Maps And Distance

Driving home from Montana this weekend...a return trip I was making for the third time in the year 2023...I was again struck with wonder by the majestic landscape that stretches along Interstate 90, from the Gem State of Idaho to the Cascade Mountain range. Just incredible vistas of rolling hills and rocky cliffs, forests and mountains, the Gorge, the mighty Columbia, and miles and miles of nothing between the small towns and communities.

Per my Google Maps, the total distance between Missoula and my home in Seattle is approximately 484 miles, in a (more-or-less) straight line, along a well-maintained highway. About 24 days of hiking, if one considers a 20 mile per day march of the typical D&D party. That's a long, long distance.

I use the Pacific Northwest as the setting for AD&D campaign these days. While I've probably mentioned (many times) that I'm rather terrible at drawing maps...especially wilderness or "outdoor" maps...what I probably have not mentioned is that since switching over to actual (real world) geography, I don't even bother trying to do "hex maps." Never was much good at them anyway, and thanks to Ye Old Google Earth, I can chart distances just fine with the laptop and an internet connection. And with those distances (and being able to zoom in on the terrain) I can calculate travel times, resource depletion, wandering encounter rolls, etc.

Who needs hexes?

But here's the thing...the real thing: I know "hex crawling" is a thing: so many internet videos and blog posts discussing it, talking about best practices, extolling the virtues of using hexes to have "true" "sandbox" (i.e. open world) play. People love their hex crawling wilderness adventures...people want those hexes for the play it facilitates. Huge, multi-hundred page supplements/adventures have been published adding "interesting encounters" to each hexagonal shape on the hex map. What a fun, what a useful resource to have at one's fingertips, right?

Thing is: those hexes are too big. Too big to have "one interesting thing" in each one. I don't even care what scale you're using...six mile or twenty or 24 (B/X suggests 6 mile for small scale maps and 24 mile hexes for large). Folks need an idea of just how much space fits into an area this size.

We're all relatively familiar with the Keep on the Borderlands, right? Has a wilderness map in it, remember? One of the complaints I've read about B2 over the years is the tiny size of the outdoor area: 5200 yards by 4000 yards (that's about 3 miles by 2.25 miles). Even following the meandering road, the titular Keep is roughly two-and-a-half miles away from the Caves of Chaos...that's right next door! Heck you could fit multiple B2 wilderness pages inside a single 6-mile hex; there's too much crammed into that tiny, tiny space to be "reasonable" is the protest.

Okay, here's a screen shot from Google Earth of a portion of King County, Washington, including much of Seattle. The gold box on the screen is roughly the same size as the wilderness map in module B2. The northern border lines up with the northern city limits of Seattle proper (at 145th street); the southern border lines up with North 85th Street, two blocks from my home in the Greenwood neighborhood of north Seattle.  You could fit something like 9-10 "B2s" within the city limits of Seattle.

Now, I'll give you a close up of the area:

I'm sorry I can't provide more detail, but this area is huge: absolutely enormous. Hills and buildings (not to mention forested parks) block line of sight more than a few blocks in any direction. The area contains multiple schools, libraries, churches, a large hospital campus, movie theater, numerous "big box" stores, supermarkets, parking lots, large cemeteries, the largest shopping mall in north Seattle (Northgate...now the Seattle Kraken Ice Complex), several lakes, and numerous parks, motels, businesses, strip malls, and TWO 18 hole golf courses. Two major arterials (Highway 99 and Interstate 5) divide the area into three vertical strips, each one with distinctly different character. And it's mostly residential: thousands of people live in this area, in houses with yards, duplexes, condos, and apartment buildings (in addition to at least half a dozen retirement/assisted living complexes), as well as homeless tent encampments and RVs parked under bridges and overpasses.

I am intimately familiar with this region of Seattle...I've spent most of my daily life within it and, perhaps, an additional mile radius for the bulk of the last 26 years. And even so there are giant swaths of the area that I don't know, have never visited, and have no clue about. I walk my neighborhood a lot, but I don't usually go more than 15 blocks in any particular direction without a car. And many areas are simply inaccessible by foot. 

It would be easy to drop SEVERAL dragon dens in an area this size...assuming enough food to sustain such alpha predators. Which shouldn't be too tough: the 1910 census showed Seattle to have more than 237 thousand people living within the city limits, and that was long before modern refrigeration technology. The entire population of B2, humanoid monsters included, amounts to only a few hundred...and it's not like the area around the Keep is portrayed as some sterile, desert region.

I will reiterate: this is an area three miles long from north to south. The Isle of Dread (module X1) is 144 miles long across its north-south axis. That's the same, straight-line distance as from Seattle to Portland, Oregon. That's a ridiculously huge amount of wilderness. Only an idiot would attempt to walk through the forests and mountains between those two cities (I-5 actually takes a longer, more circuitous route bending towards the coast). And yet a party of six to eight adventurers are going to try exploring the interior of a dinosaur-infested island with thick jungle and active volcanoes? Really?

Driving back along I-90 Sunday morning, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to try traversing such a distance without the aid of the beautiful highway I was zipping along on at 80ish miles per hour. Insanity, I concluded. Miles and miles of wilderness...probably extremely hostile wilderness, especially in the heart of summer and the dead of winter. We don't account for SEASONS in our overland exploration...mountain passes are simply impossible with heavy snow (and spring rains cause avalanches and rock falls). But long before reaching the mountains, all but the most prepared (or fortunate) groups trying to cross the state would probably perish from starvation in the dry landscape.  Lewis & Clark certainly never tried it...they crossed into Oregon from Idaho and travelled down the Columbia River to the coast.

Anyway...

We should not underestimate the distance of distance. I'm sure that sounds silly, but when you're talking about a lost temple, a ruined fortress, or a monster lair (the usual "dungeon" sites)...such places can hide very easily within a landscape. Ye Old Internet tells me most medieval cities took up less than one square mile in area..,though I'd guess that's just the walled perimeter and that the surrounding farms extended much farther. But so long as your local dungeon isn't spewing forth hostile predators looking for townfolk prey on a regular basis, there's no reason such a place couldn't be relatively close to the PCs' "home" community.  

Just my thoughts of the last few days; thanks for reading.

; )

Writing Adventures

I got back into Seattle on Tuesday. My grandmother passed away yesterday (Wednesday); I got the call at the same time I was placing flowers on my mother's gravestone, one week after her burial.

Life goes on.

***

In addition to all the "real world" stuff I've got on my plate at the moment, I'm currently engaged in a crap-ton of adventure writing. I mean, a LOT.

The re-write/re-purposing of the I3-I5 Desert of Desolation series has been temporarily suspended. Not because it's not a great idea (I mean...I love it), that it's really not suitable (even as an open region of my campaign world) for exploration by characters under 3rd level or so.  And all my players are about to start over (Friday afternoon) with brand-spanking new 1st level characters.

TPKs have a way of resetting things.

SO, I need some low-level stuff to get them up to snuff. Because I've been busy, and because I needed a breath of fresh air, I took the time to comb through the racks and a game shop near my grandmother's house in Missoula. Shout out to Retrofit Games, which had an absolutely beautiful store and friendly/helpful staff, who were able to get me something sufficient for my needs (as well as great recommendation for a cheeseburger in town: Frugal's. Get "the Classic Fix"). 

What I got, was a 20 page DCC Lankhmar adventure module written by Michael Curtis called Grave Matters. I am on record as a "non-fan" of the DCC system (which I've played before, multiple times), but it's close enough to B/X...which is close enough to AD&D...that I can make it function with minimal work.

And I mean minimal. Curtis knows his stuff ("Duh," says all the people who own Stonehell Dungeon, etc. However, this is my first product of his so far as I know). For a measly $10, I got a book with TWO adventures (Grave Matters and Madhouse Meet), neither of which suck, and perfectly suitable for PCs of 1st and 2nd level. The treasure counts are even (well, almost) correct, which is the usual thing you find lacking in OSR games.

SO...yeah, Lankhmar-esque adventure is perfectly fine for my Bandit Kingdom Boise. And with a little x.p. under their belts, it should be a simple matter of slipping the group a treasure map to get them out into the desert...probably a nice way to leave behind past shenanigans.

But campaign stuff isn't the only thing for which I'm writing. Turns out I'm going to a game convention this year...my first since the pandemic...and even though it's not till October, I plan to be well-prepped for the three game slots I'm slated for. The con is called Cauldron, "the OSR EuroCon" and it's supposed to be a celebration of 1st edition AD&D that will play out over three days in Hessen, Germany. Fortunately, it is an international affair and so games will be run in English (the international language of tourists). 

Room and board...and beer...appears to all be included in the ticket price, but you have to bring your own books and dice, and I'm cognizant of my responsibility to represent the USA well (currently, I'm the only Ugly American on the docket). Because I am old and lazy, and because it is one of my most beloved adventure modules, I am re-writing I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City into something suitable for a three-part, con-style adventure series that...um...doesn't suck(?) too much (??). 

Con games are tricky: you have a few hours to get down to business, and (hopefully) provide a fair amount of game play, with a satisfying (or conclusive) end. Cauldron also has the additional challenge of being run with ADDKON rules (Germany's version of the FLAILSNAILS conventions)...which for me means that I'm not running these as one-offs but as adventures that will impact the PCs even after I've left their schönes Land (und bier) behind. No apocalyptic party-nuking scenarios, just good clean AD&D.

ANYway. It should be great, but I want to play-test those, too. And ideally, that will mean getting my current group up to 5th & 6th level by the end of the summer. Doable...but a tall order nevertheless.

Especially considering Prince of Nothing just announced his (third) annual NoArt-Punk contest. And, of course, I want to enter (again). And, of course, I want to put forth a good showing and build on what I learned in the last two NAP events. And THIS year, the theme is "high level" D&D, something that holds a special place in my heart. My last two entries (one of which was a finalist and got a place in the book) were both written for parties of 10th-14th level. I'm thinking this year's will be more in the 9th-12th level range, but I already have an idea for it and it's a little on the ambitious side: something on the scale of 60-some encounters instead of my normal 30ish. Which (to give you some perspective) would be around 50% larger than all three scenarios I'm writing for Cauldron combined. No small feat, especially considering I need to draw the maps and I suck at maps.

But NAP III isn't due till November 30th. Prince suggested I write it on the long flight back from Germany to Seattle. We'll see.

Yeah: a lot of adventure cobbling going on at the moment, some of it fairly ambitious. But working with monsters and traps and treasures and fantasy scenarios is a welcome respite from dealing with all the other "stuff" that's going on in my life at the moment. And these respites help keep me...mm...stable? Not sure the word I'm looking for ("grounded" ain't it). D&D helps let the pressure off; it's the valve that keeps the steam from blowing the kettle. I'm not sure if my life would function better (or differently) without it, but for right now I'm glad to have it.

Later, Gators.

Life And Death

Montana. 4:30am (local time).

Last Friday, after the kids got out of school, we drove out from Seattle to Missoula, arriving Saturday morning (we stopped for the night in Spokane). Monday night we set out back to Seattle, arriving by noon on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we had the funeral Mass for my mother and interred her ashes at Holy Rood Catholic Cemetery. On Thursday afternoon, I boarded a plane back to Missoula.

I'm sure I've mentioned my grandmother before, but I probably haven't conveyed just how much she means to me. If I loved (love) my mother a little more (and I love(d) my mother quite a lot) it is mainly due to the fact that she is my mother...the person who gave me life and, thus, gave me everything.

But Jeanne, whose name I gave to my daughter (Sofia Jeanne is named for my wife's only living grandparent AND my grandmother) is/was almost a second mother to me. When I broke my leg at the age of three, and was bedridden for weeks, she came out to Seattle to care for my infant brother and aid my mom while my father worked. Every Thanksgiving, we travelled back to Montana (where we stayed in my grandmother's house); every summer we spent weeks, or months here...often, just my brother and I. Often she came out to Seattle to be with us (usually at Easter time). 

I started dating the woman who would be my wife in March of 1998. In June of the same year, we drove to Montana so that she could meet Jeanne. The immediately hit it off (of course...they are both extremely lovable), and ever since we've made the effort to travel here in the summer for Jeanne's birthday (June 27th), often staying through the 4th of July. My wife has remarked, more than once, that she married me because of Jeanne. Truth be told, she loves my grandmother a bit more than my mother. And she loved my mother quite a bit.

In the Montana fashion, my grandmother taught me to play cards: cribbage and rummy and hearts. She was a competitive bridge player and tried to teach me bridge on more than one occasion. She is the reason my wife and children know how to play cribbage and rummy and hearts...games we often play while traveling or waiting in restaurants, instead of staring at phones and tablets like so many families (unfortunately) do these days.

My grandmother never played Dungeons & Dragons. However, many of the D&D books and supplements I own were purchased here in Missoula, at a used book store called The Book Exchange (it is still here, just a 5 minute walk from my grandmother's house, since 1979). My grandmother (like my mother, like myself) is a great reader of books: one wall of her bedroom is entirely taken up by a book shelves filled with books on Missoula, on Montana, on the native peoples of the region. Going to that bookstore with my grandmother, and poring through the treasures it offered, was one of the highlights of every trip to Montana in my youth. I purchased many comic books and Steven King novels there. I purchased my copies of White Plume Mountain and Against the Giants there, as well as boxed sets of the Stormbringer RPG (1st ed.) and Frank Mentzer's Companion set.

Today, sitting by my grandmother's bedside, I saw a copy of my own book, The Complete B/X Adventurer, on her shelf. I don't remember giving her that...perhaps my mother did? Regardless, I was surprised (though pleased) to see it there.

I will be here through Sunday (at least). Skipping the school auction. Missing a basketball game and a piano recital (the latter, at least, I can watch via the zoom link). I am here to help my aunt, to lend my strength to my uncles. I am here to be with my grandmother during her last days. It has been a rough 2023 for the family what with the deaths of my aunt Linda and my mother. I am here in my mother's stead, as her representative. 

I know she would be here if she could. 

My Experience Is Not Yours

Happy 5th of July to everyone; hope no one was seriously injured in yesterday's festivities. Currently, I am writing from a darkened hotel room in Spokane, Washington (the very heart of the Red Empire in my campaign setting). We've been on the road since the 30th; yesterday, I was at Muse Comics in Missoula, Montana getting information about MisCon. By tonight, I should be in everyone's favorite German theme park, Leavenworth...presumably eating shnitzel and quaffing great quantities of beer (bier?).

[I should note that we passed through Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and my kids were super excited to see the lake and recount their adventures...including their ship being herded through a warp gate by purple lightning. No such atmospheric phenomena was observed from the windows of our car, however...only weekenders in their powered pleasure vessels]

Hanging out / chatting with my 93 year old grandmother the last few days...as well as touring towns that have changed significantly since my youth...I've been reminded again how little of my life, especially with regard to gaming, bears any resemblance to others' lives. Including the folks who read this blog or to whom I'd like to "evangelize" about this D&D game. The other day, I posted a (fairly abbreviated) timeline of my gaming history, with specific focus on Dungeons & Dragons and the various editions I played, ran, and experienced; there's certainly more I could have added to the timeline (if I'd had a few more hours...or days...to spare). But while it might be of interest to various folks hoping to glean some idea of poor old JB's muddled mind, it's probably not terribly helpful to people. Because they can't live my life, or experience my experiences, and thus can't develop in the same way as Yours Truly.

We live in a different world from the one that existed five years ago, let alone fifteen, twenty-five, or thirty-five years prior. In the United States, huge societal changes have taken place. A lot of those changes are "for the better," but many of them have been of more dubious value...and even some of the positive shifts have had unfortunately negative side effects.

[by the way...the whole Roe V. Wade overturning? What a fucking disaster! What a fucking sham of "justice." Short political rant moment: my family (including my older relatives) are Roman Catholic and WE didn't want to see RvW over-turned...what the hell is up with midwest Catholics wanting to get all up in other peoples' business? Remember that bit about God giving people free will to choose stuff? Allowing states to make laws taking away choice (or, rather, forcing people into making worse choices because of fewer options) is bad, bad news. But, fine, you got your Pro-Life bullshit agenda passed...does that mean you're going to start voting Democrat now, instead of the hateful, pro-Gun, pro-War, pro-Capital Punishment, pro-Business, pro-fucking-Trump-esque-hate mongering Republican party? That is, are you now going to start voting blue instead of siding with basically EVERYTHING CHRIST STOOD AGAINST? Huh? Let's see you put your Christian values where your mouths are]

[by the way: I shouldn't bark at midwest Catholics when I've personally known plenty of Seattle-born Catholics (male and female) who voted Republican specifically because of their "pro-Life" values. Fine. Agenda passed. Now switch sides and show you aren't just hypocritical assholes]

*sigh* I know. I'm not winning any fans. Back to D&D:

I gave my son a long (like hour long), off-the-cuff lecture on D&D the other day. I wish I'd recorded it...it was pretty good (my measure of a "good lecture" is when my 11 year old will voluntarily hang out with Pops, folding laundry, while listening with rapt attention, rather than wandering off or whining about wanting to do something "fun"). Anyway, I didn't record it and I wish I had because I was rolling, and the gist of it went something like this:

Kid: you, at age 11, have only begun to scratch the surface of this hobby. You have started to experience the "obsession" of it...you can't get enough, you want to play all the time, you get frustrated when you can't. I know...I understand. I've been there...LOTS of people have been there. 

But YOU have a great advantage. YOU have a parent that understands. When I was a kid, parents did NOT understand. My parents certainly didn't. For good reason: there had never been a game like D&D. Games like chess, card games, classic board games like Monopoly...those games had been around for decades or centuries. For multiple generations of people in our society. When I was a kid, D&D was first published in my lifetime...I was born in 1973, the game was first available in 1976, and not available in an easily accessible (i.e. learnable) form till 1981. And when it first became available, in that easy-to-learn, easy-to-access form [B/X]...where was it sold?

In toy stores. To parents of children. For their children. Children like me. 

If a game marketed to children is sold in a toy store, what are parents to think? Should they not assume that this is a child's game, something to provide momentary diversion and entertainment but, eventually, to be set aside as all toys and games are once a child grows beyond it? Why would they think otherwise? What would lead parents to believe that here was something that could be utilized by a person for their entire life, providing decades of entertainment and endless mental stimulation...through youth, adulthood, and (presumably) even into old age?

How could they POSSIBLY understand that...when no such game existed for them as a child. When they had no such experience with any game that came in a box (with dice). It's not like D&D was marketed as a game to last you your entire life. 

But it can...it does. It can be played in fair weather and in foul, in sickness or in health. It exercises both the imagination and the mind, encourages cooperation and communication, provides powerful experiences in physical safety, and develops learning, knowledge, creativity, and problem solving. 

Your whole life.

Kid: your mom doesn't get it...not all of it, anyway. And that's mainly because she's in the same boat that MY parents were. There was no D&D in Mexico when she was growing up. She sees it as an interesting game (and a weird obsession of your father) but only that. And games serve their purpose (entertainment), but D&D is too long and too complicated to learn for it to be worth her time when she has little time for games. Games are more for kids than for adults; adults have better things to do than play games.

Video games are not the same thing as D&D...and yet many of today's video games (particularly those of the "adventure" variety) have their roots in D&D. Many were developed from ideas of how to shortcut the "inefficiencies" of the game: how to play an escapist fantasy without players; how to play when you had no DM; how to calculate numbers without rolling dice and doing he math; how to experience worlds without using your own efforts. Video games have superficial similarities to D&D...but they are not D&D, they remain limited by their very medium, and they provide little lasting value. They are, indeed, momentary diversions, entertaining time wasters, and (in the end) just games. By their very nature, they are isolating, requiring us to interact with a machine (even when gaming with others). The intention of video games...like the intention of most technology...is to increase convenience. The unfortunate side effect (as with a lot of other technological wonders) is to instill alienation and detachment...further separating humans from each other, rather than bringing them closer together.

D&D is a powerful tool for stimulating and expanding the human mind. And the human mind is the most powerful, knowable thing in our present reality. Everywhere we go, most everything we see and experience started as an idea in the mind of a human: the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the films we watch, the music we hear, the buildings that shelter us, the pets we care for,  the vehicles we drive, the institutions and communities and religions...ALL of these things began as ideas in the mind of one or more humans. And then those ideas became concrete reality for us to interact with. The sports and games we play are not found in nature...they were invented. By people, for people. First imagined, then willed into creation.

Little Gods are we, cast in the image of our Creator.

D&D is not just "a game for smart children." It is a device that develops the human mind, the most versatile and powerful possession every human owns. And because of that, D&D has value beyond entertainment, and is worthy of respect...despite being a game even children have the capacity to learn. Just because it is grasped by the average 10 year old doesn't mean it is a game exclusively for 10 year olds. There is a difference between Little League and the Majors, after all.

All right, there was quite a bit more to the conversation than this...a lot of it had to do with the differences between players of different ages (Diego was frustrated that his 8 year old sister doesn't have the same development as his 11 year old self) and reasons for encouraging inclusion and cooperation and the pitfalls of "solo" play (i.e. play between one DM and one player, NOT literal one player solo play, which can be used for teaching, though it has many of the same issuesI associate with video games). But it's 10am right now, and the family's up, and if I don't start wrangling them they're just going to start watching Pawn Stars or something on the hotel TV. Time to get some breakfast!

Have a good week, folks.

Warming Up

Just got home from a three day soccer "jamboree" in Skagit County...the daughter's first, the boy's upteenth. Sofia was nervous at first, but had a lot of fun...her team was competitive but didn't make the finals, unfortunately. Diego's team dominated their games and walked away with the trophy for their age/division...the team looks very strong this year, and the new coach seems really on top of his game.

But, man, it was hot. Burlington reminds me quite a bit of western Montana (where I'll be road-tripping next weekend)...a lot of open sky, foothills in the distance. The river through the middle of the town was reminiscent of Missoula (though Missoula has grown so much the last 15 years...it's practically unrecognizable from my youth). Ah, well. Lots of inspiration for my D&D campaign to be had in such surroundings...Bellingham, too (where we stayed during the tournament). Probably a good place for a land of giants (everyone there seemed REALLY tall...does Western have a major basketball program or something?). 

Anyway, it's good to be home (with my own coffee). My "running beagle" ...now fifteen years old and more of a "doddering, lazy-ass beagle" ...is certainly glad to be back with her half-dozen sprawl spots for dozing the day away. Too much awake time for the old girl this trip. But it was a good warm up for (what will be) a much longer road trip starting on Thursday.

SO...D&D. The kids are anxious to play and I promised them we'd do so today and over the next couple. I do have some blog posts I want to write, and I'll try to get to those in the early morning this week. Like, GOOD blog posts...I've got a couple-three percolating in the old noggin, but it's a little too late in the day to start them now (apologies...had to catch up on some stuff this morning and, now that it's 10am...I'm sure children will be waking and clamoring for breakfast soon enough).

One more note, before I sign off. Prince of Nothing is hosting his...

[hold on, hold on...the lazy beagle needs help getting up on the couch for her second nap of the morning. Stop taking my seat, you mooch! Jeez, so little respect for the hand that feeds you...every day! *sigh* Go back to sleep...I'll find a different place to write. Need more coffee anyway]

*AHEM* As I was saying, Prince has announced the second run of his (now annual?) "No ArtPunk Contest." Even if you don't fancy yourself an adventure writer/designer, I'd encourage folks to check it out and the compilation book from last year's event; there's a lot of good adventure in that FREE publication (as well as theft-able ideas for one's own campaign). My kids, with whom I share this kind of news, are fairly excited by the contest: both want to write and submit their own entries to the contest. Listening to their individual concept ideas while walking to the local taqueria last night, I think that they'd have a fairly strong piece...if they were willing to combine forces.

[this, with typical sibling rivalry, they have refused. However, Sofia *did* say I can happily steal from her ideas...good since she tends to be more creative/unhinged from convention. We'll see how it all shakes out]

I, too, have an idea or two for a contest submission, though I'm already fairly booked solid with projects for the summer. Do I need one more item on my plate? Probably not...but competitive fires get stoked when you come so close (my entry didn't make the cut last year) and you get a second bite at the apple. I don't know...I'll think about it. Probably depends on whether or not I can find the time to draw a decent map. Most dungeon scenarios are easy to write once you have 1) a concept/theme, and 2) a map. It is, after all, 'just' D&D...not rocket science.

; )

All right...kid is up, time to go. Yak at y'all later.

Nothing Helps Clear The Head...

...like adding a different type of Big Ball O Stress to the plate.

Heading out to Montana today. In fact, I have umpteen number of things to do, that I absolutely need to do, that I should be doing instead of blogging. Been out that way several times with the kids, but always via plane. Haven't made the road trip since long before the kids were born.

But we're doing it today. Finally got my wife to agree to the idea. When I was a kid, we traveled by car to see the relatives twice a year, starting when I was an infant (and being held on my mom's lap in a 1973 Datsun pick-up with no shocks). I can't see how my kids are made of any less sterner stuff than my brother and I were. They can tough it out for a few hours...jeez, we're going to be spending the night in Spokane anyway.

Still. Lots to do to prepare. That's the stress. I'm looking forward to the driving bit.

ANYway...I'll be (mostly) out of contact for the next few days, depending on internet connections and whatnot. Doesn't mean I'm ignoring you folks or anything.
: )

I am taking my sketch book to work on illustrations. More on that later.

RPGaDAY 2017 #17

From the #RPGaDAY2017 challenge (info here):

[as I'm starting this thing a little late, I shall be doubling up on my daily posts until I catch up. Early posts will be post-dated to the date they were originally supposed to appear]

Which RPG have you owned the longest but not played?

This is a tough one.

Over the years I've gone from "RPG player" to "RPG designer," I have collected an incredible number of games...more than I could ever play in a lifetime. At least, in any meaningful way. Heck, "RPG collector" might be a better term for my gaming life and, sad as that is, I'm willing to wear it until such time as that changes.

[by the way, I've just had a loooong day of hauling 50 pound paving stones and 60 pound bags of sand and I am on my second pint, so my typing...and my train of thought...might be a little shaky. Sorry about that]

Even in my youth, once I found a way to acquire some spending money, I purchased a lot of games (usually at a used bookstore). But every game I would play. Take it out for a "test drive," you know? Back in the day, I had lots of friends clamoring to game and I had lots of free time (ah, sweet youth...cherish your free time while you can, kids!), so it wasn't an issue to try every game. One session or a dozen, who cares? It gave us as much enjoyment as going to the movies (if not more) for roughly the same price.

But the older I've gotten, the fewer gaming friends seem to be around, and my free time has dwindled to a trickle due to my other responsibilities. Yes, I could make it a priority of my life. I don't have to be the president of the parents club and the first grade soccer coach and the dutiful son who visits his mother and the dutiful brother who tries to comfort an ailing brother and the dutiful husband and father and homeowner moving three f'ing tons of rock to build a patio. Hell, I could get rid of the beagles and not worry about feeding and walking and caring for them (the younger is prone to ear infections). I don't think it's possible to exercise less than I already do, or write less than I already do or...well, you get the point. We all have our priorities and while I'd like gaming to be one of mine, I can't seem to fit it in as often as would seem to be appropriate for a dude who's devoted so many internet words to the subject.

*ahem*

ANYway, even so, it wasn't till the last ten years or so that I really started collecting games with little, if any, intention to play. Some are appropriate for research, some represent pieces of history, some are pretty to look at, some I've purchased based on reviews thinking I'd play them (but for some reason found them wanting) and some I fully intend to play one of these day, when I have the chance, and the right group of people.  But, sad to say, there are a LOT of unplayed games that sit on my shelf.

To find the oldest, however, required me to really scratch my head and dig deep. I was having a hard time considering if Werewolf: the Apocalypse counted...certainly, I've never run a saga in that game, though I've been asked to before (back in college...the game fell through before the first session due to some man-woman stuff), but parts of that game was incorporated into other Vampire games, and I'm sure I've used it to make at least one or two characters. Then there's another game from 1992 called Dreampark (based on the Larry Nivens novel) from R. Talsorian. I actually really dug that as a potential "universal" RPG system (in a simpler fashion than GURPS)...but I think I might have run a game for my brother at some point.

And anyway, I have an older game that I'm sure I haven't played: Guardians by James Perhan from Starchilde Publications. This game was published in 1988, though I believe I picked up my copy circa 1990 (and possibly from a used bookstore). Guardians has a simple system, some nice interior art, and some fairly cool fluff. Plus I loved the "flourish" skill that allowed a character to execute cool moves without tripping over his/her cape (and failing a flourish roll could have embarrassing, if not dangerous, consequences).

It's pretty crappy. Sorry.

However, Guardians lost all credibility with me when I read the sample adventure it contained. It didn't bother me that it was hokey, with an evil dentist and his robotic, drill-armed henchman. No, it was when I was researching the bad guys' powers (in anticipation of running the game) and realized the robot's suite of invulnerability powers made it completely impervious to anything the pre-gens (or anyone else) could throw at it. A bad oversight of game design, and one bad enough that I chucked the whole book without ever running a game.

But I didn't chuck it into the trash, just a dusty corner of the shelf. I found it a while back when I was reading Age of Ravens History of Superhero RPGs posts and realized he'd left it off the list. It's still a shitty game with decent artwork, and for some reason I've allowed it to stick around...it's pretty thin, after all (doesn't take up that much shelf space).

I'm about 99% sure it's the game I've owned the longest without once having played it. Going on 27+ years.

[holy mole! Only one more day of double-posting to do! You can read my Day 8 post by going to this link. Tomorrow I'll do Day 9 and then I'll be all caught up]

Going Ape

Oh, how the winds of change blow...

Sometimes (in this little hobby of ours) a game or product gets announced by a designer or company that, sight unseen, simply fires the imagination; consider White Star, which got considerable hype even before it was available. I've been on the receiving end of such attention myself, back when I was first working on my B/X Companion, and while it can make one a little anxious (hoping to live up to expectations), I generally think such anticipation is a good thing. Not only does it get one much needed publicity, but it confirms that you're not the only person interested in the project (sometimes designers have self-doubts that can lead to slowdowns and roadblocks) and the "communal excitement" can light a fire under one's ass to get things done.

Two words: Sheer Awesomeness

So it is, that I want to mention the (announced) upcoming release from Dan Proctor and Goblinoid Games, APES VICTORIOUS. Proctor was, of course, the guy responsible for Labyrinth Lord, one of the favorite retroclones of the OSR, and Goblinoid has brought us a number of B/X-compatible games, including Mutant Future and Startships & Spacemen. Personally, I'm not a believer in the "one-size-fits-all" theory of Unified Gaming (GURPS cured me of that abused notion years ago), but it does allow folks who want to model cross-genre mash-ups a way to do so with ease...and some systems (like B/X) do lend themselves rather well to multiple genres.

So...Apes Victorious. Proctor's latest greatest (currently in the play-testing stage with an intended release date of summer...well, summer if you live in the northern hemisphere) is a fairly obvious homage to the Planet of the Apes film franchise. We're not talking the most recent reboots (Rise of, Dawn of, etc.) chronicling the chronological evolution of Earth into "Ape World;" no this belongs squarely in the realm of "astronaut-travels-through-time-and-finds-a-hideous-future-ruled-by-monkeys," typified in the original French book (I read a translation years ago), the first two movies, and two abbreviated television series in the 1970s (one of which was animated).

This isn't the first time a Planet of the Apes-inspired product has hit the market. Terra Primate from C.J. Carella is a "setting-less" RPG that provides a toolbox for creating a number of different campaigns involving intelligent monkeys using the Carella's Unisystem. While I've owned Terra Primate for more than a decade (I purchased it when it first came out), I've never had the chance to use it...haven't even read the thing in years. I don't find the Unisystem particularly inspiring.

Not like those Albedo games.

However, the reason I picked it up...and the reason I'm so excited about Apes Victorious...is that I am a huge Planet of the Apes fan. Being born in '73, I'm too young to have seen the original film...or any of its sequels...in the theater, but my first exposure to Apes was the Heston classic on television, sometime circa 1979 or '80. Which, for those keeping score, means prior to my introduction to Dungeons & Dragons. Planet of the Apes left a profound and indelible impression on my young mind...one that, growing up in the years of Reagan's "new" Cold War, engendered a love of post-apocalyptic fiction, even if also struck the Fear of the Bomb in my heart. Later, with the advent of cheap VHS machines and video rental stores, I was able to watch the entire series of features and later (one glorious summer, probably in '84 or '85) the made-for-television live-action series over a special week-long re-broadcast. I should also probably mention that my uncles (teenagers during the 60s and 70s) had left behind various PotA merchandising paraphernalia at my grandmother's house (drinking cups with Urko's image and whatnot), that I took great interest in during our twice annual trips to Montana.

I've always found myself inspired and interested by the Planet of the Apes franchise. I can remember reading the novelization of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (long before I ever watched the film) and being astounded at the color-coded clothing worn by the ape servants, and how that had (down the centuries) translated into the traditional species-specific garb worn by the Heston film simians; a little bit of silly sic-fi pseudo-anthropology that made me felt like some crypto-archaeologist making "discoveries." I remember the Ape Nation comic in the 90s (a mash up of two 20th Century Fox franchises: PotA and the James Caan film Alien Nation), and how (despite its ridiculous absurdity) it suggested all sorts of possibilities: Planet of the Apes meets Predator or Planet of the Apes meets Terminator (Dark Horse started publishing its various film crossover titles shortly after the release of Ape Nation).

[I should note I always though Ape Nation as a title was both clever AND hilarious]

But even though I've watched...and enjoyed...the recent reboots of the franchise (even the Tim Burton film to a lesser degree), I don't find them nearly as inspiring as the original stuff. Even if the "apes" don't look much like real apes, I don't find the original films to feel terribly dated. And for whatever reason (nostalgia? scarring of the childhood psyche?) I find many of the images from the original series to be incredibly powerful, emotionally. Maybe it's just the tragedy with which every one of the films ends? Perhaps.

Cool...but I prefer my apes with pants.

So now we have Apes Victorious, which I will probably buy. I find myself excited for a Goblinoid Games release in a way I haven't been since...well, ever, really. And not because I find myself interested in running a mixed party of gorillas through a dungeon or something. For me, there's the possibility of doing something like Gamma World (or rather, Mutant Future) but in a way that is much more focused. Yes, talking apes and psychic mutants are pretty "gonzo" but by limiting...by directing it...one can play (and run) a post-apocalyptic campaign in a way that offers more engagement, than your average laser-breathing toad RPG.

In my opinion, of course.

Plus, look at that cover! That may be the coolest RPG cover art I've seen since Vampire the Masquerade. I'd pick this up in hardcover just to have it sitting on my shelf. I'm hoping that option is available when the thing is finally released.

You see, it's projects and products like this that make it very hard for me to stay "monogamous" to a single RPG system or setting. I love the idea of stranded astronauts in a primitive PA world being hunted by gun-toting gorillas and trying to use their wits to survive, thrive, and possibly rebuild some semblance of a "human society." I know there are folks who share my enthusiasm for the subject matter. Just figured it was worth giving a shout out on Ye Old Blog.
: )

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

The Three Amigos

I know, I know...folks would rather here about D&Dish stuff over here at Ye Old Blackrazor Blog, but I've really got nothing at the moment. Truly, the well's a bit dry at the moment. For one thing, Paraguay just doesn't inspire anything in a "fantasy-exploration-adventure" kind of way. For another, Alexis's book (my reading of it, analysis, and review) just took a lot out of me. I just need a couple weeks to recuperate before I approach anything like a D&D-style campaign. Sorry.

Rather than leave you folks on empty (and rather than fall out of practice with the blogging thang), I'm going to talk some superheroes. I know the genre turns off some people, but it's better than nothing, right? You certainly don't want me blathering on about the Seahawks and the NFL (next projected post on that subject will be at the end of the regular season).

SO...Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. That's where I'll be starting: the Saturday morning cartoon from the early 80's (specifically 1981 to 1983, per wikipedia). This would have been back when I was in the 8-10 age range, so probably the perfect demographic. I purchased comic books back then...usually in the summer months from the Missoula, Montana Circle K located down the street from my grandma's house...but I certainly had no sophistication regarding comic titles, nor was I regular collector, nor did I have any sense of the history of the Marvel series being published in the 80's (most of which had a couple decades of history/backstory to them). Plus, I preferred Ghost Rider or Rom to anything as pedestrian as the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man.

I was, however, pretty fanatically loyal to this particular cartoon.

I enjoyed Saturday morning cartoons, immensely. When I was a kid my family never had cable TV, which means we were limited to 5 to 7 channels the first couple decades of my life. Cartoons we're played on three of those channels (ABC, NBC, and CBS) for a couple hours, starting around 7am or so and ending around 10 or 11. During that window, I surfed between the three channels, focusing on a variety of action/adventure flicks: Thundarr the Barbarian, Blackstar, Jonny Quest, Godzilla as well as the usual superhero flicks. Things that had a mystical/mythology twist or a lot of ass-kicking was what I wanted to see. When cartoons started having "messages" or "morals" thrown in at the end...well, that's when I stopped bothering to get up early. Shows like Transformers and G.I. Joe sounded the death knell for my love affair with cartoons, probably circa '84 or '85 (though I was pretty diligent about watching the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon for the length of its run on TV).

But before that happened, there was Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Spidey replaced the Superfriends for my superhero watching (though the Justice League received a small *bump* when they brought in Darkseid & Co. circa '84). The villains were ones I recognized, the threats seemed more interesting, the art and writing was better. Plus, the acrobatic Spider-Man is a character that was made for animation. The titular "friends" (Iceman and Firestar) are pretty cool as well.

Recently I've had a chance to re-watch these shows (ahh...the magic of the internet) with my son...something I haven't done since they went off the air in '83 (I don't know if they were later syndicated, but if so I missed 'em). And compared to the 1960s Spider-Man (also viewed on the internet) or the Superfriends (even the great Legion of Doom episodes)...really there's no comparison. It's a great, great show: the animation, the writing, the humor and action. For me, it really captures the youth and energy of the late Silver Age...there are no dark antiheroes or grey areas. It's fun, but it's interesting, and the comic relief from the small pet is a nice balance to some real instances of scary ("scary-ish?") jeopardy/peril in which the heroes find themselves. The series leads off with three badass villains (Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, and Doctor Doom) and has some great ones like the Red Skull (with literal Nazi themes...that ain't something you see too often in a kid's cartoon!).

[just by the way...the depiction of Dr. Doom in this show is probably my favorite non-comic book depiction of the good doctor in any medium. The 70s Fantastic Four version..."I need Black Beard's treasure to take over the world" is sooooo weak-sauce compared to this minor happenstance. And don't get me started on the live-action version...]

Not that I'm bringing this up to stroll down Nostalgia Lane (though feel free to enter your own personal comments, as always). Fact is, I'm tinkering on the hero game (once again) and there are various aspects of the show I want to discuss...things that relate to, oh say, what I want to do in superhero-based RPG.

But let me save that stuff for individual posts.

[sorry, I wrote this yesterday, but didn't have a chance to get it posted. Will try to get another one done today]

In a rowboat...

...on Flathead Lake in Montana.

Pretty good Internet for my smartphone; I figure the movie stars up in Big Fork have fixed the coverage for the whole area.

Ah, well...back to rowing (not good to drift with the current to much!).

Later, Gators.
; )

So I'm Heading Out to the Highway...

...actually, the skyway, as I shall be boarding a plane from SeaTac Friday evening. The fam is making our annual pilgrimage to Montana for the Labor Day holiday, and as we're not sure the baby will survive the 9 hour drive (or that we will survive the drive with the baby!) we've decided to fly. Which means a couple things:

A) I will either be getting a lot of reading done or (hopefully) a lot of writing done. No road trip means, I have a chance to unwind while someone else does the driving...er, flying.

B) I will be out of internet contact for a looooong while: they don't have free wifi at SeaTac and it's pretty tough to find it in the middle of The Big MT ("the big empty"). Don't expect much in the way of blog posts or email checking. Grandma lives in a cabin on Flathead Lake and she's never even learned how to turn her computer on (she has one, off in the corner, with a dust cover and about five years of dust last I saw it). Hey, I'm just glad she has electricity for powering the laptop.

I'm blowing off the Mox this Thursday (boo! hiss!), to do some packing and errands and such so you won't see anymore DCC breakdowns either...unless I get around to penning this piece on the magic system as observed. Hmmm...

All right I've got to go. Talk to y'all in a bit.

; )

Kindred (Super) Spirits

And this is one of the reasons I enjoy reading other peoples' blogs...they hip me to even MORE blogs to follow!

Over at Paladin's Citadel, I followed a little link to the Earth Alpha blog. Originally, it appears to have been started up to discuss Castles & Crusades, but over time it has morphed into one blogger's exploration of the superhero RPG and an attempt to recapture the imagination and creative energy of yesteryear (ah...how I can relate!).

O how I share this poor young soul's pain and suffering! Why O Why is there not a truly wonderful superhero RPG that does everything one requires? That provides randomness along with coherence; that is non-clunky/fiddly while still having the minutia required to keep it from being simplistic?

Although I've never come right and said it in this blog, I am a huge collector of superhero RPGs, and the reason is this Quixotic search for the perfect supers game. Yes, yes I have been very "anti-hero" when it comes to some RPGs...but superheroes are by definition, um, superheroes. One is supposed to create and play a superhero in a superhero game.

As they say in The Holy Bible: there's a time, a place, a season for everything (okay, yeah, I'm paraphrasing, but you get the drift).

Anyway let me list some of the superhero games I've owned and played over the years (I say "some" because there's no way I can remember all of 'em):

Heroes Unlimited (2nd Edition and Revised)

Aberrant (as well as Adventure! and Trinity)

Godlike (and boy would I like Wild Talents!)

Marvel Superheroes

Advanced Marvel Superheroes

Sketch!

Guardians of Order (??...I believe this is the name, have to check)

Capes

Superworld

With Great Power...

DC Heroes

These are in no particular order...and certainly other games I've owned can easily fall into the "superheroic" category: Big Eyes Small Mouth, all the 2nd Edition World of Darkness books, Rifts and TMNT, Amber, etc., etc..

The problem is, they all suck.

Does that sound harsh? Yeah, I guess it does and I'm being curmudgeonly again. But they all fail to satisfy my itch to role-play superheroes which kind of defeats the point of being designed in the first place.

Marvel comes pretty darn close, but requires too much to play (specifically boards and pieces and preferably a pre-made adventure module that lists karma awards/penalties for each scene). Heroes Unlimited is probably my (*shudder*) favorite game for its combination of randomness and excellent classes but needs so much WORK, house rules wise that it's a true pain in the ass. Guardians screws itself (though I love skills like "flourish"), Capes has the truly awesome click-n-lock character generation system (and I like the bidding system, but in practice it turns out to be more of a collaborative story-telling system rather an objective RPG), and Sketch! is too simplistic and turns off people that don't like to draw. Aberrant is as close to Champions as I ever want to get, but the one-sidedness of the characters (no Iron Man characters here) and it's over-long chargen system hampers it...I want to blow people up, and that means needing a quicker way to roll up new characters. This goes for ANY system that has point-buys or skill selection steps (which is one of the reasons I've never bothered to invest in Mutants & Masterminds).

Scaling is a problem with most, especially DC (which is overly complicated to my logarithmacally-challenged brain anyway) and Marvel. And Superworld is just a bit less than complete for my taste.

ANYhoo...the point of this post is I feel Earth Alpha's pain...I really do. I was never a big comic collector as a kid but I was a huge comic reader...many summers in Montana I was spending my allowance to pick up comic books down at the old Circle K, just for the pleasure of reading some thrilling tales and lingering my eyes over the excellent art work. The on-going story-line wasn't important to me (as an adult it is moreso, when I pick up the occasional graphic novel like The Watchmen or the first two Ultimates trade paperbacks). But I wanted a chance to BE a superhero like Green Arrow or Ghost Rider or the Silver Surfer or even (lately) Captain America...kicking ass in a world of black & white bad guys and using my super cool powers for good.

[Daredevil was also a favorite]

I've read/heard that the thing that saved and promoted comic books through the lean years were there attention to story and their gripping characters/human dramas. As a kid, these things never mattered much. I didn't care that Yellow Jacket and Wasp got divorced or that Tony Stark was battling alcoholism...to me these were side-plots that DETRACTED from MY reason for reading comics. Sure, I always hoped that Forge and Storm would get married (ah, the X-Men) but I was more intrigued by the sacrifices that had to me made (by both) in the service of the plot to stop the Adversary and "Save the World." These things made a compelling adventure story more poignant (Daredevil was great at this kind of thing) whereas other sub-plots showing the "human side" of superheroes (Peter Parker's BS drama with Flash Thompson and all that jazz) were less interesting to me.

So what, then, would I like to see in a superhero RPG? Unfortunately, it appears superhero RPG designers tend to focus on only one aspect or another in their games: worrying about the "drama" of the human stuck with super powers (and responsibilities, super or not) OR worrying about making a "butt-kicking"superhero combat game and hoping that SOMEhow, "story happens." Somehow a game needs to be devised that creates human drama within the adventure, as part of the rules design, while still allowing the players to live out the superhero fantasy (sorry Capes, WGR). I haven't yet seen it, though.

So, Earth Alpha, having said all THAT, I will be following his blog to see if he can somehow shape his many different RPGs into one coherent masterpiece of a game. I am pulling for him (and I'm not brave enough to try it myself!). Plus, I just like reading about different folks' superhero campaigns. I'm weird like that.

; )

Happy All Saints Day!

And thank God it's the end of Daylight Savings Time...finally the rest of the State is back to MY biological clock. I was able to sleep in an hour and still get coffees and get home before the Seahawks game started.

Also, it means the beagles woke me an hour later than normal this morning...which is nice since we were out fairly late last night.

Back to normal, says I, and once again my thoughts are turning back to Dungeons & Dragons. For as many, many years November has always signalled a craving for D&D in my soul. Perhaps part of this is that my first RPG, Tom Moldvay's Basic Set, was gifted to me for 8th birthday many years ago (November 13th, 1981). Another part of this might be the amount of vacation time afforded to school kids in November...with Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving (two days!) there was a lot of looong weekends for game playing.

A third part has to do with the briskness of the weather which made outdoor play and chores a fading memory every November. And finally, November always brought a family trip to Montana and an opportunity to shop to my favorite used bookstore, inevitably finding something for the Dungeons and Dragons RPG.

Heh...I was at Half-Priced Books yesterday and actually found a copy of the adventure module A1: Slave Pits of the Undercity. A very rare find (besides the Internet), I was tempted to buy it...except that it wasn't half-price (in fact they were charging $15). I still might have picked it up except that I have owned it in the past and I KNOW that somewhere in my mother's house it is still lurking, crammed into some dusty book shelf or box of comics. I passed.

Reading the blogs this morning, I've become interested in the recent conversations on religion floating in a particular corner of the blog-o-verse. I won't bother re-posting my (rather long) comments, but it's got me thinking about clerics again...and alignments and mono-theism.

Now keep in mind that I play B/X D&D these days...originally (in OD&D and B/X) the cleric class was only available to humans. It could almost be considered an advantage human societies had over the demi-humans of D&D-land...they have the ability to commune with God and perform miracles and no one else does. Talk about manifest destiny!

But the original D&D had a dualistic cosmology. There were Lawful clerics (that had "good" spells: curing, resurrecting, etc.) and Chaotic clerics (that had access to "evil," reversed spells). Neutral clerics (at least in B/X) were required to choose whether their deity granted normal spells or reversed spells, not both.

[yes, in B/X clerics ARE still able to use their opposite number...reversed spells for Lawful clerics, healing spells for Chaotic clerics...but ONLY in extreme circumstances]

In essence, choosing Lawful or Chaotic as your alignment determined whether you followed the Lords of Light or the Minions of Darkness...or to put it in Catholic terms, Yahweh or Satan. Being Neutral meant you still had to choose one of these powers (the Light or the Dark), but the alignment would simply seem to indicate the character was less than totally committed to the side (and interestingly, in OD&D, Neutral clerics were admonished for such fence-sitting and not allowed to advance beyond a certain level).

But somewhere between OD&D and AD&D this dualistic cosmology got lost and the game became polytheistic. The assumed game world was anything BUT Christian as supplements (starting with Supplement IV) provided numerous pantheons of divine hierarchies. I can think of several reasons for the idea:

- historical or "sword & sorcery" fiction often featured different pantheons of gods than the medieval Christian. What if someone wanted to play a Teutonic priest of Thor?

- not every player of the game was interested in a Christian duality that the basic game implied

- from a "story" point of view "rival gods" provide great causation for campaign world conflict

But ya' know, historically speaking I seem to recall that in most polytheistic religions all Gods were generally worshipped equally (at least in their own sphere of influence). I don't know...I'm not much of a historian, really. But the ancient Greeks (as one example) might have a patron god of their city-state (like Athena and the Athenians), but certainly wouldn't snub Poseidon when going to sea or Ares when going to war...or Hades when someone died.

Actually, I suppose that the tales of Greek mythology ARE a good example of conflict between certain rival gods...especially when one thinks of the Iliad. But even so, attributing human Alignments to the gods isn't especially helpful...the gods are what they are and they are concerned with their own affairs (a city they patronize, a sphere of interest), and while they may not always be fair or "just" they aren't necessarily evil.

There are definitely many different ways to run one's D&D campaign...probably a reason for the game's enduring popularity...but I can't help but think a return to the old dualistic philosophy (especially with regard to B/X play) isn't a bad little way to go. It sure makes things simpler, cosmology-wise. And I believe it allows for more "shades of grey" within the game world's societies than might occur with a more numerous pantheon of scheming, competing deities.

More on this shortly.

NOW I'm REALLY Back

The car is unpacked and the beagles have had their baths (well, after they had a chance to let all the neighbors know we were back...ar-woo-wooooooooo!!!).

Spokane was very nice. Don't know what it's like for gaming but I imagine there must be some role-players SOMEWHERE in that town.  Went to Auntie's Bookstore (as well as the attached Uncle's Gamestore) and found no RPGs, used or otherwise. Ugh...what do Gonzaga kids have to do besides drink beer and wait for basketball season to start? Hike and watch cable, I suppose (oh, yeah...I forgot on-line gaming).

Back in Missoula I at least found SOME role-playing games.  No this wasn't a "working" vacation, I am simply an obsessive collector and peruser of used bookstores. Plus, I like to see what's going on, ya' know? You can't throw a rock in Missoula without hitting a head shop and three street kids sporting Bob Marley shirts, but where does one go if he wants to play a little D&D?

Well, when I was a kid (a loooong time ago), I spent my hard earned allowance in one of only two places: Circle K (for comic books/candy) and my favorite used book store of all time, the Book Exchange. I bought many of my earliest RPGs (my 1st edition Stormbringer, 2nd Edition Gamma World, Top Secret) and best TSR adventure modules (G1-3, I1 and I2, S2:White Plume Mountain) at this used book store.  Heck, I even got my copy of Mentzer's Companion set there. 

Of course, I haven't visited this store in nearly 20 years. I simply figured it no longer existed (if you know how much Missoula has changed in the last twenty years, you'll know what I mean).

So when my grandmother mentioned the shop still existed, just having been moved to a new, larger location. I was pretty excited. And since the wife and me were driving into Missoula anyway (to meet some friends from Helena) I decided I absolutely must check out this font of wonder from my youth.

They even have the same sign from when I was a kid.

The new store is huge, spacious and bright compared to the shadowy and dusty shop of my youth. Hell, they even have a coffee bar inside...quite fancy. They also sell new stuff in addition to the used books.

What they did NOT have was the large selection of RPGs.  In fact, it took me quite a bit of searching to find the limited selection of game materials they did have...probably 6-7 inches of total shelf space.  And what was there?  A single copy of a 4th edition PHB and MM, a few random 3rd edition texts, maybe a couple old White Wolf books. Definitely nothing worth purchasing.

O how the mighty have fallen.

Well, the place served me well in my youth, and I'll still be sure to check it out whenever visiting Missoula in the future. I did pick up several tasty book finds...Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye (never yet read it), a collection of Robert E. Howard's non-Conan stories, and a biography of Grigori Rasputin. 

Oh...Auntie's and Uncle's also provided several gifts as well (my niece is coming to town, and we bought her a book and several games). Just doing my part for the economy.

: )

Back in Civilization (Almost)

Welp, me and the fam are almost back to Seattle (been up on Flathead Lake in Montana the last few days) and I finally have a place to connect to the internet: the Oxford Suites in Spokane, Washington. Spokane (or "Spokavegas" as my friends from WSU always called it) has grown up a lot in the last 20 years...for a change, my wife and I have decided to linger a bit in the town rather than drive straight through, and it's quite nice. Riverfront Park has many of the same sights I recall from my youth (the Carousel, the mechanical goat) but also has new stuff (a friggin' gondola?!).  I am forced to admit it's quite beautiful...though I think I'm still too much of a "city slicker" to live in Eastern Washington.

Anyway, it's been very relaxing...I've let my cell phone run out of juice (not that I'm a big cell user...I only picked up my first one in January...talk about geezers!), and I didn't turn on a television my whole time in Montana.  I didn't crack a book, either...instead simply enjoying the outdoors, the company of my family and relatives, and lots of card playing.

My family are game players from waaay back, though mainly it's cards. Not poker (they do some of that but mostly they're not gamblers) but rather pinochle, cribbage, bridge, and rummy. Montana winters tend to mean lots of snow, and all my relatives are skilled card players...most of my card knowledge was taught to me by my grandmother.  Like Old School RPGs, cards have a simplicity and portability that allow for hours of entertainment with very little space requirements. Personally, I love playing cards...which is probably one of the reasons I have so much fun in Montana despite my general aversion to hunting and fishing.

Anyway, despite taking my computer and references with me, I did very little writing.  Well, I DID write up my own one-page micro-game a la Searchers of the Unknown, Mutant Scavengers of the Ruined Earth, and Scavengers & Spacewrecks. My little game is called  Clockwork...it's a one-page version of an RPG I've been working on for awhile. Those familiar with Boot Hill will recognize some of the obvious similarities in the game system...it's not really compatible with the other micro-games, because of this. But hanging out in Montana always gets me fired up about the Old West, so Clockwork is what I wrote up.

Actually, I found the one-page model to be pretty fun to work with...I have a couple of other half-written RPGs that might be good in this format.  As well as one more knock-off of an existing RPG....

Oh, any comments on Clockwork are appreciated. I'll probably get back to the full length version once I've completed my B/X Companion (one thing at a time).

Quick WPM Notes...

I actually got the whole White Plume Mountain conversion written up Saturday evening, but didn’t have a chance to post it (with links and such) till this morning. I took Sunday off from the computer completely to spend some QT with the fam (and get introduced to some community activisim).

It’s been a fairly creative last couple months, and while I realize converting old modules to B/X “ain’t no big thang,” it was still a fun exercise. Plus I figured out a way to do a sphinx which is something I’ve been struggling with for my B/X Companion (I believe my sphinx will be closer to Mentzer’s in the BECMI Master book, but I needed a way to make it more mid-level friendly for White Plume Mountain…the “young sphinx” is a nice compromise). Ugh…once again, struggling with tweaking things “perfect” (doesn’t happen).


Anyway...my lack of computer work Sunday, as well as packing tonight and familial obligations tomorrow (Dad will be in town and we’re taking him to dinner!) means I am NOT going to be putting the finishing touches on my Companion prior to leaving for Montana Wednesday. However, while I fully intend to do a ton of hiking with the beagles, I WILL be bringing my laptop and sketch book with me. I need to start working on some line-drawings (I think I’ve managed to round up a couple of amateur illustrators with two more “possibles,” but I’m pretty sure I’ll be contributing my own artwork as well…Siembieda, eat your heart out!).

I suspect posting will be scarce over the next week (though don’t hold me to that) as I should focus any “spare” writing time on my supplement.

Hmmm…although I MAY have an idea for a follow-up to this morning’s WPM work….

: )

Better Than Expected (Companion Quick Update)

Wow…I just might pull this off.

I’ve got a full third of the monsters written up (twenty-five) and the formatted page count is just a paragraph over 5. That means probably 16-17 pages total for monsters after editing, intro stuff and a few (small) illustrations. And I may leave some of the monsters on the cutting room floor, anyway (do I really need a one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-people-eater, or “Oeohflyppe” as I was calling it? No, there is a line to be drawn at “delightful whimsy”).

That being said, the editing is already pretty tight…and I don’t want the formatting to be so small as to be difficult to read.

Still and all, 64 pages definitely looks do-able, even with the (assumed) illustrations added. Right now, the B/X Companion table of contents is shaping up like this:

- Cover page and forward – 2 pages
- Part 1: Introduction – 1 page
- Part 2: Player Character Information – 3 pages
- Part 3: Spells – 10 pages
- Part 4: The Adventure – 4 pages (this might be wishful thinking)
- Part 5: The Encounter – 8 pages (including mass combat)
- Part 6: Monsters – 16 pages
- Part 7: Treasure – 10 pages (may leave off the B/X treasure tables)
- Part 8: DM Information – 7 pages (including Dominion rules; no wandering monster tables)
- Part 9: Special Adventures – 2 pages (may cut down to 1)

Total page count: 63, giving me the choice of adding an extra page to Monsters (more illos!) or adding in a re-worked treasure lists (don’t want to infringe on any copyrights!).

By the way…checked out the old list of WotC product identity to make sure I know which toes NOT to step on. Pleasantly surprised to see the term “DM” isn’t there even if “Dungeon Master” is. I guess DM can stand for a lot of things: from Dimension Master to Demon Master.

I suppose in my game it will be “DRAGON MASTER.” You heard it here first! Copyright JBeazie, MY product identity.

Of the monsters listed as "product identity," none are any I’m particularly worried about. My naga are more like yuan-ti than the naga as presented in the MM, and I’m semi-considering leaving my CHUD-like umberhulks out all together. But I can do without beholders, mind flayers, and gith (I don’t have space for psionics), and the carrion crawler and displacer beast are already in B and X respectively.

Oh…and I have no idea what a “gauth,” “tanar’ri,” or “baatezu” are. Actually I think I had tanari chicken at the Indian restaurant last week…and isn’t there a batsu sauce used in some sorts of Japanese tempura? Some kind of food monsters, apparently (WotC: eating YOUR money).

Just so folks know, I have a busy weekend planned with the following priorities: sleep, wife, and writing. Blarging is not on the list, and I have moved my day off from Monday to Friday starting this week, so don’t expect my usual 5-10 Monday posts. Frankly, I’m most excited for my little project's completion…hopefully, I’ll have completed the rough draft in the next few days so that I can polish it up over next weekend when I head back to Montana for Labor Day (probably WILL go to a used bookstore while there, though not THE used book store of my childhood; THAT one is in Missoula (if it still exists) and I will be up in Polson; my grandmother has a cabin on Flathead Lake). Montana is wonderful and I always find it relaxing and rejuvenating (well, less so since we started taking the beagles…there’s no fenced yard!), and I am almost as excited about the trip as I am about completing my game.

Hmmm…’course I should probably get some WORK work done before I go. All right, that’s enough for now!

Descent Into The Void

The in-laws have headed for home and I may now resume my normal blogging schedule...well, I may after I've resumed my normal sleep cycle. Yowza!

In looking back over my various posts from August, I see that I've completely neglected to fulfill my "pseudo-promise" (there's a better word, but I AM pretty sleepy right now and the phrase doesn't spring readily to mind) of detailing the why's and wherefore's of my Top Ten Adventure Module list. Tonight I want to look at #7 on the list, Gary Gygax's D1-D2 Descent Into the Depths of the Earth. Now as I said, I'm calling these as I purchased them, and when I got D1-2, they were one module combined. Yes, I realize they were originally published as two. Enough already! As I said, let's look at it...I mean LOOK at it! What a piece of cover art! Right there, the image is enough to stick it in my top ten. No giant, grinning blue man on the front, just a badass battle between several shady looking adventurers. Of course, the cat getting his brain sucked out on the back cover is pretty sweet, too...more Willingham goodness. For those who haven't played D1-D2, it is the middle section of Gygax's epic G-Q, 7 module series (yes, I realize Gygax didn't write Q1...Q1 is a different post folks). I don't think one could call a series of adventure modules an "opus;" not when the guy writing 'em has penned the DMG and the PHB. But there's no doubt the series is a classic. So why then do I only single out D1-2 for my top ten list? What about G1-3 or everyone's beloved Vault of the Drow? Is it just the cover art? Nah...though of the whole series, I find the Roslov illustration on D1-2 the best of the bunch. No it's the adventure. See, I've run the whole series...what...MAYBE three times? Q1, as I said, is a whole 'nother story necessitating its own post (some day, some day). I've actually owned the D series longer than I've owned the G series...hell, I had access to Q1 through a friend prior to finding a copy of G1-3 (and guess where? yeah, that little used book store in Missoula, Montana). So D1-3 I've run individually more than others, and of them, the first two are the creme de la creme for me.  I mean, come on! A wilderness adventure underground? Drow back when they were totally evil? Mind flayers? No, there are no dragons in the caverns of the troglodytes...but there is a badass lich.

I'm not even going to talk about the DM's option of crafting his own Underdark adventures by allowing the PCs to explore side passages...I, myself, never went though the trouble to detail "the rest of the map," though I think it's a fairly cool idea.  However, for the record, I think the first two scripted encounters (the Drow outpost and the Mind Flayer lair) are two of the best I've ever laid eyes on in a published module. Each encounter is like its own mini-adventure...you need brains and tactics to defeat both, and if your PCs have never encountered drow or mind flayers before they are in for just a vicious surprise.

And yet, the encounters also perfectly showcase what these two classic monster-types are all about. You get a taste of the drow, their matriarchal society, their clerical and magical powers, their weird magic, their purses filled with platinum.  You get mindblasted and brain-sucked by the illithid...holy crap! 

I should probably do a whole post about the mind flayer. It breaks my heart that I can't stick 'em in my B/X Companion (no psionics, no IP material). I had probably used or thought about using a mind flayer prior to owning/running D1 (I did have the Monster Manual, though I may have "winged" the psionics without a copy of the PHB).  But what happens when you throw one mind flayer at a party of adventurers? You get a dead mind flayer, no shit.

But throw TWO mind flayers at a party? With their wererat thralls as canon fodder/distraction? You get a LOT of dead party members, is what you get...ha!

Vicious, vicious, vicious...D1 taught me to respect the illithid for the terrible foe they are.

And the lich in the great cavern...how many of my players got encouraged to venture into its lair and start "detecting magic" by yours truly?  All of 'em, that's how many...no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to use such a powerful monster...hell, that's excellent XP for PCs and excellent loot to boot! Why stash something so cool in a hidey-hole. That lich is the most powerful being in the caverns, it only makes sense he'd be running the joint.

[just by the by...in Paul Kidd's Descent Into the Depths of the Earth that's his take as well, and I respect him immensely for it, even if I don't like what he did later in the book]

Anyway, I've wasted a ton of blog space on D1, and it's not even my favorite part of the module...that would be D2: Shrine of the Kuo-Toa. I LOVE the Kuo-Toa; don't ask me why.  They have a draw and appeal to me that is similar to the draw and appeal of H.P. Lovecraft's works...certainly there are marked similarities between the Kuo-Toa and HPL's "Deep Ones." Not to mention Blibdoolpoolp the Sea Mother...she could easily have been one of Lovecraft's elder gods.

But I found D2 and the Kuo-Toa long before I found H.P. Lovecraft.  And I dig 'em. I love their weird amphibious nature. I love how, while tool-users, they wear no garments besides harnesses for their weapons (how very Burroughs...). I love how they have this weird priest-hood and character classes including assassins and "whips." I think it is especially creepy and weird how they "grow with age" so the more powerful ones are larger than man-sized and imposing compared to the younger, grunts...I find that just disturbing and yet totally fitting for the weird pulpy "city" that Gygax has created in D2.

I mean, I could really go on for a long time. Jermalaine? Love 'em. Getting teleported to Blibdoolpoolp's elemental plane of existence? How could you not love it!

There ARE flaws to the module...I found much of the underground stuff more time-consuming as a kid than fun (I wanted to get to the action, not worry about wandering trolls!). The Svirfneblin are just "okay" in my book...I don't find it necessary to have some sort of short, good-aligned allies in the Underdark (dammit, it's too deep underground for "good" to exist!).

And I really don't like the whole Kuo-Toa boatman encounter. Not because the rogue monitor isn't a cool encounter, what with his chance to go berserk and his giant gar and all (who doesn't love a giant gar?). But I think it "gives away the farm" too fast.  Ideally, I would prefer the PCs to not have ANY contact with the Kuo-Toa prior to finding the Shrine. Having one that is "kind of friendly in a professional if slightly crazy way" down-plays the weirdness and inhumanity of the Kuo-Toans. In my opinion, tt would have been better for this encounter to have occurred AFTER the shrine (as in, on the way down to the vault) where the strangeness of a "friendly monster" would have been more felt (after invading and fighting hordes of the things).

All right, I should probably talk about why D3: Vault of the Drow FAILS to make my top ten list when it rates so highly with others. However, this post is already running pretty long, so I'll save it for another day.