Did you know I wrote a Universal/Generic RPG in the 1980s?

...and that the free PDF version has been downloaded nearly 14,000 times since it was "re-released" back in 2011?

It's been a while since I mentioned The System around these parts. The System is the universal RPG that I originally wrote as a high-schooler in 1985, abandoned when I realized GURPS had hit the market, then finally resurrected when I discovered the OSR back in the early part of 2011 (though had yet to understand what a retro-clone was... which The System is definitely not). If you've never heard of The System, it was actually the first New Big Dragon RPG product ever published (in the early months of 2011), and the one that set the ball in motion for what I've done since. Below is how the "original edition" appeared in the mid 80s (on the left) and how it appears now in the "25th Anniversary Edition" (on the right). I suppose I should start getting ready for the 40th Anniversary Edition in 2026.



I'm quite willing to admit the game has its flaws... I mean, c'mon, I was 16 or 17 when I wrote it. (e.g., there is a very convoluted constitution-to-hit-point system, and there is an innovative but ultimately ill-conceived initiative and movement tracking system, and while it purports to handle supers among its genres, I can't claim that it actually scales to reflect the expanse of power levels between the weakest and strongest heroes). But over time, I have more and more appreciation for the fact that it uses d6s only, and led to some underlying things that Welbo and I would like to see become part of a "2nd Edition" of The System. (Should we ever get back to it.)

There have been some interesting developments over the last ten or twelve years. For example, it was poised to become a guy in Brazil's replacement for GURPS. I've also received several emails over the years with people asking about using the underlying system as a framework for other games (both tabletop and computer-based), though nothing has ever materialized from those inquiries.

• If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

• To download a free PDF from MediaFire, click here. 
• To buy a print copy of The System from Lulu, head over here.

The System Surpasses 10,000 Downloads!!!

So it seems that while I've been asses and elbows over the last few months with real-world client work, PDF downloads of my generic RPG The System surpassed 10,000 total downloads! The System is the universal RPG that I originally wrote as a high-schooler in 1985, abandoned when I realized GURPS had hit the market, then finally resurrected when I discovered the OSR back in the early part of 2011 (though had yet to understand what a retro-clone was... which The System is definitely not).

As a published RPG product, it predates the other things for which I'm known (including the d30 DM Companion, the otherwise first of my published products). It has been available as a free PDF download (direct from this link) and in print-on-demand from Lulu.com.

If you've never heard of The System, here's the topline overview... I originally wrote/designed this in late 1985/early 1986 (when I was about 16 years old) before other universal role playing systems were available on the market. As I was getting ready to playtest it with my friends, a guy in our gaming group brought in a copy of the (then) newly-released GURPS, and I shelved my system in the disappointment that comes with having someone beat you to the punch. In 2011, I "rescued the from oblivion" (that is, I scanned the old daisy-wheel printed version that came from my dad's word processor at work), gave it a (very) quick polish to the ruleset, and typeset it with a decidedly retro (1st generation) RPG feel to it.

As stated previously, I'm quite willing to admit the game has its flaws... I mean, c'mon, I was 16 or so when I wrote it. (e.g., there is a very convoluted constitution-to-hit-point system, and there is an innovative but ultimately ill-conceived initiative and movement tracking system, and while it purports to handle supers among its genres, I can't claim that it actually scales to reflect the expanse of power levels between the weakest and strongest heroes). But over time, I have more and more appreciation for the fact that it uses d6s only, and led to some underlying things that Welbo and I would like to see become part of a "2nd Edition" of The System. (Should we ever get back to it, but may something it takes us 10 or more years to complete.)

• If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

• To download a free PDF from MediaFire, click here.
• To buy a deeply-discounted print copy of The System from Lulu.com, head over here.

The System Surpasses 9,000 Downloads

It seems like the only time I mention The System on this blog is when it hits another download milestone (which is because the only time I mention The System on this blog is when it hits another download milestone). The System is the universal RPG that I originally wrote as a high-schooler in 1985, abandoned when I realized GURPS had hit the market, then finally resurrected when I discovered the OSR back in the early part of 2011 (though had yet to understand what a retro-clone was... which The System is definitely not).

As a published RPG product, it predates the other things for which I'm known (including the d30 DM Companion, the otherwise first of my published products). It has been available as a free PDF download (direct from this link) and in print-on-demand from Lulu.com.

Well... some time over the last few days, the free downloads of The System from my MediaFire link surpassed the 9,000 mark (which does not include downloads from co-located downloads, like the one at 1KM1KT).

If you've never heard of The System, here's the topline overview... I originally wrote/designed this in late 1985/early 1986 (when I was about 16 years old) before other universal role playing systems were available on the market. As I was getting ready to playtest it with my friends, a guy in our gaming group brought in a copy of the (then) newly-released GURPS, and I shelved my system in the disappointment that comes with having someone beat you to the punch. In 2011, I "rescued the from oblivion" (that is, I scanned the old daisy-wheel printed version that came from my dad's word processor at work), gave it a (very) quick polish to the ruleset, and typeset it with a decidedly retro (1st generation) RPG feel to it.

As stated previously, I'm quite willing to admit the game has its flaws... I mean, c'mon, I was 16 or so when I wrote it. (e.g., there is a very convoluted constitution-to-hit-point system, and there is an innovative but ultimately ill-conceived initiative and movement tracking system, and while it purports to handle supers among its genres, I can't claim that it actually scales to reflect the expanse of power levels between the weakest and strongest heroes). But over time, I have more and more appreciation for the fact that it uses d6s only, and led to some underlying things that Welbo and I would like to see become part of a "2nd Edition" of The System. (Should we ever get back to it, but may something it takes us 10 or more years to complete.)

• If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

• To download a free PDF from MediaFire, click here.
• To buy a just-over-cost print copy of The System from Lulu (for $3.95), head over here.

The System Surpasses 8,000 Downloads

It's been a while since I mentioned The System around these parts. The System is the universal RPG that I originally wrote as a high-schooler in 1985, abandoned when I realized GURPS had hit the market, then finally resurrected when I discovered the OSR back in the early part of 2011 (though had yet to understand what a retro-clone was... which The System is definitely not).

Some time on this Friday just passed, the free downloads of The System from my MediaFire link surpassed the 8,000 mark (which does not include downloads from co-located downloads, like the one at 1KM1KT).

If you've never heard of The System, it was actually the first New Big Dragon RPG product ever published (in the early months of 2011), and the one that set the ball in motion for what I've done since. Below is how the "original edition" appeared in the mid 80s (on the left) and how it appears now in the "25th Anniversary Edition" (on the right).



I'm quite willing to admit the game has its flaws... I mean, c'mon, I was 16 or 17 when I wrote it. (e.g., there is a very convoluted constitution-to-hit-point system, and there is an innovative but ultimately ill-conceived initiative and movement tracking system, and while it purports to handle supers among its genres, I can't claim that it actually scales to reflect the expanse of power levels between the weakest and strongest heroes). But over time, I have more and more appreciation for the fact that it uses d6s only, and led to some underlying things that Welbo and I would like to see become part of a "2nd Edition" of The System. (Should we ever get back to it.)

There have been some interesting developments over the last four years or so. For example, it was poised to become a guy in Brazil's replacement for GURPS. I've also received several emails over the years with people asking about using the underlying system as a framework for other games (both tabletop and computer-based), though nothing has ever materialized from those inquiries.

• If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

• To download a free PDF from MediaFire, click here.
• To buy a print copy of The System from Lulu, head over here.

The System Hits 7,000 downloads!!!!!!!

If you've followed this blog for longer than a year or so have heard me mention The System, the universal RPG that I originally wrote as a high-schooler in 1985, abandoned when I realized GURPS had hit the market, then finally resurrected when I discovered the OSR, but a year or so before I became part of the OSR blogosphere proper.

Long story short, it's just hit 7,000 downloads from MediaFire (which does not include downloads from 1KM1KT). So you don't have to search through that site, download links can be found at the New Big Dragon web site.

If you've never heard of The System, the original story is here. It was actually the first New Big Dragon RPG product ever published (in the early months of 2011), and the one that set the ball in motion for what I've done since. I'm quite willing to admit the game has its flaws... I mean, c'mon, I was 16 or 17 when I wrote it. (e.g., there is a very convoluted constitution-to-hit-point system, and there is an innovative but ultimately ill-conceived initiative and movement tracking system, and while it purports to handle supers among its genres, I can't claim that it actually scales to reflect the expanse of power levels between the weakest and strongest heroes). But over time, I have more and more appreciation for the fact that it uses d6s only, and led to some underlying things that Welbo and I would like to see become part of a "2nd Edition" of The System. (Should we ever get back to it.)

How did the piece-of-$#!T game I wrote in 1985 get downloaded 6,000 times in the last 2½ years?

More than that, how did it become a guy in Brazil's replacement for GURPS?

Wait! What's that you say? You've never heard of The System? You must be new to the blog, then. I only mention this 28-page crapfest every time I get the chance.

This is the universal RPG I originally wrote in 1985, composed and printed from my dad's Wang (the computer, of course; not his penis), and published in a select run of only THREE COPIES! Then one day a buddy showed up to school with this brand new game called GURPS and I said, "Damn. There goes that idea," and I shelved it. Bitten by the OSR bug a few years back, I dug it up, only minimally polished up my crappy high-school writing, did a real typeset job on it, and published it in February of 2011 (with a retro-type-feel reminiscent of the old Traveler books, and strategically-selected-but-quickly-growing-tiresome public domain art). And now PDF downloads from MediaFire have topped the 6,000 mark! That's 6,000 folks who've downloaded a free PDF copy of The System from MediaFire, not including any Lulu or 1km1kt downloads. (BTW, the PDF is no longer available from Lulu because I don't like not being able to track free downloads. They need to remedy that situation.)

As per my previous 1K-interval blog posts, I have to thank Chris's Compendiums of Free Role-Playing Games, John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web, and Rob Lang over at 1KM1KT (1,000 Monkeys, 1,000 Typewriters), all of whom have taken on the vocation of helping rule-makers and home-brewers to get their work out there. Rob even goes above and beyond, working double-duty with the 24 Hour RPG competition, and triple-duty with the Game Chef competition. But now I also have to thank Heder at the RPG4Free blog; more people download the PDF from his blog every month than they do from the New Big Dragon web site.

• If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

• To download a free PDF from MediaFire, click here.
• To buy a print copy of The System from Lulu, head over here.

Pictured below at top: Cover and first 3 pages from The System, as published in 1985.
Pictured below at bottom: Sample page from "25th Anniversary Edition" published in 2011.

The System Hits 5,000 Downloads!!!!! (+Other Free RPG Downloads)

It's been a while 'round these parts since I've mentioned The System, my universal RPG written originally in the mid-80s and finally typeset and published in February of last year, but the PDF downloads have now topped the 5,000 mark! That's 5,000 folks who've downloaded a free PDF copy of The System from MediaFire,, not including any Lulu or 1km1kt downloads.

Here's something ironic... though I wrote the game originally in the mid-80s (pre-GURPS, but post-Champions), and though the PDF has now hit 5,000 downloads and has been floating around the interweb for about 1-1/2 years, I've only recently seen anyone out there talk about The System. About a month ago, RPG4FREE, a Portuguese-language blog, posted about it. (BTW, you'll have to hit the "translate" button if you don't read Portuguese). Heder (the host over there) said some rather kind words about it... "The System... presents a system of simple rules, which fits in less than 30 pages, but is built on a solid enough to be capable of magnifications without becoming a patchwork of contradictory," and "Highly recommended for general interested in versatility and strong candidate to replace GURPS as my main system." (The translation is by Google Translate; I'm sure it flows better in its original Portugese.)

As per my previous 1K-interval blog posts, I have to thank Chris's Compendiums of Free Role-Playing Games, John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web, and Rob Lang over at 1KM1KT (1,000 Monkeys, 1,000 Typewriters), all of whom have taken on the vocation of helping rule-makers and home-brewers to get their work out there. Rob even goes above and beyond, working double-duty with the 24 Hour RPG competition, and triple-duty with the Game Chef competition.

• If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

• To download a free PDF from MediaFire, click here.
• To buy a print copy of The System from Lulu, head over here.

The System Hits 4,000 Downloads (+Free RPG Downloads)

Just 3 months after the The System hit 3,000 downloads, it has now hit 4,000! That's 4,000 folks who've downloaded a free PDF copy of The System, my universal RPG written originally in the mid-80s. (Tally includes only MediaFire downloads, not including any Lulu or 1km1kt downloads.)

As per my previous 1K-interval blog posts, I have to thank Chris's Compendiums of Free Role-Playing Games, John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web, and Rob Lang over at 1KM1KT (1,000 Monkeys, 1,000 Typewriters), all of whom have taken on the vocation of helping rule-makers and home-brewers to get their work out there. Rob even goes above and beyond, working double-duty with the 24 Hour RPG competition, and triple-duty with the Game Chef competition.

If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

To buy a print copy of The System from Lulu, head over here.

The System Hits 3,000 Downloads (+Free RPG Downloads)

It's been just shy of one year now, and I've topped the 3,000 mark for downloads of the free copy ofThe System, my universal RPG written originally in the mid-80s. (Tally includes only MediaFire downloads, not including any Lulu or 1km1kt downloads.)

As per my 2,000 downloads post, I have to thank Chris's Compendiums of Free Role-Playing Games, John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web, and Rob Lang over at 1KM1KT (1,000 Monkeys, 1,000 Typewriters), all of whom have taken on the vocation of helping rule-makers and home-brewers to get their work out there. Rob even goes above and beyond, working double-duty with the 24 Hour RPG competition, and triple-duty with the Game Chef competition. I'd also like to say "C'mon Lulu! Why the hell can't I see how many people have downloaded a free PDF of this from you?"

If you want the full story on The System, check out this post.

A Look Back: Task Force Games and a Case for Hierarchical Rules Numbering

Let me start by saying, I'm a big fan of Task Force Games. That being said, I'm not necessarily a fan of any of the Star Fleet Battles stuff (though I dig and appreciate it.) What I'm a fan of are their structured, conditional combat rulesets that try to simplify all variables to a bare minimum, and then present them all in an "if/then" order. This was the Task Force modus operandi for its "rules lite" micro games, as well as its heavier rulesets like Heroes of Olympus and Super Villans.

Take a look Holmes Blue for the exact opposite of what I'm talking about. Once you strip away the list of spells and monsters and treasure, you're left with a set of rules that isn't terribly longer than TFG's Spellbinder, which numbers 12 rather text-dense half-sized pages. But doesn't really make 100% sense if you've never played the game before. In fact, R.C. Pinnell has recently reworked the content of Holmes Blue in "an attempt to clarify those things that are implied within the '77 document, and to provide additional data to support the implications." But IMO, all of the early books are kind of that way (Oe and 1e included), especially in regards to combat procedure.

As a graphic designer, I blame this a bit more on a lack of enough variants in type-sizing, or the lack of a numbering/lettering system to help the reader understand when they have moved on to a different topic. For example, in the D&D PH, the following topics are sized in the same manner without any regard for separating them as different subjects: combat procedure, damage, falling damage, healing, obedience. Uh... what? How did we go from combat, damage, and healing to obedience without a visual separation of concepts? (That kind of shit doesn't fly in any of the typography classes I teach... EVER!)

So why do I love Task Force Games? Because the rules are so methodically organized as to be, quite possibly, the most anal retentive rules in the history of gaming. Look at this sample of section titles from Heroes of Olympus:
5.0 MAGIC
5.1 Magic of the Gods
5.11 Regions and Sites of Magic
5.2 Magical Artifacts
5.3 Wizards, Witches and the Use of Common Magic
6.0 THE GODS
6.1 Description of the Gods
6.2 Followers of the Gods
6.21 Temples and Holy Places
6.22 Priests and Priestesses
6.23 Rituals and Sacrifices

Look at that! You always know where you are in the hierarchy of information. The addition of a few numbers goes a looooooong way in assisting with that.

By no means is Task Force Games the only proprietor of the numbered sections and sub-sections. It was more often a combination of the company's background (wargame vs. RPG) and the writer's background (wargame vs. RPG.) For example, Richard Snider didn't do it with Dave Arneson on Adventures in Fantasy, but he did do it on Avalon Hill's Powers & Perils. The latter of those two company's, by comparison, published Tom Moldvay's Lords of Creation sans nombres. Dennis Sustare's Heroes of Olympus for Task Force Games, and Bunnies & Burrows for Fantasy Games Unlimited, both included them. But, then again, every game I've ever owned by either of those companies uses the numbered system, and Sustare designed several games for both.

By now it's obvious I drink the Kool-aid when it comes to hierarchal numbering systems. Given that, does it come as a surprise that I've chosen that system for both Starmasters and The System: Expanded (which are, technically, both based on the same rules skeleton so if one is numbered they should both be numbered)? But there's an added bonus to the aided readability and understanding for readers/players... it's helped me write them as well.

In a way, writing around an "if/then" and "conditional" scenario structure is like writing to a flowchart without using an actual flowchart. And, if a new or optional rule pops up, 95% of the time I know exactly where it needs to go, and how much or little I have to explain about it (based on the rules above and below it) so the players understand. And if it refers to another rule (or condition,) I simply insert that number for reference and no digging into the index is required for the reader/player to find it. They simply hold their place, flip to other spot, then flip back to where they were.

There is one thing missing to me, though, from Task Force Games's approach—interior art. While not necessary to comprehension (and an added expense, to boot), it is quite necessary for personality and atmosphere. But that's the difference between wargaming and role-playing. (BTW, I've always envisioned Starmasters as somewhere between the two.)

Another Really Old Old-School Artist

In my Really Old School Artist post from back in November, I discussed the work of John D. Batten and how I discovered Batten's work while trolling Wikimedia Commons to find images for use in the layout of The System. Such is also the case with the work of Willy Pogany.

Hungarian-born Pogany (1882-1955) made his way to America via Paris and London. Being in those locales (Paris and London) at that time (just after the turn of the century), it seems only natural that Art Nouveau found it's influence on Pogany, especially since much of the most interesting work in book publishing at the time was coming out of the Private Press Movement. Another great thing about the Private Press Movement (from the RPGer's perspective) is that much of the subject matter was fantastic in nature, including mythology, fairy and folk tales, and the beginnings of what we now know as fantasy literature. (See my post How the Industrial Revolution Inspired the Original Fantasy Game: A Brief Timeline for a bit more info about this.)

With Pogany, like Batten, the works they created do not feel out-of-place at all in the context of an OSR milieu. In looking at the work below, I'm struck by the resemblance of the work of both Russ Nicholson and Jeff Dee. I'm not claiming the similarities are intentional. As an artist, I know that techniques are techniques, and personal style is something that is truly amalgamated from the artists who've inspired and influenced you. (See my Favorite Artists post for a bit more info on this one.)

So, without further ado, please enjoy these selections from The Children of Odin and The Adventure of Odysseus, both by Padraic Colum (The Macmillan Company), as well one other image that I can't quite source (the one of the beggar that looks like a Russ Nicholson drawing.)

---

EDITOR'S CORRECTION:
In my original version of this post,
the image at left was credited to
Willy Pogany but, in fact, it was done
by Lorenz Frølich.

Starmasters Update: Combat Playtest Installment III (or "Going Though a Phase")

We ran another great test of Starmasters combat last night and couldn't be more pleased.

In some ways, the Starmasters combat system is really an extension/culmination of the original combat mechanics I wrote for The System back in 1985 and has acted as a catalyst for refining the current mechanic refinements to The System: Expanded. What it has produced is an elegant combat system that technically only requires two tables for the resolution of any action in the game: 1) an "Action Table" that serves to resolve combat, skill challenges & contests, and saving throws, while seamlessly incorporating critical failures and outstanding successes (a mechanic I'm particularly proud of), and 2) an "Effects Scale Chart" used to handle any sort of "product" in the game, including weapon strength/damage, as well as the effects of skills used in the game (e.g., the effective quality of a forgery or a security system.) Don't worry, old-schoolers, you still get to roll for damage; you just have to do it all with d6s.

So here are the big takeaways from last night...

1) The issues with the phasing (order and interval of actions) is resolved.
Last go 'round, the Üroti's phasing (combat interval as determined by movement rating) combined with his accuracy was absolutely lethal to all who crossed his path (ironic, considering they were meant to be a passive race of healers.) Thanks to a suggestion from my co-conspirator David Welborn, with a simple modification to way phasing is determined (essentially adding 3 points to the way it used to be calculated), action sequencing was much more balanced and more realistic to the compared abilities of the parties involved. (On a side note, the basis for the phasing system and the way action order is determined goes back to the original 1985 rules for The System.)

2) The system really seems to produce what you've come to expect in a "sci fi shoot out."
Think about the beginning of Episode IV: A New Hope. The doors slide open and blaster fire starts whizzing back and forth. Then, every few seconds, somebody takes it and falls to the floor. This system really seems to do that pretty well. With the old phasing mechanic, most action was resolved in just a few seconds (think Peckinpah or Tarintino.) The new phasing mechanic resulted in a more drawn out shootout that actually ended with several of the characters "stalking" each other in the hallways! (It was freakin' wicked awesome!!!)

3) A little armor goes a long way.
The scale for attributes (including HPs) in Starmasters is rather small (1-6) in comparison to most RPGs (e.g., 3-18). It is my belief that one good blaster shot or well-placed sword strike should kill a clumsy, unarmored character. Also, Starmasters began as a 70s wargame concept, so the smaller scale was always in line with that idea. Those things being said, even a little bit of armor (just 1 or 2 points) went a long way in helping both "naturally" armored characters (like the Sluuth and the Zhophek), as well those wearing armor (like the Human) stay alive.

4) We're finally ready to test the optional combat rules (knockout, knockback and shock.)
These should be pretty simple to work through now that the other issues are resolved. I'm particularly interested to see how a well-armored character handles knockback, considering that a really good shot could create a lot of impact (force) without killing the character entirely.

Stay tuned for our next episode, "The Landing Party," in which our faithful heroes take on the deadly Ekeni'qos Bloodbeast and the legendary Thuzzendahg!

Samurai in Space

So the other day when my co-consipriator David Welborn and I were testing the Starmasters combat system, the only minis I had handy were some Reaper Minis samurai figures from the mid-to-late 90s designed by Bob Charrette. Coincidentally, Dave's been testing the mechanics (Starmasters shares some basic combat mechanics with The System, The System: Expanded, and my new d30 project Magic, Men, Mutants & Machines) to see how they work to simulate Samurai battles. It was never an intention to specifically include any sort of Samurai genre into the Starmasters setting, it just so happens that the various playtesting is overlapping. That being said, as part of our planned Starmasters playtesting this week, Dave's anxious to see how the system works for some actions specific to Samurai combat (particularly a riposte action.) On the other side of things, I'm now inspired to work in a Samurai pastiche to one of the Starmasters alien races while trying to keep the obvious influnce Japanese rather than Jedi. (After all, everybody knows Star Wars is really just a rip off of Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress.)

Just a reminder, Starmasters doesn't use a d30. I just had it handy from testing the d30 sytem, and felt like including it in the picture because it looked cool.

Really Old Old-School Artist: John D. Batten

Okay, before you read any further, any guesses as to who did this illustration?

It does have that Larry Elmore juno se qua, doesn't it? Well, it's not Larry's.

The old school artist who did this illustration of the fairy tale "The Wooing of Olwen" is John D. Batten. He was born in 1860 and died in 1932. That makes him a REALLY old school artist.

I discovered Batten's work while trolling Wikimedia Commons searching for images for The System earlier this year.

This image is from The Book of Wonder Voyages, a volume by Jason Jacobs, a collection of English, Celtic, Indian, and other European fairy and folk tales.

Just look at this baby... it could have been an OD&D module cover alongside the original 2-color Tomb of Horrors, or the early G Modules.

This one is another one from The Book of Wonder Voyages, and looks like it's straight out of the 1e AD&D Monster Manual.

You can probably see why I relied so heavily on so many images from Batten when I put together The System. It was a way of inexpensively achieving an old-school illustration look by going really old school.

The System Hits 2,000 Downloads (Plus Links to Loads of FREE RPGs!)

I'd like to start off this post by saying "Thank you!" to the 2,000 (and counting) people who, in the last seven months, have downloaded a free copy ofThe System, my universal RPG written originally in the mid-80s. I'd also like to thank Chris's Compendiums of Free Role-Playing Games, John Kim's Free RPGs on the Web, and Rob Lang over at 1KM1KT (1,000 Monkeys, 1,000 Typewriters), all of whom have taken on the vocation of helping rule-makers and home-brewers to get their work out there. Rob even goes above and beyond, working double-duty with the 24 Hour RPG competition, and triple-duty with the Game Chef competition.

So... "What's The System?" you ask?

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Some time around seventh or eighth grade (this was around 1980, mind you), I started hearing about this game called Dungeons & Dragons. I knew a couple of guys who played it, but I didn't know much more than that. I remember making the mistake of buying the blue box Expert Set without having played the game or having read the Basic (red) Rulebook. So I saved up another twelve bucks, bought the red box, figured it out (a little anyway), and convinced my younger brother to roll up a character or two. Soon enough we were on our way... to adventure!

The bigger impact on me as a role player came not long after while accompanying my mother on her trip to the hobby shop for cross-stitching supplies. It was there, in a clearance bin, I spied it... a copy of Metagaming's Wizard. It blew me away. It was simple and straightforward. But more importantly, I realized there was more than one RPG out there, and there were other ways of handling character creation and combat.

I moved onto high school, joined the "Warlords" club (our school RPG club) and was exposed to the gamut of games available on the market—simple and fun superhero games, complex medieval games, unique starship combat systems. And the more I discovered, the more interesting it became. Then it hit me... "Why isn't there one RPG that lets you play in any setting or time period." It seemed so natural to me, and I couldn't figure out why no one had done it yet. So I set about creating one.

I'd go to my dad's office every chance I got, sit at that newfangled Wang word processing workstation (you know the one, the big thing with the black screen and green text, the one hooked to that big box on the other table, next to the daisy-wheel printer), and clack-clack-clacked my way through the rules. This early version of “The System” was mostly engineered from the mechanics of other games that made the most sense to me, filling in here and there with some contrivances of my own.

By early 1986, I had a working version of the rules together. I had a few copies printed out, ready to bring them to my gaming group (to see how they played), when a friend showed up at our weekly session with the first couple of GURPS rulebooks. "AAUGH! Somebody beat me to it! (Not that I shouldn't have figured it would happen.)" Staring at those fully-illustrated/typeset/printed GURPS books, I just didn't see the point in continuing with my game.

I went off to college at the end of that summer, got REALLY busy on my schoolwork and lost time to play, and drifted away from the hobby for a while. So my rulebook sat in a folder for years... somewhat forgotten. Until I found them in a box stored in the back of my garage last year, about the same time I discovered the OSR.

Call it nostalgia for those early years, call it the internet “if he can do it, I can do it” attitude, or just call it a waste of virtual space. With a little help from my scanner, an OCR program, and 20 plus years of graphic design experience, I published my original system earlier this year via a downloadable PDF and in a print version through Lulu.com. There was very little content editing (just some clean up for comprehension and a few glaring rule inconsistencies,) and I gave it a decidedly retro bent to the layout and graphics (inspired more by the post white box wave of wargame based RPGs.) So there it is... very raw, but "out there" in the universe nonetheless.

The rules are a little bare-bones and include some very obvious holes (and more typos than I care to mention). Moreover, I feel it to be plagued by the poor writing of a teenager who had yet to discover his voice as a writer, and was doing his best not to plagiarize the writing of the games that "inspired" him.

The new layout, however, is much more user-friendly than the original version produced on that Paleolithic word processor with monospaced daisy-wheel printing and justification forced to the point of illegibility. (It might as well have been chiselled on stone.) And with the addition of a few perfect pieces of vintage public domain clip art, I think it captures the spirit of that early wave of (now “retro”) role playing games. (BTW, there is a much smarter, much stronger, much deeper, and much more streamlined version in the works - The System: Expanded.)

So why did I put it that original (albeit re-published) version out there? Vanity? Legacy? Boredom? Most likely a combination of all three.

I hoped that somebody might find something useful in there, whether it be a game mechanic they'd adapt for their own use, an insight to the home-grown nature of early role-playing games, or (at the risk being committed) a system of mechanics they actually use outright!

So what do those 2,000+ people who've downloaded The System think of it? I have no idea. Though my email address appears with the copyright indicia, I have yet to hear from a single one.

To download a PDF of The System, follow this link to MediaFire.

And don't forget to let me know what you think. I've been in the advertising/design biz for 25 years. I've got thick skin. I can take it.

1982: Role-playing Infancy and Infantry

I officially declare 1982 as "The Year of the RPG Sucker!" That was the year that saw mainstream outlets like Waldenbooks scrambling to stock their shelves for gaming enthusiasts primed for the hustle. That was the year I bought The Highest Level of All Fantasy Wargaming. (To this day, I still have a particular fondness for Margaret Welbank's illustrations from the book.) It was also the year that I that I bought Daniel Douglas Hutto and Roger Allen Esnard's Space Infantry.

I won't get into detail about the system mechanics or offer too deep a review; you can find that here. The real point of this post is not to criticize, but rather praise. You have to applaud any gamer back then with his own set of rules for having the wear-with-all to organize said ruleset, then dig into their pockets to pay for production and printing (which included typesetting, paste-ups, filmwork and stripping, plates, and then the biggest expense of all... offset printing, because digital printing wouldn't begin to be an option for a couple of decades plus.)

I think more than any other game I ever owned (even D&D), Space Infantry may be the most responsible for my deciding to create my original edition of The System on my dad's Wang (ahem) and copy machine. (It was all I could afford.)

I think we now all take for granted for the ease of the personal computer and the downright bargain of print-on-demand services like Ka-Blam and Lulu. It's led to some really interesting offerings like X-plorers and Planet Eris. Unfortunately, it's also led to some blatant copyright infringement in an attempt to turn a profit.

I always have an appreciation for those who do it for the love of the hobby, regardless of the quality level of the content, mechanics, or layout. It's the scam artists and opportunists that disgust me.

Cover and first 3 pages from The System,
self-published in 1985.

Schools of Magic and Game Integration

Yoshitsuya Ichieisai, The Battle of Magic, c. 1860. Triptych, 29" by 14".

Last month, the Unfrozen Caveman Dice-chucker posted about his recent revelations on spell categories—specifically based on the 1978 ed. AD&D Player's Handbook. And as Timrod (a.k.a. the "Dice-chucker") noted in his blog post, "no explanation of the significance of these terms was given in the text of the PHB that I've found and, clearly, none is needed to play the game." Yep. That pretty much sums it up.

I came to a similar place as Timrod myself (in regard to 1st edition) myself way back when (c. 1985), as I set out to design my universal RPG system, The System. The idea of categories/schools of magic seemed ripe for the plucking. Since the goal of the magic system in The System was to create templates for spell creation (as there are no classes of magic user, or list of pre-created spells), the idea of categories/schools of magic was a perfect fit for the concept of spell development as a "formula" (A+B+C=Spell.) As part of that structure, each class of magic has a corresponding "value" that effects the overall complexity (in points) of spells that use those classes; classes like divination and property alteration have much lower values than the likes of transmutation and conjuring/summoning. If the GM deems that the effects of a spell deal with more than one school, both values are added into the overall complexity of the spell (which effects the "draw" on magical energies, as well as increasing the chances of failure during casting.)

The idea of schools as a D&D game mechanic wouldn't really come into it's own until the 2e Complete's Wizards Handbook. It was an offering for wizards to specialize, providing them with the typical "let's make it more complicated so you have to constantly look things up and buy more books" approach to the game. What's underneath all those restrictions, requirements and bonuses, however, is little more than more classes, disguised (or "divided" if you prefer) into schools.

In the original edition of The System, I called them "classes" of magic, but in developing the The System: Expanded (currently in development,) I've abandoned that name for two reasons; first, the term "classes" now refers to the types of spellcaster's within a game setting, developed as part of a Magic Profile Template for the world by the GM (FYI, it's a lot less restricting than than the old-school interpretation of the word implies); and second, the categories of magic are now "schools." Part of the reason I prefer the term "school" to "class," or even "category," is that the term implies that a spellcaster must be educated in using that type of spell.

In The System: Expanded, the schools of magic (prev. classes) will no longer have a static value (per the original edition); instead, the value of each school will be determined by the GM's Magic Profile for the world; this allows for types of magic that may be common within a particular setting to have a much lower value than the rarer types of magic within the setting. Additionally, characters who wish to specialize are not restricted by minimum pre-requisites or racial restrictions like the 2e application of schools. Instead, each school has a guiding set of the character's basic attributes that that are factored into a set of parameters that include, among others, the overall value of the school (i.e. "rarity" per the setting) and a character's aptitude (or inaptitude) based on race/genetics. What this produces is a complexity rating that comes into play regarding every aspect of learning and using those types of spells, from training/education time to chance of success/failure when casting to the spell to the strength/weakness of the spell when cast.

My original list of magic classes in The System was very much a direct interpretation of 1st edition AD&D (per the PHB,) but the new version for The System: Expanded uses a regrouped/compacted system with a couple of new category additions. It also continues to support the mixing/crossing of schools, but these mixed schools may be treated as new or unique schools (with an inherent unique value vs. a cumulative one.) The GM may also create altogether different schools in support of the campaign world. For example, a Far Eastern fantasy setting might use schools broken out by the elements (earth, air, fire, water, wood,) that incorporate many of the types of magic normally considered part of the standard schools (protection, alteration/transmutation, divination, et al.)

Want a sneak preview of the schools of magic from The System: Expanded? Check it out here.

Discovered Dungeons: Undertemple #1

Download the map from MediaFire.

While digging through some old boxes of gaming materials, I came across a some of my early map designs from some of my initial forays into D&D back in 1981-2. I was in eighth grade at the time, and lucky enough to have a dad who had his own office... and copy machine... and VeloBind machine!!! It was actually how I put together the first version of The System toward 1984-85. (FYI, the poorly-written, daisy-wheel-printed original is something I've been considering sharing at some point. Stay tuned.)

So sometime in 1981-2, I collected the best of my maps, including several dungeons, a tower and a ship (inspired by U1: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh), copied the originals and bound those copies into a "volume" titled Maps I. I guess I was expecting to produce Maps II at some point and, if I remember correctly, it was going to feature outdoor/hex maps. I only ever put together that one copy of Maps I.

There are a few supporting illustrations in the "book," and they're about what you'd expect for an eighth-grader who drew moderately well, but had not really had any art lessons proper. The maps? Well, let's just say I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they seem to hold up. The layouts are generally well thought out for the minor dungeon crawls I intended them to be. In some of the rooms on a couple of the maps, I see the faint pencil lines that say things like "monster" and "treasure," but that's about it as far as any kind of notes.

The originals are in black and white, but I've always loved the low-tech look of the 100% cyan (i.e., "single color, but still color") printing on the inside of the early modules, so that's how I'll be sharing them here. The typographic elements are new additions, as is the full cyan bleed, but the map interior is unaltered from the original (outside of the color change.)

I apologize for not providing any sort of additional notes on any of the maps, but you don't need me for that.

A d30-based RPG System

A few weeks ago I had a chance to visit/hang with my best friend from grade/high school. He was never a gamer type, but he didn't judge me for being one either. Better yet, he (in a weird, silent way) seemed to encourage it. In fact, on a trip to Colorado in the mid-1980s, he returned with a birthday gift from a game/hobby store he'd come across in the mall... one of Gamescience's original d30s, and a white cover edition of The Armory's 30-sided Dice Gaming Tables.

About the same time he'd given me that, I started to get into Champions and Car Wars and all of those other games at the time that forsook the polyhedrals that the birth of the industry had so wonderfully embraced. I'd even started to work on my own generic RPG using nothing but d6s. Needless to say, the d30 languished unused in my dice case, even as I started to re-embrace the d10s and d20s, and eventually even the d12s, d8s, and the lowliest of all dice... the d4 (though I still don't like the way the d4 "rolls.")

So after my recent reconnection with my friend, I decided to reconnect with my d30 as well. And as most people tend to do when they've run into an acquaintance, or met somebody at a bar, I googled it. I looked to see how available they were, and what my copy of the gaming tables were selling for. I found a few proponents, like The Order of the d30.

Then I looked to see if anyone had developed a d30 RPG system, and I found Nexus Arcana. I was a little more than disappointed when I looked through the basic rules and the first die I saw mentioned was the d8... then the d6... then finally the d30. So my new goal came to be an RPG that uses the d30—and ONLY the d30. But what genre? What era?

Well, between my unhealthy obsession with Boardwalk Empire, and PBS's recent airing of Ken Burns' "Prohibition" documentary, I started thinking gangsters, and that led me to pulp stories. What better era for a d30 game than the 1930s? So that's where I landed.

I have the basic mechanic developed and it uses the versatility of the d30 in  way reminiscent of Marvel Superheroes Universal Table from the '80s. Don't misunderstand, it will not handle the wildly diverse power levels of a comic book supers game. It does, however, seem to support well the pulp hero who is capable of taking out lackey after lackey and henchman after henchman without trouble, and take on stronger opponents without dying.

Stay posted for updates and previews!