Basic Adventure Gaming

Some years back, I decided that I would stop referring to what I do as 'role-playing' and instead refer to these things (what I once called "RPGs") as "fantasy adventure games" (or "FAGs," for short). I know I was doing this as early as 2013, because I was very deliberate in my omission of any phrases of "role-playing" in my self-published Five Ancient Kingdoms game. You see, I wanted to end any confusion over how I (as a designer) intended my games to be played.

Of course, the term "fantasy adventure game" is not original to my noggin...I'm fairly sure I stole the term directly from my copy of Moldvay. "Fantasy Adventure Game Basic Booklet" it says, right there on the cover (the Cook/Marsh expert set says "Fantasy Adventure Game Expert Booklet"). The first paragraph of Moldvay's introduction begins:

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Fantasy Adventure Game ("The D&D Game" for short) is a role-playing adventure game for persons 10 years and older...

It's a good term for what the game is about..."fantasy adventure," duh...and, I believe, helps put one in the mindset of what we're supposed to be doing when we sit down at the gaming table. Let there be no confusion! We are here to play a game of fantasy adventure; we are not here to play-act, explore alternate personalities, or craft delightful narratives...all things the "role-playing" term has come to represent.

For the most part, I've approached my entire role-playing hobby in this way...and why not, when my introduction to the hobby was the D&D game?...even with game systems that are clearly not conducive to this style of play. Or rather, I did...up until the early 2000s when I started reading RPG theory over at the Forge and recognizing how different systems facilitate different types of play.

So, yeah...I've been a fantasy adventure gamer (a "FAG") for a long time. 40+ years. And yet I understand that my view of how to use these games is different from the majority opinion these days. Which is why I decided to start distinguishing myself (and, yes, distancing myself) from the "role-playing" terminology. Not because I don't see what I do as "playing a role-playing games" (a genre of entertainment distinct from board games or computer games), but because my approach to how one plays an RPG is so foreign to the majority of the community...even that part of the community purporting to play Dungeons & Dragons, the FIRST fantasy adventure game.

I'm not the only one. I've previously mentioned the growing CAG community ("CAG" is an acronym for classic adventure gaming...I suppose the term "FAG" was found to be problematic...), a splinter group of the "old school" scene that exist mainly to 'keep the flame' of adventure gaming alive, in the same way that the early OSR tried to keep alive "old edition" gaming: by discussion, encouragement, and sharing of 'best practice' wisdom from old timers, not to mention just playing. In terms of the overall hobby, CAG style play can be seen as a niche of a niche: "old variety D&D" is enjoying the same proliferation and popularity one sees in the current (5th+) edition of D&D, but even among the folks who play old edition D&D (or its clones, like OSE) there is a lot of misunderstanding, misinformation, and inaccurate assumptions of what game-play is supposed to look like. The CAG folks aren't (especially) trying to rectify that, but they are trying to be a repository for knowledge, and a resource for folks looking for a way of playing these games in this particular style.

"This particular style." Yeah, I know how I sound. I'm trying to avoid writing "teaching people how to play D&D the correct way," because I know that ruffles feathers. Ruffling feathers isn't my objective today. Definitely not my objective.

*ahem* For more information on CAG, I'd suggest checking out the semi-regular CAG podcast, especially the first couple/three episodes. For shorter summaries, you can read Zherbus or EOTB's blog postings which are fair summations of CAG gaming philosophy. Both of these folks are strong proponents of 1E AD&D (and OSRIC, 1E's retroclone), for the simple reason that it is the system that best facilitates this type of play (a perspective I happen to agree with). 

But the question has come up: Can Basic systems (like B/X, BECMI, Holmes, Labyrinth Lord, Old School Essentials, etc.) be used for CAG play? And, if so, how?

The answer to the first question is decidedly "yes." The answer to the second is...longer.

The basic games (Holmes, Moldvay, and Mentzer) were all initially intended to act as introductions to the D&D game. It is only with the additional Mentzer volumes (the Companion, Master, and Immortal rule sets) that the "D&D" game (distinct from Advanced D&D, i.e. AD&D, the main product line of TSR for the majority of its existence) became something that could be considered a "complete" game system...a system of its own, standing in its own right.

This latter edition (called BECMI, later consolidated in Aaron Alston's Rules Cyclopedia, sometimes referred to as the "RC") is something I didn't play when it was first published (i.e 'in the days of my youth'). My friends and I played AD&D, although we did pick up some of the BECMI offerings (for 'reasons'). But there was a LOT of stuff for this line that hit the shelves...I've always assumed it was a popular game line at the time, which is why they created so much content for it (setting material in the form of Gazetteers, game accessories, adventure modules for all levels of play). Decades later (in the early 2000s) I acquired a lot of it and messed around with it a bit, thinking there might be something there. 

Meh.

Only recently, I've been hipped to the fact that it might not have been a very popular game line at all...at least in the USA. However, this Mentzer-penned version of "basic" was the version first translated (officially) into other languages and sold overseas. The 1E PHB and DMG were translated into both French and German, but Mentzer's Basic set (and the BECMI line) was translated to French, German, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese, Korean, Spanish, and Swedish. For many countries outside the United States, Basic D&D was the seminal, defining version of the game.

I'm digressing. As said, the original Basic sets were meant to be a "gateway" to the AD&D game (as it was for me)...but that wasn't necessarily the case in other parts of the world.  Then TSR crashed and we didn't see, hear, or care about these "basic" games until the rise of the OSR circa 2007-9.

Mm.

This next part is tricky. The OSR didn't treat these Basic editions as "introductory" systems; quite the contrary, they looked at them as editions of D&D worth being played in and for themselves. There were a lot of reasons for this. Ease/accessibility was a major reason: they are short systems to read with less nuance. Their rules were so uncomplicated and simple that creating additional, compatible material (a thrilling pastime for creatives) was a cinch. And...probably...there was a lot of familiarity and nostalgia with these systems, especially in light of A) the OSR being an international community, plus B) Mentzer's Basic being the "standard" D&D most widely translated across countries/cultures.

They were also some of the earliest retroclones on the market. Labyrinth Lord wasn't written as an 'introduction' to anything, and its Advanced Edition Companion gave people additional (1st Edition) content, adapted to the Basic chassis. Lamentations of the Flame Princess used basic D&D as a vehicle for exploring all sorts of grimness. OSE simply re-organized the B/X books in a way to make them even more user friendly than they already were.  None of them were designed, nor seemed interested, in being a gateway or bridge to a more Advanced game. These clones were created by different, independent publishers (with different, independent motivations), NOT by a single, gigantic corporation hoping to funnel newbs to its flagship product. 

So...back to that second question.

When one understands the objectives of "adventure gaming," one can begin to see the limitations inherent in a game designed first and foremost as an introduction to the "real game" (the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game written and published concurrently with the first 'Basic' set). Most of the stated attributes of adventure gaming (again, looking at the two cited blog posts above) are easily satisfied even with a basic system of procedures. However, the overall objective/goal of fantasy adventure gaming is long term campaign play...sustained play in an enduring fantasy environment, created by the DM and impacted by the players. Despite the ease and accessibility of the various basic rule sets, their systems have several insufficiencies that hinder long term play. These are:

1. Severe lack of distinction between character type. The basic character falls into one of seven categoric class, is defined by one of three alignments, and has an extremely limited selection of equipment and magic spells with which to choose. Variation between ability scores is compressed (seven possible options for each ability) contributing to a marked "sameness" between PCs. For an introduction to the game, this limited selection is more than adequate; it cuts down on the amount of "analysis paralysis" inherent in a new player approaching a complex game. For long-term engagement, however, more distinction and variety is desirable. AD&D offers 36 class variations (interlocking with race), another score of multi-class options, several times the number of armor and weapon selections, and four distinct spell lists, each of which contains more 1st level spells than any spell list in the basic systems. The variety in the advanced game is sufficient without being overwhelming, providing much "replay" value (in terms of exploring different character types for interacting with the D&D environment).

2. Lack of survivability. This has been discussed before: basic characters are fairly fragile at low levels, easily slain by misadventure. Lack of staying power is a barrier to long-term play, requiring more work on the part of both DM and players to ensure surviving to higher levels of play (a desirable outcome as it opens more content for players and DMs to experience). AD&D increases survivability by providing higher hit dice for most character classes, a negative hit point "buffer," and plentiful healing magic from clerical types even beginning at 1st level.

3. Less opportunity for advancement. Basic systems award x.p. for both combat and treasure found (just as in AD&D) but does so at a lesser rater: fewer x.p. are awarded for monsters and treasure x.p. is only awarded for monetary treasure (magical items being deemed as 'their own reward'). True, x.p. totals for advancement are slightly lower than in the Advanced game, but in practice, far more x.p. is awarded in the Advanced game, especially with the potential to sell magic items for exorbitant amounts of gold and x.p. This procedure in first edition AD&D allows characters to continue to rise at a regular pace, even as the x.p. totals needed for advancement rise to six- and seven-digit figures. Treasure pools for monsters also have a tendency to award more treasure than what is given for the hoards of basic monsters; type H treasure (the best available in B/X) awards an average haul valued at 50,000 g.p. Considering that H treasure only occurs in dragon lairs...and that 50K split seven or eight ways is quite a small amount for name level characters requiring 100K-150K each for advancement...that is a lot of risk for comparatively small reward. As basic game PCs rise in level, advancement has the potential to stifle which, coupled with low survivability, is a bad recipe for "long term" play.

4. Lack of options for mid- to high-level play. Even when a basic campaign awards sufficient treasure for regular advancement, there is precious little to spend all that money on. Basic games require no training costs, no upkeep costs, have a shorter list of "buy" options available, and prices of items are quite depreciated (consider that plate armor costs a measly 60 g.p. in basic play and is available to all but the poorest of 1st level characters). Basic rules provide no rules for item depreciation/destruction, and thus there is never a need to replace or repair equipment for hirelings and retainers. While the Expert sets of both B/X and BECMI provide some guidelines for the building of castes and strongholds, only Mentzer's Companion and Master books make any real attempt at providing "domain" (rulership) rules...and these are poorly done, providing heaps of unearned x.p. on the heads of domain rulers for doing little more than raising taxes on their populations. True, there is some impetus for conquest provided in the Companion book (if only to gain higher titles of nobility), but the "War Machine" system is extremely limited in scope (meanwhile, neither Holmes nor B/X offer any such systems, referring DMs to the out-of-print Sword & Spells for handling mass combat). 

I admit that Mentzer's BECMI system strives mightily to provide options for high level characters: proto-prestige classes, combat maneuvers, higher level spells, demihuman "crafts," powerful monster antagonists, and codified quests for immortality. But, for all practical purposes, these options remain far out of reach due to the lack of advancement opportunity (#3 above) which makes the achievement of Companion (15th-25th) level characters next to impossible to achieve. Such characters require well in excess of 1 million g.p. worth of treasure...the equivalent of 20 average sized dragon hoards...each, in order to reach such lofty heights. Personally, I've found 12th level to be just about the maximum effective in (standard) B/X play, and even that requires impractically large treasure hoards (a four ox wagon can only pull 25,000 coins weight; a bag of holding in basic can only hold 10,000 coins). Any character with half a million in gold coins has the cash to purchase multiple castle complexes given the procedures in the basic rules.

And I imagine that was deemed just fine by the original designers. Buy your castle, retire your character...and then graduate to the Advanced D&D game for your next go around. Buying a castle and settling down in your gold stuffed halls should be considered a "win."

But fantasy adventure gaming is not played with a particular endpoint in mind. Some characters will, of course, "retire"...especially demi-humans who've reached the level limits and are unable to progress further. For the majority of human characters, however, AD&D has no hard cap, no limitation to advancement; like the campaign itself, adventurers' careers have the potential to be perpetual, ongoing without end. In theory, basic characters (both B/X and BECMI) have a 36 level cap which should probably be all but unreachable, even after years of play...but the game does not scale nearly as well as it does in the AD&D game. Demons in BECMI are equivalent to (lesser) gods, not beasts to be fought in the deepest dungeon levels or (more usually) on the outer planes. And while Mentzer included his own version of artifacts in the Master set, they do not function nor serve the same purpose of reward as the artifacts and relics found in the 1E DMG (hint: there's a reason Gygax gives these items a sale value in gold).

So for those folks wishing to play a simpler, streamlined "basic" system with long-term CAG objectives, what can be done to remove these inherent impediments?

1. Increase character variability. The interlocking combination of race and class has generally been found to be sufficient for providing diversity in character choice. Labyrinth Lord's Advanced Edition Companion (and, presumably, OSE Advanced) takes pains to adapt 1E's system to the basic style and can be adopted wholesale...these games also tend to recreate the extended spell lists and equipment charts of 1E, but in a "basic" style. Solid world building with attention paid to markets and economy, and one's own setting-specific character options can also provide variety for players. The Complete B/X Adventurer provides a plethora of character options and new character classes, although the latter are meant to be used sparingly in better tailoring one's setting, not dropped in their entirety into a campaign.

2. Increase character survivability. Basic characters start to hit their stride around 3rd level, and one can simply start PCs at that level; likewise, DMs might add negative HP buffers, higher hit dice, and bonus spells (based on WIS or INT scores for clerics and magic-users, respectively). However, the main consideration for basic groups is to ensure they have enough bodies in their adventuring parties: 7+ is generally the fewest you want to see, and hired mercenaries (like the kind found in adventure module B2) should be readily available to low-level parties needing to 'fill out the ranks.' Special attention should be paid to both the Reaction and Morale procedures in the basic system, and both the DM and players should understand how these work, as 'breaking' foes (especially humanoids) is generally going to pay higher dividends than fighting them to the death. Fierce as a single ogre is, it is less likely to kill half a party than five to seven bandits/humanoids (all those attack rolls!)...especially ones armed with missile weapons. DMs need to take a look at what makes a "survivable" encounter for low level characters: the Tower of Zenopus example dungeon in Holmes basic, and adventure module B1 are both good resources in this regard. Also, it is incredibly important that DMs stock enough treasure that players are leveling up to more sturdy levels of experience as quickly as possible.

3. Provide sufficient treasure. Unless one adopts the AD&D system of awarding x.p. for magic items, and higher award totals for defeating monsters, DMs will need to find ways to stock immense amounts of coin and valuables for the players to advance. It should not be unusual for PCs to be 3rd level after 4-6 sessions of play (depending on character type and diligence in sniffing out loot), given a bit of luck and survival. Unfortunately it is difficult to sustain such progress even into the mid-levels, as I first noted waaay back in 2010...it is simply a flaw of design. However, one idea I had back then was to slash all x.p. requirements (i.e. the amount of x.p. needed to advance in level) by a factor of five or ten, while retaining the normal treasure hoard amounts and monster x.p. values. So, for example, a fighter's progression might look like this:

1st level: 0 x.p.

2nd level: 400 x.p.

3rd level: 800 x.p.

4th level: 1,600 x.p.

5th level: 3,200 x.p.

6th level: 6,400 x.p.

7th level: 12,800 x.p.

8th level: 24,000 x.p.

9th level: 48,000 x.p.

10th level: 72,000 x.p.

With an advancement table like this, a 50K dragon hoard split amongst eight survivors is a nice chunk of change: enough to raise a 6th level fighter to 7th or make a good size dent in a higher level character's x.p. needs.

4. Provide options for PCs of higher levels. Reducing the x.p. needed to advance alleviates some of the pressure to provide overflowing piles of gold and gemstones, but players must still have monetary needs to drain their coffers and perpetuate the cycle of treasure seeking. Here, solid world building will help, providing all manner of costs and expenses as well as delightful ostentations for purchase. DMs can, of course, adopt upkeep costs, item saving throws, and training fees from the 1E DMG...but then, why not just play AD&D?

More than that, game play needs to be scaled so that it remains interesting  even as play progresses...players should not be taking the same approach to monster fighting at 8th or 13th level as at 1st and 2nd. Here, a DM might well want to look at the later BECMI books (Companion and Master) for rules and procedures that are adaptable even down to 9th level (I would NOT however adopt the weapon specialization rules for low-level characters as it can disrupt game balance in the same way the UA's weapon specialization rules do). Likewise, DMs might wish to take a look at my own B/X Companion which provides a great deal of material specifically geared for high (15th+) level B/X play. Both "companion" books provide a number of new procedures (including unarmed and mass combat rules) in addition to a ton of new "content" (spells, monsters, magic items). For that matter, DMs looking for content might want to look at my last book Comes Chaos for a host of demonic entities and corrupted magic items, great for tarting up one's mid- to high level B/X campaign.  

The main thing, however, is to understand that there's going to be a lot of work involved in adapting a Basic rule system to the needs of long-term campaign play. While AD&D has requires a bit more work up front (learning to use its system) in comparison to the basic games, once learned it provides depth of game play from 1st up through the highest levels, needing only world building and adventure writing on the part of the DM to maintain solid, satisfying play. The basic system is incredibly easy to learn and run, but to make it an enduring form of play (i.e. the kind of play worth spending time out of our busy schedules) requires far more effort, not just in tweaking and experimenting with modifications to rules, but in designing adventures and developing content. Sure, there are sources for this content to be found: bestiaries, tomes of magic items, or various retroclones (and their supplements) with setting specific particulars...but searching out that content and curating it requires work. By contrast, I've yet to use every monster presented in original 1E Monster Manual, let alone the Fiend Folio and MM2, and there are spells and magic items from the original PHB and DMG that haven't yet been seen at my table...after decades of play.

Just saying.

That work, that effort that goes into making a basic game system a sustainable form of play can be fun at first...look at my blog as evidence of that! All the tinkering I did with B/X over the first 10-12 years of its life...but over time can lead to frustration and (in my case) ennui. The mature, adventure focused Dungeon Master wants to spend his or her time on world building and scenario creation, not hand holding and system modification, but the shallowness of basic game play requires BOTH those things in order to make it last and function ("hand holding" being a shorthand for customizing the game in a way that it doesn't kill the PCs nor bore the players out of engagement). YES, it CAN be done...but do you want to? Is that a price you're willing to pay just because you don't want to spend some time parsing the AD&D rule books?

There's a reason I'm not playing B/X these days...and it's not because I don't still think it's a great simple system that can be readily taught and is easily customizable in a multitude of ways. B/X IS a "fantasy adventure game;" it's just not a great one when it comes to sustained, long-term play. And at this point in my life, that's pretty much the only type of game play I'm interested in. 

T is for Threshold

[over the course of the month of April, I shall be posting a topic for each letter of the alphabet, sequentially, for every day of the week except Sunday. Our topic for this year's #AtoZchallenge? Revamping the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in a way that doesn't disregard its B/X roots. I got behind by a couple days because of the Easter weekend, but I'm trying to catch up as quickly as possible]

T is for Threshold, the "sample home town" found in Mentzer's 1983 (BECMI) Expert set. I'll be including Patriarch Sherlane (Baron Halaran) and his niece Aleena in the discussion.

Before I start "getting into it" I'd like to clear up something that may be less than clear. I've got quite a bit of positive feedback on this series (which is good, thanks) but I know some folks may have a very different view of what I'm doing. I know there's a LOT of love for the BECMI game and the Mystara campaign setting as written...and not just because of the "nostalgia of youth;" plenty of folks still keep BECMI (and the RC) as their edition of choice and continue to use Mystara as their home campaign. I understand that my critique and criticism (often expressed in a harsh or inflammatory way) can seem like a rather personal attack on something certain people hold dear and valuable. Hell, Aaron Alston is dead...I can see how criticizing his work now can be viewed as unkind (to say the least).

So, although I believe I've said this in the past, allow me to once again reiterate that I have great respect for the sheer amount of work and care that went into the creation of this material by Allston, Mentzer, and others (Jeff Grubb did a lot with the later Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure). More than that I have admiration for both the authors and their work, and not a little bit of love and nostalgia of my own. The fact of the matter is, if I didn't care about Karameikos, I would not put in the time and effort to do a series like this. I don't write about things I don't care about (and I generally refuse to write about things I want to leave dead and buried...there's no such thing as "bad publicity," after all). The Grand Duchy of Karameikos, as presented in the B/X Expert set, had very little to it...hardly enough to inspire much admiration, respect, or thought. It's the later works: Mentzer's BECMI, Allston's Gazetteers, modules like B6 and B10-12 (by Cook, Sargent, and others) that have contributed to the lore of the setting material, providing the grist that fires up my "think-box."

No matter how harsh I may appear, I write about this stuff because I care. I could write about other things that are important to me: my daughter starting piano lessons last week, my boy getting three hits on four swings of the bat (don't know where he gets it), or my 18th wedding anniversary with my wife. But my readers are coming here for the "game stuff." And what's more, I like writing about the game stuff...this is my place to do so. I can throw all that other stuff on Facebook, if I want.

SO...Threshold. Threshold first appears as a sample home town in Mentzer's Expert set, a replacement of the dirty, lawless town of Luln that is much more conducive to the "family friendly" style of fantasy that TSR began to produce in the mid-80s (Mentzer's Basic set contains no "inspirational reading list" packed with Thieves World authors and pulp sword & sorcery). And let me here and for the permanent record admit I really like the Expert set, AND Threshold...despite its BECMI-isms (like godless Clerics) it's my favorite book of the BECMI series, and I find it pretty darn good. Yes, a good part of this is Larry Elmore's illustrations which, I feel, really conveys what "expert level" characters should look like (I'm less fond of his monsters illos). But the layout and information conveyed is a great rehash of the Cook/Marsh books, and the setting building material is quite a bit better...and I LIKE the Threshold write-up immensely; it is space much-better-used than the terse gnome warren write-up in the original (B/X) Expert book.

Mentzer describes Threshold as "a thriving frontier village of 400 permanent residents plus over 100 other regular visitors. The main business of Threshold is to supply timber to the Capital." Later, he adds that the town contains about 50 demihumans in addition to the 500 human residents, the whole being ruled from nearby Tarnskeep by the Baron Sherlane Halaran. Patriarch Sherlane is a Lawful cleric, and a no-nonsense, incorruptible good guy leader-type, who looks over his barony as close as a priest would care for his "flock," yet still finds the time to go on serious and secret missions for the Duke (see adventures like B12: Queen's Harvest as an example). Per GAZ1 he is helped in his administration (really just running errands and messages to the town master, guard houses) is his niece/adopted daughter Aleena Halaran...the same cleric slain by Bargle with a magic missile back in the BECMI solo adventure of the 1983 Basic set. Apparently, her uncle brought her back to life (not surprising given that he's 14th level) and she has since managed to thrive, achieving 12th (!!) level and becoming part of the Order of the Griffon despite being only 22 years old and not seeming all that interested in adventuring (per the GAZ1 description). WTF.

Allston increases the size of Threshold to 5000 and paints an idyllic picture of the waterfront logging town:

"...it's not a tight-packed, dirty, squalid town; by Baron Halaran's decree, no house may be built within 50 feet of another, and so Threshold is spread over a large area, filled with nice homes usually surrounded by vegetable gardens and livestock pens." (GAZ1, page 39)

Where's my baguette?

Considering Threshold in light of its description, and the rather quaint/pastoral adventure scenarios presented in Mentzer's Expert set (stuff with rafting, gardeners, damsels in distress, gold dragons in disguise, etc.) one might gather this is a nice little fairytale town...something like the "poor provincial town" depicted in Disney's (animated) film, Beauty and the Beast. That is, in fact, the kind of thing I tend to picture.

However, looking at the map Mentzer has drawn for Threshold, one sees a set-up more typical of the medieval town, complete with a double wall (probably guarding the inner "old town" and later "new town"), one of the main reasons for the rather cramped and squalid nature of such places. When walls offer the main protection for a community of people, SPACE for building is at a premium...no one wants to live outside the wall (unprotected!) and buildings are by necessity built so close as to be right on top of each other, leading to all the usual unpleasantness: filth, disease, and fire hazard.  Interestingly, this is exactly how Threshold is portrayed in the (British written) adventure module B10: Night's Dark Terror. Published a year before  Allston's GAZ1, B10 has a substantial section on Threshold and describes it as:

"...a typical town: crowded, smelly and dirty. Except for the buildings by the river, all waste is emptied into the streets, and pigs and dogs can often be seen scavenging through it."

[two of the three designers of B10...Jim Bambra and Phil Gallagher...have credits with the gritty Warhammer Fantasy game and that particular aesthetic is on display in several parts of the module]

And B10 was still working with an assumed population of 500. Imagine increasing it by ten fold...more crowd, more smell, more filth. And that's not even counting the attached Fogor Island, which is "unofficially" under the control of the local thieves' guild, and shunned by law-abiding citizens (per B10). While Allston took Mentzer's work and ran with it in one direction, Gallagher and company did the complete opposite as far as tone, theme, and color. It ends up being a weird and strange mixture...a place less of a hometown, and (perhaps) not even one you'd like to visit. Sherlane's edict forbidding magic-user magic seems somewhat silly in Mentzer (though understandable considering an "expert level" spell-caster will have access to destructive spells like fireball)...in B10, the designers provide a Clerical Court of five clerics (appointed by Sherlane) who put convicted spell-casters on trial and bestow curses like insomnia (no ability to regain spells) and dumbness (no ability to cast spells without words), effectively crippling wizards completely. It's vicious and mean and says quite a bit about how the Patriarch runs his town. There's no shortage of inns (most streets having "at least one") serving wine, and no prohibition on characters carrying swords (unlike Specularum where any weapon larger than a dagger must be tied/bound), so I can see a lot of back alley duels being fought and general bloodletting (while B10 states townsfolk attempt to avoid combat, they're also quick to defend themselves with daggers, chairs, bottles, etc.).

It's an "interesting" place for the Duke to choose as a place for a secret coin mint, especially considering Kelvin is closer to both Specularum and High Forge, and is likewise located on the river. Perhaps the Duke has more trust in the good Patriarch Sherlane whom he knew from his days in Thyatis (Halaran was originally a priest of the Church of Thyatis). Or perhaps it's just that Kelvin was never established as anything more than a name on a map, prior to GAZ1.

All right it's late, and I'm still two days behind on this thing; best get to my thoughts on how I'd alter this thing. First off, I'd probably ignore the quaint little English village thing going on in GAZ1, and stick to the squalid medieval town found in B10, while still upping the population. While Luln is a fairly nasty little hole of a town to come from, I'd like players visiting Threshold to come away with a greater appreciation for their home of origin...far better to grow up there than under the rigid, religious patriarchy of Baron Halaran.

"Bow down,
ye of little faith!"

Halaran, to me, sounds like a fanatic with a bit of a god complex. I mean, he can raise the dead, cure the sick, etc...why shouldn't he have an ego the size of Texas? He has the power to keep the cholera epidemics under control! His people love him! Or they fear him...but better to live inside his walls (no doubt decorated with holy texts and religious screeds and sermons) than in the wilds of Karameikos where one might be attacked by goblin slavers or a vengeful chevall!

Allston writes (in GAZ1) that "the idea of the clerical stronghold is a strange one to most Karameikans. In the Grand Duchy, clerics don't generally band together and build mighty fortresses just so they can be jolly armed clerics together." However, that is just what Hallaran has done! In making Threshold "more B/X" I would certainly have be Tarnskeep a typical cleric castle, garrisoned with a small army of fanatically loyal troops, just as any Name level cleric would have.  These "faithful" militants would not only patrol the barony (keeping the peasants in line, repelling marauding humanoids) but would reinforce the town militia, ensuring all clerical edicts were obeyed without question, and enforcing "justice" as necessary.

"I have a message
to deliver."

Hallaran's niece, the lovely Aleena, would be the patriarch's personal protege, equivalent to a loyal retainer, and probably no higher than 3rd or 4th level. Being young and inexperienced, Hallaran would certainly encourage her to adventure in the wilds, albeit always with a small cadre of bodyguard zealots to ensure her safety. I'd probably keep the Cleric Council, making them a group of 6th and 7th level clerics, each dedicated to a particular god/goddess of the Imperial pantheon, all bent on converting the indigenous Traladarans to a more "civilized," pliable people. Sherlane himself I'd drop to 12th level or so, making him powerful but still beholden to his superior counterpart in the capital.

I'd probably ignore the entire "secret mint" subplot, moving the thing to Kelvin instead (and giving another reason for that city's importance). Threshold's strategic value as a loyal (if fanatical/crazy) military stronghold on the Duchy's northern border offers reason enough to allow the Patriarch the autonomy he craves to form a minor theocracy on the edge of the wilds.

Oh, yeah...and I'd axe Cardia's Carpet Service completely.

R is for Religion

[over the course of the month of April, I shall be posting a topic for each letter of the alphabet, sequentially, for every day of the week except Sunday. Our topic for this year's #AtoZchallenge? Revamping the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in a way that doesn't disregard its B/X roots]

R is for Religion, an organized form of worship, of which Allston's GAZ1 provides us with three (two?) for Karameikos.

I got a little sidetracked this weekend, what with birthday parties, treasure hunts, baseball games, and Easter festivities. It was pretty busy all around, though fortunately everyone had a great time (the kids especially). Now...back to the grind.

B/X doesn't have any specific setting attached to it. Yes, there are some sort of gods (or goddesses); this is made clear in the B/X description of the cleric (see the quote in this earlier post); but it's left up to individual DMs to decide what the cosmology of their campaign setting looks like. Nothing is defined, faith-wise, in the Expert set's brief description of Karameikos, and the countries of the "Known World" described in X1: The Isle of Dread offers nothing extra (folks might infer from Thyatis being "similar to culture of the medieval Byzantine empire" that there is something there, but remember that no connection had yet been drawn between it and Karameikos).

None of the "B/X era" modules offer anything like a consistent cosmology...just random deities appropriate to the adventure (X1, X2, X3, and B3) or generic "lawful" chapels and "chaotic" temples (B2). The early (pre-GAZ) BECMI modules aren't much different; it's only with the advent of the "Mystara" concept that there starts to be anything like a setting cosmology (based on Immortals as pseudo-deities).

Dave Cook's B6: The Veiled Society is interesting for the picture it paints of Specularum, capital city of Karameikos. Written in 1984 (post-BECMI, pre-GAZ1) it states:

"The city has several churches, most for Lawful clerics. There are a few Neutral churches, but not many people attend. There are even Chaotic churches; these are very secret and do not advertise their existence in any way. If the characters need healing or similar help, they may obtain it if their cleric goes to his church. Of course, the player characters are required to make some type of offering (anything from flowers to magic items) and may be required to do some service for the church."

Recall that Mentzer's Basic set states that clerics are simply humans "dedicated to a great and worthy cause" and that this cause is "usually the cleric's Alignment." Furthermore, it is explicit that D&D "does not deal with [ethical and theological] beliefs, and they do not affect the game;" instead they are simply assumed "just as eating, resting, and other activities are assumed." Clerics draw their spell power from "the strength of [their] beliefs;" there are no religions or gods, no tenets of their faith, no prayers or divine rituals that need to be performed.

Cook doesn't seem to have gotten the memo...though one might have gathered as much from his 1983 module X5: Temple of Death (the whole country of Hule is steeped in religion and religious fervor). I suppose a church is an easy substitute for Alignment as a "worthy cause" of devotion (duh), but I'd hardly say this is an example of theological beliefs not being a part of or having an impact on the game...rather it is a motivator of action, even in B6 (first level characters are probably going to want healing at some point, and PC clerics receive no spells prior to 2nd level). At some point PCs will have to interact with these institutions and, presumably, whatever ethical and theological beliefs they have. Probably Cook's long association with D&D (for years prior to TSR's cutting the cross off of clerics) has something to do with his methods.

[ha! As written, there is absolutely no reason for clerics in BECMI to make use of a holy symbol, unless facing a vampire...and then the use is the same as any other player character. The description of the item is simply "A sign or symbol of a cleric's beliefs. Used in Turning undead." However, no mechanical/rules effect is provided. In B/X all clerics MUST possess a holy symbol (page X10) as it is a symbol of the deity a cleric serves. BECMI clerics can save the 25 gold]

Allston's approach in GAZ1, for the most part, is much more in keeping with the party line. As stated, Karameikos has three native faiths: The Church of Karameikos, The Church of Traladara, and The Cult of Halav. The Cult of Halav is much more a cult than a full-blown religion...it's members are true believers in Arthur-type legend of Halav, but other than waiting for his "coming again" (and believing that Archduke Stefan may be his reincarnation) they have no real laws or tenets of faith. Interestingly, Allston writes:

Despite the fact that most people consider the Halavists to be insane, it's a fact that their clerics do work magic. This means they must be receiving aid and inspiration from some Immortal.

...from which I infer that even Allston assumes gods (or whatever passes for them in BECMI D&D) are granting spells. *sigh* Makes sense, as he's the one who wrote Wrath of the Immortals.

The other two religions have codified commandments and discussions of "sin" but no mention at all of deities or how these religious doctrines interact with clerics and their magical spells. Here is Allston staying true to the definition of the BECMI cleric, even if he's not ignoring theological and ethical beliefs per Mentzer's instruction. However, between the two there is very little difference in doctrine...aside from wording and the Traladaran church's encouragement to engage in superstition and stereotype Gypsy fortunetelling, the main difference I see is that the Church of Karameikos sees couples living together outside the "sanctity of matrimony" to be a sin on par with abuse and murder, while the Church of Traladara sees the relationship between man and woman to be "a personal matter, not involving the philosophies of the church." Both otherwise break down into "be a good person," similar to the basic (Lawful) teachings of most commonly practiced (real world) religions.

Mmm. I've got Game of Thrones on the mind at the moment, and I can't help but see certain analogues between Martin's major religions of Westeros and those of Karameikos. Aside from its lack of gods, the Church of Karameikos could easily substitute for the Faith of the Seven (or vice versa), and the Old Gods of the First Men for the Church of Traladara...heck, even the militant Order of the Griffon (in GAZ1) has an analogue in the Faith Militant of the ASOIAF novels. And there's a part of me that just says, well, this side-by-side dichotomy of competing but not-so-different faiths work pretty good in Martin's fiction, why not just let it stand in Karameikos?

Fervor is no substitute for
healing magic.

But then I remember that Martin's churches don't have spell-casting clerics. Only the fire cultists of Essos (followers of the "Lord of Light")...and they're the ones viewed as crazy persons in Westeros. D&D is not about rival churches competing for souls; its cosmology is based on sword & sorcery pulp not medieval Europe. The religions of the region should reflect that, in my opinion.

Despite Allston's care and thoughtfulness, I find his work on these churches to be a "miss." I'd re-skin the Church of Traladara as an ancient (and suppressed) religion of the goddess Petra, and the Church of Karameikos as something of a mishmash between the Faith of the Seven and the old Roman cult of Mithras. The Cult of Halav would indeed be a bunch of crazy folk (no clerics, as Halav is no god...nor even a demigod)...but perhaps something with the potential to become a new militant order of knighthood, like the Order of the Griffon, but for the worshippers of Petra.

Still, that's not really enough for a "typical" B/X campaign (if there is such a thing), which is generally filthy with random deities, cults, and strange faiths both ancient and new. A better model than Game of Thrones might be 1st century Jerusalem with its combined political and religious tensions. The "Church of Karameikos" is replaced with the polytheistic Roman pantheon imported from the Thyatian Empire by "true believers" who need a land outside the scandalous, political cesspool of the home nation to cultivate a "purer" form of worship. Heck, maybe they've brought an enclave of Vestal Virgins (because Vestal Virgins are awesome).

[of course, with multiple gods and multiple priesthoods, religious infighting and jockeying for political power (and influence with the Archduke) provides all sorts of nice little adventure hooks as churches hire adventurers to raid each others' temples]

Rather than a traditional thieves guild, the Traladarans have religious Zealots and "dagger men" working to overthrow their Imperial masters in the name of their goddess. Meanwhile the "shadow man of the woods" (the chaotic deity of Traladaran forests) woos malcontents and sociopaths from both cultures to his cause: the overthrow of Law and civilization. Evil druid-types, seeking a return to the wilderness and a more primal state of humanity...yeah, that's kind of cool.

Also some sort of toad god. Of course.

Letter "M" Addendum

Sorry about yesterday's abrupt cut-off. I was really put off my writing by the day's events. And unlike, say, another mass shooting that might fire me up scribble some vicious rant or other, yesterday was just a sad feeling of helplessness...I mean whatcha' going to do? Ask for better protection of historic monuments? I don't think the Parisians were short on contingency plans and procedures. So as a sentimentalist and armchair historian I just needed a bit of a breather to refocus my brain.

SO...just to finish off my thoughts on the Karameikos "Magic Guild" before I move on to the next topic: I like B/X's restrictions. Personally, I prefer them to be MORE restrictive, which is why I've moved to the same house rules you'll see with other DMs about not allowing magic-users to memorize "multiple copies" of a particular spell. Unlike 5E designers who want to go the opposite way (with mages firing lasers at will like some cartoon villain), I want wizards to use every spell in their repertoire and be forced to make tough choices. Magic is powerful, and it needs to be treated respectfully.

Now how to change Karameikos so that its magic guild retains the B/X spell restrictions yet remains mechanically useful to the players? Well I suppose you could increase the number of "Teldons" (i.e. wizard mentors) that are teaching at the guild. But that doesn't work all that well with the background as written: here's a mage, past his prime and "retired," who had to be enticed to live in this backwater country and badgered (by his buddy the archduke) to start a guild. Would it be right to have multiple such persons building what amounts to a "magic university?" I can see that kind of Hogwarts set-up in Glantri, but not Karameikos!

Sure, over the last two-three decades, Teldon might have trained a few students up to a level when they could act as teaching assistants, especially for the newest guild recruits. Problem is that this doesn't solve the basic problem (a lack of variety in spells to teach) because any student of Teldon would be limited to knowing (and teaching) the same spells as Teldon. Unless you want to say that they'd engaged in extensive magical research over the years, broadening the guild's inventory. While that's one way to go, and well within the B/X rules, as has been (recently) pointed out elsewhere the whole concept of magical research is a bit of a sticky wicket.

[Alexis's posts need a whole 'nother series of posts regarding the cosmology of magic, but that will have to wait till a later date]

However, if you are going to throw magical research into the mix, you might as well leave Teldon as is (after converting him to a B/X wizard, natch): a doddering old man, only capable of teaching the basics of magic to apprentices and the (few) spells he happens to know. Make players do their own "magical research" rather than have readily available teachers eager to dole out precious knowledge. For me, this is a more "B/X-style" solution: I've always felt an underlying assumption that PC magic-users are supposed to outgrow their master(s) and be forced to rely on their own research. Would a wizard with a tower (not to mention several apprentices) continue to "go back to her masters" every time she leveled up and needed to acquire new spells? Wouldn't these Secret Masters eventually see the PC wizard as a rival (or a potential candidate to join their circle?)?

In my B/X Companion, I suggested that magic-users might acquire new spells by stealing another wizard's spell books. I regret that thought now...it's a hold-over from AD&D concepts. It's not that it doesn't jibe with B/X; the B/X description of the read magic spell would seem to suggest such a possibility. I just prefer spell books to be DIFFERENT from "specially prepared" magic (spell) scrolls. That being said, if you like the idea of magic-users learning spells from other wizards' tomes, another option would be to have Teldon possess a library of dead wizards' spell books. Even though Teldon can't use them, his collection could be useful to young magicians seeking other magic? Maybe?

Ugh, no. The more I think about it, the more I don't like that idea (though it makes me wonder what IS the use of a dead wizard's spell book in a B/X campaign?). I mean, what is a spell book anyway? I'm not so sure it's anything more than the freeform scribbling of the demented mage's mind, tapping into his (or her) own subconscious. It doesn't appear to be actual words or "formulae;" B/X magic-users have no minimum Intelligence requirement and can practice magic even as an illiterate (intelligence 5 or less), suffering only a penalty to earned experience of -20% because of the character's low prime requisite.

[the whole idea of literacy in D&D is a little weird. The chance of being literate (an Intelligence score of 6+) is 206 in 216...more than 95% literacy rate. 16th century literacy in England (per Thomas More) was about 40%...I'd imagine it was probably less in earlier centuries, at least post-Roman Empire. I know it's a non-issue in AD&D, where Intelligence is learning ability "outside knowledge of the written word" (i.e. literacy and Intelligence aren't linked)...but again, I'm talking B/X]

Another option to expand magical learning for PCs would be to locate other mages around Karameikos...wizards that a player must seek out for training. Bargle is an obvious choice (and who knows what training at his hands might cost a character), but don't forget there are two elven communities in Karameikos as well...and as all elves in B/X are magic-users, it seems reasonable that a character on "good terms" with the elves, might manage to find some instruction from these creatures.

Of course, characters starting in Luln should have access to a magic-user...first level characters have to learn from somewhere, and beginning PCs are notoriously allergic (in fatal fashion) to overland travel. Don't know what an adventurer based out of Castellan Keep will do upon leveling up...I suppose she could request training from the Castellan's "advisor" (the only magic-using character in B2, the advisor is a 3rd level elf with the spells charm person, read magic, and web). But again you have the problem of all magic-users/elves ending up with the same spells in their books.

*sigh* I suppose what I really, really want to do is (*ugh* Again!!) attempt an overhaul of the magic system. Not just to make it work with Karameikos...these kind of issues will come up in any B/X setting!...but just to make it work, in a way that makes sense. I doubt it would be anything close to what Alexis suggests...neat as this is, it throws off my particular balance of "complexity" versus "playability." But spell research costs ARE a load of hooey, especially in B/X (OD&D costs are more appropriate). And anyway, there're no guidelines are price lists for "guild dues" provided in GAZ1, BECMI, or B/X...all that shit needs to be worked out even as I figure the logistics of traveling to a site of training.

But that's not something that can be solved in an A to Z post.

"Teach us some magic, please!"

M is for Magicians' Guild

[over the course of the month of April, I shall be posting a topic for each letter of the alphabet, sequentially, for every day of the week except Sunday. Our topic for this year's #AtoZchallenge? Revamping the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in a way that doesn't disregard its B/X roots]

M is for Magicians' Guild, the presumed training center for all magic-users (and elves) in Karameikos.

Magic is a tricky subject for this series, as every edition of Dungeons & Dragons places its own stamp on the subject, each doing things a little different from the other. GAZ1 (which is the origin of the Karameikos "Magicians' Guild") is written for the BECMI edition of D&D, and while superficially similar to B/X, there are some changes. Before we look at the Guild proper, it's important to understand these differences.

A magic-user in BECMI is "a human character who studies the powers of magic. Magic-users find spells, put them into books, and study those books to learn the spells."

In BECMI, "learning" is the term used for the process most D&D editions (including B/X) call "memorization." A magic-user "learns" his or her spells after a good night's rest and hour's study; casting spells causes them to be erased from the magic-user's memory, necessitating the magic-user "re-learn" the spells.

All BECMI magic-users begin with a spell book of uniform size containing TWO 1st level spells; the spells known are chosen by the Dungeon Master. Upon reaching 2nd level, a third (1st level spell) is added to the book; again chosen by the DM. Upon reaching 3rd level, a single 2nd level spell is added; upon reaching 4th level a second 2nd level spell is added. The game assumes these spells are given to the magic-user by a teacher of not less than 7th level of experience (hence, the reason the DM chooses the spells). Teachers do not go on adventures.

Any magic scroll containing a magic-user spell may be added to the magic-user's spell book, so long as it of a level that the magic-user can cast. Doing this uses up the scroll, but provides the magic-user with a wider range of spells to be "learned." The read magic spell is required to read magic writings (including that of scrolls), unless the writing is the magic-user's own (i.e. of the character's spell book). A magic-user may research new spells of any level they can cast; expending the proper money and time allows the magic-user to add the new spell to his or her spell book. There is no listed chance of failure for spell research but (strangely) Mentzer's Companion set makes provisions for a wandering wizard being able to "double the chance of success" when assisting another mage with spell research.

Magic-users in B/X are "humans who, through study and practice, have learned how to cast magic spells." All magic-users start with ONE spell at 1st level in their spell books, and gain additional spells as they rise in experience. In B/X, the DM "may choose which spells a character has in the book, or may allow the player to select them."

In B/X, magic-users must be taught their new spells, and characters are "assumed to be members of the local Magic-Users Guild or apprenticed to a higher level NPC." When a player character earns a level of experience "they will return to their masters" and will be out of play for one "game week" while learning new spells; either the player or the DM may choose the new spells. Importantly, in B/X magic-users "are limited to the number of spells they may know, and their books will contain spells equal to the number and level of spells the caster can use in a single day." There is no mention of magic scrolls being added to a character's spell book, and while magic research is performed the same, it does not seem to break this explicit limitation (instead just giving magic-users another way to acquire spells outside their "Guild"). Reversible spells are, however, simply memorized "backwards," allowing magic-users who have such spells to effectively double-up on their magical knowledge.

B/X is thus the most restrictive of any edition in terms of learning magic: it allows the fewest number of spells to be cast (by level) of any edition, and the spell selection is limited to those exact spells. Furthermore, it is the DM's choice whether or not the player has any say in which spells are learned. "No your guild doesn't want you to learn fire ball...here take water breathing instead." This is iron fisted role-playing folks, but it gives DMs a lot of explicit control over the shape and form of the B/X campaign setting.

Back to Karameikos: GAZ1 provides a Magicians' Guild in the form of Teldon, a 110 year old Thyatia adventurer who settled in Karameikos 30 years ago at Duke Stefan's request where he was "badgered by Thyatian and Traladaran youth to share his knowledge and eventually created the Magician's [sic] Guild of Specularum." The guild is nothing more than a decorated tower (Teldon's residence) attached to a barn-sized building that acts as the guild's school and laboratory. Teldon is a 15th level magic-user, and while his spell book is extensive, it IS limited, especially with regard to high level spells. This limits the spells accessible to most (BECMI) magic-users in a Karameikos campaign...although they can find other ways to acquire spells (like pursuing spell research or bargaining with Bargle the Infamous).

[of course, in BECMI "magic-users never trade spells" (page 38 of Basic Players book), nor allow other mages to read their spell books for fear of damage to their books. Strangely (and unlike B/X), absolutely NO PROVISION is made for magic-users to replace lost spell books in BECMI...they simply lose their ability to "learn" spells! This is somewhat rectified in the later Rules Cyclopedia, but it has some interesting possibilities if played as written, with sad little mages desperately hoarding the last few spells remaining in their memory...]

The set-up in GAZ1 doesn't work particularly well as written for a straight B/X campaign. The nice thing about a B/X's limitations is that it encourages players to specialize somewhat...possibly even with a focus on theme (illusions, transformations, fire magic, etc.). Unfortunately, this can only occur when there are multiple sources from which to learn one's magic...a single instructor, like Teldon, can only teach the spells in his own repertoire. And in a B/X game, that repertoire is extremely restricted. While BECMI magic-users learning from Teldon's "guild" have a large number of choices as to what they put in their spell book AND what they choose to memorize for the day, B/X magi will (eventually) end up being cookie-cutter copies of each other, which I find to be both lame and uninspiring.

[yes, in practice, any B/X campaign that is thoughtless in its presentation of magical learning and permissive when it comes to spell acquisition can end up looking pretty "cookie cutter" anyway, as players tend to gravitate to whatever is perceived as the "most optimal" spells: things like sleep and charm and fireball and fly. All the more reason for DMs to exercise some iron fisted control. Often characters from other editions are similarly expedient in their spell selection...at least in B/X DMs have the explicit option of cutting that crap off!]

[oh, my God...as I write this post Notre-Dame de Paris is in the process of burning to the ground. Wow. Just sickening to watch...for me!...and I can only imagine the state of France and the Parisians watching the destruction of this national treasure. Centuries (!!) of history up in smoke. A very, very sad day. Even if it rebuilt, it will take decades (it took almost 200 years to build). My children will be adults...ah, God...ugh...terribly tragic loss, even without loss of life]

[ugh, sorry...I can't write any more at this moment. I'll try to come back to this later]

[Shit. Merde]

J is for...um...Jagreen Lern

[over the course of the month of April, I shall be posting a topic for each letter of the alphabet, sequentially, for every day of the week except Sunday. Our topic for this year's #AtoZchallenge? Revamping the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in a way that doesn't disregard its B/X roots]

J is for Jagreen Lern, Theocrat of Pan Tang, high priest of Chaos. Yes, really.

Art by Rodney Matthews

Here's a little "pro tip" for all the young bloggers out there who think it would be fun and easy to do this A to Z Blog Challenge shtick: get out a notebook and write down your 26 topics (one for each letter of the alphabet) before the start of April. Yeah, ideas might change, concepts might change, and tangents will probably be travelled with wild abandon. But at least you'll have some semblance of a plan.

As an "old" blogger (going on 10 years and nearly 2000 posts) that's what I did. And here's what I originally had scheduled for J today: Jowett's Holy War. Well, actually my original "original topic" for J was going to be Justin Karameikos, but then I decided to do the Ducal Family all in one post, and that was because I wanted the "Veiled Society" for V rather than Prince Valens (yes, my notes are a mess of circled topics and arrows pointing hither and yon). Left me with a hole for "O" (Olivia), but we do what we've got to do, right?

ANYway, Jowett's Holy War was supposed to be about the competing religions in Karameikos and GAZ1's treatment of the same, but as I began to dive into my "early morning research" (what? you think I plan out what I'm going to write ahead of time? Here's "pro tip #2" kids: never let a structured 'plan' get in the way of stream-o-consciousness writing at the crack of dawn over that first cup or three of hot coffee. Seriously)... *ahem*...as I was saying, as I started my "deep dive" I started seeing some stuff that I figured I'd better address under the heading of RELIGIONS in general, and that means kicking the whole discussion down the road to "R."

[which was, just BTW, my original subject...then changed to "Rifillian," and finally to "Ruins." Now we're back to where we started...]

Here's the thing (we'll get to the good...er, evil...theocrat in a moment): I learn quite a bit going through these old texts and sometimes I come across something that shows me how downright ignorant I am...like the dramatic changes to the cleric class found in the BECMI/RC edition of the game. Sure, it's the same as B/X mechanically, but the class itself...what it is, what it models, what it means...has been gelded, maimed. Turned into nothing but a board game playing piece.

Here's the description of the B/X cleric class (Tom Moldvay):

Clerics are humans who have dedicated themselves to the service of a god or goddess. They are trained in fighting and casting spells. As a cleric advances in level, he or she is granted the use of more and more spells. However, clerics fo not receive any spells until they reach 2nd level (and have proven their devotion to their god or goddess).

Here's Mentzer's text from the Basic (BECMI) book:

A cleric is a human character who is dedicated to serving a great and worthy cause. This cause is usually the cleric's Alignment; for example a cleric may be dedicated to spreading law and order. A cleric has good fighting skills, and also learn to cast spells after gaining a Level of Experience. A first level cleric cannot cast any spells.

In D&D games, as in real life, people have ethical and theological beliefs. This game does not deal with those beliefs. All characters are assumed to have them, and they do not affect the game. They can be assumed, just as eating, resting, and other activities are assumed, and not become part of the game.

A cleric's spell powers come from the strength of the cleric's beliefs. The cleric sits and meditates, and mystically learns spells. These spells can then be used during an adventure....

Wow. Just...wow.

Clerics as just...what? Mystics? Some sort of inward gazing hermit or yogi or something? Jedi? What the hell is this?

But now the Gazetteer makes sense. I was wondering (as I was rereading it for this series) they the various clergy members belonged to particular churches but no specific immortals were mentioned as being venerated. It's because gods (and goddesses) were removed from the D&D game in 1983. Immortals (from the 1985 ruleset) were still just "super-powered adventurers" at the time GAZ1 was published in '87 (this would change a bit with Wrath of the Immortals a few years later). Mystara is a world without gods...just "strong beliefs."

And I hadn't noticed this till today. I didn't enter the game with Mentzer's red box after all...I was already playing AD&D by the time it first hit the market. I only picked up a copy of the books (used) in the early 2000s for the sake of "completeness" (and/or because I was playing/running BECMI); however, since I "already knew" what a cleric was, I never bothered to read this new skinning of the character class.

Mm. Mm-mm-mm.

Welp, that's a whole long rant for a whole 'nother, non-A-to-Z blog post. However, back to the matter at hand, specifically Jagreen Lern. SO...when I discovered that "clergy" (clerics) in GAZ1 were simply individuals "dedicated to serving a great and worthy cause," my brain immediately jumped to the question, What about EVIL clerics? Those chaotic characters of strong belief devoted to petty and selfish, even diabolic causes? Obviously they need a church, too, right? And one with different beliefs from the Church of Traladara and the Church of Karameikos, yeah? All those guys, even if they hate each other, are LAWFUL in alignment (True! And they are ready to go to war with each other for the sake of the people's souls!)...what about the guys worshipping at the blood-stained altar in the Caves of Chaos? I mean, the Caves are still there, right? Mentzer has B2 listed on his map of Karameikos.

So what we need is the B/X equivalent of Pan Tang, the City of Screaming Statues, where man-eating tigers freely roam the streets and blood flows like a river from the doors of their sacred temple. And presiding over all the sacrificial rites and dark magic, we need the lunatic grinning Theocrat, ready to don his demon-crafted plate armor and ply the coasts in his battle barge taking slaves for the glory of the Lords of the Higher Hells, the gods of Chaos.

That's it. Jagreen Lern. And his people. Just add it in. I'm really tired of this namby-pamby view of fantasy; really, I'm sick to death of  it. Give me Jagreen Lern and let's just let Chaos sweep over all of Mystara.

Give me rivers of blood. Please.

G is for Gnomes

[over the course of the month of April, I shall be posting a topic for each letter of the alphabet, sequentially, for every day of the week except Sunday. Our topic for this year's #AtoZchallenge? Revamping the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in a way that doesn't disregard its B/X roots]

G is for Gnomes. And dwarves, I suppose...but there aren't that many of those (comparatively) in Karameikos.

I've mentioned the gnomes before (briefly) when I was writing about the Elvenguard. Unlike the 'guard, the gnomish community of Karameikos has been established since the first light of publication, in the write-up of the duchy found in the B/X expert rulebook. Their description paints a fairly pastoral (if subterranean) picture of the demihumans:

NON-HUMANS

No solicitors, please.

Gnomes: Living in the hills, the gnomes are a quiet and solitary group. They make little effort to contact the outside world, but will deal with traders when such arrive. There are 620 gnomes living throughout this area. This number is divided between a large lair of 250 and several smaller outposts of no more than 100 each. A council of elders chosen by the gnomes, 1 from each outpost and 3 from the main lair, guides the members of the community in most decisions. This council will act as judges, handle trade, and distribute any money for the defense of the various outposts. However, any important decisions are decided by a general vote of the population. Strangers desiring to deal with the gnomes must first present their case to the elders for approval. Should this approval not be given (and the gnomes are extremely reluctant to involve themselves in the affairs of an outsider), the case will be closed. In the event that the council cannot decide, a general vote will be taken. If great differences prevent an outpost of the lair from agreeing peacefully on an issue, the dissident faction will leave and establish a new outpost in the area, In this manner, the gnomish lands are slowly growing, although disunity slows this somewhat.

[there are, by the way, no other species listed in the NON-HUMANS section of the expert set's Sample Wilderness text; they could have just headed the section "GNOMES"]

After this description is a paragraph about trade difficulties (already quoted in the aforementioned Elvenguard blog post), followed by a section marked Gnome Lair describing a sample...um, gnome lair (I love the use of the term "lair" by the way...this isn't a "home," "stronghold," or "warren," but a lair. Monsters have lairs, and in D&D lairs are meant to be explored...and perhaps plundered). The Gnome Lair section contains an un-keyed map of what might be a typical outpost or perhaps the main lair of the gnomish community (I always assumed the latter, but the text isn't explicit). It's decent enough with some evocative description, filled with pockets of trained ferrets that double as both pit traps and pens for the gnomes' hunting beasts.

The inclusion of gnomes is an interesting decision. Unlike AD&D, in B/X gnomes are not a player character race, but an NPC monster...though quite possibly a helpful one (alignment is listed as Lawful/Neutral). The monster entry for gnome in the Tom Moldvay penned Basic book is far more descriptive and outright different from any prior pass at the species; check this out:

OD&D: "Slightly smaller than Dwarves, and with longer beards, these creatures inhabit the hills and lowland burrows as opposed to the mountainous home which Dwarves choose. They are more reclusive than their cousins, but in all other respects resemble Dwarves."

Holmes: "Gnomes are similar to dwarves, whom they resemble. They are smaller, have longer noses and beards and inhabit low-land and hill burrows rather than mountains. They favor crossbows."

AD&D: Adds nothing besides notes on coloration, military formations, and AD&D mechanics (languages, magic resistance, etc.). Note their weapons are limited to short swords, clubs, spears, slings, and short bows; crossbows aren't even an option,

B/X (Tom Moldvay, B36): "Gnomes are a human-like race related to dwarves. They are smaller than dwarves, and have long noses and full beards. Gnomes have well developed infra vision (heat-sensing sight), and can "see" heat to 90' in the dark. They usually live in burrows in the lowlands. Gnomes are excellent metalsmiths and miners. They love gold and gems and have been known to make bad decisions just to obtain them. They love machinery of all kinds and like to use crossbows as missile weapons and war hammers in hand-to-hand combat. Gnomes like most dwarves, but war with goblins and kobolds who steal their precious gold. They will usually attack kobolds on sight."

[B/X also has a paragraph that details war parties, hit dice of chiefs, etc. similar to that of other humanoid species like hobgoblins and orcs. There is no mention of "leveled" leaders as gnome is not a character class in this edition]

Talk about going off the reservation! I'm not sure why they bother retaining the (earlier edition) AC of 5, when these "excellent metalsmiths" should probably be sporting at least chain and shield, if not better! The bit about their "bad decisions" based on greed speaks to their corruptibility, and their love of "machinery of all kinds" (!) can be read either as the primordial precursor to Dragonlance's "tinker gnomes" or something more sinister (like Tolkien/Lucas association of machines/technology with evil). For those who like to mix the SciFi with their fantasy, this is the perfect excuse to create a cyborg subterranean species, or a bunch of mechanical (rather than magical) automatons and "living statues."

Coupled with the politics and inter-clan relations described in the Expert set and you start to get this really interesting picture of what the gnome faction is all about...some sort of advanced egalitarian think-tank commune, an anti-Amish Amish group, something like a weaponized tribe of trapdoor spiders in humanoid shape...now just add some steampunk cybernetics to the giant ferrets and moles they routinely capture for experimentation, and you've got a vicious, powerful faction living within your borders.

I don't know why I tend to see gnomes as prone to evil...which is pretty weird considering I grew up reading (and loving) those Huygen/Poortvliet books. Maybe I've just seen too many "evil" depictions of them over the years: the insane followers of Keraptis (detailed in White Plume Mountain), the evil illusionist in Gygax's first Gord the Rogue novel...and who can forget their turn as a bat-riding, magic-wielding evil alien species in Marvel comics Star Trek (issue #16)? Certainly not me, True Believers; that story is indelibly burned into my childhood memories!

EVIL gnomes.

What it means is that I'm often writing up gnome assassins and assassin-illusionists with names like "Shoon Grinblade;" in my mind, D&D gnomes are always half-cracked/crazed and prone to psychotic episodes. Unless you're talking svirfneblin, of course; they are to my evil surface gnomes as the Drow are to their goody-good cousins.

*ahem*  ANYway, considering the potential of what can be done with B/X gnomes, the gnomes of Highforge (as GAZ1 names the community) is pretty banal. I mean, they mine silver for (and engage in trade with) the duke...and that's about it. Allston's GAZ1 increases the size of the community to 6500 (and adds a dwarf clan to the mix, perhaps to give the PCs an "in") and adds the following information:

Ruler: Dorfus Hilltopper, Gnome King of Highforge. Dorfus is a typical Gnome. He isn't too fond of humans -- though not impolite, he avoids dealing with them whenever possible; the annual Gnome Caravan is enough for him, and he doesn't even accompany it.
Population: 6500 gnomes and 1000 dwarves.
Laws: Within Highforge, the gnomes and dwarves ignore the Duke's Law and live by gnomish and dwarfish custom; they settle their own disputes, try their own criminals, and do not report law-breaking to the human officials. Additionally, they do not pay taxes to the the humans; they have their own economic system and only pay taxes when selling goods to humans. 

That's it for the gnomes; the only other notes are regarding the dwarves and their mines. No info is provided regarding the interconnectedness of the gnome silver and the the duchy's coinage. If it wasn't for the information in Mentzer's expert rulebook, one would never think the gnomes the source of the archduke's silver ore. One could even see Allston as working directly from the B/X source material...except that he sets up "King Dorfus" (a portmanteau of "Dork" and "Doofus?") in place of the egalitarian council of elders originally described.

Personally, I'd probably axe all of the BECMI/GAZ info on the gnomes...there's just not much there worth keeping. Not only does it set up potential adventures for B/X player characters (meeting and establishing relations/trade with the gnomes) but it allows the gnomes to be a powerful "wild card" faction in the region...for good or ill. However, here are some additional ideas you might want to run with:

Option #1: Gnomes as Escaped Slaves. Long time readers of the blog know I'm a big fan of adventure S2: White Plume Mountain...I even did a B/X conversion of it waaaay back in 2009. If I were to start a new campaign set in Karameikos, I'd probably set "the feathered peak" somewhere in the northwest Cruth Mountains. What if the gnomish community in Karameikos were descendants of gnomes that had revolted and escaped from the yoke of Keraptis (and their corrupt, evil brethren). They were probably evil themselves (once), having made "poor decisions" because of the gold and gems the evil wizard offered...but having repented their wicked ways, they've since sought a clean slate, far away. It remains their secret shame...one they do not want discovered as there are people who would consider them "war criminals" of the type that need to be expunged. What's more, they live in constant fear of Keraptis (or his lich or whatever) discovering their location and returning to claim them. Helps explain the reclusiveness and unwillingness to deal with outsiders.

Coming for YOU, man.

Option #2: Gnomes as Evil Racist Slavers. Racist towards humans, that is. The gnomes are the biggest customers of the Iron Ring slavers guild (or the secret powers behind the guild) requiring a constant influx of bodies to work their mines. Humans are a cheap, expendable resource, and the growth of the duchy has just meant lower prices. Plus, the gnomes have developed a taste for "long pig" (sure, make 'em cannibals, too) and used up slaves go straight into the cook pots. This becomes especially twisted if you decide to go with the BECMI idea of gnomes as the duchy's silversmiths: Does the archduke suspect how his silver is being mined? Is he complicit (or a secret participant) in the slave trade? Regardless, I'm certain the gnomes are "skimming" silver from the duke's shipments, using the extra for the purchase of gold, jewels, and (of course) more slaves. Evil, evil gnomes.

Option #3: Gnomes as Oppressed Species. Or perhaps it is the gnomes themselves that have been enslaved. Why have the gnomes become Stefan's silver miners? Because they have no choice in the matter! Having discovered rich veins of silver in the hills, and ready-made workforce on site, the Duke has used his army to put the gnomes to the task of mining the precious metal. Of course, it helps that the Callarii elves have a long history of bad blood with the gnomes...the Elvenguard was only too happy to aid in pacifying the "reluctant workforce." Let's face facts: gnomes aren't an adventuring species (like dwarves, elves, and halflings); to humans, they're a strange little species with a weird machine fixation. They're not that far removed from goblins or kobolds (probably related to both, seeing as how they speak those languages!) and there's nothing wrong with exploiting such creatures for the good of the duchy. Hell, the duke's being nice...he could have just put them to the sword (as he does with other humanoids)...they should be grateful he's giving them a chance to work his mines. Maybe if we upped their daily ration of gruel they'd actually whistle while they work.
; )

F is for Flying Carpet

[over the course of the month of April, I shall be posting a topic for each letter of the alphabet, sequentially, for every day of the week except Sunday. Our topic for this year's #AtoZchallenge? Revamping the Grand Duchy of Karameikos in a way that doesn't disregard its B/X roots]

F is for Flying Carpet, specifically Flying Carpet Airlines of Karameikos.

[okay, let's get this over with...I've got a very full schedule this weekend with baseball games, soccer jamborees, wedding anniversaries (mine), etc.]

Flying Carpet Airlines or (as it's actually called in the books) "Cardia's Carpet Service," like the Elvenguard, appears to be a wholly Mentzer-imagined invention. As far as I can tell, it's first mention is in Mentzer's expert book as part of the Travel from Karameikos section, in which he writes:

"Those in a hurry may wish to consider Cardia's Carpet Service. She is a well-known elf with a flying carpet (heavily armed and rumored to contain pockets of holding). She can take up to two passengers, but reservations are required. The cost is 2 gp/person/mile for 2 passengers, of 5 gp/person/mile for one. The journey from Threshold to Specularum can be flown in one day. She also makes regular trips to Kelven, Selenica, and even Kerendas, but rarely stops at Krakatos and never goes to Luln or Fort Doom..."

There's a little more to the description, but no hard stats are provided for Cardia. She appears again in module B10: Night's Dark Terror (part of the adventure occurs in and around Threshold), but again without stats...it seems Cardia is simply supposed to be part of the scenery, a necessary source of fast travel for footsore adventurers. I mean, certainly no PC would ever think of ambushing her and looting a flying carpet for their own use...good Heavens! That would be so Chaotic!

We'll leave the talk about BECMI's implied morality for another day; there's enough to chew on here with just a chartered flying carpet (available for a flat daily rate of 500 gp!). This...THIS...is the kind of thing I absolutely hated about Glantri, and probably one of the reasons I find Harry Potter's "wizarding world" so annoying: the transformation of magic into something mundane and commonplace, taking away (certainly reducing) any sense of wonder and mystery.

[I'm sorry Potter fans, but if you're using magic to wash your dishes or dispose of your own feces that's the opposite of what I call "magical." Is a toilet magical? To a stone age human, perhaps...but we're not playing cavemen here]

Part of this comes from a simple issue present in most of Dungeons & Dragons: the original game was meant to be hard and challenging, and so many of its rewards (especially magic items) were left without consequences. You fought and dodged and braved untold dangers to get that carpet (or whatever)...now you're going to make me sacrifice a fist-sized ruby or some virgin babe just to activate the thing? Up yours, man! Unfortunately, without some consequences...largely left to the DM...there's no repercussions for pulling out your powerful magic item every time someone with 100 g.p. decides they'd rather fly Threshold to Kelvin nonstop.

There should be consequences, of course: not only flying monsters - like dragons - who should burn Cardia out of the sky (wandering monster chances in the wilderness are pretty common), but also thieves, unscrupulous nobles, and local money-men willing to hire thugs and mercenaries to kill this well-known "entrepreneur." Elves have to sleep sometime (and it should be a simple matter to find her residence when she advertises "Cardia's Carpet Service" on the sign outside). Elves have to eat (and if she's at the local tavern, how hard would it be to slip some poison into her meal?). How much is a flying carpet worth to a person? How much would it cost to hire the assassins needed to take Cardia out? I'm surprised the carpet hasn't already been confiscated by the Ducal Guard (at Stefan's orders) for "the good of the realm." Having a flying carpet in his personal treasury would be far more valuable than any taxes she might be paying.

And, you see, the fact that these kinds of things should have ALREADY HAPPENED long before the player characters ever decided to become adventurers, is what bugs the hell out of me. Mentzer just blithely says "oh, here it is, been operating forever." This is the kind of thing that a DM might throw into her campaign one day when the PCs have been adventuring for a while and have reached a point in their careers that maybe the inconvenience of overland travel to distant locations kind of sucks. But to make it a part of the local retail scene from the get go? Come on, dude. At least if you introduced such an NPC later you could justify her as having powerful friends (the PCs) who would take umbrage if she went mysteriously missing one day. The local baron of Threshold (Patriarch Sherlane) has more important things to worry about than one elf...like running his damn domain.

I can't find any reference to Cardia in Allston's GAZ1 (draw what conclusions you will) though she is back again in the 2nd Edition Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure (as an 8th level "rogue"...jeez). As stated, there's no such individual mentioned in B/X (i.e. pre-BECMI) sources, so the easiest way to "revamp" this eyesore is simply to cut it from your B/X game...perhaps introducing the NPC Cardia sometime later as an adventure hook when a young, stupid elf decides to open up her "carpet business" and requires protection (or armed escort on her excursions!). That might not be too bad.

If you really want a flying service in your game there are better ways to go than something so mundane as an elf with a flying carpet running a local travel agency. D&D needs to be a little weird and gonzo with this kind of thing if it wants to retain/promote a feeling of wonder and the fantastical. Some possible ideas:

On a smaller scale.

Option #1: a mad hermit / wizard / inventor lives in the forest outside of town where he can tinker with his contraptions in peace (he's been warned off more than once by the locals). His prize possession is his airship: a monstrous conglomerations of whirling gears, pipes belching noxious fumes, and skins inflated with hot air or fantasy hydrogen/helium. Perhaps it was the opus of his now deceased inventor/wizard wife (and he's not quite clear on all its workings); perhaps it's still a "work-in-progress." Regardless, the thing is prone to breakdowns and malfunctions every time he takes to the air...though when it does work, it can make fast time AND tends to scare off most wandering flyers (not dragons, of course...they see it as a challenge to their territory). He can be persuaded to give the PCs a lift...for the right price.

"Just need a couple
of eggs, ma'am."

Option #2: animal trainers (500 g.p. per month; see page X21) that specialize in griffons can be hard to find, but one lives on the outskirts of Threshold, and griffons are known to roost in the mountains just north of the town. Finding eggs and bringing them back safely would certainly be a good adventure; though it might take years before the creature was grown well enough to train for riding. The beast master might already have a few trained adults on-hand that can be hired for (short) rides; however, griffons are notoriously difficult and feisty beasts; they cannot be purchased, housebroken, or kept as pets (and you certainly wouldn't bring them into town!). Even so, they are extremely valuable and any damage that occurs to the animals while "on loan" will need to be paid for before any further services are provided by the trainer.

Have bow, will travel.

Option #3: I kind of dig the witches of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Is there any way to get them in the mix? Maybe stashing their community in the western forests of Karameikos, making them a hard-to-find, hard-to-reach, dangerous (and aloof) faction?

Option #4: Stefan has decided he needs his own "ducal air guard" if he is going to be respected by the likes of Thyatia and Alphatia (or simply because he needs to protect his realm from flying menaces). Problem is, he has no real idea of how to put together a flying force. Any such squad is going to be a small and motley crew at best...the archduke does not have the resources to invest in a team of enchanters to make magical devices (let alone any pegasi trainers). It's a good hook to get player characters involved...even if they don't have the means to fly themselves, they can earn a "finders fee" for helping to bring in wizard airships, griffon eggs, and witch archers. And maybe in the process they'll discover (or enchant) their own flying devices and swear allegiance to the archduke. Hey there, flyboy!
; )