Cauldron 2025

I have a feeling this is going to be a long one. But people don't come here for the Tl;DR version of things, do they?

; )

Cauldron III took place at Hofraithe Rosenthal this year...a switch in venue mainly made to accommodate more people. The con had 81 registered attendees, whereas prior years had been capped at 50...a more than 60% increase but it didn't feel particularly larger until you walked into a gaming room during the middle of a session (or if you were late getting to a meal and looking for a seat). Still, it felt more cozy than crowded...although some of my larger games got a little tight, space-wise.

And large my games were. Thinking about it just now (at the con, I never took the time to reflect on this) I'm fairly sure I've never DM'd for so many people (and so many DIFFERENT people) in my life. In fact I'm 100% sure of it.

We'll get to the games in a moment. The facilities were fine, though perhaps not as nice as the previous place (the bathroom for the room...which I shared with five other people...was a large step down, though it was fine, utility-wise), and there were some very large, very crowded queues when it came to signing up for some of the sessions. The "club rooms" which were used for gaming were, on the other hand, quite nice...not just serviceable, but atmospheric and comfortable.

So many stairs, though. So many. And I LIKE stairs (and I'm in good enough shape that it wasn't an issue, even carrying gear). But I imagine some folks had to huff and puff a bit...especially if they ended up in a 4th floor room (as I was). Still...a little exercise is good when you're spending so much of the day sitting on your ass and drinking beer.

Yes, again the beer was free, excellent, and plentiful (God bless Germany!) and even though I've been OFF beer since July or thereabouts, except for the mornings, I drank continuously throughout the con (as did many)...and as far as I could tell, we didn't make much of a dent in the stockpile of 22 ounce bottles. An upstairs kitchen, stationed strategically between the club rooms, seemed to have Bucknard's Everfull Beer Fridge...it was never empty. Great when you didn't want to go down a flight of stairs in the middle of a game.

As usual, the "unsung heroes"...the volunteers and family members of the Con organizers...were spectacular. Asked if there was any decaf coffee at breakfast Saturday morning (and getting a negative reply), I resigned myself to a cup of the regular stuff. However, it wasn't 10 minutes into my first gaming block of the day that a friendly con organizer showed up at my gaming table, unasked, with a French press of decaf specifically for me...they went out and found me decaf coffee! This little spectacle was repeated during Sunday morning's game block. Can you say "fantastic service and attention to detail?" Germany!

The surroundings, by the way, were quite beautiful. Fresh, crisp October air (no rain, just sunshine) made it a pleasure just to step outside and breathe and stretch. And the venue was picturesque in the way these small German towns tend to be (at least all the ones I've visited). Delightful.

Food...especially the crisped, roasted whole pig...was, as may be imagined, delicious, as were the sausages, the sauerkraut, the fresh veg (I must have ate a plate of bell peppers myself), the fresh daily bread. Water, both sparkling and still, was available at all times.

While I'm discussing food, I might as well get around to the drink...I mean, the REAL drink. Some engineer of clever bent had rigged up a small, portable fountain of wine that had a constant stream of wine or red liquor spurting from a goblin's nose...that was amazing. There were plenty of bottles of wine as well, for the non-beer drinkers. Many folks brought their own spirits (of course) and the hootch started to flow in earnest Saturday evening...just in time for the post-dinner live auction. Seated with the indomitable Magyar contingent, I was again fortified with many shots of their Hungarian palinka...however, this year I was able to return the favor with a bottle of cask-aged, 116 proof whisky from Orcas Island (bottle #62 of 78). An incredibly large bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey also joined the table (I assume a contribution from Irish companion and former Cauldron roommate, Lynchpin), and we really had the chance to double-down on the boozing. I know MY bottle was killed before the sun came up...though the last shot wasn't poured till after 3 in the morning.

Good times.

Back to the gaming: Cauldron 2025 had a total of 54 pre-registered games over six scheduled game blocks. Other games were played that didn't make the registry, of course, but I was a little busy to track those. No less than 26 different Dungeon Masters ran games of AD&D, OD&D, B/X, and various retroclones, but the majority of games (38 of the 54) were 1E. 17 different DMs...including myself...ran the King of Games.

And...wow.

Last time I went to Cauldron, I waxed enthusiastically about the joy of playing AD&D with people who know and love the game, who have travelled from all over to a convention specifically for the chance to participate in the game. I talked about how wonderful the FOCUS was, and how engaging it was to play with people who were focused on actual play of the game. 

Well, two years later, they've gotten better. 

Whereas Cauldron One had many players who were new to the game or who had never played 1E (and wanted to learn) or people who came from other RPG backgrounds (WotC-stuff, the "OSR," 2E and trad gaming, etc.), these folks were dialed in. They knew how to play and they'd COME to play. I'd lay out my 2-3 house rules and away we'd go and questions or pauses to provide for explanations/answers were few and far between. Just gaming...glorious gaming for hours at a time. 

My Blackrazor Cup tournament adventure was, again, one of the high points for many con goers, and THIS year I got to see what that looks like. Eight different DMs ran the adventure...most everyone who wanted to had a chance to participate. Top prize went to the group that managed to pull 390K in gold from the dungeon, but there was a pretty broad range of play with much death and hilarity (one group saw every single one of the ten tournament pre-gens killed). My own table, which included the infamous Prince of Nothing (we'll get to him) caused me to laugh so hard, so many times (at their expense) that I nearly fell out of my chair. Just gluttons for punishment. They ended up with 88K (second from the bottom in rankings), but they had a good time and I can honestly say they did a LOT better than either of the prior two groups I'd play-tested the adventure with.

[it is my suspicion that some of the DMs are a little more lenient than I am when it comes to their running of the game...and that's fine, I'm totally okay with that. But I think that might account for some (not all!) of the discrepancies in results]

Prince's own "mini-tournament" adventure, Assault on the Becker-Drome, was likewise a big hit and much hilarity was had over the three sessions of that. I did not have the chance to take part (and I didn't find out who won the prize he was offering...maybe the Sunday group?)...but he has promised to provide me with a PDF copy for my own entertainment. Can't wait.

The only game I actually played in was con-orgnizer (and Best DM of Cauldron 2024) Settembrini's Chainmail recreation of The Battle of Emridy Meadows. Greyhawk aficionados may recognize this as the original final battle between the forces of Good and those of the Temple of Elemental Evil. I, of course, chose to play on the Temple side and was graced with an evil high priest and a couple units of ogres. Unfortunately, Chainmail took place in the Friday Night block (the day of our arrival) and by that time (9pm) I'd already been up for some 36 hours. I lasted till midnight or so before I became in danger of (literally) collapsing with exhaustion. However, I will take some credit with the Temple's eventual (and non-canonical) triumph, as it was my priest's summoned fire elemental that eventually killed Prince Thrommel and routed the forces of Good...even if I wasn't there to see it.

[ha! and Dreadlord had been trying to convince me to take "bless" as my one spell. No way, man! Go big or go home!]

But that game...which featured four players versus three with Settembrini acting as referee...was the only game session I failed to get through. By Saturday (with a little more than six hours of sleep and plenty of good food in my belly) I was able to go the distance with my games...including my "mystery," Saturday Night block which didn't finish till after 4:30am and had, in the end, only three players at the table (only two of which had still-living PCs).

I will write a follow-up post with "after action" reports of the various games I ran. Suffice is to say they all went well, and it was a joy to see so many familiar faces (like Mike and Michal and Sönke and Ollie and Prince and Tom and the Hungarians) all sitting around my table, rolling dice, cursing their failures, celebrating their successes, and having a hell of a good time. I ran five games and had full tables every session. Well...except for that Saturday Night Block (I ran an adventure that accommodates up to 16, but only NINE showed up to play...).

I am told that the sign-up sheets for my games usually filled up fast.

However, I was NOT to be awarded with the prestigious Best DM of the tournament this year (although I tied for second place in the voting along with Philipp). Instead that went to the to the ever-energetic, Con-Meister General, Grützi. The man is a beast...he ran five sessions this year (as he did last year, too!), the only person other than myself to spend so much time in the Captain's Chair. A much-deserved win as he scored in 11 of 16 qualifying categories, as judged by his players (Philipp and I only scored in 10) and I have no qualms about him taking home the trophy...especially since Grutz and his buddy Alex were the ones who picked me up from the airport and drove me the 90 minutes to the convention!

Alex and Grutz were also kind enough to drive me to the hotel in Frankfurt where I am currently writing this post, while I slept in the back seat. As I mentioned, Saturday's Night Block went long...but my night went longer still as several of us stayed up, kabitzing and drinking into the early morning hours. Truth be told, I was trying to outlast Prince (the rapscallion!), but eventually pulled the trigger on going to bed  around 5:50am. I was walking back to the building where my bedroom was (at the top of four flights of stairs) as Settembrini's wife was crossing the other way to start the kitchen duties for breakfast. While I could have gone longer, I felt I had a responsibility to be awake for the players at my final game session of the morning.

[Prince, gosh darn it, didn't sleep till 7:30am made the breakfast call an hour later, AND ran his last game. But he's 20 years younger than me...]

SO...incredibly exhausted, and more than a little hungover, once the post-convention high had worn off, I was ready for a nap in the car, drowsing off to the soothing sounds of excited, German banter and Alex's quietly playing death metal.

What a blast.

It is hard to overstate how awesome this convention is. I mean, Dillon (a Canadian who goes by the online handle "Terrible Sorcery") best expressed it with his repeated exclamation of the phrase "Hell yeah!" in response to...well, pretty much everything. He apologized for his excited enthusiasm, but I think he was simply expressing the same emotion that ALL of us were feeling (with slight variations). Everything about Cauldron is worthy of such exclamation: the setting, the victuals, the gaming, the camaraderie. 

So many people brought their CHILDREN to the thing, older teens (boys and girls) who are playing the Old School games of their parents. I have already told Diego I will take him to the next one I attend (when he's 16/17), and I can see I'm not the only person who finds the con worthy of generational sharing. 

In fact, it was Settembrini's older son (who, if I remember correctly, was unable to attend Cauldron I due to illness) who won the "MVP" trophy of the tournament. That trophy happened to come with a good bottle of German gin, which the boy doesn't drink, and Settembrini kindly passed it off to me as he'd heard I'm a gin enthusiast (I am). It's one of many souvenirs I have filling my bag, including the "official Cauldron boardgame," designed and hand-crafted by the Nexus gaming club (or, at least, Settembrini's family). I haven't opened it yet...like the gin, it is carefully packed in my luggage...but I look forward to reading it. Hopefully the instructions are in English.

[though, of course, I have Google translate]

[***EDIT: I have been informed by the illustrious and award-winning Settembrini that it was actually his YOUNGER son, Valez, who won the MVP award. My bad!***]

This, I'm quite sure, is a poor review post. It's early in the morning, I've been up for a while, and I'm still a little loopy. I'm just gushing about this and that and every little thing that pops into my head in something very different from a coherent order of tale telling. But that's because I'm not really trying to "sell you" on Cauldron...I'm just trying to convey something of my experience here. I've been to gaming cons before Cauldron; I've been around friendly, happy gamers all bubbling about what a grand time they're having, socializing with like-minded folks about their particular jam...it's what I imagine most "themed" cons (comic cons, Lego cons, Sci-Fi cons) are like, as people can feel free to let their hair down and "nerd out" with each other.

But Cauldron IS different. Probably because it is such a smaller, more intimate affair, or perhaps because of the ever-present Setti family members, you feel very much like a part of this organization's family. These are brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, uncles and aunts. It's not just camaraderie and shared fandom (though that's there, too)...there's real and genuine love. Love for the games and love for each other and for each other's love of the game. It's not just about "acceptance" or being accepted: it is ACTIVE. People want to GIVE. They want to do for others, they want to share. Some people work out trades but there are many more gifts that are given. People volunteering to do chores: washing dishes, serving food, hauling beer (and crates of empties). One guy does all the grilling/roasting. People are giving each other books that they have extra copies of, people are given small tokens of appreciation, people want each other to have mementos and remembrances of their time here, together. Yes, it's fun, yes, it's a good time. But when I leave, it's not just walking out the door of a convention...I feel much the same as when I leave Montana after a stay with my relatives or after leaving my wife's family in Mexico after an extended visit. We linger. We hug (probably too many times). We talk about when we hope to see each other again.

That's very cool. Very cool indeed. One kid came up to me (today, as folks were packing to leave) and shyly asked me if I could teach him how to write adventures. "Of course!" I gave him an overview and told him to hit me up with a direct message so I could put it in writing for him. He seemed very grateful/appreciative...like I was doing him some huge favor to tell him "Moldvay's a good place to start."

Yeah, it's like family at Cauldron. I find myself asking how a person's doing with their new baby, or asking how's the married life treating a new groom. People ask me about my kids' soccer playoffs (because they read Ye Old Blog). People care. They were engaged with each other, both in and out of games. It was so refreshing to see and be around, because it's so unusual these days. So unusual. Especially with the crisp October air, it brought back memories to me of childhood Thanksgivings when my family would always return to Missoula, Montana...my mother's hometown...and spend many days with the extended family. Those were the best holidays of my life (probably why I love Thanksgiving) filled with food and drink and laughter and games. Very similar vibes.

Yeah, Cauldron may be becoming my new favorite holiday.

All right, that's enough for now. I'll be boarding a plane home to Seattle in a few hours and I'll have plenty of time to write more. But for now...rest and decompression.

Cauldron Prep

What day is it? Thursday? Whatever...it's 5am (or, rather, it was...I scrolled reddit looking for a worthwhile post but it all just made me want to vomit...) and I'm up thanks to some ungodly "beeping" that went off in our house this morning. No idea what it was. Checked all the fire alarms (and it didn't sound like them anyway). Hasn't repeated itself. But now I'm up.

Status update on "stuff:"

• The Family is doing well. Adapting to our "new normal" of having a high school kid. So far, so good. D came down with a bit of a cold (not COVID), probably from the amount of stuff on his plate, but he's gotten over it quick. Sofia's getting pretty good at rocking Take It On The Run (REO Speedwagon) on her guitar. Wife hasn't murdered me yet. All's fine.
• Soccer: I'll have a better idea of all teams after this weekend.
• Seahawks: hey! I went to the game last week which was...terrible! Not just because they lost (always bad to drop a home game), or that they lost to the Niners (which makes it even worse), but because of how they played...oh, man. It is orky football for sure but, in Blood Bowl terms, they're like the ork team that has ONE goblin catcher (that would be Smith-Njigma) and no one else with any speed/catching ability. The offense failed to stretch the field at all. And "Riq" Woolen was awful. Really, really frustrating to watch. Also frustrating to have to pay $8 for a bottle of water at the game. *sigh*
• Legal Disputes: I might have found a way to resolve my civil suit as early as next week, fingers-crossed. The events that led to the irritation I expressed last Friday turned out to be a blessing in disguise (maybe). We'll see.
• My father was in town. Had a nice visit. He's pretty hale and hearty for an old codger (pushing 80), but I worry about his mind a bit. *sigh* That's life, right?

Okay...onto gaming stuff.

Cauldron is barely a month away, and other than my day-to-day affairs (see above), this is my primary concern at the moment. Despite being on opposite sides of the globe, I've been in rather constant contact (through discord, natch) with the Euro-folks (helps that I don't get much sleep...) and things are getting exciting. Man, I'm so glad I'm going back there. Even if it SUCKS somehow, it'll still be fantastic to see everyone again.

This year they've got six gaming blocks going: two Friday (the first is a shorter, three-hour "sidekick" for folks arriving early), three Saturday, and one Sunday (after breakfast and awards). This year I'm signed up to run games in five of the six, including (*shudder*) Saturday's "night block" (9pm - whenever). In Cauldron 2023, I used that time to sleep, but retrospectively that's silly:

1. My sleep cycle is already out-of-whack from the travel.
2. I'm too keyed up by what's going on (hard to get to sleep and tend to wake before dawn).
3. I'm making the journey to play games, not nap!
4. I've got a nice long plane ride home on which to sleep (and I will).

SO: night block, here I come!

I am also the "tournament director" for this year's "Blackrazor Cup" which does not entail a whole lot of work (thankfully)...now that the adventure's been written, anyway. Probably I'l be tallying scores and whatnot in the wee hours of Sunday morning. No paper certificates this year...the con organizers got real life medals and trophies (I've seen pix). Amazing! I'm sure it will be a good time. 

[we'll see if all the players hate me after this year. It's their own fault for complaining last year's adventure was "too easy." This, however, may have been due to the way the adventure was DM'd...when I ran it for my home group  it ended in a TPK]

For my free block, I will be doing my darnedest to get into Settembrini's Chainmail game (yes, this Settembrini) which he is advertising as having space for seven, Even if I don't I might hang out and watch...regardless, I have that particular time block cleared specifically for that particular table.

Originally, I'd also kept the Night Block clear, partly out of a vane hope at sleep, but mostly because I was considering the possibility of one of Prince's epic night games (he usually brings some 10+ player extravaganza). Unfortunately, this year he ain't. Not because he won't be drinking through the night (au contraire!) but because he has games he wants to play in, for a change. However, he IS offering his own "tournament adventure" (with prize!) that he will be running himself in three different time blocks. It's called "Assault On The Beckerdrome;" the description reads:

Over the last years, you have endured and triumphed in the Blackrazor Cup, the most prestigious event in the history of the known world. Its lustre has endowed you with divine fire, but each night you weep, for lack of worlds to conquer. Yet there is hope. The earth shakes and is split asunder. An ancient fortress lies beneath. You have conquered the Blackrazor Cup, but how will you fare against the one who forged such a contest?

The ultimate challenge awaits.

So, yes. It appears I am the BBEG of his adventure. Sly devil.

[he will be paid back! In spades!]

Of the time slots I'm signed up for, four are nailed down. I'll be running a modified version of Anthony Huso's Silver Temple of Transcendent Flame in the Friday afternoon "sidekick," the BRC tourney module for Saturday morning, a new adventure that I haven't even drawn a map for yet (*headslap*) called Caul's Dark Citadel for Saturday afternoon, and MY version of I3, Legacy of the Pharoid, in the Sunday brunch spot. Of course, that one's not complete yet, either. 

[wait...checking. Checking. Yeah...no]

I'm actually probably going to have to scrap Legacy from the docket. I was only going to run the Body Banks section, but it's still 64 encounters (waaaay too many for a four-hour time slot) and less than half have been keyed. Too big, too long, too un-finished for this year's Cauldron...but I've been in contact with Kelvin Green about some collaboration on the project and it might be cool for a later Cauldron con (maybe as a multi-part running...as I did with Forbidden City in 2023). I certainly doubt I'll have time to write AND play-test the thing before con time, not with needing to do the same with Dark Citadel. I just have too many irons in the fire.

SO...I was looking through my inventory of adventures for a replacement, and I actually have a number of low level (3rd - 5th) adventures that might substitute AND be short enough. There's the Tomb of Bendan Fazier, which was a lot of fun for my home group (though, since I posted it to the blog a couple years back, it could be considered "spoiled"). There's Ice Box which, while written for OD&D is easily converted (it even uses Fiend Folio critters)...except the tournament adventure is already "cold themed." There's Lost Vault of Kadish (a stand-alone 'side quest' in Legacy). Heck, I could even run The Sunken City of Doom, my DL1 re-write; yeah, it's close to 100 encounter areas, but it's for the right levels, has pre-gens (twisted DragonLance PCs), and is mostly keyed...

Oh, wait: here's also Vermin Town, the rat-themed adventure I wrote for my own "Year of the Rat" adventure charity contest...now there's a compilation book I never got around to publishing (*sigh*). Why not? Because I drew my maps by hand and I can never get my damn scanner to work (frigging Paraguayan printer tech...). Ugh. This is a good one, but I'd need to FIND the maps for it (no idea where those are). Ooo...also The Tower of Ybarra Florin. That's an oldie but a goodie.  Okay, I have choices...I'll figure something out.

Then there's the Night Block.

I added an event here because A) sleep is for suckers, B) Prince ain't running, and C) I'm going to this thing to be active/contribute. I mean, Grutzi is running his Isle of the Dead, but I don't have a 9th level character to bring to the party (wish that I did), and pre-gens, IME, are always a bit of a crap-shoot. None of the other games in this block are particularly enticing: I'm already familiar with Black Crag and Black Mark (having reviewed them), the idea of playing a 4th level OD&D pre-gen is...nah. And there's just no way you'll find me sitting down to a game of "Ransack" (sorry, Parti...). No. Better to just run something of my own. I like to run games, after all. And running different games for different people keeps me sharp.

But what to run? Well, what I've got registered for the event is titled *something, something* Doom, but that's just a placeholder. My initial thought, actually, was to run one more session of the tournament adventure. We have eight different DMs runnng the thing (including me), but if I ran it twice, it would ensure that ALL the attendees who wanted to play would get the chance to do so.

[some quick math: there'll be about 80 attendees at Cauldron. The tournament adventure is designed for six to eight players so, with a Dungon Master, that's NINE people at a table. 9x9 = 81, right? But you subtract one ('cause I'd be running twice, and there's only one of me) giving a result that equals the con's headcount]

Plus, I'm kind of loving the adventure, and having already run it twice, I'm getting a good handle on it (there are some tricky bits). Yeah, more and more I'm considering one more session of Rivers...unless I get a message from someone else who wants to run it (which I might...there's still time). And if THAT happens, I'm thinking of running something high level. Maybe Hells Own Temple (which, re-reading it, could really stand some revisions) or Queen of the Demonweb Pits. I don't know. Something challenging. Something AD&D.

Okay, the sun's up and so are the kids...time to make breakfast. It is a perfectly beautiful Seattle morning: grey, misty, and drizzly (we desperately need rain). A little more coffee and I'll be able to tackle those maps...once everyone's out of the house.

Later gators!

: )

***EDIT: I found my maps. Oo-boy!***

Reading NAP

I should probably pen a Blood Bowl post discussing the Seahawks transition away from Weird Boy Pete Carroll and the cutting of the oft-maligned Jamal Adams, etc. But the NFL off-season is long...I'm sure there'll be time for that. Instead, allow me to wax on about adventures.

Specifically, the adventures found in No ArtPunk volumes I and II.

I've discussed Prince of Nothing's NAP contest before...both what it is and why I find it valuable, as well as my own participation in this (now annual) event. What I haven't done is played any of the entries/winners...well, except for play-testing of my own submissions. Heck, I haven't even given a deep read to the books; I've only skimmed them.

And that's a shame. I've said before and I'll say it again: you need to play an adventure to really understand how it works and whether or not it's any good. Adventure gaming, as entertainment, is an experiential medium. Adventure cobblers are not (or, rather, should not be) writing adventures just to provide lonely souls with fantasy reading material. I know that, within the hobby as a whole, there is a certain amount of joy in this practice (both the writing and the reading), but that's not what the D&D game was designed for; it was designed to be played...a fact that is too often forgotten, or lost.

SO, I've decided that, despite my limited "free" time (free what? are you kidding?), I am going to make an effort to read and examine these winning NAP entries, and attempt to play them in my own home campaign...assuming I can find a place for them in my home campaign. This is probably a stupid assumption and I should simply continue with my ongoing DESERT OF DESPAIR project (a rewriting of the old I3-I5, Desert of Desolation module series). But, well, someone's got to do it. And then blog about it. Since no one else is (or very few people), I might as well do something to "contribute" to the cause.

*sigh*

BUT...I won't be putting ALL of these adventures on the docket. Between both NAP volumes there were a total of 19 winners (with a super-secret-sexy 20th "honorably mention" by Yours Truly that continues being brought up on podcasts despite not making it into either book!). Of these 19, only NINE were written for AD&D with a 10th written for OSRIC (1st edition's original retroclone), and given my limited time, I'm not going to waste it doing conversions.

Well, maybe, but only in exactly TWO cases: Dashwood's City of Bats looks really delightful (I, of course, have a soft-spot for Mesoamerican themes) and is written for AEC (Advanced Edition Companion) Labyrinth Lord, and Chomy's Caught in the Web of Past and Present was recently converted (by him) to AD&D...I might just go purchase the updated version, but only because I've met Chomy and he's a swell guy who did not run over me with his motorcycle and leave me in a ditch.

First things first, though, and I am going to be reading the adventures that were ACTUALLY written for use with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Going in "level order" these are:

The Lair of the Brain Eaters (1st - 3rd) by D.M. Ritzlin

The Arcane Font of Hranadd-Zul (2nd - 4th) by Daedalus

Under Mt. Peikon (2nd - 8th) by anonymous

The Carcass of Hope (3rd - 4th) by Zherbus

Fraction Mayhem of Melonath Falls (3rd - 5th) by Trent Smith

No Art Punks (4th - 6th) by Peter Mullen

Alchymystyk Hoosegow (7th) by Alex Zisch

Tomb of the Twice Crowned King (8th - 10th) by Hawk

Dust and Stars (9th - 12th) by Settembrini

Ship of Fate (10th - 14th) by JB

[eh, you know what? I don't need to read that last one]

[Web of Past and Present is for levels 4th - 5th, while City of Bats is for levels 4th - 6th, just by the way]

So, semi-deep dives first. I know that some of these include the dreaded (*shudder*) Unearthed Arcana rules in their games, but so long as I'm not needing to delete major portions of the adventure (cavalier NPCs or whatnot), I don't anticipate there being much of a problem. But that's why I need to do the read-through. The main areas I'm concerned with are "theme" and "fit" (since I'm throwing these into my campaign world) as well as PRACTICALITY...which, generally, means treasure counts.  Here's the rule of thumb:

• 30(ish) encounters requires enough treasure to level up an ENTIRE PARTY of the average given level range.
• If the party size isn't listed, I default to SEVEN characters.

Anything less than that is probably not efficient enough for use (really), but I understand that lack of treasure is pretty endemic to adventure writing these days. I will still make an effort to run all of these, regardless (well, depending on how light the load actually is)...at least until my players get bored with a lack of loot. Again, hard to judge without actually RUNNING the things...

There it is: a new D&D project on the horizon. I might post (okay, I'll probably post) what I find in my readings before I run the adventures. But, yeah. Let's play some D&D. 

Slyth Hive

I’ve said before that it’s not really possible to review an adventure that you haven’t run or played. An adventure module is not a book; D&D is not a film to be viewed or acted. Dungeons & Dragons is a game that needs to be played to be experienced. Without that experience of play, the best one can do is offer thoughts and opinions, critiques and praise over how one BELIEVES the thing will play. And while…sometimes…those opinions will be informed by the experience of the “reviewer” with regard to game play and design, it’s still all just “theory” until the adventure is actually run as a game.

Call all that “The Standard Caveat.”

Slyth Hive is the latest adventure penned by the erudite rapscallion known as Prince of Nothing. You may recall his earlier adventure modules: Red Prophet Rises and The Palace of Unquiet Repose. I own both of those modules; I have not played them (nor reviewed them), though I have offered opinions on them (here and elsewhere): generally, I find them “okay.” In relation to other adventures published these days they are far better than the standard fare, but this is an extremely low bar and, despite nice writing and good-to-interesting atmospherics/aesthetics, I have my issues with them...it is doubtful they will ever see my gaming table.

Slyth Hive, on the other hand, is a different matter.

This is no sophomoric work or retread of earlier work. Rather, it is tour de force, far surpassing (in my estimation) the quality of Prince's early work, while still displaying his trademark flair for evocative writing and his penchant for sword & sorcery tropes. Yet Slyth Hive is elevated, and...for the most part...it is well designed.

True, it needs polish and definitely a good pass with the editor's pen. Several minor flaws related to the map and keying are present (I intend to send him a list of fixes...for when he has the time) and there are numerous 'slip ups' with regard to the system. But the bulk of what's here is "good stuff," and a cut above his earlier work in a way his earlier work is a cut above the usual business produced for publication. 

Let's begin with the basics: the adventure is written for high level (14th+) AD&D play; fully outfitted pre-gens are included. The adventure itself in its current form is some 50ish pages in length PLUS twenty-one pages of appendices (pregens, new monsters, magic items, notes, etc.), ten more pages of maps, and roughly half a dozen pages of (AI generated?) art. Characters seek to penetrate and conquer an enormous, multi-level hive of insect-like super predators (and their minions) obtaining great fortune and glory and (presumably) putting a civilization-razing threat to the sword. The adventure has been play-tested more than once...I observed Prince running it at the Cauldron convention, and I have heard nothing but glowing reports from those who've played the thing.

Something like this, but far nastier...and bigger.

It has been fascinating to watch Prince's gaming evolution over the last 6-7 years (well chronicled on his blog)...from Basic play (generally of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess and Labyrinth Lord variety), back to 2E (from his own primordial origins), to 1st Edition AD&D, aka The King of Games. It seems to have been quite a journey of discovery, aided both by discussion on various forum sites and his own delves into the numerous publications ('zine, mag, and module) of the game's early days.

Writing this post, I find myself wanting to write more about our Brave Sir Prince himself, rather than the module proper. You see, I've met the Prince...I have broken bread with him, have talked with him, have gamed with him. I have had the chance to take something of his measure. He is very intelligent and creative and cursed with the nagging self-doubt that ALL intelligent, creative, self-aware people seem cursed with. He is a young man...but he's no kid. As a creator, he is still maturing, and you can see the growing pains...even as you can also marvel at the brilliance of the work.

Okay, down to it: the scope of the thing is massive, though the premise is simple, drawing amply from a rather obvious list of horror and sci-fi media of the "bug hunt" variety. The tyranid species of Warhammer 40,000 figures hugely in the titular antagonist's mutating/adaptation abilities, creating the main operative pressure on the player characters: the more they fight the slyth, the more the buggers change and adjust (via manifest organic weapons and defenses) to come back harder against their persecutors. This is a wonderful and original concept and...while I might have some quibbles about its implementation...it is a fantastic way to challenge and punish players who take a passive and/or tentative approach to engagement.

The environments here are excellent: a level of prehistoric simulacrum, a level of fungal forests and killer slimes, a more-or-less submerged (underwater) level, a level featuring nothing but a gigantic cavern with a waiting army of killer bugs, etc. Good stuff. Non-bug creatures abound as well, including both minions and subterranean denizens willing to become allies of the player characters. This adventure offers many, many interesting challenges for experienced players, in a horrific, terrifying environment, with (what appears to be) plenty of reward. I'm fairly satisfied that this will provide many hours of glorious bloodshed and adventure gaming, and probably not a few "oh, shit!" moments...exactly what jaded, er, "high level" players are hoping for.

I will move to the criticism: aside from needing an editor to catch some of the errors, the thing could use an editor to tighten things. I hate to say it (because I can already guess the reaction) but, in my opinion, the thing is too big. There are a few many encounters that are too much the same despite the transformative ability of the slyth. There are things added that have the marks of "this would be great!" but really add little to the adventure as a whole. There are two or three too many Giant Impossible Utterly Devastating New Monstrous Threats sprinkled throughout...like endless video game boss battles. There are one or two too many homages present (sorry, not a fan of the Dune reference) that for me would indicate a little too much exuberance with the source material.

And I don't just mean the fiction from which the author draws...I'm talking about the source material of OTHER "high level adventures" that Prince has digested and is now re-synthesizing. He may have looked at TOO MANY examples from days of TSR past, adding things that are unnecessary in terms of theming or even gameplay. By the time an adventuring party has braved a gauntlet of six or seven levels they should be in their last legs...resources depleted, men lost, bleeding from scores of wounds. You don't then hammer them...and then hammer them...and then hammer them again with Ever Bigger Hammers. There is a rhythm to game play...ebbs and flows...even in an adventure like this. 

Back to the good stuff for a moment: Slyth Hive actually includes TWO sets of pregens. A group of mid-level miscreants than get sent in to investigate, followed by the immense high level heroes.  This is a great gimmick: it gives the players a chance to scout a bit and get some idea of what they'll encounter before taking the REAL troops into the jaws of death. Unfortunately, the mid-level guys aren't likely to get too far (unless played extremely well), and the Hive's defenses against gathering intelligence means the party is going to be operating in a blind, reactive state from at least the mid-point of the adventure. Perhaps that won't be an issue for experienced, resourceful players...but it could be a rough go for players of middling proficiency using the pregens.

Eh. That's just critique. As noted, the adventure has been run...multiple times for multiple players...and I am unaware of any complaints. "Stylistic nitpicks," I suppose...but I know what I like. And this feels...mm...'over-exuberant.'

Even so, there IS room to breathe, in the adventure...there are 'beats' that don't feel rushed. The adventure is BIG, but (for the most part) it is has the appropriate DENSITY of information. I didn't feel that in Prince's early adventures, even though they were written for a "basic" edition of D&D.

NOW...one last negative, and then I'll stop. Going hand-in-hand with the "learning too much of the (maybe wrong) thing" category, let's talk treasure. There's a LOT of treasure, and its not just the hand-waved 'millions and millions' found in TPoUR; but a many of the treasure piles are incredibly obscure...they take the whole 'treasure should be hard to come by and/or hidden' thing a little too far; some examples:

• a monster whose "carapace, treated with acids and worked by a supremely capable dwarven blacksmith, yields 3d10 gemstones of 1,000 g.p. value..."
• 125,000 in coins buried under a diamond-hard stone slab that weighs 50,000 pounds and is immune to stone to mud and passwall spells (but not disintegrate).
• a 50,000 g.p. sapphire hidden in the heart of a giant mushroom (requires 120 h.p. of damage by edged weapons to cut through; every round of attack requires a save vs. poison at -4 to avoid effect of hallucinogenic spores; fireballs and the like have a chance of destroying the gem).
• an immense pile of treasure covered in a colorless, odorless contact poison (lethal, -2 save, seeps through fabric and even metal gauntlets). The poison is slow acting (only takes effect after 1 turn) so everyone handling treasure has the potential to be wiped out without warning.
• a purple worm nest with nearly 200,000 in detailed treasure that is not on any map and no indication is given of how one might discover it

A brief accounting of monetary treasure indicates something less 1,400,000 g.p. worth, which is surprisingly small given A) the size of the adventure proper, and B) the number and level of pre-gens on hand. However, magic items are plentiful (though many...specifically Eyes taken from, I assume EoPT sources, have no value listed), and I suspect that this, accompanied by valuable "cores" dug from specific corpses could get that treasure total up to 2.5 or 3 million. But that's still...not much? I'm probably looking for something on the order of 8M or more for something this size, and I can't believe I'm saying this (there are ENORMOUS sections of detailed treasure!) but this might be...stingy? Not on purpose, mind you...it's just tough when you're dealing with things of this size and scope. By the book, 92,000 silver pieces weighs 4.6 tons...and is worth only 4,600 g.p. That's not much bang for the buck when your 16th level mage needs 350,000 x.p. to level up.

Still. There's a lot of combat x.p. on the docket in Slyth Hive.

This "review"...this list of critiques...is going to sound overly negative, I know. Please allow me to reiterate that the adventure is an immense, fantastic tour de force. I have issues with it, but this is a case where my feelings are 90% positive and 10% negative, and I am only harping on the negative because...well, because that's what I do. I am impressed...very impressed with Slyth Hive. I paid $15 on DriveThruRPG for a PDF so that I could read the thing, and I'm not disappointed. It's an ass-kicker of an adventure, with some fiendish design, clever ideas, and evocative writing. It is solid enough to run. With a bit of polish and editing, some slight mechanical fixes (if you're going to include UA rules, you need to get them right), and...perhaps...a slightly streamlined system to the slyth adaptations, this thing would rate in among the best high level adventures of all time.

And I say that as someone who's not really into 80+ page modules.

; )

EDIT: For a more detailed review/advertisement for what's in the adventure (including designer notes and substantial SPOILERS), please check out Prince's own article on Slyth Hive.

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.

Monday Morning

Mmm.

Lot of distractions lately, and I'm not just talking about the putrid football coming out of the local team.

[make no mistake: the Seahawks are not good. And I was at that Monday Night Football game where they beat Denver. That victory was 85% crowd...I haven't heard the stadium that loud since the NFC championship game against Green Bay. Hell, I'll even give myself credit for starting the chants of "Geno! Geno!" but, at least in our section, we meant it in a sarcastic, raucous way in order to poke the eye of...and stick it to...Russell Wilson. If you rewatch the broadcast, you'll see that the chants started in the second half (when the offense was stinking up the joint and the ONLY thing Smith was  doing was running the ball like a poor man's RW). We weren't actually backing the QB; we were yelling nah-nah-nah at the Broncos and their $250M man. Longtime fans who remember the AFC West will remember how much we hate Denver]

No, the majority of distraction is all family-related. Good things to be sure...not financial issues or health issues or marital issues or anything like that. School, church, and a TON of sports activity. Yes, sports participation for the most part (two kids on four teams, one of which I'm coaching), but also 2-3 fantasy leagues (that I'm running, or helping to run, for extended family), a Blood Bowl season of 16 teams, and then the ongoing, must-follow fun of the NFL, Sounders team (struggling), Mariners team (ascending), and local college programs.

[let's not forget the Seattle Storm's playoff run...yeah, it ended a few weeks ago, but I didn't post much even in August, and the Storm was part of that. Much love and respect to Sue Bird] 

Fact is, Dungeons & Dragons has, in general, taken a backseat. Oh, I did get something written up for the second installment of Prince of Nothing's "No ArtPunk Contest"...a little high level one-off for AD&D that came out to some 17ish pages. This one actually got some play-testing from the kids (Diego, Sofia, Maceo, and Winston), and much fun was had.

[a couple quick notes about that (for interested parties): none of the players have "high level" characters, so they used pre-gens made specifically for the adventure (these were included with my submission adding another six pages for a total of 23). Second, on average a party of 10th to 14th level are looking for the same x.p. as a party of 16th, 18th, or 20th level so treasure scale for high level adventures aren't all that tough to write...the main thing is to create scenarios that take into account the higher level of resource attrition. I might talk about this in a future blog post]

But other than that, I haven't been doing anything as far as running/designing for D&D. I was playing in my son's AD&D campaign...absolutely destroying the Keep on the Borderlands (that's a future post, too), but even that's been put on (hopefully brief) hiatus as our focus and priorities have shifted.

And so we come to the "Blues" part of my Monday Morning: I know I've been lax in blogging, but there's two things that have delayed/prevented me from posting. I've kind of decided that I really, really want this blog to be about gaming, specifically D&D, AND I want it to be as positive and constructive as possible...which I've probably said a dozen times in the past but this time (yeah, sure) I really mean it.

I've got multiple posts sitting in draft form on Ye Old Blog because they just tend to go off into fairly negative rants (also, they're not all that good...you folks aren't missing much). And while it's easy to denigrate someone's play style or design work or gaming ignorance...or even The Company's failings...that's all a waste of my time. I mean, it's not like I haven't vented that a gazillion times already, right?

I want to be helpful. It IS useful to tear things down to build them back better and stronger, but I have to make sure that that's what I'm doing. Doing that takes focus...and the distractions get in the way of focus. Right now the majority of my focus has been on my family and (probably not surprisingly) the kids I'm coaching. I could certainly blog about the latter...but, then, that's not D&D, right?

[by the way, ripping on the Seahawks isn't exactly positive, but players and coaches in pro-sports are paid millions of dollars to entertain fans. I don't feel zero remorse about expressing negativity and disapproval to guys making that kind of money: that's the job, dudes]

So, a bit of a quandary. But I'll give it a shot, in the next few days, to get things going. I should have a little more time coming up (especially after next weekend). I'll try to put together a list of topics and see if I can't bang out a couple per week in the next few weeks.

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.

Hey...Another Review!

I sent Prince of Nothing a copy of Comes Chaos, and he has deigned to grant me the boon of a review. Quite a comprehensive one, in fact.

The fact that Prince knows (and is a longtime fan) of Warhammer and a longtime DM of the Basic D&D game (I believe he uses the Allston Rules Cyclopedia, though I may be mistaken) gives him a solid handle for analyzing the work, and...well, he's been writing pretty good reviews for a while now. For those still wondering about whether or not this is a purchase they want to make, I'd suggest taking a look; you should know...one way or the other...after reading his post:

Prince's Review of Comes Chaos

Later, Gators. Have some (A)D&D to play this morning.

; )

Killing Gods, Final Thoughts

There's a lot to write about deities and their place in D&D...so much so that it would be the epitome of easy to allow this series to spiral endlessly down endless digressions. As such, I think it's time to bring it to a close; I'm sure I'll have the chance to revisit the topic in the future.

For ease of reference:

Part 1

Part 1 Addendum

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

The initial impetus for this series was Prince of Nothing's (probably facetious) comment on an earlier post:

I think if you could manage to distill the right approach to portraying S&S style deities in DnD, complete with a few examples, you'd be doing the OSR a huge favor.

Never one to pass up doing a "favor" for the OSR (!!) I set out in my normal meandering fashion, throwing out the odd barb and jab as is my wont. While I despair of having distilled "the right approach" to the subject of S&S style deities, the series has at least helped me to distill my own thoughts. Here then is what I believe:

While D&D draws inspiration from the Sword & Sorcery genre, for long-term play it is probably best to draw parallels to long form fiction...which S&S ain't. S&S generally applies to short stories, dealing with a particular situation that a protagonist must face. Many of D&D's major influences (Leiber, Howard, Moorcock) wrote in this form...the books of Conan or Elric or Mouser are compilations of short stories rather than actual novels. A distinguishing characteristic of the novel is that a protagonist changes over the course of the book; such is not the case with the short story. Elric is much the same asshole at the end of the series as he is in the beginning; Bilbo or Frodo, on the other hand, are changed drastically by the course of events in their respective novels. D&D can be played like short fiction (i.e. in episodic fashion) but PCs that survive are forced to change by the very rule system by which we play (a 12th level wizard or fighter or thief bears no resemblance to a 1st level character with regard to capability or responsibility). 

S&S deities are reflective of the genre, i.e. they serve the needs of the situation at hand whether you're talking the mysterious entity encountered by Jirel in Black God's Kiss, Arioch's whimsical cruelty in Elric of Melnibone, or the soon-to-be-beheaded naga in God in a Bowl. Attention to continuity and coherence are of secondary importance to telling the story of the protagonist's particular adventure of the moment. For the same reason, there's no single particular way gods are portrayed in the S&S genre: Crom may be a mythical non-entity for all his appearances in Howard's work, while Death is an incarnate being in Leiber's Nehwon setting.

D&D, however, is meant to be played as a campaign over a lengthy (perhaps endless!) period of time, and thus a coherent cosmology is imperative to the setting, in order to facilitate the players' engagement with the game. If the rules for the cosmology shift constantly, depending on the needs of the DM's "story," it works to break the players' immersion and undermine their faith in the DM as a fair and impartial arbiter of the rules. 

And D&D has rules for deities baked into the game. Every edition I've played or read, with the exception of un-supplemented OD&D, has some version of "gods" inherent in the system, followed and worshipped by clerics (Mentzer's BECMI tries to take them out, but then adds the Immortal rules, many of which are named/modeled after the same gods found in historic religions of the world). Finding the "proper way" to portray gods in the game is a non-issue when the rules for modeling divinities are already hard-coded into the system.

Essential Reading

SO...if there is no specific S&S way to portray gods, and D&D already has rules for modeling gods in the game, and if (as I propose) the best way to play D&D is long-term with consistent attention to  setting cosmology (to allow maximum familiarity and, thus, immersion of the players), what then do I postulate is the best way to write gods into adventures?

And, for this, I look to the early (pre-1982ish shift) adventure modules as my examples. Here are the conclusions I draw:

• Gods exist, they are immensely powerful (by PC standards) yet still fallible; there is no "eternal Supreme Being" in D&D, that role being taken by the Dungeon Master, who creates the entirety of the campaign setting, including the gods worshipped by the player characters.
• There are creatures that attempt to imitate and/or are worshipped as gods but who are not; likewise, there are priests that promote false practices and/or worship false deities. Such deceptions can be sniffed out by the simple fact that no spell powers are granted to these would-be clerics.
• Being that the gods exist, they may be encountered by the player characters. Being that the gods' power is an order of magnitude far greater than that of the PCs, the way and manner of such encounters should be commensurate with the capability of the characters, as defined by the game rules. Having the gods (mainly) inhabit the outer planes is an altogether practical approach, as planar travel is generally limited to high level characters.
• Divinities may still be encountered indirectly...through agents, avatars, and relics...even by low- to mid-level characters, and such encounters with divine forces often break standard rules (helping imply the immensity of the divinity's power). Examples include the chaotic chapel in The Keep on the Borderlands, the temples to the Elder Elemental in the Giant modules, the Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, and (of course) Lolth in Vault of the Drow. Being that D&D is a magical world and the PCs are bold adventurers, such indirect encounters may be more common than one might suppose...unlike actual encounters with divine entities.
• Given the rules as written, PCs can kill gods. Doing so should be damn near impossible, which is not the same thing as "impossible." The consequences of such a deicide would be profound: the permanent death of Lolth would eliminate the Drow as a meaningful threat both above and below ground (and would probably lead to their genocide at the hands of the other Underdark species). Such scenarios should never be taken lightly, and are probably best suited as a capstone adventure to a campaign that is coming to a close. Definitely nothing I'd want to see for PCs below name level.

And there it is: the end of this series. Probably NOT as specific as Prince wanted, but still some guidelines to follow. And I honestly feel I've said about all I have to say on the subject...for now. Though, as always, I am happy to field questions, comments, and discussion.

Pax.

: )

Killing Gods, Part 1

The other day, in the comments on my Whimsy Addendum, I decried a trend I've seen in a lot of adventure material recently, which is: players encountering (and fighting with) "gods." Part of my annoyance has been with regard to overuse of the scenario (welp, here's another adventure where the main antagonist is a fallen deity...) and part of it has stemmed from the execution: how such encounters are portrayed and used in these adventures. 

And the good Prince of Nothing took umbrage and issued me a challenge, writing:

I think if you could manage to distill the right approach to portraying S&S style deities in DnD, complete with a few examples, you'd be doing the OSR a huge favor.

Wait...what? This is on me?

Set aside from the moment any notion of me doing the OSR "favors" (ridiculous to think they'd take any advice from me, even if I wanted to give it!)...what the hell qualifies me as the authority and resource for this particular subject? I'm just a blogger that runs his mouth...er, keypad...a bit too much with long-winded meanderings. 

On the other hand, I have fought a god or two.

*sigh* Challenge accepted. 

I'd like to first start out with a discussion of the inspiration behind this particular idea, this claim that it is O So Very Sword & Sorcery for grungy, pulp heroes to be going toe-to-toe with gods and godlings. So let's crack out our fantasy literature and take a look. Never mind that these are stories, not games...we understand that these stories are the impetus and foundational pieces for Dungeons & Dragons play. And it's always useful to have a firm handle on one's source material.

First up, everyone's favorite barbarian: Conan. One gets the impression that the gods of Howard's Hyborian age are fairly mortal (much like the Norse gods)...if Conan stuck Crom with 3' of  good, Hyrkanian steel, he'd probably die. However, we never encounter Crom in Howard's stories, perhaps because Crom is an actual deity. Conan kills some godlike frost giants, an ancient "god in a bowl" (appears to be a naga, much like the one in module N1), and an alien time-traveller that resembles a small elephant. These aren't gods: they're monsters. In the bluntest of D&D terms, they are meant to be slain and looted. 

Elric gets prepared to
throw down with the
god of lizards.

Next up, we'll look at Moorcock's albino sorcerer, Elric. He fights all sorts of gods. The "Burning God." Balo the Jester of Chaos. In the end, he is responsible for the death of ALL the chaos lords (gods) including his own patron, Arioch. Except that, actually, he's not doing the killing. It's his Most-Powerful-Artifact-Weapon-In-The-Multiverse (Stormbringer) that is doing the actual soul-sucking, not Elric. In the final battle he does a one-shot spell that summons a multitude of Stormbringers (Stormbringer has siblings), and they fly around killing all the gods. Stormbringer, as an artifact, was forged to slay gods (and to "keep in check" higher powers). It's a plot point of the books. Do your D&D characters carry such an artifact weapon? 

Okay, Fafhrd and Gray Mouser. Haven't read as much of them as I'd have liked, but I can't remember them KILLING any gods. Running afoul of them, getting mixed up with them, fleeing their wrath or being cursed by them...sure, all that. But mortal combat (i.e. the hit point draining kind)? No, I don't think so.

Karl Wagner's Kane...well, I've only had the chance to read Bloodstone, and it's been a while. If memory serves, Kane "kills" a super computer masquerading as a deity. Machines break...they are mundane/mortal, not supernatural. Maybe. I get a little depressed thinking about Wagner; he died so young (age 48, alcoholism). 

I don't remember any hero versus god action in Clark Ashton Smith, but I probably haven't read enough of him. I have C.L. Moore's Jirel of Joiry ordered from Amazon, so apologies if she kills a bunch of godlings and I failed to mention it...haven't yet had the chance to read her stories.

H.P. Lovecraft isn't really an S&S writer, but there's no denying his writing's had an impact on D&D and many OSR offerings. Lots of extreme, alien gods walking amongst men in HPL's stuff. But people don't fight them. They get killed and eaten by them, or possessed, or driven insane. It's not really mano-a-mano. Well, except for a certain Norwegian sailor, who's ship-to-kaiju combat was absolutely NOT stolen by Disney for the climactic battle in The Little Mermaid against the giant octopoid entity. Nope, no way...that scene is straight out of Hans Christian Andersen. Regardless, it's one exception to a multitude of non-combats.

How about non-S&S literature...say, Tolkien's Sauron and all his knockoffs (Donaldson's "Lord Foul," whatever the hell Terry Brooks and Robert Jordan use, etc.). They're "gods" right? And the good guys fight and defeat them?

Well, no. At least in Lord of the Rings, Sauron is never confronted directly, and he's not killed so much as "dispersed" by the Ring's destruction. But perhaps he could have been, when he was mortal. Morgoth was wounded by Feanor with a mortal weapon, after all (elf weapons in Tolkien aren't, strictly speaking, "magical" but, rather, gear of exceptional craft). If he could wound Satan with nothing more than courage and a well-made blade what could the elf lord have done with a typical D&D magic weapon...something invested with supernatural power by a wizard?

Pullman's His Dark Materials (in which a couple kids kill old man God) hardly bears mentioning; not really the same genre. Neither is Piers Anthony's "Immortal Incarnate" series. Dragonlance I'll discuss when I talk about god-fighting in gaming proper. Probably I'm leaving out some (or a lot) of stuff, but I just don't read much fantasy anymore. And, anyway, one would think that "Awesome Confrontations Between Man and Godlike Being" would kind of stand out in Ye Old Memory. I used to read a lot of fantasy, and there ain't much popping up there.

SO...from whence this desire (in D&D) to fight/kill gods?

Just what are these "gods" in fantasy literature? I mean there's GOD, of course (omnipotent, omniscient, unknowable, and unavailable...more a force/influence than a being). Then there are 'the gods,' like the Greek/Norse pantheons (or Babylonian...currently reading Ship of Ishtar)...entities that are uber-powerful, live in a different realm, but have feelings/needs/thoughts that are recognizable by humans. There are supernatural entities from other dimensions/planets (Cthulhu, strange "intelligences," etc.). And then there are mortal beings of immense power that are worshipped as gods, but don't necessarily grant any special favors or divine influence...they simply inspire awe/reverence in lesser mortals (though the same could be said...on a grander scale...of ALL the various "god types" listed).

Different fantasy writers have tackled divinities in different ways (duh, JB) but, perhaps surprisingly, I feel a lot of authors take the approach of their being but one GOD (in the monotheist sense), perhaps with various demons and pretenders, but those certainly aren't necessary (Poul Anderson's Three Hearts, Three Lions is S&S and doesn't require any such entities). Certainly Tolkien is all Christian analogue with fallen angels and whatnot, but Howard's, too, stuff has a mostly Christian (i.e. monotheistic) vibe to it. Even his Conan stuff...while I joked before that Crom was probably mortal enough for Conan to slay, the fact is Crom never actually appears (and neither does Set or Mitra, etc.), nor do those gods grant any sort of "divine powers" to their devotees. Either they are false gods (as would be the typical monotheistic point of view) and their priests simply sorcerers, magicians, and charlatans OR they are just names/aspects of the One True God who (generally) stays out of mortal affairs, allowing folks to exercise free will.

And it makes sense that these writers would take this tack: American pulp writers of the early 20th century were, of course, individuals steeped in Western (generally monotheistic) cultures. They're just writing a fantastical version of the world they grew up in, some with reverence though plenty without.

[writers that leave out questions of divinity from their fantasy work at all...like Vance and Zelazny...I chalk up in the same monotheistic category...the lack of a demiurge points to/emphasizes its existence. Regardless, no one is fighting gods in those books]

There ARE outliers, however, and three of them have had an immense impact on the Dungeons & Dragons game: Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, and Howard P. Lovecraft. Leiber's world of Nehwon is filled with gods of the "pantheon" variety; so is Moorcock's Young Kingdoms (although antihero Elric is always searching for a Grand Designer behind it all). HPL, of course, gives us all his crazy-ass Star Children from the far reaches of space. Of these three authors, I'd judge Leiber and Moorcock to have had the greatest impact on the game as far as "cosmology" is concerned. That being said, I think in all three authors' cases a major takeaway from their stories is: the gods are NOT to be futzed around with.

You don't fight them. You're not going to kill them. You certainly don't loot their bodies.

All of which runs quite counter to D&D's credo.

But I'll be talking about that in my follow-up post, which will be specifically focused on god-fighting in D&D.

: )

Non-RPG Post

Congrats to the Vikes and Jets. I'd just like to say "called it" on both.

: )

[down the line: Colts versus Vikes in Superbowl in what could be the most legendary quarterback meeting of all time...no idea how it will end up, but I've already got bets set on Favre. Minnesota is simply more complete on offense...plus when PRINCE shows up to your game? You're kidding me! You gotta' love the Vikings]

Plus...I've already blogged extensively of my Norseman fetish, all apologies to the Black & Gold Who Dat nation...

Best of the Bunch (P. 1)

So I made a list of all the true RPGs (no Mordheim or Blood Bowl, for example) with which I have experience. Direct experience from playing or knowledge of from owning, reading, and prep. The number came to 88…and I’m sure I’ve left some off the list!

Putting together a Top Ten list requires the question: top ten what? Games with coherent design? Games played that were the most fun? Games that I most want to play, but never have?

One problem is, different games work better or worse for different game groups. Prince (the musician) was once asked why he would break up a band when its popularity and cohesion seemed sound, simply to put together a new band. The maestro explained that different bands played music different ways…each had a different style, some with more rock, some with more soul, some with more funk. He loved all of ‘em: the Revolution, the Times, the NPG…but Prince is a great lover (and creator) of different types of music.

I’ve played with groups that were incredibly proficient with Palladium games and AD&D2E. I’ve played games with groups that loved-loved-loved White Wolf’s World of Darkness and could play it to death. I’ve been in groups that played nothing but AD&D and Marvel that should have been playing something like Sorcerer or The Riddle of Steel, but those games had yet to be created. And I’ve certainly “crossed wires” with folks in the past, trying to get Toon players into Vampire the Masquerade for example.

Me…I’m a bit like Prince. I enjoy a wide variety of games, depending on my mood or a particular week’s inspiration. My eclectic tastes as much as anything else has led to estrangement from past gaming groups in the past. So to consider which games I’d want to play or games I’ve enjoyed, I have to imagine an ideal gaming group first: people that are adventurous, people that are open-minded, people that are serious, and people who have a diversity of life experience outside of the RPG hobby. It’s a tough combo to find…someone with an intensity for gaming, who can still “let go,” realizing it’s just a game?

I suppose I’m looking for a group of middle-school kids. Hmm…

Anyway, after much debate with myself and careful consideration, I offer my TOP TEN RPGs I WANT TO PLAY. If someone offered me the chance to play (or run as GM) any RPG I wanted, these would be the top 10 up for consideration in my mind:

(of you care to see the reason behind my choices, that's the follow-up to this post...I decided to break it up because it was too long)


#10 Vampire the Masquerade (1st edition)
#9 Mutant City Blues
#8 Maelstrom
#7 Gamma World (2nd edition)
#6 Traveller (Mongoose edition)
#5 Top Secret (1st edition)
#4 Hollow Earth Expedition
#3 Ars Magica (4th edition)
#2 Dungeons and Dragons (B/X edition)
#1 Boot Hill (2nd edition)


Might be some surprises on the list, might be some games ya' haven't heard of. If you want more info, check out Part 2.

Cheers!