A to Z Challenge "Reflection Post"

Just a bit of palette cleanser, folks. We'll get back to the usual stuff shortly.

Here are my answers to the 10 reflection questions on this year's 10th anniversary A-to-Z Blog Challenge:

1. What did you love about the challenge this year?

I liked my theme a lot. The Grand Duchy of Karameikos has had a lot of material published for it over the years, and using it as the subject of my month-long blog challenge had me deep-diving into a lot of old adventures and books in order to research it. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself an "expert" on the subject of Karameikos, but I sure know a lot more about the material than when I started.

2. What would you change about it?

Maybe move it to a different month? April was pretty tough for me, what with Easter, Spring Break, a kid's birthday, another kid's soccer try-outs, Little League baseball practices, plus spring cleaning and spring colds (hay fever). I suppose every month has its challenges, though...but this year the logistics of finding time to blog were rough.

3. What was the best moment for you during this year's challenge?

Probably finishing and posting the last entry before midnight on the 30th. I really wanted to get through the challenge, and I think I managed to put out some good stuff even though I was (at times) a bit rushed for time.

4. What is the best comment your blog got during the challenge, and who left the comment?

Hmm...I wouldn't say there was any single "best" comment: nearly all of the comments I received were positive and helped spur me on. It was nice to see a comment from DMWieg, and I was really happy I "awakened" some ideas in Janich, and was pretty glad to see my thoughts on certain modules bubbling over to other folks' blogs and podcasts (like Lance, whose "Ducanites" series I dig). Probably my favorite comment was from A Tarkabarka Holgy (aka Zalka Csenge Virág), who simply wrote:

I kinda like the idea of a thief duchess, and I like your update on it. But even better, the polymorphed dragon, omg :D 
Love your theme! :)

I take any double smiley-face comment as a good sign.

5. Will you do the challenge again?

Maybe.

6. Was it well organized? Were the hosts helpful?

Um...yeah? I don't know. I just blog, man...I don't follow the A-to-Z stuff, and I didn't ask for any help. They were quick to update my typos on their "master list," so there is that.

Yes, I filled out their survey.

7.  How did you and your blog grow, change, or improve as a result of this challenge? Did you find new blogs out there to enjoy?

I found a couple new blogs just backtracking comments, but unfortunately most of the A-to-Z participants aren't doing anything I'm interested in. Did my blog grow or change? No, not really...but I felt a certain boost of confidence from being able to complete the challenge. And more B/X content is always good to have in Ye Old Archives so, sure, there was some improvement in these here parts.

8. Were you on the Master List?

Yes. Three times, originally (because I am technically challenged). This was corrected by the list moderators, thankfully.

9. Any suggestions for our future?

Isn't this kind of the same question as #2?  I don't know...I would have liked to see more variety in the types of blogs that participated, but I'm not sure how you folks could change that. Maybe offer some sort of prizes based on category in order to encourage other types of blog to join in? I understand it takes a certain type of masochist to want to do this type of activity but...well, I've said my piece.

10. Any notes to the co-host team?

Just would say congrats on doing this for a decade. Doing ANYthing with consistency on the internet for ten years should be a mark of pride. Good work!

Madhouse

This place...Paraguay...is a madhouse. In so many ways, but today especially, what with everyone in the city preparing for yet another four day weekend. It's like the locusts have descended and are devouring everything...except we're talking the supermarkets and marketplaces, rather than the fields. All I wanted was some yogurt for the kids. And some fruit. Oh...and beer. But...just madness. These folks are preparing for siege or something.

Anyway, Tuesday is "chore day" around this neck o the woods, and the traffic and general chaos rendered it an all too "get nothing done all day" day. Which sucks but whatever. I'm in the middle of writing a waaaaay too long post on The Land of the Lost (among other things) that I started yesterday, but I don't know if/when it will get finished/posted. It may need to be serialized...but, then again, it may not be interesting enough to be worth the bother.

[ooo...which reminds me that I need to do a post about "self-doubt" one of these days]

So rather than give folks nothing, here's a fun little survey that will answer that oft-posed question to yourself, "What D&D Character Am I?" Go check it out; it's a fun little java that will spit out your class-race-alignment combo, complete with ability scores. For those who care, here's mine:

I Am A: Lawful Good Human Fighter (6th Level)

Ability Scores:
Strength-13
Dexterity-15
Constitution-13
Intelligence-14
Wisdom-15
Charisma-14

Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment when it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Fighters can be many things, from soldiers to criminal enforcers. Some see adventure as a way to get rich, while others use their skills to protect the innocent. Fighters have the best all-around fighting capabilities of the PC classes, and they are trained to use all standard weapons and armor. A fighter's rigorous martial training grants him many bonus feats as he progresses, and high-level fighters have access to special melee maneuvers and exotic weapons not available to any other character.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

The survey/game stats are D20-based and, yes, it's possible to return a multi-classed character or non-human. I should note that, according to the survey FAQ:

Adventurers tend to have higher [ability] scores than the rest of the population. This test takes that into account. The test doesn't give you your 3d6 self, but your 4d6 self. So most scores would be one or two points lower in "real" life.

Which suddenly means my ability scores make a lot more sense. I was wondering how I ended up with a 13 (above average) Strength score, for instance. Sure, I've done some yoga, but 11 seems a lot more accurate. Especially considering I was answering questions with "I'm sick most of the time," and "I have a hard time running" (in hindsight, neither of these are incredibly accurate, but they seemed better answers than my other choices. Per the FAQ, however, I was supposed to err "up" rather than down).

"Here I come to save the day..."

I was not terribly surprised by the results, however. Lawful Good is pretty close to my real life perspective (though I don't think I've ever played a D&D character that was LG), and human fighter, well...yeah. I'm kind of a neanderthal.

[I actually thought I might end up a druid with answers like "I hate the city" and "Nature is greater than Technology" and stuff. Nope. Per the detailed notes, my next highest class was a tie between Bard, Cleric, and Paladin. Yeah, I'm not really into camping]

The survey stats show that most people taking the quiz fall into the Wizard class, with the second highest being Sorcerer and Ranger. Almost no one shows up as a Barbarian (I'd think you'd have to really make a point of answering the quiz with an eye towards brutality and iconoclasm). I guess you'd expect that from an internet quiz.

All in all, it's not a terrible character...certainly playable. It's too bad it didn't pick my feats and skills for me (I guess it'd need a pretty sophisticated program to do that), but for a 6th level fighter, I suppose I could do the little work required to round it out (oh, wait...I'm human and have a +2 modifier for INT, so I've got to 5 skill points per level to figure? *sigh* maybe not). As B/X character, it would be quite good (and would work since the only fighters ARE humans). Do I really speak more than one language, though? My spanish is pretty terrible...

Like I said, I don't have much time today, so I leave you this to play with. Knock yourselves out!

[and please: if you're a regular reader here, I'd love you to post your results in the Comments section so I can better judge/pigeon-hole you in my mind's eye]
; )

Interlude: Squire Roll?!

So...someone familiar with 3rd Edition Pendragon, please tell me where I will find the section on "how to make a Squire Roll."

The index has two entries for squires: page 25 (what a squire is), and page 45 (adding the squire to your character sheet). On page 45 it states:

Usually a squire's success at performing his duty is determined by attempting a Squire Roll (see the Game Mechanics" chapter).

In the Game Mechanics chapter, we find the following under the section Actions Permitted in Melee:

• Make a squire roll to get help or a new weapon. If more than one squire is available, multiple rolls may be made as one action. See below for the Squire Roll definition.

Um...okay. Where? There is no further information on "squire rolls" in the Game Mechanics chapter (at least, none that I found).

The next reference to "Squire Rolls" (other than one or two examples that seem to presume one already knows what a Squire Roll is and how to make one) is in The Battle System section in Chivalric Duties (page 163). Here we find:

Squires perform a wide variety of duties in battle, all for the simple trouble of a Squire Roll. They may:

• bring a new horse or weapon.
• escort prisoners away.
• drag an unconscious knight off the field.

Once a squire is used in battle he is gone for the duration, unless he is sought after and found during a disengaged session. Thus the usefulness of multiple squires is apparent.

Indeed...squires sound very useful, and this Squire Roll mechanic sounds like a nice, simple way to deal with knightly minutia in a streamlined manner. Now, where exactly do I find the mechanic of how to make one?

I'm appealing to Pendragon players here...and specifically 3rd Edition players. Give a brother some insight, huh?

[yes, there is more info on squires in the Knights Adventurous supplement, though it is not specifically listed as "errata." I want to know if I'm missing (what is obviously) an important, standard mechanic from the default game or was it truly left out as a gross oversight/editing error. In statting up my own rules/setting, I prefer to start from the "default" system (rather than the more elaborate KA material) whenever possible]

Thanks, folks.

"Um...squire roll? What's that?"

Totally Hypothetical

Does anyone think it is possible to make a traditional RPG where...

Okay, okay, wait a second.

I'm not setting a hard, fast rule for what a "traditional RPG" is...I'm not sure such a thing even exists. HOWEVER, for the purpose of this post (only) I refer to an RPG in which:

- the structure divides narrative powers between players and "GM" with the GM having the bulk of responsibility and players having responsibility only for their individual character

- the game involves exploration of an imaginary game environment, only incidentally addressing exploration of a character's psyche

- expects any "story" that develops to develop out of actions that occur "in-game" rather than player choices through metagame thinking (i.e. this ain't no "story now" game); in other words, any story that arises from play is going to be of the "talking about what happened in today's adventure" rather than actual pursuit of a story bolstered by game mechanics.

OKAY, SO...given that I am defining "traditional RPG" in that way for the purpose of this post only:

Does anyone think it is possible to make a traditional RPG that is both class-less (in the "character class" sense of the term) and skill-less?

Or to be a bit more specific: does anyone think it is possible to do such and still have a game that is both fun to play AND that actually works well?

Hmm...now that I think of it, I do know of at least TWO such games: Amber and Boot Hill (pre-skill edition)...the latter, of course, being one of my favorites in terms of game design, theme, and Old School goodness.

Okay, I guess I answered my own question: it IS possible. So here's the follow-up question: what other "traditional RPGs" have a class-less, skill-less system for player characters (and, no, Gamma World and Top Secret don't count: "species" and "bureau" are both classifications or "classes" even if they aren't specifically named as such).

Secondary, follow-up question: any specific thoughts on these types of games (the lack of archetypal classes and skills)...especially IN-PLAY.

Thanks folks.

My Gygaxian Knowledge

Jonathan Becker took the Hardest Gary Gygax Quiz in the World and got 90%!



You are a Gary Gygax Lord. Wow, you know a lot about Gary Gygax! My guess is that you are one of those Old School Renaissance guys, or else your last name is Gygax. Seriously, I didn't think anyone would do this well on this quiz.

Paladin Code: You completed this quiz without using Google.

I suppose I'd rather be a lord of Gyaxian knowledge than a lord of a dung heap. However, I will say I was fortunate that so many of the questions were Greyhawk or Gord specific...I've read those Gygax novels a half dozen times I'm sure!

Happy birthday EGG.

: )

Would Someone Please Tell Me...

...what the hell is D&D Encounters?

Is it just a weekly, two hour combat? That somehow resolves a "story" over the course of several weeks? Is that what Hasbro passes off as D&D and role-playing these days?

I saw some review on google by a dude praising D&D Encounters but noting not to worry about taking non-combat abilities, and to make sure you min-max your abilities for optimal combat effectiveness.

That's got to be the most retarded thing I've ever read.

This is the kind of bullshit (if it's true) that needs to be punched in the mouth. If this is the state of the hobby, Old Schoolers need to organize some sort of weekly counter-point (or rather, counter-punch) in their local game shops. Does this garbage go down at a particular date and time? I'll set up a table and run a competing game.

Please let me know what this is all about. I hope I am just way off or something and this is just some collectible card game thing. Thanks.

Animate Dead Quandary

Greetings and salutations from the Not-Always-Sunny-But-Still-Sweltering Washington D.C., my nation's capitol and certainly my second favorite city after Seattle. Mmm...second favorite American city, that is (quite a few cities in Europe that beat the pants off it...also Vancouver B.C. is very nice and Mexico has both ancient sites and excellent cuisine side-by-side...a heady combination, that). But I'm a history fan and Washington certainly has a lot of it...as well as several nice monuments dedicated to inspiring individuals.

But enough gushing...sorry, I've been off-line but it's been busy and I've been trying to get used to the East Coast time (we had to get up at 7am yesterday which, since my bio-rhythm never truly adjusts to stupid Daylight Savings Time, feels like 3am...ugh!). Today, I'm feeling fairly fully recuperated, but I'm a bit pressed for time at the moment, as we make ready to move to our next set of accommodations. So I'll get right to the point.

I am NOT finished with my B/X conversion of N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God, and while all my notes are in place and it should NOT take me more than a couple solid hours to complete, I have hit a snag that is actually having some repercussions for my B/X Companion...as in, I am tempted to re-write a very small (if important) section.

Here's the issue: ANIMATE DEAD. The spell. In AD&D, it is both a clerical and magic-user spell; cleric at level 3, magic-user at or around level 5.

In B/X, it is NOT a clerical spell, though it is a magic-user spell (at level 5). In its current incarnation, my B/X Companion does NOT have animate dead as a clerical spell (for a variety of reasons that I don't have time to blog about right now, but which I'll get to in a follow-up post, okay?). Now I DON'T have all my various books here, so hopefully some of my readers can answer the following questions for me (I'll explain later). Thanks in advance:

1. Is animate dead a clerical spell in the Little Brown Books? In other words, is it limited to magic-users in OD&D as it is in B/X? (I am NOT talking about the supplement books, just the original Men & Magic). I suspect it IS limited to MUs, but I can't confirm that.

1b. If animate dead appears as a clerical spell in a later supplement, which one? When is the first appearance of "undead raising clerics," in other words?

2. Is animate dead a clerical spell in BECMI (Mentzer's re-do of B/X)? And if so, what level spell is it? Again, I believe I already know the answer, but I'm trying to confirm it.

3. The "zombie masters" in the module X1: The Isle of Dread...were they statted out as magic-users of 9+ level? Because this is the only type of character that has the ability to create zombies (and X1 was originally developed for B/X, not BECMI). If not, what was the justification (if any) within the module for the zombies. Were they created by the village matriarchs?

All right...thank you all in advance for any answers you can provide. Gotta' go make my check-out now!

: )

Apparently, I'm "Devious"

From the quiz at dicepool.com:

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

You are a d4: You are bright, perceptive, and driven. You would be considered a blessing to mankind, if you didn't insist on using your powers for evil. You are devious, deceitful, doubtful, and downright dangerous. Assassins can learn a lot from you. If your fellow party members knew how rotten you were, they'd go over and join the bad guys. Justified or not, you are meticulous in your ways: A poison for every person, and a dagger for every back. Much of your day is spent scheming or plotting. The rest of your time is spent trying to convince others that you're simply misunderstood.

Great...just great. Well, right now my "devious" ass is going to bake an apple pie for myself, my wife, and my brother. Hopefully they're not worried I'll stab them in the back with my fork. Jeez!