N is for Northern Wastes

I missed the April A-Z Blog Challenge this year, so I'm doing my own...in June. This year, I will be posting one post per day discussing my AD&D campaign, for the curious. Since 2020, this is the ONLY campaign I run. Enjoy!

N is for Northern Wastes. That is to say, Canada.

As I've written in earlier posts in this series, there are some things one wishes to have in one's "generic vanilla fantasy" setting. Dense jungles. Life sucking deserts. Sky scraping mountains. Evil empires. Well, add frozen/cold/arctic areas to that list as well. 

From Howard's The Frost Giant's Daughter to Leiber's snowy Nehwon tales ("Stardock," etc.) to Shackleton-inspired adventure stories the Lovecraft's Mountains of Madness to the Viking sagas and those who would novelize their legends...fighting the hostile elements of cold, snow, and ice (while also dealing with monsters, etc.) are a big part of tropey fantasy worlds.

Fortunately for me, my world includes British Columbia. 

There's not much I care to write about B.C. specific to my setting. Like our real world, the bulk of the population lives within the southern third of the territory. Only something like 5% of it is arable land. Much of it is mountainous; more than 60% is heavily forested. And the farther north you travel the colder it gets, until you hit the Yukon,..pretty much certain death away from the coast.

As with all of my setting, there are are a LOT fewer people than our real world. The Washington State of my campaign is home to about two million persons...a little more than a quarter of its actual population. Using the same ratio, B.C. would be about 1.3M in total. And yet, of Washington's two million, only about 1.5M are human (maybe)...I've been tweaking the numbers based on historic populations (literally: I'm looking at census data 100 years before present). If I do the same for British Columbia (and why would I not), there's a bit more than half a million humans living in the Northern Wastes...a territory a LOT larger than Washington State.

But uninhabited by humans, doesn't mean "uninhabited." This is where you'll find giants: all the major ones (i.e. the ones from the MM), and probably some of the lesser types as well. The hill giants lair in the more temperate parts of B.C., the frost in the colder, the fire giants within volcanic caverns beneath the mountains, etc. Not so far away as to be outside of a long trek from determined adventurers, but far enough that they're not a general nuisance to the southlanders.

Until they are. 

But much as I am anticipating (and looking forward to) running the Giant series for my players, right now I'm working on other plans for Canada. Specifically, the tournament adventure I'm developing for Cauldron 2025 is set in B.C. specifically along the Fraser River (or the"StoLo" as it's called in my campaign). People said they enjoyed the tourney adventure I wrote last year, but some considered it, perhaps, a bit "too easy." Which...Heavens!...that cannot be allowed to stand!

[personally, I'm not sure what they're talking about...when I ran it for my home group the result was a TPK. Maybe I'm just mean...?]

So the new adventure...titled Rivers of Blood, Death, and Glory...should be a skosh more dangerous. Maps have been drawn, stocking finished, pre-gens generated, and I'm just trying to pare down the writing to something manageable. Originally, I'd hoped to playtest it yesterday (on Father's Day)...but then my kids had four soccer games on the docket. Which...sure, it's a bit maddening (because I have other adventures I also need to playtest in the next couple-three months). But priorities are priorities. Plus watching my kids play in the sunshine? With other soccer parents handing out beers from their cooler? I mean, come on...it was pretty awesome Father's Day. Diego scored three goals in two games, and both kids’ teams crushed their opponents (combined goal differential was something like 17-4...all wins). D&D can wait...Wednesday is looking pretty free in the afternoon.

Sorry. I'm digressing.

Anyway, I'll wrap up by saying Canada gives me a nice sub-arctic environment to play around with (yes, I understand it's temperate in the lower elevations)...which lends itself to increasing the diversity of adventures I can offer my players. That's a very good thing, and yet another reason why I am O So Satisfied with the PNW for my setting.

Later, gators.

: )

Majestic beauty...and giants.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's not the snow...hasn't snowed in a couple days and Seattle didn't get more than 3-4 inches anyway. It's the temperature. 20 degrees right now (which is nothing compared to Montana, yes, I know) and the little snow received has been packed down into a sheet of ice covering the roads. Which in a hilly town like Seattle (city of Seven Hills...and upteen smaller ones) makes for not-too-safe driving.

Tuesday, I was out in it...had to go to Queen Anne in order to pick up a last-minute, hard-to-find Christmas gift for the boy. This was...extremely...rough, as it was the first day of the serious ice, and the snow was still falling. Somehow I made it there and back but it's not an experience I'd want to repeat, and when I finally pulled into the garage it was with a flat-as-a-pancake tire. Spent 4.5 hours at the dealership yesterday paying an exorbitant amount of money on four tires and a realignment. 

And that was with the temperature around 27ish. It's been dropping steadily since then.

Now, I'm prepping to go out in it again. Well, I say "prepping" but I'm really just drinking coffee and surfing the blogs while waiting for shops to open. 10am is the time things open and I've got a haircut, a vacuum repair shop, and one more (secret) shopping run to make. 

Ugh. It does look exceptionally cold out there, though. Gusty, too, Not really looking forward to stepping outside.

RE Gaming Topics

Turns out I might (MIGHT) have one(-ish) more gaming subjects to discuss before the end of the year.  Yeah, it's about D&D...all that sitting around the dealership yesterday led me down too many internet rabbit holes (and I had no laptop on which to type). 

Probably tomorrow, if I can find the time. Just let me think on it a bit.

Let It Snow

We had our usual green Christmas yesterday (preceded by monsoon-like rains for two days prior)...the norm for Seattle during the holiday season. But today is the 26th and I woke up to "Snowmageddon 2021:" about half a foot of snow on the streets, which is generally enough to shut down Seattle.

[there are a lot of crap drivers in this town on the best of days, and the over-abundance of hills, stoners, and cell users does little to allay the sheer panic that grips most drivers when a couple inches of powder sticks to the asphalt. It doesn't help the jackasses in their Suburu Outbacks cruising around like they're heading up the passes for a ski excursion and causing chaos with the cautious types. *sigh* This is why I choose to live in a neighborhood that's walkable and has a Fred Meyer across the street from my house]

Which is fine, because we still have a ton of delicious leftovers to eat, and both the wife and kids have the week off. So let it snow, dammit (it still is...2.5 hours since I got up). I do wish I'd picked up a new pair of boots in the fall (literally walked the soles off my last pair over the summer), but at least my Christmas gifts were filled with wool socks this year. About 10-14 pair.

[when people ask me for gift ideas I usually say socks; I wear a lot of holes, very quickly, in the things. My wife quipped it was a "very socky Christmas" for Yours Truly, and she wasn't wrong. Ah, well...my real gift came early this year]

However, I did get up late today (making up for a couple-three days of even LESS sleep than usual), so didn't have a chance to do the blog post I'd planned before the rest of the fam roused themselves from slumber. And since they are all "home for the holidays," I doubt I'll have a chance to post it before tomorrow (bright and early, that's the plan). Apologies for that, but the bacon and eggs isn't going to cook itself. And I'm guess that a substantial portion of my day is going to be taken with snowball fights and fort construction after that. 

You know how it is.

Hope everyone had a merry Christmas yesterday. More later.

; )

Off the Rails

As I'm sure I've written before, the problem with not posting for a month (or more) is that the brain keeps working and the ideas/concepts keep accumulating and you end up with a bunch of random detritus you want to talk about and no good way to organize it into something manageable.

*sigh*

Ah, well. Guess I'll start with the title.

The AD&D game with my kids continues (sporadically) and they're doing fine and still rather enthusiastic about the game. But (of course there was going to be a but, right?) I'm having...um..."issues." It's not the system, or the complexity, or the rate of advancement, or the game "tone" that's bothering me. Nor is it the attention to detail or the depth of simulation which (despite adhering to the rather abstract AD&D rules) is (still) pretty deep. All that is well and good. 

It's just that...mm...the thing lacks "magic."

How to put this...hmm. An idea came into my head a few days ago; an idea that took the form of a couple questions and a couple answers. For the benefit of my readers (and my own sanity), I'll go ahead and type 'em out so they stop rumbling around my noggin:

1. Why did Gygax end up adding so many new spells to (the original) D&D rules, beginning with the Greyhawk booklet ("supplement 1")?
2. Why did Gygax end up adding so many new monsters to the game (see Fiend Folio and the Monster Manual 2 for plentiful examples).

I have come to believe that the answer to both these questions is: because he needed to.

After all the work I've done over the last 11+ years of writing this blog, I consider myself something of an expert on the B/X edition of D&D, and a passingly knowledgable mind when it comes to OD&D as well as other "basic" editions of the game. With regard to AD&D, however, I barely scratch "journeyman" status...yes, I can run the game just fine using the core three books, even down to running an unarmed combat with the system given in the DMG. I can parse out the initiative sequence and make use of speed factors and whatnot, I can locate drowning rules and wilderness travel rates, and have a good head for encumbrance and what constitutes "bulky" armor. I've got a handle on the basics of the game.

But I don't know everything. Not in a truly comprehensive way, not by a long shot. Not in a way that allows me to take in and digest the game as a whole and manufacture something that makes use of its various nuances. 

This became readily apparent to me when I was listening to last week's Grogtalk podcast (their "Valentine Special").  The use of two monsters from the MM2 in their playtest adenture (the "annis hag" and the "stench kow") completely threw me for a loop...despite having owned the book for decades, I had no idea that these creatures were even "a thing," and simply assumed that the monsters in Carlos Lising's game had been specifically created from whole cloth for the module. Not so; Carlos was utilizing the AD&D resources that he's become familiar with over decades of constant AD&D play. Then there was the (frankly hilarious) discussion of various hybrid creatures and PCs that took place over the last 40 minutes or so of the special (interbreeding and "love connections" being part of the Valentine theme)...it raised all sorts of valid questions like: Just why the hell are there half-elves in the game anyway? All issues of disparate cultures aside, the sheer magnitude of longevity difference between the species makes any sort of romantic relationship incredibly unlikely. What elf wants to marry (or dally with) a human whose lifespan isn't even a tenth of her own? What elven parent wants a child that will age and die before she's even reached middle age? 

Kind of crazy...once you consider it. Which I hadn't. Because I'd been too intent just running the game.

And that's the thing. Focusing on the simple nuts and bolts of the system and the game world...things like halberd formations and goblin motivations and market economics has been a "drill down" that sacrifices the forest for the trees. Resulting in a game that has been interesting and (in its way) "logical," but lacking in magic. Not magical items or wizards per se (though both these things have, to date, been rare in the game)...I'm talking about the magic of playing a fantasy game in a fantasy world. Not going gonzo and nonsensical but certainly "off the rails" more than negotiating relations between humanoid tribes and the local human garrison. Jesus, this is a game that contains the Machine of Lum the Mad for goodness sake! Shouldn't it be a bit wilder than the step-and-fetch (or seek-and-destroy) of a 5E scenario?

[wondering what I'm talking about? Check out the 5E "Essentials Kit" for examples. Here's one: take a message to a logging camp. Fight some ankhegs. Return for a reward. Go to an apothecary hermit with a message. Fight a manticore. Return for a reward. That kind of thing...]

It brings me back around to those questions above (and my presumed answers for them). Gygax didn't just add astral projection and gate to the spell list of Greyhawk just because he wanted to fatten the page count, nor did he throw owlbears and beholders into the book just for the sake of creating new intellectual property. Things like probability travel, nightmares and devils, liches and golems, artifacts and relics...these were things that were used...they weren't just added to show "what is possible" or define parameters of the game or "fill in niches" (like aquatic elves or evil dwarves). Rather, these things were practical content, used to enrich the game being played at the table. These things...just like assassins guilds and psionics and level drain and (yes, even) alignment language...these things that seem wily-nilly, half-baked, and off-the-cuff (i.e. poorly thought out) aren't just there for kitchen sink, 31 flavors, pick-and-choose your poison. They ARE the game. 

Setting limitations and toning down the weirdness is a bit of a disservice. 

That's why, I think (maybe), my recent experiences have seemed to lack "magic;" the scenarios created in UK2 The Sentinel and UK3 The Gauntlet and B2 The Keep on the Borderlands are far too reasonable; it is far too easy to assign real world analogies, motivations, and "naturalism" to them. These adventures are dealing with banditry and sieges and diaspora and treachery and colonialism...dammit, that's all just too "normal" for the campaign to feel like a D&D game. Where are the giant magic statues? Where are the subdued dragons being used as mounts? Where are the sentient blobs and oozes looking to melt your face off?

There's not enough "dungeon" in my Dungeons & Dragons game...and I'm not talking about some sort of absurd, dozen level mega-dungeon. Been watching a lot of History Channel this last year with the Search for Yamashita's Gold and the Curse of Oak Island and all that jazz: finding subterranean treasure chamber's in our real world is hard, dangerous work and it should be even more so (with suitably bumped up rewards) in a fantasy adventure game. In D&D, Howard Carter would have had to deal with actual magic curses (and probably undead monsters) before he could recover King Tut's treasure because that's the game. I haven't been giving that part of the campaign enough attention. 

I realize there are those people who, upon reading this post, will reflect that my issues relate to the pre-fabricated source material I've been using for my campaign, and that's a fair point to bring up. While the main reason for using these adventures has been a matter of convenience (my time for producing adventure material is pretty scarce) and familiarity, I suppose I could be choosing different modules...except that many end up in the same category of mundanity when scrutinized. Certainly I'd throw the Slaver series (especially A1 and A2) into the same pot, the Giant series (though giants are neat, they're still just big humanoids), and even Dwellers of the Forbidden City (not enough snake-folk to make the thing truly strange). The Special series (S1-S4) clearly fits the bill of what I'm looking for, but those adventures are all designed for higher level characters than what my players have...all the low-level stuff is uncovering cultists and rooting out bandits and fighting goblins. 

Ugh. Simply not good enough. And maybe I'M not good enough (or not familiar enough) with AD&D to design myself out of this funk that I seem to be digging for myself.

[if you think THIS post is ranty, you should have seen the one on the draft board that was never posted. This is my attempt at being "thoughtful"]

Anyhoo, that's where my head's at (with regard to gaming) at the moment. Just to be clear, I'm not of the opinion that "all hope is lost;" the campaign is still in its early stages and I think there's plenty of time/space to inject some "magic" into the thing, but it'll probably require me taking my eye and focus off the mundane aspects of the campaign/system, and instead shift to the strange(r) aspects inherent in the game. Heck, I'm even considering bringing back cosmic (capital-E) Evil...despite all the handwringing over alignment, it does provide some shape to the cosmology of the game.

[perhaps in a later post I'll talk about how that lack of "shape" ends up requiring a lot of rewriting of system when one starts needing to justify souls and spirits and raise dead with regard to different game species (like elves)...systems that provide balance and necessary checks to the game. Pull one thread and the whole thing starts to unravel...]

Too bad there're no gnomes in the party; would really love to introduce some talking squirrels or woodchucks into the mix. What ancient secrets could they reveal!   ; )

All right, that's enough for now. We're still on mid-winter break in the JB household, and while the snow from "Snowmageddon 2021" distracted us for a couple-three days (building forts and snowmen and having snowball fights) things have warmed up enough to slush-ify most of it. As such, our gaming has moved indoors, and I'm nearly certain we'll have a chance for some more campaign crawling once the kids are up and breakfasted. Maybe. We still have a pretty solid game of Axis & Allies (& Zombies) going on from last night. More info to follow.

Later Gators.

Snowbound

Snowmageddon 2020 (which, in my neck of Seattle, amounts to about 3" or, as I like to call it, "a light dusting") has kept me from posting the last couple days due to homebound children requiring entertainment from their Dear Old Dad.

Today, they are finally back in school, but only for a couple hours...even their after school programs were cancelled. However, I am hopeful that the regular learning will get underway by tomorrow or so, so that I can get back to the bloggedy blog. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Later gators.

[dammit, as I was just about to post this I noticed the sky has started dumping white again. *sigh*]

Essential Repurposing (Part 1)

AKA "Fixing Stuff For Fun And Profit"

I'll cut to the chase: I picked up a copy of the D&D Essentials Kit. Yes, I put money in WotC's pocket ($12 and change), although I do have 90 days to return the thing to Target.

The reason for this? I wanted a copy of the included adventure, Dragon of Icespire Peak. I have a bit of a "thing" for white dragons. That may not have been obvious over the years (though the last time I created an adventure with a dragon...nine years ago!...it was a white), but they're probably my second faves, after black dragons. Their Superman-like, liquid nitrogen breath is not only a cool image, and it's a bit easier to justify than a monster that breathes fire...plus, they have the best natural camouflage (IMO) of all the dragons.

I'm rooting for the dragon.

Besides, I dig on snow and ice settings (duh...see Land of Ice for examples); heck, I almost picked up a copy of Frostburn, long after I'd chucked DND3 from my life. Probably would have purchased it, if it'd had a white dragon on the cover.

Anyway, I wanted to see the type of adventure being constructed over at Wizards of the Coast and see if it was anything I might use...or modify...for my own ends. Here's what my $13 bought me:

- An "Essentials Kit Rulebook" that I have zero interest in reading. Really. I've read the 5E books, I've played a session (or two?) of 5E, and I've listened to multiple hours of 5E "actual play" podcasts. I know that the game, as it's currently being produced, is extremely irritating to my psyche and outside the sphere of "things-I-want-to-engage-with." I'd go back to AD&D RAW long before I'd sit down to a 5E game session.

[well, not quite RAW. I will never again play AD&D with character limitations based on sex/gender. Yes, we did this in my youth...even our female players, who generally ran fighter characters...but I'm done with that particular brand of machismo stereotype]

- A nice set of (eleven) dice.

- A DMs' screen that has a lovely illustration on it. If I was crafty at all, I'd find some way to cut it up into some sort of decorative doo-dad. Unfortunately, I'm not.

- Some 5E tools (cards for initiative, conditions, magic items) that I probably won't be able to use. Actually, the "sidekick cards" might work fine as a stack of random NPCs.

- A map of the Sword Coast portion of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

- The 64 page adventure book that was my impetus for buying the box.

Let's see, anything else? Some blank (5E) character sheets. A box for holding cards. Some codes to unlock additional on-line content (not sure if I need to be enrolled in D&D Beyond to use that). Eh. All-in-all, I suppose it's not a bad value for a "starter set"...dice alone would probably cost $5-6. What price would you put on 14 easily re-purposed "dungeon" maps; a quarter a piece? Maybe $.50 to $1, given that they include some possible ideas/inspiration in the text?

Maybe. They aren't great. If you're interested in WHY they're "not great" (or, as some might say, "terrible") I'd direct you to this recent ggnore podcast (episode 175) for the informed opinion of a group of regular 5E users who bothered to play through most of the adventure (their actual play podcasts...about 12 hours worth...comprise four or five of their earlier episodes).

But I already knew that...I mean I did research the thing before I bought it.

Here's the thing, though: I (me) am not quite ready to say the ideas here are "terrible." Many of the quests presented here (the term used to describe the dozen plus micro adventures that make up the whole of this mini-campaign) aren't anything worse than what I'd come up with for a single session or two at the table. Maybe that says more about me (and my lack of creativity), but not every adventure need be a giant, six level dungeon filled with world-destroying threats nor does every event occurring in a campaign require some sort of clever inter-woven story/plot construction. Sometimes a simple kernel of an encounter can yield hours of entertainment.

The real problem, in my opinion, is more one of execution...that is to say, I'm not the fan of how these quests/adventures are supposed to unfold. And that is mainly a 5E issue rather than a lack of imagination on the part of the author. The Essentials Kit wants to provide an introductory adventure (rid this region of its dragon problem), that's a bit too steep in challenge for a a band of newbie adventurers. So it provides a bunch of "warm-up" adventures that the player characters will need to grind in order to achieve the requisite power level to face the ultimate encounter (the eponymous dragon).

Grind is the operative word here...there is little reward offered in any of the adventures, save for the promised leveling that comes with the completion of the "quests." Players need to seek out and check off every notice on the town's job board in order to achieve the necessary milestones (i.e. "auto-level ups") that will eventually (around 6th level) allow them to face down the dragon. Since treasure means little to the 5E character (most of their best upgrades come from levels not equipment...and gold doesn't earn XP) there's nothing to really motivate characters except what "meta" story you want to give your party.

Hell, even the dragon has bupkis in the way of treasure (whoops! SPOILER). One would imagine that the main incentive for fighting a dragon would be, you know, claiming its hoard or getting showered with gold by a grateful community. Not here! The dragon of Icespire Peak is broke as a joke...it lairs on the roof of a ruined castle, eating the occasional mountain orc that it manages to catch, and has exactly zero as far as a hoard. The grateful villagers? Well, the townmaster "might plan a feast in the heroes honor" (emphasis added by yours truly).

So there's very little reason I can think of for a group of adventurers to hang around an area being threatened by a dragon, let alone take the time to grind a bunch of step-and-fetch/kill adventures for little reward beside the leveling. It reminds me quite a bit of a video game script...but if I wanted to play a video game I'd be doing that. Video games do video games better than tabletop RPGs do.

And just in case anyone's wondering, this isn't a rant...it's just weary observation.

Back to the point: Dragon of Icespire Peak isn't a great adventure, but that's mainly due to 5E not being a great system. Oh, I know folks love 5E and all that (or are resigned to playing it or whatever) but for my money (and I did spend actual money on this thing) you really start to see the warts on the thing when you look at this kind of product. The ggnore boyz say it's the best WotC adventure since Phandelver...but based on some reviews I've read, that may be damning with faint praise.

Still, I do love white dragons. I love them as a feature monster, not just some knightly mount or frost giant pet. I think they do make a good antagonist for a party of low level adventurers: a sizable (though not insurmountable) risk to balance against a presumably rich reward. That IS what Dungeons & Dragons is supposed to be about after all, right? You defeat the dragon, you divvy up the spoils.

What I'd like to do...now...is rewrite the adventure. Make it a little more "old school friendly;" something with a B/X (or even AD&D) sensibility. File off the serial numbers, prune the edges, maybe slap an OGL on it and sell the PDF for a couple bucks. Try my best to make the thing a bit more useable as a campaign jumpstart.

Would anyone have any objections to me giving it a go?

My favorite white dragon pic.

Team Building

"Snowmageddon" appears to be winding down here in Seattle (at least in my neighborhood) and I've already been informed the schools will be open at the regular time tomorrow.

In the meantime, though, it's still All Day Kid Play at my house. Which mean (fun as that is), writing time is scarce. I'm stealing a few minutes right now while they eat soup and watch Johnny Quest.

[really need to get around to writing my thoughts on JQ one of these days. Add that to "the list"]

Once again I'm thinking about Heroes Unlimited (the original edition) and how I might adapt/repurpose the thing to my own tastes. Part of this has to do with being snowbound with the kids...been watching shows like 3 Below and Carmen SanDiego and getting a bit inspired (though the latter also makes me want to dig out Top Secret, I watched the former first, and it's definitely put me in an HU state of mind). Part of it is seeing trailers for things like Shazam and Captain Marvel. Part of it is the kids themselves: my boy keeps asking me "Why don't you design a superhero game we can play?"

[*sigh*]

And part of it is seeing other designers tackle superhero gaming. Ron Edwards has been doing his own "retro" stuff lately as he tinkers with early edition Champions (his equivalent of my B/X fixation), trying to incorporate his decades of experience with gaming, comics, and theory-bashing. This recent post of Edwards, Venn diagramming various super groups really got the gears in my head spinning, especially as I was already considering certain CDF mechanics would fit far better in a hero-type game than in a fantasy cyberpunk RPG.

What mechanics you ask? Well, individual rewards (tied to advancement) that provide players with the choice to either A) increase their own effectiveness, or B) improve the team's abilities. It's a holdover from when I was re-writing CDF as a post-apocalyptic "tribe building" game (yes, I know that probably sounds a little crazy...it didn't really work and is one of the reasons the thing was back-burnered so long, as well as one of the reasons I went back to its original design concept).

But while building one's tribe/family doesn't really work in a game about shadowy mercenaries doing dirty jobs in the grim-dark future, it's not a bad idea for a game that centers around the superhero team.

Here's the thing: if we look at D&D as a "successful" concept in tabletop RPGs, we can see that at least part of its appeal is how it draws the party together in cooperation for a common objective. And the way it does this is pretty darn simple: while there is "strength in numbers" (to spread the attrition around), the limitations of each individual class (or, in the positive, the powers and capabilities of each class) provides an incentive to work together to solve the conflicts and problems being thrown at the PCs in their quest for treasure. Mechanically, they're semi-forced to get along with each other, because survival...and success...becomes much more difficult without cooperation.

This concept isn't as effective, or compelling, in the superhero genre. Supers tend to be fairly capable individuals, able to handle whole swaths of mooks and villains on their own, only being held back by individual flaws (the elderly aunt or significant other that needs to protected, the power limitation against kryptonite or the color yellow, or whatever)...flaws that, more often than not, completely eliminate the character's effectiveness or ability to affect the in-game fiction in an effective fashion.

But for a team of heroes, such flaws rarely come up, because it would tend to throw one hero under the bus while her teammates heroically soldier on. Instead, the tendency is to simply throw one Giant Big Bad Threat at the team that requires the full might of the team to overcome: an Uber-Villain or a Villain Team (one foe for each hero!) or a Humongous Natural Disaster. Which, for me, gets old after a while.

Which is one of the reasons I keep looking at 1st edition HU. I like the idea of reducing the effectiveness of the PCs from the get-go, in part to give them MORE reason to rely on each other, and in part to open up a larger gambit of threats and challenges. But rather than simply allowing weak-ass beginning characters to "level up" over time, growing in power and effectiveness into Justice Leaguers, I'd like to see a way for characters to become more effective as a team over time...becoming more effective for their greater cooperation and ability to work together...becoming stronger as they develop stronger relationships within the group dynamic of the hero team.

This might be a little different from the approach of other "hero team" concepts. At least, it seems different to me; I don't usually see newly-formed teams stepping on each other's toes or having trouble coordinating their efforts in the field (their interpersonal relationships are, perhaps, another matter). Maybe you have a sidekick screwing up his mentor's activities (a way of giving the mentor additional challenge and providing the apprentice with a "teaching moment"), but in a "group of equals" it's rare that there's any significant time spent "team building" with the exception of young student types (the early X-Men, New Mutants, etc.).

Thing is, I don't want to run "hero school" for teenagers. I want a variety of different power types (hi-tech wonders, chemical spill mutations, aliens, etc.) brought together in the typical (for comics) paramilitary fashion (i.e. as an elite, supers-fighting task force) but without any kind of formal training...because there's nothing "formal" or "traditional" when it comes to supers of various different powers. Each super is unique; each group will need to find their own method of working together. Each team will have their own group dynamics born of differing personalities (often determined by how an individual hero reacts to the presence and effect of her own power set). Any "training" they receive is going to have to be "on the job;" I don't want any kind of alien tech created Danger Room.

[as an aside: has the Danger Room ever appeared in any of the various X-Man movies? I remember Cerebro being in the earlier films, but I stopped watching them a few years back]

Anyhoo...that's what I'm thinking about today. While I wait for the snow to finish melting.

The Cold, Cold Dead

Snowmageddon Dos. This time, we have about six inches of snow, which is much more like the snowfalls I remember of my youth. Once the kids get up, I'm sure they're going to want to do a little sledding in the park. I'm just glad it's a Saturday...my Mexican wife gets as giddy over snow as any eight year old, and I'm sure she'll to want to play, too.

Me? Well, I'm not so enthused. "Brrrr" is the thought that comes to mind as I look out the window, sipping reheated coffee in the early morning hours. Pretty to look at, sure. But it's nice and warm in here. Glad I don't have any reason to drive in it.

Outside my window.

I'm sorry, I was going to write some more cleric-related posts ...actually, I wanted to get back to posting some undead musings and mods for B/X, like that mummy post I did the other day. Thing is, the snow kind of sucks the air out of my sails. It's not just that I'm driven to distraction by the need to mention it (or my feelings on it), but I don't really like mixing my undead with my snow fascination. Necromancy just isn't something I associate with an arctic climate.

Weird? Yeah, probably. I have done "dead in the snow" themed monsters and adventures before. Snow mummies, for example...they're a "new monster" that appear in my adventure module BXC1: In the Realm of the Goblin Queen. That whole thing is a set in a snow-filled pocket dimension...had to find some way of incorporating an undead or two. Hmmm...maybe I should get around to finishing that one up and publishing it.

[one more project to add to the list this month]

Yes, yes...most everyone loves Game of Thrones with its frozen undead ("the white walkers") and impending Death Frost Doom, zombie apocalypse plot arc. Me, too (do I really have to wait till April for the last season? Jeez!). But the thought of ghoul-sicles...at least in terms of D&D...leaves me a little, um, cold.

First off, there's the whole "creep factor" that comes with undead...for me, it just doesn't mesh well. Undead are these unholy things that lurk in half-buried tombs and forgotten caves, sneaking silently through the darkness, ready to catch you up in a cold, clammy dead grip, possibly chilling your soul (in the case of energy drain attacks) .

But everything is cold and clammy in a frozen environment. Everything scary is going to emerge from the dark in an endless winter or blizzard-swept setting. Everything is going to be creeping silently when you can't hear over the howling wind. In any snowy fantasy, it just ends up doubling up all the creepy strengths the undead already possesses...and to me, that's as ridiculous as shouting "More cowbell!" Give me a break. Undead already have a scare factor of ten...but undead in winter go up to eleven, right?

It's overkill. I prefer fur-wrapped goblins or axe-wielding savages to emerge from the snows. Hell, just give me a pack of hungry wolves (dire or not). Give me something that's going to eat the party (because it's cold and food is scarce)...not something that's going to "freeze them with fear." It's already freezing outside.

And then there's the whole (imaginary) visuals...undead just don't juxtapose well with a snowy landscape. If it's a sunny day, a field of snow and ice is bright. You can't chase a party with a group black-cowled Nazgul across something like that! You need a polar bear...or some sort of fantasy war-sledge driven by ice bandits or whatnot.

And wouldn't bone-chilling cold and snow (factors that already slow movement) grind a zombie march to a halt? Could a skeleton even wade through deep snow? How?

Can you see a wraith in a snow flurry? I don't think so. And an encounter with an invisible wraith is the kind of thing that makes players want to lynch DMs...trust me on that.

No, I just can't say I'm a fan of the concept. A snowy scene outside my window does NOT inspire me to write about undead, unfortunately...I need dry, sandy tombs or humid, disease-ridden swamps or creepy, mist-soaked graveyards. Snow-covered landscapes make me think of hot cocoa and jingle bells...or the jingle of mail and war harness on a gang of axe-swinging Vikings. Not the undead.

So...sorry about that. Hopefully, Seattle will be thawed out by next week and I'll be able to get back to my thoughts on the undead (including how to use them in a world without clerics). Just not today. There's simply too much white outside. And I should probably do some stretching before the snowball fight that'll inevitably occur sometime this morning.

Tell you what: I'll cut-n-paste the snow mummy entry for you. Feel free to add it to your campaigns this winter (or whenever). Later, skaters.
: )

Snow Mummy*

Armor Class: 2                                       No. Appearing: 1-4 (1-4)

Hit Dice: 7+2*                                       Save As: Fighter 7

Move: 60’ (20’)                                      Morale: 12

Attacks: 1                                               Treasure Type: E x2

Damage: 2-16 + cold                             Alignment: Chaotic

Snow mummies are a form of undead found only in Snowfell and other cold regions…they are created using an unusual form of mummy preparation before being stored in ice. Often created to act as un-dying guardians, snow mummies have all the usual mummy immunities, as well as being immune to both cold and fire. They do not cause disease but are freezing to the touch, causing an additional D8 damage to anyone not protected against cold. In addition, anyone hit by a snow mummy must save versus paralysis or be chilled, suffering a -2 penalty on to hit rolls and initiative and only moving at half speed. The effects of chill can be removed by the use of a restoration spell or spending 1 turn bundled up in front of a roaring fire.

[okay...now it's more like eight inches of snow]

Making Clerics Work

The last couple days have been "Snowmageddon" up here in Seattle. Not really an issue (I've got four wheel drive these days, even if I wanted to go somewhere...and who needs to when the supermarket is across the street from my house?), but my kids have been out of school. Which is fun but means I've been "on duty" for four straight days without a break.

I hate this. I hate resenting my family, who I love. But my wife gets home from work and she wants my attention even (or especially) after the kids have gone to bed. Damn it, I need some time to myself! And sleep...some time.

*sigh*

Mainly, I just want to get back to my writing. Been working on putting Cry Dark Future together. It's been slow going, but it IS coming together...finally. Was working on it last week (till Thursday...Fridays are the wife's day off and, as said, she wants/needs some attention). Now, well, hopefully I'll have a couple hours tomorrow....literally. As of now, I know the school's going to be two hours late, which means I'll have from 10:30 till 12:30 to write before my preschooler needs to be picked up.

ANYWAY...while staying up too late last night (folding laundry), I got the chance to listen to Delta's most recent "livecast" video with the Wandering DM. I found myself (in my usual fugue state), nodding along with their ideas of chopping the cleric class from their D&D game, quickly eliminating (in true Gordian Knot fashion) all the multitude of issues associated with the class.

[if you're...at this moment...saying, "what issues?" then you might want to go check out the video. They do a good job explaining]

[jeez...while I'm taking a few minutes to type this up, my wife is in the other room watching CNN with the children, explaining what the State of the Union address is. My kids are eight and four. We are such crazy parents]

Anyway (did I already say that?)...as I was trying to drift off to sleep, sometime after midnight, I found myself thinking of all the ways to answer those clerical "problems" without cutting the class from the game. Despite the spinning wheels preventing my rest, I have to say I really appreciated my brain's efforts because I LIKE having clerics in my games (for lots of reasons), and I think it's easier to make minor tweaks that deal with the problematic aspects than defaulting to a "nuclear option."

And because I've been neglecting

[...whoops! Duty calls!]

[many hours later]

...because I've been neglecting my blog readers, I figured I'd share some of MY answers to the problematic parts of clerics.

Wizard or Evil High Priest
(or both)?

1) Sword & Sorcery world VS. Catholic Crusaders: this is an old complaint. D&D is an adventure game largely inspired by fiction based on the pre- (or non-) Christian worlds of Howard, Leiber, etc. yet features a class whose abilities are based off Christian scripture and (Christian) horror fiction. How do you reconcile a monotheistic theology in a polytheistic cosmology? The short answer is: you don't. Keep your Christian pantheon (or fantasy/fictional equivalent) and spurn the other pantheons (whether demonic, Norse, Mesoamerican, or whatever) completely. All "true" clerics worship (and gain spells/abilities) from the "one, true God" though different sects/religions might call that deity by different names (Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, etc.). Priests of "false gods" belong to other classes (magic-users or fighters most likely, depending on the emphasis of their training)...or are simply clerics that lack spell-casting ability.  In a world like Lankhmar or Aspirin's Thieves World where filthy, crowded cities have whole districts of temples and shrines, you (the DM) will need to determine which ones belong to a "true faith," which ones are demon-worshipping sorcerers, and which are simple hucksters of false gods. They don't all have to be "clerics."

2) Clerics ever-expanding spell list: another old complaint...every time a new clerical spell gets added, all clerics become more powerful (because clerics have access to every spell, unlike wizards). The easiest fix is to treat clerical magic as spells: each spell is a prayer that must be learned just like a wizard's spell formula, limiting clerics to a finite number of spells. This allows clerical spell research (not to mention clerical spell scrolls) to make sense. "But if cleric magic is just another type of spell, why are the spell lists different from a magic-user's?" For the same reason illusionists have a different list...or druids. They are simply different types of magic.

3) The importance of healing (and clerics' healing ability) forcing the class into the role of "medic": I have to say Delta's idea of simply populating his campaign with easily found healing potions really bugs me. First off, OD&D specifically limited spell use to one use of each spell per day (page 19 of Men & Magic), so for folks basing their game on the LBBs, there should be no issue with "lack of variety" of cleric magic (you can't use cure light wounds more than once per day anyway). Another idea I've used before (in Five Ancient Kingdoms) was to limit clerical healing to adventures only: as God-granted miracles, healing magic (or any type of clerical spells) are unavailable between adventures (i.e. "back in town"), instead only being granted when out on an expedition. Clerical magic is a plea of desperation for divine intercession when facing incredible danger...not some trip to the fantasy spa for a little R&R. Make characters heal the "old fashion way" (bed rest and chicken soup) once they've left the dungeon.

4) "Weaponized" clerical magic: have to say I agree that I hate the idea of using clerical spells like light and silence in an offensive capacity (to blind an opponent or neutralize spell-casters); even B/X does this, which just isn't right (permanently blind someone with a targeted continual light? This should be the purview of the curse spell). The easiest fix here is (again) to go back to OD&D where there are no such use of these helpful spells (neither light nor continual light allowed targeting of opponents' eyes, and silence 15' radius was used to "move with no sound" or to silence "an object or thing" not an enemy spell-caster...see Greyhawk, page 30).

5) Providing parties with a "too easy" method of neutralizing undead: this is only an issue if you allow multiple turning attempts against the same opponent in a single encounter (I don't) and/or you're using undead in singular numbers like some cinematic horror antagonist. Mummies (as tomb guardians) should be buried in numbers, vampires should have their "spawn" with them (brides of Dracula?), and Ring-Wraiths (i.e. "specters") always travel in packs. Against multiples of undead a cleric is going to have a much lesser effect, given that no more than one 7 HD vampire can ever be turned/destroyed, even by a cleric of level 11+ (since a successful result only affects 2d6 hit dice of undead).

Drac and "Friends"

Oh, wait...I see this is a case where B/X is actually more limiting than OD&D (in OD&D clerical turning affects a number of undead equal to 2d6). Okay, so the fix here is use the B/X system instead of OD&D...and then make sure your undead are found in numbers greater than one. At least, the undead that you don't want to see turned/destroyed. One of the methods a B/X party has to overcome monsters is breaking their morale; the undead's fearlessness in this regard (which makes them even more dangerous than their special abilities) is offset by the cleric's ability to drive them away. I don't particularly mind that myself.

[okay, I ended up writing most of this post Wednesday morning. Sorry for the delay]

Worlds of Mystery (and Cold)

My inner, contemplative self is feeling like this dude.

One of the reasons players have found D&D a game worth coming back to over the years is the inherent mystery of the thing...you never know what you're going to find.

Oh, you can probably expect danger in a variety of forms: hungry monsters, deadly traps, strange magical happenings. And you can expect treasure of various types (both monetarily and magically valuable). This is all part of the "D&D package," sure (leaving it out probably means you're playing something else)...but while you're expecting this entertaining meal to take place when you sit down at the table, you're never really sure what exact ingredients are going to be used...or how they're going to be used. Just to take an analogy a bit too far: there's a lot of ways to toss a salad. Goblins and dragons and undead and gold and swords +1...these things you've seen time and again in many forms, variations, and "skins." But part of the draw to the table is wondering how they're going to show up this time...and then overcoming the specific challenge being presented.

I bring this up because, as tired out as the formula (or rather, ingredients) might be, there's something freeing about the simplicity of this constrained little concept. Allow me to draw another analogy from my experience here in Paraguay (and, yes, with regard to food):

Paraguayan cuisine is EXTREMELY limited. I don't know how I can emphasize that enough, to a degree folks can grok what I'm saying. You really have to live some place like, say, the USA where refrigerated trucks and train cars and extensive highway systems ensures you can eat most anything you want any time you want it. Sure, your shellfish might be frozen, your fruit malnourished because it's "out-of-season." But if you want something...and you're willing to pay for it...you can probably find it as close as your nearest major metropolitan city.

Move from THAT environment to Asuncion (the Paraguayan capitol) and try living here a year or two. A place where you can't throw a rock without skipping it off some dude's Porsche SUV or BMW. There's plenty of money in this town...I live within a couple blocks of at least two billionaires (that I know of) and one guy who's pretty close. And all their money won't buy 'em a frigging blueberry. Or a raspberry. Or (most of the year) a strawberry. Or a corn tortilla. Or real vanilla. Or...I don't know...so many things that it's impossible to list them all.

How 'bout this: I know of maybe half a dozen sushi restaurants in this town; not terribly surprising as there's a small Asian population (mostly Korean, it appears) and a large Japanese cultural center (which provides a lot of culture besides Japanese, just by the way). But regardless of which restaurant you belly-up to you find the same three fish: salmon (from Chile), surubi (from the local river), and tilapia (if you're lucky and it's a good day). That's it...that is THE ONLY FISH IN TOWN. Most of the "sushi" places have only salmon and surubi. In any restaurant that SERVES fish (sushi or not) that's all you'll find. Period. End of story. Frozen shrimp, sure. But that ain't fish.

This dearth of variety in cuisine is par for the course. Beef. Chicken. Pork (ham). Potatoes. Pasta. Pizza. That's what you find. Bread. A salad here is lettuce, carrot, and tomato with hard boiled egg. Dressing is olive oil and vinegar (if you want it). Add meat to taste. At every f'ing place. Gnocchi, spaghetti, ravioli...that's it. Enjoy. Thanks for coming.

There are good restaurants...we frequent those. But the food that is offered is the same damn thing: it's just cooked better. They use their seasonings better. They make a sauce out of spinach and add it on the side. They tart up the plate like a contestant on Top Chef. But it's still grilled beef. Or (fancy!) cordero (lamb) and risotto or a puree of squash...red meat and starch. As you like it.

To a large degree, this is D&D to me. A limited palette from which to paint. There are better artists, better cooks in the kitchen, folks who will offer you a little broccoli on the side. But you're not escaping the inevitable limits of the system.

And as I said, there is a certain amount of freedom and comfort in that...I mean, I've learned to live with Paraguay and its limitations. It doesn't drive me as crazy as it did the first, O, six months or so I was here. And now that I'm comfortable, I can tool around and even be pleasantly surprised at times. Here's a place where they know how to cook a (very mediocre) Eggs Benedict, for instance. It isn't rocket science and they have the eggs (Paraguayans love-love-love their eggs...on everything except breakfast). Here's an Indian restaurant that just opened, and no, it doesn't have the variety of menu you'd find in the U.S. (let alone India), but it serves you your meat with a different sauce. It gives you nan instead of another damn breadstick.

[we've been eating at the Indian restaurant at least once a week since it opened]

But even so, it's easy to get fatigued with lomito sandwiches and undercooked pizza. I was at the "farmer's market" again today (every Tuesday) and again I looked over the fruit and found the same thing as always: red apples, green apples, pears, papaya, bananas, grapes (no seedless), and kiwi. That's it. The same fruit every week. Every damn week. Every damn day.

A game system like D&D (with its classes and levels and task resolution on a D20) isn't a fruit stand. It's a method of cooking. But if all you're serving up is the same dungeon or wilderness or planar crawl, then it doesn't matter if you're sprinkling in different techniques or house rules. The fatigue will get to you eventually.

Well, maybe not you. Maybe you're like the Paraguayans who live here there whole lives and don't seem to have any complaints about eating the same damn thing, day in and day out. But it gets to me. It really does. If the mystery dish turns out to be the same dish, after awhile the mystery starts to lose its luster.

And why do I bring this up? Because there are other possibilities in role-playing besides the genre that is D&D. I think there are anyway...call it a theory I have. That you can write a "SciFi" game that isn't about players scoring "credits" for example (White Star). Or about exploring ancient installations (Star Frontiers...I've been reading its old modules today). That isn't just about defeating enemies (D20). Some other type of mystery to explore. I'm just not sure what it is...I'm musing on that at the moment.

I want a game with people wearing furry hats.

Right now it's winter here in Paraguay...the weather's only down in the 60's but it feels cold. It's grey and overcast most of the time (though not raining) and I'm lounging around in a flannel shirt as I write this. The weather has turned here...but the food hasn't. It's nice to have cold weather. It makes me think of springtime in Seattle...and it makes me think about cold worlds. Not the cold of space...but the cold of planets that I've never set foot on and never will and what would an adventure on such a world be like or (more importantly) be about.

That's what I'm contemplating and musing on. And thinking about my own home, 6400 miles from here. I'll be back in Seattle (for a couple weeks anyway) later this month. I keep thinking about the food I'm going to eat when I get back. Maybe an artichoke. Definitely some damn blueberries. I want to go to a restaurant and be surprised by its "special of the day."

There's something magical about a little mystery.

Whiteout (Redux)

The governor has declared a "state of emergency" in Washington due to heavy snowfall, and my office is closed for the day.

Which means I have to stay home, which means I will have little opportunity for reading or writing (since me son is the priority, folks).

I don't know if I'm going to have the chance to bone up on Top Secret today, in other words. Though at this point, I'm not sure who (if anyone) is going to make it out in this weather. For me, at least, the bar is just two blocks down the road.

No, D! Don't eat that!

(gotta' go)

: )

Whiteout

Welp, the snow was fast, if not exactly thick today, and I stayed home from work because of it. Not because I couldn't get to the job...I'm walking distance from my day gig. But my wife is not, and so needed to work from home, and that meant someone else had to mind the boy (me) since we had no nanny in the snow.

But that's cool, because I love Diego and he and I get along famously (though he's not quite ready for the gaming scene...some day, some day). I even got a couple naps in myself, which is always a good thing. Plus we got to walk around in the stinging, icy, fast-falling snow. I put five layers on the kid and he fell asleep in the Baby-Bjorn. I tell ya', he just wants to be snuggled and rocked.

[which is a good thing, because if he'd inherited the wife's penchant for motion sickness we'd ALL be in trouble!]

Being out and about in these conditions, not to mention seeing nothing but white outside my window all day, led me to thinking about an old Top Secret adventure: Operation: Whiteout. Written by none other than Merle Rasmussen, creator of Top Secret, Whiteout appeared in the July 1984 issue of Dragon magazine, one of the first I ever owned (I still have it, but it's so old I'm missing the cover, which is why I can't cite the issue number).

Operation: Whiteout is a very cool adventure: players infiltrate an installation in Antarctica to find out to what extent a group of neo-survivalists might be up to nefariousness. Similar to TS:0 (Operation: Pisces, included with the TS game), it provides a site based adventure with many numbered encounters, a list of NPCs, and several pre-gens. It's non-linear in design, and while there is a plot (so to speak), there's no designated timeline of events to push the action. PCs are able to work in their own fashion and the bad guys will go about their daily business. It's pretty cool, a good example of what a nice Top Secret adventure should look like.

On the other hand, looking at it makes me think: wow, that is a crapload of work Mr. Rasmussen put into it. Lots of specific rules for Antarctica (including weather tables, vehicles and movement rates, random crevasses and systems for identifying them and what happens if you don't, etc.), plus the installation itself, complete with individual named and statted NPCs (close to 50...all with varying degrees of knowledge about the operations, day and night encounter areas, job occupation, etc.). A tiny little microcosm world of adventure...and if the PCs do what they're supposed to do, in an intelligent manner, they'll bypass most everything Merle bothered to write-up. He's just accounted for a ton of different possible contingencies.

Just thinking about what went into the writing of this simple Dragon magazine adventure makes me exhausted. It would take hours of research on the scientific outposts in Antarctica alone (not to mention the history of the continent and various international treaties) to do this...and 1984 was long before the internet and wikipedia. Wow.

I don't know if I'm just lazy or if Rasmussen is just uber-dedicated.

Between that and re-reading Haven: City of Violence the other day, I've got Top Secret on the brain (or so it would appear). Maybe I need to run a game of TS. Last Thursday I played a board game down at the Mox which was fun but less-than-satisfying. I could probably be up to snuff on Whiteout by tomorrow...assuming anyone comes out in the snow (I doubt I'll be driving to Cafe Mox...I wonder who I can get to show up at the Baranof).

Top Secret...gosh, maybe I need to do a series of post on that. I wonder if I'll be going to work tomorrow...

: )

A Land of Ice

So, my wife and I have made plans to go see Sherlock Holmes today...the first film we'll have seen in a theater together since before our son was born. We've tried arranging this before during the last two-three months but something always came up...my mom (who will be babysitting) was sick, or Diego was sick, or my wife was sick, or I was sick...or we were in Mexico, or Montana, or the Dominican Republic, or Bellevue for some child's birthday party...whatever. Something.

But today we are going (even though I am still a bit under the weather...a lingering cough and a sprained back). We're dropping off the baby with my Mom in Shoreline (north Seattle) and heading for Mountlake Terrace to the Cinnebar (no relation to the RPG), where you can watch entertaining fare while drinking Guinness and consuming cheesesteak sammies in a plush movie-going experience.

And as I look out my window at the swiftly piling snow on my back deck (about half an inch at the moment) I find myself thinking:

Ah, crap.

'Cause it's a weekend and there are no salt trucks out today and I live in the city limits proper where the snow is always a lot lighter than Shoreline and north King County. And it's a long-established fact that people in Seattle (especially the Californian transplants) canNOT drive in snow, no matter whether they're driving their eco-hating SUVs or their 4-wheel drive Subarus. Yes, they think they can, but they really can't. It's like being in a rally car race with a bunch of drunks out there.

Ugh.

So that's the news on the local "land of ice;" on the fictional LAND OF ICE I have another section of the monsters chapter to post, which should go up this afternoon/evening (probably while watching the Broncos-Pats game). As I write the supplement (which, by the way, I'M enjoying immensely), I've gone even deeper into my deconstruction of D&D.

Specifically I was up till close to 2am last night going over the treasure tables and comparisons between OD&D, AD&D, and B/X. There's a lot of food for thought...or at least interest issues...that get raised when reviewing these, especially interesting (to me) in light of the wholesale changes to how treasure is disbursed in the later 3rd edition. Enough for a whole post of its own.

[that's not meant as a teaser, I'm just stating a fact...there's too many things to break down and analyze there to do it justice in a couple paragraphs]

I no longer own any 2nd edition books, and I don't remember how treasure was handled in that version...probably with tables very similar but slightly changed from AD&D 1e. It's interesting that ALL the treasure tables I looked at featured at least some differences. It is clear (to me) that random treasure placement was, at best, an "inexact science," and one that was constantly being tweaked by the TSR Powers That Be.

For Land of Ice, I will also be "tweaking" the treasure tables...especially consider there's no electrum and platinum coinage in the campaign setting.

Ugh! The snow continues to fall! My wife just came downstairs and announced we will NOT be going to the movies! She said, "I'm not driving in this weather with my son!" I said, hey, I'LL drive! She's not having any of it. Foiled again!

(*sigh*)

At least there's the NFL play-offs to watch.

***EDIT: The snow has melted and isn't supposed to start again till this evening. We are going to the movies...yay!!!***

Cold Snow Bloggery

Okay, back to work.

Now that the Seahawks have tanked for the season, I can get back to work. Not literally, of course...today I have the day off (though I've been watching my boy all morning; he's asleep right now). And I think it's high time I returned to a bit of B/X madness...specifically with a wintery twist.

Before I explain exactly what I mean, I'd like to make a note of JM's recent post over at Grognardia. I didn't get involved in the discussion (and, frankly, stopped reading the comments after the first 60 or 70) because he specifically asked folks to be polite and respectful and I'm not sure I could have been such on something I consider to be a fairly silly topic.

What do I mean "silly?" Well, there seems to be an implication (and JM's own comments lead me to infer this also, not just the initial post) that there is a greater value to RPG material ("product") that arises organically from play. James isn't just talking about product that's been playtested versus product that hasn't...he's talking about "the origin of the content."

To me, the whole discussion is ridiculous. Look, there are folks who fancy themselves designers and publishers (like myself, in my own admittedly poor, small fashion) and there are those who simply "play." If the latter are creating material/settings/adventures, they probably are NOT interested in publishing their stuff (i.e. for money or "professionally"). If the former, than most ANYthing they create is given at least a cursory glance with an eye for profit.

I know I do...whether it's a one-page micro-system or an adventure for bar-hopping gaming group, there's a part of me that says, "hmmm...should I type this up and sell it as a .pdf for a handful of bucks?" That's just how it is. And when writing adventures for said game group, there's always the idea (in the back of one's mind) that this might be, or could be, a "future product."

Now, perhaps Mr. Maliszewski himself wasn't originally intending to publish Dwimmermount...it appears this was originally more of a thought experiment/blog stunt to see how the whole OD&D/megadungeon thing works. Maybe he never intended it (in the beginning) to be published and it is only now that he has amassed a substantial amount of material that he sees potential (monetary) value in a Dwimmermount product.

Fine and dandy...but most of us in the publishing business (and, yes, I again count myself as one of these, despite having printed only a single book) have more definite objectives in our own adventure creation from the outset. Why? Well:

- few of us have the resources to devote to game design full time

- time to actually game/play is limited

- writing and playtesting takes time as well

- the best way to kill two birds with one stone is to make sure your game/play time is being used to playtest that which you've written

Again, only so long as you consider yourself a game designer/publisher. If you don't, than play/game whatever the hell you want.

Anyway, having said that, I'm interested in writing up a little something-something on the blog for those folks who are into the B/X thang...specifically a series of posts detailing a possible world setting for a B/X campaign. This will, of course, be done with an eye towards future publishing (for the reasons outlined above) rather than for any particular game I'm running (since I'm still intent on playtesting my space game at my weekly session). However, if the series is never compiled/printed, that's fine too...this ain't something I'm particularly attached to, and it IS something of a thought exercise; I'm just not ruling out money as a background motive for the stuff I write.

Jeez...I do live in the real world after all.

; )

So, right...there are two ideas I want to postulate/discuss on this post ('cause I'm not sure how I want to approach them in the series):

Idea #1 - The Setting

My setting is going to be a very specific one, rather than a generic World of Greyhawk/Forgotten Realms/Etc. It's going to be set in a cold and snowy environment...something like the planet Fenris from the WH40K fluff/novels. This is due to my own interest/fear/fascination with things snowy, arctic, and mountainous. Monsters, characters, rules, magic, etc. are all going to be adapted/skewed to this setting. Here's the part I haven't decided: Do I make the default character assumptions one of Norse Mythology? Or do I do something more in line with MZB's Darkover novels (including ancient space colonists and psychic powers)? I have an attraction to both styles of "snow" and can see value in both, but to keep the setting specific, I feel I need to keep on a single tract. Since this is going to be published in installments on my blog, what would readers like to see?

Idea #2 - The Style

A while back I started working on my own Fantasy Heartbreaker, just to get the damn thing out of my system (basically, "knocking off" D&D with my own "fixes" or "what I would have done different from Gygax & Arneson"). While I made quite a bit of progress on the thing (about 30 pages, last count), it remains backburnered at this time because A) it's a FHB, and B) I have non-FHBs (i.e. potentially lucrative products) waiting in the wings. However, there are plenty of things about "my system" that I like...prefer in fact...to standard D&D. Should I incorporate some of them? A new setting book is a great time/opportunity to throw in some "house rules" that are setting specific. OR should I make the game adhere closer to the standard B/X rules? Or Labyrinth Lord for that matter...I could toss an OGL on the thing and see about making it a semi-official supplement for LL rather than a setting for an out-o-print game system. Again, the only plan at the moment is to post the thing up on my blog (I have one or two other books that need printing before this one)...what style would my readers be interested in? Do you want Vancian magic and Gygaxian combat? Or something different entirely?

All right...so now you know what I'm thinking about/plotting. Depending on feedback, I'll probably start the posts this week.

And whadya' know...I finished my post and the baby is still asleep! Maybe I'll take a little nap!

: )

F is for Frostbite

[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 this month? Things necessary to take your D&D campaign from “eh, fantasy” to “kick ass.” And who doesn’t want that?]

F is for Frostbite, an environmental hazard of the wilderness.

I won’t lie…I love cold and snow hazards in role-playing games. In real life? No. But in a game, the idea of the windswept frozen tundra conjures an image both romantic and majestic to my mind’s eye. Plus, blood on the snow? How picturesque is that?

Snow and its dangers is something somewhat over-looked in the Dungeons & Dragons game. As far as environmental hazards go we find torches (for darkness), ropes (for mountains), boats (for the ocean), water skins (for deserts)…but where are the fur parkas and dog sleds?

Frankly, I find it crazy. After all, WINTER is one of the most dangerous things in pre-modern society. Food can be grown, animals raised, barbarians fought…but there’s nothing you can do against a blizzard besides pray to the gods, find adequate shelter, and lay up the best store of food and firewood you can muster.

And even THAT might not be enough…if you're unfortunate enough to live through a year when the harvest wasn’t particularly good and the winter ends up being particularly long and arduous. And if the ground is too frozen when planting time comes again, you’ll be looking at a starving populace during the NEXT year’s winter. It can get into a pretty nasty repeating cycle.

But, of course, adventurers are young and hardy and rich enough not to have to worry about the state of affairs “back at the farm,” right? Well, unless they happen to be rulers of a barony (but that’s a whole different discussion…). In general, player characters are going to have enough gold to purchase rations when they get hungry, and put themselves up in a tavern during the cold winter months.

But out on the road? Now THAT’s another story.

DMs should drive home the oppression of winter…especially the winter roads, the hungry wolves, the difficult passage to the next adventure site or town. For most campaigns (especially pseudo-medieval-Europe-types), we should not be expecting a year of “endless summer” every year. Folks from the Midwest (heartland of D&D) should be well versed in just how tough winter can be…even with modern conveniences. And even high-level characters should face the danger of exposure when not adequately prepared.

And what is the danger of exposure? Losing extremities, of course!

I mean, hypothermia, too, of course…but then we already talked about that under drowning and characters are unlikely to succumb to that if they can keep moving and not fall into any frozen ponds. But long-term, excessive cold can freeze tissue in the extremities, leading to permanent loss and amputation.

NOT overnight, mind you…I said “long term;” usually more than a couple-three days of exposure can lead to permanent nerve and tissue damage depending on the degree of exposure and the actual temperature to which the characters are subjected. However, prolonged exposure to cold (with inadequate protection) WILL eventually result in the crystallization of fingers and toes…and possibly hand, feet, arms, and legs (though these latter only in the most extreme cases).

Now, a word about “de-protagonization:” it ain’t conducive to long-term game play. There ARE actual “fates worse than death” in an RPG. For example, very VERY few people will stand to play a character whose ears have been cut off, or been permanently blinded, or had their tongues burned out of their mouths. It’s one thing to watch a character get killed…it is quite another to be forced to play a character that’s been “suck-ified” by a malicious DM. Players who see their characters subjected to unheroic maiming and dismemberment will probably just “commit character suicide” rather than play such a monstrosity.

However, shouldn’t PCs pay the consequences for silly actions…like refusing to stock up on extra furs, blankets, and firewood before starting a long journey into the cold northlands? Of course they should! Even in a fantasy world, characters should understand the need to protect against the elements takes precedence over that extra two-handed weapon or a score of silver arrows.

BUT while we want the PCs to suffer the consequences of their folly, we don’t want to sadistically deprotagonize them (i.e. “make their characters suck”) such that they no longer want to play. How to balance this?

By taking them a piece at a time.

I’d recommend DMs limit themselves to D4 or D6 fingers and toes. In all probability, the characters aren’t going to miss them. It shouldn’t affect their adventuring or combat abilities (leave them enough fingers on each hand to hold their weapons), and it shouldn’t be noticeable enough to cause a Charisma loss. Plus, those vain few with money to burn can always seek out some high-priced regenerative style healing (assuming such is available in your campaign world).

If you want, make it into a random table-type affair…something like:

0-2 days of exposure…no permanent damage
3-5 days of exposure…0-3 fingers/toes lost (D4-1)
6-8 days of exposure…0-7 fingers/toes lost (D8-1)
9-11 days of exposure…2-8 fingers/toes lost (2D4)

Spread all losses between both hands and both feet. After a dozen or more days of winter exposure, characters are going to need serious clerical help or suffer much more dire consequences.

Also useful for characters buried in snowdrifts and avalanches for a few days.

: )

Snowed In

Old Man Winter hit Seattle a bit last night and I had a helluva' time getting out of downtown...mainly due to my bus changing its route and not telling me. Consequently I didn't get home till after 8 and when I did, I looked like a refugee from the Hoth system.

After trudging up 85th with biting snow crystals whipping my face and choking my throat (and watching three cars slide into each other and on the sidewalk), I've decided to take a "personal day" and stay the hell home from work.

Well...from the work that pays the bills anyway.

I AM going to be writing (not blogging I'm afraid) over the next couple days. In fact, that's what I've been doing the last couple. It's amazing how slow things go when you're used to doing the stream-o-consciousness thing and you're suddenly trying to write-up rules and procedures in some semblance of coherent order.

Ah, well...who am I to complain? The wind has died down this morning which means the beagles are finally ready and willing to get out in the yard and "frolic" and the cable's totally knocked out so there's no 600 channels to distract me (my wife, on the other hand, is a little more bummed...I have the Star Wars movies on DVD at least). Hope everyone's doing well and that any holiday preparation is devoid of stress for y'all!

: )

What Marion Zimmer Bradley Taught Me (Part 1)

I’ve been reading a lot of Marion Zimmer Bradley lately…which is to say I’ve been reading A LOT lately (or a lot for me, anyway…my days of reading a new novel weekly or even monthly are long in the past). However, I purposefully picked up a whole slew of MZB paperbacks from the used bookstore the other day as I was doing research into the literary tradition of psionics (or more accurately, “mental powers”) within fantasy, and I remembered Ms. Bradley using a lot of that in her writing. So I picked up half a dozen Darkover novels.

Wow.

Let me first say that I’ve long been an MZB fan, though I haven’t read all that many of her books. I think I first came across her in her Lythande character portrayed in the Aspirin's Thieves World books. Later, I read The Mists of Avalon (of course…absolutely required reading for any King Arthur buffs) and The Fall of Atlantis (because I’m an Atlantis buff, too).

[and, yes, I’m aware that the latter book is actually a republishing of two earlier stories that had different titles]

But Darkover was never a series I got into. For one thing, it’s not really a “series” so much as a SETTING for a bunch of novels and short stories. Similar to McAffery’s Pern, Darkover is a planet that has been colonized by humans of the future…humans that lose touch with their earth roots and develop their own culture and history over several hundred or thousand years.

As with Pern, the Darkover setting and extensive history provides fertile ground for a number of different tales that highlight the human experience without being set around any particular protagonist or set of characters. In fact, I’ve so far read four of the Darkover novels and each has been from a vastly different epoch of the world. For those familiar with the series, the books I’ve read so far are:

- Darkover Landfall
- Stormqueen
- Hawkmistress
- Heritage of Hastur


Right now I’m working on The Shattered Chain, and I really want to pick up The World Wreckers.

Okay, so, great JB. You like the books. You’re a fan. Now let’s get to the point of the post…exactly WHAT has Marion Zimmer Bradley taught you?

Lots.

In some ways, she’s RE-teaching me things I already knew but forgot. For example, fantasy/sci-fi adventure doesn’t have to include combat to be powerful, dangerous, dramatic, or life-and-death.

Really.

I remember reading a comment on someone’s blog (maybe even mine), that fantasy role-playing games require some sort of combat system because, for a game to BE a fantasy adventure RPG, COMBAT needs to be involved. I know this echoes a sentiment expressed by my brother in a discussion we had awhile back (when talking about RPG design) that people EXPECT some sort of combat/fighting action to take place in any role-playing game.

Bullshit. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

Just because Dungeons and Dragons has a combat system and makes combat a part of the game does NOT mean combat is a requirement for any fantasy adventure game. ‘Fantasy adventure” is NOT defined by fighting or mortal conflict. It isn’t. The classic “hero’s journey” involves over-coming strife and proving one’s courage (and may involve mortal combat…I’ll have to check that on wikipedia), but it isn’t necessary for a fantasy story to be an “adventure.” I think I was two to three hundred pages into Hawkmistress before any sort of armed encounter occurred…a bird got shot by an arrow (and let me tell you, that was a deeply moving and emotional chapter!). Prior to THAT, the only “fight scene” in the book involved a girl kneeing a dude in the crotch to prevent attempted rape. Period. End of fight.

Was there adventure and danger and dramatic conflict present within those several hundred pages? Yes. Was there mortal peril for the protagonist and companions? Yes. Was their hardship and challenge, both physical and mental? Yes.

But combat? Melee? Armed conflict? Nope, none of it.

Darkover Landfall has no armed conflict at all. Yes, many people die. A guy does get killed by a “monster” (he is stung by a tiny scorpion ant) and some throats get slit in their sleep…but nothing that would require a combat “system.”

Heritage of Hastur talks a lot about the martial training of the Guard corps. It has a lot of talk about the breech of weapons compacts. There is much discussion on duels and challenges and several instances requiring/demanding revenge/justice. But the only “fights” involve one guy getting held (on two separate occasions) and being beaten unconscious.

Stormqueen! has some more siege stuff, but not a single fight involving any of the main characters.

All of these books are “adventures.” They have people traveling/going places, facing hardship, experiencing conflict, being “challenged” (physically, mentally, and emotionally)…and yet no one draws a sword and fights anyone. And on Darkover, most everyone carries a sword at some point. Darkover is nothing if not a sword culture for God’s sake!

Okay so that’s #1 that I’ve learned from MZB…you can have people going on adventures and not getting involved in “combat” per se. People being conflicted…hell, DYING…and no weapons being drawn. That’s Numero Uno.

Numero Dos: A party of adventurers can have multiple motivations and yet still be cooperative in the aid of a greater whole.

Not sub-plots (though motivations in novels/stories often lead to sub-plots and side treks), but MOTIVATIONS.

Now, I realize that novels and RPGs are NOT the same thing…just as novels and films aren’t (they both tell stories, but they do so in entirely different fashions). RPGs are GAMES and as such they are PLAYED. While you can have a story develop from an RPG session (and can even actively work towards that end with a game that facilitates a narratavist agenda…like, say, Sorcerer), any story that is created is a cooperative or JOINT venture between the players involved, and thus cannot readily be dictated by any one single author…not even a railroading DM…without some consent of the players involved.

[don’t believe me? I (as DM) say, “okay, you guys are here.” Player A says, “My character would never go there.” I (as DM) say, “tough, you are there” (or DM provides some complex justification for the use of force, it doesn’t matter). Player A says, “I kill myself.” End of story…literally!]

In general, when the desired outcome of an RPG session is to have SOME semblance of story (even just, “we all went to this place and did X, Y. and Z”), the easiest way to get that cooperation between players is for the DM/GM to get players motivated in the same direction. For example:

“The Big Bad Guy threatens the kingdom. You have heard that the Amazing Artifact can put an end to his evil reign, if you only you can retrieve it from the Mysterious Dungeon.”

But characters CAN have major motivations…in fact, their whole raison d’etre…as THE THING that determines/inspires action, even though it seems a minor “plot” to the whole grand scheme of things.

For example, often in the Darkover books there’s some grand overarching plot that is DIRECTLY IMPACTED OR PERTAINING TO THE PROTAGONISTS (for example, the whole “realm” is in danger due to a war of succession…and the protagonist is the actual heir to the throne, not some side bystander/rube that gets drawn into the mess a la the Dragonlance heroes, for example), and yet the whole world shattering plot is a SECONDARY motivation to the character’s own likes/loves, hates/schemes, whatever. And having it as such does not prevent the characters (often, Ms. Bradley’s books present more than one protagonist or “main character”) from working as a team towards the main goal…but it enriches how they get there, the journey they are taking.

Again this is not something that’s especially new, just something I haven’t sat down and considered for a while. I may not be especially clear, so let me see if I can illustrate with an example:

Imagine a (D&D) adventuring party as a “special forces” type unit…a small group of proficient, heroic types designed to work together as a team to overcome obstacles and succeed at mission scenarios…you know, 4th edition style play.

I realize that this is the way Dungeons & Dragons has evolved through the last 2-3 iterations, but understand it bears NO semblance to the original literary traditions that inspired it. Instead it seems more inspired by The Dirty Dozen, The Seven Samurai, Mission Impossible or some other action film designed to spotlight a variety of special effects in different action sequences…the better to amuse and entertain the audience (in this case, the audience being the RPG players themselves).

Even The Lord of the Rings is somewhat guilty of this type of dross…especially the film version (which showcases the burly axe-swinging dwarf, versus the suave sword-swinging ranger, versus the acrobatic arrow-slinging elf). But Tolkien was telling an Epic story and the true protagonists are, of course, Frodo and Sam and their heroic struggles…NOT the actions of certain flamboyant characters.

[and by the way I DO enjoy the LotR films and have watched them multiple times]

Now, compare THAT type of “special forces for the sake of overcoming evil obstacle” group with a group of individuals, each with his or her own motivation (and not necessarily possessing aims in line with their fellows), that happen to be joined in common cause, but whose cause comes SECONDARY to their own personal (and sometime selfish desires)…you know, kind of like real life with real, independent thinking folks?

For a “cheesy example” let’s look at the protagonists of the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. Silly, right? But look at these misfits. They have great powers at their disposal (when they occasionally get their shit together) AND they have an over-riding goal (to find some way home), and yet their own motivations and desires often overwhelm practicality or actually sabotage and cause their own group trouble. Eric is an f’ing coward hiding behind his wealthy background, Diana is some sort of foolhardy adrenaline junkie, Presto and Bobby are constantly attempting to “prove themselves” to the others (Bobby that he’s old enough to hang with the big kids and Presto that he’s not some gigantic nerd with a “worthless gift”). Hank is the Boy Scout, always trying to “Do the Right Thing,” and Sheila secretly carries a torch for the blonde archer and hopes to impress him. I mean, all of them are teenagers with self-esteem issues, but they manifest those issues in different ways, making for an interesting mix (if not one that is incredibly efficient in overcoming obstacles/challenges). And cheesy or not, the cartoon wasn’t something I’d call a comedy.

In my old D&D campaigns, players DID have motivations for their characters, and any particular adventure dreamt up by the DM was totally secondary to the aims of the characters…Lucky was always looking for new magical writings to fatten his spell book, Sunstarr was always trying to impress the ladies, my character was always trying to amass power and show everyone else up (‘cause I was a big jerk)…whether or not we actually achieved any GOAL for an adventure was completely secondary to the story that we were telling about our characters and what they did and how they did it…in other words, by their actions, which were often in conflict with any actual objectives set forth by our GM.

In fact, this harkens back to what my brother was saying the other day about wanting more motivation, more background for his characters…that the random Hat and Relationship charts were a good start but not enough, and that the adventure background itself didn’t seem to be enough motivation. It’s one thing when players bring their own specific, concrete goals and motives to the table…but the Dungeons & Dragons itself doesn’t necessarily provide “meat enough” to build a character.