O is for Originality

[over the course of the month of April, my plan was to post a topic for each letter of the alphabet, sequentially, every day of the week except Sunday. While I was unable to complete the project on time, I find I still have things to say. Our topic in question is Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: how to approach it, how to run it, how to enjoy a system that deserves to be played NOW, nearly 50 years after its inception. Consider this a 'crash course' in the subject]

O is for Originality...something that is overrated within the so-called "Old School" community.

Not that this series is meant to slam the (mostly commercial) venture that is the OSR these days. But many of the new DMs coming to the AD&D game these days...or even old DMs returning to AD&D after decades of hiatus...are doing so by way of the Old School Revival that's rumbled along these last 17+ years. And in the commercial offerings that carry the "OSR" branding...specifically the for-purchase, pre-written adventure modules (of the kind that new and/or rusty DMs lean on to both inspire themselves and polish their chops), you find a particular type of pathology on display: the urgent need to add "original content" that never was to their offerings.

As if the game didn't offer enough content already.

I write quite a lot of adventures for use at my own table (both for my home campaign and for gaming conventions I attend). And when it comes to designing adventures, especially for convention play, I do not include "original content;" that is, I do not create "new, original" monsters, or magic items, or spells. Oh, you'll see some adventures I've penned for various writing contests that include one or two of these things (because they are elements of the contest), but these adventures don't see actual running at my table except when/if "play-testing." For my own campaign...and when demonstrating AD&D at cons...my adventures don't include anything you wouldn't normally find in the books...for a number of reasons:

1. The content already included in the books is (for the most part) tried and true and already tested within and against the (long-tested) rules of the game.
2. There is more content in the books than I have ever used in totality...which is to say, I've yet to use EVERY monster, or EVERY magic item, or EVERY magic spell over my 40+ years of gaming.
3. For purposes of playing (and "mastering") a game, players need a consistent structure within which to learn and hone their skills, not a rug that gets pulled out from under them with every new dungeon. As I wrote earlier, I am all for metagaming as it IMPROVES player engagement.

Thus, I have no need or desire for adding "original content" to my games...in fact (as per reason #3), I find original content can be detrimental to one's campaign if used in a less-than-judicious fashion.

And it's really not needed! Again, I will make use of a metaphor suggested to me by a DM of far more experience and wisdom than myself: AD&D can be compared to a piano. Consider the ubiquitous piano with its 88 keys...the industry "standard" since 1890. How many people have studied and learned and composed music on a piano over the years, challenging themselves and entertaining others? And how many of them have attempted to add "more keys" to the piano to make the thing "more original?" How many have said, man, these 88 keys aren't enough...there's just not enough sound here to make a decent song!

The idea is ridiculous, as anyone with the slightest  passing interest in music might tell you. And, yet, how many DMs are unsatisfied with the content of the core D&D books? How many have said that the 350+ monsters in the Monster Manual or the 300+ magic items in the Dungeon Masters Guide or the 400+ spells in the Players Handbook are insufficient for their crafting of adventures? Are you kidding me?

There is a TON you can do with the "limited" amount of content in the books: writing an adventure is much like composing a piece of music on a piano. And just as a piece of piano music can be played differently by different musicians (softly, loudly, quickly, slowly, jazzy, or arranged with other instruments, or whatever), a single adventure can be "interpreted" differently by different DMs...or run differently by the same DM on different occasions depending on the players involved.

Orcs aren't "boring." YOU are boring. What is needed is NUANCE, not novelty. Situationally, there are as many different ways to use orcs in your game as there are to use humans...these are intelligent (if imaginary) creatures after all. Consider all the way humans can differ...not just in form or function, but culturally.  I know that many of my fellow American look at all Latin American people as one big mass of brown-skinned, Spanish-speaking people (I know this as I was once one of those Americans) but it is so, so not the case. Even if you ignore the individual differences of individual Mexicans (for example), Mexicans are VERY different from Ecuadorians who are VERY different from Panamanians who are VERY different from Paraguayans who are VERY different from Brazilians who are VERY different from Argentinians or Chileans, etc., etc.. In fact, they are SO DIFFERENT from each other, that unless their country is right next to another they tend to know NOTHING about the differences they have...yeah they know the people there speak Spanish (and, perhaps, have a decent soccer team) but they are often completely ignorant when it comes to someone else's history, politics, customs, food, etc.

It's like the way MUCH of the western world thinks of Africa as one big, homogenous country with border lines drawn on it. There are THOUSANDS of different ethnic identities in Africa and wildly differing genetic diversity even amongst people who share the same color of skin. Would a westerner consider all white people to be one big group? Is a Dutchman really the same as a Sicilian? My Basque friends from Bilbao certainly don't consider themselves "Spanish" in any way, shape, or form. "Your Catalan is getting quite good" they tell me (in English). 

As an American I know there are huge differences of culture between our 50 States. Yes, there are plenty of similarities, but a Washingtonian is a LOT different from a Hawaiian or a Georgian or a New Yorker or a Texan. It's not just politics that divides my country: we are (and always have been) separated by regional and cultural identity, even if we've been united (for most of our history) by some rather singular and lofty ideals that...once upon a time...we all agreed on. But are we different? Do we vary? Hell yes! Even within my own State of Washington, there is a vast difference between the "island folk" of the San Juans and the hard drinking/snorting fisher folk and lumberjacks of the Olympic Peninsula and the multi-generational farmers of the Palouse and the military folks in Everett and the very complicated metro area that is Seattle. Seattle, itself, is large enough that different neighborhoods have their own cultural identity...we're not all elitist tech-savvy "Lib-tards." Far from it! I've lived here since I was born (in '73) and MOST of that time, Seattle was pretty darn "working class" and that's how a lot of us "long timers" still see ourselves. Besides, everyone knows the elitist, tech-money d-bags live in Bellevue.

[haha. I joke. Bellevue is full of wealthy Asians, duh]

The POINT is, just saying an orc is a 1 HD antagonist and that we need a blue-skinned version that explodes when you hit it or one that has feathered wings or an orc that shoots lasers from its eyes in order to "spice things up" is simply showing a profound LACK of imagination. And it's short-changing both your players (who are trying to master the system...something they can only do when there is consistency of application) and yourself (as a designer and Dungeon Master).  What? Are you afraid that if you start "humanizing" orcs (or goblins or lizard folk or giants, etc.) by giving them nuance and ethnical variety that you're going to somehow turn them into something the players don't want to kill and then there goes the game? Have you not noticed how many different motivations, excuses, and justifications humans have found to kill each other over the centuries? My cup runneth over!

Yes, I am well familiar with the classic TSR modules of early days of AD&D and how the MAJORITY of them (pre-'85, i.e. "the good years") would include a new monster or two. I would just point out the following for consideration: A) you almost never see new magic items or spells, things which (in my estimation) have the highest potential for unbalancing or "breaking" the game, B) many times these new monsters are unique encounters and/or thematically linked to the adventure (i.e. not likely to show up elsewhere in a campaign), C) compared to the MAJORITY of the monsters in a 30-60+ encounter area, one or two new critters are a pittance, and D) you generally do NOT see these shenanigans in adventures designed for introductory, low-level play (no new monsters in B1, B2, N1, N2, etc.). Players have to learn the ropes before you start serving up curve balls!

SO...to bring this entry to a summation and close: it is NOT a mark of "creativity" or "good Dungeon Mastery" to be adding new, unique content to your game. Anyone can do that; the Fiend Folio is an entire book filled with new creatures created by a wide swath of designers (more than 70). Pursuing "originality" (in terms of content) as a goal in and of itself isn't the best use of your time and energy as an adventure designer. In my estimation, you'll get far more value out of finding ways to use that which is already present in ways that are unusual, challenging, surprising, and in ways both deeper and more nuanced. Engage your players through good system use, rather than novelty. 

AD&D campaigns can last a long time and you can get a lot of mileage out of it as written. However, when it comes to the vehicle's actual components, there's still a lot of tread left on the tires; no need to change them out so soon!

; )

Dystopian Present

Well, this must be what it would be like to live on Venus. Yellow clouds of poisonous air obscuring the view from my windows, and being unable to step outside my habitat without a spacesuit.

Yesterday evening, I was very angry...very, very angry. Angry about the state of things in my country, in my world. Angry about how they got this way, angry about the ignorant, selfish people that have caused so much of this, angry even at my own culpability for not doing more, for not actively working against the ignorance and selfishness.

I proceeded to stay up late and drink heavily and did NOT write the rant I meticulously plotted in my head, most all of which was aimed and belittling and insulting people. Not very constructive that.

Anger isn't just a coping mechanism (we tend to get angry to feel like we are in control, to stave off our fear of helplessness)...it is a tool, given to us by our Creator. Used properly, it helps us to transform ourselves, bringing focus to our will, spurring us to do the hard work that ends up being needed when we have procrastinated in doing what should have been done all along.

And it's only by changing ourselves for the better that we can change our world for the better.

Not that most of us are willing to do that. Heck, many of us lack the capability for it (as with all skills, it's something that requires practice, and atrophies from disuse). But as I look outside my window this morning, I force myself to repeat a mantra in my mind:

Things can always get worse. Things can always get worse. Things can always get worse.

There is nothing more true or more sure in this world. Suffering will continue to increase the longer we allow suffering to continue. Because of ignorance. Because of selfishness. Because of our lack of love.

Sorry if that's a downer. 

By the way: Happy birthday, AB. Hope you're doing well, wherever you are, my brother.

Working Cycles

Been doing "world building stuff" the last few days. It's slow going.

The advantage of using a real world setting is that a lot of things have been done for you: placement of natural features (mountains, rivers, lakes, etc.), lists of resources, climate maps, topography, vegetation, etc. All that stuff is "in place" and easy to suss out given access to the internet and a decent atlas (which I have).

The hard part is dealing with the people of 11,000 years ago. Not a lot of info about that period of time, and "accepted" archaeology would make the indigenous populations a bunch of tiny family units and "tribes" of neolithic cave folk.

Which is definitely NOT what I'm doing. Prehistoric: yes. Stone age: no. This is a prehistoric iron (and bronze) age, based heavily on a mix of Atlantis mythology mixed with sword & sorcery fiction. It's not Kull the Conqueror...more Edgar Cayce, MZB, and Peter Timlett's Seedbearers trilogy...the main idea based on the idea that there was a more advanced civilization that will (eventually) fall on a very hard dark age long before our (current) recorded history begins. Call it the Orichalcum Age of man. Or, perhaps, the Tumbaga Age (since tumbaga appears to be the orichalcum equivalent in South America).

[oh, yeah: plus dwarves and elves and goblins, etc. It IS D&D after all. My world has dragons...though maybe not blue ones, as lightning-breathing monsters are a little too "Friday night monster flick" for my taste]

But, of course, there's no record of communities in South America from more than the last couple-four centuries, and precious little info from pre-colonial times that would be useful to world building. Furthermore, my deliberate placement of the setting at the beginning of the Holocene epoch, means the climate (especially in the region I'm concerned with) is far more cool-temperate in range, resulting in vastly different flora, fauna, and agricultural practices.

So I'm cheating. I'm operating under the assumption that life moves in more-or-less regular cycles. Communities (towns and cities) tend to form in the same places for the same reasons (convenience of landscape, access to resources, etc.); populations are greatly reduced in number but, so far as glaciation allows, they're more or less the same as today. Livestock and crops might change over 10,000 years, but not their presence, nor placement in the overall geography. Mined resources are the same, of course, though with reductions in the amount of ore produced.

[I'm actually using 16th century gold production rates, divvied up proportionally by region based on 21st century percentages...calculates out to a bit more than 3.3 tons (107k ounces) of gold per year in regions south of Panama. This works under the assumption that the population is pretty close to the same, that Atlantean/dwarven/elven mining methods are at least as advanced as Spain's in the 1500s, and that there was more gold and gold more easily/conveniently found.  Consider that modern accounts of pre-modern gold mining generally ignores what was being done in the Americas prior to colonization, and that a LOT of gold was found when Europeans did arrive]

Names of places are a problem, of course. Wikipedia states there are about 600 indigenous languages in Latin America, and I don't see myself learning Quechua-Mayan just to make the setting feel more "authentic" (and it's doubtful that any of these languages were the same thousands of years ago anyway...). On the other hand, making up "fantasy names" for towns is a pretty ridiculous prospect. I suppose I could simply research the etymology of existing names and come up with English equivalents, but that poses its own problems. For example, Cochabamba (the 4th largest city in Bolivia) takes its name from a transliteration of the Quechua word for the region which means "Lake Plain." However, the city itself was called Llajta which just means "town." There's probably more than a few llajtas in South America.

In the short term, I'm using the modern names for places, landmarks, etc. because it would be damn near impossible to locate things otherwise using modern maps and atlases. If I told you to locate Antofagasta (in Peru), you could easily do so with an internet search; if I renamed it Salt Lake City (which is, more or less, how the name translates)...well, you can see the difficulty there, right?

Maybe I should organize communities
around language isolates.

Still, work progresses and I'm enjoying the world building (despite my complaints). And parts of it are fun (locating dwarves in a hilly region of Brazil known for its titanium deposits, for example; who needs mithril-steel!). It's just slooow going.

Okay, my kids are up. Got to go.

Dagger Damage

For all those who downloaded my "Master Weapon List" the other day, I've updated the document. Daggers do 1d6 damage now in melee combat. They only do 1d4 damage when thrown (or when wielded by someone not proficient in their use).

Having played and run B/X for most of the last decade, I sometimes (often?) forget that OD&D retains the one minute combat "turn" found in the miniature war game Chainmail. As it is perfectly reasonable that a trained combatant could inflict sufficient damage to mortally wound a fellow human (or human) in this period of time...perhaps by striking multiple blows...I found it necessary to revise my (B/X-biased) assessment. So I did.

A thrown dagger is another matter completely...such an attack probably shouldn't even inflict 1d4 damage (more like 1-2 or 1-3). But it is heroic fantasy, after all. Since the only characters generally throwing knives are the PCs, I figure it's fine to cut some slack.

And speaking of death by a thousand cuts: my (O)D&D campaign limps on, but feels like it has Covid-19 and ain't doing so hot. The kids we were playing with haven't been able to meet with us for the last couple weeks, though they still express interest in continuing play...when they express anything at all (these particular 13 year olds are not big on responding to email, which is probably a good thing, but rough when trying to organize a game). My own kids have continued to play but the nuances of the game world are mostly lost on them: in the game (i.e. in play) they are fine at reacting to the needs of the moment, but outside-the-box thinking, long-term planning, and setting/world considerations are, for the most part, beyond them. Which, while somewhat frustrating to me, is totally understandable and appropriate given their ages and development.

[I consider my own youth and mindset at their age, and I doubt I was much different. Probably need to run them through a stripped down version of the Isle of Dread and stomp them with a cyclops]

"Somewhat frustrating" I said because I'm quite enjoying my world building and the moment, and am (hopefully) starting to build a world that will last beyond (and be used outside the bounds of) this "kiddie campaign." The more I refine it, the more enamored of the thing I get. I've recently picked up a fascination with the history of Vietnam (pre-French) and am muddling that a bit and serving it up as inspiration for the history of the Red Empire (with the sultanate of Zargoz being a stand-on for the kingdom of Champa)...lots of good ideas to be found in its 4,000 year history, so many that I'm tempted to simply use southeast Asia as my "world map." If only the mountains were on the other side... (*sigh*).

[it really is amazing just how much "world" there is to explore on our own planet. I think most would-be world builders bite off far more than we can adequately chew. While we are woefully ignorant about the history of many parts of the world (just what was going on in Paraguay for ten thousand years before European conquest?) many small areas have EXTENSIVE records going back at least as far...if not more so...than our poor Western archives that tend to collapse around the "Dark Ages"]

Anyway...

So the world building continues, even though the (current) campaign is on life support. And daggers do 1d6 damage in melee (or 1d6+1 for strength score of 15+). That's about all the updates I have at the moment. Hopefully more to share later.

Hey! Just realized I missed this year's April A-Z challenge! Ah, well...maybe next year.

Worrying About The Economy

That is to say, the fantasy economy.

I mean, I could share my opinions on what I think of the price of RPGs and the pay rate of game designers. I could just as easily talk about Argentina, whose economy (to me) feels like its on the brink of collapse. Have you ever been to Buenos Aires? To me, it's kind of the Paris of South America (especially considering the size and beauty of its boulevards and the presence of dog shit that no one bothers to clean up). But when you ask a hotel concierge where you can exchange some money, and he says "Oh, yeah...there's a guy on the street corner about 20 meters down the block who seems pretty legit" there's a whole new type of surreality you've entered as a world traveler.

Seriously. Shady dudes propositioning you "Change money?" as you walk down the street, with the same frequency as I used to hear "Buy some acid?" in the University District back home. And then there's the whole counterfeit money thing going on (where even the black-market dealers warn you about trying to give 100 peso notes to taxi drivers, 'cause they'll flip it on you, and the tourist warnings that you're slightly less likely to get counterfeit cash at the bank). For a city that's so big and hip and educated (you can't throw a rock without hitting a couple book stores)...maybe it's just me, but it sure seems to be teetering on the edge of (economic) destruction.

Anyway, NO...that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the economy of the fantasy campaign setting I'm working on. Worrying about the real world economy is waste of my sweet, precious time, considering all the power and control I have over it (i.e. "not much"). The new fantasy world, though...well, there I have a chance to make a difference. Maybe. If I can get it straight.

There's a lot of stuff that's gone into my mind to make this mess of soup that's currently driving me crazy. I mean, so many that, well... *sigh* Let me post a few just so you can get where I'm coming from:

- There's this recent post from Peter Schwieghofer. A lot of my recent game designs have included rules for choosing equipment without going shopping. This is a practice that I first started when I began rebooting Cry Dark Future in an attempt to cut down the absolute torture of chargen from scratch when you have an equipment list roughly the size of Shadowrun (the same issue holds true with actual Shadowrun, which is why they give you a robust list of pre-gens...um "archetypes"...to choose from). The thing is, choosing equipment for one's character is one of the very fun and captivating things about D&D. It puts you in the mindset of your character, it helps you feel the character, selecting your gear...so long as the list isn't overwhelmingly long, of course. For a D&D-style game, I want that feeling of "equipping oneself for an expedition." It's damn necessary to the feel of the game.

- Then there's this article from Mr. Lizard regarding the various coinage of Arduin which (like Mr. Lizard) I find incredibly inspirational and suggestive of the scope and possibility of a fantasy campaign. Of course, it helps (or doesn't help) that I've had this other post from Tim Shorts saved on my laptop since March, because I've been wanting to talk about it and the possibilities it suggests. Not just the different cultural currencies, but as a medium of exchange...how different coins are worth different values to different peoples. Maybe the "10 gp = 1 pound" measurement makes a bit of sense...if you consider that (due to the exchange rate) you need a pound of coins to get 10gp worth of value.

- There's my own recent work on a B/X supplement in which I finally managed to hash out a cosmology that (for me) justifies the way magic works vis-a-vis the B/X rules/systems. And how, if the DM plays RAW and doesn't give away spells for free, the acquisition of spells for magic-users and elves can be a good train of excess party gold. It's got me thinking of all sorts of ways to balance the fantasy economy. This recent post by Alexis regarding henchmen is also excellent food for thought...even PCs who steadfastly refuse to "settle down" and buy castles should have things to spend cash on. There's no reason for PCs to be hauling "useless" hoards of treasure at the mid-to-high levels.

- Then there's Alexis again. Damn it, Alexis. If you're a regular reader of his blog you've been subjected to all manners of posts on the fantasy economy via the man's extensive and elaborate trade tables (here's an example). The point often missed by folks, including me when I first started looking at them (*cue eyes glazing over*) is that they're NOT about modeling "reality" or a "realistic" economy. They're just about modeling an economy...period. In aid of making his campaign setting a more immersive experience for his players. Mr Smolensk doesn't want a world where every town carries an identical "adventurer store" stocking the same inventory found on page XX of whatever edition you happen to be playing. Likewise, the inclusion of such a system creates ideas for adventures based on its very system, as the players (via their characters) interact with a world with an uncaring, driving, elemental (economic) force. I don't want to create (or recreate) a system or world like that of Alexis, but its worth noting the power that having such a system...such detail...gives to one's game. Now that I've seen that, I can't "un-see" it, you know? The idea is there.

So, then how does all this stuff combine to cause me worry? Let me give you an example from this morning:

I was taking a break from my analysis of clerical spells (that's a subject for a different post) and thinking about armor in general. This may have been due in part to some recent thoughts about two-weapon fighting (another subject for a different post), and considering whether or not I wanted to have an actual list of armors in this fantasy world I was building, or just go with something abstract ("light armor" versus "heavy armor," for example). Going back to that idea of "the fun" and potential immersion of actually buying something for your character, I started considering what specific armor would I like on a list, were I to do that.

From there I started thinking about there really not be something called leather armor, but if we were to say a gambeson, or thick furs, or other type of "padding" and then add the armor value of a simple helm (not a fully enclosed, visored thing), we might be able to get to the light armor category B/X calls "leather armor." That would be AC 7, two points better than the unarmored AC 9, and we could even go so far as to break that down into:

Gambeson: 1 point of armor (+1 to AC), and

Simple helm: 1 point of armor (+1 to AC)

From that little idea, it was short trip to breaking down all the standard B/X armors (chain mail and "plate mail") into their component parts. For example:

"Half" chain mail (short hauberk) (+1 to AC),

Full chain mail (+1 to AC)

This guy? AC 4.

Which, when added to the gambeson and helm gives one the AC 5, right? Once you start breaking things down, you can do all sorts of fun things, like add greaves and vambraces to a cuirass without the benefit of mail in order to model some ancient soldiers, or add little bonuses like AC +2 for a great helm (instead of the standard +1). You can even list full suits on your "shopping list" for people who don't want to bother mixing-and-matching various armor pieces.

Anyway, I thought it was a neat, rather simple way to add a little detail, a little extra "player choice" to the game, or even to spice up NPC encounters with component bits of armor.

[hmmm...note to self: need to review the partial armor system in BECMI's Orcs of Thar]

*ahem*...as I was saying, it was a neat little idea, but then I started thinking:

How much should I charge for a gambeson?

And it all went to hell. Because the implication...of doing the research and getting consistent values for something based not only on game considerations but also a modeled (fantasy) economy, just made me want to throw up my hands and quit.

Because even though it's possible to do some research on what things really cost 5-600 years ago and then transcribe those costs onto the currency/value of an Arabian world that had a similar level of technology (as I did with Five Ancient Kingdoms)...or even to look at current, real world costs and extrapolate them into the future using a fantasy currency (as I did with Cry Dark Future), what do you do when you're making a gonzo culture that mixes medieval tech with super science and magic in a post-apocalyptic landscape? Especially one set on a different planet with (presumably) different levels of resources, not to mention and ecologic and geographic features that may make trade of some goods more or less valuable? Even if take some arbitrary number or coin or measure to start, I've got to balance it against everything else.

I spent a lot of time reading through the Song of Ice and Fire Wiki, looking at that particular fantasy world and it's currency and trade info. While there's neat stuff there, it's ill-defined because it only gets brought up in relation to the plot at hand (i.e. as Martin requires for his fiction). We learn that 100-300 gold dragons is a reasonable ransom for a captured knight, and that a complete set of good steel armor costs 800 silver stags (a bit less than four dragons), but these are subject to wild fluctuation based on the state of the fantasy economy (things like war causing rapid and incredible inflation of prices)...which means "these things can change at any time," right? How do you build that into a game?

The end result of all this? Probably just spinning my wheels again. That's really the sad truth of the matter. I will probably, probably just throw up a bunch of arbitrary numbers on a sheet of paper (or spreadsheet), most likely arbitrary numbers based in whole or part on B/X or Holmes. Because it's expedient. Because there are other aspects of game play and world building that requires attention. Because it's just a game.

BUT...but, I'm not sure that's really good enough for me. I've got too many ideas crammed into my skull. If my posting seems slow this week, it's because that's what's occupying my focus.

Other Worlds

Yesterday, Alexis mentioned me in one of his posts (just in passing, mind you) and it touched off a nerve. Totally unintentional on his part, I'm sure...it just brought up a lot of negative feelings about living here in Paraguay. I wrote a loooooong post about why there's no role-playing in this country, why there will probably NEVER be role-playing in this country, and much of it was super-derogatory regarding the culture and people here. Very, very rant-y.

Fortunately, I didn't have time to post it. My afternoon was fairly busy as we had a birthday party to attend. By "we," I mean the boy and I. He played with his classmates for three hours while I sat around with the other moms, socializing as best I could in my limited Spanish. It was surprisingly fun...or, at least, not as nail-pullingly hellacious as I feared it might be. And it reminded me that I am often too hard on the people here, even in my own mind...negatively judgmental, that is. Maybe there could be a market for gaming here. The limitations of the Paraguayan people are caused in large part by geographic isolation (compared to most participants in our "global economy") and poverty which bleeds into the country's infrastructure. Yes, there's cultural inertia, but it's not an inherent, insurmountable obstacle.

Anyway, I deleted my original post.

West of India, Southeast of Europe

As I said, the point of Alexis's post really had nothing to do with me. His musing on taking D&D to places that don't ape some sort of mythic Europe is not a new idea (though his maps are more concrete follow-through than most folks get to), but it's still a good idea, and one that doesn't get enough play. Or, perhaps more accurately, enough action. My Five Ancient Kingdoms game did not start off as an Arabian Nights version of D&D, but in trying to create a coherent setting, I found myself having to draw in more and more of the Middle Eastern culture I was studying...once you incorporate one part, others need to follow if you want it to make sense, until you get sucked into adopting wholesale swaths of a region and its peoples. The research itself is valuable to the researcher's personal development and growth, but it can be a real shot-in-the-arm to one's game, too. And, hey, maybe alternate settings will have some appeal to folks outside the usual demographic target audience.

Now if only WotC would bother translating their books into non-English languages.

Okay, got to go. Saturday's not a day I usually have time to post.

Ignorance

I don't want to say that I hate ignorance. It really, really irritates me, but "hate" is such a strong emotion, even for such an amorphous entity as ignorance. Hating ignorance itself, really just translates into hating the ignorant people that display it. And I really don't want to hate people (as individuals or groups).

No, I don't. But you know, I really hate ignorance.

And it's not like I know everything. I'm ignorant about a lot of stuff. A lot of stuff. I'm always finding new shit out. Even about games that I blather on about like some expert...like, say, Basic D&D. I've been playing the thing for 30+ years, I've been blogging and writing about it since June of 2009 (nearly six years!), and I'll still discover the occasional thing about which I'm ignorant.

[though admittedly, with regard to D&D, I'm a bit less ignorant than in other arenas of knowledge]

So I'M ignorant, too...about a great many things. And I prioritize what it is I want to enlighten myself about, just as everyone else does. I know a lot more about the current state of the NFL, for example, then the state of the NBA. I have a tiny smidgeon of knowledge about South American history, and effectively zero knowledge of Thailand or southeast Asia (other than that shitty bit of U.S. history involving armed conflict in the region). Do I hate myself for being ignorant? Do I hate myself for being selective about that which I choose to learn? No...but I'm sometimes disappointed or frustrated with myself, and folks might consider me a bit obsessive when it comes to researching things about which I find myself ignorant.

[this can be chalked up to a Scorpio Mercury in the 12th House, by the way...not everyone has that drive to know everything about everything]

So maybe I don't "hate" ignorance in others, either. Maybe I'm simply frustrated and disappointed she I see it. Like people who believe Fox News has even the slightest accuracy. Or that Iraq had anything to do with the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

[wow...how is that bullshit going to be explained in schools in 2021?]

The internet is a wonderful place to learn stuff about which you're ignorant. It's also a fantastic place to get distracted for hours by stupid memes, dumb videos, and free porn. But even if you manage to avoid wasting too much time in idle surfing, your search for enlightenment can often be roadblocked by the conflicting opinions of various parties on the subject of study that you're pursuing. I suppose this might be slightly better than listening to a single professor giving his/her single opinion on a topic...but it really depends on the quality of teacher and the quality of school, no? I went to a pretty good school and received a fairly decent education (when I bothered to show up to class), and while the wikipedia is uber-convenient, there's something about studying a multitude of books from your local library that just seems to cover subjects in more depth. Not that the people of Paraguay have bothered to build any libraries in this damn country.

[oh, wait...they do have one: the Biblioteca Roosevelt. It's 69 years old, was named for the the 32nd president of the United States (FDR), and is part of the Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano (the Paraguayan American Cultural Center). Huh...I wonder who's responsible for that? I should probably check it out, but it's located downtown, which is inconvenient for a number of reasons. Ah, well]

Anyway...I'm all for youthful fire being injected into all things old and crusty and having the cantankerous, conservatives give up their seats at the high table, but would it be too much to ask that they do at least a minimal amount to alleviate their ignorance? When I read about teenagers not knowing Cameron's Titanic film was based on an actual event, I get...well, irritated.

I'm sure there are plenty of intelligent young people out there who will help to make the world a better and brighter place. In fact, I know there are. But there's still a shit-ton of ignorance out there and a lot of folks (young and old) who just don't seem to care enough to educate themselves. Sorry for the ranty-ness; it depresses me at times.

Okay...back to gaming stuff.

The Other Football

World Cup qualifying match for the USA in Seattle tonight. More later. Beer in hand.
: )

The End Is Nigh

For those who may not have heard, some of us have been counting down the days of the Mayan tzolkin calendar, waiting to see what tremendous Earth changes may or may not be wrought when we hit zero hour. Being a long-time studier of astrology (including mesoamerican astrology), Edgar Cayce, Graham Hancock, and other non-traditional historians (commonly called quacks, fakers, and whack-jobs), I am all about counting down our final hours. Fact is, I've had a timer counting down our final hours on the ol' Blackrzor blog (bottom o the page) since I first started this thing a couple-three years ago.

Welp, today is the final day of the Mayan "long count" epoch..."4 Flower" in the uinal that started with 11 Alligator some twenty days ago (why doesn't the final count down end in a 13 Flower? No idea, just one of those mysteries of the mesoamerican numbering system). Not that it matters too much...I mean any of it. I've blogged before about the possibility of great "Earth Changes" including what I feel is the main things with which to concern ourselves (hint: it has to do with being kind to each other as much as possible...even people with whom you don't necessarily agree).

Anyhoo, tomorrow will see the dawning of a new epoch (I figure to go by midnight, Yucatan time), and I will be celebrating by getting into Mexico City very early in the morning with my family (I'm typing this from a Dallas airport computer while awaiting my connecting flight) and heading east towards Veracruz. No, not because I plan on taking part in any New Age-y mesoamerican celebration, but simply the traditional Christmas-with-family-and-in-laws celebration. And for those of us who can (hard as it might be) get beyond the coming Seahawks-Forty-Niners showdown in Seattle on Sunday, I think the most important thing for us ALL to do on the edge of this great cosmic changeover is to remember the Real Meaning of the Christmas Holiday.

No, not Jesus's birthday. Jesus was a Pisces, dude. I'll post his horoscope sometime.

No, the real deal with regard for Christmas can be found in its "heathen" roots as a mid-winter celebration...the 21st (or thereabouts) generally being the proverbial "longest night off the year." What midwinter celebrates is (guess what?) the night's start getting shorter thereafter, as we start that slow upward climb out off darkness and back to the Spring. It is a time of renewal (and often Yule-time booze), and we'd do well to consider how, no matter how dark the darkness gets, there always comes a light evetually...hopefully, a light that brings great joy and love to everyone.

Here's to hoping. Feliz Navidad, folks. I'll try to write more from Mexico...assuming the holidays grant me a little free time for writing.
: )

[P.S. Go 'Hawks!]

Absolute Awesome

And speaking of the positive things in life: I am currently watching the CNN where the trapped Chilean miners are finally being brought back up to the surface. The first guy just emerged about 10 minutes ago...after being underground for 69 days! Holy crap!

I can hardly imagine going through such an ordeal myself...congrats to all the miners and their families for hanging in there for so long. I can only hope Oprah gives them each a car or something.

[if I WAS buried alive for a couple months, I would personally hope I was stranded with a copy of B/X and a set of dice...]

Wow...what a great cooperative effort to get this escape tunnel drilled. Man...all my hopes for a full and speedy recovery to those guys (and their families) as they convalesce and recuperate from their ordeal.

In the words of my Islamic brethren, God is Great!

Holy Toledo!

Yes, I am still in Spain.

For the most part, I am loving it, though I will be back stateside soon enough (i.e. in roughly two to three days). I'm sure you folks can wait THAT long. Jeez!

While I've had internet access for the last couple-couple, I've been mainly too busy sightseeing or too exhausted (from sightseeing) to bother blogging. Also, it sure would have been smart if I'd bothered to bring a cable for uploading photos from the cam to the blog, 'cause I'm sure I'd have plenty to say when one considers the mishmash of cultures and multi-thousand year history of this incredible country. Pretty f'ing fantastic.

Right now, I'm in the city of Toledo, the main city I wanted to see on our trip (though the Basque country was a lot of fun and Granada and Madrid were nice as well...all right, as I said, everything has been cool. Though I would strongly recommend NOT driving in Granada. No! NOOOoooo!!). Toledo, not to be confused with the city in Ohio that bears its name (they even have a street here named after Toledo, Ohio)...TOLEDO, the REAL Toledo is about 2500 years old, and was the capital of Spain until Phillip the Dos (that's "II") decided he'd rather move the political seat of the country to a little village called Madrid in 1561.

I'm not sure what's more impressive...that Madrid will be celebrating its 450th birthday next year (only about twice as old as the United States) or that the original capital has more than 2000 on THAT. Well, actually, that's a lie...I DO know which is more impressive to moi.

Anyway, MY reasons for wanting to go to Toledo were a little more...um..."base" than simply wanting to soak up the beautiful architecture, history, and cultural gumbo (Islam, Catholicism, and Judaism have been peacefully coexisting in Toledo for several centuries). Nope, all that is great, marvelous in fact. But I came here for the swords.

I can remember the first time I handled a replica katana in some Seattle cutlery shop, more than 20 years ago, and naively asking where in Japan it had been made. "Spain," was the reply. I was told there weren't any swords being forged in Japan (at least not for export) and the only real blades still being commercially manufactured THESE days (this would have been the late 80s) were being forged in Spain.

Now, of course, there are plenty of replica artisans all over the world. Ahh, the magic of the internet which allows hack writers like myself to self-publish all over the world...and hobbyist sword-makers to manufacture all sorts of edged goodies for a profit.

But still, there's a difference between buying an "authentic Scottish claymore" hand-forged locally from your neighborhood Renaissance fair, and picking up some real Spanish steel in the world's sword-making capital. Or maybe there ISN'T a difference...except in MY mind.

But you know me...I'm kind of "old school," like that.

So, anyway, Toledo. I heard that swords were big in this town...hell, in the whole country for that matter, and yeah, it appears to be true. Even up North in the Basque region, the wedding we went to featured sword salutes and sword dancing (outside the church) not to mention a big-ass broadsword being used to cut the wedding cake. And yes, there's plenty of sword history in the country (what with the violence of the Reconquista and Crusades). But Toledo?

This town is something else entirely.

Now, of course I should note that Toledo isn't just the "place of swords." It's really the "place of swords and marzipan." You know, that sweet almond-paste candy? Apparently it was invented here. There are nearly as many shops selling marzipan as selling swords...which is a good thing, since my wife is far more interested in the tasty confections than the edged bad-ness. But pretty much EVERY shop, EXCEPT the confectioners sell swords.

Every shop. Like every single window has a prominent rack of blades of all types, styles, designs, and craziness. For a sword enthusiast, this place is hog heaven.

Moreso...I've actually become a bit jaded to the whole experience. The place is also a Mecca (no pun intended) for tourists and history buffs (duh) and the place must sell more swords than...

Well, shit. Than anywhere in the world. I mean supply and demand right? Could these businesses stay in business without moving all this inventory? Come on!

Every time I turn a corner (and like Venice, this place is filled with medieval, winding streets...all old, all stone, though thankfully all marked) I half-expect to see a pair of tourists, duking it out with replica swords like some Highlander-style alley fight. I mean, what else could they be used for? Is there some type of underground, Toledo duelist club (Spain's answer to Fight Club?) that I'm not privy to? If so, they must be doing it somewhere well concealed...the main thing I see cruising the streets at night are young people in tiny cars, blasting loud dance music and looking for a party. That particular scene is no longer my thang, but honest-to-God fencing in the streets of historic Toledo? I have to admit, the idea holds a certain appeal as I find myself approaching middle age.

Too much D&D I suppose.

; )

Anyway, I did buy a sword today...much as I would have liked to forge my own (I've read too many books as well), I did get an excellent piece from a real Toledo sword-smith...a 4th generation hombre who's been forging for 40 years and works out of a shop more than three times that old (we got to tour the shop...it looked like your average extremely crowded garage plus forge, work tables, and stacks upon stacks of half-finished pieces). Much as it would have been nice to pick up a cruciform broad sword or bell-guarded rapier, I settled on a tasty small-sword...all hand-crafted, even the quillons (several of his commercial pieces incorporated molded pieces into the hilt as a means of expedience). It's simple and elegant, and the blade is supple enough the espadero could bend it at a 90 degree angle without snapping it, the whole flexing swiftly back into its original position. Ugh! It's so beautiful and so completely impractical (I certainly hope never to poke someone with it!) that I'm really at a loss for words. As with other parts of this trip, the thought of it just fills me with...well...with a lot of feeling.

Fortunately, it was in my price range (it wasn't made with meteoritic iron after all!), and my wife and I both knew there was a very good chance I'd purchase a sword in Toledo (I never did have much of a poker face). Wow...I can only hope it clears customs so I can unwrap it and revel in its shininess...right now, it is boxed and taped and it ain't coming out till we get back to Sea-town. Hopefully, no fat tourist in the midst of a mid-life crisis slaps me with his glove while I'm prowling the city, looking for a churro (the wife is already stocked-up on the marzipan).

However, if some deathwish-craving Yankee DOES hit me up for a duel, I'm sure I'll be able to pop into whatever shop I happen to be browsing, and nip back out, blade in hand. I mean, really, it is THAT easy in Toledo. I kid thee not...every single block. There are enough armas blancas in this town...replica AND authentic...to arm every single tourist and stage a mass battle scene that would put Nightwatch to shame. Maybe not enough claymores to do Braveheart...but I wasn't a huge fan of that flick anyway.

All right, all right. That's enough for now. I've got another 48 hours or so "in country" and I need to spend some of it sleeping. Adios, amigos! Nos vemos!

: )

Damn Netherlands...Again?

Congrats to Spain for winning the 2010 World Cup...not the team I was rooting for but I have no great love for the Clockwork Orange (would've been nice to finally get that monkey off their back, but I'm sure a Dutch win would have triggered mixed emotions in South Africa).

Four years till the next World Cup. Thank God...I need a break from the television set!!!

: )

More World Cup Madness

I suppose the blogs have all been quiet because most folks are (like myself) gearing up for the World Cup opening tomorrow. Right? Right?!

I've spent pretty much the entire evening compiling the picks for our "fantasy World Cup tourney" and creating a Yahoo groups page. Me...I'm not very good with computers. I can type, and I can read, and for the most part that the extent of my ability which allows me to blog. D&D nerd, yes. Computer nerd, no.

Which is kind of funny when you think about it (or funny to me at least), when one considers how long the one has been associated with the other. I can recall watching that film Cloak & Dagger (circa 1984) with that kid, Elliot, from E.T. the Extraterrestrial. He played some kind of RPG type spy game with some over-weight uncle-type guy (who eventually gets shot between the eyes! What a way for an Old School DM to go!)...who, while an obvious D&D nerd-type is also heavily into computers, computer games, computer hacking...whatever.

I'm surprised War Games didn't have some sort of RPG reference imbedded in it. Maybe Twilight 2000 by association.

Anyway, it is officially 1am, I don't have to work tomorrow, and apparently no one else does either, as a whole passel of folks are coming by the house at 6:30am to watch Mexico versus South Africa. And eat breakfast, of course (I hope someone's bringing Bloody Marys...the red, green, and vodka will go well with the Mexican uniform). We're all rooting for my wife's home country, but I have a feeling South Africa is going to go pretty far in the tournament. Of course, I did just watch Invictus last weekend, which may be coloring my perception.

There will be more RPG stuff this weekend, I promise...my cover artist is trying to get things sewed up by the end of the weekend. However, the posting might be a bit sporadic depending on the excitement of the games (we've got eight or so to watch, I think).

All right...time for a few zzzzzzz's...

Why World of Warcraft?

Or any MMORPG for that matter?

Yeah, I was considering a follow-up Blood Bowl post to yesterday's devastating Seahawks' loss (is it devastating when a team goes 1-1 to start the season? Only when it sees another 4 starters go down with injury...especially your starting QB).

But forget that...I have a better thing to ask about.

Part of this is simply riffing off of Raggi's rather thoughtful post over at LotFP...fairly good food for thought, I don't mind saying, especially as I start a little module writing action of my own.

But what's really set me off is simply walking around my neighborhood and looking in windows.

Not that I'm in the habit of peeking through my neighbors' windows, please understand. But I do walk my neighborhood quite a bit (Greenwood's considered an "urban village" of Seattle, whatever that means), and when it's night time and the shades are up (and their lights are on), I can't help but notice things simply when walking to the store, polite as I try to be). 

Just WHAT I notice is folks playing on their computers late into the night.

Now my wife and I just moved into this house and this street so we didn't expect to hit it off especially with everyone, but we've had no problem. For one thing, everyone's quite friendly. For another, it seems to be mostly populated by people just like us: young couple's, professionals, all in their 20s-30s. Some have children, some have pets, some have both. 

Of course, maybe they're not playing MMORPGs...maybe they're working on their great American novel or their political blog for change or simply playing Mafia on Facebook. But I've known enough MMORPG players to know that they fit the profile...guys my age, my income level. Oh sure there are plenty o young kids that play WoW...newbs or rubes or whatever. But many of the hard core players are older chaps like myself.

Why the hell are they playing these games and not traditional RPGs?

I mean what's the problem? They don't have a gaming group to join? D&D doesn't have cool enough stuff? They need visual graphics to make their imaginations work? They're afraid of how table-top gamers smell? Your significant other won't let you go out and play?

Personally, I just don't get it. I can almost understand the interest in console shooter games like Halo (some people like to shoot people without really shooting people, ya' know?)...kind of like racing games or playing Rock Band.

But why play World of Warcraft...THE most popular MMORPG by a shit-ton of people...instead of finding real people to game with, they would rather "raid" the same dungeon week after week (or night after night) waiting hopefully for new "content" to be developed. I mean, what the hell? Are people really that anti-social?

I mean, I have a tendency to be anti-social, but gaming is gaming...you need to game with people right? I mean, that's kind of the saving grace of gaming right? Instead of saving the world or feeding the hungry or something you're at least building community, being creative, using your imagination, story-telling. 

Or maybe you're not. Maybe it IS all about escapism and living out your fantasy of being a "hero" (or an 80th level night elf whatsis). In which case, why give an F about any of this?

You know what...that's a damn rhetorical question. Should people stop attempting to make thoughtful films (or, hell, writing for stage theater) just because plenty o people prefer scripted reality programs with train-wrecks of "real" people? Of course not.

Posting may be light for the near future...I have some Old School writing I need to finish up.

; )

OSR -- F**k...

I am scrunched into a comfy chair, trying to type on my Mac without disturbing the beagle in my lap. This is challenging to say the least. My older beagle (she is two years old) thinks she's a lap dog...or perhaps a cat. Anyway, it's a tricky balancing act, that is clear.

Similar to what the F I am doing blogging away about D&D and RPGs.

Perhaps if I hadn't been spending so much time raising beagles, I would have started this retrospective (that's how I think of much of my posts) a lot sooner. Or perhaps not. It wasn't the death of Gary Gygax that got me into the blogging realms, it was the need to write about a shared experience...and maybe get some direction about where I want to go with my interest/hobby.

(oops...dog is shifting position again...and so must I, apparently)

The way I see it, I can play the damn games, I can write the damn games, or I can sit on the sidelines and twiddle my thumbs. The blog thing...shit, it's just instant gratification. Come up with a few ideas (or opinions) hit a button and *poof* they're on the air. Or the net...or the web...whatever.

I'm not trying to make connections with folks, not really (maybe just trying to show signs of solidarity). I'm not trying to start fights for the sake of fighting (just using this particular forum to express myself). But...ugh...how to put this....

I'm not worried I'm wasting my time blogging...this is entertaining. This is FUN for me. I can be crazy prolific (I've been trying to pace myself, trying to stay off-line for at least a few hours between posts, though sometimes I can't help myself). I don't care (much) if no one cares what the fuck I have to say...that's the way of the blog-o-sphere.

But I am worried...a bit...that I may not be helping. Not enough anyway. People are having fun with their blogs, with their nostalgia, with their rants and reminisces and their ideas for new monsters and house rules and whatever, and that's totally cool. But am I adding anything that is helpful? Am I helping the OS movement? Am I helping gaming?

My old humanities teacher taught me never to write a rhetorical question, because the reader will always answer it (in their mind) with "no" and a small chuckle. But like my attempts at being less "bloggy" and more thoughtful, sometimes I simply can't help myself.

Here's the thing, here's the point. I believe in gaming. I believe in it as an art form, as a type of creative expression, as a social experience, as a community building exercise. Where I see video games isolate individuals (even and especially on-line games), table top RPGs encourage face-to-face contact with our fellow humans and shared cooperation in having fun.

It is more intellectual than simple board games.

It is less competitive than war games.

It is more cooperative than creative writing.

It is more imaginative and active than flipping on the TV or plugging in the IPod.

Anyway, I believe in the idea of RPGs...in their potential I guess you could say. And I want to be of service to the RPG movement because I believe in it.

Old School D&D fosters this "good stuff" in players (and I include the DM as one of the players at the table). Players have to cooperate to enjoy themselves and have a good time. They have to create a social contract. They have to learn to interact with others. Old school play requires players to be imaginative. To think outside the box...whether in designing challenges or in overcoming challenges.

I have a lot of trash to talk about 4E gaming. I think it makes the game within the game (the creation of a cool "stat block") a 1-player exercise. I see it as isolating. I see an emphasis on ego stroking and mental masturbation. I see a rule system that will drive players to video games because it attempts to emulate video game structure but fails to do it in real time as video games can. I see a gam company that has actively been trying to monopolize an industry with their "One System To Rule Them All" since 2000. That's how I see it, and I think it sucks.

I believe in gaming. I really, really do. I think Arneson and Gygax hit it out of the park and I think other excellent designers have taken their ideas and run with it. I think it's an art form that deserves to live on in our society, not be a passing fad. I think it's an art that deserves to be shared and explored by all, not a paltry few escapists.

And so I hope the things I write are encouraging or inspiring or helps point people towards things that will grow the hobby and gets them to think about why the hobby is cool and maybe worth their time. Because if I'm not doing this, if I'm not helping, then I'm doing a disservice to gaming. I'm wasting the time of people that could be playing or designing or sharing RPGs...or reading blogs that actually DID encourage them to play and design and share RPGs.

I want to drive people to gaming. I want to help folks keep an open mind so that little independent game systems with coherent design but different engines can be developed, played, and shared, hopefully appealing to those folks who aren't interested in slaying dragons and looting treasure hordes. I want gaming...the act, the art...to flourish.

Ridiculous perhaps (my beagles would certainly think so) when soldiers of my own country invade and overthrow the governments of sovereign nations with the blessing of a nation living in fear...fear of others, fear of what is different, fear of the unknown. Ridiculous when my nation's leaders fight and bicker and fear economic fallout in the face of environmental catastrophe. Ridiculous to worry about this shit when people in my own nation are falling through the cracks, when the mentally ill become homeless and the lack of medical care forces families into poverty and the lack of education dooms people to repeat past failures in cycle that often appears never-ending.

But fuck...shouldn't we be coming together over SOMETHING? Isn't a fun game that requires imagination and cooperation and getting to know your neighbor in a social setting...their flaws and foibles as well as their merits and humor...isn't it possible that taking a few small steps in the direction of community will help us do at least a little REAL world building?

[I can hear my professor saying "no" and giving a small chuckle; damn rhetorical questions!]

Anyway, it's a balancing act. Too much reading and writing, not enough doing and the whole thing becomes counter-productive. My poor beagle has left me by this point to go sleep with her brother on the much roomier couch while I finish up what should be (I hope!) my last post of the day. Sorry if it seems like a bit of a downer (hey, no one commented on my earlier post, and I thought it was pretty damn funny!), but it's night time and I'm prone to dark reflection at times. I did mention I was a Scorpio right? We tend to be "drama queens."

Later, Gators...