The Portcullis Screeches Open: 10 Years, Universal Rules, and a Remodeled Dungeon!
Screeeeech.
Apologies for the rust. That is the sound of the old iron portcullis finally being cranked back into the ceiling. Dust is flying, cobblestones are being scrubbed of old blood, and as you can see from the commotion behind me, the work crews are pulling double shifts.
Let's address the gargoyle in the room: Portcullis RPG officially started on January 30th, 2017.
Yes, ten years ago.
Not long after launching, on February 20th, 2018, our gleeful little reprobate of a mascot, Redcap, underwent a massive visual evolution. We were incredibly fortunate to tap the brilliant mind of James V. West (now widely known as J.V. West) to bring Redcap to life—right before his distinct style rightfully exploded into OSR fame.
Since then? Well, the intervening years were a whirlwind. Life got busy, and like many of you, I found myself caught in the relentless, exhausting turnover between modern editions of the world's most popular RPG and the shifting tides of the Old School Renaissance. Redcap slipped into the shadows, the blog grew some cobwebs, and a few careless goblin helpers accidentally walked backward into gelatinous cubes.
But a milestone like a ten-year anniversary isn't for looking backward. It’s for clearing out the dead weight.
While the blog was quiet, my philosophy on the hobby evolved. I realized I am completely done chasing the edition treadmill. I don’t want to talk about system-specific bloat, hyper-localized errata, or mechanics that will be obsolete by the next print run.
Moving forward, Portcullis is dedicated to system-neutral, edition-free role-playing advice.
Whether you are running the literal 1974 original white box, a gritty OSR retro-clone, a streamlined 2d6 indie engine, or the absolute newest edition on the market, the advice, hazards, and random tables cooked up in this dungeon are designed to drop seamlessly into your game tonight. A good trap is a good trap. A tense psychological dilemma transcends stat blocks.
Redcap is back at the foreman's desk, the pig-faced orcs are painting over the old designs, and we are stripping the mechanics down to pure, unadulterated adventure.
Grab your ten-foot poles. The gate is open. What have your players triggered lately?
