Jeffro Johnson, the author of Appendix N: The Literary History of Dungeons & Dragons, is teaming up with Cirsova Publishing to publish his next book, Winning Secrets, that promises to reveal the “lost secrets” of Dungeons & Dragons.
During the COVID lockdowns Johnson along with a group of other Christian men known as the BrOSR came together to take the Old School Revival (OSR) seriously. They set out to play Dungeons & Dragons the way it was originally written. They would play the game Rules as Written with no homebrewing or house ruling to discover how the game was played if they took creator Gary Gygax’s rules to heart.
Specifically, the group focused on RAW, use of 1:1 time, and re-incorporated David Wesely’s Braunstein from co-creator Dave Armeson’s Blackmoor Campaign. This led to the creation of the Brozer: Island of War and Winter.
Now, Johnson, RuleOfThule, Bdubs1776 and Cirsova are publishing Winning Secrets. The book “collects the receipts for the style of play that Jeffro and the BrOSR championed. That includes Jeffro’s Trollopulous campaign, the first BrOSR campaign, as well as essays and commentaries regarding the definitive pillars of BrOSR-style play and the guiding values they champion.
The book offers to share “the brilliant lost secrets of great campaigns which gave birth to the D&D game rules” and “change the way you think about D&D forever. More importantly, it will show you how the game was intended to be played.”
It will specifically include:
A persuasive case for why contemporary approaches to RPGs cannot deliver on the game that was promised by the early D&D rule sets.
A thorough breakdown of the four pillars of Real D&D, lore from the dawn of RPGs that will elevate the excitement and engagement at YOUR table!
An explanation of why only Christian brotherhood could break down the barriers that were preventing all of us from experiencing the RPG campaign of our dreams.
The recreation of a lost artform and an entire world of gaming knowhow that Jeffro pulled out of complete oblivion.
Cirsova Publishing will launch a Kickstarter for Winning Secrets beginning on February 25th that will run through April 1st.
The company has already put together a sign-up page so interested individuals can get notified when the campaign launches.
NEXT: RUMOR: D&D 6th Edition Reboot Incoming As Hasbro Scrambles To Save Dying Franchise