10:21, Wednesday, June 22nd, 2021

Mmm.

I started writing something but it was just...sad. And, no, it wasn't about the state of the world or anything; it was about the state of my publications. Or (rather) the lack thereof.

But I'm not really depressed. I'm not really sure what I feel...I don't have a simple word to describe it. It's a kind of mental constipation. Ideas are stuck in my head that I'm not sure how to express. Books are on my laptop that I'm not sure how to publish. Concepts are crystalizing that I'm not sure how to best articulate in a literate format. I feel blocked.

This blog has received nearly 3 million views over its life; based on the rate at which people "check-in" that number should be surpassed by the end of July (thanks to all my readers). The last book I published was in 2013. That's a long ass time ago. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to add a new one to my resume fairly soon...just waiting on a half dozen or so illustrations from my artist (he's already given me three times that many) to complete this book that's been sitting (finished) on my hard drive since, oh, 2019 or so. Most of it was written while still in Paraguay.

One of these days I'm going to have to learn to draw.

And speaking of artwork and books: in January of 2020 I commissioned an artist to pen a total of SIX illustrations for Cry Dark Future so that I could finally publish that book. To date, I have received ZERO finished pieces. This has been my second attempt at paying artists to give me illos for this book (the last time was 2014 or 2015??)...I don't know why people hate money so much. Maybe if I offered a thousand dollars per B&W illo? Is this why people use Kickstarter? 

Erol Otus charged less for a color cover...at least he did back in 2010. Just saying.

Anyway, despite having several ideas for various books and publications, I think the next thing I want to work on publishing is a handful of adventures. I don't know if these will be for sale or just "for download." My "Tomb of Bendan Fazier" post had over 600 views, though the PDF was downloaded less than 200 times (perhaps if I hadn't put all the text in the blog post...hmmmm...). Probably, though, they will be on DriveThru for a small amount of scratch...the price of a beer, maybe.

(*sigh*) This is a terrible idea; I can already feel it in my bones. 

Okay, everyone is (finally) awake in my house. Back to the mundane grind. Later, Gators!

Morality and the Cosmic Struggle

[quick note: I've decide to try moderating comments for the time being as I've been getting an excessive amount of spam lately, and it's become a real irritation]

This isn't really what I planned on writing about, but after reading Father Dave's recent post, I figured it was time to finally throw down my two cents on alignment, my (current) thoughts on the concept, and how it will apply in my game setting.

Over the years, I've gone back and forth on the subject many, many times. My current stance (which I've had for less than six months) is to use alignment in my game. Multiple reasons go into this decision that I [still] don't want to enumerate [yet]. However, I will assure the reader that NONE of those reasons stem from a personal desire to simplify the game ("Rules As Written!") nor make my DMing life easier. Finding a way to use alignment in a meaningful and effective way is actually more difficult and not a headache to be readily embraced; it certainly isn't a headache I've found terribly enjoyable.

Still, I think alignment is important to my game world, as the cosmology of the setting is at least as important as the physical geography to its overall design.

SO...having said that (and having spent the last few days going though the OD&D monsters and figuring out the IFs and HOWs needed to slot them into my setting), please indulge me a moment to talk about my personal viewpoints on evil and how it works in a game context.

Father Dave's post discusses the importance of evil as a concept for an RPG; how reducing the game setting to one of moral relativism (if I may be allowed to paraphrase) makes the struggle between selfish individuals (and the stories told of those struggles) both boring and pointless. I assume some folks would take umbrage with this statement, as "boring" can be recognized as a matter of taste (television shows that I find tedious are undoubtably stimulating to others) and "pointless" ...well, what can be more pointed than watching humans (and/or tieflings, etc.) struggle in the face of adversity? That IS the point of The Game, after all.

But I understand the good padre is writing from his stance as a Christian theologian and I respect his perspective.

[ooo...I can see the potential for this discussion to get nasty. Lots of people get LOTS of things out of D&D besides any potential "meaning" or morality lesson, people who hold the game on an equally high (or higher) pedestal. I really, really don't want to have that debate here. Please don't go down that particular road in the comments; yes, I understand D&D holds a lot of juice for a lot of people of all stripes and persuasions...]

For ME, it is important that my campaign setting is sensible; if the setting doesn't make sense to me, I will (eventually) become tired of and frustrated with the nonsensical elements until I chuck the whole thing...something that has happened many, many times to me in the past. I'd rather have a game setting that will last, oh say, a hundred years or so (enough time that it should outlive me) and my best strategy for doing so is picking an epoch in our real world past that is so far removed from today that who knows WHAT might have happened "way back then" (knowledge does tend to get lost after a few thousand years...). However, making use of our Real World means using a real world cosmology or, at least, a close approximation given the circumstances of the setting and the rules of the game; that, to me, is sensible.

So then what is "evil" as I believe it? Father Dave defines evil as the absence of God. "Goodness" is the same as God...God is the source of all goodness. The more you remove good/God from the equation the higher the degree of evil; the padre compares evil to cold, and God/goodness to warmth. Cold increases the more you remove yourself from the source of heat; add heat and cold is diminished. Easy-peasy...that's a fairly typical Christian perspective on the way the cosmos functions.

My own take is a little more New Age-y (I'm not the world's greatest Christian by any stretch): God is All; All is One. "Evil" comes from denying this fact...by separating ourselves (through thought and/or action) from the truth (or Truth) that All is One. Forgetting our place and our purpose as "higher beings," parts of God's whole, destined and designed to do God's will because we are one with God. Forgetting our higher purpose...or ignoring it, or working against it...results in the only "sin" that matters: selfishly separating ourselves from God. This causes suffering in the whole (for All is One)...it is a sin against God, against ourselves, and against our fellows for we are all part of a single whole.

But why does such sin (or the possibility of it) exist? Here, I'll take a page from Tolkien and draw the analogy that Eternity is like a grand symphony, composed of many notes, chords, rhythms, and movements. Only with an omniscient understanding can its whole be observed at once; only with the perspective of God can it be seen how one part leads to the next, how each portion is necessary to the whole. The struggles and challenges of those humans residing on our planet may seem terrible and terrifying...or petty and sordid...when viewed with only a limited ability to perceive. But that limitation, too, is part of the overall scheme and design of the composition.

Putting that into D&D language: I am using the three-point alignment system of Law, Neutrality, and Chaos in my setting. A Lawful person is one who actively does God's will (purposefully, though regardless of whether or not there exists understanding). "Persons" mean creatures with a level of intelligence rising to the level of sentience; "God's will" generally means living in harmony (with others and with nature), and generally promoting the same. There are very few species in my game that are (culturally) of the Lawful disposition; most are angelic beings.

By my definitions, anyone NOT actively doing God's will would be in the "evil" category (to greater or lesser degree), but the difference between Neutrality and Chaotic is a preferred distinction for my setting. While there are certainly selfish people out there who are more interested in their personal  desires than following the Law of One, not all are so wicked as to actively be working AGAINST the cosmic design (i.e. trying to create MORE separation from God). This, then, is the distinction: a Neutral person is not working to create a closer bond with God, nor are they working to undermine oneness (and, generally due to ignorance and disinterest, these may perform deeds at various times that move the needle one way or the other: helping an individual in need one day, while cheating someone else another). These maintain the "status quo" of life on Earth, perpetuating its cycles, and maintaining the possibility to join one side or the other. In contrast, the Chaotic person, by thought and deed, continuously pushes to destroy One-ness through selfish aggrandizement, exploitation of others, and general awfulness.

Regarding non-sentient beings: most are of the Neutral alignment (all "natural" creatures, for example) unless their very nature is an offense to the natural order: undead creatures, for example, or certain magical abominations created by stray and terrible magics (like trolls). "Demons" are not "fallen angels" in the Milton sense, but there are certain ethereal beings whose interaction with humans usually take a malignant turn (for the humans), much the same way that interacting with other "forces" (fire, gravity, etc.) have the potential to cause harm to the unwary; such forces are labeled as "Chaotic" due to the danger their interference poses to humans attempting to follow God's will. Such creatures (and those who harness them as tools in their quest for personal power) provide a steady source of conflict in the setting.

Hope that all makes sense.

This, by the way, has brought up other headaches...er, "interesting challenges"...with regard to the design of the campaign's mega-dungeon. Licancabur is a natural formation, one that in recent centuries has been sacred and holy to the people of the region, much as such sites (Olympus, Rainier, Danali) have been sacred to other peoples throughout history. Moreover, nature may be aloof and uncaring to the wants and needs of human beings, but that doesn't make it evil...merely dangerous. So what "lawful" reason could there be for adventurers to delve its ancient depths, explore its hollowed out volcanic tubes, slay its denizens, and pillage its treasures? If Licancabur is not some sort of gateway to hell, what gives them the right to ravish it, sword in hand?

Corruption. Perversion. The temple has become a den of inequity. The hallowed halls are defiled with mutants and monsters of the vilest sort. Something must be done to return the place to a state of grace, though it may take years, and the blood of many would-be heroes, to do so.

And, for now, that's enough to kick-off a campaign. Because my setting takes place some 9000 years before the time of Christ, there are no Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions in the game, but there are religious orders and clerics. The line between magic-users and clerics is very thin, in my setting, the difference being mainly one of perspective and mission. Only followers of the Law of One have access to the full range of healing powers; worshippers of false gods and natural powers are little more than hedge wizards, and idolatrous demon-worshippers have no access to healing magic at all, being only capable of harnessing the powers of malice and harm for their personal "benefit."

Magic-users as a class hold themselves aloof from matters of the spirit and worship, but they are aware of the way the cosmos works, and ignore it at their own peril. Many wizards, lacking wisdom or lost in their pursuit of knowledge and power, will tread the path of chaos. Bad things undoubtably await them (in this life or in the next), but such a road will not curtail their progression.

My use of alignment in D&D isn't meant to dictate behavior, neither with regard to players, nor their characters. With regard to player characters, alignment is a stamp and statement of where their souls lie in terms of the cosmic struggle. There is no requirement to "act one's alignment:" presumably, a character's actions will stem from a [Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic] motivation, and even if not, so what? Individuals slip up, make mistakes, and act against type. Lancelot sleeps with the wife of his friend and liege. Hercules gets drunk and kills his family. Darth Vader decides he'd rather go out a hero than watch his son be murdered. Do such deeds make up for a lifetime of goodness/badness? Maybe, maybe not...the player is free to discuss a possible alignment change with the DM (me) if she wants to entertain that possibility.

Regardless, I'll assume that the character is doing plenty of acts "off-screen" that readily bolster and justify the alignment chosen.

Actions have consequences...all sorts of consequences. Kill all the lizard men in the local swamp and you have no lizard men. In some ways, this is a good thing: fewer dangers in the swamp (if the lizard men were apt to ambush unwary travelers), perhaps more game to be found by the locals (since the lizard men aren't hunting it). Perhaps, though, the lizard men acted as a natural "buffer zone" between the local village and a different threat of some sort, a more dangerous tribe of creatures that will now take their place. Perhaps the lizard folk worshipped a black dragon and their occasional "sacrifices" kept the thing from looking for prey elsewhere. Perhaps they hunted a particular type of animal that is difficult for a non-scaly hunter to eradicate, and now the unchecked pest threatens to overrun the swamp...maybe some sort of giant spider whose venom was ineffective against the lizard people (but is fatal to humans).

The point is: the genocide of the lizard people isn't necessarily evil...it may have been an expedient solution to a very real problem. But actions have consequences, and there may have been more than one solution to "the lizard man question." Finding a harmonious approach is, generally, the Lawful way, as I'm defining the term...but sometimes, stamping out a Chaotic threat IS the "Lawful" method needed.

But that isn't to say my world is one of moral relativism; I personally don't believe in moral relativism, and since my setting is my own, personal creation, I get to determine the truth of the matter. So there are absolutes of good and evil, right and wrong, broadly defined as moving in alignment with God or against God. And unfortunately, for most humans trapped in a fallible bodies of limited perception, having actual knowledge of what is God's will is pretty much impossible to fathom. Which is why we rely on the wisdom of priests and the teachings of religions for guidance. It's only too bad that the priesthood and writers of religious tracts are (mostly) composed of fallible humans of limited perception.

*ahem* Anyway, having a system of alignment allows me to shape the scope of my setting in (morally) absolute terms: these creatures are an abomination, these magic items are designed for the use of Law, these spells can only be used in the service of Chaos, etc. Alignment allows me to steer the tone of the game and provides a convenient shorthand for defining the nature of the cosmic struggle in my own morally absolute terms. It provides another layer to the physics of the game world, an extra dimension of challenge to be navigated, an additional meaning to the experience of play.

Again: its purpose is not an edict of player (or character) behavior.

That being said, it would probably be strange to have both Lawful and Chaotic characters in the same adventuring party.

In The Tomb

Happy Holy Saturday! As we all await our own "resurrection" from the caves in which we're sheltering (see what I did there? Easter humor), I figured I'd post up a few addendum notes to yesterday's post. I mean, why the hell not?

Regarding my re-typing of OD&D:

Finished doing Book III...well, as much of it as I plan on writing at this point. The thing devotes a LOT of space (about a third of its page count) to aerial and naval combat, neither of which are incredibly pertinent to my campaign at the moment. I understand the authors' original intention of including everything necessary for a "complete game," but this is more appendix kind of stuff for "special adventures" (this may be a B/X prejudice as the original Expert set put ship and waterborne combat info in a just such a chapter at the end of the book). For better or worse, I don't see my players doing a lot of aerial combat maneuvers in game.

That leaves a lot of space, however, which I will be using to fill out GM info (from later works) that I really want to include. I went through the later OD&D supplements, as well as The Strategic Review and early Dragon magazines...

[ha! in the other room my daughter is having a video "play date" with one of her kindergarten friends and she's attempting to explain the Dungeons & Dragons game we've been playing. Funny stuff.]

...and made notes of the things I want to incorporate into the text. There are some interesting world assumptions I'm finding in the text. The fact that orcs are readily available for hire as mercenaries (and for low prices) says something about their place in the world/civilization of the game...especially as other humanoids AREN'T (goblins are too feral? I suppose). But how does this easy relationship sit with rangers? Not good I suppose (which is why they prefer to live in the wilds). Still, it helps explain half-orcs when orcs are regular participants in inter-species relationships...

Then there's the whole issue of evil (i.e. "chaotic") patriarchs. The same rules for high level clerics apply to evil high priests...which means any such individual that builds a stronghold is going to attract a large force of "faithful" fanatics...not to mention the automatic "tithes" (20 g.p. per inhabitant per year!) that starts rolling in to the EHP's coffers. Apparently all gods are honored in this fantasy setting...sets up all sorts of Isle of Pan Tang ideas.

Regarding the Tomb of Horrors:

Man, that adventure is the gift that just keeps on giving. After The Keep on the Borderlands, I've got to believe it's the module I've run the most over the years (yes, more than White Plume Mountain). Last night, I ran the original OD&D tournament version of the module for the kids, though using the illustration pack from the later 1980 publication. Kids each took two of the pre-gens from the adventure: Diego used an 8th level paladin ("Rider") and a 12th level magic-user ("Winklebart"); Sofia used a 4th/6th level Elf fighter-mage ("Fiddly Fiddler") and a 10th level cleric (first call "Sheila May," later changed to "Lovine the Artist"). The kids had a lot of fun picking out all the cool spells their high level characters could carry, and spent a good amount of time selecting equipment that provided them the right mount of utility with the most efficient encumbrance.

Because we were starting rather late at night, I declared we'd go with the two hour tournament time limit (though we probably went over by a bit). The players started by exploring the "right-hand" (western) false tunnel. The collapsing ceiling killed Fiddly, necessitating the use of Lovine's raise dead spell. Fortunately, the elf made his resurrection survival roll and two weeks later they were healed up and ready to try again.

The party's second foray into the dungeon saw them exploring the "left-hand" (eastern) entrance. Despite the rumbling they heard behind them, they decided to press forward and try to open the doors. It was only after they discovered the blank wall behind the doors that they turned to find the tunnel behind sealed by a shifting wall. "What do we do now?" What do you want to do. "Well, we'll check out the fake doors, but we'll be careful for traps." I think you've already set off a trap don't you? Oh, right. Fortunately, Winkle had memorized the passwall spell so they were able to escape.

Next up was the main (central) tunnel entrance. Here they managed to fall in most every pit trap along the path, but led by their stalwart paladin (with high hit points and amazing saving throws) they managed to traverse the length, finally arriving at the corridor's end. Finding and reading the the cryptic message on the floor, Diego decided to try the misty arch while Sofia's characters remained behind to "watch for monsters." The teleportation deposited Rider and Winkle in a rather messy heap in the chamber of the four-armed ghoul who surprised the pair (apparently they were still disoriented by the mist's effects). Random die showed the ghoul going after the wizard, who quickly died. Rider fought a round with the creature before deciding to flee due to low hit points and the strategic disadvantage of facing a monster with 4 attacks per melee. Charging through the exit he kicked open the plastered door to the main tunnel, only to plunge into the pit lying on the other side (death by impalement...he still made his saving throw). Hearing the commotion the rest of the party retraced their steps, recovered Rider's body, and retreated from the tomb.

The paladin was raised (easily making his resurrection roll) and two weeks later the party was back at the Tomb. Down a man (even had they attempted to retrieve Winklebart's corpse, it had been too long since his death to revive the wizard), they party decided to exercise the utmost caution. Taking a vote, they decided to go through the devil mouth this time. Once again, the paladin was chosen to go first (it was really Sofia's idea to try the devil mouth, but then she chickened out of taking the plunge; rock-paper-scissors was executed and Rider was given the job). Tying a rope around his waist and hoisting the lantern, the paladin pushed his way into the mouth, disappearing completely into darkness. Pulling on the rope brought back...nothing. After sticking a few odds and ends into the mouth (torches, both lit and unlit) it gradually dawned on the players that the devil's mouth was a one-way trip. "So where am I?" asked Diego. In heaven...you were disintegrated! Time for bed!

[there was a lot of laughter at my son's expense, even his own. "Sofia, why do you keep letting me make stupid mistakes?!" followed by the realization of his own words. Ah, D&D...I've missed you]

The children were suitably impressed that the Tomb of Horrors was exceptionally deadly and as fierce as its reputation suggested. Of course, they are also interested in going back, though they realize they're going to have to create some more characters. For my part I feel...refreshed by the experience. Maybe in my own way I'm like some sort of withered demilich that needs to bathe in the blood of young adventurers to get the creak out of my bones!

Regarding the chipa:

It turned out delicious. Here's a picture (we made more, but...um...it all got eaten):

Used a combo of queso fresco and mozzarella cheese in place of the queso paraguayo. The video was good (converted everything to English units of measure) and did a half order...still made a ton of chipa. Very tasty.

Enjoy your weekend folks...as best you can.
: )

V is for Veiled Society

[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]

V is for Veiled Society, "the most powerful criminal organization in Specularum." GAZ1 states that thief characters can choose to belong to one of three thieves' guilds in Karameikos, and identifies The Veiled Society as one of these (the other two being "The Kingdom of the Thieves" headed by Flameflicker, and "The Iron Ring" slaver organization).

I was trying to remember when I first heard of such a concept as a "guild" of thieves. I didn't read any Leiber "Lankhmar" tales till (probably) high school, certainly not before I was years' deep in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (back in those "pre-internet days," if you were looking for some long out-of-print pulp fiction, you'd only find it at a library with a decent selection...pretty sure my first Leiber, Moorcock, and Zelazny books were pulled off the Seattle Prep SciFi shelf). I probably had some idea of guilds (from history class, encyclopedias, and/or watching Dickens' Christmas Carol on a yearly basis), and there IS mention of "thieves guilds" in the Cook/Marsh Expert set, in exactly two places:

"At this point, a player character thief may want to consider setting up a Thieves Guild (the details of this are left to the DM)."  [page X8, discussing high level thieves building hideouts and attracting apprentice thieves]

"The base town should be large enough to support the services the players will need these include:

• Inns and townhouses where the players stay between adventures, where notices are posted, and where rumors are found.
• Churches, shrines or temples for the clerical orders, including at least one NPC cleric powerful enough to cast a raise dead spell.
• A Thieves' Guild for thief class characters that can provide information, markets for treasure, smuggling, spies, and hireling thieves -- for a price.
• Town militia to keep an eye on the town -- and the players!

"The DM should also decide who is running the town..." [page X54, on building a base town for the campaign, emphasis added (regarding the thieves guild) by Yours Truly]

[man, just to digress for a moment...so much to digest and infer from that little bit of world building. What a great place for a new DM to start! Everything that's really pertinent...including a cleric that can raise dead!...is on that list, save perhaps the blacksmith and "general store" that any town large enough to support the rest should be able to provide. Note, this is the outline for a "home base" for adventurers, not any old village, which could be lacking most, if not all of these components. But for a place that adventurers (i.e. the player characters) come from, YES, it should have all these things...not only for their services but (probably) for the PCs' origins as well: fighters were trained in the militia, clerics at one of the churches, etc. And, NO, it does not NEED to have a wizard or "magicians guild" because, of course, PC magic-users can learn their own spells through spell research (helping to suck off excess treasure in the process)...magic need not be commonplace!]

[ha! Raise dead! Always available at the home base, so why O why was there ever whining about getting killed on an adventure? Sheesh!]

*AHEM* The presence of a thieves guild, given the description in the Expert set provides a number of practical services for player characters (a place to sell treasure! a place to procure thief hirelings!) as well as giving the thief a way to shine that may be welcome indeed (keeping in mind that the low-level thief in B/X is a pretty paltry character, both skill-wise and combat-wise!)...since, presumably, one must BE a thief (and one in good guild standing) in order to interact with the "thieves guild."

[the alternative I suppose would be difficulty in finding places to fence loot, poor exchange rates on treasure, and wild chance if an adventuring thief was available for hire at the local tavern...assuming a thief would be willing to publicly announce her profession in the first place!]

Members in the Veiled Society (briefly mentioned in this previous post) is described in GAZ1 as follows:

"The Veiled Society is appropriate to characters with a grim, Mafia-like outlook on their criminal activities. If this character likes hurting people as much as he likes robbing them, the Veiled Society is for him.
"The Veiled Society demands 15% of all the character's earnings (other than those earnings for Veiled Society activities). It does provide a reliable fence for that fee. It helps the character by trying to spring him from jail or beating or killing those who've done him wrong -- the Society is loyal to its members.
"However, it often makes demands of the characters -- such as "Go to the House of Silks near the Street of Dreams. Break in. Kill the old man and his daughter and then set the place afire." This isn'e a thieves' guild for characters with morals."

Allston states that only Neutrals and Chaotics may join the Veiled Society, but PCs of any alignment...and of any class!...can be asked to join during the course of adventure module where they first appear: Dave Cook's B6: The Veiled Society. In fact, very few of the Veiled Society men (yes, they are all men) in the adventure are thieves...a total of three out of 51 NPCs. For a "thieves guild," they're pretty light on thieves! Cook also includes this little "initiation" ritual:

"You are now on of us," says the man. "If they catch you, they kill you. If you betray us, we kill you. Act in our name but without our blessing, we kill you. Work hard for us and you will prosper. Once with us you cannot leave us."

This is said after donning the Veiled Society hood, which both protects their identities and is the symbol of their allegiance. It should be obvious that the Society does not suffer betrayal lightly (or at all).

The Society's hideout appears to be an ancient, subterranean complex (I'm making it sound more exciting than it is: it consists of all of three chambers and a handful of straight passages). There's something very mystical about the place, and the Society in general. Their meeting hall feels like an ancient pagan temple (though there is no idol, only a gong...which I can't see them using since the members only meet at appointed time and there are no rooms from which to call folks to gather). There are as many high level spell-casters as "thieves" among their members (two clerics, one magic-user) all of which are in leadership positions (unlike the thieves). There are their masking rituals and their oaths of secrecy and commitment, the headdress of their hidden leader. More than a fantasy Cosa Nostra, the trappings of the Society feels like that of a secret society, one with religious overtones, and one that's been operating in the depths beneath Specularum for generations...certainly before the Thyatia conquest.

Personally, I dig it. I've loved the feel of this module ever since I saw it's Roslof-illustrated cover, many years ago...and despite the overall weakness of the adventure design I've held onto it.  A hooded, murderous secret society knifing people in the dark alleys of Specularum after sundown? That's cool...probably should be kidnapping the odd virgin to sacrifice to some shadowy goddess every new moon as well (a ritual leftover from ancient times, blood of the innocent used to "resurrect" the moon). It doesn't have to be ultra-weird and Cthulhu-y...murderous fanaticism hidden behind the facade of "normal" friends and neighbors can be just as creepy.

Okay...I'll end the post here. Man, I am far behind this month. I had wanted to talk about the other thieves guilds as well (including the one located in Threshold...a town of 500...and how preposterous that is), and especially the Iron Ring slavers. But that'll have to wait till another day.

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.

A is for Archduke Stefan III

[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 it's B/X roots]

A is for Archduke Stefan III. Yeah, that guy. Best to start at the top.

The much beloved archduke (later king in the 2nd Edition AD&D setting, following events in the Wrath of the Immortals box set), has his history described in detail beginning with Allston's setting Gazeteer for the Grand Duchy. In brief, Stefan was a Thyatian nobleman who traded his ancestral lands to the Emperor of Thyatis in exchange for independent rulership of the "undeveloped" Traladara territory (Traladara having been conquered and claimed by Thyatis some 70 years before). Taking its main city (Specularum) for his capitol, the 22 year old Stefan renames the land for himself (Karameikos) and puts down the armed insurrection that follows. Over the next 30 years, the now-Archduke parcels out land to his (Thyatian) followers, builds roads and a strong military, and works to establish his Grand Duchy as a maritime power and resource rich exporter, while uniting the mixed Thyatian and Traladaran people in a shared "Karameikan" identity. He does this by using his natural charisma, being an "exemplary leader," recognized throughout the region for his "fairness and honor" and while there is some resentment to his rule (and some outright plotting against him by certain nobles), he is generally considered an "even-handed," "stern but fair ruler" whose main flaw is being "baffled by raw evil" (like his cousin Ludwig von Hendriks). In game terms he is Lawful and good, caring most for his family, his people, and his legacy...in about that order.

Sheesh.

Let's talk a bit about conquered people, shall we? Historically, folks are pretty averse to being conquered and ruled by a foreign power, especially when there's any perceived social injustice like, for example, the invaders being in the nobility and the indigenous folks being stripped of their lands. It's not something that a people with any type of national identity (say, a shared language, religion, and/or cultural values) gets over easily. One might say, well it's been a hundred years since the Thyatian Empire first marched into Marilnev (the regions main community) and renamed it Specularum...that's four or five generations to get used to Thyatian (i.e. fantasy Roman) supremacy, yeah?  Sure...and I can see the Palestinians being okay with this whole Israeli state thing one day, too, huh?

You can see how well that kind of thinking worked in Latin America and Africa and Asia over the centuries. India was effectively ruled by the British from the 18th century until achieving independence in 1947....they never really "got used to it." I'd imagine there are still plenty of "north Irish" who would rather just be Irish, just as there are still Scottish folks who would prefer to be their own country. I have good friends in the Basque region of Spain who absolutely hate being associated in any way with Spain (who they see as attempting cultural genocide) and still hope someday...and work toward...having an independent Basque country. And the Basque region was annexed in the 15th century!

Are folks familiar with Maximillian I of Mexico? He was an Austrian nobleman who gave up his lands and titles in Europe to become Emperor of Mexico. This was with the help of the French (and Napoleon's army) in the 19th century.

["Cinco de Mayo" commemorates the Battle of Puebla (where all Volkswagons in North America are manufactured) when the Mexicans won a small victory against the French forces during this time period]

Historians write that Maximillian genuinely cared for the Mexican people, helped institute reforms to help the people, enacted institutions to help the poor, abolished child labor, broke monopolies held by the wealthy, and worked to make a strong, modern Mexico. He was fought tooth-and-nail by a people who had already thrown off the yoke of Spain in their war of independence, and after "reigning" for about three years, he was overthrown captured, and executed by firing squad. Mexico has only been ruled by Mexicans ever since.

Duke Stefan, per GAZ1, survived a single armed revolt and a single assassination attempt and then...nothing. For thirty years (forty, if you count the 2nd edition material). Just schemers working behind the scenes to undermine Stefan's authority.

Doesn't really wash for me. Even if Stefan was the "bestest ruler in the world" it's hard to see a conquered people (even one that's not particularly "oppressed" - though what constitutes "oppression" is probably a matter of opinion) celebrating Stefan's rule or simply content to go quietly into the night. The Traladarans are supposed to have a proud history, legends of being enslaved by "beast men" and of eventually throwing off that slavery to become free, independent people. And now they're just going to go about their business? With Thyatians in their castles, taking the bounty of the land? It's not like Stefan has been systematically exterminating them and pushing them onto tiny reservations...they should be taking advantage of his (written) naiveté to arm themselves and organize!

[maybe it's just that archduke has the indiginous demihumans on his side...but why? Were there centuries of antagonism between the demihumans and Traladarans before the coming of Thyatis?]

It's important to note that the character of Stefan Karameikos, his personality and background, changed substantially with the advent of 1987's GAZ1 (the Gazeteer detailing the Grand Duchy of Karameikos). Very little, in fact, was said of the archduke (even in B6, the adventure module detailing Specularum); until the publication of GAZ1, he seemed to be nothing more than a high level fighter who had carved out his own dominion. Even Aaron Allston's own adventure module X12: Skarda's Mirror (published just prior to GAZ1), paints a different portrait of the character:

"A distinguished military commander and adventurer by the age of 20, he was offered a baronial title if he settled in and developed the unclaimed wilderness west of Thyatis.

"Stefan Karameikos III built himself a seacoast town, a village which he named Specularum, and began settling his followers all through the region. Eventually the region became the Barony of Karameikos, then the County, and finally the Duchy. Now, 30 years after the initial landfall, the Duchy is flourishing, and the Duke is a powerful and well-liked ruler, the father of strong heirs."

See? That's a perfectly acceptable elaboration on the character's original portrayal in the Cook Expert rulebook. There's no conquered peoples, no political machinations, no Thyatian noble-class ruling over displaced Traladarans. At this point, "Traldarans" were only a primitive, degenerate human subspecies fighting endless battles against the Hutaakan beast-men (to be discussed later) in a lost valley (see B10: Night's Dark Terror). The earlier, pre-GAZ Stefan was just an adventurer made good...just one of us, you know?

Which is how I prefer it, mainly because it's "more B/X." Still, things are not all rosy in Karameikos. There are still ravening hordes of humanoids (goblins, gnolls, frost giants(!), etc.) to contend with throughout the area. And then there's that darn Black Eagle Barony over on the western border about which the Duke seems wholly unconcerned. What's up with that exactly?

Welp, as with the good Baron Ludwig, I can think of a number of different ways to "re-skin" Duke Stefan explaining his lack of progress after a couple-three decades sitting on the throne. Here's a few of them for your enjoyment:

Couldn't find a good
pic of Duke Avan.

Archduke as Absentee Adventurer: Duke Avan Astran of old Hrolmyr is a good example of an adventuring noble of the most doomed sort; of course, most (all) folks who travel with Elric of Melnibone are doomed to a horrible end eventually.

Archduke Stefan as Duke Avan is a fairly easy re-skin: the explorer/adventurer who just can't settle down, even after a life of achievement. He keeps getting on that damn boat and setting sail, looking for lost cities, legendary shorelines. and forbidden knowledge...all when he should be back minding his duchy. Instead, he is gone more often than not on a life of perilous adventure, leaving his dominion to be ruled by henchmen and underlings while his noble wife tries to raise/shape children grown restless with an absentee father. Perhaps, the player characters will end up accompanying him on some random quest or other; more likely he'll disappear and they'll be tasked with finding his remains. Lots of possible adventures in a land left un-ruled by a glory hound and thrill seeker.

"More wine! And where's
my armor stretcher?!"

Archduke as the Life of the Party: who doesn't like a little wining, wenching, and feasting? Robert Baratheon is a great possibility as an archduke resting on his (ever expanding) laurels.

Once a formidable warrior, years of the good life has allowed those muscles to atrophy and those jowls to drop. But it's not a bad life. Who needs to worry when you've got that Black Eagle fellow shoring up your western border? And the elves and gnomes to your north? And that...well, there is a haunted and mysterious forest to the east, but there are hardly ever any monsters popping their ugly mugs out of it. Besides, young adventurers are always happy to go on a quest, and knighthoods are cheap to grant. Maybe they'll take some of my (illegitimate) kids with 'em...show 'em the ropes.

Sure wish the duchy wasn't in so much debt...

"What of it?"

Archduke as the Scheming Legacy Builder: or maybe your debt is just a means to an end. Tywin Lannister is a different kind of warlord: one who is ambitious, ruthless, and utterly dedicated to furthering the fortunes of his family and ensuring its legacy.

Stefan as Tywin would be perfectly happy to allow an equally ruthless warlord to rule the western marches...so long as the tool could be sufficiently controlled. Of more importance would be growing his own family, ensuring his own estates were secure, and building political alliances with other, rival nations. The infrastructure of the interior? Low priority compared to keeping up appearance in duchy's capital. A powerful naval force. Plate armored cavalry and perfectly drilled infantry. Evidence of pacified natives. And an open invitation to extra-nationals seeking to exploit the rich resources of the territory's interior.

No petty baron would do as a marriage partner for the ducal offspring; the archduke's children would be yet another resource to exploit and sell and help build the family's dominion and legacy.

"My followers were chosen as carefully
as the disciples of Christ."

Archduke as Bloody Handed Conquistador: But perhaps we'd like to use the native Traladarans...or some sort of indigenous prior inhabitants. Duke Stefan as Hernan Cortes could still be a B/X style adventurer...just one not conflicted about carving an empire out of an existing civilization.

This could be an archduke motivate by religion (slaying or converting the heathen pagans), riches (harvesting timber, mining precious metals), glory (etching his name on history), or bloody savagery (an excuse to kill). Truth is Cortes was a little bit of all those things, and while I've never met or read anything that ever praised the man or his actions, the fact remains that he made an indelible impression on the history of Mexico...and his descendants survive (comfortably) to this day.

Archduke as Chaos Cultist: AKA "Something Rotten in Specularum." Last one, and then I'll get this posted (man, I'm hopeful the next post in this series will be shorter!). Here's a quote direct from the 1st edition of Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness...though with some [words] replaced:

"[Stefan] was regarded as the finest military commander that the [Empire of Thyatis] had produced. His abilities were faultless, and eventually the Emperor granted him the title of [Archduke]. This was a high honor...

"Before [Stefan] could travel to [the Thyatian capital] to receive [additional reward] he fell ill [in] the [primitive territory] of [Traldara]. This was his undoing. During his convalescence [in Specularum] he was inducted into a secret warrior's lodge, which proved to be little more than a coven. A change of character became evident in the [archduke] - he had been possessed by a Daemon. [Stefan's] membership of the secret lodge was not unusual; Imperial soldiers were often encouraged to join warrior societies of this type..."

Late stage cultist Stefan.

Stefan Karameikos as Warmaster Horus may seem a bit of a stretch, but individuals in the Warhammer Fantasy setting fall prey to Chaos worship for all sorts of reasons (though, sure, it's usually tied to some sort of lust for power). Here's the great thing about it though: Chaos cultists usually strive with all their might to keep their allegiance secret. No one's going to pay taxes or follow the laws of a mutant scion of evil! And in a feudal society with a rigorously enforced social caste system, it's actually fairly easy to hide such worship...at least until your arm turns into a tentacle (then out will come the witch-hunters and the torches). See Shadows over Bogenhafen, etc. Anyway, the point is, an archduke that's fallen to Chaos has a lot more things to worry about then whether or not the roads are getting built...

All right, that's enough. More tomorrow!

[EDIT: I promise I'll come back and polish this post at a future date...when I have more time!]

Comes Chaos

OKAY. I spent a bit of time at lunch today getting a little stinky-drinky and writing more bad JuJu about Paraguayan ignorance (and drawing parallels with certain presidential campaigns in the home country)...but I'm almost 100% certain that no one wants to read more of that kind of nonsense.

So let's talk about B/X-related nonsense. And, no, not superheroes.

Waaaaaay back in January, I mentioned I was going to get in on this whole B/X Campaign Challenge thing, set up by Mr. James V. West. I also said I figured I could knock-out a 64 page supplement in about 64 days, giving myself (approximately) till the end of March to get it done. Seeing as how it's been seven days since the last time I worked on the thing (just checked...March 4th) people may be wondering how is the project progressing?

Pretty good. I'm at 53 pages (formatted)...a bit more than 36,000 words without counting headers and page numbers. Since I'm aiming for about 58-60 (to make room for illustrations, a cover leaf, and table of contents), I'm pretty close to completion.

It's always that last bit that's the bitch, ain't it?

Actually, that's NOT why I've stalled. For a "campaign book," I started to find there was surprisingly little campaign to the thing...mainly a collection of rules and notes about how to inject a little crazy into one's standard B/X game. I started to think maybe I needed a bit more setting, a bit less system. And then, of course, I got distracted with other brainstorms...

But I'm digressing. As I wrote back on the 22nd (when I was first considering the challenge), the idea I had was an incredibly derivative one, and it still is....specifically, I am adapting the old Warhammer Realm of Chaos books (Slaves to Darkness and The Lost and the Damned) to the B/X game system, an idea that I once thought was pretty ridiculous. Also, not a terribly original idea, considering folks like Steven A. Cook have already done similar work (his Hordes of Chaos is a nice little "monster manual" designed for use with Labyrinth Lord).

But whatever...it's only a 64 page book. It's specifically designed for use with B/X (which everyone loves and now has access to, thanks to the release of the PDFs). It files all the serial numbers off anything that might be considered IP by other game companies. And it's written for a B/X system...for a game of exploration and treasure hunting...not a war-game.

And it does have a setting...one that could easily be expanded with additional books, if I was so inclined.

Slaves to Darkness.
So good, I own two copies.

The fact of the matter is Slaves to Darkness and The Lost and the Damned are damn masterworks. They have terrible, disgusting, magnificent, tragic themes. They are well-designed (for their time and their purpose) and are filled with beautiful, terrible, horrible, awesome artwork. They are classics that most buffs of dark fantasy (and dark fantasy games) should have on their shelves. I own physical copies of both, having paid an exorbitant price for one after many years of searching.

They are also fairly unplayable as they are. While the fluff from the books have penetrated the Warhammer universe for nearly three decades (Slaves was written in 1988 and last time I checked a 40K Chaos Codex they were STILL recycling quotes from its most excellent pages), the Warhammer game long ago dropped the systems found within their pages, keeping only the themes. Mordheim's chaos war band was a pretty poor substitute for a champion-led retinue of miscreants and mutants.

SO, because I love these books...their themes (which simply emphasize the dark spaces in the human heart to terrible extremes) and their mutants and their monsters and their madness...because I do love them, I've adapted them to a system that I love (B/X) so that they can see play at the table. They deserve to see play at the table.

And I find the setting I've designed (that I'm thinking I might want to detail in greater depth) so intriguing that I'd really like to run a campaign set in it, despite having voiced (only a few months ago) a longing to try a Holmes-style campaign. B/X...sucking me back in! Seducing me to the darkest of dark sides!

Anyhoo, it's almost done and my intention is to do my own artwork for it (not sure how that's going to go...) and sell it for a pittance in electronic form. That's my intention; we'll see what happens. But regardless, I've got to finish the writing first.

Hopefully by the end of the month.
; )

Hunting Witches

This is Tim Brannan's fault.

I love the concept of the witch hunter, of witch hunting, in general. Not in the "red scare" sense of the phrase, nor even the historical Inquisition-mananged mass murder of people-who-don't-think-and-worship-like-us. No, I'm talking about fantasy witch-hunting: the idea that there are dark and sinister supernatural forces out there and some heroic folks have been chosen for the gig of hunting said forces.

Nostalgia of the Nineties

As a premise for an RPG, this isn't a terribly original idea...more than a couple of Pelgrane Press's GUMSHOE games fall into this category, as does Beyond the Supernatural, InSpectres, and (to a lesser degree) Call of Cthulhu. The Mutant Chronicles certainly had a large dose of SciFi flavored witch hunting to it. Heck, there was even a game called Witch Hunters that was published a few years back, though I'd break out the old White Wolf Hunters Hunted supplement (for 1E VtM) long before I'd ever put down money for such a book/system.

[The Hunters Hunted is a truly under appreciated gem of a supplement/mini-game that I should blog about some time.  I realize it led to its own game line eventually ("Hunters Reckoning," I think?) but I got a lot of mileage off that original, slim volume. Very cool and one of the best Vampire products]

And, for more medieval-style games, there are plenty of witch hunters to be found in the Warhammer universe...I'm not sure if the latest version of WHFRP has them, but the first couple editions (through Hogshead) had witch hunters as an advanced career path, and you could play an entire warband of witch hunters in the Mordheim game.

But for old school D&D...the pre-2E editions...the idea of the witch hunter is a bit of a tough sell. After all, old school D&D isn't about hunting anything. Anything besides treasure, that is.

After reading Tim's post this morning, I (momentarily) considered an idea for a new B/X supplement...a campaign setting featuring a world where most of the "fantasy" elements were all (to some degree) aspects or side effects of supernatural evil. Evil of an inhuman, alien nature, filtered in  from other dimensions, through rifts made wide by human sorcerers who were willing to bargain away their souls...hell, their very world...for a taste of power. In such a setting, player characters would have a chance to be real heroes, not just "scurrilous rogues," as they fight against the dark forces threatening their planet. "Orcs" would simply be bestial, mutated humans. "Goblins" would be hellish imps, the lowest demons serving dark masters. All monsters in the B/X game could be re-skinned as devils and demons and twisted pawns of alien intelligences.

But it's a world closer to WHFRP's Enemy Within campaign than Palladium's Wormwood. This campaign setting hasn't yet been overrun, nor even is it on the verge of Armageddon...but without the aid of witch-hunting PCs, it could move to that DEFCON stage. This is a world that calls for hunters to root out the bad juju.

In such a setting, witch-hunters would take the place of the cleric class, as what type of divinely intervening deity would allow the world of Its worshippers to be so mistreated? Undead would certainly play a lesser role in such a campaign, and alternative forms of healing would be needed (perhaps fighters would be able to apply "field dressings" to wounded companions after combat, healing a certain number of HPs based on level). Such a game could be fun, though in a bleak way featuring corruption and cultists and whatnot; maybe something for use with Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Maybe.

Then I took a long nap.

And when I woke up and got my brain to running again, I realized "hey, wait a sec...this has nut-all to do with finding treasure." And that's when the wheels came off the concept. Because the LAZY way of handling such a thing would be to say, hey, it's just B/X with some different house rules...you're still looking to loot the chaotic monsters and evil cultists lairs (in order to earn XP, in order to level up). Because witch hunters need phat loot, too.

Um, no. We are not going to be playing characters interested in making a buck while Rome burns down around their ears.

And since on second (post-nap) pass, I see the concept would need a lot of substantial retooling of the B/X system in order to work to my standards, this is a project that'll have to be shelved for the time being. I'm already in the midst of a retooling/writing project, and I want to get that one knocked out. Too bad, though...I've already got a couple ideas for titles to such a project. And I've got some notes stashed away (somewhere) about retooling Realms of Chaos concepts for B/X that could probably be put to good use on such a project. Yeah, it would be an interesting setting to play/run in...

Shoot, I could probably adapt part of my (reworked) Cry Dark Future advancement system to the thing...

No, no, no...one thing at a time! Maybe if someone wants to collaborate with me on such a project so I don't have to do all the writing myself (ugh, I see why Kevin Siembieda is such a fan o the "cut-and-paste"), I could find some time for it.

Maybe.

'hammer Musings

Huh. Just discovered Roger's A Life Full of Adventure blog, which is kind of crazy considering he's been around since 2008 and lists a host of shared game interests with Yours Truly, including D&D (B/X and 2E), WFRP (of the oldest variety), Blood Bowl (!), and Shadowrun.

I really need to get together with some of these guys (Steve C. and Mike Davison included) and do some sort of D&D-Warhammer mash-up. I know, I know...I've talked about this in the past and never brought anything to fruition. I'm BUSY, people! Anyway...

Huh. I can't believe I have only a single posting under the topic "Nurgle" (not counting my single post under the topic "Deathguard"). Might have to rectify that.

The Lost And The Damned

A strange thing about having children...to make family life work (at least in a sane and effective fashion), you really appear to need one more parent than the number of children you possess. Just for the "rotational value" of "getting stuff done," I mean. As I've said before, my hat goes off to any single parents out there...how you cope is quite beyond me. But giving attention to two kids AND getting housework done and whatnot is just tough...and neither my wife nor I are going into work at the moment! Since the mother-in-law left the building, small snatches of free time have been divided between catching up on sleep and doing those chores that absolutely need doing; it IS possible, of course, just not (as I said) particularly efficient/effective, and certainly not easy.

But whatever: that's just me giving a lame excuse for not blogging more. Sure I could have written something a couple mornings ago when D and his mama were sleeping and I was in charge of the slumbering baby, but I chose to watch the Norwegian-fake-documentary "Troll Hunter" instead. See, it's really all about priorities.

Priorities, yeah. Last week, I spent most of the week doing wedding stuff for my buddy, Steve-O (congrats Steve!) as I was acting as both his Best Man and his Confirmation sponsor (he's "all in" on the Catholic church these days). It got me out of the house five out of seven days, but I'm not sure the free booze at the reception was really enough to compensate for the energy expended [well, maybe]. Next week, the family will be concentrating on getting our return trip to Paraguay organized (buying all that shit you can't get in South America and packing it), and no compensatory hootch on the horizon...well, not the free kind, anyway.

[*sigh*]

Despite the lack of time for writing and the closing of my local game shop (denying me easy access to gaming product), I have managed to score a book I've been wanting in the collection for over a decade: Games Workshop's old (out-of-print) Realm of Chaos: The Lost And The Damned.

$200? Better than selling one's soul!

Well "score" probably isn't the right term...I bit the bullet and found a guy selling a copy on Amazon for close to $200 and sent him the money before I had the chance to second-guess my action. But these days my patience for delaying gratification is just razor-thin...like I said, I've been looking for a copy in used bookstores for more than a decade, and have been kicking myself for not buying it for fifteen years.

[why didn't I buy it back in 1990 when there were stacks and stacks of it at the local game shop? Because I'd already missed the boat on getting Volume 1 of the the two volume series and figured Volume 2 by itself would be a waste of money. However, a few years later I was able to get not one but two good, used copies of Volume 1 (Slaves to Darkness) and have never again seen The Lost and The Damned available for purchase]

The copy was near mint condition and I'm quite satisfied with the purchase, as it packs all the info/content I was hoping for and more. At the same time, I find myself disappointed with the book: The Lost And The Damned introduces the whole concept of the WH40K Emperor being some sort of All-Wise benevolent Messiah and the primarchs as genetically engineered "superheroes" specially-crafted to fight the evil of the Warp. I hate this storyline, and (previously) had always thought this radical departure from the Rogue Trader setting had taken place in the 2nd Edition of the game. After all, Slaves to Darkness first introduces us to the Horus Heresy when the Warmaster is nothing more (nor less) than the Emperor's greatest soldier-general...not some vat-grown Superman used to spawn a bunch of mutated freakazoid space marines. Sorry...outside of the superhero genre, I've always preferred my protagonists to be human, even though they may be the toughest of the tough and the bravest of the brave.

[I mean, why would you need bionics if you can just give them extra organs/glands and incredible regenerative power? I, of course, prefer bionic replacement of lost human bits]

But that complaint will probably only make sense to long-time 40K fluff-readers like myself. The book is still quite enjoyable and despite my reservations back in 2009 my first, near obsessive thought is to do a conversion of the Realm of Chaos books...or of their basic themes anyway...as a B/X supplement. Yes, yes, I'm still in the middle of doing several other projects, but this one really calls to me (*ahem*).

On the other hand, if you don't want to wait to add the antagonists of Chaos to your B/X or LL or other old school D&D game, might I strongly recommend a great compilation-conversion by Steven Cook (the Prismatic DM) posted to his Borderlands blog. You can get his Fortnight of Chaos Hordes PDF here. It's pretty good. My own project has a slightly different focus and will be a bit more B/X-specific (and a bit more "serial numbers filed off").

: )

Playoff Football, Baby

Since the NFL realignment of 2002 (12 seasons and counting), there have been 114 home playoff games played. Eight of the NFL’s 32 teams (one-quarter) have hosted five or more playoff games, and of those eight teams the Seattle Seahawks have the best record: five of six (.833) with the single loss coming in 2004, their first playoff game in their current (then new) stadium.

This year, the Seahawks’ record ensures that all their playoff games will be played in Seattle. The teams that remain alive in the NFC play-offs – the Panthers, the Niners, the Saints – have all been beaten by the ‘Hawks this season. New Orleans, the team they play this weekend, was blown out in Seattle just last month…and while Drew Brees and the Saints have proven they can win on the road in the playoffs, they face a rested Seattle team after an emotional, physical road win in Philadelphia.

Now this doesn’t mean the Seahawks’s path to the Super Bowl is clear, nor easy. Brees and the Saints have won in Seattle in the past…in October of 2007, in fact, on the Seahawks’ road to their fourth straight division title (since the realignment gave the NFL its current structure and roster of teams, only three teams have seen more post-seasons than Seattle: the Colts, the Patriots, and the Packers...just FYI). Brees and head coach Sean Payton are no strangers to the Seattle waaagh both in and out of the playoff setting…a difficult challenge, certainly, but not a surprising one for a veteran team.

Can the orks once more pummel the Nurgle team into a gooey pulp?

We’ll see. Marshawn Lynch can trigger “Beast Quakes,” but Jimmy Graham IS a beast…a Beast of Nurgle in Blood Bowl terms, though an extremely fast and agile one that few players can bring themselves to guard or tackle. In the December game, he was excellently shadowed by dauntless lineork KJ Wright…but Wright broke his foot in the ‘Hawks December battle versus the Niners and will be unavailable till the NFC championship round at the earliest…assuming the Seahawks can get past New Orleans.

If I was a betting man, I’d still put my money on the orks, because A) I’m a huge-ass homer (duh), and B) because it’s the smart money. Brees is a Hall of Famer, but the Seahawks are the better team.

I know, I know…few enough of my readers care about football at all, fewer still are still watching with any interest (perhaps because they still have a team left in the race to root for), and even fewer dig the Blood Bowl. Sorry, folks...I’ll talk about the nuttiness of the latest Hobbit movie in another post.

Playoff football, baby. When your team’s in the mix, it’s just about the best time of year.

Up until you lose, of course. My wife reminded me the other day (in conversation, with other people) of my general demeanor after the Super Bowl loss of 2005. That year, we felt like Seattle was a dominant, can’t-lose team…and then we lost to a sixth seed wild card team and a second year QB who appears descended from the mercenary Swiss pikemen of two hundred years ago.

It hurts to lose. It hurts to lose most everything…though the degree of hurt is generally commensurate with the thing lost. With regard to the entertaining pastime of football, losing a game in the regular season is disappointing, losing at home is rough, and losing one’s chance to advance to (or through) the playoffs can be devastating….assuming the rest of your life is in order. I’m sure there are Bengals fans that were immensely disappointed after their team’s loss to the “barely in” Chargers…and yet even the most diehard fan would be terribly disinterested in the game result if they were facing the loss of their home to an unpaid mortgage, or the tragedy of a loved one dying from cancer before their time.

I myself am in a fortunate position of “things are going well at the moment” so I can spare the emotional energy to get worked up about the home team. And I want to win…a lot. I want to win a lot more than I want to lose. I want to win convincingly. I want to win easily.

I’m as superstitious as any other sports fan. Superstition would generally say keep your expectations low, approach the game with humility, hope for the best, don’t “tempt the football gods.” But I know there are fans on both sides of the fence that shoot their mouths off, just begging for negative (football-related) karma…and we can’t both lose the match. So I’m done worrying about it. I want to kick some ass. And I think the circumstances are good enough that the better team (i.e. the Seahawks) should kick asses of the Saints, on both sides of the ball.

Here come the Rotters.

How do orks generally fare against Nurgle teams? Pretty good, usually. Like all Chaos teams, the mutations available to a Nurgle team can make them versatile and specialized with the right combos, but the right combos (like NFL wins) are never guaranteed. Without those advantages, the default is a slow, stompy team that infects injured opponents with The Rot, bringing other team’s players into the warm, slimy embrace of Grandfather Nurgle.

However, the orks are some serious tough buggers, making them less likely to be injured than most other teams (except with a string of bad luck, which sometimes happens). Because of this toughness and their natural versatility (they can acquire a wider range of skills than the Nurgle team) they tend to be more balanced than Nurgle and thus able to out-play plague teams.  Plus, depending on which version of Nurgle you’re using (there have been several different ones over the years), the players tend to be slower and weaker than a “normal” Chaos team, making them a team the orks can rough up pretty good.

People may think I’m disrespecting the Saints by comparing them to or by representing them with a Nurgle team, but the truth is I’m a HUGE fan of Chaos teams, especially Nurgle. My collection of Warhammer 40K minis is far more extensive than my Blood Bowl collection, and my Nurgle army is second only to my Khorne dedicated army in number, including some of my most expensive pieces (including a 4^th edition Chaos dreadnought and Chaos landraider)...and almost all have been customized/modified with extensive putty-work (“greenstuff”). My Nurgle BB team is unfinished only because…well, mainly because my painting/modeling hobby has been put on indefinite hiatus (probably till my children are teenagers and/or older). I like teams that stomp the hell out of opponents and convert them to their own, and who aren’t as fragile around the edges as skeletons and the undead…and Nurgle’s “fluff” is some of the best GW has to offer.

Sean Payton: Offensive Guru, Sorcerer

The Saints are a good team…that’s why they’re Nurgle and not, say, halflings or hobgoblins (that’s the Jets and the Browns respectively…*ahem*). They take prime players from other teams…like Brees and Darren Sproles…and make them starters on their own. Stylistically, they’ve got that bayou swamp-voodoo-thang going on (which totally shrieks ‘Nurgle cultist hideout’) and I usually equate “dome teams” with the darker, Chaos-oriented teams in BB (Skaven, Dark Elf, etc.). And Mardi Gras is, of course, an annual Chaos ritual of epic proportions.

But being a “good” team isn’t going to be enough to knock the Seahawks out of the playoffs in their own stadium. Good enough to beat the high elves, sure (i.e. the Philly Eagles…you have to know the BB fluff regarding high elves to see the parallels with the “City of Brotherly Love”) but not nearly what they’ll need to stop the Seahawks, especially with second-string beastmen in the backfield. It isn’t like the ‘Hawks forced three or four interceptions when they hosted New Orleans in December; the Saints coughed up the ball exactly once. Instead, they were simply manhandled by Seattle for the majority of the game…both offensively and defensively. I’m hoping to see something similar when the two teams play again this Saturday.

If only so I can continue the dream another weekend of playoff football.

; )

Who Dat? Not as scary in our neck o the woods.