It is so quiet here.
The house in which we reside in Paraguay is this cavernous, concrete, wood, and tile conglomeration in which sound echoes and carries. And my family (excepting the wife) is loud anyway. Here, even with beagles, you can sit in one part of our home and know next-to-nothing about what's going on in a different section. Right now, the loudest sound is the tapping of keys on my laptop. In fact, I might have to move so I don't wake the boy (who is sleeping in the bed in which I currently write).
Anyway...this is the first post I've written since being back in Seattle (just too much to see and do). It's a cold, Sunday morning with football starting in a couple hours and oh, how I miss days like this. By next Saturday I'll be back in Paraguay with the heat and bugs and...ugh, I just don't want to think about it. Too depressing. Best to enjoy the moment.
SO...levels.
When I started writing EID, my latest-greatest in fantasy heartbreakers, I was working within a different paradigm...specifically one that didn't use levels, as in "levels of experience." It had other ways to increase competence over time, through accomplishment (the basics? providing a replenishing resource pool that increased as characters met various milestones, said resource being available for a number of different purposes: buying off damage (extra HPs), increasing attack/save rolls (extra competence), gaining more "skills" (think "feats"), etc.).
However, after working with Holmes the last couple-three weeks. I find again that I really dig the ease of levels, even though there are problematic aspects to it. Problematic? Yeah...like the artificial progression of advancement, across a set spectrum/range. What if I'm a wizard who spends ten years to learn one high level spell, rather than the accumulation of a plethora of low-level spells? What if I'm a thief who focuses on a particular skill at the expense of others? What if I'm a fighter that specializes in a particular style and weapon? Etc., etc. Real world people seldom progress in such broad - and tidily packaged - style.
But, whatever...it's a game. I finished reading Alexis's The Dungeon's Front Door a few days ago (I'll write some sort of review in a bit), and if there's one thing he emphasized for me...has been emphasizing lately...it's the essential game nature of Dungeons & Dragons. Not that the game is "just a game;" D&D is much more than a game of Risk or Gin-Rummy. But it's not reality, either...whether purposefully designed as such or not, it delivers a particular experience to the players and the main product of that experience should be, must be fun. A strange type of "fun," perhaps, to people who've never played, but fun nonetheless.
Levels are fun. Treasure (not treasure units) is fun. Dungeons are fun.
We already know these things aren't "realistic;" realism isn't what we're striving for in a game of magic and monsters. Are they sensible? Probably not...but even ridiculous nonsense can be fun to people who dislike such things so long as it is contained within the proper context. And in the context of a game designed (even by accident) to deliver a particular experience, these things are appropriate (perhaps even essential) to increasing the fun factor. And if your design would otherwise diminish fun, Why O Why would anyone be interested in playing?
So...the 48 page FHB? Probably dying a stillborn death on my hard drive. Sorry, folks.
Note, when I say "probably," I mean with 99.9% certainty...however, there are aspects, snippets that might make it into something else. However, even so, one has to ask: WHY? Why, why, why would I want to write Yet Another class-based, level-based game based on D&D?
Talk about spinning your wheels! The EID project was, at least, different...a different paradigm, maybe even a more sensible paradigm. But if it's not as fun as D&D, if it doesn't offer the same fun potential as D&D, what's the point? Really. Practice? Well...
At the moment, I've got an idea for something that (even I think) is really dumb. I mean, truly stupid. And, no, it has nothing to do with megadungeons, if that's what you're wondering. But I'm a little in love with the idea. Let me see if I can make any headway with it (probably after I get back to Paraguay) before I discuss it more. But it really is pretty stupid, so don't get too excited.
All right, that's it for now. The boy just woke up so we're going to go play a game.
: )
Showing posts with label EID. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EID. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Wrecking Things (Like Magic)
I'm sick. I hate being sick. It makes me all kinds of irritable and I'm already prone to irritability.
This afternoon I'm thinking about magic (again)...with regard to gaming, of course, but not with regard to my own current project. More like what I was talking about back here.
I mentioned the other day that I've got no "levels" in the new game. I'm not really interested in debating the wisdom of such a move...suffice is to say it's something I'm trying (I've got divergent systems in place to account for character experience and advancement/reward). I bring it up because it makes it a little tricky to engage in discussion about wrecking magic systems with folks who are using level-based systems. And that's what I'm thinking about today.
So the blog gets my musings. As per usual.
In my own game, I've tied magical knowledge to age...it takes years to learn spells and the process is draining (i.e. spending years studying magic leads to reduction in other areas). This holds true even for elves; though a longer life span would in theory allow them to master everything, such hard work is taxing to the frivolity of elvish life. Or something like that. It's a game balance thing anyway.
Anyhoo, it allows me to get to what I've always wanted: more knowledgeable wizards are OLDER wizards. Which I like and think is cool. But can a similar principle be applied to D&D style games? Like B/X and Holmes Basic? I think so...but first you have to separate the magic system from the standard level mechanic.
In other words, a magic-user advances in level like other characters, gaining HPs, better attacks and saves, etc...but doing so is NOT tied to how much magical knowledge the character has.
Kind of a neat idea now that I think about it.
It would work a bit like this: you'd still have magical "levels" (perhaps renamed something like "orders" or "degrees of initiation;" definitely based in part on old school level titles). For each magical level, the character is aged 7 years. Considering the character's apprenticeship to end somewhere around age 14 or so (maybe with a D4 roll for variation), you'd be looking at a chart like this:
Age 21 - Medium (or Prestidigitator) - 1st level spells only
Age 28 - Seer (or Evoker)
Age 35 - Conjurer - 1st and 2nd level spells
Age 42 - Theurgist
Age 49 - Thaumaturgist - 1st through 3rd level spells
Age 56 - Magician
Age 63 - Enchanter - 1st through 4th level spells
Age 70 - Warlock
Age 77 - Sorcerer - 1st through 5th level spells
Age 84 - Necromancer
Age 91 - Wizard - 1st through 6th level spells
[level titles subject to change]
Off the top of my head I'd say every 5 years of age (starting at age 30) requires the player to subtract 1 from one of the character's ability scores (so a conjurer, age 35, would have to lose 2 points). I like the idea of the reduction coming from any ability score (so lowering CHA as the character gets more crusty and curmudgeonly). Every 10 years (beginning at age 3) would also require an ADDITIONAL, mandatory lowering of the character's STR by 1 point.
Spells known per level (minimum and maximum) would be based on INT as per Holmes Basic (natch). Actual spells that could be cast per day would be based on the character's STR score, modified by level of experience (confidence, power of will). The starting spell number looks like this:
STR 3: 0* spell per day
STR 4-5: 1 spells per day
STR 6-8: 2 spells per day
STR 9-12: 3 spells per day
STR 13-15: 4 spells per day
STR 16-17: 5 spells per day
STR 18: 6 spells per day
*you still get +1 spell for being a 1st level character.
Hmmm...looking over this, it all looks pretty workable. It would even work for my own game...if I were using the same spell lists as standard D&D (I'm not). My own system is a little more complex with regard to different themes of knowledge and spells building off each other...but if it turns out to be too crazy in play-testing, I might just blow it up in favor of something like this.
Now, bring on the geezers!
This afternoon I'm thinking about magic (again)...with regard to gaming, of course, but not with regard to my own current project. More like what I was talking about back here.
I mentioned the other day that I've got no "levels" in the new game. I'm not really interested in debating the wisdom of such a move...suffice is to say it's something I'm trying (I've got divergent systems in place to account for character experience and advancement/reward). I bring it up because it makes it a little tricky to engage in discussion about wrecking magic systems with folks who are using level-based systems. And that's what I'm thinking about today.
So the blog gets my musings. As per usual.
In my own game, I've tied magical knowledge to age...it takes years to learn spells and the process is draining (i.e. spending years studying magic leads to reduction in other areas). This holds true even for elves; though a longer life span would in theory allow them to master everything, such hard work is taxing to the frivolity of elvish life. Or something like that. It's a game balance thing anyway.
Anyhoo, it allows me to get to what I've always wanted: more knowledgeable wizards are OLDER wizards. Which I like and think is cool. But can a similar principle be applied to D&D style games? Like B/X and Holmes Basic? I think so...but first you have to separate the magic system from the standard level mechanic.
In other words, a magic-user advances in level like other characters, gaining HPs, better attacks and saves, etc...but doing so is NOT tied to how much magical knowledge the character has.
Kind of a neat idea now that I think about it.
It would work a bit like this: you'd still have magical "levels" (perhaps renamed something like "orders" or "degrees of initiation;" definitely based in part on old school level titles). For each magical level, the character is aged 7 years. Considering the character's apprenticeship to end somewhere around age 14 or so (maybe with a D4 roll for variation), you'd be looking at a chart like this:
Age 21 - Medium (or Prestidigitator) - 1st level spells only
Age 28 - Seer (or Evoker)
Age 35 - Conjurer - 1st and 2nd level spells
Age 42 - Theurgist
Age 49 - Thaumaturgist - 1st through 3rd level spells
Age 56 - Magician
Age 63 - Enchanter - 1st through 4th level spells
Age 70 - Warlock
Age 77 - Sorcerer - 1st through 5th level spells
Age 84 - Necromancer
Age 91 - Wizard - 1st through 6th level spells
[level titles subject to change]
Off the top of my head I'd say every 5 years of age (starting at age 30) requires the player to subtract 1 from one of the character's ability scores (so a conjurer, age 35, would have to lose 2 points). I like the idea of the reduction coming from any ability score (so lowering CHA as the character gets more crusty and curmudgeonly). Every 10 years (beginning at age 3) would also require an ADDITIONAL, mandatory lowering of the character's STR by 1 point.
Spells known per level (minimum and maximum) would be based on INT as per Holmes Basic (natch). Actual spells that could be cast per day would be based on the character's STR score, modified by level of experience (confidence, power of will). The starting spell number looks like this:
STR 3: 0* spell per day
STR 4-5: 1 spells per day
STR 6-8: 2 spells per day
STR 9-12: 3 spells per day
STR 13-15: 4 spells per day
STR 16-17: 5 spells per day
STR 18: 6 spells per day
*you still get +1 spell for being a 1st level character.
Hmmm...looking over this, it all looks pretty workable. It would even work for my own game...if I were using the same spell lists as standard D&D (I'm not). My own system is a little more complex with regard to different themes of knowledge and spells building off each other...but if it turns out to be too crazy in play-testing, I might just blow it up in favor of something like this.
Now, bring on the geezers!
| Demon summoning at 1st level? Why not! |
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Doing Things Over
It's been a miserable last few days. The wife got back to town (a good thing) but she was sick when she left and worse when she got back. Both kids have been sick (fevers, sore throats, sniffles), which is tough to deal with when you add in the general heat, mosquitos, and throat-drying AC units. Then the baby's getting her canines in which is...well, let's just say she hasn't slept much and neither have I. Oh, yeah...and my boy was pushed off a two meter high platform by another kid at a birthday party (Friday). Fortunately he didn't land on an arm or leg (or head) but flat on his back, knocking his wind out and giving him some soreness, but no other injury. When I was D's age, I broke bones just rolling out of bed...he's a tough kid. But it was pretty scary, and my wife...well, she was a little beside herself by the whole thing. The kid who pushed D just gloated and laughed over my child's stunned form, and while his parents were apologetic later, they weren't even at the party. In the typical fashion of Paraguayan parenting, they'd simply dropped off their kid with his nanny, who was off eating somewhere at the time rather than watching the action.
[I was recently reading an (American) friend's blog decrying our tendency to micro-manage and "hover" too much about our children these days, but I've seen the opposite end of the spectrum down here, and the end result ain't pretty. Clearly some sort of happy medium is desirable]
I'm not sure how much longer we're going to be down here in Paraguay. There's some stuff going on with my wife's work (the reason we're here), and while they want us here and are willing to pay big bucks (well, by our standards) and seem intent on extending our time here, we're fairly anxious to get back. We're getting two weeks in Seattle in November (we'll be there for the Thanksgiving holiday), and we've been spending a lot of time lately talking about all the things we want to do (and eat!) when we're back in town. It's sad just how much there is to miss in Sea-town...and how little there is to miss here. Cost of living, I suppose. Really big chunks of grilled meat. Chipa (which, by the way, I didn't miss at all when I was home in June). Very tasty malbecs. That deliciously rich cordero dish over a bed of risotto that I order at my favorite restaurant every week.
In the final analysis, it's not enough to keep us here. Hell, nothing they have here (food-wise) measures up to Ivar's fish-n-chips with a pint of fresh pulled Pyramid hefeweizen (slice of lemon mandatory). And I don't even LIKE hefeweizen all that much.
No, we ain't staying. Seattle (and the U.S.) has its share of problems, but the "pros" definitely outweigh the "cons." NOW, one might ask if it was worth it for us to come down here at all? Was it good for us? Did it make our lives better to have this experience? If we had it to do over would we have done things differently?
Much as I miss the mountains, much as I would have liked to be in town for the parade after the Super Bowl win, much as I wish I wasn't going to have to look for a new job (ugh) when we get back...I think we made the right decision to come down here. I think it HAS been good for us, for our family. I think it has been very good for me personally...having to deal with all my personal frustration on so many fronts (most of which I have NOT blogged about), has made me a stronger, hopefully better (and nicer) person. I'm glad we came down here.
But I'm anxious to get home, anxious to get back into my house. Anxious to see the beagles again.
Similarly, I find myself considering the things I've done these last few years with my writing and publications. I find myself of the opinion that the B/X game (of which I've blogged so extensively), may in fact be a game that best balances if it ends at "X." That a game that goes behind 14 levels really isn't needed...not just because of the impracticality involved in advancing PCs into levels 20-something, but because the game itself can suffer when stretched to this scale. Certainly, I'm of the opinion that an 8th level halfling, 10th level elf, and 12th level dwarf are decent matches for any of the 14th level human classes in the B/X game...extending human levels out to 36 makes them far less relevant and the suggested "fixes" (allowing demihumans to advance beyond their maximums or using BECMI-style attack/save bonuses) are poor. While my B/X Companion did the job I intended it to do (providing a rulebook for high level play more in line with the original B/X system), there's a part of me that feels (now) like the thing was unnecessary to satisfying B/X play.
Likewise, there are things I'd have changed in The Complete B/X Adventurer, complexities in some of the new classes that I wish I'd streamlined or reconsidered. It's a neat book, with lots of neat ideas, but much of it feels a bit like a vanity project (despite the work I put into it) adding little value.
However, as with this trip to Paraguay, I'm glad that I did these books. Looking back on them after a few years, there's a lot that leaves me unsatisfied (now), but they were good experiences, growing experiences for me. If I hadn't published them, well, I'm not sure I would have ever published anything. Doing the first book showed me what was possible. Doing the second book showed me it wasn't just a "one time" thing.
The current project...let's just call it "Darkness," for the moment...might look like a small one. And at the physical level it is supposed to be a small one; I'm kind of tired of these games looking more like text books for a college course than like instructions for a game. The challenge is communicating everything I need to within the limited space available, giving the player ENOUGH information to make the game work, and work at a high level. And I'm doing it by breaking a bunch of standard D&D paradigms.
Levels, for example. There aren't any. In fact, in the current (25 page) document, I haven't had the need to use the word "level" even once.
[and no, it doesn't have some percentage based skill system like BRP, either. I told you it's a different paradigm]
The concepts found in the book include things that I've been futzing around with in a variety of (unpublished) projects. I'm just trying to pull it all together to make something that's both interesting and sound, with enough detail to catapult one's imagination, and enough system to see you through. As I said before, given the maximum page count, it's going to be tight trying to meet these goals. The game itself is going to need to be tight.
God, it's going to need some serious play-testing.
In other news, both gaming and Paraguayan, Alexis over at the Tao of D&D has been doing some fantastic maps of Paraguay, as a favor (or rather "a present") for Yours Truly. I can't express how flattered I am by this attention. Remember, this is the same guy who kicked me out of his on-line campaign for being an asshole. And, me, a guy who hasn't even gotten around to buying his latest book. Now that I've shit-canned my South American-based FHB in favor of the "Darkness" project, a guy does me a solid with this beautiful hexagonal rendering? Man, I am a jerk.
So, obviously, I will have to return to the SA-project in a different format...probably as a campaign setting supplement for B/X. Because I just can't let good material go to waste. Waste not, want not, right?
[of course, tell that to my other campaign settings sitting on the shelf: Land of Ash, Land of Ice, Goblin Wars, etc.]
Still, it's Alexis, so I'll try to make more than a half-assed effort.
Oh-oh! The baby's awake again! Got to go comfort! Later, gators!
[I was recently reading an (American) friend's blog decrying our tendency to micro-manage and "hover" too much about our children these days, but I've seen the opposite end of the spectrum down here, and the end result ain't pretty. Clearly some sort of happy medium is desirable]
I'm not sure how much longer we're going to be down here in Paraguay. There's some stuff going on with my wife's work (the reason we're here), and while they want us here and are willing to pay big bucks (well, by our standards) and seem intent on extending our time here, we're fairly anxious to get back. We're getting two weeks in Seattle in November (we'll be there for the Thanksgiving holiday), and we've been spending a lot of time lately talking about all the things we want to do (and eat!) when we're back in town. It's sad just how much there is to miss in Sea-town...and how little there is to miss here. Cost of living, I suppose. Really big chunks of grilled meat. Chipa (which, by the way, I didn't miss at all when I was home in June). Very tasty malbecs. That deliciously rich cordero dish over a bed of risotto that I order at my favorite restaurant every week.
In the final analysis, it's not enough to keep us here. Hell, nothing they have here (food-wise) measures up to Ivar's fish-n-chips with a pint of fresh pulled Pyramid hefeweizen (slice of lemon mandatory). And I don't even LIKE hefeweizen all that much.
| The world's best fish n chips. Sorry, England. |
Much as I miss the mountains, much as I would have liked to be in town for the parade after the Super Bowl win, much as I wish I wasn't going to have to look for a new job (ugh) when we get back...I think we made the right decision to come down here. I think it HAS been good for us, for our family. I think it has been very good for me personally...having to deal with all my personal frustration on so many fronts (most of which I have NOT blogged about), has made me a stronger, hopefully better (and nicer) person. I'm glad we came down here.
But I'm anxious to get home, anxious to get back into my house. Anxious to see the beagles again.
Similarly, I find myself considering the things I've done these last few years with my writing and publications. I find myself of the opinion that the B/X game (of which I've blogged so extensively), may in fact be a game that best balances if it ends at "X." That a game that goes behind 14 levels really isn't needed...not just because of the impracticality involved in advancing PCs into levels 20-something, but because the game itself can suffer when stretched to this scale. Certainly, I'm of the opinion that an 8th level halfling, 10th level elf, and 12th level dwarf are decent matches for any of the 14th level human classes in the B/X game...extending human levels out to 36 makes them far less relevant and the suggested "fixes" (allowing demihumans to advance beyond their maximums or using BECMI-style attack/save bonuses) are poor. While my B/X Companion did the job I intended it to do (providing a rulebook for high level play more in line with the original B/X system), there's a part of me that feels (now) like the thing was unnecessary to satisfying B/X play.
Likewise, there are things I'd have changed in The Complete B/X Adventurer, complexities in some of the new classes that I wish I'd streamlined or reconsidered. It's a neat book, with lots of neat ideas, but much of it feels a bit like a vanity project (despite the work I put into it) adding little value.
However, as with this trip to Paraguay, I'm glad that I did these books. Looking back on them after a few years, there's a lot that leaves me unsatisfied (now), but they were good experiences, growing experiences for me. If I hadn't published them, well, I'm not sure I would have ever published anything. Doing the first book showed me what was possible. Doing the second book showed me it wasn't just a "one time" thing.
The current project...let's just call it "Darkness," for the moment...might look like a small one. And at the physical level it is supposed to be a small one; I'm kind of tired of these games looking more like text books for a college course than like instructions for a game. The challenge is communicating everything I need to within the limited space available, giving the player ENOUGH information to make the game work, and work at a high level. And I'm doing it by breaking a bunch of standard D&D paradigms.
Levels, for example. There aren't any. In fact, in the current (25 page) document, I haven't had the need to use the word "level" even once.
[and no, it doesn't have some percentage based skill system like BRP, either. I told you it's a different paradigm]
The concepts found in the book include things that I've been futzing around with in a variety of (unpublished) projects. I'm just trying to pull it all together to make something that's both interesting and sound, with enough detail to catapult one's imagination, and enough system to see you through. As I said before, given the maximum page count, it's going to be tight trying to meet these goals. The game itself is going to need to be tight.
God, it's going to need some serious play-testing.
In other news, both gaming and Paraguayan, Alexis over at the Tao of D&D has been doing some fantastic maps of Paraguay, as a favor (or rather "a present") for Yours Truly. I can't express how flattered I am by this attention. Remember, this is the same guy who kicked me out of his on-line campaign for being an asshole. And, me, a guy who hasn't even gotten around to buying his latest book. Now that I've shit-canned my South American-based FHB in favor of the "Darkness" project, a guy does me a solid with this beautiful hexagonal rendering? Man, I am a jerk.
So, obviously, I will have to return to the SA-project in a different format...probably as a campaign setting supplement for B/X. Because I just can't let good material go to waste. Waste not, want not, right?
[of course, tell that to my other campaign settings sitting on the shelf: Land of Ash, Land of Ice, Goblin Wars, etc.]
Still, it's Alexis, so I'll try to make more than a half-assed effort.
Oh-oh! The baby's awake again! Got to go comfort! Later, gators!
Friday, October 16, 2015
Progress Report
This year, I've got more blog posts up (and more substantive ones...well, IMO) since 2012. Which makes me feel a little better about ditching the blog this week, but not much. Always the guilt about letting readers down.
*ahem* Anyway, it's been another busy one for me with a lot of child extracurricular activities to attend to and the spouse getting ready for a five day trip to Mexico. HOWever, mainly I've been putting together the latest-greatest project and I've got 20 decent pages. I've updated and incorporated a lot of updated material from earlier, shit-canned projects, which has made the process easier, but it's still going to be tricky to hold the thing down to 48 pages. Even if I keep the interior art on the same minimal scale as Señor Holmes, by my count I've only got about 24 pages left to complete the thing...and that needs to include the monster section, combat, development, and GM info. Tight...very tight.
It didn't help that I used about double the page count for the magic section. Ooo, but it's so neat! And right now I'm working on "fun stuff" (like magic items and something I call skills but which bear little resemblance to Ye Old D20), and that's looking like it'll eat up three or four more pages than the space allotted for 'em in the original game.
*sigh* But it's a good exercise...stuff has to be cut, and my pruning has actually helped make for a better looking system (why 100 skills when 60 does the job? Hell, I could probably whittle it down to 50, but I'm trying to make the system robust).
Anyhoo. Okay...just wanted to drop a quick note as to why I'm "away" from the blog. I was feeling guilty, okay? But really...this time I am working and not just futzing around.
Now, back to work.
; )
*ahem* Anyway, it's been another busy one for me with a lot of child extracurricular activities to attend to and the spouse getting ready for a five day trip to Mexico. HOWever, mainly I've been putting together the latest-greatest project and I've got 20 decent pages. I've updated and incorporated a lot of updated material from earlier, shit-canned projects, which has made the process easier, but it's still going to be tricky to hold the thing down to 48 pages. Even if I keep the interior art on the same minimal scale as Señor Holmes, by my count I've only got about 24 pages left to complete the thing...and that needs to include the monster section, combat, development, and GM info. Tight...very tight.
It didn't help that I used about double the page count for the magic section. Ooo, but it's so neat! And right now I'm working on "fun stuff" (like magic items and something I call skills but which bear little resemblance to Ye Old D20), and that's looking like it'll eat up three or four more pages than the space allotted for 'em in the original game.
*sigh* But it's a good exercise...stuff has to be cut, and my pruning has actually helped make for a better looking system (why 100 skills when 60 does the job? Hell, I could probably whittle it down to 50, but I'm trying to make the system robust).
Anyhoo. Okay...just wanted to drop a quick note as to why I'm "away" from the blog. I was feeling guilty, okay? But really...this time I am working and not just futzing around.
Now, back to work.
; )
| Busy, busy, busy. |
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