Gaming All Over The Place

Welcome to Northumberland

2012-01-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

So, I'm almost done with my Adventurer's Guide to Northumberland, an approximately 64 page guide to the Frankensteined Swords & Wizardry White Box game I'm hoping to run in the near future. Unfortunately, the family I was going to spring it on has dropped off the face of the Earth, leaving me with a neat set of rules to test out and no one to play it with. I've been playing in Joseph Bloch's Adventures Dark & Deep playtest for about a year now, and I'd like to get back into running a game, even if my Lamentations of the Flame Princess game never really seemed to click with myself or the players.

Anyway, here is the map. The players will begin in hex 1948, in the border village of Camney.

Carcosa: Initial Thoughts

2011-12-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

I picked up Carcosa from Jim LotFP's webstore last night and as I wait for my hard copies of it and Isle of the Unknown to appear, I'm looking through the PDF and I'm thinking:

Carcosa is Thundarr the Barbarian reimagined by Lovecraft, Moorcock, and R.E. Howard, drawn by the 1970s staff of Heavy Metal, and put to motion by Ralph Bakshi.

I have absolutely NO idea who I might play this with, but it's certainly intriguing.

And beautiful. Jim can put together a good looking book, that's for sure.

Blackmarsh and S&W White Box

2011-10-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

So, I was talking to a local friend of mine who, along with his wife, is an artist about his daughter. I guess she was interested in Dungeons and Dragons and was interested in trying it out. She went to a game sponsored by a local meetup group and didn't get a very warm reception. I'm thinking it was the stereotypical D&D-geek-arrogance that I am all too familiar with, but still shake my head at in sadness. Anyway, it kind of put her off the game. I heard this and gave a quick little spiel to defend the game and explain how some of the less socially adept members of our hobby can be, especially to young, female newcomers. He got it, and I eventually offered to run a game for the three of them and Mrs. Higgipedia (who is also friends with them) will round out the group of four.

I've been tapering off my game with that same meetup group (mostly because Wednesday nights aren't all that great this semester) and this group looks like it might be a good fit. My wife has played (mostly 2e and a little bit of 4e with some of our other friends), but the rest are going to be blank slates. I am kind of excited to be bringing some people INTO the hobby for the first time.

I gave it some though about what I'd be running. I thought that since both parents are artists and their daughter is a smart 14-year-old girl, something very rules-light would be in order. It also has to be thematically appropriate for a 14-year old. That meant that my two go-to systems, Adventures Dark & Deep and Lamentations of the Flame Princess were out. I looked through my books and decided on Swords & Wizardry White Box. It's as rules-light as it gets and it will give my very creative group of players and I a lot of leeway to tweak stuff without re-writing rules or gaming the system.

I know from my previous LotFP game that I don't have THAT much time to write for a game right now, so I am using a pre-made setting... Rob Conley's Blackmarsh. I've known Rob since 1993, although I reckon he wouldn't remember me from PRO (although he knew my old roommate at Penn State), and I've been a big fan of his stuff at Bat in the Attic. Blackmarsh was small, simple, and perfect for my needs.

So, I've been poring over it (as much as you can pore over 24 pages) coming up with notes from the book as written and then looking into what I'm going to do with it in this particular game. I'm excited. I'll try to post game reports this time.

Fall Semester Blues

2011-09-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not really blue that the fall semester is here, it's a good group of classes--Experimental Psychology, Psychological Testing, Abnormal Psychology, and Advanced Linear Statistical Modeling. Can you tell what I want to do after college?

What is disappointing is that gaming will take a back seat for the next few months. In addition to the classes I'm taking as a student, I'm also an Undergrad Assistant for a Childhood Development Psych class, president of the local chapter of the Student Veterans of America, and I'm going to be fairly active in the Psych Association and two honor societies. The things we do to get into good grad schools...

I would LOVE to get a regular game going, but I'm just not sure I'll have consistent time to do so. Maybe I'll just read up on all of the City State of the Invincible Overlord and Empire of the Petal Throne stuff I've picked up this summer, bringing me back to the times when D&D was incredibly wondrous, but I never had the money to buy all of the things I saw in the Mail Order Hobby Shop catalog and were out of print by the time I had some bread to throw around.

The Cube: Far from done, but...

2011-08-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

I am far from done with The Cube, but I'm at the point where I kind of want to start playing with it and see if I'm even barking up the right tree.

Is anyone interested in a G+ sandboxy campaign set within The Cube? If so, answer what system you'd prefer on the poll to the right and I'll get back to you guys.

London Calling

2011-08-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Just got an email alert letting me know the West Ham v. Aldershot Carling Cup match is postponed due to the turmoil in London. Serious stuff going on in the capital. If any of the three people who read this are in London, stay safe and you're in my thoughts.

Dividing the Loot: Sealed Bids

2011-07-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

So, I'm currently taking Math 101 in the Summer Post-Session at East Stroudsburg University. It's called "Excursions in Mathmatics," and it's every bit as easy for a 36-year old geek as you might think it is. Unlike a lot of fluff classes, however, I'm actually learning a lot from a math perspective. Already this week, we talked about voting methods and measurements of voting power. That part was a lot of game theory basics that might actually be useful in an "end-game" scenario where there are a finite and known power blocs. Having a relative understanding of who controls what degree of power is interesting, but relies heavily on intelligence (in the military/political sense, not the cognitive) and in our particular paradigm, the individual system used. That's not why we're here today. By looking at what we will be talking about tomorrow in class, I've determined we're here to talk about something much more concrete to the every-day adventurers: dividing the loot. Here's a fable:

The Lion, the Fox, and the Ass entered into an aggreement to assist each other in the hunt. Having secured a large booty, the Lion on their return to the forest asked the Ass to allot its due portion to each of the three partners in the treaty. The Ass carefully divided the spoil into three equal shares and modestly requested the two others to make the first choice. The Lion, bursting out into a great rage, devoured the Ass. Then he requested the Fox to do him the favor to make the division. The Fox accumulated all that they had killed into one large heap and left himself the smallest possible morsel. The Lion said, "Who has taught you, my very excellent fellow, the art of division? You are perfect to the fraction," to which the Fox replied, "I learned it from the Ass, by witnessing his fate.

You can thank Aesop for that one. "Happy is the man who learns from the misfortunes of others," he says. Dividing treasure can sometimes be a contentious issue, particularly when it involves things like gems or magic items which are not as mathematically divisible as coinage. My math textbook, Excursions in Modern Mathematics, gives many options for fair-division games. The one I'd like to examine is the method of sealed bids, where players bid on objects secretly, and everyone either gets the objects they desire or a sum of money that is fair.

After a trip into the Church of Environmental Ambivalence, our intrepid adventurers (Ace, Bob, Sue, and Zed) returned with naught but boots of the elvenkind, a rope of climbing, and a wand of fire. Three objects, four people. Someone is getting left out, right? Not with the sealed-bid method. Our quartet has previously agreed to use this method and have Ostler Gundigoot (of the Inn of the Welcome Wench fame) be the arbiter.

First, each player makes a bid. Ace, a fighter, doesn't have a whole lot of use for each item, but could handle selling them for some bread. He bids 22,500gp for the wand, 4,000gp for the boots, and 8,000gp for the rope. Bob is a thief, so he could use both the rope and the boots, and while he can use the wand, it's not AS valuable to him. 13,000gp for the wand, 7,500gp for the boots, and 15,000gp for the rope. Sue, a magic-user, wants the wand and has little use for anything else. She bids 30,000gp for the wand, 2,500gp for the boots, and 5,000 or the rope. Zed, a fighter, thinks he could use the rope, but doesn't put much stock in the other items. He bids 10,000gp for the rope, the boots 3,000gp, and the wand 20,000gp. These bids are made on a sheet of paper and handed to Ostler (the DM).

Now the items are divided. Sue gets the wand of fire, while Bob gets both the boots of the elvenkind and the rope of climbing, as the highest bidder. Are the other members of the party going to get screwed? No. Here's why.

The next step is the first settlement. Each adventurer will either owe the group or be owed by the group some money. This comes from each character's fair-dollar share of the loot. Basically, what they claimed the loot was worth, divided by the number of adventurers. Ace thought everything was worth a combined 34,500gp, Bob 35,500, Sue 37,500, and Zed 33,000. So each character ends up with a fair-dollar share of 8,625, 8,875, 9,375, and 8,250 gold pieces, respectively. If the character's items are worth more than the fair-dollar share they bid, they owe the group the difference. If they received items of lesser value (or no items at all), they receive the balance of the share. So Ace and Zed can expect a respective amount of 8,625gp and 8,250gp, while Bob owes 3125gp and Sue owes 20,625gp (daaaang!).

We're not quite done, though. Because everyone placed different values on the items, the money in doesn't match the money out. There is a surplus of 6,875gp! Divide that surplus by the number of adventurers and either tack it on to their refund or deduct it from what they owe the group. In this case, they get the credit of 1,719gp (I rounded).

In the final account, Ace gets 10,344gp, Bob gets boots of the elvenkind and rope of climbing, but owes the group 1,406gp, Sue gets her wand of fire but is on the hook to the sum of 18,906gp, and Zed gets 9,969gp.

This is probably more complex work than most players are willing to undertake, but it is the most equitable if people evaluate the objects honestly. Let's say that Zed and Sue, for whatever reasons, swapped bids. Now this would result in Zed the fighter with a magic item he can't use and enough debt to bankrupt a small town. Well, assuming Zed can get face value for the wand. He'd sell it for 25,000gp, profiting 6094gp. Not as much profit as he made low-balling the rest of the party.

If you look at it in terms of net profit/loss using the gold piece value of the magic items, Ace profited 10,344gp, Bob profited 13,594gp, Sue profits 6,094gp, and Zed 9,969gp. Is it fair to Zed that Ace gets 500gp more for no reason? Actually, yes. By having a lower value attached to each of the items, he increased his chances of a payout, but at the cost of a reduced payout. Is it fair that Bob profited twice as much as Sue? Yes, again. Sue really wanted that wand, so by overbidding its value, she was able to get it at a much higher cost, but she was able to get it.

Any thoughts?

The Cube: Corporate Scumbags of Atlantis

2011-07-11T16:39:00.000-07:00

So, I'm working on the Atlantis system for The Cube. What started out as a rather nice tropical ocean world has turned into a pretty crappy system to live in.

First, the Atlantis planet itself is nice enough weather-wise, but lacks a lot of resources. It's got a fairly high control rating (8) and a pretty low per-capita income (one of the more interesting things that GURPS Space generates that Traveller doesn't) thanks to a relatively low tech level. Atlantis is, to this point, the only TL 9 planet in The Cube (I'm only halfway through the generation, mind you). Some of the outlying colonies in the system have TL 8!!! This relative economic depression and high control coming from a corporate state with little resources at its immediate disposal makes me think that the corporation controlling Atlantis are a bunch of folks who force their employees to live in relative squalor, refusing to upgrade necessary technologies and the like. Small wonder Atlantis has a sizable terrorist base on it.

Atlantis (332-I) A88A618-9 (Ri Wa)

The Cube: 25% Solution

2011-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

Alright folks, allow me to introduce you to the first few systems in the Imperial Remnant section of The Cube. There will be two more IR sections, then a final Independent Worlds section.

The format for the mini-gazetteer of the planets generated is as follows:

System Name (Location) (Stars) (# Gas Giants)
Planet Name (Orbit) UWP (Trade Codes)

A quick note about locations: The format for the locations is ZYX. So the first system, Ajacan, is located at X=4, Y=3, Z=3.

Gazetteer
Ajacan (334) (G6V/G6V) (0 GG)
Ajacan (334-I) A675937-A (Ga Hi In)
Forlorn (234) (K0V/M5V) (0 GG)
Forlorn (234-I) C300419-A (Ni Va)
Monte Cristo (244) (M4V) (5 GG)
Inner Monte Cristo (244-IV) C000500-A (As Ni Va)
Monte Cristo Naval Base (244-VIIIa) D300200-B (Lo Va)
Outer Monte Cristo (244-X) B000600-A (As Na Va)
Nyerere (342) (G2V) (0 GG)
Nyerere (342-V) A467939-A (Hi)
Songhai (342-IX) C100468-A (Ni Va)
Nok (342-X) C600368-B (Lo Va)
Ostia (242) (G1V/M1V) (0 GG)
Ostia (242-I) C420217-A (De Lo Po)
Paradise (241) (K8III/M2V) (0 GG)
Severin (241-IV) CA00461-C (Ht Ni Va)
Zaschka (241-V) BA00662-B (Na Ni Va)
Hotrock (241-VI) C500462-B (Ni Va)
Paradise (241-VII) B857744-B (Ag Ga)
Redmayne (241-VIII) B000661-A (As Na Ni Va)
Stakhanov (134) (M0V/M0V) (3 GG)
Stakhanov Naval Base (134-VId) C2A43B8-A (Fl Lo)
Tashkent (134-VIe) C425468-B (Ni)
Benedict (134-VIIe) D000468-A (As Ni Va)
Stakhanov (134-VIIIa) B400619-A (Na Va)
Virginia Dale (341) (K6V/M2V) (0 GG)
Virginia Dale (341-I) C400484-B (Ni Va)

Selected World Descriptions
Ajacan:
As Ajacan is the birthplace and spiritual center of the Machine Faith, there is little wonder why it is one of the few truly industrialized planets in The Cube. Technical ability dictates where within the social culture a citizen of Ajacan lies. The most technically astute ascend to the ruling party of the planet, the Machine Priests of Ajacan. Conspiracy theorists suspect that the Machine Priests have either a cache of pre-Cutoff technology or the means to produce high-tech materials, but are withholding them to keep the people of Ajacan under their control. Proof has not been forthcoming.
Nyerere:
Although it is too small to be considered a true garden world, Nyerere is a beautiful world which is very accommodating to humans who dress warmly. While popular with the tourists who are required to stay strictly within the confines of the resort they are staying in, life among the Nyererians is less than ideal. The ruling party controls the planet with an iron fist, which has spawned several smuggling operations and even a small insurgent population. The party ruthlessly suppresses them, taking pains to ensure that the tourists do not see the draconian measures.
Outer Monte Cristo:
Monte Cristo's asteroid belts are a chaotic mass of competing miners without anything resembling a government holding them together. While the need for profit keeps the bloodshed to a manageable level, the same need for profit will also drive parties to violence. As long as the money is there, the Imperial Remnant and other systems don't seem to mind. In the middle of all of this is a surprising number of research facilities, many of them taking advantage of the lax circumstances to engage in some questionable research practices.
Paradise:
Warm, peaceful, and free--the words best used to describe the garden world which dominates the Paradise system. Of course, that freedom has its drawbacks. Criminals, terrorists, and even pirates take advantage of the civil liberties granted to Paradisians to operate discreetly. The commitment to individual freedom, even with the security risks involved, lies deep in the heart of the citizens of Paradise.
Redmayne:
A collection of Paradisian mining interests, the asteroid belt of Redmayne is the home of the Paradise Development Corporation, one of the more powerful megacorporations in The Cube. While an important economic player in the belt, the free-wheeling frontier spirit of Redmayne still manages to dominate everyday life there. Even more so than on Paradise, individual freedom and responsibility are paramount.
Severin:
A large ball of boiling rock, Severin is home to the most cutting edge technological research in The Cube. A joint effort between the government of Paradise, the Scout Corps, and private industry are working to develop a Jump-3 drive which will allow expansion beyond The Cube.
Stakhanov:
Nestled in one of the more remote systems of The Cube, the system as a whole is where a large amount of research interests test and finalize experimental designs. While much of the theoretical work is done in more central locations, the practical nature of the research in Stakhanov has made it a home for espionage, both corporate and government. While the Stakhanov Corporation controls many of the planets in the system, they are not the ones usually conducting the research.
Zaschka:
Another of the Paradise system's hot rock planets, Zaschka is a vibrant colony known for it's abnormally large population of Imperial Vargr. Many of them end up joining the Zaschka Free Army, a mercenary brigade, which opens the door for the ZFA's "Dogs of War" moniker.

A few things I've learned so far:

There is certainly a greater homogeneity to systems generated with GURPS Space. With 8 systems generated, we've got a ton of non-industrial or vacuum worlds and only two planets which are habitable by humans without any extra gear. That last one might be pretty realistic, but it means that there is an awful lot of pale skin and indoor action in my Traveller Universe. I haven't started to get a feel for The Cube as a whole, to see where its tensions and metaplots lurk. There are an awful lot of totalitarian governments out there (with the notable exceptions of the Wild West that's Monte Cristo and the democratic Paradise system), which means that there will likely be a lot of paranoia when people leave the Starports.

Anyway, that's what I've got for now. I look forward to any comments or advice.

The Cube: First System

2011-06-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

So, I have System 134 pretty much done, maybe a few outposts, but that's it. Anyway, I ended up with one substantial colony world in the system, in the form of a tiny sulfur moon orbiting a gas giant at the edge of the system.

134-VIIIa Tiny (Sulfur)
No Atmosphere/Hydrosphere
Surface Temperature 47K (Frozen)
Density .6
Diameter .5
Surface Gravity .30
Mass .08
Heavy Volcanic Activity
No Tectonic Activity
Resources +2 (Very Abundant)
Habitability -1
Affinity +1

COLONY
Tech Level 10
Carrying Capacity 10m
Population 1.5m (PR 6)
Corporate Meritocracy (CR 6)
Per Capita Income 53,600 (Average)
Economic Volume $80B
Class B Star Port
Corporate Headquarters (PR 3)
Criminal Base (PR 1)
Espionage Facilities (1 Civilian (PR 1), 2 Enemy (PR 3, PR 1)
Private Research Centers (2) (PR 2, PR 1)
Rebel/Terrorist Base (PR 1)
Scout Base (PR 3)

For the most part, it seemed to start out as a simple mining colony on a resource-rich, but dangerous, moon. When I did the random rolls for installations on the planet, that's when things got interesting.

It's a Corporate Headquarters for a seemingly huge company (the headquarters has a population in the thousands, after all) with a decent research base and a sizable Scout Service presence. The criminal, espionage, and terrorist bases are the ones that raised my eyebrow. An enemy government literally has THOUSANDS of agents on the system.

One of the technological themes I was debating was the lack of Jump-2 in the hands of the civilian sector. While this is a TL10 world (giving them a mere Jump-1), what if this is the main locus of FTL research in the imperial portion of The Cube? That would explain quite a bit of why so many people are interested in it. One of the reasons the authority of the Imperial Remnant can be maintained is the monopoly they hold on Jump-2 starships. Terrorists or criminals with Jump-2 would be game-changers.

I'm thinking that the large espionage contingent will be from whoever the most ambitious (and hostile) system I end up generating among the remaining 21 imperial systems. The rest of them will be taking advantage of the meritocratic system, figuring out ways to crack the tests to get their people in key positions. I'm seeing the strict control as a very flimsy house of cards, riddled with interlopers who are undermining it for their own factions' benefit. Things could go south here in a hurry.

Fun Times in the Cube, folks.

The Cube: Reboot

2011-06-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

Just as I was ready to post my 10% solution (a mini-gazetteer of the first 10 systems generated for my Traveller sandbox), I leave my thumb drive in the computer at a lab at school. When I returned an hour later (after I realized I did it), it was gone. I checked again this morning and no one had turned it in. *le sigh*

While I can replace all of the PDFs on it, all of the work I did on the Cube was there, and a somewhat substantial chunk of my LotFP sandbox as well. Grrr. I haven't been putting as much work into that as I should, but the players are having fun, and that's what's important. I'm running a lot of prefab adventures for them, anyway. This week, "A Stranger Storm."

So, I'm starting over on The Cube. I'm taking the lessons learned from the original effort and using that to shape out and better have something ready to share sooner, rather than later.

I shrunk the size of the Cube from 6pc on a side to 4pc. What I realized that while the number of stars is comparable to two subsectors, that GURPS Space generates so many habitations for each system, I'd have waaaaaay more than I needed, so 4pc it is. As it stands, I'll be generating 30 star systems, 22 of which are in a cluster reachable by Jump-1, the remaining 8 systems (2 two-system pairs and 4 wholly isolated systems) are reachable by Jump-2.

So, instead of posting a 10% solution every time I get 3 systems done, I'll probably break the main cluster up into two parts and then do the independent systems in a third update.

See you in a few weeks!

Check Your Ego, Sir.

2011-06-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

Back in 1995, we had a club in Stroudsburg, PA called Spanky's. We had some great bands come through there--Texas is the Reason, 108, Good Riddance, The Scofflaws, Murphy's Law, H2O, Ignite, Mustard Plug, Shift, Supertouch, Shades Apart, Mephiskapheles, Weston, the list goes on.

We also had a local band, Feeble, that was a raucous blend of hardcore and punk and ready to make that next big jump. Toby from H2O was wearing their shirt on tour and was ready to take Feeble on the road with them. Less Than Jake was ready to do a split with them (and this was right as Pezcore was breaking). Then all of a sudden they broke up. The members (and fans) who liked hardcore more went one way, the members (and fans) who liked punk more went another. All of a sudden, the punk, ska, and hardcore shows which got 150 people in the club were getting less than 50. All kinds of shit was being talked. People were convinced that they "knew what punk rock was all about" and loved to proselytize about it. Friendships ended when friends wouldn't end friendships with people that didn't subscribe to that person's theory of punk rock. Spanky's ended up closing its doors and the scene here in the Poconos never recovered.

While OSR is supremely more of a niche hobby than punk rock, I see a lot of people who want to tell me what OSR is all about.

Go fuck yourself.

I've been there already. I've seen something I poured every cent I scraped together at a shitty job and every free moment that job gave me into the punk rock scene and when it all fell apart because people's egos couldn't handle the competition, it sucked.

I'm not going to have someone's fragile ego dictate what I do with my money and time. I've earned it and I'm going to do what I goddamn please with it.

If you don't like Dungeon Crawl Classics? Don't fucking play it. If you don't like the artwork in the Grindhouse Edition of Lamentations of the Flame Princess? Don't fucking buy it.

But don't you get up on some soapbox and tell the fucking world that you speak for me. The only person who speaks for me is Dennis Fucking Higgins. And I'll tell you what, Dennis Fucking Higgins loves Lamentations of the Flame Princess. He's got mixed feelings about Dungeon Crawl Classics, but he at least applauds the attempt. I'll give any game a whirl once. Hell, I even looked into making a Synapse character when the challenge went out. You'll note that I didn't post about it. I didn't enjoy the experience and I'm not a fan of the game at all. I didn't talk shit on it because at least someone is trying to push new boundaries.

Just because I support your endeavors doesn't mean you speak for me.

I'm pissed that this finally got to me. I'm pissed that something that has been part of me since I was nine years old is a source of frustration these days. I'm pissed that I'm more prone to "mark all as read" than see what is up in the blogosphere.

Grrr. Rant over. Joesky Tax Time.

Generic Riot Cause Generator (or "Why have the Citizens Taken To The Street?") (d10)

A heinous crime (murder, rape, etc.) has gone unpunished. Roll a d6. 1-3: They are lynching the perpetrator 4-6: They are simply demanding justice.
There is a shortage of a staple. Roll a d6. 1-2: Food 3-4: Beer 5-6: Water
Two rivals started a scuffle and it escalated. Roll a d6: 1-3: Guildsmen 4-6: Gangs
They found a witch and now they want to burn her.
It's all just a drunken miscalculation.
The puritanical powers-that-be put an end to a popular event. Roll a d6: 1-2: Theatre Production 3-4: Gambling Ring 5-6: Fighting Ring
It's a carefully calculated plot designed to serve as cover for a much more nefarious act. Roll a d6: 1-3: It's criminal in nature 4-6: It's political in nature
Some supernatural entity caused it and is feeding off of it.
One neighborhood is jealous of the relative affluence of another and is handling it poorly.
It was a celebration gone awry.

LotFP Sandbox: Conversions and Building

2011-05-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

You'll find all kinds of solid adventures within.

NOTE: IF YOU PLAY IN MY SVA GAME, SPOILERS LIE WITHIN. THEY AREN'T GOING TO HELP YOU, BUT SHOW SOME INTEGRITY, kthx.

One of the nice things about having a game every three weeks is that it gives me adequate time to work on it between sessions. As much as I long for the days where I used to devote 100% of my time to gaming, I'm a full-time, year-round college student who is getting married in short order. I just don't have that kind of time (or maybe I lack time-management skills--you decide). One of the things that makes life a little easier is that there are number of outstanding adventures out there for me to use with little or no work.

One of those adventures is "Night of Blood" from Games Workshop's The Restless Dead for the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Role Play. It's thematically perfect for the sandbox I'm working on, and all I need to do is stat it for Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

There are actually quite a few old Warhammer FRP adventures that would work well with LotFP. Shadows over Bogenhafen and Death on the Reik wouldn't need much work, mostly setting changes in my case, but there will certainly be similarities between Imperial Dagordoria and the early editions of Warhammer FRP's Empire: the relative weakness of the central imperial government compared to the power of the landowners and electors, the overall lawlessness of the land, and the steady creep of chaos.

Anyway, in two weeks, I'll run my Night of Blood conversion and let you know how it goes. Here's a peek at the mutants from the first scene:

Scaly Bull Man
HD 2, hp 9, AC 16, move 40’/round, +2 to hit, 1d8 (sword), 50xp

Frenzy: When reduced to 4 hp or less, Scaly Bull Man will let out a thunderous roar, forcing all within earshot to make a save v. paralysis or suffer a -2 on all to hit rolls for the remainder of the round. At that point, until he charges the nearest opponent, pressing (+2 to hit, -4 AC) all attacks, doing an additional point of damage on each hit and suffering one less point of damage when hit. This lasts until he (or the PCs) dies.
Dog ManHD 2, hp 9, AC 12, move 60’/round, +2 to hit, 1d4 (bite), 25xp
Black FurHD 1, hp 4, AC 14, move 40’/round, 1d6 damage (club), 5xp
Eye-StalksHD 1, hp 4, AC 12, move 40’/round, 1d6 damage (club), 5xp

Eye-stalks: Eye-Stalks cannot be sneak attacked.
Red FurHD 1, hp 4, AC 14, move 40’/round, 1d4 damage (dagger), 5xp
Tentacle ArmsHD 1, hp 4, AC 12, move 40’/round, 1d2 damage (tentacle slap), 5xp

Tentacles: +2 to hit in wrestling contests; wins all ties.

LotFP Sandbox: First Game Down!

2011-05-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

The cover generated a lot of positive buzz...

Well, last night I was happy to start my new sandbox with the crew at the School of Visual Arts in Stroudsburg, PA. The response was spectacular. The Grindhouse Edition's art was an immediate hit. As the Rules and Magic books sat on the table as I ran, the players both made constant remarks about how cool the cover was and how it evoked a very different feel than any other game they've played. And as cool as snake-tits is, I am in agreement with my table that the image on my right rocks.

I only had two players show up, but more assure me they will move over when the other game that night hits a good stopping point. So, taking Zak's advice to write the world after the first adventure and make that adventure POP, I had our dynamic duo wake up in a dungeon. We had a fighter and a magic-user. The guy who was playing the magic-user loved the fact that the spell list avoids the cliches of fireball and lightning bolt. The lady playing the fighter loved the fact that she will kick more ass at combat than any other non-fighter in the game. They both loved that I gave them the skill points as if they were Specialists.

Yeah, so, they woke up in a dungeon. A dungeon whose owners have dabbled in things which should not be dabbled with and something has gone wrong. In a manic escape filled with zombies, skeletons, insane cultists, and a desperate search for clothes and equipment, the PCs managed to get out shortly before the manor house of the decadent noble who hosted such abominations collapsed upon itself. They made their way to a village where they were able to heal up and the session ended there.

ORDER OF THE BEAST!!!!!!

What they loved the most was the simplicity of the system that comes from being a B/X clone, but the extra tweaks to make things so different. The two players went over to the other table to eagerly talk up the game. While that can make it look like I did a pretty good job, I'm going to give most of the credit to Raggi for his rules modifications to B/X.

One a side note, I took advantage of his sale of leftover Rules and Magic books and picked up two more. The receipt I was emailed was very... well, just look at the picture above.

LotFP Sandbox: Genesis

2011-05-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

After my TPK at the last Adventures Dark & Deep game I ran, I'm ready to start over. This time, I'm doing things differently. For the most part, while I enjoy reading Zak's blogs, there wasn't a whole lot other than entertainment that I took away from it. Then Vornheim came out. I used it for the adventure that resulted in the TPK (a result of poor decision making on the players part, partly forced by a lack of obvious options given on mine) and it was awesome. It gave me a whole lot of flexibility that I've never really experienced in a game before. Seriously, if you haven't bought Vornheim yet, you really need to. Even if Zak's game isn't your style, use the format and concepts and fill in the tables with things that meet your style. It's that useful.

Hard at work on a week off from school.

Since I was one of the first pre-orders for Vornheim and the Grindhouse Edition of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, I got an extra Rules & Magic book. It is a beautifully illustrated and very well constructed book. If you don't think that the paper and the binding make a difference, well, we will agree to disagree. The digest size is portable enough to throw in a jacket pocket when you go to Borders with your fiancee (as I did Sunday) and the feel of it almost reminds me of how I felt with my first AD&D hardcovers. Since I've got such a beautiful product to show off (As I write this at Greenberry's Coffee in Morristown, NJ, I've got it out on the table, daring people to ask me about it) and I have clean break at the gaming table, I think I'm going to give LotFP Grindhouse a whirl.

I really liked the vibe of Vornheim, so when Zak posted his alternate idea for generating a sandbox, I took notice. Previously, I had used the Bat in the Attic model, but that was an awful lot of work for a lot of stuff the players never seemed to bite on anyway. With a wedding in less than a month and a full-time year-round school schedule, I don't have the time I'd like to write for a game. Zak's method isn't lazier, but it's better targeted towards the players. They generate the leads that I'll follow up on. It works much better with my schedule, I think.

So, before my game tomorrow, I've got to finish my first adventure. Something rather unwholesome stirs in the basement of a degenerate noble's manor... down the hall from a cell occupied by the PCs.

When something goes wrong, the PCs must escape and find themselves alone in an unfamiliar world... the yet-to-be-named sandbox.

The Cube: What it looks like.

2011-05-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

A highly scientific map of The Cube

So, I am skipping over the trade information while I generate the systems. Still, I've been curious about how The Cube is "shaped." While parked at my FLCS (Friendly Local Coffee Shop), I drew up a little map of The Cube.

I found some interesting things by doing this:

There is a "core" of 70 worlds that are within Jump-1 of each other. I reckon that will be my main imperial remnant. I'll have to explore the "arms" of it as time permits and the systems themselves get generated.
There are seven other distinct entities which are separated by a larger than one parsec gap. One is an isolated world, three are pairs of systems, and two are smaller pockets of nine and eight systems, respectively.
The baseline tech level for the game is TL10--Jump-1--but with some TL11 systems out there. I intend to have Jump-2 completely in the hands of the government. This means trade and contact between the eight separate entities will be wholly through government means.
Jump-2 opens up the whole cube, so all of the systems I rolled are available for play. It is probably also the most strategically important technology in the game. I imagine a considerable chunk of the espionage in the game will be geared toward securing Jump-2 for corporate or other government agencies.
What this tells me is that I should focus on the main remnant first, generating those 70 systems (6% complete-woo hoo!) before even thinking about the remaining 28.
The "Alien Enclave" options I roll can alternately be "Other Entity Enclaves" as well. With the limited travel between the entities, it's likely that enclaves will need to be set up within other entities.

The more I develop, the more I enjoy about this.

The Cube: A "Realistic" Space Environment

2011-05-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

BeRKA over at The Zhodani Base pointed me to a pretty funny comic about generating worlds using the semi-realistic tables found in GURPS Space. It's funny because it's true. Fours systems down and not a single habitable planet among the lot. ALMOST got one with system 122, but the Standard-sized planet was 10 degrees too cold and became an Ice World. Bummer.

For full context, check out Irregular Webcomic! (Linked above)

The nice part is that it is Traveller, so I don't need a Garden world to have a good time. In those four systems, we've got civilization on over ten planets, moons, or asteroid belts. One of them is a high-population world, some of them exceed the average tech level.

It's interesting to see how this plays out. I could see the realistic system generation being kind of dull if the game was exploration based, but that is one aspect of the game I plan on ignoring completely. The Scout/Survey organization won't have a whole lot of pure exploration to do. I'll have to think of the right angle to play with them.

The rather large number of rebel/terrorist bases on the planet are kind of interesting as well. I think the underlying theme of dissent might permeate the game.

Anyway, more to follow.

The Cube: Results and Thoughts

2011-05-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

Using a semi-realistic world generation system like GURPS Space is an awful lot of work and math. I will likely not be done with this sandbox until the end of the year and that's no joke. I've been working at it a few hours each day since Thursday and I've ALMOST got my second system done. I might be getting myself into the weeds and I'm trying to figure out the most efficient path.

Until I come up with a decent way to package the full system write-ups, I won't go into too much detail regarding the systems I am generating. However, here are some aspects of The Cube which depart from what traditional Traveller does:

The Universe is three-dimensional, which is a vast departure from the 2D subsector maps. I attempted to have the same number of systems as the two subsectors suggested by Rob Conley in his "How to Make a Traveller Sandbox" article. That's why The Cube is 6x6. I ended up with 100 systems to work with, compared to 80 given a 50% chance and 160 hexes in two subsectors.
With GURPS Space as my world-generation method, I end up creating many more viable worlds in each solar system. I haven't thought about system names yet, but in "System 114," there are three inhabited worlds, each with their own UWP, a full colony and two outposts. "System 115" has A very large asteroid colony, a smaller asteroid colony, and an outpost on the moon of a gas giant. I don't know if three systems will be the mean, but if it is, there will be 300 UWPs to work with.
There will likely be fewer "low-tech/high-tech" worlds in The Cube. There will be worlds with lower TLs, some with slightly higher than normal, but most worlds will be TL10.

In case you were wondering, here are the UWPs for System 114. I'm still working on 115.

Ice World    114-1        B420676-A    De Na Ni Po
Ice Dwarf    114-2        E2D5344-A    Fl Lo
Ice Dwarf    114-5        D2D5356-A    Fl Lo

Traveller Sandbox: The Cube

2011-05-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Last year, when I worked on a sandbox for Traveller, I got quite a bit done and some pretty good feedback. I wasn't happy with it and how it was too tied to the OTU for me to do anything with it. I decided that I would attempt it again, but from a decidedly non-Traveller direction. I just finished an Astronomy class that I really enjoyed, although I had to ignore it in the face of the three Psychology and one English classes I took in addition to Astro this semester. Psych's my major and English is my minor, so Astro was the one that had to give.

Anyway, I thought I'd like to work on another stab at a setting for Traveller. I don't like the RAW when it comes to sector/system/world generation at all, but I love what GURPS Space does with it. GURPS Space is awesome, and a lot more realistic than anything I've seen in any of the editions of Traveller that I'm privy to.

The Premise
The sandbox will be a small, densely packed "cube" in space. 6pc x 6pc x 6pc, to be exact. The Cube started getting filled with explorers traveling via wormhole from a much larger Galactic Empire approximately 500 years ago. Two hundred years ago, the wormhole suddenly collapsed, cutting off The Cube from the Empire. A New Empire, founded on the shell of the Imperial bureaucracy of the Galactic Empire, rose in its place.

Where I Am At Right Now
I don't have much else, right now. I generated one of the 100 systems. When I decide on a format, I'll collect the notes together in some kind of format to display. Interesting things that I came up with...

There are rebel/terrorist bases two of the three inhabited worlds in the system. One of which is the more highly populated colony world, the other holding a prison.
When there are no Garden worlds generated, I reckon that I'll just take the planet with the highest Affinity of 0 or greater and make that a colony. It might not be super realistic to establish a colony that will eventually grow to 5.4 million people on an icy world with half the gravity of Earth and has an average temperature of negative 200 degrees Fahrenheit, but it would be keeping with Traveller traditions.
There is an alien enclave on the technocratic outpost at the rim of the first system. Also on this planet is a military espionage facility and a government research center. It's pretty awesome when the random rolls all make sense like this. I'm debating if I want to insert analogs for the Aslan, Vargr, or Darrians, of I want to go with 2300-esque aliens that are more alien. I haven't decided if that is where the aliens are from (unlikely, it's a small little ball of ice, but you never know) or if they just established something there because they dig the fact that it's a worthless little ball of ice, nitrogen, and methane.

I'll keep you all posted on what I come up with. If anyone has any potential directions to send me for easy to use formatting for the systems, I'd love that.

Fail.

2011-04-17T17:01:00.001-07:00

I am bowing out of the A to Z challenge. I thought I could balance it with school, but school wins.

See you all in May.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: H is for Humanoids

2011-04-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

I've established Orcs exist in my game (by allowing Half-Orcs), but I kind of want to mess around with the concept of the humanoid threat to the island of Greatholm. I've got an idea for how to handle the threat facing the Elves of the Elshaw, but I wanted to have something different for the rest of the island. I may have found my solution when I was thinking of F words to use for the Challenge. It took me longer to write this than anticipated, so I bumped it to H...

According to Wikipedia, the Fir Bolg were the inhabitants of Ireland before the Tuatha De Danann showed up. Well, the Fir Bolg will be the original inhabitants of Greatholm (in keeping with my tradition of bastardizing different parts of Britain for Greatholm). The Firbolg in the Monster Manual II (since we're still waiting on Joe to finish the Adventures Dark & Deep Bestiary) are what I have to work with. At 13+ HD, that's a bit much to have them running around too much. So, the purest and greatest of the Fir Bolg will match the stats in Monster Manual II, but they aren't the only Fir Bolg running around.

From time immemorial, the Fir Bolg ruled Greatholm. The many tribes of Moroilean (the Fir Bolg name for the Island) lived and fought amongst each other until the Men of the West and the Men of the North began to appear on the shores of the island. At first, they proved no serious threat. As time passed, the humans would not stop coming. More and more would land upon the island, eventually establishing footholds. The scourge of humanity would prove as virulent to the Moroilean tribes as they were to other parts of the world, eventually driving them out of the rich plains into the southern hills and mountains and the forests of the northwest. Their numbers waned to the point of desperation. The tribes that survived were the ones that decided that if they can't beat humanity, they should join them. Using their alter self abilities, the Fir Bolg bred with the humans they captured in raids. The resulting children, while weaker than their parents, bolstered the tribal numbers.

As the blood thinned, so did the understanding that the creatures were Fir Bolg. Creatures decended from the Fir Bolg eventually were unable to use the alter self abilities and began to be known as "Orcs" due to the regular swine/warthog imagery on their banners and such (Orc is the Fir Bolg word for swine).

Fir Bolg and Orcs (greater and lesser) will appear as large copper-colored humans with dark brown or black hair. The biggest thing differentiating the different strains is their size. As they continue to breed with humans, they get more and more human blood in them.

GREATER FIR BOLG
Morale  +8
Number Appearing 1 (5% 1d4 will appear together)
Hit Dice  11d8
Armor Class  2
Move 15"
Magic Resistance 20%
Damage by weapon type +10 (strength modifier)
Defenses
Attacks per weapon (Attack Rank L, +4 (strength modifier)
Size L (12')
Intelligence Average to Genius
Alignment Chaotic Neutral (Can also tend towards Neutral and the Evil alignments)
Treasure Type VI
Treasure Value 2500 g.p.
Magic Treasure 15% Weapon; 10% Armor
X.P. Value 2000+16/h.p.

Greater Fir Bolg can alter self at will as 11th-level casters.

LESSER FIR BOLG

Morale +6

Number Appearing 1d4 (5% 4d4 will appear together)

Hit Dice 7d8

Armor Class 4

Move 15"

Magic Resistance 10%

Damage by weapon type +8 (strength modifier)

Defenses

Attacks per weapon (Attack Rank H, +3 (strength modifier)

Size L (10')

Intelligence Average to Genius

Alignment Chaotic Neutral (Can also tend towards Neutral and the Evil alignments)

Treasure Type VI

Treasure Value 1500 g.p.

Magic Treasure 10% Weapon; 5% Armor

X.P. Value 350+8/h.p.

Lesser Fir Bolg can alter self once per day as 7th-level casters.

GREATER ORC

Morale +4

Number Appearing 1d8 (5% 4d8 will appear together)

Hit Dice 4d8

Armor Class 6

Move 12"

Magic Resistance 5%

Damage by weapon type +6 (strength modifier)

Defenses

Attacks per weapon (Attack Rank G, +3 (strength modifier)

Size L (8')

Intelligence Average to Genius

Alignment Chaotic Neutral (Can also tend towards Neutral and the Evil alignments)

Treasure Type VI

Treasure Value 500 g.p.

Magic Treasure 5% Weapon

X.P. Value 60+4/h.p.

LESSER ORC

Morale +2

Number Appearing 1d8 (5% 4d8 will appear together)

Hit Dice 1d8

Armor Class 6

Move 12"

Magic Resistance none

Damage by weapon type

Defenses

Attacks per weapon (Attack Rank C)

Size M (6')

Intelligence Average to Genius

Alignment Chaotic Neutral (Can also tend towards Neutral and the Evil alignments)

Treasure Type VI

Treasure Value 100 g.p.

Magic Treasure none

X.P. Value 10+1/h.p.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: I is for Illusionists

2011-04-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

I never quite got the feel for Illusionists. They always seemed to be pale shadows of Magic-Users. I can't say there have been many versions of D&D (and by extension, the clones thereof) who give me a character class I can really sink my teeth into.

G is for Great Landowners

2011-04-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

When I created Greatholm, I used a lot of different sources. I used a bit of Medieval Demographics Made Easy, by S. John Ross. The work that I made the most extensive use of, though, was A Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe by Expeditious Retreat Press. One of the things that it discusses is a breakdown of the land of a particular kingdom and who owns the land. They introduce the concept of Great Landowning Families. There are four Great Landowners in Greatholm: The Royal Family, The Church of the All-Father, and the two Dukes of the Realm, the Dudleys (The Duke of Avonlea and his family) and the Stanleys (Aberfirth).

The House of Neville, the current royal house, controls the vast majority of the land in Greatholm, about 11.8 million of the 13.8 million acres of land on the island. However, they only have 31 manors concentrated mostly in Astleyham.

While the Church of the All-Father has two rather large segments of alloidal land (The Westleigh Diocese and the Starfall Protectorate), most of their more than 600,000 acres is spread throughout the realm as individual churches, abbeys, monasteries, priories, and other church facilities. Church land is not royal land (as much as anyone can have their own land in Greatholm), being exempt from taxes. About a third of their 82 manors are within Westleigh and Starfall, the rest being scattered across the island in the form of different abbeys, monasteries, and priories.

The House of Dudley maintains all of their 150,000+ acres within the Duchy of Avonlea. Within this fertile land are 47 manors. The Dudleys are closely allied to the Nevilles via marriage.

The House of Stanley, on the other hand, regularly feud with the other great landowning families from their vast (almost half a million acre) holdings in the west of Greatholm. Most of the feuds are political, not military, although there have been random conflicts between the different nobles of the "Wild West." The land is very rough, so even though they cover considerable acreage, they only have 57 manors.

Where are my posts?

2011-04-13T12:46:00.001-07:00

I'd like to know that as well. I'm not pleased to have to recreate them...

A to Z Blogging Challenge: F is for Friggin' Awesome...

2011-04-07T06:31:00.000-07:00

So, last night, I continued my Adventures Dark & Deep game, but this time I used a lot of the tables from the Zak S.'s Vornheim to help flesh out Wickster.

Wow. Got an awful lot of mileage out of that supplement. It's ingenious and easy to use. Sure, some of it will need to be tweaked a bit to reflect the different setting (most notably the encounter table), but as a framework, it's awesome and vital for anyone running urban adventures.

More on this to follow.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: E is for Elves

2011-04-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Elshaw Wood is a place where humans fear to tread. It is filled with mysteries arcane and fey. The Church and Kingdom vigorously patrol the outskirts, making sure creatures do not come out (or are they making sure citizens don't go in?) and threaten the good order.

Within the wood is an elven kingdom perfectly content to not deal with the humans to the west. They have their own problem. Recently (the last fifty years--recent for elves), the catacombs beneath their city, Calatirion, have been broken through by humanoids from some heretofore unknown land. The elves are only concerned with encroaching men who may or may not be working with the humanoids.

In order to keep this encroachment down, the elves have instituted the Tauritirno, the Forest Watchers. They serve two purposes: defense/reconnaissance of the periphery of the Elshaw and acquisition of human slaves. Elves are majestically beautiful creatures of great power and magic. However, they are as cruel and egotistical as they are attractive. Feeling the world outside the Elshaw unworthy of their affairs, they often breed their lower caste males with female slaves. The resultant half-elves (which actually qualify as Elves for PC race purposes) are then raised to be the ambassadors and other public representatives to the outside world. As those half-elves breed with humans, the resultant "elf-bloods" (which are the PC race Half-Elves), are the result. The diluted blood will typically last for about three generations before the offspring are, for game mechanics purposes, human.

There is a lot more to the Elshaw Elves, but those are mysteries to be uncovered in-game.

Implications for Player Characters:
Elves are much more powerful in Greatholm than most D&D settings. As a result, the PC race known as an "Elf" is technically a half-elf. The "Half-Elf" race is more appropriately an Elf-Blood, even more diluted.

TAURITIRNO LEADER
Morale +5
No. Appearing 1
Hit Dice 9d8
Armor Class -1 (Elfin Mail +2, Halberd of the Elvenkind, plus Dexterity bonus)
Move 120’
Magic Resistance Immune to sleep and charm spells. 40% resistance to spells cast by non-elves. 20% Half-Elves, 10% Elves (PC Race)
Damage Halberd of the Elvenkind (1d10+2/2d6+2 damage)
Defenses none
Attacks Halberd of the Elvenkind (2 attacks/round; Attack Rank J, +2)
Size M
Intelligence Highly Intelligent
Alignment Lawful Neutral
X.P. Value 1700+(12/h.p.)
Individual Treasure 5-40 p.p., Boots of the Elvenkind, 3 Cage Arrows (see below), Cloak of the Elvenkind, and Halberd of the Elvenkind (see below)

The beauty of the elves is such that characters with a wisdom of less than 14 will be subject to the effects of a fascinate spell. PC-race elves and half-elves with wisdom scores in the 10-13 range are unaffected. Ture elves also have the following spell-like abilities what can be used at will:
charm person against any of non-elven blood. Elves have no limit to the number of non-elves they can use this ability on. However, if the target makes a saving throw, the elf cannot attempt to charm that target again for another 24 hours.
entangle (3 times/day)
speak with plants (2 times/day)
transport via plants (2 time/day) This only works within the Elshaw Wood
Cage Arrows (New Magic Item)Bat over at Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets posted these on Sunday and they totally fit with the Tauritirno.

Halberd of the Elvenkind (New Magic Item)
This powerful weapon is found only in the hands of full-blooded elves. Even PC-Race Elves are not permitted to wield them. Any non-elf known to be in possession of a Halberd of the Elvenkind will, under no uncertain circumstances, be hunted until the offender is dead and the Halberd is back in the hands of the Elves. This is one of the few circumstances when a party of Elves will leave the Elshaw. Many of the villages (and certainly all nobles) near the Elshaw are aware of this and if they realize that someone has a Halberd, that person will, at best, be sent on their way. At worst, the person will be slain and the Halberd will be returned at once.

For all wielders, the Halberd of the Elvenkind acts as a halberd +2 in all respects, with additional powers. The wielder also receives a bonus of +2 to armor class and all saving throws.

It also contains enchantments similar to an enchanted staff. If the wielder is of elven blood (an Elf, a PC-Race Elf, or a Half-Elf), a successful hit can do double damage a the expenditure of one charge, at the wielder's option.

If the wielder has the ability to cast arcane (Mage and its subclasses) spells, the wielder can also use the following abilities at will (as per the spell of the same name if applicable; the number in parenthesis is the number of charges used when the power is activated. This cost is double if the wielder is an Elf (PC Race), triple if a Half-Elf, and quadruple if of any other race):
cone of cold (50% have fireball instead) (2)
continual light (1)
magic missile (1)
minor globe of invulnerability (1)

When found, the Halberd of the Elvenkind will have a number of charges equal to 26 minus 1d6. It can be recharged by any spell whose effect the staff can create, plus any charm spells. It is worth
9,000 x.p.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: D is for Druids

2011-04-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

After giving the Church of the All-Father the once over yesterday, today we take on the other side of faith in Greatholm--The Old Faith.

I had never really looked too much into the historical roots of Druidism until just now and I realized that a whole lot of what is out there is just speculation. The nice thing about this is that there is very little to get "wrong."

THE HERESY THAT IS KNOWN AS THE OLD FAITH

It isn't just because the Church of the All-Father is the state religion of Greatholm, that the Old Faith has been suppressed. Even under the Sterling Potentate's polytheistic faith, the Old Faith represented a spiritual place for those who dissented. If the spiritual solace were taken away, the task of oppression could be made easier. Active promotion of the Old Faith would represent a threat to the power of the Potentate's Priests and now represents a threat to the Church of the All-Father.

The thing is with magic, the question isn't if there is one god, it's who has the right god. Currently, the Old Faith is suppressed. It hasn't gone away, however. In the western part of the island, particularly, the Old Faith thrives, albeit in secrecy.

The fact that the Old Faith has been forced underground for the last 300 years has given it a flexibility that most religions lack. The Druidic Tongue is only spoken, with all written records of it extinguished. This was part the doing of the other religions and in part the actions of the Old Faithful themselves. By relying on an oral tradition, there is no written proof of heresy. As each practitioner needs to exercise discretion when practicing the faith, there are numerous unique approaches to the faith, compared to the one axiomatic approach taken by the Church. (On a side note, I'm not entirely sure how to reconcile this lack of structure with the Druidic hierarchy from the Adventures Dark & Deep Player's Manual. I'll worry about that when I get a 12th-level Druid in my game.)

Druids play the role of spiritual advisers to the members of the Old Faith. Most practitioners of the Old Faith do so in small groups, which may or may not be led by a classed Druid. Druids will frequently travel to meet with these groups from time to time, under the guise of a scholar or merchant, to answer questions of faith or perform important ceremonies.

Members of the Old Faith swear by the "Three Realms" -- The Sky, the land, and the sea -- tied together by the fire of inspiration or freedom (depending on who you ask). They respect and revere the elements and the spirits inherent in everything around them. This can manifest itself in gentle thanks to objects or animals who benefit them. Speaking to inanimate objects or animals is often seen by the more suspicious members of the Church of the All-Father as signs of heresy.

All classed Druids will speak Druidic. Non-druids can also learn it, but the language is rare even among the faithful. Usually only devout members of the Old Faith who lead the prayers of their peers learn the language. It is also possible for some outsiders to learn it. Many of the more inquisitional members of the Church have pieced together enough Druidic to identify its speakers as heretics.

Players who chose to have their PCs be members of the Old Faith would be able to come up with their own tenets of faith, but should still maintain the spirit of what has been written before. Druids and Rangers, particularly must be more rigorous with their observations of the various changes of season.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: C is for Church

2011-04-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Under the hood: There is more than a passing resemblance between the Church of the All-Father and the Medieval Catholic Church. This is somewhat intentional, as I wanted a recognizable face of the faith to give the players something concrete to relate to. Outside of superficial conventions, the resemblance stops there. My portrayal of the Church of the All-Father has nothing to do with any thoughts I have or comments I might make about religion.

Oh, and just because I have to give credit where credit is due, the genesis of the Church came from some of Raggi's Church of All from the No Dignity in Death module. I like to think I've taken it in a different direction, but the initial seed was planted by our favorite metalhead from Finland.

OVERVIEW
The Church of the All-Father is the all-pervasive religion in the Kingdom of Greatholm. Its hand touches every aspect of life in the kingdom, having ascended to primacy after the Sterling Potentate's polytheistic faith fled them during the great and noble rebellion led by King Simon I, which re-established the Kingdom four generations ago. Under the watchful guidance of the Archbishop of Westleigh, the Church of the All-Father is the single largest landowner in the kingdom after the Royal Family, with all church land exempt from tax and feudal obligation. For the most part, this means that various monasteries operate as independent estates and that churches are separate from the land they minister. In some cases, like the Westleigh Archdiocese and the Starfall Protectorate, there are huge areas of land under church control.

HIERARCHY OF THE CHURCH OF THE ALL-FATHER
PATRIARCH
The head of the Church of the All-Father, based at Warwick Abbey, which is near Whitehaven. The Patriarch also serves as the spiritual adviser to the King. The Patriarch serves until death, when the Secretary of State ascends to the Patriarchy. The current Patriarch is His Holiness Industry II, who has served for 18 years.
Title: His Holiness <<Apostolic Name>>. The Apostolic Name is chosen from the list of the seven Virtues: Charity, Chastity, Humility, Industry, Kindness, Patience, Temperance, followed by a numeric title. You would refer to the Patriarch as "Your Holiness."

ARCHBISHOP
There are six Archbishops of the All-Father--The Secretary of State (the Patriarch's minister of affairs), the Archbishop Penitentiary (responsible for matters of Canonical Law), and the Archbishops of Ballykin, Beckby, Westleigh, and Whitehaven. Then the Secretary of State ascends to the Patriarchy, the remaining five choose the new Secretary of State and then the new Archbishop to replace the vacancy.
Title: His Eminence <<name>> and either the title (in the case os the Secreatry or Penitentiary) or the location they are in charge of.
Example: His Eminence, Thomas Penitentiary. You would refer to him as "Your Eminence."
BISHOP
Bishops serve many different roles in the Church, most notably heading up various dioceses across the Kingdom. When an area is either too populous or distant for the Archbishops to effectively control, they will establish a Diocese, with a Bishop in charge. There are also numerous Bishops serving the Archbishops and Patriarchs in differing capacities. Many Apostolic and Archepiscopal Vicars are promoted to Bishop after considerable service. Most promoted in that way are given a Diocese, but others remain on as elite agents.
Title: His Excellency, the Most Reverend <<Name>> of <<Area of Service>> agents and staff members will refer to either the Apostolic Court or their Diocese as their area of service.
Example: The Bishop of Wickster would be referred to as His Excellency, the Most Reverend Henry of Wickster, and addressed as Your Excellency.
ABBOT/ABBESS
Abbots and Abbesses are the heads of the different Abbeys throughout the kingdom. There is only one Abbot or Abbess per Abbey.
Title: The Right Reverend <<name>> of <<abbey>>, addressed as Father/Mother
Example: The Right Reverent Simon of Houndswick Abbey. Addressed as "Father Simon."
VICAR
Vicars serve as representatives of higher powers within the Church. An Apostolic Vicar is a personal servant of the Patriarch, Archiepiscopal Vicars serve Archbishops and Episcopal Vicars serve Bishops. Agents of other Church officials do not merit a vicarage.
Title: The Very Reverend <<name>> of <<who they serve>>
Example: A servant of the Archbishop of Beckby would be known as The Very Reverend Geoffrey Long of the Beckby Archdiocese and you would call him "Father" or "Father Geoffrey."
CANON/CANONESS
Canons are the heads of the non-monastic or militant orders of the Church, as well as senior (non-episcopal) functionaries within the Apostolic Court. The heads of seminaries, senior episcopal staff, etc. serve as Canons.

Title: The Reverend Canon <<name>>
Example: The head of Beckby Seminary is The Reverend Canon Roger Cooper. He is referred to as either "Canon" or "Canon Roger."
PRIEST
Most Priests are Parish Priests, administering the faithful in a village. Others serve as junior ministers in the larger cathedrals in the towns or cities. Fewer still make up the Itinerant Order, traveling the land in the All-Father's name.
Title: The Reverend Father <<name>>
Example: The church in Sodbury is led by The Reverend Father Robert Evelyn, referred to as "Father Robert."
BROTHER/SISTER
Brothers and Sisters are members of the church who are not formally ordained, but live under vows. All members of the religious classes begin play at this level. PCs of other classes can also take the religious vows and be in this caste. If one of the PCs is a Cleric serving as a Vicar, it is likely that the Church would want the rest of his party to be Brothers and Sisters. They are addressed as "Mister" or "Madam."
SEMINARIAN
Seminarians are the students at the Seminaries around the Kingdom. They are referred to as either "Mister" or "Madam."

What does this mean for the characters? Well, what follows are road maps for Clerics in Greatholm. Mystics and Paladins will get the same treatment in future articles, which will detail the Monastic and Militant Orders.

CLERICS (Itinerant Path)
Level 1-2: Most PC Clerics who begin play at Level 1 will be Brothers or Sisters of the Itinerant Order of the All-Father. They are charged to travel the Kingdom and do the All-Father's work. They may ask for meager food and lodging at Church facilities, typically no more than a mat on the floor and a servant's portion of gruel, in return for service (cleaning and the like, although it could serve as a hook for adventures). This courtesy does not apply to the Cleric's fellows unless the head of the facility is interested in using all of the PC's fellows as agents of the church.

Levels 3-7: At 3rd Level, the PC will be frocked as a Priest of the Itinerant Order. He would have the option of taking a Domestic Parish, but that would then change the character to the Domestic Path. As an Itinerant Priest, the Cleric gains better treatment when asking for food and lodging. Within reasonable limits, the rest of the Priest's associates will be granted the food and lodging as a Brother with minimal questions asked. Also, this stage is the soonest that a Cleric could be made a Vicar. If the PC is made a Vicar, they will gain a powerful patron at the cost of the obligations inherent in the role.

Level 8+: At 8th Level, the PC gains the ability to found a church (Actually, an abbey) and gains all of the benefits noted in the Adventures Dark & Deep Player's Manual. The Priest is given the title of Abbott and gains an estate and followers. Any abbeys founded will be in the wilderness, far from the bulk of civilization. Once founded, the abbey and its estate will be considered Church Land (and not that of the King), which is another reason why you will not be able to establish a stronghold in any of the existing civilized areas. A possible exception to this outcome is to allow a PC to take over an existing abbey or even a Diocese.

CLERICS (Domestic Path)

Level 1-2: PC Clerics who are tied to a particular Church begin play as Brothers of the Domestic Order of the All-Father. They are servants of the Priest of the local church (or possibly a Bishop or Archbishop), which limits their adventuring possibilities considerably. If this path is taken, then the campaign will likely be focused on the PCs service to the church.
Levels 3-7: At this stage, PC Clerics will be ordained as Priests, granting them either their own church or an increased role in one of the cathedrals. This will tie the Priest to his church or cathedral, again limiting the range of adventure.
Levels 8+: Any PCs that achieve 8th Level as a Domestic Priest will be strong contenders for a Diocese. If using the stronghold rules, the newly-frocked Bishop can establish a new Diocese in an expanding part of the Kingdom. As the head of a Diocese, the Bishop will be incredibly busy with his subordinate churches.

Note: The further political advancement of Clerics to Archbishop or higher is outside the scope of this article and should be handled as a case-by-case basis by the GM.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: B is for Brigands

2011-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

A wide, open land waiting to be exploited-by men both sinister and just.

Greatholm is not a densely populated island. Huge swaths of land are wilderness. When you look at one of the maps, you'll see that the majority of the towns and settlements are surrounded by miles of wilderness. While you will find many estates in the plains of Avonlea and Astleyham, large chunks of the Norcott and Astonwold are wild. The Elshaw, with its fey inhabitants, is untouched by man.

Few of Greatholm's inhabitants venture far from their homes at any point in their lives. Those brave souls travel with trepidation, for the way is often wrought with brigands.

As the campaign will begin in Wickster, we will focus on the brigands who inhabit the Astonwold Hills. Many of them are descendants of the remnants of the Sterling Potentate (from Stonehell Dungeon), who took to the hills and forests after their rule was overthrown. While the generations have erased any political motivations the brigands might have, many of them have developed a culture of hatred for the nobles of the island and seek to live outside of the boundaries of their rule. Naturally, the powers that be frown upon this behavior.

Preying on travelers through the Astonwold (and occasionally venturing into the Norcott), the brigands operate in smallish, itinerant gangs. Unable to settle in any of the land, they are forced to range far and wide, living off of the land and what they can gain by force. The brigands are a loosely clannish folk, with the different clans composed of many different gangs related by blood. When a gang grows too large to operate effectively, they separate into smaller gangs. Intermarriage is rare within a clan, but interclan relations are often kept civil through political marriages. Slavery is common, particularly women taken as forced wives. Male slaves are usually hostages for ransom or skilled craftsmen. The nomadic life of the brigands is not adapted for easy child-rearing, so the mortality rate is very high (increasing the value of child-bearing women).

Given the heavily forested terrain in question, most of the brigands operate as footpads. The few highwaymen that do exist are well-known through the region and actively hunted by the Royal Road Wardens as well as the Ranger Brotherhood (who, outlawed themselves, are often blamed for brigand activity).

So here is a sample gang of Astonwold Brigands: The Teague McPhees

Led by Teague McPhee (of Clan McPhee), the Teague McPhees are one of the smaller brigand gangs roaming the lower Astonwold Hills. They are quite notorious for their brutality and fearlessness. Teague himself wears the magical armor of Sir Gilbert Warwick, a knight of the kingdom, whose death earned Teague a bounty of 5,000 g.p. on his head for murder of a noble. Teague's younger brother Bayne wears the magic armor of an unnamed household knight who came after the band in retribution.

For the most part, I haven't described the non-combatant slaves and camp followers or the "important prisoners." Maybe they could be Gilbert's family members or some merchants. More on that if I end up using the band in my game. Anyway, here are the stats for the brigands.

TEAGUE MCPHEE
Morale +5
No. Appearing 1
Hit Dice 9d10+3 (53 h.p.)
Armor Class 2 (Plated Mail +1 & Shield)
Move 120’
Magic Resistance none
Damage Long sword 1d8+2, Dagger 1d4+1
Defenses none
Attacks Long sword (2 attacks/round, Attack Rank K, +1 to hit), 10 attacks/round vs. creatures with 1d8 hit dice or less.; Dagger +1 (3 attacks/2 rounds), Attack Rank K, +1 to hit), 10 attacks/round vs. creatures with 1d8 hit dice or less.
Size M
Intelligence Highly Intelligent
Alignment Neutral Evil
X.P. Value 1,642
Individual Treasure 10 g.p.

BAYNE MCPHEE (Teague's Lieutenant)
Morale +4
No. Appearing 1
Hit Dice 7d10 (24 h.p.)
Armor Class 4 (Steel Scale Mail +1 & Shield)
Move 120’
Magic Resistance none
Damage 1d8+2
Defenses none
Attacks Long sword (2 attacks/round, Attack Rank H, +1 to hit), 7 attacks/round vs. creatures with 1d8 hit dice or less.
Size M
Intelligence Very Intelligent
Alignment Chaotic Evil
X.P. Value 615
Individual treasure 8 g.p.

TEAGUE’S GUARDS (Alf, Cooley, Lee, Roarke, Siobhan, and Vincent)
Morale +1
No. Appearing 6
Hit Dice 2d10 (18, 13, 9, 10, 11, and 10 h.p.)
Armor Class 8 or 7 (Leather Lamellar (2 w/shield))
Move 90’
Magic Resistance none
Damage Long Sword (1d8+2); Light Crossbow (Point Blank (6’-60) 2d4+2, Short (61-120’) 1d4+2, Medium (180’)-Long (240’) 1d4+1)
Defenses none
Attacks 2x Long sword (3 attacks/2 round, Attack Rank C, +1 to hit), 2 attacks/round vs. creatures with 1d8 hit dice or less.; 4x Light Crossbow (1 attack/round, Attack Rank C, +1 to hit if target is within point blank-medium range)
Size M
Intelligence Average
Alignment Chaotic Evil
X.P. Value 89, 74, 62, 65, 68, 65
Individual treasure 9, 6, 10, 2, 3, 9 g.p.

BRIGANDS
Morale -1
No. Appearing 20
Hit Dice 1d6 (6, 2, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2, 4, 1, 3, 2, 2, 4, 2, 1, 6, 1, 1, 3, 3 h.p.)
Armor Class 8 or 7 (Leather Lamellar (11 w/shield))
Move 90’
Magic Resistance none
Damage Light Crossbow (1d4+1), Long sword (1d8), Pike (1d6), Short bow (1d6)
Defenses none
Attacks 3x Light Crossbow (1 attack/2 rounds, Attack Rank B); 11x Long Sword (Attack Rank B); 3x Pike (Attack Rank B); 3x Short Bow (Attack Rank B)
Size M
Intelligence Average
Alignment Neutral
X.P. Value 11, 7, 11, 8, 8, 8, 7, 9, 6, 8, 7, 7, 9, 7, 6, 11, 6, 6, 8, 8
Individual treasure 7, 10, 8, 8, 8, 10, 8, 8, 7, 10, 7, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 8, 6, 8, 6 g.p. 

10 Camp Followers (non-combatant)
10 Slaves (non-combatant)
2 Important Prisoners (non-combatant)

TREASURE:
In the provisions and storage tent:
Ale, barrel (12 g.p., 250lb.)
Food, dried vegetables/fruit (2 g.p., 10 lb.)
Iron ore (10 g.p., 100 lb.)
Lumber (2 g.p., 25 lb.)
2x Livestock, fowl (in cage) (10 s.p., 7 lb.)
Livestock, goat (1 g.p.)
Silk, bolt (85 g.p., 9 lb.)

In Teague's tent:
Book, illuminated (small), entitled The Five Potentates of Sterling (100 g.p., 6 lb.)
Clothing, fine (1 set) (30 g.p., 4 lb.)
Ewer, glass (30 g.p., 5 lb.)
Incense (20 g.p., 1 lb)
Mirror, large (20 g.p., 12 lb.)
2x Box, engraved (medium) (50 g.p., 4 lb.)
The first contains 81 g.p., the second contains the following gems & jewelery:
Beaded electrum pin (13 g.p.) with a small star peridot (flawless) pip (50 g.p.)
Brass pin with 2 cloisonné spirals (1 g.p., 12 s.p.)
Copper beaded necklace with large, stamped, nude female figure (3 g.p.) and six very large moss opal (very poor) studs (10 g.p. each)
Plain copper ring (1 g.p.) with large jade (good) pip (10 g.p.)
Thick silver bracelet stamped with five flowers (15 g.p.) surrounding small blue spinel (flawless) pip (50 g.p.)
Medium Glass Bead (flawless) (1 g.p.)
Small Pale Aquamarine (good) (10 g.p.)
Tiny Opal (flawless) (25 g.p.)

In Bayne's tent:
Ewer, silver (18 g.p., 2 lb.)

In the Guards' tent:
Cup, copper (2 g.p., 1 lb.)
Ewer, copper (6 g.p., 2 lb.)
Fur pelt, ermine (4 g.p., 1 lb.)
Fur pelt, marten (4 g.p., 1 lb.)
Fur pelt, mink (3 g.p., 1 lb.)
Perfume, rare (10 g.p., 1 lb.)

A to Z Blogging Challenge: A is for Armor

2011-04-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Visually, armor is a huge aspect of the image and feeling behind your game. The film version of Excalibur used anachronistic armor designs (as I understand it) to convey a certain vibe. So, being a visual person when I plan my games, I wanted to think about how armor would work in my Greatholm game. I tried to shy away from cost/weight/protection analysis to instead look at the armor and what goes into making it to determine what status it confers upon its wearer. Wearing armor when you make your first impression can have a strong effect on that impression.

Most of the armor (with the exception of mail and the plate family) can be produced anywhere, although some of the more time/resource intensive models (steel scale, for example) might not be readily available in the villages of Greatholm, requiring a commissioning of the armor (and a hefty down payment).

Cuirass, Leather (3 g.p., AC 8, 15 lbs., Full Movement) - A breastplate made of leather.

Lamellar, Leather (15 g.p., AC 8, 20 lbs., 75% Movement) - A series of leather scales connected to one another to form a shirt.

From a game mechanics standpoint, I'm not sure why anyone would purchase Lamellar over the Cuirass. The Lamellar is five times the cost, 33% heavier, and limits your movement. That's just game mechanics, though. Looking at pictures of Cuirasses and Lamellar, one thing that looks very interesting to me is the comfort factor. The rigidity of the Cuirass, while providing better and cheaper pound-for-pound protection, looks like it wouldn't be fun to wear over a long period of time. While the Lamellar slows you down, it looks like it's got better weight distribution. So who uses one over the other? I'd say your typical militiaman might be more likely to have a Cuirass. When you are only occasionally called upon to wear armor, you want cheaper. However, those who tend to wear the armor more often (guards and the like) would probably choose Lamellar.

Furs (2 g.p., AC 8, 8 lbs., Full Movement) - Heavy, thick furs that provide protection against both cold and weapons.
The social connotations of wearing Furs will exclude you from most polite company. Only Northmen and the more "rustic" of the Western Forest Folk (culture to be named later) wear Fur Armor. Fur as a style and status symbol, however, is in favor among the upper class.

Gambeson (4 g.p., AC 8, 10 lbs., 75% Movement) - A quilted jacket stuffed with padding.

Gambesons are included in the mail and various plate armors, which give the wearer an air of status. Rough types who want to look "legitimate" will often wear a gambeson. However, if one of lower status wears a gambeson around the upper class, they will certainly be looked even more down upon as "pretenders" than someone of their class already would be.

Brigandine (30 g.p., AC 7, 20 lbs., 75% Movement) - Leather or cloth with steel plates riveted or sewn to the inside.

The favored armor of city watches and household guards, due to the relative lightness, mobility, and ability to dye the leather or cloth into heraldic colors. Some of the more affluent members of the criminal underworld will also choose brigandine.

Lamellar, Steel (35 g.p., AC 7, 30 lbs., 50% Movement) - A series of steel scales connected to one another to form a shirt.

Not a popular new choice for armor by anyone with the advent of Ring Armor, you can find steel lamellar in the hands of the militias who were once well equipped, but can no longer afford to upgrade.

Ring Armor (30 g.p., AC 7, 25 lbs., 75% Movement) - Rings of metal sewn onto a leather backing.
A little bit heaver, but the same price and mobility as Brigandine. I'm thinking this would be favored by mercenaries and the like, since it looks more like "armor" than "clothing."

Scale Armor, Leather (25 g.p., AC 7, 30 lbs., 50% Movement) - Small leather scales mounted on an inner layer of cloth.
As long as you don't have to move much, this is the most affordable option for AC 7, but it's lack of mobility limits it to static guards.

Cuirass, Steel (60 g.p., AC 6, 25 lbs., 60% Movement) - A breastplate made of steel.
It can be prohibitive in price, but the lighter weight and better movement rate within the AC 6 range is an advantage. Some of the wealthier noble guards will wear this.

Scale Armor, Steel (45 g.p., AC 6, 40 lbs., 50% Movement) - Small steel scales mounted on an inner layer of leather.

It's not much more expensive than some of the AC 7 armors, so it can often be found in mercenary hands, as well as in some of the more affluent middle class guard forces.

Mail (75 g.p., AC 5, 30 lbs., 75% Movement) - Interconnected rings of steel forming a mesh.
Now we are getting into the elite forms of armor, those only found in the hands of adventurers and noble forces. The cost of mail makes it prohibitive for large forces, so only household guards of the peerage and higher nobility. Individuals with mail are looked on with considerable respect (and could very well be targeted by nefarious individuals keen on stripping them of their wealth). You'll probably have to go to a full blown town to get this as well. Any Small Town or larger with an Armorer will be able to provide mail.

Plated Mail (90 g.p., AC 4, 35 lbs., 75% Movement) - Mail with small steel plates embedded within it to reinforce it.
Plated Mail, requiring more resources and skill to make, can only be made in towns with two or more Armorers (and only one can make it). In rare cases, noble houses will have an Armorer who can make it, but it will be for the house itself. This is a rare type of armor outside of Cavaliers. Adventurers and mercenaries with Plated Mail are rare bordering on unique.

Plate Armor (400 g.p., AC 3, 45 lbs., 50% Movement) - A full suit of armored plates covering most of the body, worn over mail.
Plate Armor is even more rare than Plated Mail. Outside of the larger noble houses, you would need to go to one of the cities (Ballykin, Beckby or Whitehaven) to find an Armorer who can make this for you. The price alone makes it virtually exclusive to cavaliers. A commoner with Plate Armor would be legendary.

Jousting Plate (4,000 g.p., AC 1, 100 lbs., 25% Movement) - Similar to plate armor, but the metal plates are extremely thick and heavy, providing superior protection but at a severe cost in mobility.
I'm not even sure why an adventurer would want this. Pretty much just high-status cavaliers are in possession of it. One Armorer in Whitehaven can produce this for those not of the great landowning families of the kingdom (the Royal Family, the Church, Avonlea, and Aberfirth).

Writing Gaming Material For Fun And Profit

2011-03-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had my disability physical with the Veterans Administration. It turns out I have degenerative arthritis in my neck, back, and knees. My hand is still fractured from an injury from late 2008. I've also got chronic acid reflux (as do many of my fellow service members who were exposed to burning trash - Go KBR!) which will pretty much keep me up at night if I don't take my daily Prilosec.

Ah, the spine of the ex-paratrooper.

What all of this means is that I am pretty much unhireable in any of the traditional jobs you have when you are in college. Fortunately, the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill is robust enough to keep my bills paid while I am in school. Still, you sometimes need to do a little more than pay bills.

All of that said, I've debated trying my hand at commercial product to bring in a little supplemental beer money. Back when I was pretty active in the Twilight :2013 community, I got to talk quite a bit to one of the developers, Clayton Oliver, who mentioned that in all of his years of working for White Wolf and AEG, he never brought in five figures from the RPG job. I am imagining that you pretty much need to run the company to make any meaningful money in the industry.

Fortunately, I'm not looking to make meaningful money. I'm going to school to be a Clinical Psychologist. I am guessing that pays better than an RPG mogul any day of the week. I'm just curious what some of your experiences are with "the industry."

D&D Rocks.

2011-03-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

Kellri made an a wonderful post over on the Knights & Knaves Alehouse thread regarding D&D Mastery.

AD&D is like a 3-power chord rocker. Anybody with fingers can do it with a little practice. A master though, makes it fucking ROCK & ROLL because they know how and when to riff off the tune and make it theirs - and that takes talent and practice.

I love it.

A to Z Blogging Challenge

2011-03-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

So, I decided to force myself to take part in the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge and use it as an opportunity to come up with a lot of information for my Adventures Dark & Deep campaign.

Starting Friday, expect six posts a week through April. I've already started writing the blogs and have them set for a time delay release.

In case you are wondering what to expect, here are the first couple ideas.

A is for Armor
B is for Brigands
C is for the Church of the All-Father

I'm hoping I can balance the writing with school. Wish me luck!

Half-Century of Followers!

2011-03-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo! I hit 50 followers!

Not that that really means ALL that much, really.

I know I've been very bad at updating this blog, but I have been busy with school (I'm riding a 3.8 right now for the semester) and getting things together for my Adventures Dark & Deep game, and playing in Joseph's as well...

When I've got something publishable for my game (I'm thinking I'm going to put together my Wickster town information for distro when I've got it to a decent point), I'll make it available. I'm shooting to have SOMETHING by the end of the semester. We'll see.

Greatholm: Wickster Town & The Surrounding Area

2011-02-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

So, this past Wednesday, I started my Adventures Dark and Deep game through the NEPA Dungeons & Dragons Meetup group. I may start a second one, and I'm considering a bi-weekly Skype game using those rules. I'm digging what I'm reading so far and I want to see where I can take the game. Anyway, the game Wednesday went well. You can read the session writeup on the campaign's Obsidian Portal page.

In the mean time, I've been working on fleshing out the area. Using Expeditious Retreat Press's Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe as a guideline, I started developing Wickster a lot more. A lot of it is handwritten right now, so it'll take some time for me to translate it all into electronic copy, what I am offering is a more detailed map of the area the campaign is taking place in. While there are no more details in it than the Greatholm map I posted last month, it's got lots of room for expansion. Here is is:

If you'd like, feel free to use it. You never know when a good map will come in handy. Once again, I have to thank Inkwell for the outstanding Hexographer software. It's a godsend for me.

Just to give you a little direction, the areas in red borders are land that belong directly to the owner, not the King. Most of them are pretty clear who they belong to (The Duchy of Avonlea = The Duke of Avonlea), but there are two Church Lands which bear notice. The Westleigh Archdiocese is the seat of the Church of the All-Father and the Starfall Protectorate is an "Area 51" of sorts, filled with heresies the good people of Greatholm have no need for.

You'll note Michael Curtis's Stonehell Dungeon on the map. I don't know if the players will bite on it, but a megadungeon is there in case that's the direction the party wants to take.

As I add things to the Obsidian Portal page, I'll add it here as well, for those who are following Greatholm.

Greatholm Name Generator

2011-02-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

So, today I put together a random name generator for my Adventures Dark & Deep campaign, which starts Wednesday. I decided to share it.

MALE NAMES

01-04 Adam

05-08 Geoffrey

09-12 Gilbert

13-17 Henry

18-21 Hugh

22-26 John

27-30 Nicholas

31-34 Peter

35-38 Ralf

39-43 Richard

44-48 Robert

49-52 Roger

53-56 Simon

57-61 Thomas

61-65 Walter

66-70 William

71-72 Algernon

73-74 Almarick

75-76 Aretas

77-78 Chrysogon

79-80 Clarence

81-82 Endymion

83-84 Ewball

85-86 Jessamy

87-88 Justin

89-90 Ybel

91 Alberic

92 Aloysius

93 Augustus

94 Bonamy

95 Percy

96 Erasmus

97 Euseby

98 Theophilus

99 Horace

00 Sidney

FEMALE NAMES

01-05 Agnes

06-10 Alice

11-15 Avice

16-20 Beatrice

21-25 Cecily

26-30 Emma

31-35 Isabella

36-40 Joan

41-45 Juliana

46-50 Margery

51-55 Matilda

56-60 Rohesia

61-62 Aspasia

63-64 Clorinda

65-66 Corisande

67-68 Dillian

69-70 Sophrona

71 Albina

72 Alma

73 Amanda

74 Ancilla

75 Augusta

76 Aurora

77 Althea

78 Anthea

79 Delia

80 Zenobe

81-85 Male Name

86-90 Feminized Male Name

91-95 Roll Twice

96-00 Male-Female Combo

SURNAMES

01-20 Surname (1)

21-40 Surname (2)

41-60 Trade

61-80 Locality

81-00 Placename

Surname (Sub-1)

01 Achard

02 Adeney

03 Albelin

04 Altard

05 Arundel

06 Aubert

07 Auvray

08 Baignard

09 Ballard

10 Bassett

11 Bauldry

12 Bavent

13 Beaumont

14 Belet

15 Bellecote

16 Beringar

17 Bertran

18 Blouet

19 Bohon

20 Bolam

21 Bonel

22 Bonvalet

23 Bordel

24 Bossard

25 Botin

26 Bouchard

27 Bradwardine

28 Brai

29 Brereton

30 Brevedent

31 Brinon

32 Brix

33 Bully

34 Buron

35 Cayley

36 Calmette

37 Campion

38 Caradas

39 Carnet

40 Caunter

41 Ceauce

42 Challenge

43 Cheney

44 Claville

45 Colleville

46 Comyn

47 Corbet

48 Corbon

49 Cosin

50 Courcelle

51 Courcy

52 Courseume

53 Cruel

54 Cumin

55 Darcy

56 Digby

57 Emory

58 Esteney

59 Evelyn

60 Faintree

61 Fergant

62 Fitzalan

63 Fitzhugh

64 Folet

65 Fossard

66 Framan

67 Froissart

68 Furnival

69 Garin

70 Giffard

71 Gilpin

72 Godefroy

73 Gouel

74 Grancourt

75 Griffin

76 Groulart

77 Gueron

78 Guildersleeve

79 Gurney

80 Hachet

81 Harcourt

82 Hendry

83 Herbard

84 Holland

85 Hugonin

86-90 Combine 1-2

91-00 Combine 1

Surname (Sub-2)

01 Martel

02 Mathan

03 Maunsell

04 Medley

05 Mercier

06 Meulan

07 Middleton

08 Monceaux

09 Montague

10 Montgomery

11 Morphew

12 Mortain

13 Mortmain

14 Musard

15 Mustel

16 Nelond

17 Neuville

18 Ormond

19 Osmond

20 Painel

21 Pantoul

22 Parry

23 Paschal

24 Patris

25 Pennant

26 Percy

27 Peveril

28 Picard

29 Pipin

30 Pippery

31 Plucknet

32 Poignant

33 Pont

34 Postel

35 Prestcote

36 Quincarnon

37 Raleigh

38 Rassent

39 Renold

40 Riviere

41 Roger

42 Ross

43 Roussel

44 Runeville

45 Scolland

46 Senlis

47 Sollers

48 Strivelyn

49 Stukely

50 Tessel

51 Theroulde

52 Tibon

53 Tilly

54 Torteval

55 Tourmente

56 Tourneville

57 Tranchant

58 Valance

59 Vastel

60 Vauville

61 Venois

62 Ventris

63 Vernon

64 Vesli

65 Villon

66 Vipont

67 Vivers

68 Wadard

69 Werables

70 Wissant

71 Hynde

72 Jubert

73 Lacy

74 Ligonier

75 Loges

76 Loucelles

77 Lucy

78 Lynom

79 Maignart

80 Malleville

81 Mallory

82 Mandeville

83 Mansel

84 Marchmain

85 Margas

86-90 Combine 1-2

91-00 Combine 2

UPPER UPPER CLASS SURNAMES

01-17 Neville (Royal)

18-50 Stanley (Aberfirth)

51-75 Dudley (Avonlea)

76-00 Herbert (Avonlea)

MIDDLE UPPER CLASS SURNAMES

01-06 Auchmulty

07-11 Balston

12-19 Beauchamp (Drumtilly)

20-23 Bigod (Elshaw)

24-25 Bohun (Glendale)

26-30 Cattanach

31-38 Courteney (Astonwold)

39-46 Findlay

47-50 Fitton (Westeidin)

51-58 Frewer

59-62 Hendry

63-67 Lamond

68-71 Lovegod

72-73 Lovell (Treafon)

74-79 Mortimer (Norcott)

80-86 Sidney (Astleyham)

87-90 Stannard

91-96 Vane (Caelbach)

97-00 Wackrill

LOWER UPPER CLASS SURNAMES

01-10 Surname (1)

11-20 Surname (2)

31-60 Placename

61-80 Combine Placename/Surname 1-2

81-90 Combine 1-2

91-95 Surname (1 or 2) - MUC

96-00 Surname (1 or 2) - UUC

Adventures Dark & Deep: Odds of Rolling a Character

2011-02-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

So, messing around a bit with Adventures Dark & Deep, in anticipation of playtesting some it with Stonehell Dungeon, I wondered what the odds were of rolling certain types of characters.

Even using the 4d6/Drop One method, it's virtually impossible to roll a Paladin. Wow. Cavaliers, Rangers, Barbarians, and Illusionists have less than 10% of a chance of being rolled (and only Barbarians are higher than 5%). Fortunately, you can almost always guarantee a character of one of the big four.

Old School can be harsh, can't it? ;)

Greatholm: A World Without Stars.

2011-01-29T07:44:00.000-08:00

In Greatholm, the night sky is barren. The Heavenly Aegis of The All-Father protects the good people of The World from the fell creatures that would come from the stars. Only The All-Father's four sentinels -Byrdlung, Guthfugel, Lyftfloga, and Paloer - watch over us from the dark while the All-Father tends to his other children.

I was in my Astronomy class on Wednesday and we were talking about the basics of orbits and such and how the constellations appear to shift in the night sky due to the movement of the Earth on it's axis as well as its rotation around the Sun. The professor mentioned some stars and it got me thinking of Raggi's interpretation of the Contact Other Plane spell in Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Then I started thinking, "What would happen if there were something blocking the stars?" From there, the Aegis of The All-Father was born. And just for fun, no moon. Night is DARK. The years are longer (almost twice as long as our years) and the seasons are harsher. The summers are hot and the winters are FRIGID. I'm excited about the direction Greatholm is taking.

What It Is: All the Treasures of the World by Faster Monkey Games

2011-01-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Did I say I wouldn't have time to review the first two entries in the All the Treasures of the World series by Joel Sparks and published by Faster Monkey Games? Well, you can thank Mother Nature for giving me the time. Thanks to about two or three inches of snow, East Stroudsburg University cancelled classes for the second time in a week. Mrs. Higgipedia and I got to spend another snow day together and, while she works, I'll write up a more comprehensive review.

Now I know what some of this stuff is!

All the Treasures of the World Part I: Gems is a twelve page supplement which serves many purposes: random treasure generator, introduction to gemology, and rules supplement for the evaluation and sale of gems. With it, you can generate a gem the size of a grain of rice up to one as big as a cantaloupe, which could be worth anywhere from a measly silver penny to 100,000 gold pieces.

The first section allows to to randomly generate gems. You can either roll for value on the table provided or, if you know the value of the gem (which is more likely from my experience), you can roll on the charts based upon value to find out what type of gem you've found. For example, a 1d20 roll on the 10gp Base Value chart gives you a Moss Opal if you roll a 12. I wouldn't know a Moss Opal from a Moss Agate, so I look at the descriptions in the back and see that Moss Opals are green and white with a sparkle to them. You polish them (as opposed to cutting them) and they are medium sized. One of the nice things about Gems is that they have two scales for size: real-world and fantasy. If you want gems the size of fists and melons (keep in mind the Hope Diamond is like an inch around and a half inch thick), go with the fantasy rules. If you are bit more realistic, go with the Real-World size chart.

Are we done with gems? Heck no! While it's a no-brainer to move up and down a chart to reflect the changes in value based on size and quality, Gems includes charts to make it a lot easier to randomly generate the sizes and quality based on final value. You find a gem worth 500gp? Well, on a 3d6, I roll an 8 and find that find that it's a Larger (one step) 250gp Base Value gem of Good (average) quality. Rolling a d6 on the 250gp table, we get a Flame Pearl (and after checking the description) the size of a pea (or a marble, if you are using the fantasy sizing). They also explain how some gems can have stars and cat's eyes and some other distinctions that most of us unversed in gemology might not know.

The last section gives some rules for identifying gems as well as detecting (and trying to pass on) fakes. They show how jewelers, merchants, fences, and PCs will all have different abilities to detect certain things. PCs are not very good at it, comparatively, so be wary if you plan on ripping off the pros. I'll probably bump Dwarves up to the Merchant level of identifying things in my game (as well as any who have a merchant or mining background).

All the Treasures of the World Part II: Jewels is a little trickier to work with, since the nature of jewelry means that you have to manage a few more moving parts. Jewels breaks down each piece of jewelry based upon what type it is, what it is made of, any kind of style or motif, and gems added. I think the easiest way to show what the supplement is capable of is to walk you through the creation of a few bits of jewelry.

Let's say you want to buy your mother some nice, simple copper earrings. Looking at the item chart and cross-referencing the materials chart, you come up with 5 sp. Happy birthday, mom.

Something a little crazier? Well, let's see what the King's Crown would be like? Well, it's made of platinum, which makes it's frame along worth 300gp. It's masterfully engraved with 12 images of past Kings' triumphs, upping the value to 2880gp. We're going to go with the nonpareil level of gemstoning, since it's a sovereign's gaudy headgear. The glory on it is a 2500gp gem (A flawless blue diamond the size of a pea), surrounded by 30 100gp gems (Lesser sapphire chips), with 66 10gp gems (Flawless star garnet chips) in the setting. The King's Crown is worth about 9,000gp. Good luck fencing THAT.

Gems and Jewels are a wonderful investment of four dollars (two bucks each). I plan on using them extensively in my sandbox. If you are a fan of flavor and detail in your treasure, these are indispensable.

Random Treasure Generation Spawning Adventure Hooks

2011-01-20T15:32:00.000-08:00

So, I picked up the Gems and Jewels treasure supplements from Faster Monkey Games today. Great supplements. I'm heading off to Colorado for the weekend for a wedding, so between that and schoolwork, I doubt I'll have time to write a review for the blog. Still, they are a combined $4 and provide some neat flavor for the game. What I didn't expect was it can also generate some plot hooks!

I really dig Swords & Wizardry's random treasure system, so I used it for this experiment. I just picked an Ogre Mage at random from the monster list, which gives a 600gp base. I got one 100gp trade out that ended up being 142gp worth of gems and jewelry. I picked a 100gp gem and 42gp worth of jewelry.

Before I share the results, I'm using the alternate currency system from an issue of Footprints which will have my Sovereign Crowns (the gold piece) worth 250 Silver Pennies, so the final numbers might look a little strange. Anyway, here is what we've got:

20 Sovereign Crowns
A huge (egg-sized) Blue Spinel, with a Star of poor quality (4 Crowns)
Man’s Heraldic Banded Copper Ring with a Shield Pattern with an 8-point Coronet (Size 2) (30 Pennies)
Woman’s Plain Silver Signet Ring (40 Pennies) with a channel of 20 Flawless Pea-Sized Onyxes (10 Pennies each) (Size 2) (1 Crown, 40 Pennies)

An 8-point Coronet on a ring is significant, since the system can only generate up to 9-point coronets. This is likely the ring of a Prince. Why would a prince have such a ring of such low value? I have two thoughts:

1.) It's really old--before the Kingdom had really nice things.
2.) It's simple because of modesty/piety of the prince OR it was his "war ring," since he wouldn't take his really nice things on campaign with him.

Either way, it'll be very difficult to pawn the Prince's jewelry. How the Ogre Mage came into possession of the ring is curious and can generate stories. The woman's ring, on the other hand, could very well be the ghetto fabulous accoutrement of a wealthy merchant's wife. Would the merchant want the ring back? Is his wife alive? Did he feed her to the Ogre Mage?

Or, you could reverse engineer the adventure from these--Maybe the prince or wife commissioned the PCs to look for the items. Maybe their families were concerned about their absence. What did the Ogre Mage DO with the bodies? Are they dungeon dressing? Slaves somewhere? Willing co-conspirators?

Anyway, check out the treasure generators. I love them.

Props: Adventures and Zines I plan on using in my Greatholm Campaign.

2011-01-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Martin Luther King Day and I can't get squat done. The problem with living off the government teat (My income streams are pretty much the State of Pennsylvania and the Veterans Administration right now) is that you have to deal with government hours. So, what is there to do but head on down to the Cheeky Monkey Coffee House and try to read and write some stuff. Last night, Mrs. Higgipedia and I sat at the local Perkins so she could get some of her reading done while I went through a lot of my PDFs to see what I might use for my Greatholm Sandbox. It gave me a great chance to look through a lot of wonderful things made by the OSR Community.

Skull Mountain, by Faster Monkey Games. I plan on having two megadungeons on the island. Skull Mountain will be one of them (The other one might end up being The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth). I'll have to tweak it a bit to make it a little more "weird," but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I must confess, I never went to their website before. I'm glad I did, because it turned me on to the $2 PDFs they put out covering Gems and Jewelery, which I plan on snapping up as soon as I get paid.

Blood Moon Rising, by Small Niche Games. I talked about this one briefly when I talked about folk festivals. It's nice because it allows the PCs to participate while the events unfold. A lot of open choices there and hooks to bite on. I might try to work The Inn of Lost Heroes into my game as well.

Death Frost Doom, Hammers of the God, Three Brides: No Dignity in Death, and Tower of the Stargazer, all by Lamentations of the Flame Princess. These are the ones I own. I'll likely pick up The Grinding Gear when I get paid and A Stranger Storm when it becomes available. I get pretty brand loyal when I find something I really like. I've liked the reviews and play journals for Death Frost Doom. Seeing Beedo's write-ups about his game has me thinking that Greatholm would likely be toast if 13,000 undead started coming down the mountain. What I've read of Three Brides looks wonderful. Tower of the Stargazer was a fun time with my brother back in October. I loved the playtest of A Stranger Storm. I am a geek for James's stuff, as it fits exactly what I want out of my game. Of course, finding players who fit that mold might be more difficult...

I also went through a bunch of zines for things to use. I'm trying to keep house-rules to a minimum, what with my existing Arcane Magic idea and plans for some tweaks to Alignment and Psychology and two potential new classes I've been mulling about in my head.

Encounters, Jesse Walker's zine from Australia, is quite possibly the best LOOKING D&D fanzine on the internet. The content is as great as the layout. There are three issues available for download and the fourth should be out shortly. It would certainly behoove you to check out Encounters. Footprints and OD&Dities continue to put out some good stuff in them as well.

Anyway, it's given me some stuff to think about and work on. If you aren't already checking some of these out, I recommend you do so.

Random Musings

2011-01-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

Nothing like this happened on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, I had a wonderful time playing an online game with Zak and Mandy (of Playing D&D with Porn Stars and I Hit It With My Axe fame), Paul from Quickly, Quietly, Carefully, and Aberrant Hive Mind (who writes Symptoms of Radness), run by Mr. Lamentations of the Flame Princess himself, James Edward Raggi IV. We were playtesting one of the new LotFP modules James will be releasing soon. It's a good one. Had me thinking of the old Warhammer Fantasy adventure Night of Blood, but it's nothing like it plotwise--the mood was there though. Some of the old WFRP modules are totally in the vein of Weird Fantasy Role Playing (at least the old 1st Edition ones are...).

Anyway, it was a blast and I hope I can game with them again. It definitely got me thinking about my own game and some of the things I want to work into it.

I picked up my books for next semester today. In addition to Scott McCloud's great work, Understanding Comics, for my Graphic Novel class, I flipped through the book for my Social Psychology class and it looks like it'll have a lot of good stuff to work with over the long term for my game. Psychology is one of those things I'm totally a geek over, so it makes sense that I'd work it into one of the other things I am totally a geek over--gaming. Between Social Psychology and Theories of Personality this semester, expect a big rewrite of the Psychology rules I keep putting off finishing.

Starting Off in Greatholm

2011-01-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

You want to play a demi-human or a spellcaster?

Those are for earners, bucko, and you ain't earned squat yet.

One of the things I've wondered how to handle in my Lamentations of the Flame Princess game is how to handle the potential conflict between a Lawful Cleric and a Chaotic Magic-User/Elf. I decided not to handle it and instead let the players handle it themselves.

The campaign will start off with the PCs making Neutral Fighters and Specialists. As the game moves on, they can encounter various groups that could, for lack of a better term, "unlock" the demi-human and spell-casting classes. And there may be some other options out there to compete with Clerics and Magic-Users. Just sayin'.

I want my sandbox to be a sandbox where exploration is rewarded in many different ways: treasure, experience points, and even character options. With my method of multiclassing, you'll be able to eventually play a magic-user or a cleric if you can be initiated into their mysteries, you'll just be paying your dues as a fighter or a specialist to begin. Now, once the party unlocks the different options, you'll be good to bring in these new classes and races as henchmen, or start new 1st level characters in the unlocked race/class.

The only thing I'm wondering is how to reconcile the multiclassing with demi-humans. Something to work on over the next month.

Human Multiclassing

2011-01-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

The Lamentations of the Flame Princess game I am working on will largely be focused on humanity. I'd like the characters to be drawn exclusively from Clerics, Fighters, Magic-Users, and Specialists. However, I'd like to keep the game in line with a bit of the Swords & Sorcery paradigm of the heroes being good at many things. What does this mean? Multiclassing.

Each one a Fighter/Thief... and Human

I know that the B/X rules didn't have any type of multiclassing in them (unless you are an Elf, of course), but here are my initial thoughts on the deal:

Characters do not begin the game multi-classed. I'm not 100% tied to this one. Maybe work multi-classing at the beginning in with the character's background.
To be eligible to learn a class, they must study under a teacher for an as-yet-undetermined time (with an as-yet undetermined cost) which grants them level 1 in the class studied (I think I'll tie this in with some of the rules from the Hill Cantons Compendium, found over at... Hill Cantons).
When you have multiple classes, your experience points are spread equally among the classes you use in an adventure. This means that if a Fighter/Specialist goes a whole session never getting in a fight, but uses his Specialist skills, all of the XP gained go into Specialist. With the ubiquity of Fighter and Specialist skill usage, there won't be the question of what happens in a role-play only session (not with anyone *I* have DM'd for, at least).
Of course, since I have aligned Clerical magic with Law and Arcane magic with Chaos, there will be no Cleric/Magic-Users in the game.

Since all of the players will be humans, they will all be on the same page for these, and there shouldn't be much of a competitive edge.

Any thoughts on this?

Hobbit Wizards, Norwegian or Otherwise

2011-01-07T14:04:00.000-08:00

Who knew the Shire was in Norway?

The Rangers won the game I went to on Wednesday, thanks to an overtime goal by Mats "The Norwegian Hobbit Wizard" Zuccarello. Standing in at a "mere" 5'7" and bearing a passing resemblance to Elijah Wood, Zuccarello has previously led the Swedish Elite League in scoring and looks to have a pretty good future, despite his relatively diminutive size for an NHL forward.

The thought of a Hobbit Wizard is kind of curious. It was expressly forbidden in earlier versions of the game and is just not that efficient in the 4th Edition. Plus, it kind of takes away from the "aw-shucks" quality of Hobbits.

I confess that I haven't read the books since just before Fellowship of the Ring came out in film. I saw the movies in the theaters but only once. I'm not expert on Tolkien or the stories. I have, however, played a metric ton of Dungeons and Dragons and can say that Halflings are not Hobbits. I'm not sure if there is an exact reason, but the longer I play D&D, the less I like D&D Halflings. This isn't because of the changes in appearance. It's because they are pretty much as pointless as gnomes. Anyone who has played D&D with me knows that I just don't see the point of gnomes and I'm starting to get that way with Halflings as well.

I received the Blu-Ray edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy for Christmas and I was watching them with my fiancee a week or so ago. One of the things I noticed about the four hobbits is that they are not pure adventurers. This isn't something that translates too well into a role-playing game, since you want to play a pure adventurer. The only hobbit with a real responsibility is Frodo. Look what it does to him. The other three hobbits, Samwise, Merry, and Pippin, all serve a very different purpose--they are the consciences of their charges.

I don't see any of these guys making it in the NHL.

Hobbits were innocence. Halflings are mischief. Hobbits resort to trickery to overcome the fact that they are not fighters, sorcerers, or powerful in any material way. Halflings seem to enjoy trickery for the sake of it. Hobbits are the heart and soul of any group they are part of, while Halflings just seem like little douchebags.

I'm thinking of not allowing Halflings into my Lamentations of the Flame Princess game. If a player insisted, I guess I'd relent as long as he played it more like a Hobbit than a Halfling. Instead of any kind of thieving bonuses, I'd give them some kind of ability to influence opinions, but only if they were on behalf of "the right thing to do." The penalties for not being a fundamentally good person and wearing your heart on your sleeve would be steep. Really bad saving throws and absolutely no abilities of suggestion.

What do you think?

Third Time's The Charm: Royalty, Peerage, and Orders of Chivalry

2011-01-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

FINALLY, a place in Morristown, NJ with outlets.

So, the fiancee and I have a partial season tickets for the New York Rangers and on game days, if she can't work from home, I'll head into New Jersey with her and chill out while she works. We'll have to find a new system when I start school in two weeks, but it's better these ways than her coming all of the way back to PA for us to go all the way back across New Jersey to go to Manhattan and it's better than taking two vehicles (especially when my vehicle is a 20mpg pickup). ANYWAY, so I planned on parking it in a Barnes & Noble or a Borders and working on the blog while Mrs. Higgipedia earns the mortgage payment. I drop her off at the office and order some tea and realize there is nowhere to plug my almost drained MacBook Pro into. I didn't really feel like trucking around Central New Jersey, so I just parked it there and took advantage of the book selection to pick up The Rough Guide to Cult Football, a wonderful purchase if you are into the beautiful game. After meeting Mrs. Higgipedia for lunch, I tried ANOTHER coffee establishment, which turned out not to have outlets either. I continued to read my book and moved on after finishing some coffee. I went to the Morristown Greenberry's Coffee, checked for outlets first (I might not learn quickly and without pain but I do learn), and ordered some tea. And here we are. I've been working on the background on my sandbox. I felt like fleshing out the nobility for Greatholm, patterning it after Great Britain's royalty, since the island is clearly my sandbox's GBR analogue. Anyway, here is what I'm working with.

The Three Classes of Nobility in Greatholm
I wanted to make the system of nobility something that was a little different than what I usually see published. One of the only games that really deals with nobility that I have experience with is Pendragon, and I'm looking at taking a different tack then that.

Royalty is defined as the Sovereign of Greatholm (the King), his wife (the Queen Consort), the surviving wives of Sovereigns past (the Queen Mother or Queen Dowager), the Sovereign's children (Princes and Princesses), and the children of the Sovereign's sons (also Princes and Princesses). This constitutes the strict definition of the Royal Family and the line of succession. If, through some happenstance, the entire Royal Family were to be slain, then it would come down to everyone else proving lineage to Sovereigns past to determine the new Sovereign. Expect a civil war to break out.

Peerage are the hereditary nobles given title by the Sovereign. In descending order, the Peers of Greatholm are: Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons. Some of the peerages are tied to areas (the Duke of Avonlea) and some are tied to families (Earl Lovegood). Once granted, the title can only be revoked by the Sovereign. The children of those holding a peerage are considered to be nobles, but do not transfer nobility to their offspring. The children of the heir to the peerage become enobled when their father inherits the peerage. I've written a list of the Peerages of Greatholm but I don't really see the need to include it here. If I ever put out a full-blown Guide to Greatholm, it'll be in there. If you want to see it, just let me know and I'll send you a copy.

Orders of Chivalry are chartered by the Sovereign, some of whose members comprise the lowest level of nobility in Greatholm. They are various orders of merit and knighthood which honor those who serve the crown in many different capacity. The Most Venerable Order of Hawkshead is the highest of the chivalric orders, limited to a membership of twenty-four--The Sovereign, the Duke of Avonlea, four officers, and 18 members selected from the Peerage and Orders of Chivalry. The Valorous Order of the Falling Star is a military order based in several castles surrounding Starfall Gorge. Some of the higher orders (such as Hawkshead) require a noble title to join, while others allow for commoners to enter them (Falling Star is such an order). Members of an order are not automatically ennobled, becoming nobles only when they reach the rank of Knight within the order.

PCs and Nobility
Since you have to be born into Royalty, it is highly unlikely that I will allow my PCs to be royals. Nobility, however, can be earned and it isn't transferred to all descendants. This makes it a bit more palatable for a PC to be the child of a Lord/Lady (a non-heir child of a peer), close to nobility, but not actually able to dispense justice by virtue of birth. Since the Sovereign can create peerages, outstanding service to the Crown can result in the creation of a new title to be given to a PC as well.

Chivalric orders are a much better route to nobility for PCs. I plan on creating some orders that are not as specific as the Falling Stars, which will offer a bit more flexibility to the PCs. As they do more for that order, they can be made Knights of the order, thereby ennobling them.

As always, I welcome your feedback.

Sandbox: Here we go.

2011-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

So, as part of my new year plans for actually finishing a sandbox project, I picked up Inkwell Ideas' Hexographer program and started working on my sandbox. I made a pretty big map, but turned to a particular island to focus on. What evolved was the island of Greatholm.

Greatholm, after a day of work.

Clearly, I still have a lot of work to do, but it's giving me some ideas for the game. Having three cities is nice, because it gives me some versatility in character.

I used S. John Ross's Medieval Demographics Made Easy to figure out what the island has going on with it. The capital, Whitehaven, is home to a little over 12,000 of the island kingdom's 750,000+ citizens. The second and third cities, Ballykin and Beckby, respectively, clock in at 9900 and 8400. With thirteen other towns floating around, as well as a few castles, it gives me a lot of opportunities for local flair and roleplaying while keeping a lot of room open for exploring and adventure!

I've got some ideas on what to do with the different parts of the island and some of it might end up on here. What I need to do is get a group settled into a game and pick a system, though. I can do flavor text all day long, but where the rubber meets the road is the actual game itself.

Retractions and Resolutions

2010-12-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

First, I would like to apologize to Sacrosanct Games for my comments regarding the artwork in my review of Something Unholy Stirs. While it does not change my overall opinion of the product, I was not aware of Larry Elmore's stock art policy. I have edited that part out of my blog review and my review on Drive Thru RPG.

Because of that, and because of my slip up with the EGG quote in my last blog, my New Years Resolution (when it comes to the blog) is to be far more thorough with my research in 2011.

Have a Happy New Year, Blogosphere. See you next week.

4e Rules with an OSR vibe: Is It Possible?

2010-12-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

Since I'm going to be playing in a 4e game in a week or two and (hopefully) running a Lamentations of the Flame Princess game in the not too distant future, I'm looking at my current D&D life and wondering, "Are they TRULY incompatible?"

If there is something that seems to unify 99% of the OSR community, it's the thought that the 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons is an abomination. I certainly didn't like it when my brother shared it with me a few years ago. It was way too video-gamy for my liking. What caused me to give it a whirl was the simple fact that if I wanted any kind of regular game, I'd need to start joining the Colorado Springs Living Forgotten Realms games. As I played, I gained an appreciation for the difference the edition brought. It's not my D&D, but it's what's out there.

Reading a lot of the OSR blogs out there really helped reconnect me to what I loved about gaming back in the 80s when I started playing. One thing that I don't share with many of my 20+ year gamers is a complete loathing for 4th Edition. I do recognize, though, that they are vastly different games.

How incompatible ARE they?

~~In a GameSpy interview, Gary Gygax has this to say about 4e:~~

~~The new~~ ~~D&D~~ is too rule intensive. It’s relegated the Dungeon Master to being an entertainer rather than master of the game. It’s done away with the archetypes, focused on nothing but combat and character power, lost the group cooperative aspect, bastardized the class-based system, and resembles a comic-book superheroes game more than a fantasy RPG where a player can play any alignment desired, not just lawful good.

Edit: Okay, I edited that out. When I saw the quote, it was attributed to his opinions on 4e, not 3.5, and in my haste, I didn't look close enough at the original source interview to see that it was done about four years before 4e was released. My bad on that one. Thanks BryanD for fact-checking where I didn't!

I picked up Matthew Finch's A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming, which seems to be a pretty good handbook for what OSR seems to be. Looking at the four "zen moments" which define Old School D&D you've got:

Rulings, Not Rules
Player Skill, not Character Abilities
Heroic, not Superhero
Forget "Game Balance"

Understandably, Gygax and Finch park their car in the same garage. I'm looking at the details in Finch's Primer and my 4th Edition Rulebooks and am now convinced that you can play Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition in an Old School manner. You just won't be able to use any adventures I've seen published for 4e. This isn't a big deal for me. I could be wrong, but I don't think I started using modules heavily until 2nd Edition.

I am going to posit that you CAN run 4th Edition in a manner befitting Old School D&D.

How? Well, I'm going to address each of Matthew Finch's points and explain how you can run 4e differently (but without changing the game) and capture more of an OSR feel.

Rulings, not Rules: Okay, there is no denying that 4e is rules heavy. I touched upon it a few months ago, and I agree that 4e is a "statute law" game where OD&D is "common law." There are certain things in 4e which are codified in the rules that used to be the purview of the DM. Jumping across chasms, for example. The 1st Edition Player's Handbook doesn't have any rules that I could find about how far a normal character can jump. 4th Edition covers it under the Athletics skill. Does this mean that the rules are more important than the DM's ruling? Not just no, but hell no. It just means that the DM will have to make a call for less circumstances. In fact, the architecture of the rules makes it easier for a creative DM and a creative player to do things a little different.

Again, it comes down to negotiation, JUST LIKE OLD SCHOOL D&D. Let's look at "The Ninja Jump" example from the Primer. Here's how it would have gone down at my table.

GM: "You're up on the ten-foot high ledge, and down below, the goblin is about to attack Frank the Cleric."
John the Roguish: "I grasp my sword, blade downward, and leap off the edge, driving the sword blade deep into the goblin's back using the weight of my body and the fall to cause tons of extra damage."
GM: "Okay, you aren't in melee contact with the goblin, so your normal powers don't apply here. I'd actually call this a charge, since you are moving in a straight line with an attack after it. Of course, you are also falling 10 feet. And the goblin will have to make an Athletics check to remain standing. Sound good?"
John: "Here we go!"
GM: "First, we resolve the attack. Take your charge attack."
John: "Wow. That was an epically bad roll. Even with my bonuses an 11 vs. AC"
GM: "Not good enough. The goblin manages to avoid your blade, but there is still the matter of 170 pounds of rogue crashing into him. And... I rolled as awesome as you did. He's prone. Let's see what happens with that fall. Okay, you fall ten feet, so you take... 4 points of damage and are prone. Make your acrobatics check.
John: "14. No damage."

It's all fun & games until a Goblin ninja jumps YOUR ass.

GM: "Okay, you're in the same square as the goblin, so move yourself out. You and the goblin are prone. Frank, you're up."

It's not the horror story that some people make it out to be. The difference between OSR and 4e is simple: OSR requires DMs to make up rules, while 4e requires DMs to interpret them. If a GM can't interpret the rules to allow players to do cool stuff, then he needs to learn the rules better or learn how to think outside the box. If a PC feels hemmed in by the rules, then he needs to open up his imagination. Don't blame the system, blame the players.

Player Skill, not Character Abilities:  If a puzzle becomes a bunch of die rolls, it's not really a puzzle. It's a bunch of dice rolls. Let's look at the Spot check debate. It's really easy for a lazy DM to say that players can just roll Perception and find everything. The 4e Player's Handbook describes searching as something that occurs within the squares around the PC. So, to search a room, the players are going to have to move around and describe their searches, coupled with some Skill checks. The ten foot pole? An item bonus on Perception checks in certain circumstances.

Heroic, not Superhero:  Okay, sure, 1st-level characters in 4e are far more survivable than OSR 1st-levels. I still don't quite consider them superhuman, though. The Warlord I made for my upcoming 4e campaign is a half-elf who basically has a knack for inspiring his fellow adventurers through his battlefield vision and sheer arrogance. Standing behind them in battle, he targets enemies with his longbow, helping his friends fighting in melee bring down the opponents while exhorting them on to greatness. There is nothing superheroic about anything a 1st-level character can do in 4e. Sure, he's no farmer with a pitchfork, but that's kind of the point of the game, isn't it?

Forget "Game Balance":  That's easy. Throw out the modules. Most OSR DMs do that anyway. Sure, the rules have these carefully balanced formulas which determine what kind of monsters you should fight at whatever level. I can't say I ever followed the 1e monster stocking tables, either.

It's funny. I grew up immersed in two things: D&D and Punk Rock. You here people talk about the new bands and how much they suck compared to the old school. What people don't realize is that there was JUST AS MUCH CRAP back in the 70s and 80s as there is today.

It isn't hard to run 4th Edition with an old-school edge. It isn't hard to write a 4e sandbox. All you have to do is think for yourself and move beyond a hard and fast adherence to every word written in a rulebook. You take the framework of a system and inject YOUR vision into it. Creative players and a creative DM will be able to make magic happen regardless of what version of a game you are playing.

I issue this challenge to anyone who feels that they can't have an old-school game using the 4th Edition rules: Work out a time where I can run you through a game. I can even take an old module and adapt it. After we are done, you still might not like the game (No matter what anyone says, it's a new game with an old name), but I am certain you will realize that the biggest problem with 4th Edition isn't 4th Edition, it's crappy people and crappy adventures. When good people surround themselves with good people, a good game will result. Don't let "them" tell you how to play 4th Edition. Play it your way!

After all, isn't that what punk rock is all about?

What It Is: D&D 4e Red Box

2010-12-27T15:33:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a happy holiday. I can't report any gaming finds, but my fiancee DID get me a beer making kit. In about a month (I have a few more things to pick up before I can begin), I should be trying out my first stout. I'm very excited.

My biggest complaint? No Bargle or Aleena.

One of the things I got for Mrs. Higgipedia this year was the new D&D 4e Red Box. While I am realizing my heart is with the older versions of D&D, I do enjoy aspects of 4th Edition. I've found that it is a more balanced and egalitarian system than previous editions. All races and classes can generally contribute in equal amounts at all levels. Still, the home game I am trying to organize (if you are in the Stroudsburg, PA area and interested, drop me a line. You can reach me by email or through the Facebook page on the right column of the page.) is going to be based on Lamentations of the Flame Princess, with some house rules. I don't hate 4e the way a lot of OSR aficionados do,

That said, a mutual friend of the future missus and I is starting up a game next month and we're using 4th Edition. Mrs. Higgipedia hadn't played D&D since 2nd Edition so I knew I had to give her an idea of the differences between the editions. Looking around the internet, it seemed that Wizards' new Red Box would be a great fit for my needs. So, it was one of her presents.

We were in a hotel on Long Island over the holidays and we broke out the box and gave it a whirl. We played through the tutorial once, with Mrs. Higgipedia making for herself a nifty little Human Rogue. We decided we'd run through the tutorial a few other times, so she could see what other characters she can make (most of my books are still in storage) and get a better idea of the gameplay. There is a lot to unlearn and relearn when you are making the jump from 2e to 4e after fifteen years of not playing.

The box itself is a great homage to the set that got a lot of us into the hobby. If you go back to my very first post, you'll see why I love the game so much. When you open it, there is a lot similar and a lot dissimilar. The Player's Book, the DM's Book, and dice are what I remember from my old Red Box. The new one comes with cards, tokens, and maps (all reflections of the much more map-oriented version of the game as it exists now). One of the things I don't like about the new game is the filler piece that keeps the books at a slightly more aesthetically pleasing angle, but takes up a lot of room. I'd prefer a smaller box than filler. It makes me feel like I am getting ripped off.

For the most part, the tutorial in the Player's book gives you the very basic tools you need to understand the game, adding concepts as needed (Just like the Moldvay Red Box). It's a very simple two part adventure which illustrates the concepts you'll need to understand. You get to create a human/elf/dwarf/halfling fighter/cleric/rogue/wizard and go to town on some goblins. Very basic, very simple. It then encourages you to gather some friends and have them try the tutorial and start a game. With this, I am convinced that despite Hasbro and WOTC being these large corporate entities, there are still those in the industry on their end who remember what it was like to grab some friends and play a new game in one of the basements. The Red Box is a throwback to that.

When all is said and done, your opinions of the Red Box are your opinions of the 4th Edition of Dungeons and Dragons. If you hate 4e, you'll hate the Red Box. If you like it, you will appreciate that it is one of the few games out there that is written with the customer who has no preexisting context for table top roleplaying in mind. The only other game I've bought in a long time that does more than a cursory job at this is Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

I am glad I bought the Red Box for Mrs. Higgipedia and she seems to be glad as well. As always, I welcome your thoughts on the product. Just please be a little more constructive than "Fourth Edition Sucks."

What It Is: Something Unholy Stirs

2010-12-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

What's unholy is that I paid money for this crap.

I was bumming around on DriveThruRPG, looking for some cheap adventures to help populate my sandbox. I came across the OSRIC-compatible Something Unholy Stirs, by Sancrosanct Games. It looked interesting and had a decently old school cover. The premise is kind of interesting. The typos and poor editing are painful. I went to the Sacrosanct Games website to see of maybe they are a foreign company and English is their second language, but it doesn't appear to be the case. The title page reads "individual artits[sp] may retain copywrite[sp]". Dude. When even your CYA statements are spelled wrong, you need some help.

The plot of the module sounded good at first. A necromancer was using a village's prime location as a stop along a booming trade route as cover for her nefarious activities. The players stumble upon said activities and attempt to put a stop to it. Well, this necromancer is about as subtle as a rhinoceros running wild through a crowded marketplace. Any players older than 12 will probably see through to the plot and go straight for the fairly straightforward dungeon delve. In fact, that's what this adventure reminds me of: something I would have come up with when I was 12 writing my own adventures for the rest of my middle school friends.

This is seriously the most poorly written and edited RPG product I have ever paid money for. Do not go anywhere near Something Unholy Stirs.

What It Is: Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules (Part Two)

2010-12-20T10:26:00.000-08:00

All right, last week I reviewed the Player's Section of the new Complete Rules for Swords and Wizardry. Today, I'll be finishing it up with the Referee's Section.

Let's Get Started
The introduction is good for explaining what it means to be an OSR referee compared to some of the new school games, rules interpretation in particular. It sets the tone for a referee to act outside the rules and modify them as needed. Compared to later editions of the game, which seem to have rules for everything and endless errata, it's a refreshing change.

Some of the symbols from p. 78.

The section jumps right into adventure design, reminding referees about their most important duty: providing a setting to give the rest of the players some form of challenge and entertainment. The cross-sections and the maps are all hand-drawn, encouraging referees to go it their own. There are plenty of "Dungeon Map Symbols" to give fledgling referees ideas for things to add to their dungeons. I like this a lot because those huge lists of map symbols (I believe in the inside of the cover of the DM's book of the original Red Box) actually exposed me to new words like dais and portcullis. I was 9 years old and had no clue what those were. I bet if I asked around the coffee shop I'm writing this in, I'd find more people NOT knowing what those words mean than those who do know. The key example is pretty simple and illustrates that all you really need as a referee is a brief description, stat blocks, treasure, and some space for notes. While I look for a lot more than that from adventures I purchase, when I'm writing something up, I am usually good with the basics.

When it comes to stocking the dungeon, S&W deviates from the original sources, going for a later "Challenge Level" concept. Starting with the "sublevels" of Challenge Levels A&B (for the weakest threats like kobolds and goblins) and going up from Challenge Level 1 (Orc) to Challenge Level 17 (Orcus, the Demon Prince).

I like ambush POV shots like this one from p.82

The random generation tables are the usual mixed bag. The rules are quick to point out they are just guidelines, but it just seems a bit nuts to have the players run into a horde of 250 kobolds on the fifth level of a dungeon. Two things can happen there: Either the sheer volume of the monsters will overwhelm the players or they will be powerful enough to shrug off all of the attacks. Either way, it's absurd. I know large numbers of low-level monsters is something very traditional to the game, but I'd like to see someone finally start putting some common sense into it. What's the point of rehashing these rules if you don't fix some of the things that are clearly absurd or broken?

The addition of mass combat rules in the game are a nice touch. They look pretty simple, and I'll have to give them a whirl sometime. The siege rules are interesting that they almost admit that it's better to find a supplemental set of rules for it. They are a bit meager for my taste, but I guess are there because the old rules had them. The aerial and naval combat rules look pretty simple to use.

Things to Kill
Now, the section I have been waiting for. The monster section. 154 monsters over 24 pages means that the stat blocks are succinct and the descriptions and flavor text are slim, to the point of sparse. There aren't as many pictures as I'd expect and the ones that are there aren't always clearly linked to the monster in question. All said, there is enough to work with here if you are a full blown member of the OSR, with an understanding of the context of the more obscure monsters. I'm thinking that some of the more obscure monsters (Carrion Creeper, Ceiling Lurkers, Trapper Beasts...) might be difficult for someone new to the game to use properly.

What's missing from this p. 119 picture? A duck swimming in it.

One thing I really like about the monster section is that they clearly define Challenge Levels. Well, as clearly defined as that concept can be. Still, this is good for referees who may not be experienced enough to properly scale monsters to have an idea of how deadly their creations might be.

Ooooh! Shiny!
The treasure system in many ways resembles the classic tables many of us grew up with. What I like about how the Swords and Wizardry handles things is that instead of an arbitrary "treasure type," you have a gp value based upon the total experience points of the monsters. It's a concept that a lot of later editions of the game embraced and is very nice to see here. They have several "tradeouts" which allow you to include gems, jewelry, and magic items in lieu of cash. So, after fighting my CL 7 Ogre Mage, I have a 2400gp treasure horde to work with. I have one 100gp tradeout to work with (a bit low, statistically). So the treasure ends up being 2300gp in coins and a 4gp gem. Wow. Let's try it again and see what happens the second time. This time we get THREE 100gp tradeouts and one 1000gp tradeout. This time we get a 49gp gem, a 5gp pendant, a magic sword which is cursed to force the bearer to run away from combat, a +2 staff, and 1100gp. Not a bad system. The magic items are your typical OSR fare. They are clearly described and there are a lot of options stuffed into a small area.

Overall impressions
Swords & Wizardry's Complete Rules captures that moment in history where the original D&D rules were becoming Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. It's clear and, instead of having to look in a number of supplements for all of your options, gives you everything you need to play the "complete" version of the original rules in one place. It's a sharp looking book and very clearly organized and written.

If the Complete Rules existed in a bubble, I'd say jump on it in a second. Unfortunately, I'm hesitant to give it a glowing review because they are catching OD&D when it was almost AD&D. It's the bridge between OSRIC and Swords & Wizardry's White Box or Core Rules. If you are already using OSRIC or have a bunch of 1st Edition books, I'm not sure this will bring anything new to the table. I say "unfortunate" because I really want to like the Complete Rules more than I do. It's just not jumping away from the pack in any way for me.

Buy this if you more options than the bulk of the OD&D clones (S&W's White Box or Labyrinth Lord) but aren't heavily invested in OSRIC or AD&D 1e.
Don't buy this if you already have an early AD&D clone you are happy with.

You can buy Swords & Wizardry's Complete Rules here, at the Frog God Games website.

What It Is: Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules (Part One)

2010-12-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

The Old School Renaissance/Revolution is wonderful in a lot of ways. I don't hate D&D's later editions (I played an awful lot of 4e in Colorado Springs), but I read the blogs of a lot of these OSR guys and I remember so much of what I loved about games back when all I had was the original Red Box and the Orange Spine 1e books. Unfortunately, one of the trickier parts of navigating the OSR is finding WHICH set of rules to play. You've got Swords & Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, OSRIC, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and many more. They each offer something different and you have to really look around to see which one is the right fit for your game.

I picked up Swords & Wizardry: Complete Rules last week in PDF form. I have the softcover on the way, and I'll comment on that when it arrives. For now, I'll go cover to cover on the Complete Rules PDF. Hopefully, you'll get an idea of what makes it tick and if it's the right fit for your game.

Basic Info:

The PDF weighs in at 135 pages. I'm thinking that's a decent size. I'm convinced that anything over 256 is bloated (I'm talking to YOU, Pathfinder), and 128 is probably the best size to have a thorough, concise rule set. So, on that superficial level, Complete Rules looks good.


That's just a damn sharp cover.

The beautiful cover shows a party down in the depths of somewhere, near an eerie settlement built into/on top of a mesa at the bottom of what looks to be a deep chasm. In the foreground (I can't quite tell if the party is going to or coming from the foreground), an eel-like creature rises from the muck. A great old-school painting which sets the tone for a classic dungeon adventure in an alien setting. What I like about it is that all of the individual components of the cover wouldn't be eerie in and of themselves, but combine for one of the better covers I've seen in a long time.

The internal art is incredibly varied, running the spectrum from line work to greyscale, detailed and realistic to highly stylized. There seems to be a lot more art in the Player's Section than the Referee's Section. I'm not sure if it was a conscious decision, but it does make sense when you think about it. A player's section (or even a player's guide) is going to be what grabs the player and gives him inspiration for his character. The ref just needs to get down to business.

Anyway, the art inside is decent. While nothing really jumped out as amazingly awesome, there also aren't any pieces I'd consider bad at all. I'd say it's on the higher end of average.

I recognize a few of the names in the credits from the blogosphere and from my childhood. It's great to see that the people who were part of the Old School when it was the New School stuck around. Tim Kask, the original editor of The Dragon, writes a short foreward and the primary author, Matt Finch, writes the introduction. Combined, they take up about a third of a page. It's nice because they let you know the overall vibe of the Old School way of thinking and let the reader know that experimentation is not just allowed, but encouraged.

The table of contents fits on one page, as does a list of tables. Listing the tables in a book is a lost art, and I am thankful that they have it. It really speeds up the search for an important bit of information. The overall presentation is solid. It's dense enough to pack a lot of information inside, but not so dense it gives you a headache when you are trying to read it. There are no frills in the layout, which is a plus for me. I've seen too many game designers get all crazy with the desktop publisher and not realize that simpler is better.

Character Creation

I know I'm not the only one who loves to jump right into character creation without even skimming the whole rulebook. The Complete Rules allow you to do so, so that's good.

The Assassin from page 9. Clearly bad ass.

You start with your attributes, with a 3d6 in order, which is pretty typical of the old-school. Swords & Wizardry (both the Core Rules and Complete Rules) only makes slight modifications to the Original D&D attribute ranges. With some attributes, such as Dexterity and Constitution, there is a very minimalist approach to bonuses and penalties. For examply, you basically have three classes of Constitution, low (3-8), medium (9-12), and high (13-18), which give you a -1/0/+1 modifier to your hit points, and either 50/75/100 percent chance to survive resurrection. For the most part, this isn't THAT much of a departure, but an 18 Con in OD&D gave you +3 hit points and still only a 99% chance of surviving a major system shock. However, the 13 gave you no hit points and an 85%. Compared to later editions, this low-key approach may shock people who have more experience with higher attribute bonuses for higher attributes. What it serves to do is minimize the desire for higher scores. If a 13 and an 18 give you the same benefit, you aren't as bummed if your highest score is a 13 or a 14, which is a very real possibility when you make characters with the straight 3d6 method.

You choose your character class next. The options here are: Assassin, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Magic-User, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Thief. This makes the Complete Rules more of an early AD&D analogue than an OD&D one with regard to classes. The classes don't stray far from their roots, to include differing mechanics for thief skills (some are percentile, some use a d6) and lack of spells for 1st-level Clerics. There are no attribute minimums for the classes, like AD&D, but each class does have it's prime requisites to gain the 5% bonus to experience points. Some only require one attribute to be 13, others as many as three. From a text box in the Complete Rules, I understand that a lot of these are strict interpretations of what is found in a lot of the OD&D Supplements. I confess I don't have anywhere near the working knowledge of those rules as I do AD&D 1e. I'll take the author's word for it.

At least page 26's Halfling brought some suds!

The next step is to choose your race. You can choose human and be done with it, or you can be an Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, or Halfling. A lot of your sub-classes are not available to your demi-humans, meaning you can't play an Elf Ranger according to the rules as written, and level caps are in effect. It's all very much the old-school standard.

There are some pretty extensive notes on multi-classing towards the end of the race section, which clears it up much better than a lot of editions of these rules did. They offer some different perspectives on multi-classing (brought on by the vagueness of earlier editions) and players and referees both can figure things out much easier.

True to its roots, the Alignment section is set up for the linear Law-Chaos model, compared to AD&D's 3x3 cube. Law represents civilization, Chaos represents anarchy, and Neutrality is poorly defined as always. My issues with D&D's alignment models are deep, and better suited for another post.

The equipment section takes up three pages. Not too many games are this light on gear. What's listed are the basics. The general equipment doesn't include weights for the objects, which is a curious decision for a game that operates on pounds as the basis for their encumbrance system. In the Weight & Movement section, it assumes that your gear weighs ten pounds on top of your money, arms and armor. I get that encumbrance is a pain in the ass and is frequently ignored by a good number of players. Lamentation of the Flame Princess did a good job of abstracting encumbrance, while the old game made encumbrance require a calculator. Maybe some of the OD&D experts can chime in and let me know if that's how it was done in the white box days.

Playing the Game

The first thing discussed after you've made your character is experience. It explains their decision to have Prime Requisite bonuses for all character classes (since it apparently was very disjointed and vague in the original rules), and bases experience on monsters killed and treasure accumulated. Again, pure old school.

One of the greater departures S&W takes from the source material is the one saving throw compared to many different classes of saves. It's not quite the same as the 4e single saving throw, starting high and getting lower as the character advances in level, but it does make the paperwork a lot easier. Much like 4e, different combinations of race and class give you situational bonuses to your save, which is nice.

Combat. The heart of the game. One thing that is unique about Swords & Wizardry is that the rules offer both ascending and descending Armor Class charts. I get that with different OSR products out there all with different opinions about whether AC should go up or down, you've got a million different systems. It's still a bit distracting to have two numbers out there. The combat is pretty much your standard old-school D&D combat rules. A nice touch is the frequent use of alternate rules text boxes, with different interpretations from different versions of the game.

The examples of play are nice, handling many different situations that new referees and players might run into before they really get a handle on the rules. The sections on high level adventuring, strongholds, and hirelings are brief. They leave a lot to interpretation, which is good for the majority of OSR players who are comfortable with coming up with systems that work within their campaign's particular framework. Players who have come from less improvisational backgrounds might find it wanting.

The magic rules are pretty simple, not straying too far from the source. Magical research is left to the referee to decide the details, which falls in like with the hirelings and strongholds rules above. After a quick scan of the spells, there doesn't seem to be anything about them that jumps out. If you are familiar with a lot of old D&D spells, you won't be in for any shocks here.

Anyway...
So that's it for the first half of the review. On Monday I'll share my thoughts on the Referee's section and give my overall review of the product.

Hitting the Folk Festival Circuit

2010-12-15T08:55:00.000-08:00


The dark ages were rife with looters and jam bands.

So, I plan on borrowing heavily from existing adventures for my Lamentations of the Flame Princess campaign, to include using Peter Spahn's Blood Moon Rising and Raggi's own No Dignity in Death: Three Brides. Folk Festivals feature prominently in both adventures and I reckon I'll be using both of these fairly early in the campaign. What I like about adventures during festivals is that they are a wonderful backdrop and provide additional opportunities for competition/roleplaying that normal day-to-day operations do not.

As I reflect on my gaming experience, I think about cool dungeons and other modules, but the ones that were the most visceral were the adventures that took place during festivals. Anyone remember B6 - The Veiled Society? The adventure itself isn't all that awesome but it has some really interesting imagery, not the least of which is the players being introduced to the main factions of the town by virtue of a street brawl that breaks out during the Festival of Lucor ("Bald-headed fool! Do you Torenescu think you own the street?"). When I look back at the modules I loved, B6 always comes back, even though I look at it as a very linear and predictable adventure. It's amazing how powerful some marketing (Oh, come on, those purple cowls looked AWESOME back in 1985) and a dramatic opening can make you forget the mediocrity of the plot. Good lord, I just realized how much I sound like Jerry Bruckheimer there. *facepalm*

Fire! Entertainment AND Punishment!

The classic Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay adventure Shadows over Bogenhafen also worked a festival into play. This festival was a bit better for the players, because it has a lot of little side encounters. When I went through it as both a player and a GM, someone from the party entered the archery contest as well as the wrestling bout (Come to think of it, I think we ADDED the archery contest...). It gave the players a feeling that the festival was alive and not just a plot device. What's nice about festivals is that you can truly find something for all of the players. Your fighter types can take part in wrestling matches or stylized fighting tournaments, your nimbly sneaky types can take part in the games of chance and skill, and anyone can participate in these events. I've introduced NPCs as fellow competitors, who evolved into patrons or antagonists.

Even if you have the players as spectators to a festival (as in the second part of Three Brides), it's important to give them some kind of investment. Side bets, anyone? Or maybe they know one of the participants and are there for moral support. Maybe they can just make a buck, through legitimate minstrel work (barding? minstrelry?) or illegal thievery. The size of the festival matters here--the Festival of Lucor in Specularum would provide much more cover for illicit action than Pembrooketonshire's Great Games.

So, you can have plot hooks, competition, and money-earning potential at festivals. What else is there?

I don't even know why I bothered to put a caption here.

SUBPLOTS! Exactly what I was thinking. If you have crunchier players who are more interested in swordplay and the like, you don't need to worry too much about sub-plots. However, if you have players who want their characters to be balanced personalities, the festival is a great place to advance the subplot. Your character has amorous intentions toward a lovely lass? Well, ask her to the Frolic in the Fall Foliage dance! Does someone else have identical intentions towards said lovely lass? Challenge that rambunctious rake to an honor duel! Why am I alliterating so much? I blame Havoc and Chaos.

Of course, not all festivals require a nefarious backdrop (all four I mentioned trigger a much more insidious plot). Sometimes a festival is just a festival. Pendragon uses tournaments extensively in the Great Pendragon Campaign (which, I cannot lie, intimidates the hell out me, but you can't deny it's an amazing monstrosity of campaign goodness), which just serve to promote your character's social standing.

Festivals are a great tool. Even if you've only seen the video for "The Safety Dance" or been to a Renaissance Faire once, you can picture what's going on. It's a bit easier to relate to than delving into a slimy moldy dungeon. The opportunities are varied and exciting. I'd love to hear how you've used festivals in your games. Until then, cheers!

Chaos Magic: An Alternate Form of Spell Casting for Magic-Users and Elves

2010-12-13T17:29:00.000-08:00

I'm going to have a bunch of house rules for my Lamentations of the Flame Princess game, which will hopefully be starting in the new year. I discussed the thought of an Insanity system last week, but my first published house rule isn't that. It's my alternate take on Magic-Users and Elves. They have to be chaotic, thanks to their connection with Arcane Magic. The definition of the Chaotic alignment (From the LotFP Rules book) is such:

The howling maelstrom beyond the veil of shadows and existence is the
source of all magic. It bends and tears the fabric of the universe; it destroys
all that seeks to be permanent. It allows great miracles as reality alters at
the whim of those that can call the eldritch forces, and it causes great
catastrophe as beings we call demons and elementals (and far, far worse)
rip into our reality and lay waste to all. Everything that is made will be
unmade. Nothing exists, and nothing can ever exist, not in a way that the
cosmos can ever recognize. Those who are Chaotic in alignment are
touched by magic, and consider the world in terms of ebbing and flowing
energy, of eternal tides washing away the sand castles that great kings
and mighty gods build for themselves. Many mortals who are so aligned
desperately wish they were not.

With this, it doesn't make sense to me that Magic Users and Clerics would follow the same rules for casting spells. I looked to my more recent "favorite" fantasy game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and how they handled magic with Tzeentch's Curse. I also looked back to the AD&D 2nd Edition Wild Mage from Tome of Magic and looked at what that class had to offer. What I came up with is strongly influenced by those sources. Bear in mind, this has not been tested. There will no doubt be many tweaks over the next year as I use this. I am posting it to get some feedback. Let me know what you think.

Chaos Magic

The traditional Vancian system which governs magic in the most classic of fantasy role-playing games is very structured. You prepare ahead of time what spells you can cast, based upon an orderly progression. This seemed a little antithetical to the concept of magic being inherently chaotic. What I am proposing is an alternate set of rules to govern spell casting for Magic Users and Elves. Chaotic Magic is all about choice and free-will with a lack of control. As a spell caster gains power, less powerful spells will be easier to control, but the newer, more powerful spells the caster learns will not always work the way the casters intend.

"What did you DO, Ray?"

Spell Points - The Basis of Choice

Spell casters will draw power from a pool of Spell Points. Spells cost a number of spell points equal to their spell level--1st-level spells cost one point, 2nd-level cost two, etc. The number of Spell Points available to the character are based upon what they would normally be allowed to cast according to the rules as written. A 1st-level Magic User would have 1 Spell Point to cast his one 1st-level spell and a 10th-level Elf would have 39 to power the 4/4/3/2/2 column they've got.

Spell casters learn spells by copying from other spell books or scrolls. At the Referee’s option, spell casters can also learn spells from exposure to the vast infinity of the cosmos, be it madness or extraplanar contact or whatever he decides. 1st-level spells can be learned by 1st-level characters, 2nd-level spells by 3rd-level characters, 3rd-level spells by 5th-level characters, 4th-level spells by 7th-level characters, 5th-level spells by 9th-level characters, 6th-level spells by 11th-level characters, 7th-level spells by 13th-level characters, 8th-level spells by 15th-level characters, and 9th-level spells by 17th-level characters. A spell caster can cast any spell from his repertoire, provided he is high enough level to learn the spell and has the required amount of spell points. The referee can rule that some spells require components and ritual which may prohibit the regular and repeated casting of certain spells.

When a spell is cast, there is a 50% chance that the spell will not function as it was intended. This chance is decreased by 5% for every level above the minimum to cast that spell. A 3rd-level elf has a 40% chance of losing control of a 1st-level spell, while a 11th-level magic user can cast such spells without worry. If the spell goes out of control, roll 1d6 per level of the spell cast and consult the following table:

Table 1: Spell Control Failure Table (1d6/level of spell cast)
1-3 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is one higher on an odd roll, one lower on an even roll.
4-6 Roll once on the Minor Chaos Effects Table
7-9 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is two higher on an odd roll, two lower on an even roll.
10-12 Roll once on the Minor Chaos Effects Table
13-15 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is three higher on an odd roll, three lower on an even roll.
16-18 Roll once on the Minor Chaos Effects Table
19-21 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is four higher on an odd roll, four lower on an even roll.
22-24 Roll once on the Major Chaos Effects Table
25-27 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is five higher on an odd roll, five lower on an even roll.
28-30 Roll once on the Major Chaos Effects Table
31-33 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is six higher on an odd roll, six lower on an even roll.
34-36 Roll once on the Major Chaos Effects Table
37-39 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is seven higher on an odd roll, seven lower on an even roll.
40-42 Roll once on the Extreme Chaos Effects Table
43-45 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is eight higher on an odd roll, eight lower on an even roll.
46-47 Roll once on the Extreme Chaos Effects Table
48-49 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is nine higher on an odd roll, nine lower on an even roll.
50-51 Roll once on the Extreme Chaos Effects Table
52-53 If the spell has variable effects by level, roll 1d6. The effective level of the spell is ten higher on an odd roll, ten lower on an even roll.
54 Roll once on the Extreme Chaos Effects Table

Table 2: Minor Chaos Effects Table (1d10)
1 Any food or drink within 10 feet of you spoils (milk curdles, fruit sours, meat begins to go bad, bread becomes stale)
2 You are illuminated by a faint glow for a number of minutes equal to 1d6 per level of the spell cast. This does not cast light more than a few inches, but will make you highly visible in dim and dark environments.
3 Take one point of damage as the forces of chaos coarse through you to power the spell with a bit of your own life force.
4 In a brief moment of awareness for what you are doing, your bowels and bladder empty, ruining your clothing. Depending on the environment you are in, this can have social effects as well.
5 The voices of the souls who have become one with the winds of chaos scream out, their unnatural lamentations filling the air with considerable volume.
6 You begin to bleed from your nose, eyes, and ears. This causes no damage, but lasts until you make a successful Constitution check and could have effects on your clothing, as well as other social effects.
7 You suffer from a horrible case of pins and needles, giving you a -1 on all checks for the next 1d6 minutes per level of the spell cast.
8 Roll 1d6. Your eyes (1-2), ears (3-4), or mouth (5-6) seal shut with a strange film for 1d6 minutes per level of the spell cast. If your mouth is sealed, you cannot speak, eat, or drink. The other results give you a -2 penalty to checks that use the appropriate sense.
9 The referee can choose an effect from this list or make an equivalent effect up themselves.
10 Roll on this table one more time and apply the result to the family member geographically closest to you.

Table 3: Major Chaos Effects Table (1d10)
1 The chaotic energy you use to power this spell is particularly virulent, causing 1d4 points of damage per level of the spell cast to you.
2 The chaos powering your spell moves directly through your brain, infusing it with insight to the unnatural and alien nature of reality itself. Gain one Insanity point. Make an Intelligence check as well. If you are successful, the referee will add one randomly chosen spell of a level equal to or lower than the spell you just cast to your repertoire.
3 Your stomach cannot handle the energies you are dabbling with. You begin to vomit uncontrollably for 1d6 rounds per level of the spell you have cast. In this time, you vomit far more than you could have held in your body and are unable to do anything while you are vomiting.
4 Chaotic sprits pick you up, shake you around like a rag doll and throw you 5 feet per level of the spell cast, damaging you appropriately.
5 Roll 1d6. Either your hair (1-2), finger and toenails (3-4), or teeth (5-6) immediately blacken and fall out. If you have already lost your hair, nails, and teeth, then roll again on this table.
6 An entity from beyond possesses you for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell you’ve cast. The referee will control your character and act in accordance with the entity he sees fit.
7 The chaotic energy powering your spell is such that your clothing ignites in flames.
8 Roll once on Table 2: Minor Chaos Effects Table and apply that result to every creature within 25 feet of you.
9 The referee can choose an effect from this list or make an equivalent effect up themselves.
10 Roll on this table one more time and apply the result to the family member geographically closest to you.

Table 4: Extreme Chaos Effects Table (1d10)
1 You are attacked by a group of lesser creatures of chaos (referee’s choice) equal to the level of the spell cast. They appear within 25 feet and move to immediately attack you.
2 Every creature (including yourself) within 25 feet is struck by the powers of chaos, resulting in 1d6 damage per level of the spell cast.
3 In thanks for unleashing a spell of this magnitude on the world, the Powers of Chaos offer you a group of servants. A number of lesser creatures of chaos equal to the level of the spell cast arrive to do your bidding for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell cast.
4 Roll 1d6. As the powers of chaos rip through you, your skin is either (1-2) bleached, (3-4) blackened, or (5-6) made very alien (DM’s choice of the consistency).
5 Roll 1d6. The powers of chaos break your (1-2) body (Constitution), (3-4) mind (Intelligence), or (5-6) soul (Wisdom). Reduce that attribute by 1d6 for 1d6 hours.
6 The chaos powering your spell moves directly through your brain, infusing it with insight to the unnatural and alien nature of reality itself. Gain 1d6 Insanity Points. Make an Intelligence check as well. If you are successful, the referee will add one randomly chosen spell of a level equal to or lower than the spell you just cast to your repertoire.
7 A great maw opens up beneath you, drawing you into the Realm of Chaos. If the referee is lenient, you are merely prisoner there. Until your allies come to find you, however, you will need to roll up a new character. If the referee is a bastard, roll up a new character (maybe this one can be a Fighter).
8 Roll once on Table 3: Major Chaos Effects Table and apply that result to every creature within 25 feet of you.

They just don't make metal like they used to.

9 The referee can choose an effect from this list or make an equivalent effect up themselves.
10 Roll on this table one more time and apply the result to the family member geographically closest to you.

Let me know how these look. I know it's a dramatic re-write of the game, we've all been playing for quite some time. I'm looking for constructive feedback on the mechanics of what I've written here. Oh, and when I was looking for art for the blog, I found these guys:

Psychology in Role Playing Games

2010-12-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Initially, I was thinking of writing about psychological trauma and how it could be reflected accurately in a game. The natural progression of thoughts led me to think about psychological issues in RPGs overall. Since insanity is a fundamental part of Call of Cthulhu, I think it exists outside the scope of this writing. Thinking about fantasy games in particular, there are a couple different things I can say about psychological realism in Fantasy Roleplaying Games:

The only time I've ever had characters suffer long-term psychological effects as a result of adventuring was when I ran Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I don't remember the details of the 1e game I played in Arizona, but the 2e game I ran in California resulted in a Dwarven Shieldbreaker taking the Slayer Oath (technically not insanity per the rules, but come on!), one character suffering from crippling PTSD (Knives of Memory) and another driven to drink by it (Unquenchable Thirst (?)).
I couldn't find insanity rules in any of my 1st Edition AD&D books or my 2nd Edition RuneQuest books. In fact, the only games where I can find any kind of player mental instability rules are Warhammer and games with edges and hindrances where you can get points for mental health issues. Few of those games include rules for gaining instability. It appears that you are perfectly capable of a lengthy career of violence and mayhem without any consequence to the character's long-term psyche.
Most fantasy RPGs make it very plain that the PCs are "not like everyone else." Be it very blatant racism faced by non-human characters or even the simple fact that most citizens of a fantasy world live and die within a few miles of the place they were born, there is something that sets the characters apart from the rest of the world. In games where it's epic destiny, you've got a simple explanation. In a paradigm where there isn't a universal force controlling what we do, there must be something psychological that sends a character into a dark hole filled with green monsters. No "normal" person would do that.
There tends to be a certain level of psychopathy within a majority of gaming groups. How many gaming groups take prisoners? How many groups would take prisoners in the FIRST room of the dungeon?

In response to the first, second, and fourth points, mental trauma and semi-realistic psychology rules should not be applied to every game. A very positive, sunshiny game would not be well-served with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are also certain player groups that it should not be applied to. If you are more into a crunchier hack-it-up game, why worry about the psychological state of your killing machine? I know Ravenloft introduced Fear, Horror, Madness, and the Dark Powers checks to reflect the madness inherent in the Demiplane of Dread, but these rules rarely made it anywhere else in the system.

In the (soon-to-be) late and great Twilight: 2013 rules, they talk about about the fine line referees need to walk when it comes down to psychological issues. Here's what Keith and Co. say about it:

We feel it only fair to warn the GM that morale rules
can be decidedly unpopular with some players. The most
common problem that players have with these rules is that
they deprotagonize PCs. In other words, players feel that their
characters are the stars of the story, and therefore should never
be subject to outside forces that dictate how they feel or react.
This is a fair complaint. We’ve included these rules for the sake
of drama and realism, but some players may not want this much
verisimilitude in their post-apocalyptic escapism.

This is a very important thing to keep in mind, since players play for different reasons and some of them don't deal with PC failure well. The WFRP player who ended up with the Knives of Memory would get just as salty when the PTSD kicked in as he would when he would miss with an attack. He was the kid who wanted to always succeed at every single thing he did. The guy playing the Slayer and the guy with the drinking problem embraced the psychological damage that came hand-in-hand with letting all sorts of chaotic threats loose across the Empire (they failed miserably at Shadows over Bogenhafen and kept making all kinds of goof-ups during Death on the Reik). They played a mix of self-loathing and unbridled desire to make things right that gave them a really insecure fanaticism that made for some really fun games. That's because those guys EMBRACED the character madness, whereas the Knives guy did NOT enjoy his character being weakened in ANY way. Different strokes for different folks.

Dealing with the third point, a world that is more fantastic than fantastic (I'm talking about YOU, Eberron) would probably have less in the way of PCs being "strange" for being adventurers. Adventurers might be looked at more as the kids who got out of town with that really cool job that the rest of us envy. Even something as mundane as my enlistment into the U.S. Army and heading off to Iraq and Afghanistan would get regular responses along the lines of "That's amazing, there's no way I can do that." In a high-fantasy world like Eberron or Talislanta, I can see adventurers getting this kind of response. In an adventurer-heavy part of the world, like most military towns in the real world, you would get even less special treatment.

In a lower fantasy world, you'll see a much harsher reaction to adventuring. As much as Uncle Owen didn't want Luke Skywalker to go to the Academy with Biggs, most parents aren't going to want to have their kids head off into the big unknown. Even something as mundane as being conscripted into the local liege's militia would be met with some degree of fear and reservation, let alone embarking on some damn fool quest into the Underdark. In many of the old-school editions of RPGs, it was very easy to die at low level, so you'd realize that even as a 1st level character (compared to the 0-level masses) your chances of coming home are fairly slim.

What does this mean for my games? Well, if I am playing an Eberron game using D&D 4th Edition, I don't think it means much of anything. However, when I run my Lamentations of the Flame Princess game, I might introduce a few things. I'll work on the system, but here are the concepts I'd like it to have:

There will be some kind of a reason the character left home. I'll need to make a table to reflect this. There can be positive reasons to adventure (an earnest selflessness, a dedication to a deity, etc.) and negative reasons (psychological trauma, loss of everything, etc.) and each will have some kind of minor in-game effect.
There will be some way to reflect the psychological damage that comes with exposure to the deep dark secrets of the world, be they the horror of what humanity can do to itself or the cosmic horror of what the universe can do to humanity.
I'm seeing Clerical Magic and Arcane Magic as being polar opposites, in both alignment and nature. Raggi has already placed Magic-Users and Elves firmly in the Chaos camp, so I think it's a natural extension to make Clerical magic inherently Lawful. What I want to avoid here is a Law v. Chaos conflict that is all-encompassing. I think I'd like the alignment rules as they are evolving for me to reflect your understanding of the world--the chaotic beliefs of the cosmic magicians, the lawful beliefs of the dogmatic religions, or a more "non-committal" neutrality.

So, I think before I do anything with my campaign, I need to come up with the worldview. The Sanity rules I come up with will all be relative to the worldview and how events can either challenge or shatter your worldview.

As always, I want to hear your thoughts.

Edit: As you can see, Jeff Rients (from Jeff's Game Blog) corrected me. There are insanity rules in AD&D's 1e DMG. Still, it's pretty clear that it's incredibly rare that a player suffers from insanity outside of magical/psionic/mental attack. One thing of note is that the DM is told to take over the character when the madness strikes, as "most players will not be willing to go so far." I've only introduced madness into one of my games, but two out of three players embraced it wholeheartedly.

It's Been a While

2010-12-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

First off, I'd like to apologize to the three people who regularly read my blog for not updating in over a month. I'm now 100% done with the U.S. Army, Honorable Discharge in hand. For now, I just collect unemployment and wait for college to begin. You'd think I'd have been blogging my ass off, but there have been so many distractions. Between streaming Netflix and a pretty robust cable TV package, I've been watching a lot of TV shows (How did I not hear about Torchwood? Great show!) and catching up with the friends I haven't gotten to spend the proper amount of time with since I left to go to war nine years ago.

I actually HAVE been working on some gaming product over the last few months. I was debating working on a near-future setting, approximately the same tech level and scope of 2300AD, just much less dated. While I like the idea of a realistic near future setting, I found myself with a bit of a dilemma. A realistic progression of technology gives you a very Transhuman Space style setting, which is much different than the nationalistic and virtually stunted technology of 2300AD. When you break it down, 2300AD is NOT that much more advanced than we are today, with the exception of workable energy weapons and FTL capability. Did I want to go realistic or did I want to go stylized? I thought more about it and realized that unless I had a group to play with, it'd be hard to put anything together anyway.

So, that project is on hold for now until I can find some people who would be willing to help me develop and play in a sci-fi setting. I'm thinking it would end up closer to a Transhuman Space vibe than 2300AD, but that's because I have seen the pace technology is going and Transhuman Space just makes more sense to me.

That said, I have a lot less time suspending my disbelief for a Space Opera game like Traveller. When there is no connection to the world we know (Yes, Terra exists in the OTU, but if you are playing in the Spinward Marches, it exists only as a concept), there is a lot less resistance to the facts we know.

I'll likely be getting involved in a home game with some friends come the new year. It'll be D&D 4e, which I don't mind so much, but I'm not feeling it the way I'm feeling some of the old-school rules and clones. I've really enjoyed the quirkiness of Raggi's Lamentations of the Flame Princess (Which is having a GREAT sale on PDFs right now) and am thinking it might be good to work on something for that game. A full-blown sandbox might be a bit more work than I want to do (particularly when I start school in a little more than a month), but it might be fun. I picked up the Pembrooketonshire books from LotFP's sale (as well as Death Doom Frost and Hammers of the God) and might work on just figuring out how to allow them all into one sandboxish environment.

One thing is for certain. I will figure out how to make the Arcane Magic system in LotFP more chaotic and less Vancian. If Magic is intrinsically chaotic, it needs to reflect that. Maybe I'll look to Warhammer and the Wild Mage rules for AD&D for inspiration. I think I'll leave the orderliness of the clerics as is. Maybe tweak spell lists by religion, but nothing major.

Anyway, I'm back. I'll post more substance over the next couple weeks.

LotFP: First Gameplay

2010-10-31T15:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a breathtakingly busy couple weeks. I should final out of the Army tomorrow.

In the meantime, my brother, who flew out from PA to drive back with me, and I busted out Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy Roleplaying Game and the Tower of the Stargazer adventure. We rolled up five characters (Cleric, Fighter, Magic User, Specialist, and Dwarf) and went to town.

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

The specialist died immediately at the door. That door IS a bitch and it got Chris was verrrrry cautious afterward to the point of paranoid. He met the wizard, blew off the disc at first, but found the trapdoor to the trap level, where the big stud fighter was killed by the Demon Idol. They went back to the disc and explored the tower in a haphazard manner. They played the ghost in a game of iPhone UNO and the cleric became the next ghost. The magic user became food for the moss creatures of Necropoli Centauri. The final character, a dwarf, bit it when he stepped into a force field in the treasure chamber.

WOW. This is a deadly ass adventure. I love it. My brother had a blast as well. I can't wait to try it out with other players. I like the combat. It's quick and brutal. I've got mixed feelings about "Save v. Death" situations like the door, but the other deaths were totally legit.

I don't think I've ever had a total party kill before. Impressive.

Cleric's Corner: Some Thoughts on Religious Practices in RPGs

2010-10-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

I started Yoga last week. After nine years of jumping out of airplanes with heavy rucksacks, my body is pretty beat up and high-impact exercise does more damage than good. For the first time since I broke my hand two years ago, I was able to get a great workout five days in a row without considerable pain the next day. The place I go has a strong foundation in the spiritual side of things, which also led me to doing some reading on Buddhism (Okay, I bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buddhism, but it's a start.) This, in turn, led me to start thinking about spirituality in gaming.

Religious practices in games are in many occasions just a blank filled in on a character sheet or merely a source of power for special abilities. In a world where divine majesty is routinely manifest and quite real (compared to ours where divine inspiration is impossible to prove empirically), I would imagine that religious practices would be much more serious than they are now, or even how they were historically. The fact that a local cleric can heal an injury as easily as Tony Hawk can kickflip brings the power of the divine to the forefront in a way that any real-world clergy would never be able to. By my estimation, even epic events, such as Raise Dead or Power Word, Kill spells happen with greater frequency in fantasy worlds than the miracles of our real world's faiths.

To me, this means that there would be no atheists or agnostics in Fantasy RPGs. It's hard to not believe in gods when it's as much a part of life as the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening (Unless you are playing Lamentations of the Flame Princess, which always occurs close to the Midnight Sun effect in my mind). What I would see is a much more pronounced set of beliefs and actions which keep the gods' favor in mind, similar to the way polytheistic cultures (or monotheistic cultures who revere saints) operate.

What does this mean for games? I guess it's one of those things that the individual group wants to introduce. Each god would likely have a set of strictures that devout followers would need to follow. I remember dreading eating dinner at my grandparents' house on Friday nights because I hate fish. I am sure that every diety has actions they like and dislike. In a busy cosmology like most Dungeons and Dragons campaign settings, these can stack up fast and would logically result in the following of pantheons and the strictures within that pantheon. In the Greyhawk setting, I could easily believe that citizens of Ekbir would pay homage to the entire Baklunish Pantheon, but would not be too concerned with that of the Elves (and vice versa).

The Mongoose edition of RuneQuest has some interesting insights onto religion in the fantasy milieu, with the God Learners actually manipulating divine essence to remove other deities from existence. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (in it's many varied incarnations) also takes an approach that many other games don't, elevating one god (Sigmar) in the primary campaign setting, but minimizing him elsewhere in the world.

If you want to take a realistic approach to religion in a game where magic and dragons exist (certainly pushing the boundaries of the term "realistic".), I'd make sure that there are those little flavor details. We're talking little details like fasts. It could be a dietary fast, something as great as not eating or drinking at all from sunrise to sunset during a holy month (a la Ramadan) to something that has minimal game effect (no red meat on Fridays). It could be something that takes up time, like a daily Yoga regimen followed by meditation (although, if you are a long-term Yoga practitioner, you had better not have low physical attributes).

I am challenging myself and all of my readers to make religion a larger part of their characters' lives. I would love to hear some of your thoughts and practices of PC religion.

A Side Thought On Atheists: God-Killers
The fact that there is incontrovertible evidence that there is a higher power doesn't mean that you have to be in faithful worship of one or many of the deities. In an epic campaign, you might have a character who wants to kill God (or the Gods), a la Preacher (A wonderfully Tarantino-esque comic by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon filled with blood, vulgarity, and western imagery). Deicide is not a new concept in Fantasy RPGs. Look no further for the Forgotten Realms' Cyric for inspiration. I'm no expert, but as I recall, he killed three deities (Although Bane was just too cool to keep dead) and became a major player in the Realms Cosmology. Maybe your campaign could bring Atheism to the world by killing the gods themselves.

Influence: Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser

2010-09-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

I only knew about Fritz Lieber's Lankhmar stories through the "Inspirational Reading" sections of the 1ed Dungeon Master's Guide and the Nehwon mythos of the original Dieties and Demigods. It was always interesting, but it wasn't until I read the Mongoose RuneQuest Lankhmar supplement that I had really caught the bug and wanted to give the books a whirl. Last week, I downloaded Swords and Deviltry off of the iTunes bookstore (alas, they don't have The Dying Earth series) and was formally introduced to some of the greatest thieves in fantasy history.

I loved the book.

For my eighth birthday, I received The Hobbit and started down the fantasy path. My aunt got me the Chronicles of Narnia and The Once and Future King, but I really liked the Tolkien side more. TSR started putting out the Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms novels and I really stopped reading fantasy when I outgrew that crap. I picked up some Warhammer Fantasy novels over the last few years, which I considered fun, throwaway reading. Nothing great, but fun.

Fritz Lieber's Lankhmar books are really great reads for D&D players and referees. Maybe some of the new-school players might want something more "epic" or "heroic," but for the most part, the concept of adventurers (not heroes) who basically do the right thing for sometimes the wrong reason appeals to the kind of people I play with a lot of the time. Yeah, some guys really like to try to play the boy scout paladin, but most players are pretty much into self-improvement, loot, and glory.

Having finished Swords and Deviltry, I can see the influence the series had on the game. And I also see how it can maybe steer you as a player and DM to a different place. I recommend the books wholeheartedly. Check them out if you haven't already.

Traveller Sandbox: Using Mongoose's Merchant Prince as a basis for the Troupe

2010-09-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been back from Afghanistan for about a week now. The requisite post-deployment bender is over and it's time to get back to work, both here and in real life. I put enough PBR into my system over the last four days to make Lindsay Lohan nervous, but I emerged no worse for wear.

While traveling back, I started looking over some of the mini-games and additional rules in the Mongoose Traveller books, to include the fame guidelines in Dilettante and the business rules in Merchant Prince. The business rules were the ones that caught my eye. I had created 16 interrelated characters who would form the crux of the troupe. Using those characters and Merchant Prince, it's easy to create a business framework to give the campaign a plausible background and different mulligans for adventures.

The first step to the creation of a commercial entity is a name and a mission statement. In order to give the players maximum room for adventuring, I'm thinking it'll be a "troubleshooting" company, which will allow players to be hired out to examine problems and enact solutions that other people/companies cannot handle internally. Since I'm looking to hold it in QLI's Gateway Domain, I'll set it in the Imperial Trade Cluster and call the company Far End Cluster Executive Consulting, GmbH. The Far End Cluster name gives the company a throwback to the past and "executive consulting" is a nice, vague way of allowing leeway in company activities. Our mission statement will be "FECEC will solve whatever problems you require with maximum efficiency and discretion." It's nice, simple, and to the point.

This is, I'm thinking, a Simple mission statement, giving a Control 7 (+0), Dependability 9 (+1), Guile 5 (-1), Management 10 (+1).

The next step is to determine the leadership of FECEC. There were five characters with noble titles. I'm thinking they will be the Board of Directors. They are:

Sir Alaaru Sarudiin, C.E.G. (7 terms Nobility)
Dame Mirai Reus, C.E.G. (2 terms Mercenary, 1 term Drifter, 5 terms Agent)
Baronet Nashu Dinsha, K.C.E.G. (4 terms Nobility, 5 terms Merchant)
Dame Susanna Lien, K.S.C, K.C.E.G. (4 terms Entertainer)
Sir Wulis Vanay, K.S.C (5 terms Entertainer)

One thing I'll disagree with in Merchant Prince is the categorization of Royal Traders as Nobles, not Merchants. It seems silly that someone like Nashu who spent 20 years brokering deals for nobles will not have access to the Brokerage skill (even though he is a Broker-4). So, he gets five terms in the Merchants as opposed to 9 in the Nobles. Spending the points, I decided to give them all at least one point in every skill, since you need to be able to do a little bit of everything as a troubleshooting company. What we ended up with were the following skills:

Advocacy-5, Agency-2, Brokerage-4, Fabrication-1, Investment-6, Mischief-3, Nobility-6, Propaganda-6, Research-2, Shipping-1

The derived traits for the company end up being Loyalty 10 (employees being fanatically devoted), Reputation 10 (one of the area's most respected companies), Wealth 64 (and this is without any board or outside investment), The starting employee pool is 144. This gives us an initial ranking of 0. FECEC is not even close to being a major player in the economics of the region, but they are a highly respected niche agency.

There look to be two Industry Lines that our Wealth and concept can support: Workforce Management and Quality Control. As a company which can supply labor and process analysis, FECEC's main functions are investigating and auditing companies, as well as getting them in touch with employees who can fulfill certain needs. This will translate into game terms as investigations and testing (Quality Control) in a Red Team vein, breaking into secure locations to test security and the such, as well as the players being hired out (Work Force Management) on different missions.

At this point, we have a company ready for the mini-games, a framework for the Troupe and several leads on future adventures.

Back Home

2010-09-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

I returned to Colorado Springs safe and sound. No more trips to the box for this guy.

The blog will begin Monday and Thursday updates starting Monday, September 27, 2010. In the meantime, I will be reacquainting myself with good food and beer.

GM's Delimma: One Rule to... Ring... them... facepalm

2010-09-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

While I am sure that many of you are reading James Maliszewski's outstanding column, Grognardia, for those who aren't, I steer you towards the "Old School" does not equal "Rules Light" post. For someone who has played more systems than Afghanistan has AKs, it's interesting to see people look under the hood of RPGs and start to examine why we like the games we like.

Alexander Macris from The Escapist Magazine, puts forth a very interesting way of look at things:

Perhaps my law school background has colored my thinking on this matter, but I don't view games as "rules light" or "rules heavy". I view them as "common law" or "statutory".

A "common law" game is one in which only the basic principles are given, and then it is up to the GM to elaborate those principles into the law of his campaign over time. However, a good GM does not run such a game by whim; he acts like a judge, following his own past precedents. Over time, the game ceases being rules light, because it has accumulated a campaign's worth of rulings, house rules, and interpretations.

In contrast, a "statutory game" is one in which all facets of gameplay are spelled out by the game designers. Questions that arise during gameplay are solved by re-reading the text and determining what they say, and ambiguities are resolved by trying to understand the intent of the writers.

The benefits of common law games are that they end up being customized to the experiences of their particular set of players. But they rely on having a good Judge (in the literal sense of the world) to issue good rulings, and keep track of his "case law". A bad Judge can screw things up with bad rulings, unbalanced decisions, and so on.

The benefit of statutory games is that you are not reliant on the rulings of a Judge. The drawback is that the games are more complex to understand up front, and may have just as many problems as a common law game, but be harder to fix.

This is, in writing, what a lot of people who have been gaming for years have experienced in the different games we've played. How many 20+ year vets can look back to how we played our D&D and say that we did it the same? I'm sure that if you plopped five old-timers down at a table and talked about the house rules and on-the-fly calls we or our DMs have made, we'd be there for hours. Hopefully beer is involved.

I don't see many "common law" games coming out these days, none of them from the major publishers. It's better business sense for a company to follow a "statutory law" mindset. Let's take the grand poobah of games these days, D&D4e, as an example. With the extraordinary number of powers and classes and feats and paragon paths and epic destinies and magic items, you've already got a million choices, but they are choices that are already made for you. "Oh? You want to play a double-scimitar wielding dark elf who isn't evil? Cool, choose this, this, and THIS."*

The more statutory you become as a system, the less you can rely on GM/Player caveat to break the mold. In Warhammer Fantasy's first two editions**, you are reliant on either shoehorning unique character concepts into the existing careers or creating your own. In D&D 4e, you need to support these options through, at best, creation of a new epic destiny or paragon path. At worst, you are creating 30 levels worth of powers, that may or may not unbalance the game.

I guess what it comes down to is some systems are better for some players. When you want your players to have the widest berth, able to do all things with greatness, a common law game is probably your best bet. When you want something a bit more realistic, where your characters are good at what they're good at and okay at other things, a statutory game is more the speed.

I like them all. I just like gaming.

* For the record, I LOVED The Crystal Shard when it came out, but I have really developed a loathing for Drizzt in the years hence. In particular, it was the spawning of "I'm the noble <insert heretofore evil race>, why am I persecuted so?" archetypes in games.

** I bought the three-ton box that is WHFRP 3e, and I tried to wrap my head around it, but I haven't. Maybe in November.

The next few months

2010-09-13T00:04:00.000-07:00

I'm redeploying from Afghanistan and then moving right into clearing the Army and moving to Pennsylvania from Colorado.

I think I am going to shoot for Monday and Thursday posts here.

The rest of this week may be a wash, however. Depends on internet access.

The Day That Changed My Life

2010-09-10T23:01:00.000-07:00

Nine years ago, I was sleeping on my buddy Dan's couch. I wasn't what you would call a contributor to the common good. I was technically homeless (although I was pretty much allowed on the couch at will), collecting unemployment, and taking one class at the local college. It had been a pretty hard night of drinking the previous evening, so I was not terribly pleased when Dan's roommate Robin woke me up.

"Dennis, your mom is on the phone. She sounds pretty upset," Robin said. I took the phone.

"Turn on the TV. We're under attack."

As I turned on the TV, the second tower collapsed.

The next few days were a bit of a blur. I remember the bars being packed. And silent. Everyone wanted to be around each other, but we were all glued to the news. I tried to give blood, but getting there three hours early wasn't enough to beat the lines. I gave some cash here and there. None of it was terribly satisfying.

I realized that the world was no longer about me and I wanted to contribute.

About a week later, I watched a W. speech and it hit me like a ton of bricks. "I need to join the Army and get in this fight." That night, I went to my parents' house and told them this much. The next day, I went into the Army recruiting station. The day after that, I signed some papers. The following day, I took my ASVAB. The next day a physical and a meeting with the career counselor. I raised my right hand that afternoon. It was September 24th, 2001.

Nine years on, I am coming to the end of this stage of my military career. I'm in Afghanistan for the second time, involved in the war I enlisted to fight. I can add to that five tours to Iraq, the war I am not sure we had any business fighting. Only time will tell how that plays out. I have a greater understanding of so many things. I can call myself a paratrooper and a veteran now, whereas before the words more commonly used to describe me were dropout and drunk.

I realize that this post is all about me, when today should not be. Today is about the dead we mourn and the families they left behind. Today is about the images that are forever seared in our minds. Today is about remembering that there is something larger than each of us individually.

There was a run today on Bagram. 9.11km. The t-shirts provided to the participants reminded us to "Never Forget." For some of us who grew up close to or in New York City and Washington D.C., that's never going to be an issue. Colin Stewart, a Long Island native who I went to basic training with, attended 37 funerals between September 11 and when he shipped to basic.

You can wrap up things in tidy slogans--Never Forget, Let's Roll, Freedom Endures--but we must remember that there is a greater truth that cannot be summed up in a catch phrase. Today has a different meaning to each of us. I guess what is important is that it does have a meaning.

Traveller Sandbox: A Troupe

2010-09-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

While watching an Afghanistan morning unfold from the Bagram East Green Bean, I was thinking about Traveller. I don't recall the exact thought chain but the result was an idea for troupe play.

Each player generates a five or six term character. If they bust out or choose to retire after five, they stop at five. If they bust out at six, they're done at six, if they don't--they're still done at six. These will be the Primary Characters.

Then each player will generate a pair of two or three term character. Similar rules apply as above. These will be the Secondary Characters.

Then each player will generate two one term characters. These will go into the Crew Pool.

I'll fill in the gaping holes in the crew with one term characters which will also be part of the Crew Pool.

If this sounds a lot like Ars Magica's troupe play, you're correct. I never claimed to be original.

The Primaries will be the main determinants of where the ship goes and what large-scale business it undertakes. They will drive, early on, the main plots of the campaign. Each adventure will feature one Primary and the rest Secondaries and Crew. I'll give players the option to play a Crew in addition to either their Primary or one of their Secondaries. The Crew characters are, for all intents and purposes, old-school D&D Hirelings. Sure, some can advance to become Secondaries, as Secondaries can eventually become primaries. Look at Miles O'Brien on the different Star Trek series he has been on. What began as what may as well be a named extra, he got more roles on ST:TNG and eventually branched off onto ST:DS9.

A few other thoughts...

Primaries need to have a Connection with another Primary and a Secondary, run by a different player.
Crew do not get Ship Shares as mustering out benefits.
I'm thinking of giving Primaries 3 free Ship Shares and Secondaries 1 free ship share each. If I have a group of four players, that WOULD give the PCs a 20% discount on the ship on top of what Ship Shares they generate through Character Creation. This is worth MILLIONS. I get that. I think that given the vagaries of this particular style of play, it might be worth giving the players a break, since they aren't exactly set up for success.
Trade would occupy a few of the characters who aren't on an adventure. The rest would get to do something like the Character Catch-Up from Cities, but specifically geared for this milieu. Since the group as a whole will cover the job aspect with trade/adventure, this would be more of a reflection of what kind of trouble they get into on liberty.
I've got several people who I know would love to play, but can't do so all of the time. This would work very well for them, as they can be assumed to be in the background when they aren't around and email sessions of the CCU would keep them current.

I think this paradigm will result in a much more episodic campaign than an epic sweep. It sacrifices the singular development of a character for variety of play options and scenarios. If a group wants to strike out on their own, that would be an easy thing to do.

Who has played troupe games before? Any advice or criticism?

I Don't Care Who You Are, This Is Just Cool.

2010-09-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you who love the old school, may I present to you the TSR Mystery Machine...

Props: Bad-ass Orcus Labyrinth Lord Cover.

2010-09-09T13:20:00.001-07:00

Over at the Labyrinth Lord blog, there is a BAD-ASS old school poster. You need to check it out.

Miscellany

2010-09-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Between downloading the season premiere of Sons of Anarchy and dealing with the (hopefully not literal) fallout of Rev. Terry Jones' shenanigans here in Afghanistan, I haven't been too busy with games. I think I'm going to put off redoing the Career Catch-Up until I have a better idea of what kind of game I'm going to be running in Pennsylvania.

I'm at a pause, then. Any of my six or seven readers have any suggestions before I find a shiny object to distract myself with?

The Toolbox: Character Catch-Up as a Party Generation Tool. (INTERMISSION)

2010-09-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

I found pretty quickly that there are some tweaks needed for this to work. Apparently as swimmingly it went with the first example, I made myself some characters that do not fit quite so nicely in the system.

Plus, I want to work out some of the costs to get them in line with MRQ.

You'll see this thread return, but not until I can get some work done on it. (Which won't be for a bit, that's going to be some serious tinkering going on)

The Toolbox: Character Catch-Up as a Party Generation Tool. (PART ONE)

2010-09-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's blog about "Character Catch-Up" got me thinking. I acknowledge that using an out-of print source like Cities is kinda craptastic for those of you who may not have it. It's a generic Chaosium publication, so it's not covered under Mongoose's draconian licensing restrictions, so I'd imagine it would be up to either Chaosium or the authors to reprint it. Something to look into when I am back in the U.S. of A.

Taverns in Greyhawk are full of people NOT picked for adventuring parties.

Anyway, clearly from the last post, I love the Character Catch-Up. I was thinking about other ways to use it. What if you used it to bring a party together? Sure, if you have a group of players who have an idea of how they are connected ahead of time, or if you, as the referee, have a plot-derived one, you wouldn't need to figure out how the players know each other. How often do you get that? From my experience, you often end up with four to six very unconnected characters.

How do you connect these characters? Well, you can try to bring them together from the past, or you can bring them together through a random series of events which reflect the randomness that we all tend to meet our friends through. PLUS, like shown in yesterday's blog, it gives the GM a lot of leads on future opportunities. Now, some settings and systems are better served for the Character Catch-Up system as it's written right now. So, for me to test my theory out, I'm going to stack the odds in favor of the system: Mongoose RuneQuest and the Lankhmar supplement. A big, cosmopolitan city with clear class structure in a system well suited for the way the system works as its written.

So, we are going to take four brand new RQ characters and have them, week-by-week, go through life in Lankhmar until they get to a point where it's reasonable that they would adventure together. Then we'll see what leads the GM can take from this and I'll post their final stats in a Rogue's Gallery.

After some work at the East Bagram Green Bean, we have the following heroes:

Grim Vermundson, a bard from the Cold Wastes to the north. His considerable skill with the hurdy-gurdy and song were not enough for most of his barbarian ilk to overlook his physical weaknesses. He came south to seek greater acceptance and adventure.
Husayn Tawil, a massive and powerful escaped slave from the deserts of the Eastern Lands. In Lankhmar, he hopes to find the things that were denied him in his native lands--freedom and gold.
Suleyn the Brewer always felt like he was destined for more. An accomplished brewer and decent enough baker, he longs for a life outside of his employer's shop.
Marcus Cassius Brutus, an aristocratic warrior-soldier who has returned from campaign. The decadence of his peers conflicts with the honor of his trade and the guilt from his past weighs heavily on his present.

In Part Two, we'll start the process of running through the weeks to see how the characters' lives devlop and intertwine.

The Toolbox: Random Downtime Generator

2010-09-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

I was looking through a copy of Chaosium's Cities, which was ostensibly written for all Fantasy RPGs, but is clearly built with Runequest in mind. While it's got some okay tables for generating encounters on the fly, what really made me go "ooh!" was the "Character Catch-Up" section. What it serves to do is determine what the characters were up to when the cameras were not rolling. The original intent was for characters who missed the last session to have something to say for themselves.


I think he heard you say something about the 'stache.

What we're going to do here is see what Selina, the MRQ Lankhmar courtesan from a previous Rogue's Gallery, was up to for four weeks while her man, Tshimanga, is off chasing after a group of brigands who roughed up Brother Kent.

Week One:
Rolling on the Random Events table, we get a 63. Selina has a chance to invest some cash. She doesn't have a whole lot of cash, so she'll invest a mere 10 silver smerduks. Okay, we go to the Investment table, check for fraud (apparently when you start an investment, there is a 10% chance it was a scam and you lose your investment). She's good (with an 87), so she rolls on the actual table, getting a 94. The investment is liquidated, and she rolls a 5 to get her investment back tripled. A 20 smerduk profit on a one week investment. Nice.

Since Selina has a job, she rolls on the Savings table to see how much of her weekly salary she saved. With a roll of 75, she was able to save 30% of her weekly income. I have no idea what that is. Nothing in the Mongoose Lankhmar book, but my Deluxe RuneQuest book has it. Oddly enough, there are no prostitution rules in the "Finding a Job" section. I'm going to say that we'll consider her an Entertainer and her prime requisite will be Influence to see how much she gets paid. With her Influence of 39, and Lankhmar being a large city, she brings in 7d10 smerduks a week. I roll 44 smerduks, of which she brings home 13 smerduks and 2 algols.

We have the opportunity to roll once on the Gambling table, but we'll pass. She doesn't strike me as the gambling type. She can now buy any kind of items or goods. She's got 62.7 smerduks, which we'll say she's saving up to eventually own her own brothel (unless Tshimanga stops being a jerk and starts taking her on adventures with him and she can do THAT for a living). A quality home in a city like Lankhmar is about 6,000 smerduks. She has a long way to go.

The article has a section on improving skills, but says if your system has its own system, that'll supercede the article. MRQ has a system, so we'll use it here. To help her make more money, she is going to practice both her Influence and her Dance skills. Ever the individualist, she does this on her own without a mentor. She rolls a 63 for Influence and a 43 for Dance. Improvements in both! Her Influence is now 42 and her Dance is now 26. She decides to bank 30 of her smerduks, and the week ends.

Week Two:
Oh damn. Rolling an 84 on the Random Events table, her living quarters burn down. Fortunately, she rolled under 50% and was able to save her belongings. At least she rented and didn't own. She earned 35 smerduks, of which she was able to bring home 10.5. Again, no gambling or investing. She'll practice her Influence and Dance some more. She only improved her Influence by 1, but her dance went up a whopping 2. She banks the 10 smerduks.

Week Three:
With a 44 on the Random Events table, she befriends someone. A Tavern keeper gives her free drinks and lets her sleep off the effects by the tavern's fire at no cost. She earned 35 smerduks, but was unable to save any of it. I guess the new inn she is staying in is pricey. She improves her Influence by a mere 1 again, but her Dance goes up a whopping 5! Guess we know how she impressed the Tavern keeper!

Week Four:
Ooooooh, here is where the mini-game gets interesting and dangerous. With a roll of 06, Selina is offered a dangerous mission with a 2000 smerduk payoff. These missions give experience and gold, but could kill your character. We've previously determined that Selina, deep down, wants to be an adventurer. That makes it a no-brainer. She takes the mission. I roll a 10% death chance, and the roll is a 54, so Selina is now CONSIDERABLY richer, and gets to increase three skills (the recommended average for a MRQ story). We're going to go with Dagger (39), Dodge (37), and Stealth (12), and she increases them by 4, 3, and 4, respectively. We then roll to see if she gets to keep her job (due to her absence). She fails. I think it was worth it. We roll to see if we can use the Employment table, as she looks to get a new job, and we can. She gets hired in another working-class job. We'll say she starts dancing at a different hall. She earned 31 smerduks, but was unable to save any of it. She JUST might be living it up a bit this week. No worries. She practices both her Influence and Dance and increase them both by 4. She then banks her 2000 smerduk payoff.

Conclusion:
What started off as a pretty dull and lonely time without Tshimanga turned into an incredibly profitable adventure for Selina. When he gets back from his little journey, they will be living in a new place and she will be dancing in a new hall. And she'll be able to tell him about her wonderful adventure.

What's Changed:

New Skill Levels:
Dagger 43
Dance 35
Dodge 40
Influence 48
Stealth 16

Money:
33 smerduls
2 algols
2040 smerduks in the bank

Contacts:
Tavern Keeper who will give you free beer and lodging

Wow! That was actually an enjoyable little mini-game. I like the concept a lot. It keeps the characters competitive from a statistical and a role playing standpoint. Let's say Selina's player missed a session and that's why we rolled up this month. Now Selina doesn't miss out on the skills the other players earned and has stories to boot. PLUS, there are a few things that could be used as a plot hook:

The Investment: Let's say she fronted the money to get a minstrel to play a hall for a cut of the profit. The minstrel could approach her down the road with other business/adventuring opportunities.
The Fire: What caused it? Was someone after her or Tshimanga? Might they try again?
The Tavern Keeper: While Selina has the favor already, maybe he can ask her for help with something?
The Adventure: With the rolls she picked, it doesn't sound like she was up to much good. Maybe she had to sneak into a cult's secret meeting place and retrieve a stolen object? Well, now the secret is out and Selina is a liability.
The Job Change: Her old employer could be annoyed/threatened that she will now draw business away from where she was working to her new hall. It's an ugly business she works in...

I must say, the "Character Catch-Up" is a wonderful tool. I think I will use it for a lot of games. It doesn't require much in the way of tweaking. It's a shame that Cities is out of print. If you can get your hands on a copy, certainly snatch it up, if only for this mini-game.

Rogue's Gallery: Five Against... Something (LotFP

2010-09-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

So, now that I've read the Lamentations of the Flame Princess books, I want to see how it plays. Since it's 2010 and there are plenty of distractions in Afghanistan, I'm going to be running through this myself with five characters I made up myself. When I start a group in PA around November time, I'll have real players. Maybe even a one-shot or two in Colorado in October. Until then, you make do with JUST ME.
This will also give me a chance to talk about some of my thoughts on different parts of the system as its implemented.

Anyway, I rolled up five LotFP characters. One of the things about the OD&D system is that you have a total blank canvas to work with. Based on the stats and equipment I purchased, here is the party:

Luka Jojich, Fighter 3, Clumsy, Very Strong, Armor: Chain & Shield, Arms: Long Sword, Dagger
Grendel Goldenwood, Elf 2, Rude, Healthy, Armor: Leather & Shield, Arms: Long Sword, Dagger, Long Bow
Ulf Kjellson, Cleric 3, Personable, Healthy, Armor: Chain & Shield, Arms: Battle Axe
Predrag Begovich, Specialist 3, Nimble, Armor: Leather, Arms: Garrote, Long Sword, Light Crossbow
Snoggi Karlsson, Fighter 3, Strong, Armor: Chain, Arms: Great Axe

Looking at what we've got there, I started to think about cultures and the like for my sandbox. I was eventually going to run these guys through Tower of the Stargazer as a test drive for the system, so I gave them each 4000xp, so the elf could be 2nd level.

I split the two human names into a more Slavic sounding names (yes, they are romanized. I could have left the last names Đođić and Begović, but that's not too helpful to the more Western reader) and some of your more traditional RPG/Fiction Scandinavian names. One thing I was thinking of putting in my sandbox was a native culture (represented by the -son names) and a more "civilized" culture colonizing the island (the -ich names).

Nothing was really popping yet with these characters. Having a blank slate for setting doesn't help. SO, I busted out GAZ7 - The Northern Reaches and rolled up some personality traits.

Luka: Rash, Proud, Courageous, Godless, Vengeful, Open-Minded
Grendel: Proud, Fearful, Godless, Very Vengeful, Lazy, Suspicious, Unreliable, Open-Minded
Ulf: Modest, Generous, Courageous, Very Reverent, Energetic, Trusting, Loyal, Dogmatic
Predrag: Violent, Greedy, Vengeful, Decietful, Open-Minded
Snoggi: Very Rash, Very Violent, Vengeful, Lazy, Suspicious

Clearly, this is the group that signals that the party has begun by throwing the keg of beer THROUGH the window of the Tavern. Ulf is certainly the odd man out here. Of course, he is the only Lawful character I generated. I'm thinking he has hired these folks to explore the Tower. That's what I'm going with.

So, with descriptions of the characters and filled out character sheets, I'm good to go for tomorrow when I run through Tower of the Stargazer.

STATS:

Luka Jojich
Male Neutral Fighter 3, Age 19
Cha 11, Con 9, Dex 8, Int 10, Str 16, Wis 9
Hit Points: 21
Armor Class: 16 (melee), 17 (ranged), 15 (w/o shield), 15 (surprised)
Long Sword (+6 AB, 1d8 Damage), Dagger (+6 AB, 1d4 Damage)
Encumbrance: Heavy
Equipment: Backpack, Bedroll, Winter Clothing, Cookpots, Waterskin, 5 days Iron Rations

Grendel Goldenwood
Female Chaotic Elf 2, Age 169
Cha 6, Con 13, Dex 12, Int 9, Str 12, Wis 11
Hit Points: 10
Armor Class: 15 (melee), 16 (ranged), 14 (w/o shield), 14 (surprised)
Long Sword (+1 AB, 1d8 dmg), Dagger (+1 AB, 1d4 dmg), Long Bow (+1 AB, 1d6 dmg, range 50/600/900)
Encumbrace: Heavy
Equipment: Backpack, Bedroll, Winter Clothing, Tinderbox, 5 days Iron Rations
Spell Book: detect magic, light, read magic, ventriloquism

Ulf Kjellson
Male Lawful Cleric 3, Age 24
Cha 13, Con 13, Dex 9, Int 12, Str 11, Wis 12
Hit Points: 19
Armor Class: 17 (melee), 18 (ranged), 16 (w/o shield), 16 (surprised)
Battle Axe (+1 AB, 1d8 dmg)
Encumbrance: Heavy
Equipment: Backpack, Bedroll, Winter Clothes, 3 torches, Waterskin, 3 vials of Holy Water, 3 days Iron Rations, Silver Holy Symbol

Predrag Begovich
Male Neutral Specialist 3, Age 19
Cha 10, Con 11, Dex 14, Int 10, Str 10, Wis 11
Hit Points: 17
Armor Class: 15 (melee, ranged, without shield) 14 (surprised)
Garrote (+1 AB, 1d6 dmg), Long Sword (+1 AB, 1d8 dmg), Light Crossbow (+2 AB, 1d6 dmg, range 50/150/400)
Encumbrance: Heavy
Equipment: Backpack, Bedroll, Extravagant Clothing, Winter Clothing, Lantern, 2 vials Lamp Oil, Specialist's Tools, Tinderbox, Waterskin, Mallet, 2 Iron Spikes, 5 days Iron Rations
Specialist Abilities: Language 2, Sneak Attack 3, Stealth 2

Snoggi Karlsson
Male Neutral Fighter 3, Age 18
Cha 11, Con 10, Dex 11, Int 11, Str 14, Wis 12
Hit Points: 14
Armor Class: 16 (all the time)
Great Axe (+5 AB, 1d10 damage)
Encumbrance: Severe
Equipment: Backpack, Bedroll, Winter Clothes, 50' Rope, Tinderbox, Waterskin, 5 days Iron Rations, Bottle of Liquor, Steel Holy Symbol

Gaming All Over The Place

Welcome to Northumberland

Carcosa: Initial Thoughts

Blackmarsh and S&W White Box

Fall Semester Blues

The Cube: Far from done, but...

London Calling

Dividing the Loot: Sealed Bids

The Cube: Corporate Scumbags of Atlantis

The Cube: 25% Solution

The Cube: First System

The Cube: Reboot

Check Your Ego, Sir.

LotFP Sandbox: Conversions and Building

LotFP Sandbox: First Game Down!

LotFP Sandbox: Genesis

The Cube: What it looks like.

The Cube: A "Realistic" Space Environment

The Cube: Results and Thoughts

Traveller Sandbox: The Cube

Fail.

A to Z Blogging Challenge: H is for Humanoids

A to Z Blogging Challenge: I is for Illusionists

G is for Great Landowners

Where are my posts?

A to Z Blogging Challenge: F is for Friggin' Awesome...

A to Z Blogging Challenge: E is for Elves

A to Z Blogging Challenge: D is for Druids

A to Z Blogging Challenge: C is for Church

A to Z Blogging Challenge: B is for Brigands

A to Z Blogging Challenge: A is for Armor

Writing Gaming Material For Fun And Profit

D&D Rocks.

A to Z Blogging Challenge

Half-Century of Followers!

Greatholm: Wickster Town & The Surrounding Area

Greatholm Name Generator

Adventures Dark & Deep: Odds of Rolling a Character

Greatholm: A World Without Stars.

What It Is: All the Treasures of the World by Faster Monkey Games

Random Treasure Generation Spawning Adventure Hooks

Props: Adventures and Zines I plan on using in my Greatholm Campaign.

Random Musings

Starting Off in Greatholm

Human Multiclassing

Hobbit Wizards, Norwegian or Otherwise

Third Time's The Charm: Royalty, Peerage, and Orders of Chivalry

Sandbox: Here we go.

Retractions and Resolutions

4e Rules with an OSR vibe: Is It Possible?

What It Is: D&D 4e Red Box

What It Is: Something Unholy Stirs

What It Is: Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules (Part Two)

What It Is: Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules (Part One)

Hitting the Folk Festival Circuit

Chaos Magic: An Alternate Form of Spell Casting for Magic-Users and Elves

Psychology in Role Playing Games

It's Been a While

LotFP: First Gameplay

Cleric's Corner: Some Thoughts on Religious Practices in RPGs

Influence: Fafhrd & The Grey Mouser

Traveller Sandbox: Using Mongoose's Merchant Prince as a basis for the Troupe

Back Home

GM's Delimma: One Rule to... Ring... them... **facepalm**

The next few months

The Day That Changed My Life

Traveller Sandbox: A Troupe

I Don't Care Who You Are, This Is Just Cool.

Props: Bad-ass Orcus Labyrinth Lord Cover.

Miscellany

The Toolbox: Character Catch-Up as a Party Generation Tool. (INTERMISSION)

The Toolbox: Character Catch-Up as a Party Generation Tool. (PART ONE)

The Toolbox: Random Downtime Generator

Rogue's Gallery: Five Against... Something (LotFP

GM's Delimma: One Rule to... Ring... them... facepalm