As an amateur musician, I love getting together with my friends once a month and playing some music. What do we play? Selections from a variety of sources, depending upon what we love. Most of us are amateurs on some part of the learning curve though there a few accomplished and even semi-professional players who sit in with us. We hear it all: rock and roll, folk, country, jazz, hard rock, and even tunes we've penned ourselves.
What does this have to do with running a FRPG campaign? Well I'm glad you asked!
We have a growing segment of our community who take the stance a campaign isn't worth the time if it isn't something completely new and edgy. If they aren't completely original then they are passé and shouldn't be spoken of in polite company. As a musician I sometimes derive great joy from learning to play a favorite song (or the favorite tune of someone I really care about) and playing and singing it. It makes me smile, brings me joy, and helps fine-tune my technique. Thus it is with a good fantasy campaign. It isn't about innovation, it's about putting together a game that will bring you and your players joy. As an artistically minded person you won't be able to avoid putting individual touches on your campaign world and your influence on the way your world develops.
I'm certainly no Eric Clapton with a ukulele in my hand. When I received my black belt in TKD Bruce Lee had nothing to fear from me. And I'm no Gary Gygax when it comes to running OD&D. But ... and this is the important part ... I'm okay with that. What I do still brings me great joy and happiness and I'm egotistical enough to believe my running a campaign (or participating in one for that matter) brings the same to others. I can learn from these masters and improve but I'm not going to think for even one second that because my song, kata, or campaign doesn't resemble "the Master's" it is therefore somehow inferior.
Getting together with friends and playing songs you all know and love is fun. It brings a sense of contentment and puts a smile on your face. Getting together with gamers in a well-run campaign, no matter how familiar all the elements are, does the same. We all can't be Picasso but we can all pick up a paintbrush and experience the same joy of creation.
11 October 2015
20 September 2015
Fall Down, Go Boom
I just read a very well written and designed falling damage system for pre-1983 D&D. I'd never use it. No, I'm not cracking wise, it's a great rule but just not right for my campaign (please note the last 5 words of the sentence before giving me both barrels). Keeping in mind I like to keep things simple and fast, here is mine.
I researched real life falling damage and learned falls of greater than ~30' usually result in a fatality. Figuring dungeon adventurers are unusually lucky/blessed/divinely favored I doubled that figure to 60' for my rules. Falling damage is figured normally using the usual d6 per 10' fallen rule up to 60'. If the fall exceeds this distance the player rolls d% with any result but "00" resulting in character death. If they make the roll they survive with 1 hit point remaining. Why the survival chance? First of all, there are documented rare cases of parachutists free-falling to the ground and surviving. Second, I generally avoid the chance of absolute failure/success IMC.*
Sure, it makes falls scary. I just felt a high level fighter jumping off a 100' cliff then leaping to his feet, dusting himself off and fighting on was not the tone I wanted to set for my campaign.
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* though I do have them. Touch anti-matter or jump into lava, for example, and you'd best have 3d6 and a fresh character record sheet handy.
I researched real life falling damage and learned falls of greater than ~30' usually result in a fatality. Figuring dungeon adventurers are unusually lucky/blessed/divinely favored I doubled that figure to 60' for my rules. Falling damage is figured normally using the usual d6 per 10' fallen rule up to 60'. If the fall exceeds this distance the player rolls d% with any result but "00" resulting in character death. If they make the roll they survive with 1 hit point remaining. Why the survival chance? First of all, there are documented rare cases of parachutists free-falling to the ground and surviving. Second, I generally avoid the chance of absolute failure/success IMC.*
Sure, it makes falls scary. I just felt a high level fighter jumping off a 100' cliff then leaping to his feet, dusting himself off and fighting on was not the tone I wanted to set for my campaign.
-----
* though I do have them. Touch anti-matter or jump into lava, for example, and you'd best have 3d6 and a fresh character record sheet handy.
17 September 2015
Creating An FRPG Player-Character
This is from the Moldvay Edition of Basic Set Dungeons & Dragons but makes a handy checklist for all your D&D games. Quoted without permission from TSR or subsequent holders of TSR's IP.
Roll Ability Scores: using 3d6 to generate a number from 3-18 in the following order -- strength, intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity, charisma.
Choose A Class: fighter, magic-user, cleric. If you're a complete newcomer to games of this type you should practice the following statement and say it anytime someone suggests to you the best type of starting character ... I would like to play a fighter, please.
Adjust Scores: most versions of D&D and its various simulacra allow some adjustment of rolled ability scores. For the PbP game that inspires this post players may swap the prime requisite of their desired class with any other rolled ability score.
Roll Hit Points: in S&W rolling hit dice is easy! Throw a six-sider and write the result on your character sheet. Fighters add +2 in my PbP (it's usually +1).
Roll For Money, Equip Your PC: 3d6 x 10 for starting gold. You may spend your money on whatever you wish, or save it, lend it, or even give it away. It's yours to do with as you wish. You should always have at least one weapon, the best armor you can afford, a waterskin, some rations, and a backpack. Large sacks, rope, light sources, holy water, vials of oil, iron spikes and hammer, mirrors, items of this sort can be distributed among the various party-members.
Find AC, etc.: like it sounds. We are using AAC (ascending armor class) for this game, so your attack roll is a piece of cake! Note your saving throw and saving throw modifier based on class.
Name The Character: I will often research traditional names for the flavor of the campaign. For example, I used the Nordic name "Esbern" once in a Viking-styled campaign. Failing that, make one up or use an online fantasy name generator for inspiration such as this one or that one.
That's it! When you're used to it the whole process takes < 5 minutes.
16 September 2015
S&W: White Box For PbP Game on Dragonsfoot
Before digging into the rules I'd like to humbly request players always identify their character by name and class when posting a move. For example: Boromir the fighter draws his sword and with a mighty challenge he ... This will really help me out when adjudicating the game.
Assume any non-optional rule in the books to be in use unless specifically excluded here. If you wish to play a variant class or race not in the S&W:WB rules e-mail or message me and let me know what you have in mind.
Character Generation
You may swap any other ability score for the prime requisite of your desired class. This will allow some good characters without completely removing the element of chance.
Fighters add +2 hit points to their first HD roll, not +1 as in the rulebook.
Magic-Users begin the game with a wand of arcane bolts which allow the casting of a glowing magical missile doing d4 damage with hits resolved as if the caster is wielding a light crossbow. The wand comes with a rune of spell conversion inscribed upon it, converting any spell of equal or higher value into the specific spell for that rune. For example: a rune of sleep will convert any other memorized spell into a sleep spell. This takes the same amount of time and concentration as casting the spell of the same name and taking this action will naturally remove the original spell from the caster's memory.
Clerics may sacrifice any spell memorized into a cure light wounds (CLW) spell. Doing so will of course, remove the original spell from memory.
Combat
We will be using the simplified order of battle for resolving combat.
No ties when rolling initiative.
Please use Ascending Armor Class (higher number is better armor class) for this game.
The single saving throw method will be used.
The bind wounds rule will be used.
Monsters
Assuming my monsters are exactly like the rulebook monsters may be hazardous to your player-characters! Typical monsters (goblins, for instance) will either be as written or I'll let you know the difference if it becomes necessary (per my background information ruling).
Treasure
I randomly roll most treasure but freely hand-pick and custom design some of the better items.
Potions will be consistent as to taste and appearance, meaning that a healing potion will usually have the same color and taste as other healing potions. Sipping to try and deduce the nature of a potion is allowed.
Team Play
I encourage team play and humbly request your PC not visit violence upon fellow party members.
As an impartial referee, however, I will allow you take whatever action you deem appropriate. Just remember that actions have consequences and deities are always watching ...
Assume any non-optional rule in the books to be in use unless specifically excluded here. If you wish to play a variant class or race not in the S&W:WB rules e-mail or message me and let me know what you have in mind.
Character Generation
You may swap any other ability score for the prime requisite of your desired class. This will allow some good characters without completely removing the element of chance.
- Fighters get +1 to melee damage rolls for STR 15 or more.
- Magic-Users get an extra 1st level spell for INT 15+.
- Clerics get an extra 1st level spell for WIS 15+ (yes, even at first level).
Fighters add +2 hit points to their first HD roll, not +1 as in the rulebook.
Magic-Users begin the game with a wand of arcane bolts which allow the casting of a glowing magical missile doing d4 damage with hits resolved as if the caster is wielding a light crossbow. The wand comes with a rune of spell conversion inscribed upon it, converting any spell of equal or higher value into the specific spell for that rune. For example: a rune of sleep will convert any other memorized spell into a sleep spell. This takes the same amount of time and concentration as casting the spell of the same name and taking this action will naturally remove the original spell from the caster's memory.
Clerics may sacrifice any spell memorized into a cure light wounds (CLW) spell. Doing so will of course, remove the original spell from memory.
Combat
We will be using the simplified order of battle for resolving combat.
No ties when rolling initiative.
Please use Ascending Armor Class (higher number is better armor class) for this game.
The single saving throw method will be used.
The bind wounds rule will be used.
Monsters
Assuming my monsters are exactly like the rulebook monsters may be hazardous to your player-characters! Typical monsters (goblins, for instance) will either be as written or I'll let you know the difference if it becomes necessary (per my background information ruling).
Treasure
I randomly roll most treasure but freely hand-pick and custom design some of the better items.
Potions will be consistent as to taste and appearance, meaning that a healing potion will usually have the same color and taste as other healing potions. Sipping to try and deduce the nature of a potion is allowed.
Team Play
I encourage team play and humbly request your PC not visit violence upon fellow party members.
As an impartial referee, however, I will allow you take whatever action you deem appropriate. Just remember that actions have consequences and deities are always watching ...
A Player's Guide To My PbP Game on Dragonsfoot
First, you'll need a copy of the rules. For this play-by-post (PbP) game I'll be using Mythmere Games Swords & Wizardry: White Box available as a free download by clicking here. It's the first of the three hyperlinks below the descriptive text.
Next, you'll need an account on the Dragonsfoot forums in order to be able to post, though you can read to your heart's content without an account. I've heard back from the board's owner Steve, who assures me he will create a sub-forum for our game this weekend. I'll keep you posted and will post a direct link here when that happens.
Then, you'll need to notify me so I can send you an invite to post to the sub-forum (though, again, you'll be able to read all you want even without an invite). You can e-mail my last name at gmail period com if you don't want to publicly associate your forum handle with your G+ handle.
That's it for the preliminaries!
Now, regarding how I run the game: I use the honor system as much as possible. In other words you can roll your starting character, hit points, gold, equipment, etc. and just post them to me. I figure we're all adults and collectively realize cheating just sucks all the fun out of the game.
I pledge the same back to you. I won't fudge a die roll to grant you either boon or bane. The chips, or more accurately the dice, fall where they may. I also will assume your character "knows" the background information any reasonably informed person in the Shattered Lands would know. For instance? You can swim, ride a horse, build a fire, and recognize common monsters such as goblins. You would know what forms of address would insult either a goodwife or Manor Born. Keep in mind, however, common knowledge isn't always accurate and is sometimes wildly erroneous.
Posting will be at approximately 2000 hours (8 PM) Central Time Zone (Zulu -6) on Monday and Thursday. If you miss one turn I will try to have your PC react as you've played him so far. If you miss 2 turns I'll run him as my NPC until you reappear. At 2 turns per week I'm hoping the attrition rate often associated with PbP games will be minimal. Please be prompt, your teammates are counting on your participation ... even if your post consists of "continue previous action."
The turns themselves will be much more productive if you includes lots of conditional statements. For example: Boromir the Bold will try to open the door. If the door is locked then he will throw his weight against the door. If that doesn't work he'll try the next door down the hall. If the door opens he will enter the room torch held high, unless the room is occupied in which case he will ... You get the idea, I imagine.
I track consumable supplies and encumbrance. So arrows, torches, holy water, vials of oil, etc. are all accounted for and when they're gone you had better have a Plan B.
I will cover specific game rules in the next post.
Next, you'll need an account on the Dragonsfoot forums in order to be able to post, though you can read to your heart's content without an account. I've heard back from the board's owner Steve, who assures me he will create a sub-forum for our game this weekend. I'll keep you posted and will post a direct link here when that happens.
Then, you'll need to notify me so I can send you an invite to post to the sub-forum (though, again, you'll be able to read all you want even without an invite). You can e-mail my last name at gmail period com if you don't want to publicly associate your forum handle with your G+ handle.
That's it for the preliminaries!
Now, regarding how I run the game: I use the honor system as much as possible. In other words you can roll your starting character, hit points, gold, equipment, etc. and just post them to me. I figure we're all adults and collectively realize cheating just sucks all the fun out of the game.
I pledge the same back to you. I won't fudge a die roll to grant you either boon or bane. The chips, or more accurately the dice, fall where they may. I also will assume your character "knows" the background information any reasonably informed person in the Shattered Lands would know. For instance? You can swim, ride a horse, build a fire, and recognize common monsters such as goblins. You would know what forms of address would insult either a goodwife or Manor Born. Keep in mind, however, common knowledge isn't always accurate and is sometimes wildly erroneous.
Posting will be at approximately 2000 hours (8 PM) Central Time Zone (Zulu -6) on Monday and Thursday. If you miss one turn I will try to have your PC react as you've played him so far. If you miss 2 turns I'll run him as my NPC until you reappear. At 2 turns per week I'm hoping the attrition rate often associated with PbP games will be minimal. Please be prompt, your teammates are counting on your participation ... even if your post consists of "continue previous action."
The turns themselves will be much more productive if you includes lots of conditional statements. For example: Boromir the Bold will try to open the door. If the door is locked then he will throw his weight against the door. If that doesn't work he'll try the next door down the hall. If the door opens he will enter the room torch held high, unless the room is occupied in which case he will ... You get the idea, I imagine.
I track consumable supplies and encumbrance. So arrows, torches, holy water, vials of oil, etc. are all accounted for and when they're gone you had better have a Plan B.
I will cover specific game rules in the next post.
30 August 2015
Fuzzy Is Good
No this isn't about fuzzy logic, as cool as that is. It is about fuzzy rules and the way OD&D works out of the box. Because many of the folks playing the game in the first few years, including myself, had a background in wargaming and chess? Lots of the distinctions made in those early rules were accepted without much comment by participants. Pawns move one space, knights can hop over other pieces, a queen can move any direction the player wishes ... that's the way the game worked. Sure, in real life a common footman can go any distance on the battle field he wishes (within the limits of his capability) and a queen would rarely if ever be seen on the field of combat but that isn't how they work in chess.
Similarly, magic-users in OD&D and its immediate successors were not able to wear armor. It never said why in those rulebooks, it just said they couldn't do it. Clerics couldn't use edged or piercing weapons, fighters had no ability to cast spells, and when they were introduced to the game a short time later the thief class could only use leather armor. No explanation was given for these limitations, they were simply listed.
As I recall it? My Shattered Lands campaign ran for years before anyone ever questioned why a magic-user couldn't wear armor or carry a sword. As an aside, how many referees heard "but ... GANDALF was able use a sword!" during that discussion? Thinking I would head off any future arguments about the issue I optimistically put reasoning into my house rules as to why certain things worked the way they did. This only spurred even more vehement arguments about how properly fitted armor wouldn't inhibit a spell-caster's somatic spell components, or how my cleric would not wish to only spill blood in the rituals dedicated to his deity, etc.
See ... giving an explanation indicates you are trying to justify the rule. In reality, however, many of those rule restrictions are there for game balance and not necessarily how the historical or legendary basis for that class worked. I've covered before but it bears repeating as an example: the magic-user's ability to cause mass damage or bend reality is balanced by how thin-skinned he is in combat. One may further assume clerics were not granted access to certain weapons because magical swords were among the most powerful melee weapons in the game. A cleric wielding a holy avenger would usurp the fighter's niche as the preeminent fighting class.
All of this is pure conjecture, by the way. Logically, it fits but that doesn't make it the truth. I've no special insight into the minds of the game's co-creators and play-testers.
At any rate? Rather than trying to justify why a player-character can't do "x" or use "y"? Simply tell them they can't and move on. Trying to explain it simply opens the ruling up for debate. If a player stubbornly refuses to yield on the point and presses the debate? Perhaps the referee should gently suggest to the player that he may conceivably be happier playing a different game (or at least in a different campaign). While there is nothing wrong with debate, do you really wish to spend valuable gaming time in a non-resolvable argument concerning whether a magic-user can wear plate and carry a longbow or do you want to kill some goblins? I know how I want to spend my gaming time!
Similarly, magic-users in OD&D and its immediate successors were not able to wear armor. It never said why in those rulebooks, it just said they couldn't do it. Clerics couldn't use edged or piercing weapons, fighters had no ability to cast spells, and when they were introduced to the game a short time later the thief class could only use leather armor. No explanation was given for these limitations, they were simply listed.
As I recall it? My Shattered Lands campaign ran for years before anyone ever questioned why a magic-user couldn't wear armor or carry a sword. As an aside, how many referees heard "but ... GANDALF was able use a sword!" during that discussion? Thinking I would head off any future arguments about the issue I optimistically put reasoning into my house rules as to why certain things worked the way they did. This only spurred even more vehement arguments about how properly fitted armor wouldn't inhibit a spell-caster's somatic spell components, or how my cleric would not wish to only spill blood in the rituals dedicated to his deity, etc.
See ... giving an explanation indicates you are trying to justify the rule. In reality, however, many of those rule restrictions are there for game balance and not necessarily how the historical or legendary basis for that class worked. I've covered before but it bears repeating as an example: the magic-user's ability to cause mass damage or bend reality is balanced by how thin-skinned he is in combat. One may further assume clerics were not granted access to certain weapons because magical swords were among the most powerful melee weapons in the game. A cleric wielding a holy avenger would usurp the fighter's niche as the preeminent fighting class.
All of this is pure conjecture, by the way. Logically, it fits but that doesn't make it the truth. I've no special insight into the minds of the game's co-creators and play-testers.
At any rate? Rather than trying to justify why a player-character can't do "x" or use "y"? Simply tell them they can't and move on. Trying to explain it simply opens the ruling up for debate. If a player stubbornly refuses to yield on the point and presses the debate? Perhaps the referee should gently suggest to the player that he may conceivably be happier playing a different game (or at least in a different campaign). While there is nothing wrong with debate, do you really wish to spend valuable gaming time in a non-resolvable argument concerning whether a magic-user can wear plate and carry a longbow or do you want to kill some goblins? I know how I want to spend my gaming time!
11 August 2015
Rules Light Is Not Freeform
What follows is my opinion only. I would not presume to tell others what they mean when they use a term, I speak only to how I express myself.
Folks new or even relatively new to OD&D games frequently mention how the game is "rules light" and go on about how all those rules aren't needed. I agree to a point but I believe many folks are missing the basic point of how the game was intended to be used. A common theme running through Gary's writing was my oft-repeated mantra: it works the way I say it works. It isn't the idea rules are bad. No, it was rather the referee could probably come up with rules that suited his refereeing style better. The generic stuff is covered, e.g. how likely to hit a target is an arrow fired from 50 yards, or how far does a chain-clad warrior move when running? And even those rules are easily modified.
Most of us would likely feel movement adjusted per specific footwear and surface gradient to be overkill. Any good footwear on a solid surface is as far as we'd take it, but not everyone feels that way. I've made cracks, over the years, about games that play "like a spreadsheet." To me? I can't imagine anything more boring but I recognize there are folks who live for this type of fun.
As I see it OD&D to some degree was written the way it was to enable referees to pile on this sort of detail if they saw fit. A ref who loved sailing and wooden sailing ships might greatly expand the naval battle portion of his rules and center his campaign around such. If not, the typical ref had all he needed to run a pitched naval battle versus a bloodthirsty crew of miscreants and misfits.
Anyway, as one's campaign grew and expanded the ref could add on rules as needed. As they worked or were subsequently honed until they did work they were added to the "rules." So in time a campaign could, under some referees, grow to rival the complexity of AD&D itself. It all depends upon what you as referee and his gamers wanted.
I tended to cater to a more casual group of gamers so I kept my campaign light. I favored and continue to favor light-fast-easy when making a call. But, and this is an important point, I was confident in my ability to make off-the-cuff rulings. If I really liked that ruling it went into my campaign notes but if it was a rare situation I didn't even do that. I've played in other games where the ref's house-rulings were a thick notebook with dizzying (and rather intimidating) levels of detail. While I still enjoyed the game I wouldn't want my regular game to be like that.
My point? Simple out of the box doesn't have to stay simple. For every referee like myself there was at least one other who felt there simply weren't enough pole arms in the game.
Folks new or even relatively new to OD&D games frequently mention how the game is "rules light" and go on about how all those rules aren't needed. I agree to a point but I believe many folks are missing the basic point of how the game was intended to be used. A common theme running through Gary's writing was my oft-repeated mantra: it works the way I say it works. It isn't the idea rules are bad. No, it was rather the referee could probably come up with rules that suited his refereeing style better. The generic stuff is covered, e.g. how likely to hit a target is an arrow fired from 50 yards, or how far does a chain-clad warrior move when running? And even those rules are easily modified.
Most of us would likely feel movement adjusted per specific footwear and surface gradient to be overkill. Any good footwear on a solid surface is as far as we'd take it, but not everyone feels that way. I've made cracks, over the years, about games that play "like a spreadsheet." To me? I can't imagine anything more boring but I recognize there are folks who live for this type of fun.
As I see it OD&D to some degree was written the way it was to enable referees to pile on this sort of detail if they saw fit. A ref who loved sailing and wooden sailing ships might greatly expand the naval battle portion of his rules and center his campaign around such. If not, the typical ref had all he needed to run a pitched naval battle versus a bloodthirsty crew of miscreants and misfits.
Anyway, as one's campaign grew and expanded the ref could add on rules as needed. As they worked or were subsequently honed until they did work they were added to the "rules." So in time a campaign could, under some referees, grow to rival the complexity of AD&D itself. It all depends upon what you as referee and his gamers wanted.
I tended to cater to a more casual group of gamers so I kept my campaign light. I favored and continue to favor light-fast-easy when making a call. But, and this is an important point, I was confident in my ability to make off-the-cuff rulings. If I really liked that ruling it went into my campaign notes but if it was a rare situation I didn't even do that. I've played in other games where the ref's house-rulings were a thick notebook with dizzying (and rather intimidating) levels of detail. While I still enjoyed the game I wouldn't want my regular game to be like that.
My point? Simple out of the box doesn't have to stay simple. For every referee like myself there was at least one other who felt there simply weren't enough pole arms in the game.
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