy your first car? You were still smelling of horse when you got behind the wheel. Pure magic!" This is way over rated. The nostalgia wears off in...

The QWERTY keyboard analogy is apt here. We all know there are more "efficient" alternatives out there. In fact, within the context of ergonomics, one can prove that QWERTY is worse than the newer alternatives. Yet you are typing on a QWERTY right now.