Vintage 1983 Boot Hill Minis Haul – Perfect for Hurled into Eternity Testing

That's minis that is...

On a whim I ran across a "VultureBay" (aka eBay) auction for some vintage minis, vintage as in 1983 Boot Hill miniatures. For $3.50 I figured what the Hell and I ponied up and snagged them. A few days later they arrive.

Minis in Boot Hill makes perfect sense when one considers that Boot Hill 1st and 2nd edition are what I call "a miniatures battle game with a skeletal RPG system attached". That's no knock against Boot Hill, I like it immensely as a system. So much so in fact Boot Hill led me to create my own western RPG, Hurled into Eternity. Of course the fact that it is a skeletal RPG is the reason I created my own from whole cloth, rather than retrofit to Boot Hill.

Time to let the boys out..

I can't really recall seeing these guys on the shelf back in the day in gaming stores, but then again I wasn't really looking for them either, I was looking for Warhammer minis by the time I really became interested in the miniature aspect of the hobby.

I figured it was finally time to let the boys out.

Anyways, here is what I got in the haul: all in all very nice and in the blister too. Think about it, much like

Anyways, here is what I got in the haul: all in all very nice and in the blister too. Think about it, much like Stinky Pete in Toy Story 2 these guys have been in the box for quite some time, in their case for 31 years... So what did I do when I got them? Cut them out of the blister of course. An interesting thing about these minis is the fact that they came out in 1983. By this time (although we didn't know it) Boot Hill was in or near its hibernation phase. Sure BH4 and BH5 would come out, and later 3rd edition Boot Hill, but it was closer to its run than the beginning.

A few period appropriate minis for scale.

In terms of scale they seem to be about 22mm. They are not as small as 20mm, but certainly not 28mm "heroic scale". Note: Warhammer minis will look absolutely huge next to these guys. They are in line with the scale of Ral Partha minis which were the big player back in the early 80s (most of our early D&D games when we used minis utilized Ral Partha minis unpainted or "somewhat" painted).

Adventure squares?

The pack has three gun fighters; one is clearly a gunslinger getting ready to draw, the second wields a rifle up level firing and the last is what looks to be a cowhand firing; also looks like he's wearing a sombrero. It also looks like he has a confederate style shirt with buttons down either side rather than the middle.

Another look at scale: the three gunslingers, a 2nd edition samurai warrior from Games Workshop and a 3rd edition samurai, likewise from GW. The gunslingers are close to their contemporary the 2nd edition samurai but a bit smaller than the 3rd edition one.

Lastly, the back of the package had "adventure squares?" They are the right scale for the miniatures so cut it out and BAMM! Indoor dueling range!

In any event, I like them and will probably be painting them up to use for testing for Hurled into Eternity.

UK4- When a Star Falls – Old School AD&D Thoughts and a Review

 

Introduction

The seminal UK series has many great modules, but without a doubt the best is UK4 When a Star Falls Falls by Graeme Morris. As I alluded to in my derro post, this module is a match made in heaven. Derro + UK4 = awesome.

Given the module code, it was created by the UK division of TSR. Released in 1984, it’s a standard 32 pages with excellent full-color maps and a sharp graphical layout. The cover notes it’s for 6–10 players of levels 3–5 (though I can’t imagine running it with that many). It features the orange border common in later 1st edition modules, plus a proud Union Jack, because they can. The layout, borders, interior illustrations, title fonts… everything about the presentation is top-notch. The cover art fits the module perfectly, and having one consistent artist throughout really pays off, especially compared to the clashing styles you sometimes see in modules like A1- Slave Pits of the Undercity..

A flood of memories from the memory web...

I wanted to buy this based on the cover alone back in the day. As a poor, cash-strapped pre-teen I saw it in Dragon magazine and it immediately stood out. When I finally got my hands on it? I think I read it ten times in the span of just a few days.

When the argument breaks out online about which AD&D module is the best, I’m there backing UK4 every time.

Funnily enough, I think I discovered this module right around the time I bought the Unearthed Arcana with my own money (as I noted here). That’s probably why both still stand out so strongly for me.

Everything about this module is perfect or near-perfect. The stat blocks read cleanly, the text for the PCs is crisp and concise, and the art fits from stem to stern. And one of the best aspects? It has derro in it! When I first got the module I had no idea, but considering they’re my favorite monster and this is my favorite module? Total bonus. As I noted here, yeah — I’m a big fan of derro.

Background

The premise of the module is that the PCs need to investigate a fallen star. The adventure notes that the party spotted the star falling fairly close by, only 3–4 nights before the adventure begins. Shortly afterward they encounter a wounded memory web — a monster that absorbs memories. Once slain, it floods the PCs with a rush of memories, some of which are vitally important and give them a clear direction to the Tower of Heavens.

It feels a bit ham-fisted at first glance, but it gets the adventure moving quickly. And honestly, it beats the classic “a stranger in a cloak walks up to you in a tavern.” In a quasi-medieval world, comets are harbingers of doom — the locals would react with fear and curiosity, and so should the players.

DERRO!

There’s a fly in the ointment, however. While the elder sage Shalfey sends his monks to recover the fallen star, his treacherous former pupil Piyarz attempts a coup. The elder sage barely manages to barricade himself in the upper levels of the Tower of Heavens. Piyarz also sends his primary minion — the shade Sion — to track the monks and, eventually, the PCs. Sion is dangerous and unlikely to fight to the death. The best approach is often to let him slip away and reappear later for hit-and-run harassment.

From the memory web’s visions, the PCs should learn that a druid/sage named Derwyth holds key knowledge about the star’s location. If they were smart enough to recover the bestiary the monks were carrying, Derwyth will trade valuable calculations for it. (As an aside, a character with Astronomy or Astrology proficiency in 1st or 2nd edition should have a decent shot at figuring some of this out themselves. Without it, expect to pay around 1,500 gp.)

The Derro Outpost

Once armed with the location, the party heads to the impact site — which just so happens to be a derro outpost. For the derro, it was the worst possible timing. The star smashed into the top of the pass, flattening their lair, killing many, and leaving the survivors digging out amid the rubble. The ruined lair is excellently detailed and shows the recent chaos vividly: derro and slaves working frantically, structural damage everywhere, and some inhabitants who clearly do not rest easy. Like many parts of this adventure, the lair has great potential for continued use after the module ends.

Once (if) the party fights or sneaks through the derro, they recover the fallen star itself. It’s not magical, but it is extremely valuable.

Therno Pass is the next major locale after leaving the derro lair. There are some preset encounters that can be expanded, or the DM can use the excellent and flavorful random encounter chart — a real strength across almost the entire UK series. 

The Tower of Heavens

One of the coolest segments of the adventure is the Tower of Heavens and the sages who dwell within. Situated in a river and accessible only by ferry, it features a ton of excellent maps. The tower is “guarded” by gnomes? (Ugh.) Reaching it is no small feat, and the ferryman Hadley will try to get the players to give Shalfey’s password. If the PCs are smart and paying attention, he’s a solid source of information about the current state of the tower.

The sages — especially the elder sage Shalfey — are dependent on the recovery of the fallen star, though the PCs don’t know that at first. Piyarz’s rebellion stemmed from his impatience to take over as elder sage. With Shalfey’s monks gone, Piyarz attempted a coup. It was only partially successful; the elder sage managed to barricade himself in the uppermost levels. Piyarz also sent his primary minion, the shade Sion, to track the monks and eventually the PCs.

The color-coded robes of the sages (from pupil up to Shalfey in white) and their matching monk retinues add a nice visual and hierarchical touch. Interactions with the tower’s inhabitants matter, Shalfey will be grateful for his rescue, but he won’t be happy if the PCs cause major damage or loss of life. I’ve used the elder sage and his surviving pupils as recurring NPCs in my own campaigns before, and some were decidedly less than cordial to parties that had previously mistreated them.

A fun side note: I love the spectator at area T17. Anytime a spectator shows up, it’s time for great role-playing.

The path to Shalfey isn’t easy. Defenses like the Bridge of Faith (Area T18) and the permanent maze spell in the Labyrinth (Area T20) can cause real grief.

When the PCs finally reach the elder sage, he is just finishing the burning of the previous set of the Books of Prophecy. They are now blank and useless to him. The PCs must now take the fallen star to a reclusive group of deep gnomes, who will trade the next set of books for it. In return, Shalfey promises the adventurers one magical item apiece, randomly determined when drawn from a prismatic sphere.

The location of the wizened deep gnomes isn’t far, and the trip there can be uneventful or full of peril, depending on the DM’s choice.

The elder sage, Shalfey

The Deep Gnomes Forge

The ancient deep gnomes are known as the Kagu-svirfnebi. They are a small band that splintered from their main clan some time ago and have been waiting for the arrival of the PCs. They were alerted via scroll that the contents of the dome (actually a prismatic sphere) would be exchanged for a black rock that they would cut into one of the greatest gems ever known. It would take them a lifetime to cut it, but lust and greed overcame them. They cut off all contact with their kin and waited.

Now the PCs arrive with the stone, and their long wait is nearly over. The years of isolation have turned them slightly evil, with a strong penchant for avarice.

Deep Gnomes and their wacky machinery

Assuming the PCs come to an agreement, the gnomes will honor their word. They escort the party to the “shimmering dome,” where the star-rock is required to collapse the

But the adventure is not quite over. To return the books to Shalfey, the PCs must get past a pair of sub-adult red dragons. This encounter can be very deadly. The young dragons show up once the Kagu-svirfnebi workshop begins to self-destruct; the rumblings in the mountain draw them to investigate. The party may be exiting in a hurry, possibly at less than full strength and with the gnomes sabotaging their equipment. Multiple breath weapons could easily result in a TPK.

If run in 2nd edition AD&D, these two dragons are especially deadly. A young adult does 10d10+5 damage with its breath weapon, and breathing every other round? I doubt any group of 6–10 adventurers of levels 3–5 could withstand that if they choose to fight rather than parley.

Once the dragons are dealt with, it’s back to Shalfey for their rewards and the conclusion of the adventure. A crafty DM, however, can use many of the hooks left dangling: What are the derro doing in the area? What happens when the gnomes finally carve the gem, perhaps the derro want it for one of their crazy machines, in the style of Richard Shaver’s stories? What about Sion the shade? If he wasn’t slain earlier, he can reappear to harass the PCs later. There’s also strong potential for using Derwyth and Shalfey as recurring NPCs. Shalfey is old and well-connected in the region, and the Tower of Heavens is a perfect repository of lore and prophecy for planting future adventure seeds.

Suffice it to say, there are plenty of ways to make use of this material long after the module ends.

Final thoughts

There are only two real quibbles, and they’re minor: the minimals (ugh...I’m not a fan). Each of the two times I’ve run the adventure I’ve skipped them without a second thought. If I ran it again I’d probably use gibberlings as an ambush force instead.

The second is that I’ve never liked most of the sages’ names except for Shalfey. That’s pure personal preference. Maschin-I-Bozorg? Huh… what the hell is that?

Throughout the module, the random encounters really fit the feel of the adventure. It very much feels like you’re traveling through an enchanted land, with the right balance of animals and monsters. As I noted earlier, this is a strength shared by the vast majority of the UK series.

A good tie-in adventure is “Cloudkill” from Dungeon #79. It can link nicely afterward with more derro activity in the surrounding lands, perhaps from the same city, or a rival savant?

If the PCs thoroughly search Area K8 there’s the potential for a staggering amount of coin — up to 10,000 gp. Combined with the sizable (for the level) hoard in the red dragons’ lair, that’s a lot of treasure. It may be more than some DMs want at this level, so be warned.

One last note: the red dragons appear at the end while the PCs are hauling… books. Their breath weapons could pose a serious risk to the cargo. Something to consider.

Any way you slice it, this module is hands down great. No matter which scale you use, it gets 5 out of 5 stars or 10 out of 10. Yep, it’s that good

Have you run UK4 in your own campaigns? If so, how did it go and what were your players’ impressions?

Ironically, as I write this about my favorite AD&D module ever, one of my most treasured... I cant find my copy at all. So it looks like its off to find another. If it holds true to form prices will spike just as I go to buy one. And really, really true to form? I found my original one stuffed inside another module after my replacement arrived...

Warhammer 3rd Edition Temple Dogs – From 80s Model to Nippon Army

"I look fierce... but crumble like blue cheese!"

"Get this Wagon Train a moving!" Hah, you thought this was going to be a western post, didn't you?

How about that? Combining a western phrase like an Old West cowboy when actually referring to the Temple Dog minis from 33rd edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

I have had them on my radar for a number of years. Back when we played 3rd edition I used a GW manticore sans wings to simulate one for my Dark Elf army. Game-wise they were fluffy, but as a war beast they were decidedly mediocre. The problem is the same with almost any other war beast or large models like giants: they attract an inordinate amount of artillery and magic. With a Toughness of 5 Temple Dogs usually dumped their rider very quickly. The problem I have always had is they are stone, they are divinely powered, and they fall over in a stiff breeze.

As Cianty over at his blog noted, here is the flavor text from Warhammer Armies:

"Temple Dogs are stone statues found guarding temple entrances in the lands of Nippon and Cathay. They resemble nothing so much as a cross between a giant pekinese and a lion. In times of war, the power of the temple gods is channeled into these statues to animate them. It is a great honour to mount this divine animal, indicating that the rider has found great favour with the gods." 

(Warhammer Armies, page 26, 1991)

Sounds like they should be made of sterner stuff, no?

As I move along in fits and starts on my Nippon army I have come around to the conclusion I am highly unlikely if ever going to play my Nippon Army as anything other than a third edition one. That leaves me with the open possibilities of being able to model the army however I want.

The Temple Dog was pretty much the same in each iteration (as near as I can tell as I have never actually seen one) and came with one of three different riders. The part I really like? I like that the Temple Dog's tongue is hanging out just like a real dog. My previous golden retriever Teddy who passed away always did that. Each had a plastic spear/lance that was fairly common with models back then and the hand was molded to the spear. From the look of it they are on 40x40mm bases.

Excellent Temple Dog examples over at the Stuff of Legends!

The three riders are as follows:

•  A dark elf rider – least interest. As I pointed out this would have been useful back in the day. (EDIT: and as luck would have the first one I found in 2023).
• A samurai rider – the one I am most interested in. Three in particular would be good.
• A hobgoblin rider – could be useful to me particularly since I have two full units of 2nd and 3rd edition hobgoblin infantry.

As a side tangent: I have been searching eBay and they pop up now and again, but remain elusive. The maxim of eBay is playing out here: "be patient and do not overpay." I have been known to rail against insane eBay price gouging, another good indication of relative worth as it relates to inflation. If we use the sale price listed and convert it to US dollars it was about $3.28 in 1991. In today's dollars it is $5.74, a 75% increase when one counts for inflation. Often I have seen these in the neighborhood of $40-50...that's insane. Sure any item on eBay is what the market will bear, but that sure is some markup!

As noted above, a great example of this excellent model is here from Cianty, one of the luminaries of Bordertown Burning. We interviewed him for Issue #1 of the Word of Hashut waaaay back in 2008. It is more Kung-Fu inspired where I am working more for a Nippon inspired theme. Either way it is pretty cool.

In the end this has been one of the more challenging models to find. It is not super rare, but I do not really ever recall seeing it here in the US shops I frequented back when 3rd edition was current?

How common were temple dogs in your travels back in the day? 

How to Munchkin 1st Edition AD&D – Half Ogre, Druid, Drow & More

While the later editions suffer from "builds" when players think about characters, the earlier editions are not immune to their share of munchkinism. In fact, if one looks at just the Player's Handbook in 1st edition its easy to break the game, using the Unearthed Arcana it gets even easier. It bears repeating, although its tougher to do with just the Players Handbook in 1st it can be done. Enter the Monty Haul aspects of the game. I don't believe that Gary intentionally did this, after all I truly believe the game grew organically and fast. I also think how he played was much more high powered then those that consider themselves "Gygaxian".

2nd edition avoids this to a degree in my opinion as one of the prime areas for abuse in 1st Edition, weapon specialization is toned way, way down. This is not to say combat can't be broken, fighting with two weapons anyone, and then specialized?  (Of which there are ways to tone this down too). Point being   that 1st is open to more abuse in my opinion. So in a round about sort of way what I'm saying is that the cat was really let out of the bag even with 1st edition. The later editions *cough* 3rd *cough* really drove it home.

So without further delay here is breaking the game 1st edition style lifted from my response at dragonsfoot. The point of this exercise is that with some "creative thinking" the power curve is already bent/broken at the mid levels of the game.  

Rules: 100,000 Xps for each character. 6 characters and no race or class can repeat (the original OP on Dragonsfoot said five characters, but in true munchkin fashion I ignored that limitation). Here was my stab at it, not meant to be the best, but certainly in consideration for munchkinism. Dual classed and multi-classed are ok when the limitation of no class repeated is considered.

Half Ogre, 7th level Fighter (Dragon #29/73)
This is the only single class in the lineup. Forget the duelist or any of the NPC races/classes from Dragon that people think are uber-munchkin, this is it hands down. High possibility of an 18/00 strength (check the rules). Of course if doing this via a munchkin build, there is no rolling, he automatically has an a 18/00 strength.

Next he obviously has double specialized in bastard sword (which he can use one handed with no penalties per the Dragon #73 magazine article) and attacks 2/1. Its important to note those attacks are at +5/+9 with that sword before factoring in any magical items. Read that again, that's +6 to hit with a base attack of of doing 2d4+9/2d4+9 before any magical items 4. Speaking of which, he is of course wielding a bastard sword+3 happens to be a vorpal blade as well. If feeling really munchkin, give him bracers of blinding strike to improve his initiative and double his attacks 3/day. 

Because of being able to wield the sword one handed he uses a +3 shield with his off hand meaning his AC is at least at -3 if not lower due to full plate armor. in 1st edition the damage reduction of the full plate is another nice boon and if magical, even better.

This brute also starts at 2d10 for hit dice at 1st level, so just like the ranger, but better. This is of course coupled with his natural con of 18 means at 7th level he has 108 hit points. That's 20 more than a huge, ancient, red dragon.

He could skip missile weapons for the most part as he usually does need them, but when he does he throws spears. Barring that nothing says a longbow can't be built for his height an stature

Of course by this level he has several magical options: ring of fire resistance is standard as it allows him to confront a red dragon, head on. Boots and cloak of elvenkind (which are fairly common magical items) negate the full plate penalties for moving silently. Throw in a few potions of giant strength and speed for those times he really needs it.

For added "fun" consider: if this were not enough, half ogres can also be clerics. Rather then "waste" nearly 30,000 XPs towards fighter (in this scenario) that would still leave him a7th level fighter; re-purpose them to a multi-class. Half Ogres can be clerics but their spell casting is only average even with a 12 wisdom, but he's likely the last resort cleric or healing himself only. He can still use edged weapons as multi-class clerics are allowed to or use the above mentioned hammer/girdle/gauntlets combo. It will impact his hit points some, but it might not be worth the consideration. 

NOTE: I'm not saying I would add cleric to him in this scenario, I'm just saying its possible.

Gray Elf 6th level Druid/ 5th level Ranger/ 5th level Magic User
(per Gary's errata in Dragon #96)
Ranger is included for no other reason then to be specialized in longbow in
order "mow down" enemies with a frightening rapidity (1). 19 dex + elven
bonus for bows + abilities for specialization and oh, fires 3/1 and each
arrow in point blank range that does 6-16 points of damage before factoring
magical arrows he's sure to have. If anything is caught in it's "reaper zone" (trademark- pending) that's 18-48 points of damage per round. 

Further, he wields a bow that allows him to gain his natural strength bonus up to 18/75 range so skip magical ones. That adds a +3 to damage per arrow. So in close for reference that's 1d6x2+2, +3 for strength per arrow. That equates to 9-17 per arrow with a minimum of 3 shots. And if that is still not enough he gets to fire one more arrow prior to initiative making that 4 arrows in a single round. 

Hit points are fairly good due to his ranger class adding 2d8 hit dice to the mix at 1st. Because his hit points are pretty good can be the 3rd or 4th line fighter. Could go toe-to-toe with bigger baddies when needed by fighting long sword and hand axe (short sword makes more sense) and with his dexterity he can pull it off. Pile in his animal helpers who are subject to the senior druid's animal growth spells (more on that in a moment).

Between the archer and the half ogre they might kill a red dragon in a single round by themselves.

Wears magical leather armor or bracers to preserve his stealth abilities as an elf. Or elven chain mail if need be. He primarily sits back and takes out targets of opportunity, like enemy spell casters. Can also cast as needed obviously. He is the junior druid to the dual classed druid below and his animal followers bulk out the party. Oh and he can cast druid and magic user spells...

As he rises in levels he gains additional magic user and druid spells. That leaves him with the potential for unlimited druid, 18th level magic user and 14th level ranger.

For other magical equipment the poorly worded quiver of Elhonna (2) is a must. If you really want to make it "him even more fearsome? Make him a Archer-Ranger from Dragon #45 (shudder). 

(1) and (2), yes...I know there is errata for both, but we can skip that little bit in true munchkin fashion.

Dual classed Half Elf, 1st level Fighter/9th level Druid
That's not a typo, the druid drop kicks everything's ass in 1st edition. Read "Underestimating Druids (is a Bad Practice)" in Dragon #119 until it sinks in. A revelation happened in this thread when people realized that animal growth is one of the most bad ass spells a druid can cast in 1st Edition. Basically 

Imagine he has a couple of bears he casts animal growth on, that doubles hit dice/hit points and damage...Lets that sink in.

He is the 2nd line fighter and with animal growth on his furry companions of his traveling zoo and complements the ogre in the melee. Also as a dual classed fighter he gets access to % strength. Add to this with the fact that he double specialized in scimitar at first level when he was a fighter. When really in trouble, dual wields with a flame blade spell in the off hand. I see no issue with this in munchkin-land as its not actually a weapon, its magical flame! Probably has the group's bracers of defense from previous adventures.

Spell casting outpaces both cleric and magic user at this XP level as he has access to 5th level spells. And at 9th level druid? He has access to 5th level spells besides the previously mentioned animal growth. 

Being a half elf he gets the standard half elf racial abilities of resistance to sleep and charm and secret door detection and the like.  

Likely has psionics too (of course) and the good ones, nothing crappy like empathy...

Half Orc 6th level Fighter / 7th level Thief
Arrrrgh, allocating his 100,000 XPs and dividing between the two classes means he is 1 XP away from 7th level assassin! In true munchkin fashion I've bump him one more XP and behold, 7th level assassin! 18/99 strength is a natural here as is a 19 constitution. He gets included due to being not being able to duplicate races per the rules above, still he is a viable character for the roster; much more than meets the eye. Hit points are actually good despite multi-classing as he gets 1d10/1d6 divided by 2 but has a 19 con which gives +5 hit per level. Depending on how the DM rules it you could tack that on as 2.5 per each level gained per class. The max says that if he rolled maximum hit points each time (and of course he does) in both classes he has around 83 hit points

His role is to not go toe toe-to-toe in combat (although he could). The druid and his pets are the back up for the half ogre fighter. Where the half ogre shines is backstab. 

For backstab? A backstab from this guy would cut most things in half as its not explicitly stated that a fighter/thief(assassin) is limited to weapons on a backstab. 

And since its not stated he of course uses a two-handed sword for such attacks and is double specialized in it. With that in mind his damage is 1d10x3 +5(strength), +8 damage (strength and double specialization) +3 magical two-handed sword plus any poisons he is sure to be using...

To preserve his stealth abilities he uses a magical leather armor which is of course the +5 variety which leaves him around a AC of 3 which for mid levels is not great. To help mitigate this he always seems to have a few potions of invulnerability which gets his AC to 1 and a +2 to saving throws.

And of course he's using poison on his magical two-handed sword...

If people are going to be really "sticky" on this then go with long sword instead or some such or convert to fighter/thief, plus ring of invisibility and boots of elven kind. He also has assassination abilities and can provide the party with thief skills.



Dark elf female 6th level Cleric/5th level Cavalier/ 5th level Magic User
Packed with innate magical abilities, superior infravision and the ability to fight with two weapons at no penalty, this is a fearsome combo. Here horseman’s maces (magical of course) will work well, but consider magical long swords abound in the game and Dungeon Masters Guide so have at it. She wears full plate armor for protection (remember the damage reduction) and still casts magic user spells and can wield a shield as needed.

Plus her innate abilities as a female dark elf like detect lie, levitate, darkness, suggestion, dispel magic, etc.

She also has a wide variety of weapon abilities, innate magic resistance, immunity to various spells, resistance to mind effecting spells, bonuses to weapons like longsword, lance (a few death lances from D3- Vault of the Drow) and horseman's mace, etc. Poisoned weapons go without saying here on any of these weapons.

Oh and can increase her strength, dex and con every time she levels by rolling 2d10 being a cavalier. 

While she can use other weapons she prefers to use her girdle of storm giant, gauntlets of ogre power and hammer of thunderbolts. She can pull this off as she is unusually tall for a dark elf female at 6' tall.

Her steed at 4th level is some sort of gigantic spider of course (no namby-pamby unicorn riders here). Then add in clerical and magic user spell casting to good effect. She probably has a retinue of undead fodder following her around via animate dead.

And all this is before we get to the fact she can cast the likes of lighting bolt and fireball.

Oh and don't forget she has innate drow magic resistance which for her is 60% given her current level.

Deep Gnome 6th level Illusionist/7th level Assassin

AARRRRGGGH... another 1 XP away again for 7th level! However, applying the "fix" outlined for the half orc above and boom! He has 1 more XP, and thus 7th level assassin. The deep gnome special abilities really push this over the top even at mid levels: camouflage, bonuses to saves, spell abilities, etc.

Assassination abilities and poison are another benefit here along with minor thief skills to back up the half orc and hopefully catch anything that was missed. He can scout with the ranger/druid/mu listed above with spells at his disposal, especially bending the curve with the vague phantasmal force... In a way he is the "utility infielder" of the group: jack of all trades, master of none.

Has access to weapons such as dagger+2, Longtooth and bracers of archery to provide a secondary archer for the group; shortbow+3 and a few choice arrows of slaying. Since he is not fighter in his multi-class and can't have specialization he fights with short sword and dagger both of which are envenomed  with poison as mentioned above.
Recap

• Spellcasting- In short this setup has overall spell casting down pat: two of the characters have Magic User as a class,  one illusionist, one clerical and two with druidic spell casting. That's a tremendous amount of raw magical power at mid levels. Consider, two characters hurling 5d6 fireballs... the 9th level druid has access to spells like animal growth, insect plague, wall of fire, transmute rock to mud... The magic users probably have multiple scrolls with dispel magic. Magic User spells might be a bit weak, but at this XP level druids are far batter anyway. An overlooked part is with the druids rapid rise their spell casting which is superior to the clerics so their healing is just as good as the drow female.

• Melee- Both of the main fighters are extreme examples and complement the other, one melee, one missile. The druid/ranger/magic user fires his bow while the half ogre closes to melee. The druid gets specialization too since he is dual classed and overall three of the characters are specialized; the dark elf getting weapons of choice due to her cavalier class. Between the characters one of has assassination abilities, two with back-stab and four of the characters are using poison regularly; I could see the case made for all of them, the half ogre hurling poisoned spears? Three or possibly four are attacking with two weapons when it comes down to melee. When it gets rough the dual classed druids animal growth spells on his and the druid/ranger/mu animal companions can get nasty.

• Stealth- This group will be tough to surprise (the druid/ranger/mu) and has a good overall stealth capability. Notice I didn't go too overboard with some of the magic items. Boots and cloaks of elvenkind aren't artifacts after all and in this party coupled with the natural stealth nature of the members? When needed they can sneak around just fine and the gnome thief/illusionist is there to help further. The druid/ranger/mu, thief/illusionist or the half orc fighter/thief can all play the role of scouts. The half orc in particular can chop down opposition with a well placed back-stab as he is rarely if ever in the front line fighting it out but waiting for the right time then BAM!!!

• Mundane- when considering munchkinism don't neglect the mundane: the longbow is the best missile weapon in the game doing 1d6 points of damage per arrow, but its RoF of 2/1 makes it swine compared to crossbows. Looking at this group there are four characters (the half ogre, gray elf, 1/2 elf and 1/2 orc) that have access to this weapon with one specialized in it. That means the half ogre, dual classed druid/fighter and half orc can fire six shots a round. Damage of the combined arrows if they hit is 6-36 or the equivalent of a wand of fireballs. Now add in 3 or 4 shots from the specialized archer? That's up to ten arrows in a round. To crank this up even further this could actually be a use for the flame arrow spell which might be one of the worst spells in 1st edition, but in this context? Gives the drow something to do while polishing her nails. If that doesn't work, all of them firing poison arrows instead? Oh and the gnome can use a short bow boosting this to 12 arrows in a single round. While not quite as bad as 3rd edition build malarkey for archers this is nothing to scoff at. In first edition by way of example? You can hit a dragon and wound it with a non-magical arrow. And if fighting lycanthropes, The entire archer brigade of the groups has access to silver arrows.

Another advantage that might not be readily noticeable is that this group is redundant in almost every area. There is at least one other character that can back up the other. This also means that in a lot of cases there is a good degree of success should say one of the thief fail to unlock a chest, find a trap, etc, the assassin can back him up.

The only alignment issue is the druid/ranger/magic user, but make him CG with CN tendencies and everything works out. I know Dragon #100 says they have to be Neutral Good, but we will fudge that a bit too.

One observation is that no dwarfs or halflings need apply for this group; nor do thief-acrobat, paladin,
single class thief, barbarian or monk. Bard is the odd man out, but he would be next "off the bench" in In my opinion but having to progress through fighter and thief firs limits s how high his bard level would be at 100,000 XPs. If anyone gets replaced its probably the half orc with the bard or maybe an illrigger. The lack of a single class thief really points out there is no real need for them as the multi class thief and assassin plus the cleric can take care of  this role. Basically replacing the single class thief in aggregate.

Magic items are modest and nothing that a band of 6-7th level PCs wouldn't have access to...well with a bit of stretching here or there. 

So there you have it, pretty easy to get a munchkin build in 1st Edition AD&D, its simply easier in 3rd and 3.5 Edition.

How about your munchkin party(ies), lets hear them.