Merry Christmas! I hope everyone reading this is having a wonderful Christmas! We are having a quiet Christmas this year, just my wife and I (and 5 dogs and two cats, of course).

I have a Microlite81 Expanded Christmas present, at least for some fans of my Microlite74/81 games. I’ve been convinced to include some popular with new school D&D players classes as optional classes in Microlite81 Expanded: the Warlord, the Tiefling, the Warforged, and the Dragonborn. These classes will be modified as necessary to fit B/X sensibilities, but should be recognizable and fun to play for those who like them. As they will be entirely optional, those who have no interest in them can simply ignore them.

I’m sure that their mere presence (even as options) will offend some old school players and the fact that they are modified to fit B/X play (instead of B/X play being modified to fit them) will offend some new school players. This, of course, is the essence of a good compromise, everyone gets something they want but no one gets everything they want. Seriously, several people have added versions of these classes to Microlite74, so there is quite a bit of demand for them. I night as well make people who like them happy. After all, it’s Christmas.

When the rules get to public beta form around the first of the new year (finger crossed), I will need those who enjoy these classes to give them a good playtest as they probably will not get a lot of testing from my Sunday group as no one there really likes these classes.