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| Art: "Storyteller" by Fuseblower |
Here a sentence I never expected to write... at least not with my name attached to it.
Today, The Unusual Predicament of Sophie De Murtas was released as a digital download on BasicFantasy.org.
The adventure began life in 2016 as an unfinished module by Stuart Marshall, a writer and editor whose influence on the OSR is difficult to overstate. Stuart is best known as the Editor-in-Chief and co-author (with Matt Finch) of OSRIC, but more than that, he had a particular way of thinking about fantasy adventures: humane, literate, structurally sound, and quietly clever. At some point after releasing r12, he stepped away from the public Internet, and Sophie De Murtas remained unfinished.
With some hesitation (and a great deal of respect) I stepped in to complete it.
Even in its incomplete state, Sophie De Murtas had strong bones. Stuart had established a compelling central mystery, a memorable cast of NPCs, particularly Sophie herself, a tone that balanced melancholy, curiosity, and quiet danger; and several locations that felt inhabited, rather than merely keyed.
What was missing was not imagination, but closure. Threads were introduced and left unresolved. The situation was unstable, but not yet allowed to tip. The adventure gestured toward consequences without quite reaching them.
In short: the ingredients of a great story were already present. My goal was not to overwrite Stuart’s voice, but to answer it, carrying his ideas forward to their natural conclusions.
Specifically, I focused on:
- Structural Completion: The original manuscript stopped short of resolution so I added clear escalation paths, a defined endgame (with multiple possible outcomes), and consequences that emerge logically from player action rather than authorial decree.The adventure now knows how it ends. Or, more accurately, how it can end in several different ways.
- Expanded Locations and Interconnections: Several areas hinted at in r12 are now fully realized, with attention paid to how NPCs move and react, what changes when the party intervenes (or doesn't), and how information travels through the setting. Nothing exists in isolation anymore.
- Motivations: Where r12 sketched characters and their roles, I tried to give them traction: why they stay, what they fear, and what they will do if pushed. I avoided turning anyone into a monologue delivery system. If an NPC explains something, it’s because they have a reason to.
- Playability: I made a conscious effort to ensure the adventure can be run without improvisational heroics from the GM and provides enough clarity to adjudicate consequences, but still leaves space for player-driven solutions. I hope I succeeded. UPSDM is not a "plot module." It's a situation that reacts.
That said, I did not try to write like Stuart Marshall. I don't think like he does, and pretending otherwise would have been dishonest. Instead, I tried to write adjacent to his work. I think the result is something close enough that the seams don't show too badly, but distinct enough that I’m not ventriloquizing a voice that isn't mine.Where the tone shifts slightly, I hope it feels like development rather than intrusion.
Working on The Unusual Predicament of Sophie De Murtas reinforced something I already believed: good adventures are less about clever twists than about careful attention. Stuart paid attention to people, to implications, and to the emotional weight of fantasy situations. My job was to keep paying attention after the manuscript stopped.
This is not a rescue, and it’s not a reboot. It’s a completion.Even unfinished, Stuart had written something worth finishing. I hope r18 honours that. If nothing else, I hope players come away feeling that Sophie’s predicament (unusual as it is) was finally allowed to resolve.
One final thought: I’m deeply grateful to Basic Fantasy RPG for fostering a culture where something like this is not only possible, but actively encouraged. I bought OSRIC years ago as a fan. Full stop. I admired the work from a distance and never imagined I’d be anything other than a reader and a gamer.
Did I ever think my name would appear on a cover because of something we made together? Absolutely not.
Basic Fantasy has always treated creation as a shared endeavour rather than a gated one. It’s a space where contributions are welcomed on their merits, where stewardship matters more than ownership, and where finishing good work is considered as valuable as starting it. That ethos is the only reason this project exists in the form it does.
I’ve never met Stuart Marshall, and despite trying, I haven't been able to reach him. Even so, it’s an honour to have my name appear alongside his on something he began. That’s not a thing I take lightly. I hope, wherever he is, that he’d recognize the care with which this was handled and that he’d feel the work was respected.
